When the shop assistant doesn't say "please" when stating the amount...

[TwixOwl]

I have a new pet hate...

It makes my blood boil when shop assistants scan and just say "359"... 359 what and where are your manners? £3.59 please!!!

Does this annoy anyone else?

Perhaps you should start paying them better wages, then.

They aren’t making a request, they are simply informing you of the cost of your shopping.

Out of interest, what do you do for a living @TwixOwl?

I can't start to care about this. Some manners from customers is enough to make you mute I think

Probably should have read through the thread before bothering posting like.

Same
I use Aldi, staff are polite and nice if I need anything
At the till they just say "cash or card? That's 3.59"
I could go to booths and get incredibly good service but I'll be paying for it so I'll take Aldi every time for the 10 seconds out my week I am at the checkout paying

I work in a supermarket. I say 'it's £x when you're ready' they pay and I say thank you, have a good rest of the day, take care polite goodbye. I don't say please, a customer wants what my company sells. I do the transaction as that it is what it is. The customer wants what we want and they pay for it.

I'm not rude, if they want to make small talk and I wish them on for the rest of the day.

Polite manners go both ways and I've had money thrown at me , grunted at, ignored even when I spoken to them more than once.

Op sounds entitled. I'd love to know how much of their £3.59 of goods, cost of running the physical premises etc actually went on my wages

Exactly and we don’t all walk up and say please can you scan my shopping. Retail has it hard enough without going on the attack as you want someone to say please and request you pay. Like you’re doing them a favour by paying for your shopping.

Lady crumpet
This is a disgraceful attitude. If you can't do the job properly, then its not for you. The next person that you decide to be rude to may be perfectly nice. Maybe you need to look at your own manners and work out if thats why people are so rude to you.

I can only deduce from this comment that you have never worked retail! I worked 27 years in a high end dept store and I can assure you the daily abuse you get is what is disgraceful. Yes you shouldn't take the attitude from rude and abusive people and make it cloud your own attitude to the next customer but most of us are human and actually some days ( not all ) it can have an affect on you. Sadly many people see retail staff as less than , funny that though , these people kept the country going through Covid whilst they sat on their arses getting paid furlough and complaining they didn't get a please or thank you. Maybe you need to be a bit kinder in your approach , ever had a bad day but had to be on show for the general public for 8 hours plus ? I'm guessing not !

I don't think I have ever met anyone who says "I pay their wages " who isn't utterly ghastly unless they actually genuinely do

I think the OP definitely considers themselves superior

Haha!! You are NOT 'paying their wages'! FML 🤦‍♀️

I'm a teacher, and the times arrogant, rude, entitled parents have 'pointed out' that I should do as they say because 'I pay your wages!' is unbelievable!

No, you don't 'pay their wages' you utter knob!

You should Try being a shop assistant. An average 8 hour shift and you'll have served roughly 400 people....and oh boy do those people snatch receipts, ignore the staff member...are rude on their phone. Walk away after typing their phones without waiting ro see if it even goes through or declines. Customers are the worst....and happy cashier will.soon by grumpy after constantly putting up with this day in and out.
Why should we say please anyway. Your the one wanting to buy the products, we arnt going to ay please like we are begging you to pay the money for the items you wish to purchase.

Furthermore....you say its another one of your pet hates but I bet loads of people who know you could write lot of things they don't like about you. Just deal with it.

"Like you’re doing them a favour by paying for your shopping."

This attitude is what makes working with the public so hard, because they feel like they're bestowing some huge favour and behave like they're 'owed' more than what they're buying in return for their money.

It's a transaction of goods for money, people behave like they're handing over money and getting nothing in return. It's just a way to feel superior to people that are viewed as 'less' because they serve I suppose. Sad really to have such an attitude towards people you rely on.

One of the ways I cope with customers with an 'I am paying your wages so you'd best behave exactly as I want you to' attitude, is to think that oftentimes, all they really have to stand upon is their so called 'dignity'. They certainly don't have much in the way of manners, themselves, usually, let alone anything else. Poor dears.

Completely agree! Working with the public can be soul destroying

Personally manners annoy me. Feels fake

What?! You sound ridiculous

From their masses of other customers who DGAF about this pettiness? You’re not that important I’m afraid!

My dd has been working for some years in commercial hospitality (so not public-facing), and she recently did a one-off shift at a place she'd not been to before.

It involved serving food & drink to the general public and visitors to an event. She came home and said she'd been astounded at the rudeness and entitled bad manners of so many of the customers towards her and the other staff.

So on the whole OP, I think the shoe is normally on the other foot.

I'm a volunteer in a charity shop, so wages are irrelevant.
Sometimes I say please, sometimes I don't. I do always tell the customer the price, confirm the amount they've given me, and tell them how much change I'm giving.
All customers are greeted and acknowledged.

I don't care if staff don't say please or thankyou. I do find it annoying when they don't tell you the total you're spending.

No - i have bigger problems than needing forced faked manners

I don't really notice now, but many years ago when I was trying to teach my DC some manners and prompting them with please & TY, a checkout lady said the amount and I automatically jumped in with "please"! I realised what I had done and quickly apologised and she then apologised and said she should have said it! 😆

I don't think it's necessary at all. I think British culture is over-invested in 'manners'. Think about the purpose that manners serves; it's usually to display gratitude or to kindly ask something of someone.

Asking you to obey the law and pay for the thing that YOU need is neither of those things. It's neither rude nor polite to simply state what you owe.

I'm the same when at a zebra crossing. I don't wave thanks for drivers obeying the law and not running me over, it's what they're supposed to do.

'What's the magic word?' or 'pretty please' common manners have evolved and in my long experience of working in the retail sector I feel that our British custom of always saying please and thank you (and sorry even when not in the wrong) have been diluted by businesses giving a 'script' and by customers not engaging. Many of those staff and customers may not have had the 'magic' word drummed into them from childhood but have learnt English as a second of language..how cool is that? If just hearing 'please' and 'thank you' is all that's OP has to whinge about she's a lucky person.

I hate all this I pay your wages stuff. Very arrogant and self important.
Almost as annoying as when some people have beef with teachers or police ‘you’re a public servant aren’t you? Well I’m the public and you’re my servant’. 🙄
I’d get over it they don’t owe you anything.