Hey look, I posted a picture...that I jacked from the internet.
Anyway, for those of you in other parts of the country/world, Fry's Electronics is a totally geeky electronics store where nerds from afar gather to stock up on anything from batteries to big screen televisions. If it is is geeky, it is at Fry's. (if you are a Fry's executive and you want to use that last line as a tagline, you can write the check out to me.)
Here is the situation...and this just happened today. A bunch of us were going there to get a game. Back story tangent: we went to Best Buy and their computers said they they had 18 copies of the game...yet they could not locate a single copy. So, we went to Fry's. Where was I?
Oh, before going to Fry's we called just to make sure they had the title. Needless to say, we were on hold, then transfered...then on hold again. The idiot on the other end never got back to us about the game. The phone call was terminated since we where in the parking lot.
We walked in and headed to the video game section. Right there in the front was the game we where looking at. Uh, I do not even work there and I found it in less than 5 seconds. Great job Fry guy.
But here is my problem with Fry's. At the checkout terminal, there is a line monitor. All she (and it is usually a female) does is tell you, the next person in line, which register is open. Take a look at the picture above, go ahead I will wait. Back? Notice the green and red lights. The cashier turns on the green light, then the line monitor will notify you that "register 3 is open".
This is all she does. How does this justified her salary? When you apply for a job there, can you possibly be under qualified for this position?!? She could have been looking for the game we asked for!!!
Then...then...oh, I am not finished. Then, after you pay you need to show your receipt to a guy at the door. It not like the door is across town, no! The receipt checker guy is twenty feet from the register. What is his job you ask? He looks at your merch and your receipt and marks the receipt with a pink highlighter. Yet another useless job, brought to you by the people at Fry's.
You can also see the receipt checker guy at your local Costco. Like he/she really has time to read everything on receipt and compare it to your cart. Your membership fee put to good use there.
I was just at Fry's the other day and I totally thought the same thing!! What's with the line monitor? And when I was leaving the receipt monitor didn't even look at my bag he just highlighted my receipt. =P
ReplyDeleteWhats with the 26 checkout stations too? I bet they only use all 26 during the holiday sales. =)
Well this posting is over a year and I dont normally post comments but I'll clearify what these two positions do and who does them. I worked Security there for 5 years people dont understand how much theft actuall goes on at these stores, I'm talking millions of dollars a year. Unfortunately with the amount of people in my line of work we can only scratch the surface on the overall dollar amount. Yes there are a lot of registers and yes for the most part they are only used during Holidays or special sales no big deal. Infact they could probably use a little more. lines there get really crazy. The line monitor or "Vanna" in Fry's lingo is a rotating position with all the cashiers. every half hour to an hour the cashiers and sometimes supervisors depending on the time of day will usher the customers to whichever register is open. It may not make sense to most people but it does to them. There is always a reson for certain policies at apparently it works for them. Now, the people at the door when you enter or exit are called Courtesy Associates. They are a part of the Loss Prevention Department. Just like Target has that uniformed douche. He's part of their Loss Prevention Department. The guys at the door ask to see your receipt, not because they dont trust the customers. Its because they are there to in more words or less, detect human error from the cashiers. Cashiers miss ring a lot of people and when ever a mistake is found its delt with by write ups. I use to attend their meetings every week. it's amazing that these people are able to save tens and thousands of dollars a week. So yeah...there is always a purpose for something whether it seems dumb for most people of not. it saves them a lot of money..
ReplyDeleteIapologize for my spelling errors. I neglected to proof read before submitting.
ReplyDelete