AIBU to react upon overhearing this remark voiced by a member of staff in Poundland towards another member of staff?

[SuperFlyHigh]

AIBU to feel that this overheard remark was out of order?

Was at Poundland the other day overheard quite loud a supervisor or manager saying to someone who seemed new (both Poundland staff),

"Yeah well make sure you get them to come down the queue as they often stand there like braindead zombies" it was obvious she was talking about customers not staff... The person saying this then walked away I was a bit shocked and said to the woman she had said this to "that's not the way your customers should be spoken about don't you think?" As i said this the woman who had said the original remark came back but I didn't want to get into an argument but just left the store.

Really put me off if that's how the staff refer to their customers within hearing distance!

It's a good job you don't hear me talking about some of my clients then

I couldn't get annoyed about that - some people do wander round shops like brain dead zombies (shrug)

No biggie. She wasn't saying all customers are brain-dead zombies only the ones that, well, stand there like brain-dead zombies. How did she tell the checkout person to deal with them? Poke with a long stick maybe?

I think anyone who's worked in retail would know what she means

Have you been in a pound land never ending queue? Not far off the mark. (But maybe not the wisest thing to actually say.)

If its like the pound land near me I agree with her entirely.

i often stand in the poundland queue like a braindead zombie, there's not much else to do but drift off to my happy place

Well it wasn't very polite but I have to ask if you have ever worked in retail?

The general population do not cover themselves in glory with their behaviour while shopping.

They certainly shouldn't have been rude about customers while on the shop floor but it's a little gallows humour sometimes you need it to get through.

It's 20 years since my student retail job and I still remember the daily abuse I received from customers. And this was in a very naice shop too.

Meh.

YANBU it's stereotyping, real zombies rush around all over the place.

Yeah well she's right but it's not just in Poundland

Have you ever worked in a shop? The customers that just stand there as if they are oblivious to the fact that they have shopping and have joined a queue to pay for it drive you mad. Even when you're shouting "NEXT PLEASE
CAN I HELP?? HELLO, SIR, CAN I HELP? WOULD.YOU LIKE TO COME TO THIS TILL PLEASE? HELLOOOOOOO" give you the rage eventually. She's not wrong.

Have you ever worked in retail or similar?

I think it's pretty normal to talk about customers like that TBH! But really silly/unprofessional to do it on the shop floor at my work any "AAARGH BLOODY CUSTOMERS" type rants happen in the staff only areas.

Sounds a very accurate and inoffensive description of the behaviour of some shoppers (including me on occasion if I'm playing Amgry Birds in a queue and have got to a tricky but).

I've worked in retail. Of course you sometimes bitch about customers with other staff members.

Wouldn't do it where customers might overhear though. She sounds obnoxious and I probably would've been annoyed too.

so you have a passive aggressive go at the new member of staff and the person who made the remark you didnt like you didnt say a word to?

you are a journo, arent you, on the wind up? no one in their right mind is that pathetic.

You should have said it to the person who said it, not the poor bugger on the receiving end.

But yes, my 3 years in WH Smith makes me immediately recognise the description.

I knew someone who worked in Sainsbury's and he said everyone called the customers "the knobheads".

I agree "braindead" is not very PC and could be offensive, but OTOH zombies are actually that so it could be seen as just a description (of zombies IYSWIM)

Meh.

Zombies would be preferable to some customers.

There is something actually hilarious about this thread. I've been up all night with my ds1 cleaning up sick after a week with chicken poxy ds2 and now going into work after a ridiculous level of organisation to take care of both boys and I didn't think anything would make me chuckle but this really has. I'm too much like a brain dead zombie to tell you why it's tickled me so, but it has!

Jason and ladyreul 😄

I think you put the shop assistant in an impossible situation, which was rude in itself. How was she supposed to reply without annoying either you or her (new) supervisor?

It's so much easier to have a go at a new member of staff than any manager
She shouldn't have said it around customers, that's not good but you handled it badly by being snarky to the wrong person. What has she done to you?
It does pretty much describe most of Poundland customers though!

If you had anything to say you should have had the guts to address the person who made the remark.

Your behaviour sounds very unpleasant.