The Coupon Cruncher: Complications Of A Retail Shop

Working in customer service comes with a lot more complications than one may initially assume. To be more specific, a retail job is where these complications tend to arise. It’s not the long hours or the extreme amounts of folding that make the job difficult—It’s the customers. By becoming familiar with the various types of retail shoppers, a sales clerk can know exactly what to expect on the first day of the job. The “perfect shopper” is a rare find in the world of retail. A sales clerk is more likely to encounter The Coupon Cruncher, Negative Nancy, Messy Marvin, Chatty Cathy, or Last Minute Linda before they encounter even one Average Joe. 
 The Coupon Cruncher is one of the easiest types of shoppers to spot. Upon entering the store they

If the clerk tells them there’s no sale, sometimes they get outwardly angry at the clerk, make a scene, or leave the store entirely. Another common behavior of The Coupon Cruncher is bringing unofficial coupons into the store. They’ll do everything they can to try and get the sales clerk to give them the discount, even if it isn’t allowed. They’re infamous for getting upset with the clerk for not bending rules to use their coupons. This usually results in them not making a purchase at all and leaving the store empty handed.
 The Negative Nancy is another infamous shopper a clerk will encounter on the job. Negative Nancy can never seem to find anything good to say about the store. They’re always complaining. Rather it be the prices, the service, the selection, or the organization, there’s always something to gripe about. The Negative Nancy also tends to exert their frustrations about pricing on the sales clerk, even though the sales clerk isn’t in control of the pricing whatsoever. At the register they always manage to strike up a conversation with the clerk, telling them how bad their experience was. They never have a problem arguing with the associate and telling them they’ll never step foot in the store again. Negative

The Chatty Cathy is known to be one of the nicest types of shoppers, but maybe even too nice. Chatty Cathy will never hesitate to jump into a long conversation with the sales associate, even if the associate seems to be busy. Every time the conversation seems to be drawing to a close, Chatty Cathy starts it right back up with a new topic. The associate is often forced to listen to everything the Chatty Cathy has to say or risk offending them. If the associate were to choose the latter they’d risk losing a paying customer, something that a sales associate is always taught to never do. Although not the worst type of shopper a sales associate will encounter, Chatty Cathy tends to be just frustrating enough to throw a retail employee’s schedule out of order.
 Last Minute Linda is infamous for coming in the store less than ten minutes before close. The Last Minute Linda typically knows the store is closing soon, however she just doesn’t necessarily care. Although it’s typically made obvious that business is almost done for the day, Last Minute Linda continues to shop anyway. Not only does she come in before close, she makes sure to leave after closing time as well. Instead of leaving at the proper time, she causes the store to remain open later because because she was still shopping. This is what causes sales associates to have to stay long after their shifts are supposed to end. This also creates extra work for the associates. They have to go