To ask why the fuck some people are so rude to retail staff

[Abbinob]

Been working in a shop for all of 2 months and I'm starting to hate people.
I don't care about people being on their phones or whatever but it's the people that just chuck there stuff down, almost throw their bag at you and then just chuck a bunch of coins in the counter without even saying a word. I am a person not a bag packing scanning machine robot thing. Or people who throw strops because there's a massive queue and half way through scanning there things they realise they have no money so want to go and get some out the cash machine round the corner and have a huge strop because obviously I void their stuff so I can serve everyone else.
And not to mention the man who came in today and demanded "oi girl! 20 richmond"
Don't "Oi girl"me you rude cunt

I worked in retail for years and have to disagree with Iona. Around half of my staff were highly intelligent, well-educated women who took part-time retail work as a way to work locally and fit in with school hours rather than return to long hours, competitive roles in central London

My experience is that people, as a whole, are becoming less tolerant and polite. I moved from retail to the NHS and my experience is that the people who are rudest are often those who feel the most powerless

My friend does nails. She earns way more than I do for less hours. I am a town and country planner. Who's daft now :/

You don't work at Zara do you? Pretty much summed up my experience working there as a cashier

IoneNE. I have to use a beauty therapist for pedicures because due to a back injury I can't do my own toenails anymore. My beauty therapist is a really hardworking small business woman and I really admire her. She's determined her girls will have better choices than she did.

We always have a bit of a laugh about the fact that some of the poshest women who go to her for a bikini wax have the grubbiest drawers.

Have you had a drink or three this evening?

IonaNE
I'm a nurse. I have a degree in palliative care nursing which is the area in which I specialize.
What's your problem with that - is it a lesser degree or something?
I have reported you btw, for being a complete goady fucker.

Lorna I'm not thick! I have good a level grades (admittedly 2 are in psychology and photography so you wouldn't approve. The other is maths) and I'm about to start a maths degree soon.. I'm working there because the hours work around dps so we don't have to pay for childcare which we can't afford. Everyone I work with is pretty much in the same position, or kids at college working part time and everyone else is a manager of some sort.
Although some people do have to work there you know, so you can buy stuff
Other than the customers, I quite like it. Much more fun than low paid office work anyway

I'm feeling the love for beauty therapists!

I've worked in retail when I was at school and at Uni, both in a high street shop and in a pub. I had to deal with some pretty revolting characters. It doesn't take much to be polite and friendly if someone is serving you; people who are rude give me the rage. It's so totally unnecessary. That said, the vast majority of customers were fine.

I'm now a lawyer. I have to deal with a lot more obnoxious and rude people now than I ever did in retail (and I don't mean other lawyers!), but I imagine those who are vile to me are the same with everyone else as well. Some people are just entitled twats.

I am polite and friendly to everyone, it makes life much easier and calmer!

I'm working there because the hours work around dps so we don't have to pay for childcare which we can't afford.

That's such a common situation too.

Maybe Iona is gearing up to be the new Xenia?

I completely understand all the complaints about members of the public although I think anyone who deals with the public experience the same sort of thing.

I'm a lawyer and we get the same sort of thing from people I'm trying to help!!

IonaNE I'm not sure what anyone's education or GCSE results have to do with this thread, the fact that someone is a human being should be enough to ensure they are spoken to with respect.

It really is utterly irrelevant what someone's educational level is. There is no excuse to belittle and humiliate someone.

I've served my time in customer facing roles and TBH most customers are lovely and the ones that aren't only took up a few minutes of my day. At least I wasn't married or related to them.

Iona you may have a degree and what you consider a good job, but frankly half your comments make absolutely no sense to me.

I also don't really see why it's relevant, and you haven't answered that? Why, just because someone may or may not have a degree and works in what you consider to be a lowly job, people can be arseholes to them? That Op deserved to have 'oi girl, 20 Richmond' grunted at her by some stupid wanker? What does a bloody degree even have to do with any of it!

Sadly, some people are arseholes.

I know someone who works in a boozebuster type offy which has security screens at all the checkouts, for good reason :(

Xenia and her aliases is uncompromising and has fixed views. Although I don't agree with some of her philosophy, I have never in all my years on here ever seen her be rude an personal. Her views can seem not to take into account the circumstances/wishes of others and can seem unwelcome but she is not horrible on an individual basis to others.

The worst part is IonaNE used to be a teacher! She's probably bitter from years of dealing with parents that she takes it out on others.

IonaNE I have a law degree as well as a postgraduate qualification in management within my sector.... I have been and will be again a senior manager for large budget projects (Trying not to out myself here) but dh and I recently discussed looking at part time retail hours as it would fit with raisin my children ...... I decided not to ....not because I think it's beneath me but purely because there are no suitable part time roles in the appropriate geographical area

But you know what I didn't think twice abou looking for t a job like that as it suited me ....oh and the reason for a job for extra cash ? I'm running my own company and we needed a small cash injection

I'm not too proud to work for that and I take offence to suggesting that people with my educational background would look down on it .... you do , I don't

Worked at Waitrose during University

One Christmas i got a turkey thrown at me by a customer (and i mean proper lobbed) as they had ordered the largest and it was too big for their oven.

But then again, one Christmas Eve (as you can imagine queues out of the door) i got shouted at by an elderly gent who had queued for ages just to buy something silly. He was really mean and over the top and I was only young at the time, so in a fit of madness i refused to put his things through until he apologised. I don't know where i got the nerve from and i wouldn't dream of doing anything like that now, but the rest of the customers supported me.

IonaNE did you really mean to come across as an arsehole?

Sometimes, intelligent people with good qualifications and skills find themselves in situations (eg as a carer) where a "glittering" career has to take a back seat. Sometimes, that retail job is funding them through university in the first place.

The woman who sold me some clothes in a high street chain, last weekend, was a student who did a voluntary shift, the day before, on a city farm. I saw nothing to sneer at. We had a nice chat about how extremely odd the weather had been.

Your colleagues must love you and your non judgemental attitude Iona.

You are obviously very very important and really shouldn't have any contact with the public because they are either incredibly stupid or too over qualified. Maybe you should buy a little island and have everything sent over on a boat for you and left behind a rock , so you have more time to Stoke the old Ego even more

I think everyone should work in retail at least once, they might be more polite then! I worked in Waitrose whilst at school many yrs ago and some customers were beyond rude!

The rudeness of NHS Service Users (we're not allowed to call them patients) deserves a whole thread to itself

I do get through it by being very polite though (there is no merit in losing my temper and it's much better if someone - relative or patient- makes an arsehole comment to leave it hanging like a bad smell. Sometimes they try to back pedal, sometimes they apologise. Often they just change the subject or do the TinklyLittleLaugh)

They are surprised that I had to study for my Profession and even more that I have CPD (Continual Professional Development)

There are a few patients that I resent breathing the same air as but I am un-nervingly polite and professional but not chatty.
If I behave with dignity and do my level best , I have done my job.

I would dearly love to say FOTTFSOF sometimes though.

FFS, Iona, it get better

Are you as sneery about people who, say, live in council houses?

I was lucky with my retail experiences. I worked in a bookshop for a while and bookshop customers are almost universally lovely.

I also worked in a free house privately owned pub where the owner trusted us and didn't expect us to take any shit. So all that 'I'm complaining to your area manager' stuff didn't work.

If somebody was behaving like a cunt I'd stop serving them and kick them out and tell them it was for behaving like a cunt. If they phoned the owner and complained, she would just tell them that if we said it, they must have been behaving like a cunt, and not only were they a cunt, they were also a barred cunt.

I loved working for her.

I worked in retail and catering when I was a student, so I try very hard not to be rude to customer facing staff.

It's not always easy though. So many retail staff are complete numpties. They are poorly trained, they know nothing, have poor attitudes and are generally pretty useless. Recent example, at a supermarket deli counter. I asked for "about 200g" of cheese. The girl obviously had no idea what this meant and proceeded to cut a tiny piece. "Is that OK for you?" "Well no, it isn't ok. It's less than half the amount I asked for." She then stroppily cut a piece twice the size I asked for. I bought neither.

This situation is more the fault of their incompetent managers who won't invest in proper training because they see their own staff as a cost rather than an asset.

I have a degree (not Mickey Mouse, whatever that is) and work in retail. I took the job when I had my children. I wanted a job where I went to work and just came home because I felt it made my life easier. There are plenty of us. Most retail staff are doing the job as a stop gap and there are actually few 'thick' ones. Some are students, some are mums, some are graduates looking for work, some are in the middle of setting up a business and some have a day job already.

I also know plenty of educated people working as TAs, cleaners, dinner ladies, bar staff.