AIBU to HATE checkout operators commenting in my purchases?

[lallyk]

It drives me mental! I think it's so rude 🤣. One day I might put some KY, cucumbers and Johnnie's on the belt just for laughs...

I can't stand shopping in two very big German supermarkets where the staff just grunt at you and give dirty looks of you haven't loaded your shopping quick enough off their checkout

Gosh, all the branches of both in my area are lovely and friendly. I even got given flowers once as it was the end of the day and they would be thrown out. Staff remember people and chat away while still putting the groceries through quicker. I had my car vandalised and the staff in Lidl couldn't have been nicer, getting me a chair and water, and phoning the police for me. They remember my pets too.

I love it - often swap recipes with the check out people. Lots of pregnancy test stories on here. Once when I snuck in to a local chemist to get a morning after pill, after waiting until there was no queue, I quietly passed my prescription slip over, only for the woman to hold it up and yell towards the back of the store, “Fred! Morning after for lady here!”
In my naivety and youth, it didn’t occur to me at the time that her sole intent was probably to humiliate me.

The checkout operators never comment on my shopping. I must be the most boring person alive :(

I work in a shop and work the till as well. One of my oddest things through the till was a packet of condoms, a bottle of baby oil and a pair of rubber gloves! I didn't even ask lol.
Another time I asked a regular customer how her husband was as I hadn't seen him in the shop in ages. Her reply he died 8 months ago!

stillMedusa. Your son sounds wonderful it would be a pleasure to go through his checkout. X

I was on the receiving end of a shocked and disapproving reaction in my local mega-Tesco recently. The woman obviously objected to my purchases, but I can’t imagine why. I bought :

Rubber gloves
Bleach
Bin bags
Duct tape
Cable ties
Balaclava
Carving knife

"The check-out lady said "Having a party?" in a friendly fashion, but he replied "No. A funeral". She was mortified. I really felt for her."

Oh god, that reminds me of when I worked on a childrenswear department and got taken aside by my line manager and told off for not smiling at a customer I was helping.

His wife had died and he was there with their son to buy clothes for the funeral.

I explained this and my manager got quite flustered, like there being potential exceptions to the inane grin policy and that her staff were capable of judging the appropriate reaction had never occurred her.

I brought a pregnancy test a couple of years ago from Tesco (shopping alone) and the following day whilst with my partner she asked how the test went! Luckily I had already told him it was positive !

@ilovepixie there's a woman in my local Sainsbury's for YEARS after my dad died asked me where he was/commented she hadn't seen him in ages. NOW she's (finally) clocked he's dead (he died in 2012), but still always mentions him. Which is lovely, but I actively avoid her queue because it makes me well up.

@CalamityJune
There's a way of doing it, I think.
"Oh these look nice, you can't beat a chocolate biscuit with a cuppa can you?"
"Ooh salad. I could do with shifting some weight as well"

I rather hoped this thread would evolve into "things to say/not say on the checkout", but sadly, it didn't happen! (quite tempted to start a thread....)

@Jsmith99 did you have a coupon for money off the complete Serial Killer Starter Kit than wouldn't scan properly or something?

Supermarket supervisor here

I have a rule- don't comment on purchases.
A kind greeting, may I help you pack, a cheery weather comment, wish them all the best as they leave and a smile. Thats all that's needed really 😊

I always chat to people serving me at tills and have lots of great conversations with them. Especially in our local Asda. I'm always up for a chat with anyone.

Reminds me of the brilliant and much missed Caroline Aherne’s checkout girl. Just watched some on YouTube.

This is why I only use self checkouts. Cant stand small talk.

I hate self service check outs. I'd sooner pass the time of day with a human being than scan my own stuff.

I worked on checkouts,i hated it as much as the customers.

I blame capitalism. As I do for most things.

If I have 21 visits to shops in a week and on 3 occasions I might end up having a little chat with someone who is probably naturally chatty and friendly I'd probably rate those 3 experiences higher than the purely transactional ones. Someone with a weeks training in retail psychology or whatever will decide that all their staff should provide this experience for every transaction to increase custom/loyalty/whatever. But it doesn't come naturally to all staff and not all transactions will have a natural opening for it. So what you actually get are staff feeling awkward having to try and customers feeling awkward or irritated. Even if each little chat was genuine and not awkward I don't want small talk every fucking time, say if I go in 3 shops in 15 mins.

Re OP : @lallyk
I do know of someone operating a checkout saying “ A quiet night in , Madam? “
The sole purchase was a cucumber .

Crinklesmile

Yes!!! A wee chat about the mundane, not a nosey at my stuff!

I emigrated a few years ago. 3 weeks in I was very homesick and felt so isolated - obviously we hadn't made any friends yet as we'd only just arrived and had spent all of our time house hunting and filling in forms. I was feeling very low so decided to make a cake. I went to the supermarket for the ingredients, and also had to get a cake pan, and the lady behind the counter asked what sort of cake I was making. Had a nice little chat with her about it, ended up talking to her about how we'd just arrived in the country. It made me feel a million times better than I did when I arrived at the shop.

I know it's annoying sometimes, and a few years on I now have lots of friends here so am not really bothered about talking to a cashier, but for some people it might be the only conversation they've had all week.

I am going to visit my favourite check out operator at lunchtime.
He cheers me up .
He brings joy to a lot of people....all ages and all genders !

I quite like it, unless it is particularly rude or nosey, I work in retail and do think that customer service is very, very important. But increasingly I find, and it is usually younger people, who are just glued to their phones all the time and struggle to make ‘small talk’.

The one expression I hate, and my local Building Society staff say it so often that they must have had it as part of their training is, ‘What are your plans for today?’, I always want to say something like ‘Just off to rob a Bank’ or ‘meeting my lover’ but of course am too polite and say something like ‘just off to work’ or equally dull. .

Someone with a weeks training in retail psychology or whatever will decide that all their staff should provide this experience for every transaction to increase custom/loyalty/whatever. But it doesn't come naturally to all staff and not all transactions will have a natural opening for it. So what you actually get are staff feeling awkward having to try and customers feeling awkward or irritated.
This!
You can always tell whether the chat is real or forced and it's just uncomfortable when the checkout person is going through the motions. The people who manage the stores should realise all customers really want is efficient and polite. I've worked as a checkout girl myself so I'm never rude but it does make some transactions hard work.

Agree so much with the above. Some people are also better at interpreting the cues from customers.

Wearing black, and looking distracted - don’t ask.
Buying a load of party poppers, buffet food and drink - fine to ask if people are planning a party

Don't worry op

Soon everything will be automated and we won't need to have any human interaction at all.