Archived Have you ever gotten a question from a guest and you didn't know the answer?

[Bored Food Aver]

I just tell people I don't know. If I have to go further than that, I just tell people if they need help with something that I know nothing about to look with someone with a walkie or a PDA on them, and they will be able to help more than I can.

 

[Super]

I had an awkward moment....lol a couple of days ago on Monday or Tuesday I was in Electronics and a lady comes over to me and I'm asking "Is there anything I can help you with?" And she's like "I need some information about bras and pregnancy tests but I cant find anyone to help me."

I proceeded to choke on how the awkward silence went on so long until I pulled out my walkie and I wanted to say "Softlines, do you copy? Please save me" but one of the girls who works over there was watching and helped her 😀 I didn't have to use the walkie and she mouthed "Your welcome" haha

 

[jmoo2k13]

This is an everyday occurance, I work one day a week in electronics and if the main two people are off. I know about some items, another team member is a gamer, one is a camera buff and so its a lot of calls on the walkie and I don't knows. This week, I was asked about how well a women's hair care product works. I am a man with a shaved head. I get random questions and one guest told me he couldnt read and want me to setup his prepaid phone. I answer what I can to the best of my abilities and what I don't know. I tell the guest I don't know. The ETL's will do the same thing and ask a team member as well.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

This is an everyday occurance, I work one day a week in electronics and if the main two people are off. I know about some items, another team member is a gamer, one is a camera buff and so its a lot of calls on the walkie and I don't knows. This week, I was asked about how well a women's hair care product works. I am a man with a shaved head. I get random questions and one guest told me he couldnt read and want me to setup his prepaid phone. I answer what I can to the best of my abilities and what I don't know. I tell the guest I don't know. The ETL's will do the same thing and ask a team member as well.

Your spot mobile person will help you on the non contract phone.

 

[jmoo2k13]

This is an everyday occurance, I work one day a week in electronics and if the main two people are off. I know about some items, another team member is a gamer, one is a camera buff and so its a lot of calls on the walkie and I don't knows. This week, I was asked about how well a women's hair care product works. I am a man with a shaved head. I get random questions and one guest told me he couldnt read and want me to setup his prepaid phone. I answer what I can to the best of my abilities and what I don't know. I tell the guest I don't know. The ETL's will do the same thing and ask a team member as well.

Your spot mobile person will help you on the non contract phone.

If its a phone question I always defer to target mobile.

 

[Bananas Foster]

Not all store have Target mobile.

 

[redeye58]

I always have guests ask me questions about items sold at the stand-alone Starbux, none of which we carry.
Since I don't go to Starbux as a rule, I've never had a chance to check it out.

 

[Hardlinesmaster]

Not all store have Target mobile.

That's is correct. My store has target mobile. I was at another store down south of my store, with no mobile person.

 

[Dreamwolf31]

One time I had a guest ask if we carried sternos, or steenos or something. I had no clue what it was, and I asked her what the item would be. For 3 seconds she gave me dagger eyes and walked away.

 

[redeye58]

Sterno is a small can filled with a flammable gel, kinda like a hotter version of a votive.
They're used in chafing dishes to keep foods hot, sometimes with camp gear.
You pop the lid off, light it & it burns in the can. Snuff it with the lid when you're done.

 

[antivibe]

One time I had a guest ask if we carried sternos, or steenos or something. I had no clue what it was, and I asked her what the item would be. For 3 seconds she gave me dagger eyes and walked away.

I get that question a lot and I always forget what they are. When I ask the guest for a description of the item they say it's the "flame thingy".
red's answer is right on and here's a visual.

 

[Guest]

This is simple. Ask an ETL to go to your current location and deal with the guest. Case closed.

 

[Deli Ninja]

I was asked directions to a competitor's store once... When I couldn't produce the directions because I was unfamiliar with that area of town, he snidely remarked, "You don't live here, do you, Softlines Ninja?" That was within my first month and I had just recently gotten my name tag. It was the first time a guest had used my name and it brought me near tears. I told him guest services might be able to help him and I went off to hide in the returns closet to calm down.

Now I very rarely give directions to anywhere outside of the store. It's just not worth the time and aggravation when they repeat the directions back incorrectly (because I am very wordy when I give directions) and I have to correct them.

 

[commiecorvus]

I was asked directions to a competitor's store once... When I couldn't produce the directions because I was unfamiliar with that area of town, he snidely remarked, "You don't live here, do you, Softlines Ninja?" That was within my first month and I had just recently gotten my name tag. It was the first time a guest had used my name and it brought me near tears. I told him guest services might be able to help him and I went off to hide in the returns closet to calm down.

Now I very rarely give directions to anywhere outside of the store. It's just not worth the time and aggravation when they repeat the directions back incorrectly (because I am very wordy when I give directions) and I have to correct them.

I don't drive so it's impossible for me to give normal directions to people.
If you want to know how to get there on a bicycle, I'd be happy to tell you otherwise we need to find someone else to give you directions.

Name tag abuse is a major issue with me.
You get to know my name and I don't get to know yours.
That gives you power over me, there's a reason the old tribal cultures were careful about who knew your name.
So using it to make snarky comments just pisses me off to no end.

 

[redeye58]

Using your name when you can't use their name in kind is the pettiest of power plays.
It's a form of button-pushing from someone who is so far down the food chain that they have to find someone else to step on so they're not at the bottom any more.
I usually give them a look of "I'd-feel-sorry-for-you-if-you-weren't-such-a-dick".

 

[cwigs96]

I had this guy walk up to me in electronics ( I was zoning in the printer aisle, away fron the boat) and this old man, 75ish, walks up to me and asks if target sells vibrators... I was honestly unsure, so I asked one of the other TMs there. Nope. Try Walmart.

 

[commiecorvus]

I had this guy walk up to me in electronics ( I was zoning in the printer aisle, away fron the boat) and this old man, 75ish, walks up to me and asks if target sells vibrators... I was honestly unsure, so I asked one of the other TMs there. Nope. Try Walmart.

Didn't they start carrying the mini ones that Trojan makes?

 

[babytrees]

I had this guy walk up to me in electronics ( I was zoning in the printer aisle, away fron the boat) and this old man, 75ish, walks up to me and asks if target sells vibrators... I was honestly unsure, so I asked one of the other TMs there. Nope. Try Walmart.

we do sell them....in HBA in the feminine hygiene aisle....it's the older gentleman that would have floored me.

 

[whippingboy]

Yesterday someone came up to me and said, "Just the person I need to talk to! What kind of food or drinks do you sell that will give me all the vitamins I need?" Uhh... it was like asking me where the fountain of youth is located. He said, "you're not a health nut, are you" and I said, "No, I'm not." Thanks for making me feel guilty on so many levels, guest! But.. I do know where the hemp and chia seeds are located!

 

[Jill of All Trades]

We've gotten the vibrator question too, and the TM asked over the walkie, "Hey team, do we carry.... um... personal massagers?" Just about died laughing.

I've told a guest "I don't know. Let me google that for you" and whipped out my phone on a few occasions when they ask me something completely random.

 

[oath2order]

We've gotten the vibrator question too, and the TM asked over the walkie, "Hey team, do we carry.... um... personal massagers?" Just about died laughing.

I've told a guest "I don't know. Let me google that for you" and whipped out my phone on a few occasions when they ask me something completely random.

I do this all the time!

 

[pellinore]

When I don't know an answer I'll sometimes just say "I don't really know....let's go find someone else who might be able to help us out."

I'm often at a loss of what to say when a guest is comparing two items and ask specific questions and I have no clue......especially when it is hair care, make-up or much of HBA.

I hate it when you have a guest ask you a question about a product that we don't have....you tell them that we don't carry that item.....then you hear someone on the walkie asking about that same item.

 

[pellinore]

What about when it when someone asks for something that we don't carry and then they want to know where they can go to buy it?

 

[mrknownothing]

I dread the days when I have to cover an electronics break/lunch because there's no one on the floor who's electronics trained (hello, neither am I!). As soon as the electronics TM goes off to their break, I get all kinds of questions about stuff that I know nothing about. I don't own a tablet, professional-quality digital camera, gaming console, or giant-screen TV with surround sound. How am I supposed to provide good guest service when I don't know the products?

What about when it when someone asks for something that we don't carry and then they want to know where they can go to buy it?

If I'm lucky, what they're looking for can be found at another store in the plaza. Usually, it's some tool or piece of hardware that we don't carry, and there are quite a few hardware/home improvement stores in the area. Specialty food item? Wegmans or Trader Joe's might have it. Crafty thing? Michael's. Obscure craft beer, wine, or liquor? The liquor store down the road. Home decor? Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Anything else, God only knows.

 

[redeye58]

We're part of a large retail strip & I know most of the shops so, if it's something I know we don't carry, I usually know where to refer them.