creepy encounters with cashiers

[Locutus of Bored]

You're the one supplying the hyperbole.

No, YOU are!

<Shrug> Guess you didn't have much of come back.

Not surprising because advocating politeness, even when you're customer, is about as far from hyperbole as you can get!

Mr Awe

I didn't have much of a comeback because I wasn't trying to have one. It was a joke meant to end the disagreement, dude. Silly response. Animated gif. Wink smiley.

 

[MacLeod]

No, by acting all shocked like he said something horrifying, and making hyperbolic assumptions that he thinks he's superior to cashiers or considers them automatons. Plus, using the roll-eyes emoticon. That's like the DefCon One of emoticon escalation.

I wasn't shocked. As I stated, I was surprised because I usually agree with Pingfah. I still think he's an intelligent poster and I enjoy his posts. I just disagree with him on this issue.

My view is that politeness should be a two-way street. It doesn't matter that the cashier is paid to be there. They're still people on an equal level with the costumer.

You're the one supplying the hyperbole.

Mr Awe

I'm amused/amazed at the idea that the customer and cashier have some kind of mutual responsibility to be polite to each other.

Customer service is the JOB of the cashier! It's a big chunk of what they're paid for. Running a cash register is pretty basic, so the customer service aspect of the job is what often distinguishes a good cashier from a bad one.

The customer, on the other hand, is NOT getting paid to be polite to the cashier, and they are supporting the cashier's employment by SHOPPING at the business where the cashier works.

If a customer wants to talk on a cell phone and completely ignore a cashier, that's fine, because the customer's whole reason for being there is to buy a product, NOT to engage in chit-chat with the cashier. Customer-employee is NOT a two-way street, nor is it an equal relationship.

I have had cashier jobs and customer service positions, and I would never have considered that a customer had an "equal" responsibility to be polite to me. It's my JOB to be polite to them, no matter how they treat me, but the reverse is not true.

I certainly agree that cashiers should be treated with respect, but I don't even think that talking on a cell phone while at a check-out line is disrespect. It's not like the customer's purpose in being there is to talk to the cashier, and they're under no obligation to do so.

The majority of comments thus far not just on here but on other sites seem to support the cashier that the customer was being rude by talking on her phone.

And whilst it is true that a cashier should be polite to a customers, if the customer was being rude in another manner than say by being on the phone by verbaling abusing the cashier most of us would say the cashier would be fully in their right to refuse them service.

In this case as has been mentioned several times, the problem was the cashier refused them service.

So would it not be fair to say both the cashier and the customer where at fault in different ways?

There is a follow up article to it

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23190261

 

[Mr Awe]

No, YOU are!

<Shrug> Guess you didn't have much of come back.

Not surprising because advocating politeness, even when you're customer, is about as far from hyperbole as you can get!

Mr Awe

I didn't have much of a comeback because I wasn't trying to have one. It was a joke meant to end the disagreement, dude. Silly response. Animated gif. Wink smiley.

Ha! Ok! My defense is that it was early in the day and my brain wasn't functional enough at that point to pick up on the humor!

Mr Awe

 

[sonak]

I wasn't shocked. As I stated, I was surprised because I usually agree with Pingfah. I still think he's an intelligent poster and I enjoy his posts. I just disagree with him on this issue.

My view is that politeness should be a two-way street. It doesn't matter that the cashier is paid to be there. They're still people on an equal level with the costumer.

You're the one supplying the hyperbole.

Mr Awe

I'm amused/amazed at the idea that the customer and cashier have some kind of mutual responsibility to be polite to each other.

Customer service is the JOB of the cashier! It's a big chunk of what they're paid for. Running a cash register is pretty basic, so the customer service aspect of the job is what often distinguishes a good cashier from a bad one.

The customer, on the other hand, is NOT getting paid to be polite to the cashier, and they are supporting the cashier's employment by SHOPPING at the business where the cashier works.

If a customer wants to talk on a cell phone and completely ignore a cashier, that's fine, because the customer's whole reason for being there is to buy a product, NOT to engage in chit-chat with the cashier. Customer-employee is NOT a two-way street, nor is it an equal relationship.

I have had cashier jobs and customer service positions, and I would never have considered that a customer had an "equal" responsibility to be polite to me. It's my JOB to be polite to them, no matter how they treat me, but the reverse is not true.

I certainly agree that cashiers should be treated with respect, but I don't even think that talking on a cell phone while at a check-out line is disrespect. It's not like the customer's purpose in being there is to talk to the cashier, and they're under no obligation to do so.

The majority of comments thus far not just on here but on other sites seem to support the cashier that the customer was being rude by talking on her phone.

And whilst it is true that a cashier should be polite to a customers, if the customer was being rude in another manner than say by being on the phone by verbaling abusing the cashier most of us would say the cashier would be fully in their right to refuse them service.

In this case as has been mentioned several times, the problem was the cashier refused them service.

So would it not be fair to say both the cashier and the customer where at fault in different ways?

There is a follow up article to it

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-23190261

To be clear, I'm not defending being rude to a cashier. I'm simply arguing that a cashier and a customer are NOT in equivalent positions. The cashier, as I wrote, is there to serve the customer. The opposite however, is not true. The customer is there to buy a product or service. That's why many customers use self-checkout. To be sure, a lot of folks like talking to cashiers, and prefer an actual cashier to a self-checkout line.

However, it is up to the customer. They are under no obligation to chat with the cashier, and unless they were intefering or delaying other customers, I think that refusing service to a customer because they were on a phone is absurd. If you're enforcing politeness with rigid rules, then it's no longer really politeness.

 

[Greylock Crescent]

If a customer is talking on the phone, listening to their MP3 player, chewing gum loudly, or are otherwise dismissive of the cashier, then, yes, they are being rude. It's up to the cashier, though, to be able to handle the situation without allowing it to affect customer service: More easily said than done.

I'm a veteran educator, but the circumstances of life have compelled me to also work in retail for the past couple of years. In fact, I just spent the evening ringing customers at the local B&N - even had an elderly gent ask, "why are you so happy?" (despite the fact that I had a fever before the Dayquil kicked in tonight). As a teacher, I've developed a pretty thick skin and I've learned not to take outward displays of disrespect personally and I know how to project a positive attitude, even when I'm not feeling particularly positive. But there are times when even I get ticked at a customer's behavior or attitude. Plus, not all cashiers have that defense mechanism, or know how to put a display of rude behavior aside and move on from the incident. That's just human nature. Plus, how much "customer service" training do people think cashiers actually get?

So while retail workers are paid to provide customer service, they are still people - who, more often than not, are still developing their thicker skins - and that does not absolve customers from the responsibility of their actions. Of course, customers can act any way they see fit, but it's better to treat the retail employees as individuals - not as nameless, faceless automatons. It doesn't take much effort, and really does help improve everyone's day.

 

[Nick086]

I have seen some customers get on their cell phones purposely so they wouldn't have to communicate to the cashier since they found what they were looking to purchase. There are some that act like they own the store and can do anything they want to. It seem to me some cashiers that go over and beyond end up getting the dismissive and condescending attitude. When they don't get that kind of cashier they complain to the Supervisor or Manager that cashier wasn't being courteous and professional.

 

[MacLeod]

Treat others as you would wish them to treat you.

 

[Nick086]

Treat others as you would wish them to treat you.

ehhh that doesn't always work.

 

[iguana_tonante]

Treat others as you would wish them to treat you.

No. Treat others as they wish you to treat them. Maybe I want to be spanked and called Sister Sally and be told I am a bad, bad nun. I surmise other people might prefer a different treatment.

 

[sonak]

I have seen some customers get on their cell phones purposely so they wouldn't have to communicate to the cashier since they found what they were looking to purchase. There are some that act like they own the store and can do anything they want to. It seem to me some cashiers that go over and beyond end up getting the dismissive and condescending attitude. When they don't get that kind of cashier they complain to the Supervisor or Manager that cashier wasn't being courteous and professional.

again, it's up to the customer. There's no rule that just because you go to a store you MUST chat with the cashier. I just don't understand that attitude. And a lack of a desire to chit-chat still doesn't excuse rude behavior from the cashier. When I was a cashier, my attitude was to follow the lead of the customer. I would just greet them politely, and if they didn't want to talk, or were on their phone, distracted or whatever, I just went off of that.

 

[Nick086]

I have seen some customers get on their cell phones purposely so they wouldn't have to communicate to the cashier since they found what they were looking to purchase. There are some that act like they own the store and can do anything they want to. It seem to me some cashiers that go over and beyond end up getting the dismissive and condescending attitude. When they don't get that kind of cashier they complain to the Supervisor or Manager that cashier wasn't being courteous and professional.

again, it's up to the customer. There's no rule that just because you go to a store you MUST chat with the cashier. I just don't understand that attitude. And a lack of a desire to chit-chat still doesn't excuse rude behavior from the cashier. When I was a cashier, my attitude was to follow the lead of the customer. I would just greet them politely, and if they didn't want to talk, or were on their phone, distracted or whatever, I just went off of that.

No there isn't a rule, but I wasn't talking about chit chatting about the weather persay, but giving informing to a customer about an item they were looking for asking about. I'm so good with being short with the customers they thinking I'm being dismissive and oh I also like to be condescending.

 

[R. Star]

People talking on phones in public places, especially stores and checkout lines, is rude. Not only is it disrespectful to the person right in your face, but it slows the people behind you(me) down because they have to sit there and wait on you unload your cart so slow the cashier is waiting on you, to pay for said groceries after you finally look up from your own little world to notice they're waiting on you to pay, and to get out of the way once you finally realized your groceries are bagged. It's bad enough you're taking up the whole aisle while you're shopping because you're chatting away on your phone, but you have to clusterfuck the registers too? Yet when you get called on how selfish you're being, you have the audacity to say others are being rude. Yeah right.

 

[sonak]

People talking on phones in public places, especially stores and checkout lines, is rude. Not only is it disrespectful to the person right in your face, but it slows the people behind you(me) down because they have to sit there and wait on you unload your cart so slow the cashier is waiting on you, to pay for said groceries after you finally look up from your own little world to notice they're waiting on you to pay, and to get out of the way once you finally realized your groceries are bagged. It's bad enough you're taking up the whole aisle while you're shopping because you're chatting away on your phone, but you have to clusterfuck the registers too? Yet when you get called on how selfish you're being, you have the audacity to say others are being rude. Yeah right.

wow, ANY public place? So you can only use your phone from your own house or of another private residence?


Er, what's the point of a MOBILE phone if you can't use it in a mall, a bus, a store, etc. Might as well have a land line.


At any rate, talking on the phone during a purchase MAY slow one down and it may not. As I wrote earlier, small cash transactions wouldn't likely go any slower if the customer was on the phone. Considering typical customer behavior anyway(people bringing more items than allowed in express lines, for example) it's probably no more of an effect on efficiency than a lot of other things.

 

[Nick086]

I've heard other customers say stuff about customers on their cellphones in the store, I have seen customers on their cellphones get in the way when they are texting on their cellphone. They don't watch where there going.

 

[Yoda]

Bah, customers don't watch where they're going regardless of whether they're on the phone or not. Some people are like moths, they see something in a store and will make a bee-line towards it oblivious to their surroundings. Or they'll park their shopping cart in a way to block as much traffic as possible.

I agree that talking on your phone while dealing with a cashier is rude. If you can't handle walking around a store while talking on the phone and not getting in everyone's way, you probably can't handle it while not on the phone either.

 

[publiusr]

When these eyewearable computers become all the rage, I foresee a spike in purse snatchings/pickpocketing. They will never see it go down.

 

[sonak]

I've heard other customers say stuff about customers on their cellphones in the store, I have seen customers on their cellphones get in the way when they are texting on their cellphone. They don't watch where there going.

the ones that get me are those who text while they're crossing a busy street. I mean, yeah it may be a crosswalk, but how about a little awareness of where you are?

 

[Vendikarr]

For me its about the other customers. They shouldn't have to wait, because the person ahead of them in line is oblivious to the fact he needs to participate in the transaction occurring.

I was behind this person in line once. She kept talking (rather loudly) facing away from the cashier as the cashier was trying to get her attention. I bumped her with my cart and asked her to take a break from helping her daughter with her homework and pay her bill. I also suggested she speak softer next time, because everyone around her knew her business.

She paid her bill muttering about how people should just mind their own business.

 

[Nick086]

For me its about the other customers. They shouldn't have to wait, because the person ahead of them in line is oblivious to the fact he needs to participate in the transaction occurring.

I was behind this person in line once. She kept talking (rather loudly) facing away from the cashier as the cashier was trying to get her attention. I bumped her with my cart and asked her to take a break from helping her daughter with her homework and pay her bill. I also suggested she speak softer next time, because everyone around her knew her business.

She paid her bill muttering about how people should just mind their own business.

Good thing it wasn't me I would of called her the five letter word along with the F bomb with the ing outloud right in her face about she should not keep people behide her waiting

 

[MacLeod]

For me its about the other customers. They shouldn't have to wait, because the person ahead of them in line is oblivious to the fact he needs to participate in the transaction occurring.

I was behind this person in line once. She kept talking (rather loudly) facing away from the cashier as the cashier was trying to get her attention. I bumped her with my cart and asked her to take a break from helping her daughter with her homework and pay her bill. I also suggested she speak softer next time, because everyone around her knew her business.

She paid her bill muttering about how people should just mind their own business.

Perhpas she shouldn't go around broadcasting her buisness for all and sundry to hear then.