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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:
Maylee · 18/07/2010 21:28

I think YABU tbh (sorry).

It's not that I think customer is King but the retail assistant is there to help the customer. It's not ideal for the customer to be on the phone during a transaction, but I often find I have to shop / eat/ talk etc at the same time because there simply aren't enough hours in the day.

Not sure what kind of retail shop you work in but if it is something like a mobile phone store where the customer needs to speak with the staff in detail about contracts, etc then it is rude for said customer to be on the phone. However, if it is on a make-up counter or in a clothes store and customer just wants to buy something and run in and out - then that's the customer's perogative. You are providing the service - not the other way around.

Original poster
PrettyVacant1 · 18/07/2010 22:19

Ponyo
Think I've said nuff to possibly out the Brand.
Rather not attract accusations on the particular way we speak to our customers.

Maylee Fair.
But 10 seconds out of their life to interact with another human providing that service is not too much to expect.
As I've and others have said there are times when a phone call takes priority and it's common courtesy to excuse yourself but to stand infront of someone and blatantly disregard them is rude.
You would apologise to company if you were interrupted. No?

OP posts:
sparkle12mar08 · 19/07/2010 01:15

Just picking up on something earlier, but if you refused to serve me just because I was taking a call, despite me having acknowleged you and been polite doing so, I would be leaving all my purchases and complaining to your manager. You're (general 'you') there to serve people, I don't want to be chatted to, As long as I'm not verbally or physically rude to you, and it's not a transaction where I need to talk, then just bloody serve me!

GazzasDressingGown · 19/07/2010 01:25

I think it IS ignorant.Recently have taken to having Ipod on when walking around without dc (music reminds me of dp and am maybe mad loon but it is sort of comforting) but always take earbuds out and would never carry on a convo unless vitally improtant (phne glued to me when dp was in icu) but if was being served in shop feel it is totally ignorant to be plugged into some form of technology whilst doing purchases.

sparkle12mar08 · 19/07/2010 01:49

But why is it, GDG? I'm polite, I always acknowledge the person serving me, but why should I not be able to continue doing other stuff once that nicety is conducted?

CarmenSanDiego · 19/07/2010 05:33

Not a big personal fan of mobile phones, but...

I think it depends a bit.. if you're in a rush, it's your lunch hour and you're grabbing a sandwich and you've got calls to make, then I don't think there is really an obligation to talk to the person in the shop. Of course it's not the politest thing, but there's a simple transaction to be made. You're paying for your sandwich, the person is paid to give you a sandwich. Job's a good'un.

But in the sort of place where PV works (free sample a big giveaway!), it's a much more chatty atmosphere and interaction is expected. You /could/ just buy your soap and walk out chatting on your phone, but it's a bit out of keeping with the shop.

I don't really like small talk. I get a bit upset with American shops which are all like Gap with people harassing you constantly. I got invited to be measured no less than five times in Victoria's Secret the other day. Ended up walking out emptyhanded and buying online instead. I don't think making loads of small talk should be an obligation if you don't feel like it for whatever reason.

EmmaBemma · 19/07/2010 07:23

I tend to find find it's the other way around - I always say hello and goodbye, please and thank you to checkout people and half the time don't get any response. If two people are working next to each other they'll often carry on a conversation without acknowledging my presence at all, except to tell me how much I owe them and to indicate where the card machine is.

Mind you, I've been on the receiving end at the other side of the till too. I guess the answer is that many people are just rude twats.

angelbabe1982 · 19/07/2010 07:43

I work on a checkout, and prefer not to serve someone on their phone - our managers tend to agree. It is rude - how can I interact with you in the way my company DEMANDS when you can't even be bothered to even look at me or give me a whole 2 minutes of your time? Is your time worth more than mine? I have had a twat customer shout at me because he was on his phone (talking about how hungover he was) and I offered a bag etc, he didn't answer, so I put his stuff through with no bags (was a £90 shopping). If you don't answer me, how will I know?
Yes, shop workers provise a service, but is a little common courtesy to much to ask? It's as if you put on the uniform, you seem to become invisible, unless someone needs a moan - better than bloody Harry Potter's cloak
Poor service pisses me off too, but IME its customers who tend to treat the workers as if they are stupid underlings!

missjellycat · 19/07/2010 07:53

YABU. I enjoy shopping and find it therapeutic. Tbh you sound quite petty, you didn't have to follow your company's guidance about being chatty on this occasion but you did so to annoy your customer... I think if a senior rep for Brand had been there you would rightly have been admonished!

It's not the customer's job to chat to you, get over yourself OP! Some customers want chat, others want to zoom in, buy their usual and get out again.

On a tangent, why are so many AIBUs not 'am I' but 'is this person'? Judgey central.

Livingbytheriver · 19/07/2010 08:11

Vicious circle in this country IMO...a lot of people are very rude to shop assistants AND to top it all a lot of retail companies are bloody difficult to work for so they can get it from both ends.

So I'm not surprised they look grumpy sometimes...in some shops they could being paid minimum wage and being told they have to work the next two bank holidays with no extra pay. You can't really say 'if you don't like it, go and work somewhere' else because there aren?t many jobs about at the moment.

Is it not a crap crap situation it is when we are living in a world when there are simply not enough hours in the day to interact with another human being simply selling us something?

If you are that short on time IMO you need to manage you time better!

Being completely ignored when you 'serve' someone feels crap (I've had girls in tears in my office after a day's worth of crap and rude treatment from customers) and this is the main reason people leave retail work, which is why most shops (particularly in affluent areas) are short staffed!

I've seen people shopping and moaning because there are no staff...then I've seen that same person be astonishingly rude when they do find someone!!!!! Do people not see what is happening????

ramblingmum · 19/07/2010 09:01

I'm a pharmacist and get very annoyed with people who cann't stop talking on their phone for long enough to collect their prescription.
We have to confirm their name an addresse and as it is a hospital many of the medicines are new to the patient so whe try check that they have been given and understood instructions on how to use it. (not everything is to be swallowed once a day)

I now politely say "I will come back when you have finished your call." and go on to the next person

TheBossofMe · 19/07/2010 09:13

Really? You get het up about this? Really????? I mean, its not as if you were asking anything really vital (as in ramblings example) - just whether they wanted a free sample. I would have taken the fact they were on a mobile as a sign they were busy and not in the mood for havng samples forced on them, so poor reading of a customer, and really really pushy IMO.

I would also say that I see more retail workers ignoring customers to continue their vital chats than the other way around, TBH.

goodmorning · 19/07/2010 10:53

Prettyvacant
Did you mention CT?!

TheLadyOfTheGreenKirtle · 19/07/2010 10:55

thebossofme, the op was doing her job it is simply good manners to acknowledge the person in front of you who is serving you. and as a checkout worker, i find that it is more often the customer who is rude rather than the assistant. i found the same when i was a restaurant manager, it seems that to some people service industry=not worth valuable manners.

TheBossofMe · 19/07/2010 12:01

lady - Depends on whether you think her job was to serve the customer in a purchase that obviously didn't require a conversation, or whether you think her job was to give her samples she didn't want or ask for, and ask her to finish her phone conversation before she paid. I think the latter is being a jobsworth, TBH. Shop assistants who insist on giving you a sales patter and stuff I don't want are one of my pet hates, and a major reason I avoid some stores - what happened to being able to just go in an have a browse, or buy something without being harrassed?

And yes, before you ask, I have worked in a service industry, both as a waitress and a shop assistant.

MrsC2010 · 19/07/2010 12:07

I must admit I have done this, I used to run out from my desk to grab a sandwich from Tesco or nip into a shop or whatever and my mobile would ring and as I was permanently short of time I would answer it. If this meant being on the phone while at the till so be it, I would always smile and mouth an apology and make it obvious that I appreciated being served, but I wouldn't stop the call. (Unless it was my mother or someone who would be easily put off.) I would still do the same now to be honest. I would also find it a little rude if having indicated that I was unable to talk you persisted in trying to speak over me, at what point does your desire to talk to me become more inmportant that my desire to talk to the person on the other end of the phone? There is very little in a standard transaction that cannot be communicated through gesture or smile, facial expression etc when required.

When I worked in retail it wouldn't hack me off if people wanted to continue their lives whilst carrying our a purchase, for most it is just a small part of the day and it wouldn't bother me.

goodmorning · 19/07/2010 12:13

Thebossofme
I can assure you it isnt a choice the OP has with regards to her offering samples etc.It is expected and if she wasnt doing it she would be spoken to by her manager.

MrsC2010 · 19/07/2010 12:15

Well, having worked in a well known clothing retail shop with similar rules regarding chat (set things you're supposed to say etc) I can guarantee that the customer's needs/wants come first. So if I had tried to speak over a customer who had indicated (verbally or otherwise) that they didn't want to chat I would be admonished for that as it is rude.

itstimmytime · 19/07/2010 12:20

The best one I saw was a young woman on the phone having a round of drinks (from the beer garden20 yards away) relayed to her and she was telling the bartender without even looking up at her. Rude, Rude, Rude. It was only 4 drinks too!

To slightly change the subject, what about shopkeepers? My local newsagent never stops talking on his phone to serve people and I have experienced this in loads of corner shops.

susie100 · 19/07/2010 12:27

I have about a 10 minute lunch break in which I often have to make a call home or to the DH.

I don't expect to have a conversation with someone ringing a sandwich through the till to be honest not because I am snobby but because I don't have time for it and its idle chit chat.
I do always smile though

TheBossofMe · 19/07/2010 12:47

goodmorning - I would say that's a failing of the sales policy of the shop rather than the customer. Very rude to force things onto a customer when they have indicated they are trying to get the transaction completed in as little time as possible and without a conversation which was for the sole purpose of trying to sell them stuff they didn't want.

Can you tell that it really is a pet hate of mine????

goodmorning · 19/07/2010 12:53

theboss
Its not about forcing unwanted items,certainly not.However OP job requires that she does initiate a conversation and offer free samples for her customer to try, but not to carry on if it isnt wanted!
Dont worry i would have realised you werent my mystery shopper so if i served you i would have kept it brief!

TheBossofMe · 19/07/2010 13:00

free samples = unwanted items in my book.

If I want to try something, I'll ask.

I think the Op was rude to say she would wait until the customer had finished on her call before talking to her when the only reason she wanted to talk to her was to give her a sample, so nothing to do with the actual purchase.

I've always wanted to be a mystery shopper, though - being paid to shop sounds like fun (yes, i realise it probably isn't, but a girl can dream!)

goodmorning · 19/07/2010 13:04

Hmm, so i couldn't even sneak that sample in your bag?!
What if that was the best product you ever tried in your whole life.
Customers can be such hard work-joking of course!

TheBossofMe · 19/07/2010 13:11

goodmorning - see, they end up in my bag, forgotten and unloved until they spring a leak and ruin the leather. And then I cry. Which is never good!

I am a very hard work customer!!!!