My Racist Attitudes

[The Plunger]

Pato Cunton

[Hank_Kingsley]

Whore-ass Andy

Tosser Irie

Eek-A-Twat

[weekender]

So this one time I was in a car being driven by a young Muslim woman, with a young Sikh woman in the back seat.  We'd gone bowling in an area of Walsall* that was quite run-down and this frankly ridiculous looking family walked past so I shouted out "p**i chavs, look!".

I was quite embarrassed.

*Area not true.

[Desi Rascal]

Supercaaaaaant

[HappyTree]

Cunta Kinte

[phes]

Cuntis Myfield

[Serge]

Well, the guy came in today and made a show of blanking me, but also made a comment to one of my colleagues about being spoken to rudely on the phone (which is utter bullshit.) Luckily, we've managed to convince him to take his CDs away, so hopefully I won't have to put up with the annoying git ever again.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

This isn't anything to do with you at all Serge, but I feel I need to get this off my chest:

There's nothing like independent record shops for sneering unfriendly sarcastic cliquey little twats that work behind the till that make you feel either inadequate or unwelcome. It almost makes me happy when I see them go out of business. Good riddance, you were fucking shit.

There, much better. As stated earlier- said customer sounds like a right tool.

[Serge]

You're going in the wrong shops, by the sound of it! I don't remember ever having trouble in record shops, though on the other side of the counter, I do have to face the most terrible anal twats who like to come in and score points by asking for the most painfully obscure records, filling me in on the label, catalogue number etc. My female colleagues also have to put up with male customers who ignore them completely, thinking that male record shop assistants inevitably know more than fluffy-brained poppets like them ever could, despite the fact, that my friend Noreen knows more about Metal than I ever will, and my friend Jo similarly is the person I have to ask about Dubstep and Techno.

[rudi]

This isn't anything to do with you at all Serge, but I feel I need to get this off my chest:

There's nothing like independent record shops for sneering unfriendly sarcastic cliquey little twats that work behind the till that make you feel either inadequate or unwelcome. It almost makes me happy when I see them go out of business. Good riddance, you were fucking shit.

There, much better. As stated earlier- said customer sounds like a right tool.

This used to be said a lot (when there used to be independant record shops in every town) but I can't say it was a common experience for me. Considering the sheer quantity of time-wasting twats that would clog up these places, the amount of patience shown used to mostly impress me.

"No, you and your mates can't borrow a deck to listen to those twenty seven new d'n'b plates just so you can all buy one reduced DJ Hype 12" between you after an hour of irritating actual playing customers for the third time this week. Oh sorry: now I'm the rude twat...?"

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

That's it. The Black Books-y type 'having to 'put up with customers' attitude. One of the areas independent stores should concentrate on is the quality of customer service because they really can compete properly there, and win. No record store should you have to be on first name terms with the staff just to be treated like a human being.

Everyone who's worked in any job involving the public can reel off a hundred anecdotes about the sort of twats they've encountered, but it doesn't mean that's the way to go about it.

This is just a pet hate of mine- like I say- nothing to do with yourself in particular. Maybe it's something to do with working in the area you love, it must be so easy get really petty and resentful when people walk in who don't respect it on the same level, don't understand it on the same level, don't care about it on the same level, and they're the people you're essentially reliant on to keep you in business.

[rudi]

It's just more fatigue from people who are either in there just to hang out when you're trying to get through your day or people who are clearly in the wrong place but get cross when you try to gently suggest such a thing.

As I say, I've never experienced it directed at me but then I've never gone into a library and got cross when they've told me they don't sell videos, won't let me pull all the Shakespeare off the shelf with no intention of buying any and I've appreciated that the customer ISN'T always right, they're just another person like the schmo behind the desk.

On a quiet Tuesday you can have a great time just going in and asking "what's new that you'd recommend?". On a Saturday afternoon that shit just won't fly.

I like the indies because they don't play by the fawning, boot-licking, forlock-tugging rules you have to play as a retail chain employee.

That's not to say some aren't the stomping ground of aching bell-ends but then I've met enough of them working for the man too...

[lollipop]

King Blubby

[23 Daves]

This is just a pet hate of mine- like I say- nothing to do with yourself in particular. Maybe it's something to do with working in the area you love, it must be so easy get really petty and resentful when people walk in who don't respect it on the same level, don't understand it on the same level, don't care about it on the same level, and they're the people you're essentially reliant on to keep you in business.

I'd argue that it has more to do with some record store employees being musicians/ DJs in their spare time, and those two particular creative outlets never do seem to attract the friendliest souls in the first place.  Their idea of being socially skilled is to say at parties "I'm in a band!" or "I'm a DJ!" over and over and watch as people say "Oh how fascinating!  Do tell me more!" and do all the work for them. 

I'm partly joking here.  But only partly.  It's not entirely their fault, it's just the way society has shaped them - they'd have to learn to be more open to others if they did something nobody was interested in like origami. 

Generally though, I agree that you get unfriendly record store staff, but it depends where you go, and each store generally has a random mix of crap staff and lovely sorts.  Pot luck, really.  I'd probably still rather a miserable Bernard Black type than a grinning HMV drone who knows very little, though.  When I asked if they had a David Cronenberg's Wife album in stock in HMV once, they said I'd have to find out what her name was before they could give me an answer.  They weren't joking.