Scott D
3/8/2011, 06:06 PM
Alright, I've been spending the past 5 weeks (and a few more to go) on a project for my company getting measurements and layouts for a certain national retailer who tends to focus their stores in urban and small rural areas. I've seen a few interesting things in these locales. And I've certainly had to go into neighborhoods in the city of Detroit that I normally wouldn't go into. I'm going off of memory for this point, but I'll focus on the things as I remember them starting with today's store.
3/8 - Hamtramack (only by mailing address..it's still Detroit). Female customer comes into store..makes $40 purchase...by sheer chance manages to pass a fake $100 to make purchase. She manages during the course of this event to leave her cell phone at the register. Eventually the AM calls the DPD about the matter..the DPD officer is looking at the fake bill as I'm getting ready to leave the store and until a customer offers up a legit $100 he doesn't see the pure definition of how it's a fake (their safe rejected the fake $100).
3/7 - Detroit. I get chastised by a long time customer of the store for not assisting the cashier because the line has started to expand. Mind you I've already stated to this woman that I don't work in the store or for the retailer, but I am doing work for their company. She leaves the store complaining that they need to keep an eye on me and my assistant (a 40+ y/o white guy) because she's being vigilant....the cashier later apologizes to me about the customer, and I told her I found the exchange amusing.
3/5 - Detroit. While on the salesfloor I get accosted by an elderly woman because she knows everyone who works at the store and she'd never seen me before...explained to her what I was doing and she said "good, this store could stand for some upgrading." I smiled and thanked her for her vigilance.
3/4 - Detroit (East Side). Store wasn't expecting us...the manager was new to the store as of that Monday. Previous manager had pretty much quit awhile ago and was just letting new freight just pile up in their back room. I managed to leave my pad of graph paper in this store....not returning to get it.
2/26 - Redford (not far from Detroit) While training a second assistant for this project we had an incident at the register involving young males. Store staff believed that they were put up to doing their shenanigans at the register by others..possibly gang initiation related.
2/25 - Detroit (East Side). Store was relatively uneventful.
2/21 - Detroit (East Side) - Assistant managed to leave his clipboard behind at the store as I had to drive him to a second job that evening near my home. Nearly got stuck on the streets as that part of the city had no indication that plows or salt trucks knew how to find those streets.
2/14 - Detroit (East Side) - Store was next to a DPD mini station. The most eventful parts of the day were people getting V-day stuff and being upset they sold out of it in the AM, and the huge line outside of the Secretary of State office two doors down (DMV for people not in or from Michigan)
2/10 - Detroit (East Side) - Store was near one of the Casinos, next to a liquor store (I know a shocker in 'the hood'). Most interesting thing was probably the fact that it was at a V shaped intersection making their parking lot a zoo.
2/9 - Detroit (East Side) - Store waited until after my assistant had left to catch the bus that it wasn't too safe for him out there in that part of town, and commented on locations of theirs being robbed. (A fact that didn't surprise me considering they had on hand security along with their video monitored security service).
3/8 - Hamtramack (only by mailing address..it's still Detroit). Female customer comes into store..makes $40 purchase...by sheer chance manages to pass a fake $100 to make purchase. She manages during the course of this event to leave her cell phone at the register. Eventually the AM calls the DPD about the matter..the DPD officer is looking at the fake bill as I'm getting ready to leave the store and until a customer offers up a legit $100 he doesn't see the pure definition of how it's a fake (their safe rejected the fake $100).
3/7 - Detroit. I get chastised by a long time customer of the store for not assisting the cashier because the line has started to expand. Mind you I've already stated to this woman that I don't work in the store or for the retailer, but I am doing work for their company. She leaves the store complaining that they need to keep an eye on me and my assistant (a 40+ y/o white guy) because she's being vigilant....the cashier later apologizes to me about the customer, and I told her I found the exchange amusing.
3/5 - Detroit. While on the salesfloor I get accosted by an elderly woman because she knows everyone who works at the store and she'd never seen me before...explained to her what I was doing and she said "good, this store could stand for some upgrading." I smiled and thanked her for her vigilance.
3/4 - Detroit (East Side). Store wasn't expecting us...the manager was new to the store as of that Monday. Previous manager had pretty much quit awhile ago and was just letting new freight just pile up in their back room. I managed to leave my pad of graph paper in this store....not returning to get it.
2/26 - Redford (not far from Detroit) While training a second assistant for this project we had an incident at the register involving young males. Store staff believed that they were put up to doing their shenanigans at the register by others..possibly gang initiation related.
2/25 - Detroit (East Side). Store was relatively uneventful.
2/21 - Detroit (East Side) - Assistant managed to leave his clipboard behind at the store as I had to drive him to a second job that evening near my home. Nearly got stuck on the streets as that part of the city had no indication that plows or salt trucks knew how to find those streets.
2/14 - Detroit (East Side) - Store was next to a DPD mini station. The most eventful parts of the day were people getting V-day stuff and being upset they sold out of it in the AM, and the huge line outside of the Secretary of State office two doors down (DMV for people not in or from Michigan)
2/10 - Detroit (East Side) - Store was near one of the Casinos, next to a liquor store (I know a shocker in 'the hood'). Most interesting thing was probably the fact that it was at a V shaped intersection making their parking lot a zoo.
2/9 - Detroit (East Side) - Store waited until after my assistant had left to catch the bus that it wasn't too safe for him out there in that part of town, and commented on locations of theirs being robbed. (A fact that didn't surprise me considering they had on hand security along with their video monitored security service).