Pet Peeve No. 001

I must be possessed or I may have too much free time now. This is the second article this week. Hmmm... Anyway, I just thought of a brilliant idea. I figured out a way so I'd have a lot of topics to post. This will greatly increase the number of my articles and I mean greatly increase. Think, "Exponential growth". The idea that occurred to me is to talk about something that I have a lot of (this crosses out money). Also, I think I can get a lot responses from these topics, both from supporters and opposers.

I would like to warn people though. The things I'm about to say are my personal opinions. The opinions are based on what I've observed and on my experiences. We don't have the same experiences. Don't force it. We don't. Maybe the same flow of actions or words or events or feelings (and not all them at the same time thus the OR rather than the AND) but never the same consequences, circumstances and/or the impressions left afterwards. So if you agree with me, that's fine. Actually, that'll be great 'cause then that means I'm not as loony as I think. If you disagree with me, then go to hell. Noooo, wait. That's not what I was going to say. Something wrong with my script here...Hmmm...Wait... Ah! Right. If you disagree with me, then that's fine too. But remember, these are my experiences, not yours. My feelings, not yours. My thoughts, not yours. My interpretation, not yours. If you feel differently then okay, write a comment but don't flame my experiences or ideas or opinions. You weren't there when it happened, okay? So leave it be. Besides even if you did, you'd just be wasting your time. I wouldn't give a rat's ass what you think (that is if you're a flamer but any and every other person's comments will be welcome even if they are negative). So there, I've warned you. On to the topic!

As you can see from the title and perhaps perceived from the warning up there, the topics I've thought of are my pet peeves. I have a lot of these, and I mean a LOT. These are just rants. If in case you are one of the people I've got my pet peeves with, don't take it personally. You might be an exemption of the generalizations that I make. Besides, I'm one person living within a very limited range of land. The people, stuff, processes, or whatever that I talk of are those that I've been exposed to. You may live in a different area, city, country...planet and have different systems or procedures or manners and stuff. So don't take offense if I say something bad of the people that might include you. Like when I speak of, say, drivers. I only mean those drivers that I have fortunately or unfortunately met. If I say bad things about them, then it's their fault, not yours. I'm sure you're completely different from those... uhmmm... "people".

This is a bit hard to explain, I mean how the things I'm about to say is not to offend anyone. But it will, I'm sure of it. It's just that...uhm... Nope, can't find words to explain it. Maybe I'd just show you what I mean. Read the following article and maybe you'll get what I want mean.

Pet Peeve No. 1: Preemptive Sales people.

Yeah, I hate these people. I hate how they meet you at the entrance of the store and ask you what you want or what you're looking for. I hate how they keep repeating, "What are you looking for, sir?" or "What do you need, sir?". I get it! I know that they just want to help, that they want to make it easier for you to do your shopping but sometimes we enter a store to browse not to buy. Maybe we don't know what they're selling or don't even care. We just simply want to go in and see what they have, thus the "browsing". Isn't that the purpose why they bought these expensive glass shelves anyway? To display their wares so that people can choose and look at it freely? Also, do you really expect them to have memorize all the stocks and particulars of their merchandise? It happened to me quite a lot that when I go to a store and ask if they have this, they say no. But a little later, I come back ask a different person and then they say they do have that. Really, which is it? Do I have to this every time just to make sure that you either do or do not have this item?

Browse: Verb.
- to look through or over something casually: to look through or over something, especially merchandise in a store, in a leisurely manner with the hope of finding something of interest (Microsoft® Encarta®. Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.)

SEE!? That's what browse means. "IN A LEISURELY MANNER" meaning we just want to, calmly and in a very relaxed state, look through their merchandise. "WITH THE HOPE OF FINDING" meaning we possibly don't even know what we want in the first place or we may have no plans in buying in the first place. But then they swarm over to you cutting off your leisure time(and occasionally, your oxygen supply), and forcing you to think of stuff you could possibly want from their store. It's not like you did an inventory of their store before you went there. Really, what they're doing is NOT helping.

This is even worse when going through open stall boutiques. The ones where they have thin walls between them and have no doors but rather just three walls. They usually sell the same stuff too, maybe except for a few service offer or stock difference. Ayayayay! I feel my blood boiling now just remembering my experiences. Anyway, I particularly hate these kind of sales fiends. When you pass by, they all shout, "Come here sir!" at the same time. Sometimes you just happen to pass by 'cause it's the only path to get to the lavatory but the same thing happens. Sometimes I just want to shout back, "Uhhh...yeah, Can I piss in your store?" just to shut them up. I mean, they really really really piss me off.

And when you do enter one of the stalls, after the initial apprehension has passed, they will follow you around. That's okay, maybe they are killing two birds with one stone. They are "serving" their customers and protecting their merchandise from possible shoplifters. But the thing is it pisses the customer(and shoplifter). It annoys the customer 'cause they stick to you like gum on hair or Siamese twins. They leave very little elbow room to move around for you to see what they sell. They literally breathe down your neck as you pick objects up to see them clearly. Then they immediately state the price. "Uhh, like I care? I'm browsing, see? Right now, I don't care about the price, I just want to see if you've got good stuff here. Besides, I can see the price tag. I'm not blind." If you do ask them something, they most often refer the question to someone else and in spite your hearing the answer(since the person they asked is right behind you), they repeat it like you were deaf or dumb or something. You may ask more questions, but then they refer it to the person behind you. You might be better off asking the person behind you. But that person refuses to answer you 'cause they are doing something else currently and would refer you to the person that dogged you. EH? Isn't he/she just asking you what I... And you answe... so can't I jus... OH forget it.

Occasionally, you shake them off (after 30 minutes or so). So you can browse leisurely now. Though not much left to look at. You've seen most of the wares anyway but not leisurely and you may have lost interest in them. Disheartened, you leave but repeat the same process at the next store with the hope that this time, it would go better. You do this a couple more times then leave empty handed. That's okay if you didn't plan to buy anything anyway but kinda depresses you if did want to buy something.

Another scenario is that you do find something you like which usually happens after the SF left you because you took too long. Then you try to get their attention.
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Nothing! What the fu..? Hey I want to buy this! Hello?! Yeah, this is what happens. When you want them, they suddenly become busy answering the phones or text messaging or they just don't take notice of you. Of course, eventually they notice you. They come to your "rescue". Then you ask for the price 'cause the tag is missing or if they have another color or do they have more of this. Some answers you correctly, though sometimes impolitely. Not even a smile to a possible customer. HMP! Anyway, that's the best and I think ideal scenario. But the more common one goes like this, "Uh, yeah... the price... uhmm... wait a moment, okay?" Then they go check from the person behind the desk. Then they come back. "It cost so and so." Then you ask if it has other colors. They then go back to the person behind the desk and asks again. They come back. "Uh yeah" they say. You wait. Awkward moment passes. "Well, can I see them?". There's a short pause here. It seems to me that they are contemplating of taking back the answer and saying no so that they don't have to go to the back and get the other colors. But they acquiesce and proceeds to the stock room. They come back and you choose, go to the desk person, pay, then leave. Really, how much help did I get from that SF? *Sigh*

Don't get me wrong. I've been to many store that has the best accommodations and services one could ever want and they leave the best impressions which makes you go back and do more business there. The things is, the bad service leaves a bigger impression. Their the ones that mar the industry of retailing. Also note that these things don't happen every time, only that it happens more often than you can tolerate(I think one is more than enough). They don't occur in a single day too. Sometimes you get the preemptive SF's but are well informed ones. Sometimes you don't meet any preemptive SF's but meet with clueless or lazy ones. My last message is, "More power to the good establishments and business. Keep up the good work. And for those who leave much to be desired, please, for the love of all that's Holy, improve."

So that's that. That's my first pet peeve though not necessarily my most annoying one, but simply because it's the first one that came to mind. There will be more to come (OMG!!! No more, please! No more!) and take note that they are not sequenced in any pattern. I hope you enjoyed this and thanks for reading. Keep up the patience.