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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think that I am worthy of acknowledgement or even polite conversation whilst doing my job.

101 replies

PrettyVacant1 · 18/07/2010 13:41

I work in the wonderful world of retail and yesterday a woman came into my store speaking on her mobile phone.

Usually I'd say hello but as she was having a conversation I just made eye contact and smiled.
She completely ignored me and went to pick up her purchase.

She then went to the till continuing her conversation.
As she was on the phone I hesitated to go and serve her.
She then waved the purchase at me and motioned that she wanted to pay.

I walked over, smiled, apologised and said that I'd wait until she'd finished her call as I felt rude speaking to her whilst she was on the phone.
She stared at me blankly and said it was alright, she was going to continue talking.

I couldn't help but overhear and she wasn't exactly giving instruction on how to safely drill a hole in someones skull.
More like "My god!"
"Really!"
"So what are you going to wear next time?"

So I just spoke over her to interact like my company asks.

I gave her her a free sample and as I was explaining what it was she paused, glared at me again and said to the person on the other end that she was sorry and she will be able to talk properly in a minute!

I wasn't pushy or rude I just think that if the call was so important she should've finished it before wanting me to serve her.

AIBU to think that it's the hight of bad manners to not even give someone the courtesy of holding a call for one minute whilst they provide a service and do their job.

Rant over.
As you were.

OP posts:
Original poster
PrettyVacant1 · 18/07/2010 14:35

Keep x posts.

I'll have you know I'm very nice Alaska and plenty of people WANT to chat to me.
It's an integeral part of my job which I enjoy.
It's unfortunate that self righteous fuckwits occasionally spoil the moment.

OP posts:
southeastastra · 18/07/2010 14:37

people do this all the time round here. what really pissed me off are twatty blokes with those bluetooth things - look like they're talking to themselves.

agree its very very rude

ivykaty44 · 18/07/2010 14:39

I work as a receptionist and often will be answering a telephone call and have the phone on one side of my head pocking out and a person will wlak into the buildign and talk to me completly oblivious that I am on the telphone - this happens on a regular basis and I have to ask the telephone caller to hold the line for a minute and tell the perosn in reception I will be with them in a minute - the smile of greeting they think is their que to talk to me.

The other day I had one person explining what he wanted and another man coem to the desk and started talking to me aswlel - I looked at them both and asked the second man to please wait and i would be with him.

People seem to me t live in bubbles and are unaware of what is happening aorund them

AgentZigzag · 18/07/2010 14:56

The woman was rude without a doubt, and I'm sure you'd never do this, but there are plenty of times I've paid at tills in shops where the person serving me has hardly said a word let alone eye contact.

Either they've just said how much it is and that's all, or they're carrying on a conversation with another member of staff.

That kind of pisses me off a tad.

Original poster
PrettyVacant1 · 18/07/2010 15:04

No, not never AgentZ.
Without meaning to come across all prissy I give good service so I expect good service.

I've been in shops were the person serving me was telling her colleague that she "'effin hated the place " took my money and gave me a customer satisfaction slip with my reciept.

OP posts:
ILovePonyo · 18/07/2010 15:09

YADNBU. I used to work in retail and was amazed at how rude some people can be, I always tried to be super nice back to them.

Can I hazard a guess from your post that you might work in a certain well known soap shop?!

agedknees · 18/07/2010 15:20

Ivy - I was taking a patients blood pressure and chatting to patient. An old lady walks up to me and thrust a telephone number under my nose and demands I phone the volunteer driver for her.

Could she not have waited the 30 secs it would have taken me to finish the blood pressure?

Some people live in their own little bubble world.

BeenBeta · 18/07/2010 15:26

On the other hand, shop workers who chew gum and continue talking to their colleague while serving me also annoy intensely.

Its either a part of the moral decline of society, or my increasing age.

sparkle12mar08 · 18/07/2010 15:48

Oh I hate it when companies require their employees to become my new best friend! I happily say a polite good morning, but would much rather they then just serve me quickly and quietly. So an acknowledgement is one thing, but I hate making polite conversation when I don't have to.

Don't let it wind you up though OP, you'd done your bit in offering to wait for her and she'd declined. So you should just have carried on serving her, talking over her was very rude too imo. I'd have been quite angry at that tbh.

mountainmonkey · 18/07/2010 15:53

YANBU - I used to have a dazzling career in convenience retail in a very studenty area and people used to do this all the time. The ones that come in with their headphones blaring and don't take them out are really rude too.
But a lot of shop assistants can be just as bad as BeenBeeta pointed out.

AxisofEvil · 18/07/2010 15:56

Well I think the attitude of the woman wasn't great but I don't think that talking on a mobile per se is crime of the century. If I'm out and about and get a call I have to talk it isn't necessarily practical to stop everything I'm doing until the call is over. Recently for instance I was in the middle of a long queue in a supermarket and a work call came in. I certainly wasn't going to drop out the queue to take it as it would have taken ages to get through the queue again (far too few staff on) but the call was still ongoing when I reached the cashier. I smiled and nodded at the cashier though.

sapphireblue · 18/07/2010 15:56

rude rude rude!!! I did my fair share of retail work whilst at uni and it used to drive me potty.....and soooo many people did it. Another bugbear was holding my hand out to take a customers money and them putting it down on the counter instead of in my hand..........grrrrrrrrrrr. People who work in shopfloor retail don't get paid enough to put up with that kind of shit!

RuthieCohen · 18/07/2010 16:04

Round my way you're lucky to encounter a staff member behind the till who's not on their mobile.

They won't tell me the price, just expect that I'll look at the display on the register. Half the time they don't even look at me.

OP's rude customer should shop round here, it's a retail match made in heaven.

HotSprocket · 18/07/2010 16:08

Oh lordy!

This is my biggest hate! I work in retail too and i just cannot stand it when people do that.

The other one is people with headphones in so they cannot hear a word you are saying.

eg:
Me - "would you like a bad"
Customer with headphones on says nothing
Me - (louder) "would you like a bag"
Again nothing
I give up and just put the item on the counter when finished ringing it through
Customer - "would have been nice if you offered me a bag"

Arggggh!!

abshirley · 18/07/2010 16:35

Yes, customers who insist on using their mobiles are rude. I would also add people who stand in front of the shelves or freezers deep in conversation on their mobiles are also rude. Surely people can survive for 20 minutes or so without a phone conversation! You know, like we all did 15 or so years ago before mobile phones were in common usage.
Ruthie Cohen I'm surprised that retail staff are allowed to use their phones whilst working. My son who works in retail is not allowed to take his phone onto the shopfloor, which is as it should be.

laloue · 18/07/2010 17:18

I particularly hate this too, but the best one is when you're fitting a child with shoes, the parent is yabbering away about tonight's dinner on their mobile, the child is ,say, three. I sit there on my fitting stool and stare,smiling nicely at them, and keep staring and smiling until they ask me if there's a problem...erm yes, I'd like to know what you want to try on as your child is three and will ask for anything with flashing lights or sequins. And don't even think about starting the conversation again whilst I'm gone, as I will sit and wait for you to show some manners.
I do have one customer who has the "courtesy" to simply say "Please ,don't stand and make polite conversation, I'll be fine" ...refreshing if nothing else!

SloanyPony · 18/07/2010 17:38

Whilst the customer was very rude, I think you were too.

"So I just spoke over her to interact like my company asks"

At this point she had already indicated to you that she wanted to carry on her conversation, yet you carried on talking to her ?

This is basically ignoring a customers needs, however you may disagree or however small they may make you feel, and imposing your own agenda on her.

Whist she was rude, I think you could have taken her lead on this occasion. She clearly didn't want a free sample, interaction or chit chat, but she got it anyway.

Ewe · 18/07/2010 17:45

YABU

It's not about surviving without making a telephone call it's that shopping is completely useless dead time. If I am out and about sans toddler I will absolutely use that time to call friends and catch up with people I sometimes find it tricky to find the time to speak to when at home.

There are plenty of times when it's inappropriate to take a call, when seeing a doctor, when at toddler group, when meeting with school/teacher etc but imo when I am making a usually quick transaction it's fine to speak on the phone.

Glitterandglue · 18/07/2010 17:47

When I worked in retail [thankfully I no longer do, and hope never to again] one bloke came up to the till talking on his mobile throughout the transaction. He definitely wasn't the first so as usual with people doing that, I served him saying as little as possible but silently seething.

He came back over an hour and a half later and apologised profusely to me, saying that it was a call from his manager he'd been waiting for for days. I was so taken aback at the fact that he'd bothered to come back and apologise I expect I looked a bit stupid as I said, "That's all right, don't worry about it." I was very pleased though really!

Glitterandglue · 18/07/2010 17:53

Ewe, I often speak to people while I'm out shopping, but as soon as I have to interact with someone in person, I put the conversation on the phone on hold. Because when somebody does need to speak to you - even if it's just to ask if you'd like a bag, or thank you - it is rude not to give them your full attention. Surely everybody learns that when they're young, before they have phones, and they reach the till while shopping with other people in person - you don't carry on talking to your mates while the person's serving you, you stop until you're done.

It's really not such an ask to hold your conversation during that transaction, which is going to be about thirty seconds tops in most cases.

Ewe · 18/07/2010 18:00

I will say "one sec" to the person on my phone if asked a question and I would of course say thank you after the transaction - that is simply not the situation in the OP though, she was giving out free samples and explaining what they were etc. Even after the customer had made it clear that she was busy on the phone and wanted to continue her conversation.

If the shopper didn't say thank you, or nod or say yes when asked if she wanted a bag then fair enough, that's poor manners but the OP doesn't mention any of those things. I equally really hate it when people working in stores ask me if I want a store card/membership card/free sample blah blah blah (and yes, I know they're just doing what they're paid to do).

usualsuspect · 18/07/2010 18:03

How about you finish your call before you go to the till ...

TheLadyOfTheGreenKirtle · 18/07/2010 18:08

god, this is one of my pet hates! its so rude!!

Original poster
PrettyVacant1 · 18/07/2010 20:37

I think the general consensus is that it is incredibly rude.
Circumstances allowing.

Sloany fair point.
That did sound a little arsey in my OP.
Do I not have needs
I hardly struck up a lengthy repartee though.
After the inital "No I'll just be downright ignorant and continue chatting about what my mates going to wear on her next date" coversation was established.
I said:
"If you get .... you'll get .... free."
"£12 please."
"This is .... it's for.... and does...."
"Thank you, bye"
I don't think thats rude.

Ewe as I said in the OP I did not exactly bombard her.
I acknowledged her with a smile as she was on the phone.

At the till point the free sample I gave her complimented the purchase she made and it took all of 3 seconds to tell her what it was.
I informed her of this instead of just pushing it towards her like she did with her money to me.
The only time I spoke over to her was to say that she would be entitled to blah if she spent blah,sample and tell her the amount she owed me.
Thirty seconds like Glitter said

And yes it is my job but I also have the courtesy and social skills to read a situation/person and therefore know when to interact and to what degree.

Why are Mums at toddler groups, Teachers or Doctors more deserving of your attention than people that work in a shop?

I may just do what Venusonarockbun does in future and would support my team if they did the same.

OP posts:
ILovePonyo · 18/07/2010 21:18

Answer my question puhleeease OP!

From your last post I am now convinced you work in popular soap shop!!!