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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to ask everyone to slow down!

61 replies

stonecircle · 30/04/2016 12:33

Yesterday in the supermarket I asked the young girl on the checkout firmly but politely to slow down. I'm so sick of having items slung down the conveyor belt at break neck speed. In the past I've thanked assistants who've adjusted their pace to mine.

I've just made a payment by telephone and had to ask the person on the other end of the phone to speak more slowly as I couldn't keep up with what he was saying. I felt uncomfortable as he had a strong regional accent which wasn't helping and which he may have thought I was getting at but he just spoke so quickly! He then started to speak too slowly so I guess I'd offended him.

I could have kept up with both of these people if I'd wanted to - I'm old but not that old (50s) - but am just so fed up with being rushed I've decided to take control and set the pace myself!

OP posts:

curren · 30/04/2016 12:37

Which supermarket?

In Aldi they are targeted to get stuff through fast. If you can't keep up, you are meant to put trolley and pack after you paid.

Again call centres have strict targets. Staff should have average call times, average 'wrap' times etc (wrap is how long it takes between ending a call, adding notes and being available for another call) . Maybe email the companies advising it's putting pressure on staff and have a negative impact on customer service.

It's often not the staff members fault. It's the pressure of their employers

curren · 30/04/2016 12:38

Oh and Yanbu to ask people to slow down. But in Aldi, unless you can keep up to the checkout pace you should pack at the side. Again assuming this is Aldi (I think lidl do the same)

gamerchick · 30/04/2016 12:42

Yes apart from aldi or lidl nothing wrong with asking people to slow down.

The world is very quick and impatient these days.

AdoraKiora · 30/04/2016 12:44

Aldi is bonkers. I make myself laugh saddo that I am by challenging myself to see if I can pack as fast as they chuck the items at me. I always manage it, but it sends my heartrate upwards .

I do want to yell 'slow down' to people driving in the mornings on the way to work, though. OK, I know we are all in a hurry to do the school run and get to work etc, but people are so aggressive and wound up. A lot of high blood pressure about.

YANBU to ask people to talk more slowly on the phone if you can't understand them, btw.

Original poster

stonecircle · 30/04/2016 12:47

Well actually it was sainsburys. The thing is though it doesn't matter how quickly they sling my shopping down the conveyor belt, the whole transaction isn't going to be any quicker / if anything it then takes me longer to pack as I'm then feeling annoyed and stressed having to pack while the assistant twiddles their thumbs impatiently.

Similarly in a call centre - having to double check what someone has said because they've said it so quickly isn't going to speed things up.

OP posts:

StealthPolarBear · 30/04/2016 12:47

No sains do it too I know exactly what you mean op. Stuff piles up on the little conveyor and uou can't pack properly as the bag keeps getting carried along by it.

Ifailed · 30/04/2016 12:52

AFAIK, Sainsbury's measure the scan-rate on the checkout, no doubt if the operator is not scanning fast enough they are "offered advice"

Noodledoodledoo · 30/04/2016 12:59

I used to work on the checkouts in Somerfield back in the 90's and even then our scan rates were monitored and if we were too slow pulled in and given a warning to speed up.

Even in my teenage years I used to disagree with this as I used to argue that people liked coming to my checkout as I had a chat with them and commented in a positive way (I was good at spotting the non chatters so wasn't annoying!)

I can only imagine in the past 20 years with more and more target driven business models it has got worse.

Yellowbird54321 · 30/04/2016 13:03

I think they should have 'I'm not in a rush' queues at checkouts in supermarkets and in banks etc. then if you are in a pottering mood or want to take your time and maybe have a little chat with the staff you can do so without holding up other customers who are in a rush. There should also be 'just do it quickly and don't speak to me' checkouts for when you only have five minutes parking left or are just in a foul mood and don't want to interact with other humans at all . Really don't know why this hasn't caught on yet, I'm sure it would be a winner!

thecitydoc · 30/04/2016 13:04

that's why I use self service checkouts - so I can not only pack at my own pace to pack things in the bags together - fruit and veg in one bag, bottles in another, food stuffs in another - only neatly laid on on conveyor belt in ASDA.

Ifailed · 30/04/2016 13:11

'I'm not in a rush' checkouts
That would assume that supermarkets actually care about providing a good service. They are more than happy to have you dawdle in the aisles as you are more likely to make an impulse purchase, but when it comes to taking your money they want to do it as quickly and efficiently as possible. Self-checkouts are not there for your convenience, they reduce labour costs and have a smaller footprint that "manned" checkouts.
Supermarkets like to try and differentiate themselves with a thin veneer of marketing nonsense, but in reality they are all nothing more than a complex supply chain, making use of just-in-time techniques to hold stock for as shorter time as possible before selling it on to their customers.

curren · 30/04/2016 13:14

If all supermarkets have those time limits for staff. Maybe it's worth a mention to customer services.

MarthaCliffYouCunt · 30/04/2016 13:20

We only have lidl here, no aldi but i absolutely refuse to pack any faster than i am comfortable with because they have scan targets. Bollocks to that. We are the customer. We are the reason the shop exists. If i asked a checkout assistant to slow down and they explained to me they have targets i will slow the whole shit down by stopping what was happening and demanding that a manager come out and explain themselves and their ridiculous policy to me.

BillBrysonsBeard · 30/04/2016 13:36

You're right OP, everything is fast these days. Both me and DP pack our shopping and we're struggling to keep up sometimes.. Not a big deal for us but maybe for someone on their own or older.. Now we do it online or self service.
And yes call centres have targets for quantity of calls but no need to speak so fast, just be efficient in what you're saying. Not being understood will only slow the whole thing down with having to repeat things!
The world is only going to get faster...

RaskolnikovsGarret · 30/04/2016 13:44

I am a quick person and love it when people eg shop assistants and call handlers are quick. There is a checkout lady who is as fast as me, and we make a fab team! I always look forward to her being on my aisle.

I have to make a conscious effort to be patient with those slower than me, and hope I never come across as impatient or rude, but don't think I'm always successful. It sends my blood pressure sky high if I have to wait behind a slower (not older/disabled) person. My fault entirely and I know I should just relax.

TinklyLittleLaugh · 30/04/2016 13:59

Presumably super quick checkouts mean less staff and lower prices: if you go to a cheapo supermarket like Lidl/Aldi you can't have it all ways.

Sainsbury's used to offer to pack for you? Have they stopped doing that? I actually can't remember the last time I went to a supermarket.

NewStartNewName · 30/04/2016 13:59

All supermarkets set targets for cashiers, these targets are broken down into smaller targets including scan rate, how long the till drawer is open, time from totalling items to processing payment etc. If you don't meet these then you are hauled off to the office and told you are underperforming, told you need extra training and disciplinary action can be taken.

So when you just want to slow down, have a thought for the person sat behind the checkout.

MarthaCliffYouCunt · 30/04/2016 14:00

So if you're on a low income just accept having your food thrown at you?

Fuck that.

ChubbyPolecat · 30/04/2016 14:04

I'd love to be in the queue behind some idiot in lidl who thought they could hold everyone else up to demand policies are explained to them. Don't think it would be long before said customer got lynched by everyone behind them.

Everyone knows lidls rules

MarthaCliffYouCunt · 30/04/2016 14:06

how exactly would they get lynched. Dont talk shite.

TinklyLittleLaugh · 30/04/2016 14:06

I'm not saying it's right Martha, I'm saying it's probably a factor in why they are cheaper.

MarthaCliffYouCunt · 30/04/2016 14:06

Oh and what are those rules? Have you a link?

notamummy10 · 30/04/2016 14:08

On a side note: those who pack their bags at the checkouts at Aldi are arseholes meanies. There's a shelf near the checkouts for a reason.

I believe Aldi have a target of 500ish items scanned in a hour (I'm pretty sure that's what the job application said when I've applied for a job there).

Twunk · 30/04/2016 14:11

Don't move to the Netherlands! Things are whipped through, you can rarely keep up, you pay THEN you sort out the shopping.

Took a while to get used to but now uk cash tills annoy the hell out of me - they're so slow

MarthaCliffYouCunt · 30/04/2016 14:14

RULES FOR SHOPPING AT LIDL:

Have the bus driver pull up to the door and ask him/her to catch your shopping as it is flung in the approximate direction of the exit.
leave your money somewhere in the vicinity of your nearest Lidl store and use telepathy and a hope and a prayer to get your shopping home. Make your shopping experience as pleasant and easy as possible for the CEO of lidl.
starve.

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