Get assistance in any store!
If you are as sick of customer service declines as me you have no doubt found yourself in your local Walmart/Target with an item that doesn’t have a price with no price scanners in sight, or at Staples trying to find an item with no help in sight.
Here is a quick and easy way to get better customer service or in some cases any customer service.
Spend half an hour and find the numbers for the main desk at any store you frequent or the 1800 number for stores such as Staples that can track inventory over the phone.
Put these numbers in your cell phone for easy use.
I recommend putting them all under Z or W for ease of use.
Next time you are in Walmart and you cannot find a price but your item has a UPC call the front desk and ask for a price check.
If you want to find an item but have no clue where its at call the front desk and ask. They might not know but at least you have found someone who will talk to you and is hopefully competent enough to patch you through to the associate milling about in between children’s bikes and the pet food aisle.
A note for Best Buy to speak to a live human you actually need to enter the extension 2021 when prompted.
Do not be surprised if the person you are speaking to is utterly confused since they are not used to people calling from in the store but until I can get a listing of items by aisle on my PPC I will continue to make these calls.
As for staples and other similar retailers you can often call the 1800 number and speak to someone who can give you information on whether an item is in stock or not, which is helpful when the in store employees are as useful as a crutch in quicksand.
Enjoy your newfound free minutes and satisfaction of knowing the price for your poster board and eggs from anywhere in the store.
Josh Smith is a blogger, database manager and adjunct professor of business and technology. 
