How are you paying today?

[ItsTricky]

It drives me bonkers. If I am making my purchase today, I'm not going to pay for it tomorrow, am I?

I used to work in retail and had to ask every customer 'Did you find everything you were looking for today?'
Usually the answer was a puzzled yes.
Sometimes it was a no and you'd have to go and get the forgotten item for them. Not a problem if it was quiet, but if it was busy and we were short staffed (always) then it bugged the crap out of everyone waiting. A small sale verses bad service for everyone else. I got moaned at a lot.
Sometimes the answer was a no followed by a massive rant about how we did not sell/had stopped selling what they wanted and it was all my fault and they'd come all the way from Aberdeen and it was a wasted trip and I had ruined their day.

How are you paying today?
No, I never had to ask that, but when contactless payment was brand new I watched a man gently patting the chip and pin machine with his card. We did not accept contactless payment (they still don't) and I had no idea what he was doing.
Then there are all the people who put their cards in the wrong way round or walk off and leave them in the machine.....
I love self service tills.

Derek, I had to practically stalk customers round the shop with a clip board getting them to sign up to our stupid email newsletter. Got my arse kicked more than once for getting none at all.
Started making them up in the end.

Mad - we really are not complaining about the staff who have to do it - but at the fool that really thinks its a good idea - and then has the audacity to discipline staff if they don't. I've no objection to staff being chatty, just don't force the poor staff to stick to a script. And to the poor confused assistant in Argos yesterday - no I don't need you to email me my receipt - as you've just handed it to me. (Just saved myself from getting 5 million emails)

I absolutely would not want anyone to get into trouble. I've bought the chocolate at the till and given my email or postcode. In the past I have signed up for store cards (not going there anymore) and loyalty cards from shops I go into once in a blue moon. I am never rude when asked the mundane questions. I know retail staff are badly paid.

I hope store managers read this and give their staff a bit more credit. They're not robots, they can read customers and tell if they want to don't want to chat.

And saying 'cheers, see ya later' is nice and friendly. I'd go back to that shop.

Red, the email thing, it's as I said. So many people lose receipts and then come into store wanting a full refund on stuff they've changed their mind on and then go off on one when they don't get it. The email thing makes sense, especially if you buy the insurance on stuff. I doubt she was confused though, as she'll have had many people saying the same thing.

Nobody noticed that one of the fake emails was [email protected]
Clearly no-one really cared.

Nobody noticed that one of the fake emails was [email protected]
Clearly no-one really cared.

I've worked in retail for a department store that is never knowingly undersold for donkey years.
I think the " How are you paying today?" question has developed from trying to avoid " How would you like to pay?", as the majority of customers say " I wouldn't!" with a little laugh.
Not particularly funny the first time let alone for the twentieth time that day.

default has explained why they say "today".

Really, it's such a tiny thing to get miffed by.

If an email is fake, it gets bounced back and takes from the employee's percentage.

Percentage of what?

Target percentage. Have to get over 20% of emails from sales.

Not that odd. Where I work we have to enter select whether it is a cash or a card payment. If we press cash the till justb opens otherwise if it is a card payment there is a different process to go through on the till so the cashier needs to know.

But the cashier will find out which when the customer produces either cash or a card.

Do you also object to 'how are you today?', OP?

And sometimes customers split between card and cash. And we were dealing with commercial customers who wanted to pay by cheque that was an entirely different process (though I'll admit that's not likely to happen in normal stores these days).

But on busy days regulars would often stand there gassing away and we had to handle them on in the most polite/expedient way possible. Cash or card is just that! And it's a courtesy to ask rather than staring at their handbag.

I haven't worked in retail for a 18 months and stuff like this still pisses me off

Derek. Customers are a PITA. Do you have to call someone to come and put in their magic key?

There are days when my shopping on the conveyor belt consists of super+ tampons, pads, paracetamol, a wine box and a 3-pack of Aero. 'And how are you today?' has fortunately never been asked.

Tbh I'd probably laugh hysterically.

I personally find the Sainsbury's scripted questions, their staff are expected to ask, put me off shopping there. It's not appropriate for a stranger to ask what are you doing for the rest of the day, it sounds a bit stalkerish IMO. I avoid shopping there because of it. I also get the rage about being asked do you have a nectar card, are you collecting the vouchers and in boots them handing you unnecessary vouchers and so on. Why has shopping got so complicated and it creates unnecessary queues. And why don't shops employ more staff to avoid queues, it's all about their profits and they pretend all these things are to improve customer service. FFS.

I get the How are you paying, today question though. If they ask how would you like to pay, every other customer is going to say Not at all! Which will grate after a while. That will be £25 please, is what used to be said in the past. But I suspect with all the various store cards, points and so forth, it is a much more complex process.

I can't believe someone is so bothered about one word that they started a thread about it. It's such a tiny thing and not remotely offensive or intrusive!