Return to 'Silent Hill'

Ive worked in Argos for a helluva long time. In fact, its near approaching 5 years since I went for an interview down the Bay. Today for the first time in my Argos career, I experienced something Grangetownians are usually accustomed to - a powercut. This mammoth of a store, which is usually a hive of activity on a Sunday afternoon was reduced to an eerie, silent darkened state. Although it was really cool as we got to go home early, walking around the stockroom before we were allowed to go was really unnerving as it reminded me soooooo much of Silent Hill.... the dim flicker of the emergency lights, the need for a torch at hand, strange blinking noises and aisle after aisle of dark passageways..... It doesnt help when a certain room already freaks you out when the store is operational and fully lit up..... As Dale once said about the 'Plant Room' in Argos it kind of reminded him of Half Life; with its twisty pipes and shiny ventilation shafts all in a really dark room, with just the noise of a rotating fan to keep you company.... Damn, that place has real computer game setting potential.

Which brings me onto Customer Psychology. The task given to the staff was to alert to the public that the store had ceased trading and had closed. Firstly, take a sign which says clearly in the exact wording "STORE IS CLOSED DUE TO POWER FAILURE" and place in front of the Argos shop doors. Then place 4 members of staff also in front of the doors but behind the sign, reinforcing the 'no entry' policy of the store at this current moment. Now, how many customers do you think still tried to go into the store by barging past the 4 members of staff and after bypassing the sign? TOO MANY. I had seen 3 examples, but I knew there were more, plus surely 3 is enough for me to doubt the true intelligence of the human race. Saying this however, it was pure comedy to watch customers literally walk into the automatic doors and get 'frustrated' because they were closed. In conclusion, 'the customer isn't always right' in response to the classic retail slogan, they are just plain stupid. And if you don't believe me, just work in retail! Im sure many of you can vouch for me!