To ask you all to abide these rules when shopping

[Ladyofthehousespeaking]

I've namechanged as my boss is a mumsnetter-

I work in retail at a large pharmacy/beauty shop and I'm disgusted at the manners of mostly female customers. So if everyone could justfollow these I would be very grateful!

1. Please don't throw your credit card down on the counter - you know how to use a chip and pin machine

1. Don't call me a bitch because you don't have enough points on your loyalty card to pay for your disgusting perfume - I do not make the prices.

3.please acknowledge my presence as a human being - a simple nod will suffice although I am willing to wave this for busy mums with screaming kids and those on their lunch hour

4.do not accuse me of stealing £3.50 of your gift card, it is physically impossible for me to do so.

5.please and thankyou are expected.

1. Please do not answer calls in the middle of my serving you ad completely stop what we are doing and immediately ignore me. You're decision of wholewheat linguine or organic canneloni can wait.

I love my job but all of these examples are from 30-40 year old well dressed women. It's baffling and demeaning.

Do people really use them in restaurants?

I think it's a power thing. The shop assistant has to be polite otherwise he/she could get into trouble. However, there is no such onus placed upon the customer who can behave as they like as long as they pay the money due.

People who are not very intelligent or ill-mannered take advantage of this imbalance in power and feel no need for even basic courtesy. Some may even enjoy feeling they have the power to treat someone else in a demeaning way.

Other people innately treat everyone well as they see other people as their equals, regardless of their status in the transaction.

PS: I will answer my phone and continue to speak on it whilst at the till. I will smile, nod, make eye contact, put hand over mouthpiece to say thank you, yes please, gesticulate etc etc...but sometimes what I am doing/talking about can't wait.

Oh, and if I saw a sign telling me not to I'd happily shop elsewhere, no biggy. I used to work in retail whilst at uni etc and I can't say it ever bothered me in the slightest if people were on the phone, it is possible to be polite at the same time nd I certainly never felt demeaned.

People on the phone don't bother me..they are not being interviewed or on a date they are shopping fgs..

It only takes a minute or two to pay for your stuff.
Despite the stuff we're told by our employers, no call can't wait that long.

Clanger - too right. And if you're in the middle of a call when you reach your turn, is the call so urgent that you can't call back two minutes later? Or is your purchase so important that you can't step aside and let the assistant serve someone else while you finish your call?

In other words, are you so unbelievably self-absorbed that you think the world ought to revolve around you at all times?

On the other hand...one of my pet hates are shallow superficial shop assistants that I've encountered many times in Australia (who seem to be copying the American trend).

FFS I don't want to go in to a shop and set eyes on a female I've never seen before in my life and be treated like she's my best buddy.

"Hello how are you today" "What are you doing tonight"

(and then "can I check your handbag before you leave the shop")

Feck off!

I used to work on a cruise ship information desk and was yelled at because there was a storm and the ship was rocking. As ships tend to do. Apparently, according to him we had a terribly bad service on this boat due to this.

I was very tempted to say that "Yes, sorry, let me make a call and ask them to turn the wind down for you". Bit my tongue though. But am still wondering what measures exactly did this passenger want me to take..

Ulla, that is hilarious! I wish you had pretended to make a call to the wind. Some people are such wazzocks, aren't they?!

Mooos, that bit about the handbag was a joke, right?

ulla I spent soo much of my time in retail biting my tongue. Though sometimes it was just irresistable..

Customer: I'd like to talk to look at those binoculars
Me: Certainly sir (hand binoculars over) is there anything in particular you were looking for?
Customer: Yes, but I should speak to that man behind the counter
Me: He is busy right now, but I can help you
Customer: No, I'll wait for him, I need an expert and you are a girl
Me: Yes sir, I am, and I know as much as he does. For example I can tell you that you are looking through the wrong end of those binoculars.

Funnily enough, after that, this particular customer refused to deal with anyone but me.

gumption, that's what that is.

customers do have a respect for assistants that show a little bit of gumption.

I've been quite lucky so far that most of my customers are lovely, but when I've worked in chains, there have been some awful moments.
:(

'PS: I will answer my phone and continue to speak on it whilst at the till. I will smile, nod, make eye contact, put hand over mouthpiece to say thank you, yes please, gesticulate etc etc...but sometimes what I am doing/talking about can't wait.'

How would you have managed only ten or fifteen years ago when mobiles weren't ubiquitous, I wonder.

So the consensus is:

some people are cunts and some people are not

both kinds can be found shopping and working in shops

Speedy No; it's quite common in Australia when you are leaving a shop and be asked to open your bag. Of course it's not legal but most of the Australian population comply. I used to get on my high horse and refuse - they all looked shocked. Was always surprised at the Ozzies for allowing this to happen as they are quite mouthy out there.

9 times out of 10, people are just talking inane drivel on their phone. "Eeee, did you see (insert charva tv program) last night". Or, "Eeeee, did you know Kelly-Ann is going out with Brad-Lee". Yawn.

"Oh, and if I saw a sign telling me not to I'd happily shop elsewhere, no biggy."

Sod off somewhere else then. If your so stupid and self absorbed that you can't keep off your phone for 5 minutes in a shop then that says more about you then anyone else.

Hammy02 you are right, most of it is inane drivel and i think 99% of the population don't want to hear your phone coversation anyway when they are in a que.

Kaloki, that is brilliant!

Mooos: Especially, as you say, taking into account the mouthy thing. Surely that would be a prime opportunity to shout (in best Ocker tones): "Rack off, you flaming great drongo!"

Most random comment received when I worked at the tills in a clothes shop, -

'Look at your big hands, I'd love a wank off those hands'.

Most random comment received as a customer -

Shop assistant 'How are you today'
Me - 'Oh fine thanks, looking forward to the schools going back!'
Shop assistant (in an angry, accusing voice) 'Yes well, you shouldn't complain, our lads are dying in Afganistan you know'
Me - 'Oh, er yes, erm...'

Most disgusting experience in the UKs most popular supermarket -
an elderly customer in front of me gushed an extremely large amount of bright green snot onto the bagging area in front of me. Poor man, it wasn't his fault, he clearly had some sort of dementia.

But, the shop assistant AND the supervisor who was stood behind her, just stood and stared at this stuff, and then proceeded to start swiping my food items and putting them on the snot covered bagging area!!!

At which point I said 'Excuse me but can this be cleaned up please'. After an age of dawdling, the shop assistant was handed a huge wodge of loo roll by another customer, she then proceeded to remove ONE minute square of loo roll, and smear the snot all over the bagging area and her hands.

She then proceeded to swipe all my food through.

Luckily I only bought a few things that were all packaged and I antibac wiped them back at the car.

Could not believe it, FFS people, you have an in-store cleaning team. Call them!

Fanjokazooie - 'Look at your big hands, I'd love a wank off those hands'. That's not a random comment, thats hilarious horrendous!!! Poor you

Luckily I was 16 when it happened and the guy who said it was a drug addled beardy loon so my 16 year old self thought 'cool'.

My middle aged self thinks RUN AWAY AND CALL THE MANAGER YOU SILLY GIRL!!!!! Especially considering I was on my own in the shop with him and he had actually quite forcibly grabbed my hands!