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!

ShmooBoo, spot on. People just don't seem to get it.

She can't manage 2 minutes a year to respect the war dead and leaves her shopping two minutes before the train goes, what if all the tills had been full. Ridiculous.
You were quite right. people think they are so important now and their lives so busy they can't take 2 minutes out of their day.
Sorry I'd have done exactly the same at work unless it was an actual cardiac arrest.

And if you work in a retail outlet near a railway station, I think you need to assume that people will be in a rush to get a train

Oh come off it. Even if OP does work near a station anyone who is cutting things so fine that a 2 minute delay in a shop means they will miss their train is an idiot. If the timing was that critical the customer shouldn't have gone into the shop. Any number of things could have held her up.

People do know there are other ways to respect people that made a sacrifice than just stay silent for 2 mins once a year?

This is why I hate mother's Day and valentine's Day.

We are starting to miss the point. Everyone should be allowed to observe, or not observe, the two minute silence. What we shouldn't be able to do is tell anyone else whether they should or shouldn't observe it. So by all means carry on shopping quietly. But don't have a conversation on your mobile. Or force someone to serve you. That's all anyone is saying.

There are plenty of instances where we have silences to observe tragic events such as the Manchester bombing. They are held to show respect and remembrance for the dead. It would be horribly crass for someone to try to deliberately disrupt that by making noise. It's two minutes of your life, for goodness sake.

Strangelooking and a lot of veterans fucking hate the whole business. Many of the WW1 survivors sent their medals back/never wanted to hear a word on the topic of the war/became active pacifist campaigners. Their feelings and opinions are just as valid - actually rather more so - than the sort of wankers who have no personal connection with the military but are full of misty-eyed fantasies about the glorious war dead and are determined to enforce other people's compliance with a now thoroughly-tainted ritual.

Shmoo you're aware it's not always as easy as waiting for another train I am sure

turquoise

Perhaps I would have served her but the fact she was yapping away loudly, laughing at her friend on the phone.. plus the rudeness, meant I felt absolutely nothing wrong with not serving her.

If she had whispered "excuse me, could you serve me silently" and not been laughing loudly on the phone perhaps I would have

From the OP.

People do know there are other ways to respect people that made a sacrifice than just stay silent for 2 mins once a year?

Yes.

This is why I hate mother's Day and valentine's Day

Are you really suggesting these let's remember Hallmark Card days are in any way equivalent?

And most people who are "showing their respect" are simply sitting thinking about whats' for dinner tonight or something equally banal.

Most likely. I am not very good at reflecting on things like this on the spot because someone told me I should. I pay my respects if and when I want to in my own way.

I would never interrupt the silence though and I would never ask to be served in a shop that was observing the silence. I don't think that those who were silent for two minutes are more respectful than I am who didn't do it.

The customer was rude.

Oh come off it. Even if OP does work near a station anyone who is cutting things so fine that a 2 minute delay in a shop means they will miss their train is an idiot. If the timing was that critical the customer shouldn't have gone into the shop

Lass, I would bet my bottom dollar that retail outlets at stations or airports do NOT stop serving for 2 minutes to observe the silence. There would probably be mutiny if they did. Sometimes connecting services are late so people who cut it fine for the train are not necessarily 'idiots'.

She could always have waited for another train.

So now you know her train’s timetable?

Got Tuesday night’s Euro numbers there?

OP was told by her employer to observe the 2 minutes silence. If she had not wanted to observe the 2 minute silence then she should remove herself to the back of the store (employer's instructions). Presumably then either the till would have been closed or the OP would have been replaced by someone who would have similarly had to observe the 2 minutes silence.

Either way the customer wasnt getting served.

Either way the customer wasnt getting served

I seem to recall OP saying she might have been prepared to serve her under certain circumstances.

Stealth It was 11am. Trains don't stop running at half past. in this case, it was as easy as waiting for another train...or ditching her shop if it was so important to her that she catch her intended train. What would the customer have done if she'd had three customers in front of her? Insisted she leapfrog them and get served first lest they miss her train because their time is more important than every one else's?

What is this world coming to that a person - even if they don't get it - can't respect that the two minutes' silence is important to others and just wait for two sodding minutes? Words fail me.

I'd be fucking furious if someone told my grandad who served they wouldn't serve him snacks for his long train journey as they wanted to inforce a no work silence that he didn't agree with.

So the customer should get there earlier rather than the worker on the till getting off the till for something they whimsically believe in.

ShmooBooMoo you do know many people have tickets for a certain service and some are only once a day? They may need to make connections too

I wouldn't have served her

People just don't seem to get it

Yes we do we just don't agree with you. Hope that helps.

I'd be fucking furious if someone told my grandad who served they wouldn't serve him snacks for his long train journey as they wanted to inforce a no work silence that he didn't agree with.

That's fine, you're allowed to be furious. I still wouldn't serve him, particularly since I was told by the owner of our company not to serve anyone during that time and to simply point at the sign about the silence if anyone came up.

The majority of places have self serve tills now; he is free to use those.

itsgonnabeacoldone So what? She should've got to the shop earlier. I'm astounded at the level of selfishness of some people her. Have yourself. I think you need it more than I do.

Good on you OP!

You've obviously never come across advance tickets where they're only valid for the booked train

She should've got to the shop earlier.

You have no idea what her commute was prior to going into the shop. She may not have been able to.

Jacques, you mean YOU don't agree. Hope that helps.

Sometimes connecting services are late so people who cut it fine for the train are not necessarily 'idiots'

That is not what I said.

If you are in a situation where 2 minutes is the difference between catching your train or missing it you would be an idiot to gamble on being able to get in and out of a shop in that time frame.

If 2 minutes was going to make the difference you would pass on going into the shop.

How would this customer cope with situations such as the till roll receipt paper running out or the Wi-Fi card connection being slow or the customer in front of her buying alcohol where the person at the till is under 18? All of these things happen in shops and cause delays at the checkout.