AIBU to interrupt a shop assistant with a quick question if she is talking to someone else?

[NightSun]

I was in Debenhams, baby crying, couldn't find the lift to get out.

The only shop assistant on the floor was talking to an elderly gentleman so I waited a few of mins for a gap in the conversation (which was about the weather not sales), but no gap came. So I cut across with
'Sorry, which way is the lift?'
Shop assistant glared at me and said to gentleman 'I am so sorry Sir, if you will give me a moment' turned to me with another glare, told me where lift was and turned back to original customer with another OTT apology.

Is it so wrong to ask a quick question and interrupt? She could have just said 'round the corner then turn left' politely.

Or was I terribly U to have interrupted at all? Please be honest! I'm used to working in a busy hospital where interruptions are the norm.

This scenario will become increasingly common as more elderly gentlemen suffer from the lack of secretaries and typists to listen respectfully to their utterances before they go away rolling their eyes. Who is left to fill the need but random shop assistants and other accessible female employees?

The shop should have enough assistants to serve the customers. I hate having to interrupt, usually means there is only one member of staff on theh shopfloor.

I think she was rude. To just ignore you for several minutes while talking about the weather while you stood there was pretty ignorant actually. She could have excused herself briefly from the customer and had it been more than a brief question, then it would have been fair enough to direct you elsewhere.

"All of you saying she was rude - have you never felt the urgency that comes with a baby screaming at you?"

Yes I have, plenty of times - but I never felt it was such an emergency that it justified bad manners - and I believe that interrupting someone is rude (except in a genuine emergency).

Armarmai - I do not think this has anything to do with men lacking attentive secretaries, but could have everything to do with elderly people being lonely and needing social contact.

My mother - clearly not a man - has never had an attentive secretary, but gets very lonely. She struggles to get out of the house, and when she does, even small interactions with shop assistants brighten up her day. Why is this understandable and (hopefully) forgivable in a lonely, elderly lady, but not in a lonely elderly man? I found your comment nastily snide and sexist.

Tiny bit rude, but understandable.

Issue here is, there should be more assistants on the shop floor.

After she told you were the lifts were, I really would have said " Thanks and I'm sorry to interrupt, but as some feedback, some more assistants present would be helpful".

Would have apologized to the gentleman too.

Probably be flamed for this, but when you work in the service industry, that exactly what they should do, putting a customer in an awkward situation is never ok.

I did call centre for a phone company for 10+ years, and yes customers are tricky, but they are, and always will be the customer.

In your case, I think it's ok. I'm a shop assistant and it's a good opportunity to close the conversation. She wasn't serving, she was chatting. He might have been a customer but that is still the case. I hate interruptions if I am serving though because the interruption always ends up more complicated than thought. I always offer to come back though but usually they find someone else

Thanks everyone, interesting mix of opinions.

Yes I came up in the lift, but it was a large store and I had to weave around to avoid the bits with steps. I just wanted to get out.

I agree I could have been more polite in how I asked. I was stressed and feeling impatient. It was her condescending manner that irritated me, her elaborate grovelling apologies to the gentleman (that took longer than the couple of seconds it took to point me in the right direction!)

I work in a hospital and deal with constant interruptions (from patients, colleagues, relatives etc) but I suppose a shop is a less pressured environment.

To the poster who said elderly people may not have any other social contact, I appreciate this and didn't say they shouldn't chat. But I don't think it's ok to carry on chatting when another customer is clearly waiting for help.

I would have started with "excuse me, I am so sorry to interrupt you..." rather than just butting straight in with a question. I probably would have just asked someone else though (customer or staff).

Or looked for the lift myself ...?

Of course it's not rude if the question just needs a very quick yes/no/over there type answer.
I do wish people could be a bit more generous and supportive of each other, it only would have taken a couple of seconds.

I dont think you were being unreasonable at all. I went into a little shop a few weeks ago. The kind of shop that would have been crowded if there were 3 customers in. The assistant was talking to the other customer about the chocolates they sold and answering all her random questions. I just wanted to buy something specific. I stood waiting for a few minutes while they both kept their backs to me and as I began to feel like a bit of an idiot just standing and waiting, I eventually got fed up and just walked back out again. The shop assistant didn't acknowledge me at all! Another time, a man cut in front of me in a queue and went up to be served. When I pointed out to him that I was actually in the queue he gave me a load of abuse and the assistant profusely apologised to him. Hmm!

I've lost count of the number of times people have interrupted a conversation between me and another person with a 'quick question' - This usually turns out to be NOT so quick and is unbelievably rude.
In your case OP, a quick 'lift is over there' answer is not so much of an interruption but did you REALLY need to know that second? Couldn't you have found someone else? I go to a till to ask there if there's nobody on the shop floor.

People leaning in front of me to get something of a supermarket shelf is the worst!

Not rude at all.

YANBU

YANBU.

I think this was really rude - I work in a shop & have a lot of elder customers, As pp pointed out it may be the only social contact they get & is it possible the assistant had been helping or was about to do something for them?
I understand it may have been stressful with crying baby but still....

I find you get a much better reception if you start off with, "I'm so sorry to interrupt, but can you point me in the direction of the lift please?"

I don't think you were rude but I don't think they were rude to be irritated you interrupted.

I don't think you were rude. I live near 2 Debenhams stores and they are both very badly laid out so it is hard to find lifts/escalators.

I've worked in customer service/retail for years and I wouldn't have found you rude, at all, especially if I was not actually serving but chatting, of course you should interrupt! You opened with a, "Sorry" so I think that's fine.

There was no need for the shop assistant to go overboard with the apologies to the man. A quick, "Sorry Sir, one moment" followed by directions to the lift to you and they could have turned back to the gentleman within seconds. They made a much bigger issue out of it than was necessary.

Part of being good at customer service is being able to multi-task and judge the needs of people. The OP needed a quick answer, the man needed a bit of a natter. It's not that hard to manage both without irritating either person!

If it's just chit chat then a quick excuse me can you point me in the direction of the lifts please is fine.
However working as a shop assistant it is rude to interrupt another conversation, the amount of times I'd be showing a customer to a product or helping them choose the correct one and someone else would just butt in with a question that needed more than a quick answer was ridiculous.
I kept a look out for customers looking for help if they were asking for it or not but unless it's simple I can't assist two people efficiently the same time.
Some customers need more time, conversation and care than others.

I'm a shop assistant and I wouldn't have a problem being politely interrupted if I was talking to a customer on the shop floor. However I do find it extremely rude if customers barge in whilst I'm serving someone on the till. Your focus needs to be on the customer you're serving when you're putting through a financial transaction

I think it is poor customer service to keep chatting (not about anything sales related) when another customer has been stood waiting for a few minutes. The sales assistant was in the wrong. Although it is very sad that people get lonely other customers should not be ignored so they can be chatted to.

Rude.

^^This. Also, even if a member of staff was dealing with a drawn out purchase from me (say buying curtain material) I wouldn't object to someone interrupting to ask a quick question.