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Post Info TOPIC: You ever have a customer just start pushing their religion on you
Mr Frontenac

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You ever have a customer just start pushing their religion on you
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Like, you say hello, they say hello. Some other small talk. Then all of a sudden, "do you believe in jesus?" My answer is NO. And they're like, "why not? where do you think you're going to go after you die?" I'm like, is this really happening right now? Am I really having this conversation with a stranger. It's like they're shocked that I'm not a christian like them. Now, I have to figure out a way to politely end this conversation without offending them, because they're a customer. So I just say, "maam, i'm not really a religious person."

She responds, "well, I just wanted to say that jesus loves you." And I'm like "okay, thanks, you have a nice day."



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Anonymous

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LOL yes I can relate! Especially when they see you're Muslim. I've been told I'm going to hell because I haven't accepted Jesus as God...



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Anonymous

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If it happens again, just tell them you don't discuss your personal life at work or with people you don't know.  If they persist, tell them it's none of their business.  Customer or not, there are lines you do not cross.



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Anonymous

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Was on a job once where part of it involved being up in the front of the store, stuck in one spot sorting things. I couldn't budge from that spot or clock out from my job til it as done. This religious zealot fixed on me one night with his sermon, and despite every effort I tried to be cool with him, would not leave me alone. He only left after I threatened to sick security on him (which we didn't have).

The night manager, a real rug munching douche bong smoker, had witnessed the whole thing and threatened to write me up. I threatened to call the ACLU on her.

She shut up and went away too biggrin



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Anonymous

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Not directly but a few months ago I kept finding all kinds of little notes or even small religious books. I am a Christian but that is too much. Sometimes these notes and little fliers appear out of nowhere which freaks me out. I never saw the person who left it at the register. Besides why do they think it is okay for them to purposefully put these stuff around the store. 



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Anonymous

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Anonymous wrote:

Not directly but a few months ago I kept finding all kinds of little notes or even small religious books. I am a Christian but that is too much. Sometimes these notes and little fliers appear out of nowhere which freaks me out. I never saw the person who left it at the register.

Besides why do they think it is okay for them to purposefully put these stuff around the store. 

No one would ever admit to this, but they're actually trying to buy their way into Heaven----maybe even secure a down payment on the best mansion smile


 



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Anonymous

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You know I get it...I am Catholic and have been all my life...I work with Catholics...I work with Muslims...I work with non-Christians and atheists...I also had an interesting conversation with a customer who was a Seventh-Day Adventist...We believe in the same Jesus, despite what obstacles and divisions have been placed in our paths by other supposedly well-meaning people...There will always be disagreements among well-meaning people, but we have to love them regardless...That little "golden rule" is everywhere! The problem is that those Christians who are pushing THEIR version of Christianity on other people who are ALSO CHRISTIAN says more about them than it says about those they are trying to reach...Preaching to the choir about something the choir already knows is not the answer...Helping someone in need that you don't even know from Adam will do more good for the world than 1,000 sermons to someone who already knows who the Lord is...



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Anonymous

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Had a woman that was a Jehovah's Witness trying to get me to come to her "church"-I said I was a Christian and was not interested. We also have a lot of problems with employees leaving JW s*** in our break room



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The farthest anyone goes over here is to hand you a card or booklet which I throw in the trash after they are gone.

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**bunny kisses**
Anonymous

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Usagi wrote:

The farthest anyone goes over here is to hand you a card or booklet which I throw in the trash after they are gone.


 Please , please don't be offended by what I have to say, but may I ask that all you employees that are truly bothered by people trying to talk about religion, or leaving small tracts, booklets about Jesus Christ, God, salvation, or their church or their faith somewhere in the store................just keep in mind that all Christians who are familiar with the basic teachings of Christianity and the Bible  know that Jesus Christ gave the commandment for his disciples (followers) to "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature".  This is considered very important by many who take their religion seriously.  

 Christians are commanded to live their lives in a manner that shows the spirit of Christ living in them and working through them. 

 It might make you feel awkward, or bored, or irritated, or resentful, but please be nice about it and realize they are doing something they feel is the right thing to do.  If you don't agree with it, fine, but please don't hold it against them.   Ya never know............one day in the future, you just might appreciate it more than you do now.   

As the world is fast heading for the Great Tribulation (signs are all around if you are paying attention to the news) and trouble, war, sin, sickness, murder, lying, and danger of every description is increasing everywhere, you might not already know that Jesus foretold about these things, and that they Will be getting worse and worse, the closer we get to the end (of this present world system.).   

Thanks!  



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I'm not rude I take it. I just already have a church and so I'm good. Usually it's a card to their church etc. 



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**bunny kisses**
Anonymous

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Jesus gave us the free will to have him in our heart or not.  it should not be forced upon you.  This is not his way.  That individual should repent of doing this.  I stared clear of religion for years because my grandmother forced religion on us and I didn't want it.  I grew to hate religion because of people forcing it on others that did not want it.  Just request them to stop.  You shouldn't beforehand to take it unless you want to.  Church is not the way to god.  Study the bible you'll learn that fast.  It's stay clear of sin and have Jesus in your heart but you have the free will to have him in your heart or not.  You shouldn't be forced to have the belief if you don't want it.



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Anonymous

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I live in the bible belt so this is very common. The Jehovah's Witnesses are pretty much the only group that leave books and stuff around; that's pretty much their thing. Remember, act engaged with the customer, acknowledge their needs, keep them happy, and get them out the door happy. Even if you have to BS your way through a discussion, and I probably do this 5-10 times each night shift. Remember, a HIGHLY SATISFIED or a no comment is better than a HIGHLY DISSATISFIED because Associate X talked bad to me about my religion, and people that take crap seriously. Handling that conversation wrong could lose that customer permanently, so learn how to play the card right and use it to your advantage.

For example, I had a lady in the store a few weeks ago, she wanted something we were out of. We've been out of it and it was the fault of the department, but I started talking to her and turns out she was Muslim. Not my religion BUT she stated her need for certain meats because of how devout she is and I was mindful of her situation and developed a repertoire with her, while substituting an item that cost us about $3. Result of that? She's now coming in all the time and buying complete meals for her mosque group, and she buys a lot of the crap we can't offload to our normal customer base like hummus.

Turn opposition into opportunity.



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Anonymous

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Anonymous wrote:

I live in the bible belt so this is very common. The Jehovah's Witnesses are pretty much the only group that leave books and stuff around; that's pretty much their thing. Remember, act engaged with the customer, acknowledge their needs, keep them happy, and get them out the door happy. Even if you have to BS your way through a discussion, and I probably do this 5-10 times each night shift. Remember, a HIGHLY SATISFIED or a no comment is better than a HIGHLY DISSATISFIED because Associate X talked bad to me about my religion, and people that take crap seriously. Handling that conversation wrong could lose that customer permanently, so learn how to play the card right and use it to your advantage.

For example, I had a lady in the store a few weeks ago, she wanted something we were out of. We've been out of it and it was the fault of the department, but I started talking to her and turns out she was Muslim. Not my religion BUT she stated her need for certain meats because of how devout she is and I was mindful of her situation and developed a repertoire with her, while substituting an item that cost us about $3. Result of that? She's now coming in all the time and buying complete meals for her mosque group, and she buys a lot of the crap we can't offload to our normal customer base like hummus.

Turn opposition into opportunity.


 

I forgot to add: reason she came in our store? She lives 20 minutes away, went into her LOCAL Kroger, and multiple associates were dismissive of her religion and she told me how uncomfortable that made her. She felt disrespected and was surprised because she had moved from up North and said Kroger was one of the few chains in her former area that was respectful of her religion and had products that catered to her. And where the higher ups are always getting onto the smaller stores for lack of sales, winning over these individual customers and keeping them away from the larger Kroger stores is a big win.



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Mr Frontenac wrote:

Like, you say hello, they say hello. Some other small talk. Then all of a sudden, "do you believe in jesus?" My answer is NO. And they're like, "why not? where do you think you're going to go after you die?" I'm like, is this really happening right now? Am I really having this conversation with a stranger. It's like they're shocked that I'm not a christian like them. Now, I have to figure out a way to politely end this conversation without offending them, because they're a customer. So I just say, "maam, i'm not really a religious person."

She responds, "well, I just wanted to say that jesus loves you." And I'm like "okay, thanks, you have a nice day."


I never personally had this problem, but a coworker claims he has this problem with a particular customer. I think to avoid anyone being able to do too much damage to you, you could try being all professional about it. 

I am sorry, miss, but company policiy states that I must keep all workplace conversations professional. However, I would be happy to discuss something else with you.

If she protests or pushes again, repeat the same statement.

If she still does not get it, tell her this:

I am sorry, miss. I cannot engage in this kind of conversation. Give me just a second, I will have my manager come here and he/she can probably help you further. I am sorry, but again, I must follow company policy.

Go get a manager or a department head. Log the conversation. Contact your manager (or HR/Ethics if your managers are ****ty) and let them know what happened. 

To the person who justified the actions of the customer, I am going to quote the Gentleman Code to you, but then I will tweak it a bit.

(Original Code) Do not flirt with a woman (person) if she (or he) is at work, because she (or he) has no choice but to be nice to you.

(My Code) Do not engage in loaded, political, or otherwise controversial conversations with a person servicing you, because your servers are at a disadvantage if he/she even slightly disagrees with you.

I respect that you need to follow Christ in YOUR life. However, forcing other people into a situation that they have no control over is not only impolite, it is unethical. Do not go around making employees uncomfortable. The price for offending a customer is too high for something this avoidable.

If she actually complained, that is pretty ****ty. Technically, we are not supposed to discuss religion with anyone in the workplace. Now, this does not mean I blame you. I probably would have reacted the same way you did: by answering honestly.

I get people all the time asking me things like, How many kids do you want? And they get uncomfortable or offended when I promptly state ZERO. I have since used the above response to avoid it, or I tried to change the subject.

I can only hope a customer does not do any of this to me because I probably will get pretty jumpy.



-- Edited by Saekwaka on Tuesday 22nd of May 2018 07:07:39 PM

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Nah, dude. I got this.

Anonymous

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There was a weekend when there was a Jehovah's Witness Convention in town. Good times I tell you.

I usually try to direct the conversation in a different direction. Just start asking questions related to your job of helping them buy groceries. They talk about Jesus, you ask them if they want paper or plastic? They continue to talk about Jesus you tell them how much their total is and take their money from them. However if they are too insistent just tell them that you prefer to not have that conversation because it's not professional. If they are overly insistent be professional and honest. Maybe say something like "my beliefs are something that's personal and not something I discuss with my Customers."



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Anonymous

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There's also a certain point where a Customer's behavior is considered harassment and/or discrimination. Remember, anyone can create a hostile work environment. If a Customer is sexually harassing you, it's still sexual harassment at the workplace. If a Customer is discriminating against you because of your religion or lack of religion then it's still religious discrimination at the workplace. If the company tolerates it after you let the Customer and Management know that the behavior isn't welcome then the company can in theory be held liable. Although the Customer isn't a representative of the Company, the company, is by federal and state laws required to provide a workplace free of harassment and discrimination. 

If you tell someone that you're not interested, and they persist it's harassment.



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Anonymous

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I try to be polite and honest, but keep it grocery oriented.  If they push it, I might tell them that they are cheating because I am required to stand here, and that I am required to be polite.  Do they need a bag of ice or anything else today?  I politely decline pamphlets.  If they push it, the pamphlet goes straight into the trash.  That's resulted in some pretty good facial expressions.

Someone likes to leave their pamphlets on top of the urinal in the men's room.  Somehow, they always fall in.

We used to get a lot of Chick tracts scattered throughout the store.  Those were always my favorite because they are bat**** insane.

The random pamphlets are fun.  Sometimes I flamboyantly present them to other employees and ask if they've found Jesus.  Or, they tucked into random bags, items, or cases of beer, or saved to be tucked into the bags of special customers.



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Anonymous

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Anonymous wrote:
Usagi wrote:

The farthest anyone goes over here is to hand you a card or booklet which I throw in the trash after they are gone.


 Please , please don't be offended by what I have to say, but may I ask that all you employees that are truly bothered by people trying to talk about religion, or leaving small tracts, booklets about Jesus Christ, God, salvation, or their church or their faith somewhere in the store................just keep in mind that all Christians who are familiar with the basic teachings of Christianity and the Bible  know that Jesus Christ gave the commandment for his disciples (followers) to "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature".  This is considered very important by many who take their religion seriously.  

 Christians are commanded to live their lives in a manner that shows the spirit of Christ living in them and working through them. 

 It might make you feel awkward, or bored, or irritated, or resentful, but please be nice about it and realize they are doing something they feel is the right thing to do.  If you don't agree with it, fine, but please don't hold it against them.   Ya never know............one day in the future, you just might appreciate it more than you do now.   

As the world is fast heading for the Great Tribulation (signs are all around if you are paying attention to the news) and trouble, war, sin, sickness, murder, lying, and danger of every description is increasing everywhere, you might not already know that Jesus foretold about these things, and that they Will be getting worse and worse, the closer we get to the end (of this present world system.).   

Thanks!  


   I feel I have the right to hurt and abuse Children. Part of my religion is doing Heroine and stealing from cars.

 

See how stupid that sounds. Your religion is fine. Forcing it on other people isn't.

I always liked this. Religion is like a penis, it's fine to have one, it's fine to be proud of it, but don't whip it out in public, and don't shove it in someone's ****ing throat my man.

Please respect other people



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