Dumb Marketting Ideas

[jamesq]

Went to Safeway tonight tonight with devoidofthought. We get to the checkout and the cashier takes my shoppers cards and scans them. Then she says "Thank Mr... Cryer?". "Cyr", I say, correcting her, with a resigned sigh to my voice - It's only three letters, but it's unusual for someone to pronounce my name correctly the first time (unless they're French, because it's a French name originally). I've had to deal with this my whole life.

Oh, and if you've only seen my last name written down and have never actually heard it pronounced, it's homophonic with "sear".

I turn to devoidofthought to bitch about this useless policy of Safeway's (and lots of other places). "That", I said, "Is why I don't like the use-the-customer's-name policy".

"You just know that some marketing weasel who's never actually worked retail came up with this plan to address all the customers by name in an effort to make us loyal to Safeway. I'd be shocked if these sorts of wrong-headed ideas ever generated an extra dollars worth of revenue."

The cashier pipes in "Actually, lots of customers get really offended by it".

My point exactly. People don't go to Safeway because of friendly cashiers (unless you're a creepy stalker) - they go because it's convenient for them to go. I used to shop at Safeway all the time and Co-op next to never, because I lived three blocks from a Safeway. Now I go to Co-op mostly and Safeway only occasionally, because now I live three blocks from Co-op.

As luck would have it, there was some kind of shift change just as we were going through (so I had one cashier and devoidofthought, behind me, got another. This cashier was a little more forthcoming with her opinions. "I really hate the use-the-customer's-name policy" she said with a tone that suggested that she'd been a cashier long enough that it was damaging her soul. "Sadly, you don't make policy" I replied.

Slightly related to this, the Co-op by my house now has self-serve checkouts and I use them unless I have produce or coupons. Partly this is because I'm anti-social, but also because the elderly loath and fear the self-serve checkouts. This means those lines go much faster!

Comments

[fionaghal.livejournal.com]

I wonder if the people who made the policy have "easy" last names?

I've noticed that at my local Safeway, the cashiers have discontinued the "name thing". Very rarely do they address me at all... and I have an easy name (now)....Mrs. Young. Maybe 1 time in 10 do they say my name.
If I had kept my maiden name, it would have been a difficult-to-pronounce-Ukrainian-name. With a "ski" ending. I would expect some more unusual names in my neighbourhood because I have been told that 25 % of the population are immigrants. Maybe that's why they've not commented on names lately...

Have pity on the cashier. She might have been dyslexic as well.
If I was a cashier, and I didn't know French, I would have said "Curr"
hehe

The Name Game...

[nikitaa.livejournal.com]

My favourite name-game moment happened not with a cashier, but with a teller at the bank - at least fifteen years ago.

Normally, I ignore tellers/cashiers/service people who mess up my name. However, this one teller just wasn't getting it. She misnamed me multiple times during the transaction, so finally at the end, exasperated at being called Michelle yet again I bluntly corrected her. "My name is Nicole."

I have never understood exactly WHY it is that many people confuse the name Nicole with Michelle. (The two names are not even similar - beyond the fact that they are both nominally french). I know other Nicoles who get it all the time, and some whose name never seems to meet this fate. And I can almost guarantee you that if someone is going to mess up my name, they will be calling me Michelle. (Don't get me wrong - it is a very pretty name, and I have dear friends who proudly lay claim to that moniker - but it is just not "me"). Long ago - back in the 80s I had resigned myself to being thus misnamed.

But, I digress... This particular day, I decided to correct the teller, who looked at me with a very confused look on her face. "Pardon me???"

I tried again, "My name is Nicole, not Michelle".

Hearing this, the look on her face changed from confusion to absolute bewilderment, as she responded "But I called you Ms. Shaw".

At this point in time I realized with Simpsonesque clarity that my married name (Shaw) paired with the salutation "Ms" sounded remarkably like the name that had dogged me all of my life. Michelle. It left me wondering just how often the "Michelles" that had come my way while married had actually been "Ms. Shaws".

Even today, having returned to my maiden name, I hear the occasional "Michelle" coming my way. And I smile inwardly, knowing that she will always be part of my life.

[ladyerwyn.livejournal.com]

I loath the self checkouts and refuse to use them, because when I do they do not work properly. I scan my stuff, put it in the bag, but what do I do when that bag is full? and I have more stuff to scan and they only have room for one bag? It won't let you move that full bag to your cart, so you can bag the next. I loath them. They are evil. Our Meijer store has about 20 of them. I will stand in line for an hour to have an actual person scan my crap. I will not use them. If they get rid of people entirely I will not shop there.

Also I would probably end up pronouncing your name "Sir". But when I encounter a name I'm not sure how to pronounce I ask the person. I like to find out how names are pronounced, since all Americans except Native Americans are immigrants.

[thebrucie.livejournal.com]

From my experience, that is why they have two bag slots beside the till. If you fill one up, you start using the next one over, and once that registers use you can take the first bag off. I think. I'm guessing.

[wendy-licious.livejournal.com]

When wackynephews and I first got together my airmiles card had my previous married name on it so when he used it the Safeway people would call him Mr. Fleabite.
Ask him how much he liked that.

[jamesq]

Doesn't Costco still think you're married to me?

[thebrucie.livejournal.com]

The Co-op liquor store by your place also has an import/microbrew section bigger than most regular beer sections. And they carry Erdinger, my new favorite beer (thanks to Madeileen). Not that this has anything to do with your post. I'm just so happy about it though!

[jamesq]

They also have a selection of Single Malts that includes Tullibardine - the whisky that I tried during a tour in Scotland and really really liked. I was shocked to see it here because I thought it (being a very small distillery) would only have it's products get to a dozen stores in North America. Apparently one of those dozen is the Dalhousie Co-op.

[tyroticon.livejournal.com]

Judging from the quality of assistance I've seen given to people trying to use the automated check-outs, ranging from condescending to irritated, I can't say I blame them.

I just don't like them because it's only a matter of time before they get rid of the cashiers and we're all stuck using a system that can't do price checks, won't phone me a cab, and can't ever mean "good morning," or "thank you." And when I say we're all stuck with that system, I'm including the elderly, the people who've always given me the time to enjoy my book in line.

[jamesq]

Well I've never had that level of service from the self-serve check-out minders. Having worked retail I suspect this is because I generally ask for assistance by asking for assistance - not bitching about how "stupid" the machine is or speculating on how the evil company is "forcing" us to use them.

ATMs have been around for over twenty years now, and I don't see a shortage of bank tellers, so I suspect that store cashiers aren't on the endangered species list either.

But still, dealing with an irritating machine is still better then dealing with an irritating person - the person, having free will, doesn't really have an excuse.

So there I am in line with a dozen other people who just want to buy their stuff and go home after a long day of work. But there's some person ahead of them in line (who in this scenario is likely to be elderly) who insists on wasting time. They're overly chatty with the cashier. They want to use coupons and pay with a cheque (or alternatively with exact change). They want price checks. All of these things they're entitled to, but the fact that they didn't do any preparation is still irritating. The coupons or the change is in the bottom of their giant, refuse-filled bag. They knew they were paying for it by cheque and the cheque book doesn't make an appearance until after the cashier asks how they'll be paying. This sort of shit is inconsiderate of the people around them. Get your damn coupons and cheque book out before you get into line. When the cashier asks "how are you today", recognize that it's just social niceties and not a sincere request for detailed information on your daughter's hysterectomy. The correct answer with strangers is "fine". Think about the people who are being held up by your behavior.

The most galling thing though is when grandma looks at me after all this and sarcastically says "Oh, am I going too slow for you?" as though my irritation was caused by her reduced mobility and not by the fact that she's wasting time. On those rare occasions when I'm confronted with these rare sarcastic grandmas I say "You can be faster by not talking to me".

And you know, I'm prepared to deal with that shit when it happens to me, except now I have an option to get away, so don't bitch about my option just because you don't like it. You are still free to read your book behind the the babushka in the regular check-outs.

[ishansonofbrand.livejournal.com]

They do pronounce the name of my safeway card owner right, Mr. Smith, but it is the card of my Ex's Stepfather. I have often wondered if they check that name with the name that comes out on the credit/debit machines since they do not match.

I have rarely had my last name pronounced correctly. McCullough. I have gotten some interesting pronunciations of it too. Maculla, maculloo, macullick. I have almost stopped trying to say it, I just spell it.

As for the self-checkouts, I try to use them whenever possible, I just like doing it myself, and the lines are usually shorter. I usually don't have much so the bagging stations are never fully used. The problem I have is the people who don't know how to use them properly. Darwin meets the self-checkout, it ain't pretty.

Cormac/Wayne

[jamesq]

Hmm. Apparently I don't know how to pronounce your last name.