According to articles by the BBC and PC Pro yesterday, employees from Dixons Store Group International (DSGi) reportedly labelled their customers "stupid", amongst other things, in an unofficial Facebook group set up for DSGi staff. One of the posters apparently raised the question of whether or not employees are allowed to "cattle prod" stupid customers, however, many of them posted under their real names, something that may prove costly after DSGi has finished investigating the comments.Upon being notified about the comments, DSGi said in a statement, "Delivering excellent customer service is at the forefront of everything we do, and so we are very disappointed that a small number of our colleagues have made these comments on a social-networking website."
"We will take the necessary action with any staff found to be acting inappropriately," they added.
DSGi owns numerous well known electronics retailers, including Currys, Dixons and PC World. Although the DSGi employees Facebook group was nowhere to be seen on Facebook at the time, possibly due to the investigation DSGi have now launched, PC World, Currys and several other related groups are still available for all registered Facebook members to see, along with the posts that employees have made.
This isn't the first time activity on a social-networking website has led to action being taken against employees, and many question whether or not that is an acceptable practice by employers. However, what action DSGi takes in the end, based on the fact that the staff and ex-staff insulted customers, remains to be seen.
Customer service is crap, staff have no idea what they are trying to sell you and the prices are high.
Customer service is crap, staff have no idea what they are trying to sell you and the prices are high.
I agree with this 100%. Most people have no idea what they want, cruise through life oblivious to the world around them. They don't have the time do even the slightest bit of research, and wouldn't understand the big words if they did anyway. Just have enough time to pop into the store, get a new computer, before their favourite tv program starts.
They are all idiots at PCW Dixons, although I must admit there will probably be one or two who will probably be good but it is a slim chance.
Customer service is crap, staff have no idea what they are trying to sell you and the prices are high.
True, in most casesd argos and amazon are way cheaper.
I still can't believe people buy cables from their shops, like a 2 metre printer cable for £15, when the local post office is doing the same cable for £2.
B.T. website sells electronics usually cheaper also.
hehe, well, I used to be one (Elkjøp in norway, owned by DSGi), and well, I also thought it was the other way around.
It's not racist to call a black person "black" and nor is it offensive to call a disabled person "disabled". Thus it's actually correct to label idiots as "stupid"; hell what do you think the "i" official stands for in "iMac", I bet you thought it stood for "internet" HUH!
It's not racist to call a black person "black" and nor is it offensive to call a disabled person "disabled". Thus it's actually correct to label idiots as "stupid"; hell what do you think the "i" official stands for in "iMac", I bet you thought it stood for "internet" HUH!
Wow... How you thought it was smart to compare "black" to disabled and stupid I will never understand.
Anyway, calling something what it is, isn't abusive, it's called being descriptive/honest. Being PC is BS! I'm sure there's a Penn & Teller show about it that will help you to understand.
It's not racist to call a black person "black" and nor is it offensive to call a disabled person "disabled". Thus it's actually correct to label idiots as "stupid"; hell what do you think the "i" official stands for in "iMac", I bet you thought it stood for "internet" HUH!
Wow... How you thought it was smart to compare "black" to disabled and stupid I will never understand.
Lol. I get his point, and it wasn't like he was trying to say blacks were disabled stupid people... but the phrases did seem to go that way. *sigh* some people can't help but be offensive and other people can't help but be offended.
It's not racist to call a black person "black" and nor is it offensive to call a disabled person "disabled". Thus it's actually correct to label idiots as "stupid"; hell what do you think the "i" official stands for in "iMac", I bet you thought it stood for "internet" HUH!
Wow... How you thought it was smart to compare "black" to disabled and stupid I will never understand.
Speaking as a member of the black community, I personally hate it when people do what you just did.
You weren't being racist, but you were the other extreme, over-sensitive.
He did not liken black to being disabled, that wasn't the logic. The logic was if x equals y, then it's not wrong to say x equals y.
Peace.
It's not racist to call a black person "black" and nor is it offensive to call a disabled person "disabled". Thus it's actually correct to label idiots as "stupid"; hell what do you think the "i" official stands for in "iMac", I bet you thought it stood for "internet" HUH!
Wow... How you thought it was smart to compare "black" to disabled and stupid I will never understand.
NO WHERE, does he compare blacks to disabled, you are stretching the sentence and it's meaning. Go back to school and learn to read.
It's not racist to call a black person "black" and nor is it offensive to call a disabled person "disabled". Thus it's actually correct to label idiots as "stupid"; hell what do you think the "i" official stands for in "iMac", I bet you thought it stood for "internet" HUH!
Wow... How you thought it was smart to compare "black" to disabled and stupid I will never understand.
NO WHERE, does he compare blacks to disabled, you are stretching the sentence and it's meaning. Go back to school and learn to read.
It's not racist to call a black person "black" and nor is it offensive to call a disabled person "disabled". Thus it's actually correct to label idiots as "stupid"; hell what do you think the "i" official stands for in "iMac", I bet you thought it stood for "internet" HUH!
Wow... How you thought it was smart to compare "black" to disabled and stupid I will never understand.
Wow... How you thought it was smart to think he was "comparing" anything instead of making similarities I will never understand.
For the record, in Australia at least, the term would be "Indigenous Australian", or so i'm told...
bit stupid of them to do it on an unofficial group setup for them, did they not know it would be monitored, but then what do you expect from those idiots
bit stupid of them to do it on an unofficial group setup for them, did they not know it would be monitored, but then what do you expect from those idiots
The support staff are stupid, and so are the customers. A perfect mix then. All intelligent people shop elsewhere, or know enough just to go in and get what they need to because it is on sale, and not accept any warranty agreements. Same everywhere and with everything I guess.
Okay then.
Or you could just call it being stupid.
These employees were openly calling customers stupid using their Facebook accounts where they are bound to have pictures and personal info and so on. If I'm some nutball customer who is already mad and now being called stupid...well I might just use that same Facebook info to easily track you down and remove your head from your body.
They went to a place which removes some of the anonymity which the internet provides and then proceeded to act like they still had it. And it's stupid to not expect some kind of retaliation.
Last edited by Aahz on 08 Sep 2009 - 22:36
Heck, Even i do it! Facebook is your personal area to rant and do whatever, not work.
Heck, Even i do it! Facebook is your personal area to rant and do whatever, not work.
Right... so people shouldn't be posting about their jobs there.
I suppose you are right. It would have been better for all if they had just given the group a more general name, such as "disgruntled electronics store employees", and not brought DSGi's name into it.
Heck, Even i do it! Facebook is your personal area to rant and do whatever, not work.
What if they said it to the customer? Or what if they said it to you when you were talking to some customers? This is the problem, there is nothing wrong with having a whinge, but you need to keep it internal, which in this case, has not happened.
And they call the customers stupid? Oh boy...
My whole world has come apart.
Having an affinity for computers and other electronic equipment doesn't suddenly give me the right to look down upon or trash talk others.
You are the one who is treating tech as something special. Generally, all customers are stupid, not just tech customers. Most customers don't know what they want, and rather than say that, they ask for something wrong.
Of course, all staff are generally idiots as well, no different to customers. It used to be the case were staff were educated, employed in sections where they new the devices they were selling, but the cost to train people is not there, the willingness to learn is not there either. And if you are dealing with customers who have no idea, you don't need to know much yourself.
+1 - working in a pub for example
Don't you mean "practice"? (sorry for grammar policing, but I am irritable today)
Fixed.
Last edited by bbfc_uk on 08 Sep 2009 - 22:18
You don't have much privacy in the world, but putting crap on a social website is just stupid.
How companies can "discipline" or investigate persons who make comments is beyond me. Unless of course you want to pay them 24/7 to promote a positive company image!!
The annoying thing is, there are only two types of people that would visit the DSGi (or any other high street chain) facebook groups - employees of the company looking to share experiences and reporters looking for a cheap story. Very disappointing.
There's a big difference between having a bit of a moan with your mates down the pub or making a comment on your own personal page than writting this crap on the facebook page they're written on.
It brings the company into disrepute and that is what most employees get disciplined for.
If these employees did it on the companys own website forum page most people would want them sacked so I ask what's the difference here?
The only difference I see is that it's on facebook and therefore not an official company page but the principal is the same.
I repeat they were NOT written on the employees personal facebook page and were written on a facebook page dedicated to DSG and its staff so bear that in mind.
Other companies (WHSmith group: Past & Present) and many many others have "stupidest question asked by customer" and various other related threads, it's a sounding board and nothing more.
If anything, it's great stress relief!
1) The customer is almost never right.
2) Men are complete idiots who have no idea what they want but still manage to overspend figuring if they buy everything they'll eventually get it right.
3) Women are complete idiots who think they know exactly what they want and will never let you tell them they've picked out the wrong thing.
4) Young black males should never have been cursed with the shoplifter stereotype. It's the middle-aged women doing it.
5) No customer has ever--EVER--'proven their point' to a sales associate. When you get angry or self-righteous in a place of business, every employee goes into nod-smile-get-him-out-of-here mode. You have been placated and removed. You were also probably mocked afterwards. Getting a coupon or complimentary anything is not your victory. You are insignificant and your letters to the newspaper will get eye-rolls from anyone who's ever worked customer service. Douchebag.
I will add, the only difference between a customer and an employee is the uniform.
That post was epic
...
*sobs*
I don't care personally about any PC-crap on headlines. If you are so sensitive you can kill yourself and reduce carbon footprint.
That said, a better place for the staff to moan is somewhere like http://notalwaysright.com/. A much better place for it.
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