Two minutes silence and refusing to serve customer

[BalugaBelle]

At work today I was on the checkout (large retail store) and the silence was announced over a tannoy.

A woman (on the phone) came up to the checkout during the silence, so I shushed her. Motioned to poppies next to till!

She then said, "I'm going to miss my train, please continue serving me!"

I refused, shook my head and sat silently for the two minutes.

At the end I put her items through, she moaned at me and called me rude and petty and then went on her merry way.

So was I being unreasonable to respect the two minutes silence, even if it meant a customer was unhappy at me doing so?

I know good customer service is needed but surely the two minutes silence takes priority? She clearly had no respect!

Quite frankly I didn't give a damn about her train, I was paying my respects as was everyone else in the shop. It was literally almost silent apart from young children (understandable) and general noise, i.e., heating making noises!

WildBluebelles also when you suggest about the indication of troops well it's hard to see the bigger geo-political game down on the shop floor. When see kids in hospital that have been shot in the leg by the taliban just so British troops will call a medivac helicopter to take the boy to hospital so they can attack it at the helicopter when vunrable at landing site. Or when the taliban try to trick children into blowing troops up by telling them it's a joke bomb that'll spray flowers. Or the taliban forcibly using civilians as human shields. Or murdering girls who want an education. When your in the thick of that it does become a bit more black and white. There is so much complexity and perspective has a lot to do with it.

Crumbs1 I am more interested in life in the Village tbh. Did you have a shared takeaway again this weekend?

As for, is 2 minutes too much to ask? I am not moaning about the time sacrifice (duh)- just what it has come to represent. But as I said, I don't publicly disrupt remembrance ceremonies or anything like that. I just happen to have strong views on it.

I don't agree the younger generation is self absorbed, any more than teenagers always have been. I think this generation is a lot more aware of issues than I and my friends ever were, in the 90s

I am always surprised by the Armistice Day silence. It's not something I expect to happen. As I said before, it's relatively new and wasn't around at all when I was a child, teenager, at uni, or at work. The silence is today, Remembrance Sunday and is, for me, an important thing - that's the way it was throughout all my youth.

I was In Sainsbury’s yesterday when it was announced they’d be observing it. I was talking to the assistant and missed the buzzer for the start. Another assistant signalled it was the silence and I observed it, I was slightly mortified! The assistant didn’t understand and kept asking what was going on!

1DAD2KIDS I fully appreciate that. My issue is not with the soldiers or with the Royal British Legion in any way. My issue is with the governments who start these wars and directly and indirectly fund the groups that the soldiers then end up fighting. My issue is with the lack of support the government gives to the people it sends into battle and their expectation that the public should fund it through charitable donations.

There seem to be plenty of people who think that the 2-minute silence is 'doing their bit' for Remembrance, judging other who don't observe.

There are some really pompous attitudes out there. I think of those who gave their lives quite often, not to a timetable and completely unobserved by anybody. I'm not swivelling my head looking at anybody else or fixated on 'shushing' non-observers but I've seen just that - shush-ers who take it on themselves to disrupt other people standing quietly, to shush somebody else. It's pathetic.

OP your store should have made it clear so that customers were aware that checkout service would stop for those two minutes. If they didn't then that's part of the problem.

Customers can still use the self-service presumably if they want to go about their business?

I was in Waitrose this morning.

There was a 10 minute warning, explaining that staff would be observing the silence, then another 5 minute warning.

At 11, there was an announcement and all the checkout staff got up from their tills and stood in the aisle. The whole shop was still and silent for 2 minutes before the announcement to thank everyone for joining them.

Your customer was unreasonable, Op, not you. The silence has happened every year for almost 100 years. Her lack of planning is her own problem, not yours, and 2 minutes should have made no difference at all.

Im not sure. This weekend I have visited the local memorial, made a donation tobBritish legion, always put change in the collection boxes I see, read the poignant stories from service men old and modern. Reflected on the sheer enormity of it all.

But then at the time of the 2 minute silence i was in a gym changing room and yes I carried on changing. I didnt speak though nor did anyone else.

You cant force reflection amd grief into a convenient time. Lots of people cant observe it.

Its harsh to judge the woman late for her train. You have no idea in what other ways she observes remembrance day.

But since you don't give a damn about the customer's train and are so sure that you are in.the.right; why are you asking if you are being unreasonable when you clearly don't think so?

That was the Saturday one. I was good and ready for the Sunday one.

It happens twice unless the 11th is a Sunday. She could have observed the other.

Because it brings out all the people who want to describe how well they observed it and how good they are

was in Costco and everyone stopped for 2 minutes also. As previously said its to reflect on the sacrifices of the wars so well done OP for sticking it out

A few years ago i was wandering through a shopping centre with a friend

The announcement came that in five minutes there would be a minute silence

My friend and i carried on walking but everyone in our vicinity stopped

We carried on for another 30 seconds or so, saw that everyone had stopped and some people were looking at us and we stopped as well

Then an announcement came on saying that the one minute silence was starting

I would stop in a shop or workplace

I wouldn't stop driving or drying myself or doing the dishes

I dont judge people whether they stop or dont

The twats on the Daily Fail seem to have picked this up as DS has just read out this post from their website 👿

The silence has happened every year for almost 100 years

well, there was a 60 year or so gap in the middle.

Undercoverbananait was Saturday.

Has anyone said they are the equivalent of Mother Teresa for keeping their gob shut for two minutes? If I sit quietly minding my own business how am I virtue signalling? Some people will latch onto anything to make it about them and their causes, that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do what we think is best despite that - why should far right groups get to set the debate as to how people remember the war dead?

Collective acts have power in themselves and a two minute silence does not glorify war in itself. If op was a surgeon or a train driver or air traffic control or something than yes it would not be sensible to halt for two minutes. But it was a shop, she could have easily needed to put a till roll in or clean up a spill or swap with a colleague or a million other things that would take two minutes and the woman would have been in the same situation but without upsetting anyone.

WildBluebelles I agree with you. My point being is that troops are simply brainwashed. On the ground things are more black and white. Make no mistake many of these people are barbaric. The bigger reasons for being there in the first place gets lost in the thick of it went you are dealing with people who commit such atrosities. I would also add seeing the human face of the enemy makes a difference.

The military is a tool of state. We have one of the few militaries that can project force globally. It's a powerful tool. It will do the job asked of it to its best ability. It's vital that we hold our politicians to account to ensure their use of this force is wise, necessary and just. We still live in a world where there need for the gun.

Longest - yep - I covered that in my later post. Saturday was 11/11 - The actual anniversary.

I've read all the posts on this thread now. All completely expected and par for the course. I really agree with RagingFeminist at 0648 this morning.

There are so many people who seem to do nothing more than observe for 2 minutes and that's it.

My granddad served and he would rather just forget it all and get on with life. He would have wanted serving during the silence and not be reminded.

You were right not to serve her. She was being ignorant and should be ashamed.