Blog > Thoughts > Other's Thoughts > Peter's Thoughts > Incompetent Store Clerks
Incompetent Store Clerks
Written by Peter on Sunday, September 6, 2009
I am tearing my hair out over all-terrain tires and wheels. I want and need wider, knobbly tires for when I wheel on slopes and on grass. I would like a second set of wheels so as not to have to change the tires each time. I also need to know if the wheels will fit my axle.
I won’t give the names but here are the questions/orders with the responses and actions:
An online supplier:
Peter: Will these wheels fit the axle?
Online supplier: Please place order. If they don’t fit you can change the axle.
Store No.1:
Peter: I would like wheels with knobbly tires for a manual wheelchair
Clerk: Here are some nice ones
Peter: How does one reach them? They are only 8 inches in diameter. They look like they are for an electric chair.
Clerk: We don’t have bigger ones. Why not try a bike shop.
Peter: What a great idea. Thank you. The chair will be lighter without the hand rims!
Store No.2:
Peter: Do you have…?
Clerk: Yes
Peter: Please make sure the hand rims are the same as the existing wheels – anodized.
Clerk: Of course.
Today I collected the chair. I did not try it in the shop as I’d said it was for my "son".
In any case they had "kindly" washed the seat cushion and back and the whole thing was dripping water.
So off I went to my pretending town, with the windows open to try to dry things out, only to find no less than three problems, which meant I couldn’t wheel.
4 hours later…
Peter: The hand rims are plastic covered – just perfect for setting fire to one’s hands in cold weather.
Clerk: But you have 2 in 1. They are anodized but we covered them with moulded plastic to prevent scrapes.
The rims are jammed right up to the wheel, which means you have to push like a quad. And, the hub width is smaller, which means the wheel is closer to the seat. I still fit in but the tires lock on the nuts of the wheel lock mountings. I held my breath and waited for "You can always remove the brakes".
I remained calm but spoke in a voice that gave the entire staff the impression that the calmness was not likely to last very long.
So, my much-needed wheeling therapy for BIID was dashed again today.
I’m not a happy camper.
Tags: BIID, Wheelchair
This entry appears in Peter's Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.
6 Comments
I’m convinced that most of us here would do a better job in running a DMC store! And I’m still learning.
I’ve found that when ordering online, you stand a much better chance of Getting What You Asked For. Also, ordering over the phone could be better than visiting “a store” because the call center people take phone orders all the time.
The simple answer is, if they provided something different than what you ordered, you Do Not Take Delivery and you do Not Pay – until they provide What You Ordered. I know, the universe we live in is not simple … I’ve had people charge gouging prices for “off-market” purchases.
Is incredible how people are uncapable to think about the others needs, even just for a moment, especially if their work asks for it.
Nobody knows how it’s like and don’t even try to. Annoying, but truth.
5 On 10 September, 2009, Phil said:
In the old times when everybody had to learn his job for 3 to 7 years, often at different places, people knew what they were doing…
“apprenticeship”, vocational education, these are the magic words.
A sign of the times, everybody wants to be a high volume retailer, hiring minimum wage flunkies, and not willing to invest training in good staff. Unfortunately, most people today will walk across the street for 50 cents per hour more, along with the employer’s investment in training.
Post your comments
© transabled.org - 1994-2012 - All Rights Reserved.
1 On 7 September, 2009, Sean said:
I’ve found that most durable medical equipment (DME) vendors are completely CLUELESS. The only folks that are actually helpful are those that have a disability themselves.