Daft shop assistants

It's been a long absence from the Couch, but seeing the new format, I thought I just had to contribute. And today's rant is... WHY CAN'T FIRMS HIRE INTELLIGENT PEOPLE?! As some people would be aware, I've been looking for a job for the past few years, usually around Christmas. This year it was looking good for David Jones, but unfortunately they didn't end up offering me a job. Which is fine. They can only take so many people in an intake of staff. But what annoys me is when I go around to various stores in Adelaide and find that they are staffed by ingrates and morons. A couple of classic examples for you: #1: THE COFFEE SHOP CRETIN Courtney and I were in town last Saturday, checking out the East End Market and whatnot, and on the way back, we decided to stop in to Gloria Jean's in Borders. This we did because I quite like their Mocha and Courtney likes their Tim Tam Shake thingy. But anyhoo, they have one of those customer reward programs, where you get a card and the number of coffees you buy is marked on there. Once you buy ten, your eleventh coffee is free. Through the amazing medium of MS Paint, mine looked rather like this: So, as I was ordering two drinks, I looked at the card, saw stamps all the way down to nine, and figured, hey, I was about to get a free coffee. I walked to the counter, ordered a mocha and a shake, and handed over my card. The girl behind the counter looked at the card and told me that I'd have to pay full price. Me: "Um...why?" Girl: "Because you've only got eight stamps." Me: "But all of the numbers from one to nine are stamped. So I've got nine stamps." Girl: "No, that one on the number two is just a smudge. It's not really a stamp." Looking at it again, I thought that maybe she was right. But still... Me: "But why would you jump from one to three, and miss two out?" Girl (now sarcastic and impatient): "What you don't seem to be able to understand is that we're under a lot of stress here!" Right. So there you have it. Apparently a woman taking an order for coffee is faaaar too stressed to realise that two comes after one and before three, and the very notion of being able to stamp in a straight line? Well, that's just arrogant presumption. I begrudgingly paid full price, so she took my card, and put two stamps on it. Now, at this, I figured it was all worked out. She would stamp 2 and 10, and my next coffee would be free. But no! She again ignored two, and instead put the ink mark in the middle of the card, like so: ...and then she served my mocha, except it wasn't a mocha. It was a hot chocolate. She had forgotten the coffee! By this time, I was pretty peeved, but kept this to myself, lest she then tell me that she's far too stressed to be able to give a customer what they ordered. Heavens above, next I'd be expecting her to give me the drink in a cup! BUT it doesn't end there! Yesterday I went back to Gloria Jean's, and was served by a different girl. Now to get my free coffee! Girl: "Um...you could've bought a free coffee last time." Me: "How?" Girl: "All of your numbers are stamped. And what's that ink mark in the middle of the card?" So a question here is: how do people like Saturday's Gloria Jean's barista get jobs? But the grand perpetrator of crap service isn't this coffee shop. It is, in fact, a cramped, hot, smelly store that just about everyone goes to... #2: JB HI-FI DOES IT AGAIN ...or does it far too many times. Is it a prerequisite for JB that you must be some mopey emo who can only grunt at customers, if indeed you notice the customers at all? Customer service here is nil. Example: Customer: "I see you have Season 1 of Star Trek for $64, but Season 2 for $55. Aren't they supposed to be the same?" Emo Shop Assistant: "Um...no?" Customer: "Well, why is Season 1 more expensive?" ESA: "Er....it just is." Whereas a cursory glance of their catalogue and their website shows that, indeed, both are supposed to be $55. Nor is it exactly great store etiquette to have the only two register operators conducting a sticky-tape fight, ignoring the ten or so customers in an ever-growing queue. So I ask again: why do firms hire idiots to work for them? It doesn't do their image any good, surely. Customers are more likely to go to stores where they are well-treated by friendly assistants, not jackarses (yes, Sheepy, I'll bow to you and say "arse") who can't put a coherent sentence together, and seem oblivious to the task that they're paid to perform. One final bit of incompetence: JB register: customer is buying a DVD ($29.99) and a CD ($19.95). Shop assistant stares at the DVD and CD, then at the customer, scratches her head, then reaches for her calculator. Having done the sum, she does it again to make sure. When the customer gives her $50, she asks him how much change she owes him. ARGH!!