Current Events > Would it be bad if my wife's store told customers they wont load furniture?

(+) Yeah! (+)

For context, she works at a small, fancy furniture store, where there's literally only one other employee, besides her.

Frequently she says that customers will buy large, heavy pieces like tables and couches, and will then get passive aggressive when my wife/her coworker doesn't get up and load the furniture into their car or truck or whatever for them.

So like, my wife is pretty strong and she doesn't necessarily mind doing physical labor, but technically her job is all computer work. (the other girl is basically a twig and can't move much weight without her).
The issue is that when my wife repeatedly has to stop to help move stuff for customers who are tapping their feet, it's constantly interrupting her actual work that she needs to do.

She's asked her boss about it, and he said he doesn't care, because he's really hands off for their store. (They don't even have a manager lol)
But so I told her they should put up a sign that says something along the lines of "Employees cannot load furniture for you", so that way they can choose to help if they have time. She says she thinks it would be bad business practice and doesn't know if it's a good idea.

Does CE have any ideas for this conundrum?

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The customers could sue if they got hurt...

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H0LD_Austin_Era posted...

The customers could sue if they got hurt...

Could they though? After purchasing an item, what a customer does with it is not a business's responsibility anymore is it?

Ideally the customer would hire a moving company to accompany them since apparently that's what a lot of people actually do. But not all, unfortunately.

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I don't think your wife would be doing anything wrong since that's how the store operates, but it honestly seems pretty shitty for a furniture store to not help load furniture. There should be people on staff who do just that

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I'd call up the business's insurance provider and ask if just putting up a sign saying you won't help load is fine. Last thing you need for a small business is a lawsuit.

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eston posted...

There should be people on staff who do just that

You're not wrong, lol.

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I think it's a pretty standard and reasonable expectation, really

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A furniture store that wont even load furniture is useless.

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H0LD_Austin_Era posted...

The customers could sue if they got hurt...

Shut the fuck up.
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H0LD_Austin_Era posted...

The customers could sue if they got hurt...

No they can't. Once they purchase it its on them. The store has no obligation to do it. From a business standpoint it would be a good thing for them to do, but from a legal standpoint its not their responsibility.

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LostForest posted...

Does CE have any ideas for this conundrum?

A sign

Getting buddy-buddy with one or two moving companies who can do next day delivery for a negotiated rate.

A storeroom/holding area so if people need to leave and come back later with friends, such a space exists
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How about an overpriced loading fee

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fan357 posted...

A furniture store that wont even load furniture is useless.

Bear in mind, this is a boutique shop at an outlet center, not Raymour & Flannigan.

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philsov posted...

Getting buddy-buddy with one or two moving companies who can do next day delivery for a negotiated rate.

A storeroom/holding area so if people need to leave and come back later with friends, such a space exists

They do have a warehouse, but it's like 40 minutes away from there. The company is mostly an online retailer, but they opened this store to put pieces that weren't selling on clearance.

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At My job we've had vendors refuse to haul stuff inside for us lol

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No it wouldnt be bad if they wont load furniture. Think about it, your wife isnt going to be there on the other end when they bring it home so they should have whoever is helping them unload with then to load it up. the shop should have a sign

it usually is against company policy to begin with because they dont want to be sued or be expected to pay for damages if a customers vehicle is damaged. And if it is indeed against company policy and an employee scratches the car then fault will fall on the worker.

tbh there is nothing wrong with helping a person out as a curtesy if its obviously safe to do so (ie. Clear open hatchback/truck bed, customer is doing the main guiding and manoeuvring/shoving/pushing of the furniture where you are just providing some secondary assistance etc) but as soon as they expect you to do all the loading and start worrying about scratching their car or their car in obviously too small then just nope tf out of there.

Probably something the store needs to be upfront about. It seems odd to me to have a "fancy" furniture store with no movers

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Let me fix this for you.

'We can provide a furniture moving service via subcontractors.'

Then list a few contact numbers for customers, or offer to call them yourselves. The customer naturally has to pay for this service.

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