Tractor Supply employees are stupid

[johndeerefarmer]

I sent my mother by Tractor Supply in Sherman Texas to pick up some blackleg vaccine. None of the employees their had ever heard of blackleg or knew nothing about it.
Stupid people. They keep it in their refrigerator all of the time.

Of course the bottle says clostridium on it not blackleg.

You would think that they would train their employees.......

It's not just the young ones either. I asked a 65 or so year old main for a clevis the other day. He said, "what's a clevis"?

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

 

[bigbull338]

TSC just hires what they can.most ppl they hire have no farm experance.an that dont help their business.scott

 

[dun]

I needed a scythe stone the other day and had to find to oldest guy in the store to even know what a scythe was.

dun

 

[HatCreekFan]

I live within an hour's drive of 3 diff. TCS stores. Early this summer, I called around to all three looking for those eye patches, and had to ask the person that answered the phone to 1. Go to the shelf 2. Look for the box that says - whatever it says, can't remember! 3. Tell me what size the patches were

The store that 'won' was 45 min from home, and an older gentleman was the only one that could give me definite answers to all three questions.

I've called Rural King before looking for a lepto vacc for a few calves we had brought in - and the kid that answered said they didn't have it. 30 minutes later, I was in the checkout lane, vacc in hand, paying for it. Grrrr.

 

[denoginnizer]

I bet the TSC employees get some pretty odd request from farmers. Its hard to no the different nick names for all the stuff we use.
I try to be patient with anyone who is making an honest attempt to help me.

 

[TXBobcat]

I would say that the TSC employees I have dealt with in Waco are pretty helpful and friendly. They can usually send me in the right direction if I am looking for something in the store; however, I usually try to research exactly what I looking for before I get there.

 

[Chuckie]

It's going to be funny when someone types "Tractor Supply" in a search engine and sees "Tractor Supply Employees are Stupid" :lol: :lol:
I remember posting about how a store sent their employees to a seminar where one of the many different demonstrations they gave was banding calves. Right before the man banded the bull calf he said, "OK boys, now we are going to take his mind off the a$$ and put it on the grass!" Someone made the remark that they didn't know they gave seminars on banding. They sent employees to seminars so that they would know what the products they sold were used for. Of course these stores pay better than minimum wage and provide insurance. Imagine that!

Stores that hire people to just have them stand around ,attract anyone walking off of the street. The Co-op's, usually have more knowledgable people, but they aren't open on Saturday afternoons and Sundays when we seem to need it the most.
Moral of the story, have your cows get sick Monday through Saturday afternoon at 12:00.

 

[johndeerefarmer]

I needed some more 7 way so I went to a local feed store this afternoon. He didn't know what it was either

When I asked him what kinds of arrowleaf clover he carried. He said, what do you mean what kinds? I said, apache, yuchi, etc and he gave me the stupidest look.

I asked him what kinds of rye grass he carried and he said elbon. I said ryegrass. He said elbon again. I finally looked at his list and saw that they carry TAM 90 and Marshall.

Guess, I ain't going to that store anymore...........

 

[J]

I sent my mother by Tractor Supply in Sherman Texas to pick up some blackleg vaccine. None of the employees their had ever heard of blackleg or knew nothing about it.
Stupid people. They keep it in their refrigerator all of the time.

Of course the bottle says clostridium on it not blackleg.

You would think that they would train their employees.......

It's not just the young ones either. I asked a 65 or so year old main for a clevis the other day. He said, "what's a clevis"?

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

I am assuming that your mother told the TSC employee clostridium when they never heard of blackleg right? I wouldn't be so quick to call someone stupid when maybe they knew the correct name. I don't know the whole story since I only have read your side of it but to call them stupid is a little harsh don't you think. I'm with TXBobcat, the employees at the Waco TSC are pretty helpful and I really wouldn't expect a whole lot out of those employees because the ones that have all the answers are probably out there working in the field or on this board giving out advice. ;-)

 

[Susie David]

Don't know about the prices down your way but I have found that it is less expensive to order form Jeffers and pay the freight (vacs)...DMc

 

[Crowderfarms]

Good knowledgeable help is getting harder and harder to find.Probably the money they pay is not that good as a factory job, or a skilled job.
One of them near here is poorly stocked, and poorly staffed. Mostly young boys, that have no or very little Farm/Ag experience.Most of them are sitting around BS'ing. Another one is well stocked, and has an older feller who works part time, and is sharp as a tack.One time I called TSC to ask about a left over Tumblebug they were supposed to have. The manager told me that they did'nt have them anymore because they had an exterminator spray the store 2 weeks before.Seriously.

 

[Anonymous]

Good help is hard to find.

Even harder to keep.

You pay minimum wage you get minimum help.

Not many could support a family on what those folks make.

You do not supply benefits you do not keep them.

You do not train them they do not provide service to the customer.

It is not the help that is stupid, it is management that attempts to maximize profits while minimizing expense. At the expense of customer service and knowledgeable staff.

Wages is almost always the largest expense a retail operation has.

If a store is not well stocked - that is an indicator of serious cash flow problems or possible profit skimming and potential closure.

If the customer does not complain to management and then take his money elsewhere, nothing will change.

Done the retail thing - it is a tough racket and sometimes the local manager cannot find the correct balance to keep things running.

Want things to change? Contact Head Office. The branch operation has little to no power to exercise serious change. Once the store starts the downward spiral it takes serious coin to bring it back up to where it should be.

Bez'

 

[Wilson_Cattle_Company]

LMAO!!! HAHAHA!!

Wanna play a little joke on them boys at TSC??

Go in and complain about ur hands hurtin'
{find a dumb city slicker wurkin' there}
Tell him that your hands are hurting awful bad because you rounded up all your steers and you been trying to milk them all day and they won't put out a drop of milk!! Ask them if they have anything that would make them milk better??!!

Worth a try....

That or go to the front desk and say you lost your buddy and have him paged... tell them his name is Mike Hunt. Say Mike Hunt fast and see what it sounds like!! HAHA!!

Have fun

:cboy:

 

[Beefy]

at least he didnt say "who is Clevis?"

 

[bullred]

Don't you see the problem here? You're buying these things from Tractor Supply rather than your local family-run feed store, or your local veterinarian (which generally have knowledgeable people) because Tractor Supply is the cheapest. Well, the reason they're the cheapest is, in part, because they are paying relatively low wages to their employees in order to keep their prices down. You can't have your cake and eat it to.

It's these same people that complain about Walmart, Target, Lowes, or Home Depot running the local "mom and pops" out of business, and yet when is the last time they were in the "mom and pop" store? Everyone is sad to see the little country grocery store go out of business, yet for the last several years they've been driving an extra 20 miles into town to do all their big grocery shopping at Kroger to save 10 or 15%.

That's business. I don't blame Tractor Supply, Walmart, or Kroger. They are smart enough to understand the market, and have structured their businesses to take advantage of it. They understand that despite the fact that people gripe about the "idiots" they have working for them they'll be back just the same as long as they can "save a buck". Meanwhile the guy down the road that has worked on the farm his whole live and has the knowledge has to close up his store and go get a paying job in order to feed his family. And we all feel really sorry for him as we make another trip back to Tractor Supply.

CJ

 

[Crowderfarms]

Don't you see the problem here? You're buying these things from Tractor Supply rather than your local family-run feed store, or your local veterinarian (which generally have knowledgeable people) because Tractor Supply is the cheapest. Well, the reason they're the cheapest is, in part, because they are paying relatively low wages to their employees in order to keep their prices down. You can't have your cake and eat it to.

It's these same people that complain about Walmart, Target, Lowes, or Home Depot running the local "mom and pops" out of business, and yet when is the last time they were in the "mom and pop" store? Everyone is sad to see the little country grocery store go out of business, yet for the last several years they've been driving an extra 20 miles into town to do all their big grocery shopping at Kroger to save 10 or 15%.

That's business. I don't blame Tractor Supply, Walmart, or Kroger. They are smart enough to understand the market, and have structured their businesses to take advantage of it. They understand that despite the fact that people gripe about the "idiots" they have working for them they'll be back just the same as long as they can "save a buck". Meanwhile the guy down the road that has worked on the farm his whole live and has the knowledge has to close up his store and go get a paying job in order to feed his family. And we all feel really sorry for him as we make another trip back to Tractor Supply.

CJ

Well said! TSC is known for decent prices on some things. But when it comes to Feed, they are high.And in many cases, low quality. Their target is the "Weekend Warrior" They have "loss leader" such as T-posts, that they sell at or right at, cost,As a draw, hoping you'll buy a roll of wire, or another item.Many consumers that shop TSC have as much or less knowledge about animal health than the employees.

We own a family Feed Store, and I can honestly say, we put 100% into everyone that comes through the door.Our customer's are our livelihood.We cant risk not being knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful, or the doors would close.When you have a major chain doing business 15 miles away, you have to go the extra mile, and then some.But we'd do that even if there was no competition. I'm not bragging. It's just my Philosophy.Whether the customer has Rabbits, Chickens, Dogs, or 300 head of Cattle. or needs a handful of grass seed.

 

[ctlbaron]

Generally they can show you where it is, but couldn't tell you anything about how to use it. Sometimes you just have to give up and find things yourself. They always holler at some ol boy in the back that knows just enough about the subject to be dangerous. I don't even go there anymore if I can help it.

 

[ALACOWMAN]

It's going to be funny when someone types "Tractor Supply" in a search engine and sees "Tractor Supply Employees are Stupid" :lol: :lol:
I remember posting about how a store sent their employees to a seminar where one of the many different demonstrations they gave was banding calves. Right before the man banded the bull calf he said, "OK boys, now we are going to take his mind off the a$$ and put it on the grass!" Someone made the remark that they didn't know they gave seminars on banding. They sent employees to seminars so that they would know what the products they sold were used for. Of course these stores pay better than minimum wage and provide insurance. Imagine that!

Stores that hire people to just have them stand around ,attract anyone walking off of the street. The Co-op's, usually have more knowledgable people, but they aren't open on Saturday afternoons and Sundays when we seem to need it the most.
Moral of the story, have your cows get sick Monday through Saturday afternoon at 12:00.

my cows aways wait till there is a vacation or holidays to get sick.you can bet when you have somthing planned they will pull a monkey shine . :shock:

 

[Rancher6]

Don't you see the problem here? You're buying these things from Tractor Supply rather than your local family-run feed store, or your local veterinarian (which generally have knowledgeable people) because Tractor Supply is the cheapest. Well, the reason they're the cheapest is, in part, because they are paying relatively low wages to their employees in order to keep their prices down. You can't have your cake and eat it to.

It's these same people that complain about Walmart, Target, Lowes, or Home Depot running the local "mom and pops" out of business, and yet when is the last time they were in the "mom and pop" store? Everyone is sad to see the little country grocery store go out of business, yet for the last several years they've been driving an extra 20 miles into town to do all their big grocery shopping at Kroger to save 10 or 15%.

That's business. I don't blame Tractor Supply, Walmart, or Kroger. They are smart enough to understand the market, and have structured their businesses to take advantage of it. They understand that despite the fact that people gripe about the "idiots" they have working for them they'll be back just the same as long as they can "save a buck". Meanwhile the guy down the road that has worked on the farm his whole live and has the knowledge has to close up his store and go get a paying job in order to feed his family. And we all feel really sorry for him as we make another trip back to Tractor Supply.

CJ

Well said! TSC is known for decent prices on some things. But when it comes to Feed, they are high.And in many cases, low quality. Their target is the "Weekend Warrior" They have "loss leader" such as T-posts, that they sell at or right at, cost,As a draw, hoping you'll buy a roll of wire, or another item.Many consumers that shop TSC have as much or less knowledge about animal health than the employees.

We own a family Feed Store, and I can honestly say, we put 100% into everyone that comes through the door.Our customer's are our livelihood.We cant risk not being knowledgeable, friendly, and helpful, or the doors would close.When you have a major chain doing business 15 miles away, you have to go the extra mile, and then some.But we'd do that even if there was no competition. I'm not bragging. It's just my Philosophy.Whether the customer has Rabbits, Chickens, Dogs, or 300 head of Cattle. or needs a handful of grass seed.

At our local feed store, when you go in the owner will come out of his office shake hands with you. When you go into his store, you are the most important person there whether you buy a bag of dog food or a semi load of feed. I also noticed that his feed is better and cheaper than Gebos & Tsc and so forth. That is why I like to go in there. He appreciates my business.

 

[jersey lilly]

We have good luck with the kids workin at tractor supply, maybe because most of them were either raised rural or are Ag students at the college. They seem to want to be helpful and knowledgeable.
Where as our local "family owned" feed store never has what we need. No milk replacer, no bottles even, no pennicillin or any other kind of medications. Basically they have salt blocks and a few different kinds of feed. Sometimes no chicken feed. Sometimes no cubes for cattle. Just all depends on when he decides to restock. So to me it's cheaper to drive west 20 miles to tractor supply, than it is to drive 8 miles east to town, find he doesn't have what i need, then hafta turn back around and drive 28 miles to tractor supply.
However I did just order all my vaccines from Valleyvet.com and Ivomec Plus was wayyyy cheaper than Tractor Supply. $189.95 for 500 ml (plus free shipping) verses 239.99 for same bottle at tractor supply.