In the U.S., store shelves are stocked and the floors are cleaned after business hours (or before, I suppose). Here in South Africa, it is done during business hours.If you go to the grocery store you will find pallets of goods blocking half of the aisles. You have to walk around store employees who are stocking the shelves, and if they are blocking something you need, you just have to wait. Pushing your trolley down an aisle without having to wait, say "Sorry!" or manoeuvre around a stack of goods is a rarity.
Then there are the floor moppers. I have asked several people why they have to mop the floors during business hours and they all reply, "To keep them clean." But then where am I supposed to walk? If I walk across the wet floor, I'll just make it dirty again (or go surfing). Walking around the wet floor isn't always possible, and I don't always have time to wait for it to dry. Most of the time I just have to walk through it.
I understand that people need jobs, and I understand that customer service doesn't seem to be important here, but I still haven't figured out how to shop without incurring the wrath of the floor moppers and shelf stockers. Any ideas?
2 comments:
I was at my favorite grocery store, O'Briens, in the middle of the day. I look forward to the "ambiente" there and the super fresh fruits, vegetables and meats. But to my surprise they were stocking shelves. This was the second time it had happened. The first time I thought it was an occasional thing; now I'm sure it's a normal practice. Maybe it's store culture, not necessarily country culture. Mum
that drives me nuts about african stores too, so i asked about it one day. the store manager said nearly all of his staff live in rural townships, and the buses stop running after dark. there is no one available to stock and wash after hours. hmmm. ok. thats a good reason. I guess we shall just have to deal with the slippery floors and pallets of goods blocking each and every aisle. :)
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