To think "well you don't have to shop here do you?" Isn't appropriate from a shop worker?

[littleblackdoggg]

Just that really. It's very inappropriate isn't it!? She was a young girl as well and I don't want this to sound 'ageist' but I do find a lot of younger employees rather rude? They seem to have a lot of attitude.

AIBU to complain about this girls attitude?

Health and safety alone would mean our warehouse is out of bounds just after s delivery

Forklifts and ppt equipment would be everywhere

She couldn't just go out into the warehouse and crack open a pallet full of vegetables to find a cucumber. By persisting with your Veruca Salt routine, you forced the assistant to state the fucking obvious by reminding you that you didn't have to stand there getting cross.

I worked in a supermarket when I was a kid, and sometimes you just have to be blunt to make people stop talking to you as if you're an idiot.

Why would you even ask a check out staff member for a floor staff issue?

You clearly where not going to take no for an answer so this was the only way you finally stopped and left her alone to get on with her job.

You needed to find the produce staff or any floor staff to try and help but if a delivery has only just come in it won't be ready for at least an hour or two to come out unless it's click and collect type items. Unpacking a lorry or container of stock checking and counting it all then placing it into the correct areas is not easy fast work where you can keep having someone just grabbing one of these or one of those. If the stock doesn't add up it will be investigated.

I would just let it go. The girl is probably on minimum wage in a zero houre contract. I wouldn't be enthused either.

British service at its best. Accurate, to the point and utterly scathing.

I've told a customer the equivalent of 'you don't have to shop here'.

I worked in a kids soft play. Her son had a birthday recently meaning he was now in the higher age bracket which came with a 50p higher entry fee. She proceeded to go on about how just because they are older they shouldn't have to pay more and 'XYZ' don't charge as much as you do so why should she have to pay so much.

I politely showed her the poster of our competitors prices on the notice board and said 'I'm sorry you think it is now too expensive, our competitors prices are on the board if you would prefer to go somewhere else'

I think unless you've worked in retail/face-to-face customer service you don't realise how much bullshit they put up with on a daily basis.

She was right, if they didn't have what you wanted you could have gone somewhere else to get that.

Starting a sentence with 'I'm not being ageist/racist/homophobic but...' usually means you're about to be exactly that.

I concur entirely LDN17. I was going to ask why a shop had a "young girl" working for them and question whether this is even legal.

Love the word "fossicking"

It sounds like you were pestering her.

She shouldn't have said what she did though - although I guarantee EVERY retail worker having that conversation would have thought exactly the same thing!

To everyone saying that she is on shit pay: I work in Tesco and my pay is going up to over £8 - I'm only a customer assistant and think that's great!

Wow.
sales assistants! Know your fucking place! Do my bidding! You are here to service my whims and demands!
It's exhausting dealing with the public. They treat you like utter shit, assume you are thick, decide you are rude because you've run out of ways to say no etc.
I had people tell me They Would "have me sacked" if I failed to get the manager to call them, I was assaulted, shouted at, belittled, had my appearance commented on etc.etc.
OP you are just another one of "those customers" that thinks they are a special case. Give it a rest and pick on someone else.
"Out back" is not a magical place where all the secret stock is held. We used to call our warehouse Narnia because it was the size of a wardrobe, but people thought it was the size of a continent.
Yes. When you are an arse to us, we call you cunts behind your backs.
Yes, if you are a regular customer that talks to us like crap, you have a very spiteful nickname that we refer to you by.
Be nice. Your experience will improve massively.
Disclaimer: I don't deal with the public any more. After years of the crap they direct at us, I moved into a different role.

Regardless of how much pressure she was under or how much of a PITA you were.
Talking in that manner to customers. Who without, she wouldn't have a job, is bang out of line.

Dd would probably have got the sack if she had answered as this assistant did.

Otoh dd spends a lot of time smiling sweetly at customers who will not accept or understand that the person working on the till probably does not have a say in why or how or when various items of merchandise are put out in the store.

If it is a large chain, then the store manager may not have a say either. Where dd works there is a rule that the display has to be changed over at 11 o'clock sharply, never mind how busy or short-staffed any individual store may be at that particular time. If the area manager walks in and sees them not changing the display, the store will get in trouble. But it's the teenage till assistant who gets shouted at by customers because the queue is building up. And apologising gently is absolutely no guarantee that you won't be sworn at or threatened with rape or have scalding water thrown over you because some seemingly vital item has run out.

I worked in tesco express for 3 years. The stuff was signed for as soon as the lorry driver arrived however, the fresh cages were stacked so high i wouldnt of gone getting a cucumber if i was alone as the shop floor would of been left for a good five minutes maybe more.she could of worded it better i suppose but I wouldn't personally be offended.

Sounds like you were the 50th person demanding cucumbers that day and she finally snapped!

I totally understand her as I have snapped

Wow, OP is getting it both barrels!

Was the cashier U? Yes probably, but I'd have loved to have been confident enough to say this to a customer if they were being an arse. Believe it or not most staff are keen to help out, but don't particularly like being spoken to rudely and/or patronised.

Whether the OP deserved it is hard to say, but she does sound like one of those that the staff all think ''ere we go''. My old trick for the is there any 'out the back' was to wander off for a quick chat and count to 100, then come back, ''oh sorry, i looked everywhere, we're expecting a delivery tonight'' Customers were generally grateful for me 'trying'

Its not about being confident enough. You don't speak like that to a customer. Op was not being rude by enquiring about an item she couldn't find , so no need for cashier to be rude to her.

There is someone out there who would happily fill her place and give the service they're supposed to.

I work in customer service, food service etc for years and would never make a rude remark or anything of the sort. Its just unprofessional. Even if you have someone screaming in your face, you can't treat it like its an argument or anything.

She needs better training obviously.

Public aren't that hard to deal with if you do your job correctly and keep them happy.

Come off it SugarnetMum you sound like a right teachers pet!

You are right of course, 100%, but look me in the eye (figuratively speaking) and tell me you've never fantasized about telling an unreasonable customer to go do one.

Eh, I said similar when working in retail. "I can get this and this much cheaper at X store, you know" "maybe you should get them from X store then :)". "This shop is a disgrace, I am never coming here again!" "Okay fair enough, bye then. see you next week :)"

I think customers can overestimate a) how much a random assistant can do about how the shop is run and b) how invested they are in the whole thing. Retail can be cool when you've got fun regulars and nice coworkers and most assistants will be polite in day to day interactions, but the company brainwashing about customers always being right and this company being the best ever to work for never works that well.

Ever a newbie teachers pet I don't think so, fantasized about telling a customer to f off of course, or otherwise. You can think as much as you like. The minute you say something to them that is rude or the likes then it makes you look very silly, unprofessional IMO. And will only make them more angry.

Having said that, the young woman should have said they didn't have anything in yet. Our policy was "if it's not on the shelf we don't have it" to save the endless looking out the back at mixed up, wrapped pallets.

It's impossible to judge this whole situation without any idea of the manner of both the op and the sales assistant and the context

In general anyone working should be as polite as possible and offering good service is often the life blood of a business but anyone who pretends that customers are not occasionally appalling is a liar.
I have asked rude customers to leave the shop and refused to serve them.
Some idiot being rude and causing a scene is as bad for business as a sarcastic comment from sales staff.

Not being ageist but have you noticed some older people want people to pander to their every need, and have some superiority complex?

She told you she couldn't help and you continued to harass her because?