A Rant -- When Things are Too Hard

This is a rant

And, I hate to say it, but it is a rant about how things are done here in the bay area.

In particular, it is a rant about shopping for food

WHAT is it about grocery stores here in San Jose?

The shelves are NEVER stocked well. They are not fronted. My WIFE had to get on the floor and reach deep into the back of the shelves to find peanut butter, corn, pork and beans, and many other canned goods.

Thsi is not just about the Safeway on San Carlos where we shopped today...Albertson's, Zanotto's, even Trader Joe's looks like this a lot.

It wasn't just today...although a mnaager told me that a bunch of people just did not show up to work last night to stock and front shelves. But I have seen all these store look like this many times over the two years I have lived here.

I mentioned that I saw a lot of people wandering around...why couldn't some of them be facing shelves, making shopping more convenient for consumers? He just said they were busy with other things.

I suggested to him that, since I had been approached by two people asking for money for a school just at the front door, he should perhaps pay them to face the shelves. He explained that he couldn't just have "day laborers" do it. Then he walked away.

Well, perhaps he couldn't. Perhaps it really is more complicated than that to keep shelves stocked and faced. Perhaps it is just too hard a job for this manager to make shopping easy and convenient for the customers.

As someone from another place let me make a definitive statement. The customer service in this town sucks! Stores are poorly stocked, have few varieties and are absolutely not interested in making shopping better for the consumer.

Infrastructure is terrible...carts that wobble, tile floors that are cracked, shelf tags that are missing, goods that are mislabelled. From a retail standpoint, this town needs an enema!

I don't understand it. Why is it acceptable here to have poor shopping, poor selection, poor equipment, and poor infrastructure to get things done. The staff are friendly enough. They seem willing to help, but the management and owners, the rule setters and decision makers act as if customers are their last concerns.

I am not just speaking of food store either...clothing stores, music stores, hardware stores, furniture stores, restaurants...all seem to consider customers an interruption and a problem

Well, enough of that. Managers, Store Owners and Operators, clean up your acts and clean up your stores. Stop making excuses and serve your customers.

Bill