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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to call the manager and complain about this cashier?

136 replies

CanISawItOff · 30/07/2012 14:10

She has really pissed me off with her snarky manner and childish face pulling.

Checkout girl in the supermarket easily a clear 10+ years older than me (so around 40 odd) was throwing my shopping through at a rate of knots so i politely asked her to stop for a moment to let me catch up with the packing to which I got a short "yeah if I must, you'll get a subtotal on your receipt tho" I responded that's fine and the conversation carried on like this (which I could have risen to but was completely polite!)

"Yeah well my manager won't be we're timed at how long it takes us to process this lot"

Oh I didn't know that, is that why shopping can be sent through at a rapid rate of knots at times? (Big grin and a chuckle to imply that it's not her that it's aimed at)

"You what? I wasn't sending it through at a 'rapid rate of knots' (said in a very childish mimicing/mocking tone)" at which point she looked away and pulled a 'rolly eye' face at her colleague and a face my 7 year old would be proud of pulling behind my back when she's told off!

Cue me trying to explain my remark and giving up because she was getting snotty.

I go to pay, hand over my nectar card, and she drops it. "Pick it up. I can't get it from there i've done my back in" again said in a really snarky tone. The card was hardly out of reach, it would have taken a small stretch at best for her to get it but instead I had to walk round pick it up and hand it to her with her annoying smug grin like she'd got one over on me.

I know it's a really really minor thing in the grand scheme of life but I loathe bad customer service, I work dealing with clients and suppliers day in day out and realise you get some that are easier than others to deal with which is why I always try to be polite and say thank you for their help etc etc She really has got my back up and I think I hate that she's got under my skin this much more than anything. It's really not 'me' to complain about things like this.

AIBU to report her to her manager?

OP posts:

OneLastSoul · 30/07/2012 16:23

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

Groovee · 30/07/2012 16:25

I worked in tesco in 2000 and we had scan rates then. The checkout managers used to hide them in the garages back cupboard.

We were timed on how long it took us to serve a customer in the petrol station.

SleepyFergus · 30/07/2012 16:26

Oh FFS, the OP has explained about the term 'girl' so 'people' need to stop making such a big issue about it. Disclaimer, the term 'people' is used to describe anyone on this post who has moaned about this point. Men, women, boys, girls, babies, peers of the realm, royalty, red heads, folks over 6ft tall etc etc.

As for the point of your post, I think an email to Sainsburys expressing your disappointment at being treated in this manner does no harm. Constructive criticism re customer service, be it good or bad, should be welcomed by any manager worth their salt.

I don't doubt that supermarkets have scan rates, it's probably a basic KPI in place to help with all sorts of measurements and not solely to target, or penalise individual check-out operators with speedy scanning.

JamieandTheOlympicTorch · 30/07/2012 16:30

She was rude, and I can't believe people are trying to defend her behaviour.

If it happened again, I'd ask for someone to help me pack my bags.

WineGoggles · 30/07/2012 16:33

OP, personally I think you'd be justified in complaining to the manager. Even if she has a scan rate to adhere to, and even if she thought you were a massive PITA, it's part of her job to be polite to customers at all times. If she has a problem she should've got the manager, but there is absolutely no excuse for anyone dealing with customers to roll their eyes and get sarky. If she can't bite her tongue and not hide her contempt of any customer she gets annoyed with she shouldn't be in the front line. She behaved like a stroppy teen and needs to be reminded that she is an ambassador for the company and should watch her attitude. I hate bad customer service with a passion; if you're not a people person (even when you're in a shitty mood for whatever reason) then get a job where you don't have to deal with customers all the time.

JamieandTheOlympicTorch · 30/07/2012 16:35

There's been no indication the OP was snotty or rude.

I've worked as a receptionist, in McDonalds, in shops. You don't take out your experience with a previous rude customer, your PMT, your bad day, on a customer.

LadyClariceCannockMonty · 30/07/2012 16:41

YABU to refer to her as a 'girl'. Or do you refer to men as 'boys' if you're not sure of their age?

Other than that, though, YANBU to be annoyed. I'd write to/email the store or head office. But I'd make it clear that I thought it was a training/management issue rather than attacking the individual cashier; you could say that she mentioned being under pressure to process shopping at a certain pace, and that management need to work on achieving better customer service rather than focusing on speed at the expense of customers' comfort.

I think people on the front line are not paid enough to take the flak for this kind of thing. Always better to 'moan' at management!

noncuro · 30/07/2012 16:42

I worked at Sainsburys for a summer while I was a student in 2009, and our scan rate was 17 items a minute if I remember rightly, which is fairly slow really, it wasn't difficult.

I don't understand how you would get a subtotal on the receipt just by waiting, if someone's shopping piled up I used to pause and help them and a subtotal never appeared, the system may have changed since though obviously.

It does sound like she was rude but you shouldn't call her a "girl" because she works on a checkout either.

paddlepie · 30/07/2012 16:51

I work at this supermarket, and yes we have an IPM (items per minute) rate. If it's below a certain level we get pulled up by managers. If we put stuff through too quickly, customers are understandably pissed off. Hard to know what to do at times. I must admit it depends entirely on the customer how quickly I scan things. Take my time with the old dears, but I'd there is a couple where both are packing i go quicker. No excuse for being rude though.

alemci · 30/07/2012 17:43

yes I hate it when they put the stuff through too fast. I must admit I shop in Waitrose and it is a wonderful experience but i do have a reason for doing so for the time being.

My other pet hate going slightly off topic is people who are the next customer who come too far forward when you haven't finished and make you feel hassled. they are at the cashiers side when IMO they should wait behind on the other side until you have finished paying.

the cashier moved the pin machine around for me last time as she could tell i was annoyed by my body language and I think it irritated her too.

nokidshere · 30/07/2012 18:05

I used to work in Tesco and was always getting told off for having a "slower" scan rate! No problem for me - I used to just say either I scan quickly or I deliver what the customer wants - you can't have it both ways :)

Spuddybean · 30/07/2012 18:29

When i worked in Sainsbo's (19 years ago! god i feel old) they had a wall in the staff canteen where they would put a pic and the name of the fastest cashier with stars all around it and they would put a pic of the slowest with sad faces around it and say what each scan rates were.

Apparently this was 'motivation'. But i got the record of being the slowest scanner 6 weeks in a row :)

People would often ask me to slow down while they packed and chat to me, bit the ones who were fastest were rude and would just keep firing the stuff thru. The company preferred this and my manager i'm talking about you alun would often tell me to ignore the customers requests.

BlueMoon74 · 30/07/2012 18:36

I used to work at Sainsburys. If ever I got a really snotty customer (someone on their mobile phone, someone patronising, ignorant..the list goes on!) I used to deliberately send their shopping down at speed!!!!! shoot me now

Are you sure you didn't do anything to upset her in the first place?! It's pretty crap working on a till, 4 hours without a break, so pretty bloody mindless. And yes, scan rates are monitored. No way was I going to slow down for someone - I just used to help them pack at the end! (or do you want to come to the meeting to explain why your scan rate was so low that shift?!)

Be nice to till staff people! You might even get cheaper shopping ;)

Lovelynewboots · 30/07/2012 19:52

If I am shopping at Lidl I stand at the end of the where the shopping is going like I am waiting for a serve at a wimbledon final and try and throw it in the trolley as fast as I can. It just seems to be the done thing there and I feel it adds a bit of excitement to my day.

GreenGoldSilverAndBronzeShadow · 30/07/2012 19:57

I seem to be in a minority here - I often want to ask them to speed up.

bringbacksideburns · 30/07/2012 20:02

No. YANBU if you think she was rude, unhelpful and sarcastic.

Nanny0gg · 30/07/2012 20:32

I have asked a cashier to slow down when my shopping piles up so you can't get at anything - and I'm a reasonably speedy packer.

And why on earth should we put up with shoddy service? I don't mind the person serving me not being a laugh a minute, but this one was downright rude.

I'd complain.

Conversely, I have also spoken to the manager when I have had exceptional service, so it works both ways.

MostConfused · 30/07/2012 20:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

marquesas · 30/07/2012 20:45

GreenGold - I'm in that minority with you.

If they have a scan rate at my local Tesco it either needs to be higher or they don't bother monitoring it as some of the cashiers are painfully slow.

Funnily enough I complimented one cashier recently on how quick she was putting my shopping through, it seemed to spur her on and even though I'm a really speedy packer (I couldn't care less about what goes in each bag apart from bread) she was getting ahead of me.

smileymam · 30/07/2012 21:23

i work in a shop and i would never speak to a customer like that, i would be hauled into the office if i did, but i suppose everyone is different. she may have been having a really bad day, but that is no excuse and i,m sure a store like sainsburys invests a lot of money into customer service training, i would defiantly get in touch with them to complain, i always complain if i receive really bad service but i also get in touch when i,ve received exellent service aswell

Original poster

CanISawItOff · 30/07/2012 21:29

Just to let you all know I decided to drop them an email via the 'contact us' option from their website.

If I get a response I'll let you know

OP posts:

Sarcalogos · 30/07/2012 22:02

It absolutely doesn't matter if the OP was rude intentionally/unintentionally/at all...

The cashier should never be rude to a customer.

Just as, however stroppy a parent is to me at work, I can never be rude back, if I was it would be me at fault.

It's basic professionalism/customer service. Tis the way civilised society works.

I'd have complained OP (although for the record I also wouldn't have been rude).

CuriousMama · 30/07/2012 22:02

Ok did you get her name then?

EnglishGirlApproximately · 30/07/2012 22:18

The reason there's IPM target is beacuse we live in a society where service staff can't win. If the cashier (not checkout girl) was to go slow no doubt there would be a different arsey customer complaining to the manaager that the queues are too slow.

As for the poster who said supermarket staff are only worth £5 per hour - I really hope you get crappy service wherever you go. I find it actually shocking that you would judge someones worth by their occupation.

OP - you are not being unreasonable to complain about poor service but please do it in way so that you don't come across as feeling superior to the person serving you.

olimpia · 30/07/2012 22:26

I complain all the time about bad customer service but then get even more annoyed when I do t get a response from management. So I often don't bothe!

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