Is it me or imagination that shelf stackers here seam oblivious to customers

 

Yesterdays trip to Tesco was greeted with a wall of boxes cages and so many shelf stackers in every food isle it was impossible to do much shopping the number of operatives was of course doubled as half were working on their texting skills and completely oblivious to customers and offering no assistance or safe passage through the maze of boxes strewn over every walking surface.

 

The unwillingness to move or acknowledge my existence with a hissy fitting 5 year and a trolley by the 70+ stackers was further compounded at the checkout with only 6 of the 20 odd tills maned and massive queues.

 

There are many things I love about Thailand but customer service never got started here ???? 

 

 

Sounds less about Thailand, and more about Tesco. I hate that place, in all locations.

Happens at Makro, Thai Wasadu, pretty much any store.

Thais stack shelves the way they drive: oblivious to anything going on around them.

 

It’s amazing the things that stress people out. 

Had the same grumble in Big C yesterday, stock and pallet truck completely blocking an entire section.

Common occurrence in Makro, pallet dropped in the centre and boxes strewn around producing an almost slalom course.

 

Staff oblivious of customers.

I was amazed when we first arrived here to learn that the shelf stacking occurs during business hours.  Where I come from it is normally done before or after open hours.

4 minutes ago, NancyL said:

I was amazed when we first arrived here to learn that the shelf stacking occurs during business hours.  Where I come from it is normally done before or after open hours.

I suppose my point was after a decade here I have never seen such heavy concentration of the blighters all determined to obstruct every isle ????

Makro, today, Khon Kaen.  Half the aisles have beep-beep-beep forklifts working in them.  We were trying to stock up before the madhouse next week but we couldn't get a number of things we wanted.

It doesn't matter which store I happen to be in whether it be Big C, Tesco, Homepro or a multitude of others, always the same, aisles blocked by boxes or mobile ladders, staff sitting on the floor glued to their phones playing games or chatting with friends via Line or whatever, and ask the staff a question ???? get a funny look as if to say you expect me to know anything, stupid farang LOL 

 

Strange planet we live on here in LOS.

24 minutes ago, Kadilo said:

It’s amazing the things that stress people out. 

No one stressed out just observations and must affect Thais equally also interested in their view????  

15 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

No one stressed out just observations and must affect Thais equally also interested in their view????  

Fair enough. Apologies. 

I think we all see it particularly in Tesco’s. Maybe down to (lack of) real training. 

Must admit when I encounter it I just think I’ve got all the time in the world and enjoy the air con a bit longer, whilst reversing. 

Yet they have all done away with security staff on entering  and the water oasis to save money....except Makro but have literally hundreds of "assistants" playing Facebook.

Try going in the big stores on a mobility scooter, then you will know how brain dead the shelf stackers are.

Saturday in the local big C, at the computer section, bloody idiot parked a pallet trolley directly behind me, i couldnt move, called after him he completely ignored me and walked off.

A T hai man shopping had to move the trolley so i could get out.

 

11 hours ago, colinneil said:

Try going in the big stores on a mobility scooter, then you will know how brain dead the shelf stackers are.

Saturday in the local big C, at the computer section, bloody idiot parked a pallet trolley directly behind me, i couldnt move, called after him he completely ignored me and walked off.

A T hai man shopping had to move the trolley so i could get out.

 

Feel your pain Colin against any thought or consequence for able bodied yet alone disabled. here. I have a 91 year old disabled dad who only goes out when I go there thankfully he is in the uk not here ????   

1 hour ago, CharlieH said:

Had the same grumble in Big C yesterday, stock and pallet truck completely blocking an entire section.

Common occurrence in Makro, pallet dropped in the centre and boxes strewn around producing an almost slalom course.

 

Staff oblivious of customers.

yes,  having clear walkways and clear isles doesn't seems to register.

They should push that more at recruitment.

3 hours ago, steven100 said:

yes,  having clear walkways and clear isles doesn't seems to register.

They should push that more at recruitment. 

While I'd like to agree with you regarding the idea of pushing it at recruitment, I don't really see it working as Thais seem to lack spatial awareness of anything going on around them.

To me it's a cultural difference that I can't see changing overnight.

I never seem to have those problems, maybe I live in an other Thailand or just go around without caring much about it. (not an option for Collin). 

 

It could also be that I shop at different hours, most of my shopping is done at the Makro, and if they block one aisle there are plenty of ways to go around them. Given the working hours of most Thais I understand why they don't do it before hours. The shops stay open quite long already.

 

When i was young i stacked shelves and it was usually outside of business hours but at that time our business hours were not as long as those in Thailand now. 

7 hours ago, bluesofa said:

While I'd like to agree with you regarding the idea of pushing it at recruitment, I don't really see it working as Thais seem to lack spatial awareness of anything going on around them.

To me it's a cultural difference that I can't see changing overnight.

The lack of awareness then spills over onto the road as the stackers clock off this could be why Thais crash so much and an answer to another problem .

All managers of supermarkets need to get a night shift to stack their shelfs at night a rocket science idea "solved"???? 

When I was a young lad......yes, we did have supermarkets way back when........My evening and weekend job was as a shelf stacker in a supermarket. Monday to Thursday the shop closed at 7p.m. then we did the shelf filling. Weekends we did it at 6 am before opening. We always had an announcement over the tannoy that the shop was opening in 5 minutes, clear the aisles.

As an aside, was in Tesco the other day, and in one aisle there were two trolleys stacked with a huge pile of miscellaneous tinned items. There were 4 staff members picking out a tin, or jar, looking around and placing it on the shelf. Then going to grab another one, it was like a dodgem fairground scene as they too were oblivious to the customers trying to look along the shelves....stop and try to take anything.no way !!!!!

11 minutes ago, sammieuk1 said:

The lack of awareness then spills over onto the road as the stackers clock off this could be why Thais crash so much and an answer to another problem .

All managers of supermarkets need to get a night shift to stack their shelfs at night a rocket science idea "solved"???? 

I think you will find they do have night stacking, (wifes son is a Big C night stacker) some of the bulk places like Macro have a big turnover and they are stacking shelfs 24 hours a day. Macro can put a pallet of stuff on the shelf and customers fill up 4-5 trolleys, its empty an hour later..

What about reversing the gripe, poor bloody stackers cant work properly concentrating on the art of presentation just for joe public ????

8 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

I think you will find they do have night stacking, (wifes son is a Big C night stacker) some of the bulk places like Macro have a big turnover and they are stacking shelfs 24 hours a day. Macro can put a pallet of stuff on the shelf and customers fill up 4-5 trolleys, its empty an hour later..

Agree Makro has a better system of blocking off the entire isle whilst the fork lift is in use but my local branch always seams to have hordes of trainee stackers or Chinese customers as they are more commonly known blocking everything????

Expect shelf stacking was required - this is a huge holiday week with people stocking up to take gifts home to family upcountry so likely turnover much higher than normal.  Another reason to use delivery service/website shopping.  

47 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

I think you will find they do have night stacking, (wifes son is a Big C night stacker) some of the bulk places like Macro have a big turnover and they are stacking shelfs 24 hours a day. Macro can put a pallet of stuff on the shelf and customers fill up 4-5 trolleys, its empty an hour later..

Plus, even if they block it you can still get there from an other side, Makro has plenty of isles its not as if the bit extra one has to walk kills anyone. 

On 4/9/2019 at 12:13 PM, sammieuk1 said:

the number of operatives was of course doubled as half were working on their texting skills 

Sounds like you are saying that Tesco have taken into account that at least half their staff will be glued to their phones....so they have made allowances for that fact and doubled up on their staff numbers?

Is it me or imagination that shelf stackers here seam oblivious to customers
 
Yesterdays trip to Tesco was greeted with a wall of boxes cages and so many shelf stackers in every food isle it was impossible to do much shopping the number of operatives was of course doubled as half were working on their texting skills and completely oblivious to customers and offering no assistance or safe passage through the maze of boxes strewn over every walking surface.
 
The unwillingness to move or acknowledge my existence with a hissy fitting 5 year and a trolley by the 70+ stackers was further compounded at the checkout with only 6 of the 20 odd tills maned and massive queues.
 
There are many things I love about Thailand but customer service never got started here [emoji848] 
 
 

Operatives - lol!!


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I was in a very large Tesco yesterday afternoon and I have never seen so many blocked and congested aisles, with staff working at a speed that would see them fired back home. Must be stocking up for the Songkran rush.

20 hours ago, dddave said:

Happens at Makro, Thai Wasadu, pretty much any store.

Thais stack shelves the way they drive: oblivious to anything going on around them.

 

 Restocking the shelves is done by the actual manufacturer for many products and the folks who do the restocking are direct employees of the manufacturer, not the retail outlet, and many manufacturers have deadline times for the stock to be replenished and made neat and retockers quick move to the next store, in other words they have to work at speed.

 

Also, if an area manager, from the manufacturer, comes to check if they are keeping to the required pace and they are caught talking to actual customers they are scolded. If approached by a customer most have an instruction to show the card pinned to their shirt to show they are visitors to the shop not the actual staff of the shop. 

 

 

 

21 hours ago, sammieuk1 said:

I suppose my point was after a decade here I have never seen such heavy concentration of the blighters all determined to obstruct every isle ????

 

They are not interested in you, only in what THEY are doing. Just another aspect of the Me First society. People actually wanting to shop and buy stuff while in the store would be beyond their comprehension and of no interest to them whatsoever.

9 hours ago, robblok said:

if they block one aisle there are plenty of ways to go around them.

 

At the Makro I go to they actually block off the aisle with a rope. Hard finding a way around that. As for the hours they are open, labour is so cheap here that paying for people to work during the hours they are closed and/or overnight wouldn't break the bank. They just don't care whether or not customers are inconvenienced.