to not want shop staff sneezing all over me and my purchases?

[samandi]

If there's enough staff in the shop - and there have been in the shops I've had this experience - for god's sake send them out to the stock room or something. I don't want cashiers sneezing all their hands and then serving me. I know it's miserable being at work when you're ill but surely the shops could handle this better most of the time.

Wow, Sam, you make it sound as though the £50 notes are going straight into the staff members' pockets...

Time for everyone, not just commonly picked on sections of people, to start being a little bit more thoughtful towards others.

Hydro yes, I second that re smelly people. Our normally beautifully scented spotless store is often left with the reek of pork chops and stale biscuits. That's on a good day.

Everyone should just stay at home and die IMO.

Well the staff won't get paid so I don't blame them for coming into work.

Checkout girl today paused to blow her nose and then carried on handling my food. I do think that the store ought to provide hand gel for their checkout staff.

YANBU. However I used to work in a shop and taking sick leave for a cold was strongly discouraged. There was even a page in our induction booklet which said 'next time you have a cold, instead of taking the day off, come into work with a smile on your face because your body is cleansing itself'. I kid you not!

They should send them home without pay. In fact they should be banned from going out at all, or given a bell to ring so all the delicate little flowers who have no germs and just pick them up off other people are safe.

Samandi it's good manners in all situations not to cough and sneeze over people. Whether you are handing over money is not relevant.

I don't think it's ok for someone to cough at me if I'm not buying something from them either.

I can remember a customer not covering his mouth and sneezing all over the self checkouts where i had to supervise. I can still see the spray of spit.

And I had to still stand there and help all the other customers.

Threads complaining about sales assistants usually have me on the warpath because I am one and people don't realise the shit we put up with from customers! But on this occasion YADDDDDNBU. it grosses me out when people sneeze/cough on me (shuddering at the memory of a man behind me on the bus doing a big wet sneeze on my bare neck ).

when I need to sneeze in work I excuse myself, turn around and try to suppress it or do a v small sneeze. But sometimes i can't hold it in and I sneeze into my arm pit (cos I don't handle your goods with my armpits ). which makes me look like a dickhead, like I'm trying to do an elephant impression

I once saw someone sneeze into their hands then carry on serving me my ham. I was so gobsmacked and felt rude pulling them up about it that I didnt say anything at first....after thinking about it I took back my ham and she seemed surprised.

Then at Blood Donor session at the height of Swine Flu the lady doing the finger prick also sneezed into her hand and tried to carry on pricking me until I joked she didnt have Flu. She huffily anti-baced her hands

Samandi it's good manners in all situations not to cough and sneeze over people. Whether you are handing over money is not relevant.

Yes of course it's good manners. However the particular issue here was shop staff sneezing over my purchases, things I have paid for, and potentially damaging them. In this case it was a £50 silk scarf that he may well have wiped snot all over - I don't know, haven't got around to unwrapping and checking it yet.

They should send them home without pay.

A half decent manager would be able to find seriously ill people non shop level work. That's what I used to do. Sneezing shop staff give the place a bad look, I don't see what's so difficult to understand about that.

samandi- sneezing isn't even half of what we have to put up with. I have to touch people (to give them their change) who smell so bad I am left tasting it afterwards.

Hydrophilic (and other posters) ... I used to work as a sales assistant btw so I do know what they (you) have to put up with!

*Wow, Sam, you make it sound as though the £50 notes are going straight into the staff members' pockets...

Time for everyone, not just commonly picked on sections of people, to start being a little bit more thoughtful towards others.*

It was pretty clear in my OP that I was primarily blaming bad management, not people for getting colds. I do object to having purchases potentially ruined when I've spent what for me is a huge amount of money.

Yeah they should stay home but many companies don't a Celt colds as illness and too much time off leads to disciplinary action. There's no regard for the fact that serving the filthy germ ridden customers is why they r ill in the first place and some companies like mine are offering a cash bonus at end of year for having no sick days. :(