Talking on the phone whilst at tills

[EgyptianSnow]

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?

I'm in two minds about this. I think if you've made eye contact and been apologetic about the call, that's different to someone who blatantly ignores the shop assistant. Some people are rude and treat shop staff like dirt, but I don't think continuing a conversation on a phone is necessarily any worse than continuing a conversation with a friend/colleague etc who's actually physically there with you. Not ideal, but not the worst thing in the world.
I've worked a lot in shops in my time and think that actually a bigger problem is shop staff who do not break off for their conversation whilst serving you. Totally unprofessional. Now what really annoys me, is people who don't thank you when you are driving and you stop for them in the car or let them out of a junction or whatever, but that's a whole other thread!

It's extremely rude. I work in retail and it is really annoying. Retail workers are not allowed to chat / chew gum or whatever. There are strict standards expected, but it needs to work both ways.

Horribly rude to stay on the phone, or even to take a phone call. If I get a call, I ignore it and call back 3 minutes later when I'm done paying.

Think of it this way...it might be their job to perform the transaction but they are still doing something for you. We don't drop niceties in favour of phone calls at office jobs, just because we're being paid to be there. A shop is a retail worker's office. And with how many people they interact with each day and how little they usually get for that pleasure, I personally think it makes their day a little bit brighter if I can treat them like a human being who's doing me a favour.

Why on earth does it need to work both ways? The cashier and the customer have entirely different roles fgs.

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!

Does this happen to you often? I don't think I've ever received a super-important phone call while in a queue. I think it's against all odds that everyone who does this is on an important call.

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

I tend to agree with you.

I don't want a conversation when I go to buy my groceries. I say hello, thank you and pack and pay a lot faster than most other people, whether on the phone or not. It is a transaction that simply does not need your undivided attention. That has absolutely nothing to do with seeing the cashier as beneath you. Like I said before, I felt exactly the same way about this when I was the one on the other side of the till.

But you know, not that long ago we all managed fine without mobile phones. If you were out, people would leave you a message and you would call back at your convenience.

Why do we all insist on making non-urgent phone calls on the run??

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

We should ask permission before we answer the phone
I wouldn't dream of asking a shop assistant permission, not because they're a shop assistant but because I'm not a child who has to run things last everyone around me before I do it

Retail workers are not allowed to chat / chew gum or whatever. There are strict standards expected, but it needs to work both ways.

Retail workers are required to be professional, they are paid to represent the place they work for, customers are just there to shop. The rules aren't the same. That's not to say they shouldn't be polite and acknowledge each other, of course they should, but to abide by the same standards - such as not chewing gum - is ridiculous.

This reminds me of the AbFab episode with the sniffy shop assistant and Edie get all high and mighty saying "you only work in a shop, you can drop the attitude." Honestly if you called the shop they wouldn't think twice about putting you on hold would they? To answer the question seriously if I was on a call I would wait until I approached someone to make a purchase. If my phone started ringing I wouldn't answer it unless it was very important and then I would say excuse me this call is important. If the cashier makes an issue out if then its their rudeness not yours and pretty bad customer service. The customer is always right especially when they're taking an important phone call

YANBU

Its rude to answer, or stay on, a phone while you are performing a transaction with anyone.

Common courtesy and consideration for others is sadly missing in a lot of people today.

I think it's extremely rude. I can't believe some of these comments... One saying 'they are there to serve' and then in the same paragraph saying the cashier needs to get over themselves. No, I think you need to get over yourself... It's just common courtesy.

Whatever job you are in, everyone deserves interaction. Put yourselves in there shoes. I would be so upset if my children acted this way in a shop, very disappointed.

Whether someone is there to serve you/wipe your arse whatever, you should have the decency to interact with that person and give them your full attention.

SMH the world these days :-/

Think of it this way...it might be their job to perform the transaction but they are still doing something for you. We don't drop niceties in favour of phone calls at office jobs, just because we're being paid to be there. A shop is a retail worker's office. And with how many people they interact with each day and how little they usually get for that pleasure, I personally think it makes their day a little bit brighter if I can treat them like a human being who's doing me a favour.

I get what you're saying, but I think it's less one-sided than all that. Sometimes I am unexpectedly buoyed by random pleasant interactions.

If I had to deal with a difficult client over the phone in the office and hung up on them because I didn't like their tone with me I'd probably be written up or fired. Why should shop assistants get special privileges to be the politeness police? Yes of course we should all treat each other politely but that's a separate issue to good customer service

Kelly if you were on the phone to a difficult client and they were ignoring you and speaking to someone else in their office what would you do?

You wouldn't continue to try to talk over them when there were conversing with someone else would you? You'd probably wait until they were finished their conversation, or may try to ask if calling back later would be better?

That's the same as the cashier, but she has the added issue that there may be others in the queue behind you, they don't want to wait until you finish your call.

Some of these comparisons make no sense.

Isn't the cashier also providing a service?

Sorry, my comment was replying to a much earlier post

Agree with Dancergirl (and many others).
I've managed to reach my 50s without having to be so rude to a shop assistant as to take a 'necessary' call, and have managed my whole life without having a mobile phone permanently glued to my ear (or on the end of my fingertips).

Very, very rude indeed. Your attitude, OP, simply displays the little regard you have for a 'minion' who you feel falls so beneath you as to not even give them your attention for one minute whilst they serve you.
Ghastly behaviour - rude, rude, rude!

Bring back landlines I say.

Your home (or workplace) is the place for making calls. Not out and about.

Mobile signal jammers are the solution, one at every checkout. And a pokey stick

*Bring back landlines I say.

Your home (or workplace) is the place for making calls. Not out and about.*

This ^^ with (telephone) bells on!