Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

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:
dibbleanddobble · 12/11/2017 06:50

Scarlett: " not being quiet does not equal lack of respect"

Yes, actually yes it does because the whole country is supposed to fall silent so not only is she not observing the silence herself (which, yes that's her choice) but in talking/laughing/expecting to be served in a public place she's stopping other people from their two minutes of quiet contemplation.

TitaniasCloset · 12/11/2017 06:52

You did the right thing. Don’t feel bad. That customer wasn’t very nice.

RagingFemininist · 12/11/2017 06:56

Yes, actually yes it does because the whole country is supposed to fall silent

Said who??? I haven’t seen any rules or law telling people that they have to do so.
It’s a remembrance. Anyone can chose to follow it or not and the whole country is certainly not expected to do that.
Saying that everyone has to be silent is forc8ng a (dubious??) moral agenda onto people.
Which is a shame because those people actually lost their lives so that we could keep our freedom (of speech for example....)

Sentimentallentil · 12/11/2017 06:57

‘Anyone who doesn't observe it needs not to be in a public place at 11 am where possible.’ Hmm

So basically it’s your choice but if you don’t choose what I think you should choose then you have no right to be in public.

For what it’s worth if I’m in public and the silence is on then obviously I observe it because there’s no need to be destructive, but the aggression on this thread really winds me up. There’s loads of reasons not to observe it and it’s not everyone’s priority.

AlonsosLeftPinky · 12/11/2017 07:00

MrsTerryPratchet

Absolutely spot on.

I don't personally wear a poppy, or observe any silence. I go about my day as normal. I'm very aware of history and current affairs, and I don't need a dictated silence to reflect or to pay respect where it is due.

That said, if I worked in retail I wouldn't serve anyone on the phone as I think it's the height of rudeness.

lljkk · 12/11/2017 07:01

Trains only run every 2 hours here on a Sunday.
My heart is with the customer, could have been served in silence.
If I were that customer I would never set food in the shop again.

Piggywaspushed · 12/11/2017 07:10

sentimental you obviously didn't read my post properly.

Perhaps I wasn't clear : what I mean by not observe it is making a choice to be actively noisy. If people read the OP's posts you could see this woman was not just quietly shopping and in a panic about being late. She was also yapping away on her phone.

It's about respecting others feelings - and what everyone else has made the choice to do at the time.... if you have strong feelings walk away.

Nothing in OP's posts suggest this woman was an anti war campaigner or a disapprover. She just sounds like an ignorant, self absorbed woman.

Piggywaspushed · 12/11/2017 07:12

It's rude to talk on the phone whilst being served but not to disrupt a 2 minute silence or try to force someone else to disrupt it??

Ermmmm... OK

MaisyPops · 12/11/2017 07:12

To be honest, 11am silence or not the type.of people who go around shops having loud phone conversations and then turn up to the till still on their phone are rude and entitled anyway.

Her lack of organisation is her issue. She had 2 mins to her train. What if she got stuck at a pedestrian crossing? What if therr was a platform change ans she needs to move with a swarm of people?

You were right not to serve her.

Vitalogy · 12/11/2017 07:13

My heart is with the customer, I think you mean your head. It wouldn't have been silent though, the till would have been beeping and the till drawer making noise. Plus it was Saturday.

Yogagirl123 · 12/11/2017 07:15

You were right

Didntcomeheretofuckspiders · 12/11/2017 07:17

I don’t think you should have served her. No you don’t have to observe the silence, but you wanted to. The silence isn’t just about not talking, it’s about reflecting on the atrocities of war and you can’t do that if you’re serving a customer. It’s not like you forced her to observe the silence and there are very few items that she would have desperately needed in order to get on a train.

Longdistance · 12/11/2017 07:19

I would have bounced her fucking phone to the other side of the supermarket, ignorant arse!

Yanbu, I wouldn’t have served her either.

Didntcomeheretofuckspiders · 12/11/2017 07:19

And FWIW I am one of those non-poppy wearing anti-war sorts and the silence is the bit that I think is important!

lljkk · 12/11/2017 07:30

Good point, Vitalogy, I got my days mixed up!

Okay, probably not trains every 2 hours. That just sounded like cruelty to demand somebody wait.

I dunno. I used to find the 2 minutes silence a graceful moment of solemn respect. Now it just feels like virtue spectacle. Our house is burgeoning with poppy items, I bought Xmas cards from Help for Heroes, and I suspect I'm the only MNer with a DS in service, but I am still going off the 2 minute sacrosanct cow silence.

TheQueenOfWands · 12/11/2017 07:39

I think you should've closed the shop and locked the doors.

Saves any confusion.

SecretSmellies · 12/11/2017 07:39

I like the silence and I think it is so important to always remember our past and our history. It does not matter if we are 'three generations beyond it'.

I was in Costa yesterday. They had signs up and just before a staff member came around and reminded us. At the table next to me were a group of young teens who were having fun together and playing around, tipping things over etc.... nothing awful, just in high spirits. At the silence, like everyone else they stood quietly and reflectively. When they left one of the boys went up to the poppy seller (who had medals strewn all over his chest) outside and quietly shook his hand then went on his way. I found it incredibly moving.

youarenotkiddingme · 12/11/2017 07:39

How do you serve someone in silence?

Yanbu imo. Everyone knows the 2 minutes silence occurs at 11am on 11th. They also know most people want to adhere to it and pay their respects. If you don't - that's fine. But don't take away others opportunities to do it.

Be3Al2Si6O18 · 12/11/2017 07:50

You did the right thing. Customer behaved awfully and showed lack of respect to you.

BreakfastAtSquiffanys · 12/11/2017 07:55

Customer would catch her train if she didn't decided to do last minute shopping. Her mistake.

Also I think it's rude to talk on your phone while being served at a till

historyismything · 12/11/2017 07:57

I actually can’t believe this thread! YWNBU op but you know that.
To the poster talking about gloryfication of war that isn’t what it’s about at all! It’s to remember the dead, “the glorious dead”, they gave their today for our tomorrow!
I don’t agree with old men starting pointless wars that kill young men and women; but I can certainly observe 2 minutes once a year to pay my respects.
People certainly wouldn’t like my opinions about religion but I teach my children to be respectful and tolerate all religions because that’s what people in polite society do...

Whinesalot · 12/11/2017 08:00

If I was the store manager and my staff didn't follow tannoy instructions about observing the silence, then I wouldn't be very happy. It wasn't the ops place to make a decision anyway to serve this disrespectful customer. She needed to follow her bosses instructions -even if It was the case that she herself didn't agree with the silence.

Dailystuck71 · 12/11/2017 08:00

You did the right thing OP.

I could make further comments towards the posters who say you were in the wrong but I won’t. I’ll just remember the members of my family who’ve died in wars including Iraq and Afghanistan silently.

GnomeDePlume · 12/11/2017 08:03

YANBU - the store had already announced there would be a 2 minute silence. Effectively your employer had instructed you to observe it at the tills.

Customer had missed the message. On reflection she was possibly mortified and as with many people in that situation she lashed out.

44PumpLane · 12/11/2017 08:04

YWNBU

She could have caught her train if she hadn't left her shopping until last minute or if she'd been a tad more organised.

The fact she didn't ditch the foods and waited for the silence to end shows she was just being inflammatory and wasn't actually going to miss her train.

She doesn't have to partake in the silence but she cannot force you not to observe. Carrying on with your job quietly is not the same as having some time for quiet reflection. Particularly as it was announced as a store wide policy that the silence would be observed.

I'd not have entertained her either.