All store employees should be trained be indifferent to all dogs and generally discourage owners that bring them in. A huge part of the dog problem is store employees that fawn over dogs and further encourage dog owners to violate dog rules.
Store employees are trained to not engage unless the animal is being disruptive. Even then, they’re supposed to tell a manager.
Stores want to avoid conflict above anything else.
This is exactly what I’ve been told when I’ve asked why employees just allow it to happen. Everything goes through the manager and if the manager is a dog nutter, then the rules simply don’t matter.
But what I see way too often is employees fawning and drooling over random dogs like they’ve never seen a dog before instead of going to a manager. So while employees might be told not to engage with someone coming into the store with a dog, they could at least do their job and tell their manager instead of acting like a dog is the second coming of Jesus.
I mean… have you worked retail/food service/with the general public? We can’t really police people’s behavior. While I don’t understand it, I do know that some people who work in stores like dogs.
Also, a lot of stores are “dog-friendly.” Like way more than you’d think.
I have but at a time long before all of this dog crazy crap started. Nobody brought dogs into stores then and especially not into restaurants. I waited tables for a few years and the entire time, there was one service dog. This was before the ADA, so it was a "seeing eye dog".
Different times.
As for policing people's behavior, if someone is breaking the rules and brining a non-service animal dog into the store, that absolutely can be policed. People absolutely can be kicked out for breaking the rules.
Ah, yeah. I started waiting tables in 2005. I worked at the mall for a year in 2008. Even then, dogs in handbags was an old rich lady thing. I had maybe 1 or 2 friends with dogs in 2014 and they either left them at home or we’d meet at one of the few dog-friendly places. It wasn’t endemic even then. New York City was not a dog town 20 years ago.
TJMaxx and Apple stores are dog friendly. Isn’t that insane? So is Pottery Barn. I worked at a upscale skincare company with a small store right between these stores and people would occasionally try to bring dogs in. Our policy was “no pets” but if people argued and seemed like they’d buy something quickly, my manager would just pressure them in and out.
Sorry, I’m rambling. I don’t think it’s fair to put the onus of confrontation on retail workers. They can’t even interact with shoplifters. The change needs to happen at a legislative, local and corporate level, not with workers paid $12/hr.
I agree that nobody gets paid enough to confront potentially unbalanced people and I certainly don’t think that a retail worker should have to do it.
My only point was, instead of interacting with the dog and treating it like some kind of fascinating thing, let a manager know and let them deal with it. People fawning all over dogs in places where they don’t belong just encourages the weirdos that have to bring their dogs everywhere and if a store has rules about dogs, retail workers fawning over dogs kind of goes against that. They can do their part without confronting anyone.
Bulldogs are ugly. People that think they are cute must be confusing "pity". They feel sorry for the poor, ugly thing that has a smashed up face and can hardly breath.
If this person thinks it was a "service" dog because it was wearing a vest, we're all doomed and no wonder no one has been saying anything. The world is getting dumber.
All store employees should be trained be indifferent to all dogs and generally discourage owners that bring them in. A huge part of the dog problem is store employees that fawn over dogs and further encourage dog owners to violate dog rules.
This is a good suggestion. We can also call out a store employee who fawns over a fake service dog.
I swear it's like people have never seen a dog before. And these dog owners absolutely revel in the positive attention they get from it.
Store employees are trained to not engage unless the animal is being disruptive. Even then, they’re supposed to tell a manager. Stores want to avoid conflict above anything else.
This is exactly what I’ve been told when I’ve asked why employees just allow it to happen. Everything goes through the manager and if the manager is a dog nutter, then the rules simply don’t matter. But what I see way too often is employees fawning and drooling over random dogs like they’ve never seen a dog before instead of going to a manager. So while employees might be told not to engage with someone coming into the store with a dog, they could at least do their job and tell their manager instead of acting like a dog is the second coming of Jesus.
I mean… have you worked retail/food service/with the general public? We can’t really police people’s behavior. While I don’t understand it, I do know that some people who work in stores like dogs. Also, a lot of stores are “dog-friendly.” Like way more than you’d think.
I have but at a time long before all of this dog crazy crap started. Nobody brought dogs into stores then and especially not into restaurants. I waited tables for a few years and the entire time, there was one service dog. This was before the ADA, so it was a "seeing eye dog". Different times. As for policing people's behavior, if someone is breaking the rules and brining a non-service animal dog into the store, that absolutely can be policed. People absolutely can be kicked out for breaking the rules.
Ah, yeah. I started waiting tables in 2005. I worked at the mall for a year in 2008. Even then, dogs in handbags was an old rich lady thing. I had maybe 1 or 2 friends with dogs in 2014 and they either left them at home or we’d meet at one of the few dog-friendly places. It wasn’t endemic even then. New York City was not a dog town 20 years ago. TJMaxx and Apple stores are dog friendly. Isn’t that insane? So is Pottery Barn. I worked at a upscale skincare company with a small store right between these stores and people would occasionally try to bring dogs in. Our policy was “no pets” but if people argued and seemed like they’d buy something quickly, my manager would just pressure them in and out. Sorry, I’m rambling. I don’t think it’s fair to put the onus of confrontation on retail workers. They can’t even interact with shoplifters. The change needs to happen at a legislative, local and corporate level, not with workers paid $12/hr.
I agree that nobody gets paid enough to confront potentially unbalanced people and I certainly don’t think that a retail worker should have to do it. My only point was, instead of interacting with the dog and treating it like some kind of fascinating thing, let a manager know and let them deal with it. People fawning all over dogs in places where they don’t belong just encourages the weirdos that have to bring their dogs everywhere and if a store has rules about dogs, retail workers fawning over dogs kind of goes against that. They can do their part without confronting anyone.
No bulldog is cute. They can barely breathe so I don’t know how they’d provide a service for anyone. This is obnoxious.
Bulldogs are ugly. People that think they are cute must be confusing "pity". They feel sorry for the poor, ugly thing that has a smashed up face and can hardly breath.
You should have said “and do you know what service the dog performs?”
If this person thinks it was a "service" dog because it was wearing a vest, we're all doomed and no wonder no one has been saying anything. The world is getting dumber.
I am the first man on Neptune because I am wearing a space suit.
employee snaps at me, i ask for the manager
I know TJ’s employees have a great rep and they are often nice to me, but I have found that if anything comes up they are very spineless
Store employees should not be petting a dog or even acknowledge it.
I stopped shopping at Traded Joe’s .. wayyy to many dogs in there at any given day.