Q: I just finished my weekly shopping at Ed’s Club, the bulk merchandise warehouse. As usual, the people who work there treated me like dirt – one guy stocking shelves just rolled his eyes when I asked where the peanut butter was, and the cashier snapped at me when I couldn’t find my cash card. They call it a club, so you’d think they’d be friendlier. Sure, I saved a lot of money, but I wonder if it’s worth it?
A: Being treated rudely at a bulk warehouse is standard operating procedure. That’s because most use Negative Reinforcement Manipulation as a key part of their employee training strategy. The general idea is to treat you so rotten that you’ll figure you must be getting a really, really good deal. And if you’re like 97 percent of Americans, you’ll put up with almost anything to get a really, really good deal.
Your best strategy is to take Negative Customer Reaction and Response training (it’s offered online). By the time you’re done rolling your own eyes and snapping at them, they’ll already have your name in their computer: “For this customer, avoid Negative Reinforcement Manipulation!”
Workplace Behaviorist Dr. Miles Rumphley answers your career questions. He reserves the right to embellish and totally fabricate questions and answers.
