nachoman Wrote:Welcome to 2013, where most people are so addicted to their phones they can't go 5 minutes without checking them.

I work in a cubicle office, and I can pretty much guarantee I will be hearing a personal phone ring or buzz every 2-3 minutes. They are on the phone while they are in the restroom stall. If I go on a date, she will be checking her facebook in the middle of conversations. Half the people in line in front of you in the store will be in the phone, and probably 75% of the morning commuters are on the phone.

I hate it, but I accept it. People are addicted.

I don't mind checking mine while I'm bored, standing in a line-up at a store, etc. Otherwise, yes, it does get pretty crazy.

I won't support any excuse for such behavior.

I seen several former good hobby shops take a nose dive in service.I didn't understand the reason but,little did I know in each case the hobby shop was breathing its last due to the owner closing the shop and retiring.He had a retirement target date and could care less..In all cases the inventory was sold in chunks to various train show dealers after the stores closed.

There was no closing discounts,no closing sales,no nothing.

I supposed that's one way of thanking your loyal customers.

That burned me on being a loyal customer to any hobby shop.

Brakie Wrote:I won't support any excuse for such behavior.
I seen several former good hobby shops take a nose dive in service.I didn't understand the reason but,little did I know in each case the hobby shop was breathing its last due to the owner closing the shop and retiring.He had a retirement target date and could care less..In all cases the inventory was sold in chunks to various train show dealers after the stores closed.
There was no closing discounts,no closing sales,no nothing.
I supposed that's one way of thanking your loyal customers.
That burned me on being a loyal customer to any hobby shop.

Interesting... I don't think this shop would be winding down due to a possible retirement but you never know! I'd guess the owner would be in his late-50s so it's possible. I'll definitely give them a third chance, as I've always appreciated their advice in the past. I've always enjoyed this shop, its character and have had good fellowship with other MRR-ers there.

Still -- especially when buying new or slightly used locos -- I can get much better deals online, especially eBay.

Rob,Don't misunderstand.Since I'm not buying much these days I would love to support a full stock hobby shop.

Why is that?

I'm 65 and have more then enough to last me to the end of my run.

Brakie Wrote:I won't support any excuse for such behavior.
I seen several former good hobby shops take a nose dive in service.I didn't understand the reason but,little did I know in each case the hobby shop was breathing its last due to the owner closing the shop and retiring.He had a retirement target date and could care less..In all cases the inventory was sold in chunks to various train show dealers after the stores closed.
There was no closing discounts,no closing sales,no nothing.
I supposed that's one way of thanking your loyal customers.
That burned me on being a loyal customer to any hobby shop.

Interesting... I don't think this shop would be winding down due to a possible retirement but you never know! I'd guess the owner would be in his late-50s so it's possible. I'll definitely give them a third chance, as I've always appreciated their advice in the past. I've always enjoyed this shop, its character and have had good fellowship with other MRR-ers there.

Still -- especially when buying new or slightly used locos -- I can get much better deals online, especially eBay.

Brakie Wrote:Rob,Don't misunderstand.Since I'm not buying much these days I would love to support a full stock hobby shop.

Why is that?

I'm 65 and have more then enough to last me to the end of my run.

Sure, I also have enough to keep me going. But when I'm building new layouts or tweaking old ones I still need more track & scenery, etc. But when it comes to rolling stock, I do have a lot -- I have close to 30 locos, depending on how you count them!

Two words.."Excuse me". If it's a personal call, the person will usually break off and help you. If it's business, and a lot of business is done by phone these days, they will generally tell you they are on line to a customer and they will be right with you.

Without knowing to whom someone is speaking, it's a little hard to decide you're being deliberately ignored, and even personal business can be urgent for all of us at times. If you're in a rush and it really can't wait, "Excuse me, but I'm pressed for time" usually tells the person on the phone that he/she should get to you quickly.

You're in a store, not the emergency room. Take a minute to relax and look around, and give the store personnel the same courtesy you expect from them.

MountainMan Wrote:Two words.."Excuse me". If it's a personal call, the person will usually break off and help you. If it's business, and a lot of business is done by phone these days, they will generally tell you they are on line to a customer and they will be right with you.

Without knowing to whom someone is speaking, it's a little hard to decide you're being deliberately ignored, and even personal business can be urgent for all of us at times. If you're in a rush and it really can't wait, "Excuse me, but I'm pressed for time" usually tells the person on the phone that he/she should get to you quickly.

You're in a store, not the emergency room. Take a minute to relax and look around, and give the store personnel the same courtesy you expect from them.

Yes, good point. That's generally what I do -- or I start checking things on my iPhone !

As I said earlier, trains are only a hobby and it's certainly not urgent. I still think there's a balance though. I don't mind waiting approx 5 minutes but it's frustrating to end up waiting around 10 minutes plus and when that's all the time I have before I need to get back to work or run off to pick up the kids, etc.

As you say, I probably should be bolder & politely say "excuse me." It goes both ways.

The proper way of handling that IMO is for the guy on the phone to momentarily interrupt the call to say to the customer " I'm going to be 5 minutes, is that OK ? " ....assuming it's an important call . If it's a "filling the time call " , GET OFF THE PHONE !
I've been in retail for 25 years and I do know you can't afford to be rude . I could say a lot more about the subject but I won't right now .

T

MountainMan Wrote:Two words.."Excuse me". If it's a personal call, the person will usually break off and help you. If it's business, and a lot of business is done by phone these days, they will generally tell you they are on line to a customer and they will be right with you.

Without knowing to whom someone is speaking, it's a little hard to decide you're being deliberately ignored, and even personal business can be urgent for all of us at times. If you're in a rush and it really can't wait, "Excuse me, but I'm pressed for time" usually tells the person on the phone that he/she should get to you quickly.

You're in a store, not the emergency room. Take a minute to relax and look around, and give the store personnel the same courtesy you expect from them.

Nope...sorry...I'm the customer and it is my money so I don't believe I will do the "excuse me" thing......however I will accept if the employee on the phone, when seeing me standing 2 feet from them looks up and at least says.." Sorry,I'll be with you in a moment sir, just let me finish with this gentleman on the phone"..that I will go along with.

My attitude is as follows...I'm in your store,and I may want what you are selling....but do make it as easy as possible for me to give you my money...in other words don't ignore me for the guy on the phone asking inane questions, don't make me wait in lines to pay for my purchase because you are too cheap to hire enough staff

I'm in a different situation with my LHS owner in the Springs - we've gotten to be friends over the years, so I just tell him to either hang up and take my money or I'll mail it to him at my convenience.

He then replies with something usually unprintable and we get to business.

One of my LHS's is owned by a guy who has a small office just off the showroom floor; visible but I still feel like an intruder interrupting him if he is in there. He is often on the phone. The last several times I've purchased something there I had to poke my head in his doorway to let him know I was ready to check out. I find this a bit off-putting. I tend to shop at another store where there is always some one behind the counter.

MountainMan Wrote:I'm in a different situation with my LHS owner in the Springs - we've gotten to be friends over the years, so I just tell him to either hang up and take my money or I'll mail it to him at my convenience.

I actually had a tab at one shop..I would pick up the needed items and simply say,Ron,add this to my tab..In two weeks on payday I would stop at the shop and square things.I was one of the very few that had a tab in his shop.

Brakie Wrote:

MountainMan Wrote:I'm in a different situation with my LHS owner in the Springs - we've gotten to be friends over the years, so I just tell him to either hang up and take my money or I'll mail it to him at my convenience.

I actually had a tab at one shop..I would pick up the needed items and simply say,Ron,add this to my tab..In two weeks on payday I would stop at the shop and square things.I was one of the very few that had a tab in his shop.

Those are the LHS owners I stay loyal to.

OTH, the worst service anywhere is in the Caboose in Denver. Go figure.

Sadly Ron was killed on a motorcycle and his wife sold everything like a yard sale..I picked up several BB and MDC kits for $1.00 each and a BB cow/calf(both powered) for $6.00 each and two BB GP7s for $6.00 each. I spent close to $150.00(1986 dollars) and had a medium size moving box of goodies.

She should have asked us (customers) for help unless there was private matters involved we didn't know about.