to think people should try being a little politer to check out staff?

[Diamondback]

Well, okay, most people are, but there's a sizeable minority of people who think that if you work in a service job (tills, waitress, etc), then you are thick scum and it's okay to take out their bad day on you.

Favourites from my time at Tesco's include:

A man losing his temper with me because I didn't look sufficiently excited that Tesco's were redesigning their uniforms;

Students impersonating me as I scan items, complete with beepy noises;

A mother from the local posh girls' school telling her daughters at my till to "work hard at your GCSEs or you'll end up working in here, like her." (I was too polite to point out that I had an A and two Bs at A Level and was just about to take my place at Leeds Uni).

These are just the funny incidents in amongst all the common and garden rudeness and weird guys leching at you (because they can't tell the difference between someone who's paid to smile and be polite and someone who actually is your friend).

So be a little patient with your checkout peeps - if they look a little surly, you might be the first nice customer after ten ignorant w*nkers!

This really gets on my goat. My Sister used to work in a well known high street clothes store, and some of the stories she has told me are awful. She said one day a group of young girls were asked to leave because they had spent over 2 hours trying clothes on and leaving them all over the changing rooms, not returning them to the rail in the changing rooms, shouting and swearing to each other across changing rooms etc. They all left eventually after leaving 2 used sanitary items in the changing rooms and writing c**t over 4 of the mirrors in lip gloss... classy!

I used to work in my Mum and Dad's chip shop. I used to love the people that would eat 3/4 of their meal and then ask for a refund because they didn't like it. The ones that asked nicely I would do it for (even though they had eaten it) because they asked nicely, and in a small town bad reviews spread easily. One lady though, with her husband and 4 children, all ate their meals (clean plates) then wanted a refund because it didn't taste right. Instead of having a quiet word with me, she sat there cicking her fingers (I kid you not) to get my attention, then loudly proclaimed "I demand a refund, the food was awful, how you exepect anyone to eat that is ridiculous! I should be suing you really but I will take a refund as a good will gesture". I told her politely I would be doing no such thing and that frankly I would rather they didn't come back if that was how she was going to talk to me. She walked off in a huff and I've never seen her again. Her husband comes in quite frequently (even now) and is always polite and so are the kids!

www.notalwaysright.com