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but if you're reminded repeatedly by management and you continue not to, then what would you expect to happen? I’d expect a massive fucking award for not const

but if you're reminded repeatedly by management and you continue not to, then what would you expect to happen? I’d expect a massive fucking award for not constantly pissing off customers with this nonsense.

EpicEng 8y ago
And you'd be fired because no one else lives in the world you've created in your head.
- paulie_a 8y ago
  Guess what? You create more business by not annoying your customers and providing awesome service. These poor attempts at annoying your customers means you will have less of them.
  - EpicEng 8y ago
    Where's the evidence of that? SO you think the people espousing these programs are all drooling morons and would make more money without them? I think you're wrong.
    - paulie_a 8y ago
      Yes quite frankly I do think they are drooling morons that provide lower quality service instead of focusing on making their customer happy.
  - catach 8y ago
    Customer satisfaction improvements cost money, which drives up prices, which loses customers. The highest customer satisfaction results tend to be associated with luxury brands. The wisdom of annoyances that increase profit-per-customer yet lose some customers all depends on if it results in a net gain or a loss. The mobile game ecosystem (pay-to-win) and the dominant web content model (ads) both suggest that some degree of annoyance is the more popular path.
- jblow 8y ago
  I do. I am a Prime member but when Whole Foods cashiers ask I say "no" because I just want to get the bullshit over with and get out of there.
  - chrsstrm 8y ago
    If you're so bothered to be there, why did you go in the first place? You know Prime members get an addition discount on top of sale items, yes? Do you enjoy paying more for your groceries?
  - AnimalMuppet 8y ago
    No, you don't live in the world that matthewmacleod described. You live in a world where the customer doesn't want to put up with the nonsense. We all live in that world. But matthewmacleod lives in a world where the cashier will be rewarded (rather than fired) for ditching the script and just getting on with it. We'd all like to live in matthewmacleod's world, but I don't think any of us actually do...
    - matthewmacleod 8y ago
      Yeah, I appreciate that it’s a bit of a fantasy world. This happens at shops I occasionally use in the UK now too, and with some of them it’s bad enough that I actively avoid shopping in them if there’s any possible alternatives. Point is that this kind of incessant nagging is another metrics-driven measure that doesn’t necessarily have the expected results.
  - icebraining 8y ago
    That's not the point; you don't get awards for purposefully and repeatedly violating company policy on a hunch that the customers prefer it. And you're actually validating Amazon's policy: you're annoyed and yet you're still both a Prime member and a WF client, which means they lost nothing by annoying you.
    - catach 8y ago
      For business "annoyance" is like a hidden debt that keeps accumulating until it reaches a threshold where they have to pay for the whole amount.
- deathanatos 8y ago
  And that's part of the problem. I go to Super Duper in SF, and every time, the employee is forced to ask: "Have you been to Super Duper before?" If I say yes, "Welcome back!" if I say no, "Welcome!"¹. It is pointless. All I want is lunch. Want to see that I've been here before? You have my credit card number… ¹The exact words might not be right, the point is that there is no meaningful difference to the customer between the responses.
  - sergiomattei 8y ago
    Now that's just being antisocial.
  - acjohnson55 8y ago
    Lol, "have you dined with us before" is the most irritating thing. I usually want to say, "no, but I've dined at a thousand other restaurants, will this be radically unfamiliar?"
    - adenadel 8y ago
      In my experience servers ask this to find out if they should give the longer description of the menu or not. If you have been there before they might just tell you the specials, while if you haven't they'll tell you about some of the most popular items and anything unique about the way they do things (tapas style, etc.).
      - acjohnson55 8y ago
        I've not once received useful information when answering this question honestly. Maybe because my face is also too honest :)
  - airstrike 8y ago
    > All I want is lunch. All they want is to know whether they need to explain to you in detail or if you already have a sense of the menu. Not sure what you find odd with people trying to provide you good service. smh
- matthewmacleod 8y ago
  I get it. I know that. It’s not the cashier’s fault. It just kinda sucks that a transaction as simple as “buying some food” is now draped in this nonsense.
  - EpicEng 8y ago
    It does, but from their perspective, it works. Stores make more money (via numerous avenues) with stuff like this, so they'll continue to do it.
- nothrabannosir 8y ago
  Don’t worry Matthew, I live there. We can start our own company and hire each other, and we’ll never talk to customers, ever. We sell silence. Come to Matthew’s head and pay us not to talk to you. It’s like Disneyland for grown ups.
- dasil003 8y ago
  So the “real” world is one ruled by corporations where the decision maker on all policies is someone that never comes within earshot of an actual customer transaction? I guess that is arguably the world we have been trending towards but it’s not the only viable world.
  - nordsieck 8y ago
    > So the “real” world is one ruled by corporations where the decision maker on all policies is someone that never comes within earshot of an actual customer transaction? The real world is one where you do the job you're paid to do.
    - AlexandrB 8y ago
      > The real world is one where you do the job you're paid to do. Actually the real world is the one where the FTC has largely given up on regulating monopolistic behaviour and The Department of Labor has abdicated its responsibility of protecting workers from abusive employers. In this real world the only moral principle that anyone cares about is profit.
joering2 8y ago
They are separate entity from amazon afaik, and are unrelated to grochery shopping. Imagine every time pumping at BP being asked if you need libricant oil for your plane (that you dont have but they keep asking every time). Further the whole thing is a scam - wholefoods advertise Prime as get extra 10% off shopping but upon inqury I was told there are only some 60 items in the whole store that are Prime discounted. Thats far from literally their ad “take extra 10% off your shopoing with Prime”
- icebraining 8y ago
  Funny you mention BP, my local BP gas stations actually ask people if they have the card of a grocery's shop chain, since it give 3 cents/litre off.
ssalka 8y ago
Agree - Amazon could very easily add a QR page to their mobile app, and install scanners at registers that fetch a customer's Prime account. No cashier questioning necessary. If you want Prime benefits at Whole Foods, scan your phone.
- luckman212 8y ago
  At the Whole Foods I shop at (NYC) they already have that.
- simonsarris 8y ago
  This is exactly what every WF already has. You scan a QR code from your phone on a scanner that faces the customer. (At least the ones in California and New Hampshire, so I assume everywhere in between.)
- aioprisan 8y ago
  already exists, I did that a few weeks ago at WF, but I forgot the search terms (no, it didn't seem intuitive enough, but I suspect that will improve)
- JCharante 8y ago
  You've perfectly discribed the system that already exists. There's a WF app, and there's also a page in the Amazon App that offers the QR Code. Sometimes the scanners installed on the customer side of the POS don't work, so the cashier has to scan it manually. Personally I love being asked if I have a prime account, because they only ask when I haven't already scanned my code, which is something I want to do.
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
ALittleLight 8y ago
How are you annoying customers by giving them an opportunity to save money? Perhaps the customer is a Prime member and doesn't know or doesn't recall that they will get a discount.
- craftyguy 8y ago
  A Prime membership does not automatically save anyone money. It costs money to have it. It's perceived value is entirely subjective, and based on how you value what it offers. It also requires you giving Amazon more money to realize some of the benefits (e.g. free shipping only with Amazon [and their prices aren't always the lowest]).

EpicEng 8y ago

And you'd be fired because no one else lives in the world you've created in your head.

paulie_a 8y ago
Guess what? You create more business by not annoying your customers and providing awesome service. These poor attempts at annoying your customers means you will have less of them.
- EpicEng 8y ago
  Where's the evidence of that? SO you think the people espousing these programs are all drooling morons and would make more money without them? I think you're wrong.
  - paulie_a 8y ago
    Yes quite frankly I do think they are drooling morons that provide lower quality service instead of focusing on making their customer happy.
- catach 8y ago
  Customer satisfaction improvements cost money, which drives up prices, which loses customers. The highest customer satisfaction results tend to be associated with luxury brands. The wisdom of annoyances that increase profit-per-customer yet lose some customers all depends on if it results in a net gain or a loss. The mobile game ecosystem (pay-to-win) and the dominant web content model (ads) both suggest that some degree of annoyance is the more popular path.
jblow 8y ago
I do. I am a Prime member but when Whole Foods cashiers ask I say "no" because I just want to get the bullshit over with and get out of there.
- chrsstrm 8y ago
  If you're so bothered to be there, why did you go in the first place? You know Prime members get an addition discount on top of sale items, yes? Do you enjoy paying more for your groceries?
- AnimalMuppet 8y ago
  No, you don't live in the world that matthewmacleod described. You live in a world where the customer doesn't want to put up with the nonsense. We all live in that world. But matthewmacleod lives in a world where the cashier will be rewarded (rather than fired) for ditching the script and just getting on with it. We'd all like to live in matthewmacleod's world, but I don't think any of us actually do...
  - matthewmacleod 8y ago
    Yeah, I appreciate that it’s a bit of a fantasy world. This happens at shops I occasionally use in the UK now too, and with some of them it’s bad enough that I actively avoid shopping in them if there’s any possible alternatives. Point is that this kind of incessant nagging is another metrics-driven measure that doesn’t necessarily have the expected results.
- icebraining 8y ago
  That's not the point; you don't get awards for purposefully and repeatedly violating company policy on a hunch that the customers prefer it. And you're actually validating Amazon's policy: you're annoyed and yet you're still both a Prime member and a WF client, which means they lost nothing by annoying you.
  - catach 8y ago
    For business "annoyance" is like a hidden debt that keeps accumulating until it reaches a threshold where they have to pay for the whole amount.
deathanatos 8y ago
And that's part of the problem. I go to Super Duper in SF, and every time, the employee is forced to ask: "Have you been to Super Duper before?" If I say yes, "Welcome back!" if I say no, "Welcome!"¹. It is pointless. All I want is lunch. Want to see that I've been here before? You have my credit card number… ¹The exact words might not be right, the point is that there is no meaningful difference to the customer between the responses.
- sergiomattei 8y ago
  Now that's just being antisocial.
- acjohnson55 8y ago
  Lol, "have you dined with us before" is the most irritating thing. I usually want to say, "no, but I've dined at a thousand other restaurants, will this be radically unfamiliar?"
  - adenadel 8y ago
    In my experience servers ask this to find out if they should give the longer description of the menu or not. If you have been there before they might just tell you the specials, while if you haven't they'll tell you about some of the most popular items and anything unique about the way they do things (tapas style, etc.).
    - acjohnson55 8y ago
      I've not once received useful information when answering this question honestly. Maybe because my face is also too honest :)
- airstrike 8y ago
  > All I want is lunch. All they want is to know whether they need to explain to you in detail or if you already have a sense of the menu. Not sure what you find odd with people trying to provide you good service. smh
matthewmacleod 8y ago
I get it. I know that. It’s not the cashier’s fault. It just kinda sucks that a transaction as simple as “buying some food” is now draped in this nonsense.
- EpicEng 8y ago
  It does, but from their perspective, it works. Stores make more money (via numerous avenues) with stuff like this, so they'll continue to do it.
nothrabannosir 8y ago
Don’t worry Matthew, I live there. We can start our own company and hire each other, and we’ll never talk to customers, ever. We sell silence. Come to Matthew’s head and pay us not to talk to you. It’s like Disneyland for grown ups.
dasil003 8y ago
So the “real” world is one ruled by corporations where the decision maker on all policies is someone that never comes within earshot of an actual customer transaction? I guess that is arguably the world we have been trending towards but it’s not the only viable world.
- nordsieck 8y ago
  > So the “real” world is one ruled by corporations where the decision maker on all policies is someone that never comes within earshot of an actual customer transaction? The real world is one where you do the job you're paid to do.
  - AlexandrB 8y ago
    > The real world is one where you do the job you're paid to do. Actually the real world is the one where the FTC has largely given up on regulating monopolistic behaviour and The Department of Labor has abdicated its responsibility of protecting workers from abusive employers. In this real world the only moral principle that anyone cares about is profit.

joering2 8y ago

They are separate entity from amazon afaik, and are unrelated to grochery shopping. Imagine every time pumping at BP being asked if you need libricant oil for your plane (that you dont have but they keep asking every time). Further the whole thing is a scam - wholefoods advertise Prime as get extra 10% off shopping but upon inqury I was told there are only some 60 items in the whole store that are Prime discounted. Thats far from literally their ad “take extra 10% off your shopoing with Prime”

icebraining 8y ago
Funny you mention BP, my local BP gas stations actually ask people if they have the card of a grocery's shop chain, since it give 3 cents/litre off.

ssalka 8y ago

Agree - Amazon could very easily add a QR page to their mobile app, and install scanners at registers that fetch a customer's Prime account. No cashier questioning necessary. If you want Prime benefits at Whole Foods, scan your phone.

luckman212 8y ago
At the Whole Foods I shop at (NYC) they already have that.
simonsarris 8y ago
This is exactly what every WF already has. You scan a QR code from your phone on a scanner that faces the customer. (At least the ones in California and New Hampshire, so I assume everywhere in between.)
aioprisan 8y ago
already exists, I did that a few weeks ago at WF, but I forgot the search terms (no, it didn't seem intuitive enough, but I suspect that will improve)
JCharante 8y ago
You've perfectly discribed the system that already exists. There's a WF app, and there's also a page in the Amazon App that offers the QR Code. Sometimes the scanners installed on the customer side of the POS don't work, so the cashier has to scan it manually. Personally I love being asked if I have a prime account, because they only ask when I haven't already scanned my code, which is something I want to do.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]

ALittleLight 8y ago

How are you annoying customers by giving them an opportunity to save money? Perhaps the customer is a Prime member and doesn't know or doesn't recall that they will get a discount.

craftyguy 8y ago
A Prime membership does not automatically save anyone money. It costs money to have it. It's perceived value is entirely subjective, and based on how you value what it offers. It also requires you giving Amazon more money to realize some of the benefits (e.g. free shipping only with Amazon [and their prices aren't always the lowest]).