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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think this is quite rude, not helpful?

45 replies

somesortofmagic · 14/01/2016 06:54

At our local (small) Tesco there's 3 self service 'tills' as well as 2 normal tills and the queue for each is very distinctly separate/marked out but with the way they're laid out one of the till operators can see who's queuing for the self serve tills, and the queue for both is easily visible whichever one you're in.

A few times when I've been in there I've queued for the self serve tills because I want to be able to pack as I scan (not talking being ridiculously slow here, just not throwing the stuff through as fast as possible and not taking stuff out of the basket in a weird order so it's harder to pack), and also want to check the price of reduced/offer stuff is right. Did this yesterday and the staff member on the till finished with the customer she was serving and as there was no queue for her till called "next please" at the self serve queue. I was in front and gave her a polite smile and pointed to the self service machines to show I was happy waiting for them. She then shouted it twice more, sounding more pissy each time, with a real scowl, until the guy behind me went up to her (I'd said he could go ahead of me after the first time but didn't want to make him in case he was happy waiting too).

This has happened a few times before but I've usually gone up to the till or it's been covered by someone else rushing to the manned till. AIBU that it's very helpful to ask once if people want serving but after that it's incredibly rude to basically insist that people should go to you if they're not taking advantage of your offer? Really dislike having to hope the manned till(s) have a large queue if I want to be able to use the machine in peace!

OP posts:

TheSecondViola · 14/01/2016 12:23

here's a woman at mine thaf insists on remarking on everything you've brought I just don't respond. and this conversation really happened.

Can I ask a genuine question, as in seriously not being arsey but dying to know because its on here all the time, but is that a typo or do people think that brought and bought are inter-changeable?
I'm not in the UK and I'd really like to know.

TheSkiingGardener · 14/01/2016 12:32

They're not interchangeable TheSecondViola. It's a common mistake, albeit a very basic one.

TheoriginalLEM · 14/01/2016 12:32

picnic - i suffer from anxiety and can often just freeze when shopping. Generally i'm happier with a self service till as i don't feel rushed but there are also times im better being served and being able to chat and let the cashier pack for me.

before i had the option. Quite simple really- abandon my shopping ! i often still do this in the coop because the staff are abrupt and unhelpful so i avoid when i can.

i like aldi - lovely staff and i get to go off to the side to pack at my own pace.

TheoriginalLEM · 14/01/2016 12:34

it is such a basic mistake i just think people aren't really thinking too much about it.

TheSecondViola · 14/01/2016 12:37

I was just wondering because I have seen it many many times on here, and wondered if the common usage was different in the UK.

NaughtToThreeSadOnions · 14/01/2016 16:02

Ah to be fair secondviola I'm aspergers and dyslexic and generally spells things by sound, which is all very well but I have speech/hearing issue which means I can't always pick up sounds. Now I've seen it writen down I see my mistake but the way I hear it.

TheSecondViola · 14/01/2016 17:12

I really wasn't picking on you, genuine question

usual · 14/01/2016 17:21

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

TheSecondViola · 14/01/2016 19:28

Maybe you should start a thread complaining about it?

NaughtToThreeSadOnions · 14/01/2016 19:41

No no secondvolia I was just explaining why I'd made the mistake, I didn't think you were picking on me, just my reasons for doing it are different from it either being a typo or believing the two were interchangeable.

Why would she need to start a thread when my post mearly reminded her that she wondered how common a mistake it was useal

nextusername · 14/01/2016 21:08

YANBU. If there isn't a queue for the manned till then "next please" isn't a suitable question because no-one is "next" for that till. She should not have shouted and scowled, as it just gives people even more reason to use the self-serve till!

Greyponcho · 14/01/2016 21:17

So, you prefer to use a machine that is replacing her job... maybe she was getting pissy with you, maybe not, maybe your wasn't aware of the international hand gesture for "I'm ok thanks, I'll use this self service till instead", which the guy behind you may not have seen.
Maybe she'd had a shitty day and was just getting on with her job.
But either way,

Leelu6 · 14/01/2016 21:18

Just seeing what price it goes on at when you scan it - at the manned till there isn't a display to look at so I'd just have to wait and then check the receipt after and then go back if something wasn't right

But if you scan something and then realise it's not reduced and no longer want it, you would have to get a staff to confirm on the till that you have cancelled the item...surely that takes ages?

YANBU but a lot of customers do seem to be in a world of their own and not gear when they are called to a till.

woollytights · 15/01/2016 15:13

Unbelievable the things people can get so worked up about.

CallieTorres · 15/01/2016 15:29

"But if you scan something and then realise it's not reduced and no longer want it, you would have to get a staff to confirm on the till that you have cancelled the item...surely that takes ages?"

exactly - how hard is it to say "can you confirm the price of that please?"

UnderCrackers5 · 15/01/2016 15:38

She was probably under pressure to serve x number of customers.
In fact she was probably shouting because her supervisor had given her a verbal warning that morning and she was terrified of losing her job. She went home that evening and had too much to drink and forgot to feed the cat. When the cat died of malnutrition she suffered remorse and hung herself in the garage.
and its all your fault.
Sorry, just trying my hand at this overthinking lark

kali110 · 15/01/2016 16:10

Think yabu
You would not believe the amount of people of people who
Don't hear or simply don't pay attention, so staff do end up having to shout for the next person to get their attention.
I guarantee if they hadn't have called out loudly there would have been someone complaining that someone got served before they did
Most people hate self serve where i go, she probably didn't think you were waiting for it!
I absolutely hate them! They usually end up crashing, no matter where i go!

Leelu6 · 15/01/2016 16:50

"But if you scan something and then realise it's not reduced and no longer want it, you would have to get a staff to confirm on the till that you have cancelled the item...surely that takes ages?"

exactly - how hard is it to say "can you confirm the price of that please?"

Callie - I'm walking about self-serve tills. If you cancel an item on one of those, you need to get a staff member to confirm it, as they take the item away so that you don't stash it and steal it. Sometimes it takes a while to grab the harried member of staff to help with this.

OurBlanche · 15/01/2016 17:48

Am I bad for smiling at the OP and inviting somesortofmagic to come shopping with me on Monday morning?

I am taking my jingle jar with me. A plastic tub full of 1, 2 and 5ps. I know that when I get there I will head for the self service till, it has a pour in coin slot, and the woman on the nearest till will be the woman who seems to feel that customers using them are a negative comment on her ability to do her job.

Last time I took the tub in she shouted Next, I said no thanks and she asked me why not? I said I was paying in change and she demanded I used her till. She was really brusque, I sad no thanks again but she was adamant, so I did. She was horrified when I gave her the tub

It is a really small shop, so it is quite likely she will be there again, she usually is. I am quite looking forward to it. Will she flinch when I rattle the tub?

FrozenProgramme · 15/01/2016 19:43

Hahaha, I'd LOVE to come shopping with you OurBlanche - I've always been so tempted to do that with our change tin and the self serve machine but worried it might jam or something and I'd be that woman That's brill, bet she regretted insisting!

About the scanning, I mean when you know something's reduced (with a reduced sticker on) or on offer (BOGOF etc) and not needing to actually check that (so wouldn't need to cancel it) but wanting to check it actually goes through at that price, have had things scanned at the full not reduced price before and even getting someone over would be quicker than going back to the checkout. If I have a few things like that it'll take forever to keep asking "can you confirm the price of that".

And if any supermarket staff (with or without cats and/or garages) are under pressure from their bosses to shout at customers to get them to accept service from a human instead of respecting their own preference, please pm me, will happily write a stinking email (mentioning no names) telling them to mind their own business and explaining some customers have the sense to go where they want to be served (or not be served) and the ones that don't will get shitty about something anyway so may as well ignore them.

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