I was end cap hunting in West St. Paul at the local Menard’s when I came found a large Safe that I thought would make a great addition to my home. Not only could I put everything valuable I own into it, and have room left over, it was “open box” and just under half price compared to the in the box model. That’s when the problems set in.
The wife could vouch for me, but I usually have trouble talking to/asking for something from some service level employees because I feel like I could be speaking a completely different language.
I walked over to one of the department service counters located around the store and asked if I could buy the safe that was marked down that was on display. A male employee in his 50′s (that’s what it looked like to me) walks over and tells me he’s going to need to find the key and the manual. He comes back in roughly 5 minutes with 2 sets of keys and 2 manuals one from a different manufacturer than was emblazoned on front of the safe. He immediately gives up on correctly branded key and tries the second unrelated key for 10 minutes before deciding to read the manual (NOT THE MANUFACTURERS!). Even that manual had good advice and stated you needed to turn the key 1/4 turn, where as the faithful employee had been turning the key just 1/8th of a turn. This of course wasn’t enough to unlock a bathroom stall, let alone a world class safe. I ask to try the keys to assist him in his fruit less adventure… he decides to go looking for more keys (taking the keys with him).
He returns with an unlabeled set of keys in roughly 10 minutes, and doesn’t turn the key far enough to disengage the lock and tells me “I guess I will need to write the manufacturer, because we don’t have any keys that will work in this safe!” After trying again to have a chance to use the key myself being denied, I simply walked away after 40 minutes of struggling with an employee not qualified for the service industry.
I am pretty sure it is employees like this that have caused the movement from personalized sales people at hardware stores to big box stores where you pick the items out and can even check yourself out. Completely avoiding employees that are trying to make your purchase impossible.
Have you ever had a struggle with trying to purchase something that had you convinced there was a TV crew in the next aisle over filming this for laughs? Like me, do you seem be more qualified than the person who is trying to provide help/ answer questions at stores?
