Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Two minutes silence and refusing to serve customer

805 replies

BalugaBelle · 11/11/2017 23:06

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!

OP posts:
greenlanes · 11/11/2017 23:18

I was in a costa last year and the older generation seemed to be oblivious of the 2 min silence. But it isn't a legal issue and so I feel you probably should have served her. I think the point of remembering is about respect and that is effectively thinking of others. This lady said that she had a need to be served as usual. So your role in service retail is to meet that need.

crunched · 11/11/2017 23:18

At my local House of Fraser there was a clearly displayed notice on the doors saying the store would be taking part in the two minute silence at 11am today.
Obviously this meant, as a customer, I knew the staff would not be serving during that time. It was also announced over the speakers.
I had a choice to go elsewhere or respect the decision of the store. You were correct in your behaviour.

milkysmum · 11/11/2017 23:18

I think you should have quietly served her. The silence is not compulsory and you should not enforce on others.

Ttbb · 11/11/2017 23:18

You can serve silently. If you were so fussed about paying your respects you should have taken the day off to attend a remembrance ceremony.

Polarbearflavour · 11/11/2017 23:18

The customer is always right innit. Or something. Hmm I bet she would argue that her needs come first as spending a couple of quid makes her important.

craigglen · 11/11/2017 23:19

I’m actually shocked that anyone on here thinks you should have served her. It’s 2 minutes once a year to remember people who died so that we enjoy the freedoms we have. My grandfather was one of them.

Polarbearflavour · 11/11/2017 23:21

To be fair, most people are batshit crazy. I’ve seen customers stepping over customers who have passed out and ignoring cashiers who have badly cut themselves demanding to be served.

ClumsyFool · 11/11/2017 23:21

In our store all colleagues were briefed to step out from tills, a tannoy announced prior to the silence and upon commencement. We also let customers know verbally as they were shopping a few minutes before that we would be closing tills etc. I absolutely would not serve a customer, they are within their rights not to observe the silence but I see it as important and want the sacrifice of those before us to be remembered for many years yet. If you don’t want to observe it then just avoid shops or other establishments for those 2 minutes, it’s not hard to do.

GetYourRosariesOffMyOvaries · 11/11/2017 23:21

What were all these silences for??

Auspiciouspanda · 11/11/2017 23:22

Ttbb

When I worked in retail holidays were blacklisted from November to mid January.

I was in the city centre and most shops had a sign up on the doors that the staff would be participating in the 2 min silence and wouldn't be serving.

LassWiTheDelicateAir · 11/11/2017 23:22

I don't believe 2 minutes would make any difference to whether or not she caught her train.

Original poster
BalugaBelle · 11/11/2017 23:23

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.

And I did think about the lives lost. The silence is important to me. I do actually think about those who died in war and honestly always feel quite emotional during the silences.

I know it's not compulsory, however it's a short while every year so I believe that even those who don't want to actually think about the war can at least keep their traps shut for a short while to allow those who wish to pay their respects to do so properly.

I have a friend who is not a fan of the silence as she prefers fo pay her respects 'in her own time.' However she still stays silent or tries not to do anything overly loud or annoying during the silence.

We had tannoys announcing it, signs up and my colleagues were all still. All other customers had to wait. We were instructed that morning at work that we should be silent and still for the required time and that everyone should observe the silence. Manager also said if anyone didn't want to observe the silence (no one) they were welcome to go to the back of the store to not look out of place or rude.

The manager did not tell us what to do if a customer refused to observe the silence as I didn't think it would actually happen!

It's not like she didn't know- signs, tannoy, everyone still Hmm and then also the fact that you think making loud, obvious noises in a silence would be embarrassing and unthinkable to most people!

I 100% think it's shocking manners to behave like this in a silence, although perhaps I'm old fashioned

OP posts:
HolyShet · 11/11/2017 23:23

Of course YANUBU
The store had announced it was going to be observed.

The till and scanner would have been beeping away.
And tbh she should have been ashamed.

MiddleAgedMinger · 11/11/2017 23:24

OP has said that there was a tannoy announcement. I think that would make it pretty obvious the store was participating and so would the customer assistants.

YANBU she was and bloody rude herself.

HoneyIshrunkthebiscuit · 11/11/2017 23:24

when did it become a 2 minutes silence? It always was just 1 when I was growing up.

PickAChew · 11/11/2017 23:25

It's not like she didn't know it was happening. I got DS1 well away from al shops by 11am, as he wasn't in the mood for any of it (SN)

BatteredBreadedOrSouthernFried · 11/11/2017 23:26

I wouldn’t have served her either. You can’t do it silently at a supermarket checkout. The items beep on the scanner. How distracting for everyone wishing to observe the silence and pay their respects.

ClumsyFool · 11/11/2017 23:26

@Ttbb oh yes because a Saturday off in a November is so easy to get in retail Hmm and the point is that whilst not all, the majority of people can join in a silence to reflect and be thankful for 2 minutes. What a ridiculous thing to expect that everyone can just take a day off rather than a customer stop being so self centred for two whole minutes.

Osolea · 11/11/2017 23:26

There were probably plenty of people around that would have complained to the shop if you had served her. There's no way you could have served her without making any noise or being a distraction in some way. You could do it silently as in not talking, but you wouldn't have been silent, and many people would find that disrespectful from staff in a shop.

One woman being offended versus possibly lots of people being offended. You did the right thing.

HolyShet · 11/11/2017 23:27

It's always been meant to be 2 Honey

Originalfoogirl · 11/11/2017 23:30

YANBU for observing the silence.

YABU for judging her for choosing not to. You aren’t so bothered she asked to be served, you are bothered she was chatting through the silence. That’s none of your business. Thank goodness we live in a Country where people are free to act in the way they choose and not dictated to by the state as to what they should and shouldn’t do. That’s what our soldiers fought for. That you think it is disrespectful is your issue, not theirs.

ThanksForAllTheFish · 11/11/2017 23:30

I think on this occasion you done the right thing. I am all for choice when it comes to wearing a poppy / not wearing a poppy (I don’t wear one myself for very personal reasons - related to my ex-army dad - that I don’t like to discuss). I have no issue with others wearing one. I get it.

I also appreciate not everyone will want to participate in a 2 minute silence, some people I suspect might not even realise or will have forgotten the date/time if it isn’t pointed out to them, but her choice not to participate should not trump yours. It was clear you were observing the two minutes silence (as was the rest of the staff/ customers) so her getting huffy and complaining was a bit arsey. If someone is observing a silence that you are not you don’t speak to them and demand service. That is downright rude.

ShatnersBassoon · 11/11/2017 23:32

when did it become a 2 minutes silence? It always was just 1 when I was growing up.

It has always been 2 minutes Confused

ClumsyFool · 11/11/2017 23:36

I would have judged her too if she was being over the top noisy and laughing during it. I wouldn’t have said anything because as you say it’s up to her what she chooses to do, but that doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to judge someone for their behaviour, every one of us has judged someone at some point in time for something. If I encountered a situation like that that I didn’t wish to take part in I would simply step away from it and leave the people who did wish to to carry on, it’s about respect for other people.

originalusernamefail · 11/11/2017 23:36

I think YANBU I was in M&S and they turned off all the lights and the staff lined up away from the tills so it was obvious what was happening. Several older people (wearing poppies Hmm) tried to use the self service tills and tutted about the lack of service despite the tannoy announcement and everyone else in the shop stood still and silent.