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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Talking on the phone whilst at tills

387 replies

EgyptianSnow · 06/08/2015 21:59

Is this rude? Lady at a store refused to serve me until I got off the phone
I was only buying slippers
I wasn't talking loud or even talking at the counter and my phone rang whilst I was in line
Was I rude? Is this rude?

OP posts:
daisychain01 · 07/08/2015 12:33

Coincidentally I was in the white stuff just now and the phone rang behind the desk. As the assistant was doing my transaction she nipped over and asked another member of staff to take the call. Then straight back to serving me. Both customers ended up with a great shopping experience.

If all we do in society is behave arrogantly to the people around us esp in shops we will give the message it's ok to behave that way. We get the society we deserve. Some people on this thread sound ignorant

Becauseicannes · 07/08/2015 12:47

No I don't think you were rude. I live in a different time zone to most people I know, it's hard enough getting a successful phone call so when we connect I am damn well taking the call. Self service checkouts are rude and I don't recall anyone asking me how I felt about them.

StampyMum · 07/08/2015 12:58

Self service checkouts are rude and I don't recall anyone asking me how I felt about them.

Good point, Becauseicannes - as a trade unionist, I object to them on the grounds that they take jobs away from actual people. But when I ask a cashier to serve me in human fashion, they're always really rude about it.

muminhants1 · 07/08/2015 13:09

If you are on the phone when you get to the front of the queue can you really not say to the person on the phone " please hang on, I'm just doing something and will be with you in a few seconds" and give the person on the till your full attention for those few seconds. Even if your caller is in another time zone, they can wait! People really are ridiculous about their mobile phones, although at least this is just rude and not dangerous like texting while driving.

TittyBiskwits · 07/08/2015 13:32

I know, it's hard enough getting a successful phone call so when we connect I am damn well taking the call.

So take the call and step away from the till.
Or do what muminhants suggested. ehat happened to basic manners?!

TittyBiskwits · 07/08/2015 13:33

what not ehatConfused

vienna1981 · 07/08/2015 13:47

Downright bad manners not to show the person attending to you some basic courtesy. I so often witness this kind of carry - on in pubs when the bar staff are trying to get the customer's attention to check a drinks order or to give change and the preoccupied twit is too busy yakking with their chums or on the bleeding telephone. Then they return to the bar a few minutes later querying the whereabouts of their change. Serves the silly knobs right.

The customer is not always right.

GoodbyeToAllOfThat · 07/08/2015 14:10

If you are on the phone when you get to the front of the queue can you really not say to the person on the phone " please hang on, I'm just doing something and will be with you in a few seconds" and give the person on the till your full attention for those few seconds.

Yes. I do this with some frequency and unsurprisingly, I've never had anyone get angry or hang up on me. Even if I get a work call while on my mobile, I say: I'm in a queue, so I'll shortly have to put you on hold for a few seconds, OK?

Normal people can manage these kinds of interruptions.

Jayne35 · 07/08/2015 16:11

I think it's rude too but I also think that answering calls and texting while with friends is rude, mobiles are very intrusive and annoying.

I do hope all you check out chatters on important calls manage to ignore the beeping phone whilst driving.

maninawomansworld · 07/08/2015 16:22

I think it depends on the context and the nature of the transaction.

While I would generally apologise to the person on the other end of the phone, hang up then call back I don't see why cashiers get all bent out of shape about it. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't be rude to one but they are there to process my shopping - it's a quick transaction not a date!

If it's (say) someone who I've been trying to get hold of all day and the call is important such as a client or supplier and I'm only buying one or two items then I'll carry on the call.
If I've got a fair bit to put through, or it is an important or high value transaction then I'll either finish the call first or hang up and call them back.

If I've been trying to get hold of someone chasing an invoice for £30k that they owe me and they finally ring back as I'm paying for some loo roll then the cashier can fuck right off if they think that I am hanging up! By the same token I wouldn't carry on chit chatting to my mother , I'd probably hang up and ring back.

ilovesooty · 07/08/2015 16:38

I'm another who thinks it's appallingly rude. If you need to take a crucial phone call the least you can do is apologise not treat the cashier as some lesser being.

I don't think it's ever acceptable to approach the cashier and begin the transaction while already engaged on a call. Either finish / suspend your call or step out of the queue and go back later.

PiperChapstick · 07/08/2015 16:44

YY manina I would call DH back but if it was about my DD falling ill at nursery or an update about a family member in hospital I would continue speaking.

I get that totally ignoring a cashier and waving hands in their face etc is very rude indeed, but what is wrong with continuing the conversation whilst saying "please" "yes" "thank you" "goodbye" etc to the cashew? Why is there the need for undivided attention? What are people actually saying to cashiers that other than the usual pleasantries? I've done service jobs never again and I didn't give a shit if people were on the phone, as long as they were quick. I wasn't on a date I was serving a customer. Comparisons to being in GP surgery are ridiculous as that requires undivided attention at all times, important two way conversation and lots of listening. With all due respect "do you want a carrier bag" is not as important as conversations with GPs and it also is not always more important than the information the customer may be getting on the phone

PiperChapstick · 07/08/2015 16:44

Cashiers not cashews Confused
That would be nuts Grin

googoodolly · 07/08/2015 16:50

Because most people can't do that! I've served customers on phones who just point at what they want, take it and walk off without even smiling, let alone saying thank you.

I have no issue with people talking, pausing their conversation or saying "sorry, it's urgent", but it's when people blank the person who's serving them that it becomes rude and obnoxious.

Some people act like they have to answer their phones straight away in all circumstances, which is daft.

ilovesooty · 07/08/2015 16:54

I think it's polite to give someone your undivided attention while interacting with them. If you have to signal that whatever is happening at the other end of the phone is more important at least apologise for your inability to focus on what they're saying or doing. Approaching the till whilst talking on the phone or taking a phone call while nodding and going through the motions is simply conveying the message that they aren't important enough to be worthy of your attention.

Sazzle41 · 07/08/2015 17:04

Its rude to anyone to talk on the phone while interacting with them, so yes its rude to the tillworker and its rude to those waiting behind you
when what should take 5mins takes 10+ because you're attention isnt on it and you are juggling phone with finding your purse etc. Not giving anyone your full attention is rude and disrespectful be it tillworker, friends,. coworker etc etc.

My Dr took a personal call and left the room in the middle of my appt, (it was his wife re. curtains, he was a loud talker). I changed Dr.

SacredHeart · 07/08/2015 17:04

I think it is indicative of the modern society where people think low paid workers are a different class and effectively slaves.

I wonder how many would be mortified if their precious angel, while doing a Saturday shop job at uni, was ignored, barked at or generally treated in the same way as they treat others.

I think the cashier should have sucked it up and realised that the OP is just rude and will be all the time - they will only be a shop slave until closing.

daisychain01 · 07/08/2015 17:20

If I've been trying to get hold of someone chasing an invoice for £30k that they owe me and they finally ring back as I'm paying for some loo roll then the cashier can fuck right off if they think that I am hanging up!

With an attitude like that to other human beings I'm surprised you still have a business.

Dancergirl · 07/08/2015 17:21

YABVU and rude.

This really gets my goat, I've noticed a dramatic drop in manners since we all started using mobiles.

I met a friend for lunch recently. When I arrived (bang on time) she was already there talking on her phone. I waited a good 5/6 minutes until she had finished and then she acknowledged me. During lunch her phone rang and she then spoke to someone for another 5 minutes or so. FFS - unless it's really urgent, it should wait till later. I think the call was about her daughter and it may have been more convenient to talk then but it wasn't necessary when she filled me in on the details after.

This is why I hardly ever give out my mobile phone number. Either I'm at home and therefore free to chat, or I'm out and about and can't.

PiperChapstick · 07/08/2015 17:30

I think it is indicative of the modern society where people think low paid workers are a different class and effectively slaves

Hmm

Who has talked about slavery?

I don't think anyone on here sounds like the rude total ignorer/hand waver type, but there are some who say sorry, please, thank you etc still. This is not treating someone like a lesser human being, it's just not treating them like a higher human being. They're still engaging and getting the job done. To expect a customer to abide to what you believe the standards to be is rude IMO.

Also not sure about other but if I'm about and about I use Bluetooth or headphones to chat, much easier than holding your phone and means you can pack, hand money over etc with no fuss.

PiperChapstick · 07/08/2015 17:32

With an attitude like that to other human beings I'm surprised you still have a business.

Shock

MN is a weird place sometimes. How melodramatic! Speaking on the phone at a till to someone who owes you £30,000 deems you the devil, Christ I'd hate to see people face a real actual problem!

PiperChapstick · 07/08/2015 17:36

Dancer your friend was v rude! but meeting a friend for lunch is not the same as purchasing something from a shop - I know you're not saying it is but for the purposes of the thread!

Tucktalking · 07/08/2015 17:45

How are you supposed to pay for your slippers when you are holding your phone in one hand. You were holding it and not talking - maybe she thought you were making a call. if the phone rang while you were at the till shouldn't you have finished your business at the till before answering it or shouldn't you at least have said hello would you mind if I answered this, its a bit urgent or even a gesture of acknowledgement. I have been a shop assistant and I don't mind serving people but not when they are on the phone. I find it offensive. I may have waited for you to finish and then ask you - are you ready now?

nessie1945 · 07/08/2015 18:19

Of course its rude. I wait until cashiers finish their chat with colleagues too before loading the shopping, getting money out, offering my card. Courtesy is a two way thing.

Dancergirl · 07/08/2015 18:23

I know piper but I also think it's rude speaking on your phone when someone is serving you in a shop. If you absolutely must take the call, then stand aside from the queue and come back when you're finished.

I am astounded how low the bar is set these days with regard to manners. When you have an interaction with someone whether in a shop or with a friend, you make eye contact, smile, say hello/good morning/thank you as a very minimum.