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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > Genealogy > Letters, Diaries and Journals > Rules for Clerks |
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Civil War Interactive Discussion Board > Genealogy > Letters, Diaries and Journals > Rules for Clerks |
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| Rules for Clerks | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Sun Jan 28th, 2007 09:59 pm |
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1st Post |
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Johan Steele Life NRA,SUVCW # 48,Legion 352 
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Rules to Employees The Store must be open from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM the year round. Store must be swept; counters, base shelves and showcases dusted; lamps trimmed, filled and chimneys cleaned; pens made; doors and windows opened, a pail of water, also a bucket of coal brought in before breakfast if there is time to do so attend to customers who call. Store must not be opened on the Sabbath unless necessary and then only for a few minutes. The employee who is in the habit of smoking Spanish cigars, being shaved at the barber’s, going to dances and other places of amusement will surely give his employer reasons to be suspicious of his integrity and honesty. Each employee must not pay less than five dollars per year to the church and must attend Sunday school regularly. Men employees are given one evening a week for courting, and two if they go to prayer meeting. After fourteen hours of work in the store the lieasure hours should be spent mostly in reading. Posted in the office of a Red Wing MN Hardware & Paint store from the late 1850’s until approx 1900 when the store closed.
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| Posted: Mon Jan 29th, 2007 11:17 am |
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2nd Post |
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Widow Member
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Johan, That hardware store was in business for 50 years. It must have been doing something right. Now what could that something have been? I like the part about the 3-inch Spanish cigars and getting shaved at the barber's. If you were a customer, would you want to be served by a man would do such things! Patty :=)) The rules didn't say anything about addressing the customers as "guys" and saying "No problem" instead of "You're welcome." Dreadful oversight. Last edited on Mon Jan 29th, 2007 11:17 am by Widow |
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| Posted: Mon Jan 29th, 2007 03:15 pm |
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3rd Post |
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Fuller E Pluribus Unum 
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In today's world, it seems some stores exemplify good customer service while others find no need to keep tabs on their employees. Have you ever... Counted the number of piercings on the face of the person helping you and been so very tempted to ask just how bad it really hurt? Approached the cash register with a cart full of goodies only to find it being watched by someone on their phone? "Ummm excuse me? Just take your time. I would love to hear the latest about your boyfriend" Find yourself explaining your purchases to an overly nosey employee who maybe knows you a little more than you would want them to? "What, no Bengay this time?" I really am glad these fine folks are out in the work force and paying taxes just like me but sometimes you just have to wonder. I have a great store I shop at here that gives superior customer service and I acknowledge it to the employee and the manager when I do get it. Fuller
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| Posted: Mon Jan 29th, 2007 04:19 pm |
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4th Post |
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ole Member 
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Customer service is not a "lost" art -- employees can be trained. But there's a rub: the employee must first be inclined toward making the effort -- the inclination comes from each employee's willingness and the obvious commitment of management. I'm with Fuller. I frequently shop in a big-box store that publicly makes a big deal about helpful employees. You better know what you want and go get it yourself because the employees are either nowhere to be found or busy chatting with each other. On the other hand, I prefer the neighborhood ACE Hardware where it is obvious that the manager doesn't want you to be left to your own devices. If he's short-handed (it happens), he's on the floor himself. Come to think of it, he's always on the floor looking for someone to help. Ole
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| Posted: Mon Jan 29th, 2007 04:38 pm |
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5th Post |
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Fuller E Pluribus Unum
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There is a twist to this. How 'bout the customers who feel they are ALWAYS right? Case in point; A lady dropped a can of Dinty Moore on her big toe from her own clumsiness and demanded that the store pay her $500 doctor bill. (Really happened) Or the customer who rips off items only to head over to the front counter to have them returned. Or the obscene drunk who demands his case of Bud at 10 in the morning and storms off in a threatening rage when denied. There is a list of names behind the front counter of people who are known to write bad checks. There are times I think the hard working clerks and managers are sooo underpaid.
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| Posted: Mon Jan 29th, 2007 04:58 pm |
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6th Post |
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Marie Member 
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Customer service is not a lost art in small town America. Case in point: We had several inches of snow Saturday night and rather than dig the car out I walked to the grocery store a block from my house and when I realized I had more than I could manage one of the stock boys carried my stuff home for me  The surprising part was that he turned down a tip for helping  Reagrds from snowy NW Ohio, Jana
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| Posted: Mon Jan 29th, 2007 07:20 pm |
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7th Post |
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susansweet Member 
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Jana that is so cool that a box boy would do that. You are so lucky. I have stores here in Huntington Beach where the service is great. I go to those places often. A friend of mine works for a certain large stand alone department store . You would not believe what customers say to her. One of the latest is out of the blue a customer told her she was too old to work in a store, she should retire. The woman even came back later and said the same thing again. My friend is 61 and a real go getter , She is the manager of her department and believe me the young people that work in her department shape up or they are gone. She is a real hard worker. She has been my friend and aid in my classroom also both paid and volunteer She does have really grey hair. My favorite place here in town is a small cafe . The service and friendship there is amazing . A young man now runs it for his father who still is around on and off. We call it a Cheers with out booze. The waiters and busboys and owners are so great They know your name and even your favorite orders. A friendly place to go. Some places here I not only stare at the piercings but some people who wait on me have so many tatoos there is no real skin left. I said to some young friends a few years ago I am glad I won't be around when the skin on some of these people start to sag . I run into the most tats and piercings at the local health food store . Funny and my generation was banned from Disneyland for wearing "funny clothes and having long hair and males having long hair and facial hair. I am sounding like an old fogey this morning . I do think though there are lots of great kids around like your box boyand my cafe owner .
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| Posted: Mon Jan 29th, 2007 11:02 pm |
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8th Post |
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Johan Steele Life NRA,SUVCW # 48,Legion 352
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The sad thing is that I have seen so many places that encourage customers to praise employees for good customer service... Customer Service is a thing of the past. The pity is that the places where you do receive the quality Customer Service is also where you typically pay the higher prices... and high prices do not guarantee either quality merchandise or quality customer service. The days of polite customers, I fear, have went the way of quality customer service. The plethra of various big box warehouse stores no longer encourages emploiyees to get to know their employees in fact the enviroment for the employee doesn't even encouage them to get to know their fellow employees. IMHO the problems in Customer Service are the fault of our MTV/pop BS culture and a lack of leadership from the corporate mgr's on down.
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| Posted: Tue Jan 30th, 2007 01:53 am |
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9th Post |
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Cap Member
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What rankles me is the number of times that I say "Thank You" to the clerk after the transaction and they don't say anything. I walk away telling my wife, "I did it again. I thanked them for spending my money here!" Wish I could get in the habit of saying "Your Welcome" as I walk away but I doubt that it would make an impression. Cap Last edited on Tue Jan 30th, 2007 01:54 am by Cap |
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| Posted: Tue Jan 30th, 2007 10:06 pm |
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10th Post |
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Widow Member
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You put your finger right on it, again, Johan. It's the leadership that makes the difference, from Susan's friend the department manager to the Commander in Chief. We've all seen the best and worst examples. Not just leadership, but commitment to training. Nobody starts out KNOWING how to be a good employee. At a government-business symposium here recently, an owner said he was happy to hire young people, but they should have at least some idea of what it means to work for a living. The owner, who is a contractor for the Department of Homeland Security, said one of his new employees spent the day talking on his cell phone. The owner told him to stop talking and start working. The kid defended himself: "But I'm using my own minutes!" He wasn't stupid, just untrained and inexperienced. I remember my own blunders as a beginner. I hope nobody else does. Patty
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