This blog is not intended to bad-mouth the company. I felt its time that the public knows what's going on at 1 of the biggest retailers. But why wait until now to release this blog? I no longer work for the company & therefore I cannot be targeted for airing my views.
Edcon claims they're the consumer of choice but are they really. How many times have u stepped into an Edcon store & found there was no one to assist u & not to mention the long ques. If u walk into a Woolworths you'd alwayz find a staff member on the floor & there are enough cashiers. Not Edcon & yet the customers blame the store staff, when they should actually be blaming the senior management. Store staff can only do so much & they get all their instructions from Senior management. Even the budget gets controlled by them. So if there aren't enough staff on the floor, customers can't blame the staff at store level. There simply isn't a budget to hire any more staff.
A few months ago I was at Edgars Canal Walk & there was a long que at the Service Centre, only 3 cashiers. The customers started getting frustrated. I almost walked out but I needed the item. There was a guy who called the store while standing in the que & demanded the store manager to come downstairs to him. I could see by the look on her face she was scared. That customer was so rude to her but what could she do. She had to take the abuse.
I was also at CNA, there was 1 cashier, 1 person helping a customer at Kodak. Then this lady came in with her friend & she asked the cashier who can help in gift wrapping. The cashier called to the back but there was no response. The customer looked upset but still found the item she wanted. When she got to the till, the cashier didn't have change & that frustrated the customer even more. The customer told her friend that's why she doesn't shop at Edcon stores because there's no service. She then went on to saying that Edgars is the worst becoz there aren't any cashiers in such a big store. At that stage I felt I wanted to tell the customer to stop complaining to the staff, that she must call head office but it wasn't my duty. So I just left it.
Even shopping at Jet is the worst. There's never staff on the floor & the rails are so high. Yes, there's a hook for the customers but what if they get hurt. The rails are so close together, what happened to 1 meter spacing. Mr. Price's stock's also so high but at least they have staff on the floor to assist their customers. Even there ques are long but they open all the tills. Really now, Edcon needs to get their act together. They're slowly losing their status as “Consumer of choice.”
That's why I salute the retail staff at Edcon coz they really have a tough time at stores level. They deal with the customers face to face so they can't hide their emotions.
So what can we as the customers do?
Stop complaining to the staff member & start complaining at the Head Office. Sometimes I wish I had senior management's contact details. So that customers can speak to them directly & take out their frustrations on them. In fact, senior management should work at the stores for 1 week & then they'd know how the staff feel. Maybe dealing with the customers face to face would give them a better understanding & also help them when making decisions. That's just my opinion.
Whether u agree with my blog or not its all up to u. Plz feel free to comment, as it'll be greatly appreciated.
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