I really just needed to vent so bare with me. I work at a Vitamin Shoppe and yesterday some shmuck comes in looking for a protein drink to drink before working out. So, I decided to show him Biotest Surge. Before I could even open my mouth to explain he says he was more into some kind of meal replacement where it would supply him with the whole day’s worth of essential nutrients (in other words, a magic drink that would make up for his shitty diet). Fine. So I decide to show him the meal replacement powders that we had: Myoplex, Lean Body, etc. In hopes of explaining to him that there is no such thing as a magic potion, this dumbass cuts me off and tells me he doesn’t want to mix any powders because he’s “too lazy” to do so. WHAT THE HELL?? Ok, my last shot was to introduce him to some ready to drink shakes (even though majority of them have close to no protein left after pasteurization). Finally, this guys seems to be interested in at least the Myoplex RTD shakes… BUT, he notices that there is only 20 grams of protein per shake. “No, this is not what I’m looking for… at GNC they have shakes that have 120 grams of protein. I was just too lazy to go there, I’m in the wrong store.” WHAT THE FCK??!! This totally took the cake - I have never met such a complete moron in my life, in person. And the nerve of this jerk to just walk out on me! He’s said it himself way too many times, he’s just a lazy piece of sht. He wasn’t in the wrong store, he was in the wrong sport. Anyone have any suggestions on what to tell jerkoffs like these before I rip them apart?
i don’t know what type of body or shape you’re in Jeff T, but i would use that as an example. Or i would ask him where the heck did he get his info from. You could engage in some friendly talk and maybe even refer him to t-mag. Or you could just tell him that he’d be wasting the value of his money with his ideas. laters pk
PK’s suggestion was spot on!
I don’t know…until my spidey-sense tells me that the person I’m talking to is ready to be saved, I leave well enough alone, and just do my thang…
I would say if you’re in customer service:
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The customer is always right (even if YOU think he’s wrong), so help him find what he’s looking for, not what YOU think he should be looking for
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Stop trying to “educate” him towards your own opinion, it’s not gonna do any good until he believes it for himself. And if he uses your product with shitty results, that’s going to make him even more likely to not believe in it.
If this interaction irritated you then you should find another job.
Don’t worry about it. At the gym he probably wants them to lift the weights for him. If only they would use him for the bar.
I managed health food stores for over 6 years, and the one thing my staff and I realized was sometime you just need to “walk away”. I’ve met customers that make the guy you came across look cool. You have to realize if you’re going to work with the public, particularly with people involved, or trying to be involved in fitness, that you can’t let things like that bother you. The quicker you realize the world is full of people like that, and they’re NOT going away, the better. I wouldn’t work in that profession again, simply because I became a cashier, taking people’s money, rather than helping them (not all, but most) because most didn’t want to be helped. Good luck!
Maybe this guy was just yanking your chain. If he’s that damn lazy, just let him go and never make any gains for however long he decides to pretend to lift (my bet is two weeks). Much like druggies, someone who lifts has to “bottom out” before they start to take nutrition seriously. That was my experience anyway. If he’s to lazy, its probably that he didn’t buy good supplements and then blame them for not working. Can you imagine that sorryass doing a full squat, or deadlifting? We live in a world full of idiots, and as customer sales dude at the Vitamin Shoppe, you can only try and help these misguided fools. You can take a horse to water but you can’t make him drink. Maybe if he ever gets his head out of his ass he’ll come back to your store looking for your advice with a more open mind. I agree with Pk’s comments also.
Hey thanks for all your suggestions.
pk - I’ll do my best to implement what you suggested.
eyuzwa - You definitely have a point there.
Striker - I agree with your points to a certain extent. However, I should’ve been more clear about the situation. I wasn’t trying to sell, or “educate,” him into believing my opinions. In fact, I’ve never done that to any customer to date. They always come to me with questions and I only offer them the ability to choose what products we have that answers their problem(s). I always leave it up to them to choose what it is they feel they need. It just really irritated me how rude this guy was - especially since he never let me speak a complete sentence. You are right, though, that the customer is always right no matter what, so I’ll keep that in mind whenever I deal with people like that again.
Once again, thank you all. I feel much more better letting out this steam. If anyone has anymore suggestions don’t hesitate.
Understood Jeff. 
Good luck!
Vman - LOL! I have no doubt in my min about that.
Iced Earth - Oh man, I completely know what you mean. Luckily, 90% of the people that I’ve dealt with actually listened to what I had to say when they asked me questions. But I definitely see what you mean, so I’m adjusting my view to acknowledge that there are plenty more of these jerkoffs in this world.
sdp - I’m with you all the way man!
Striker - Thanks!