Just because I work in a shop...

[LunasOrchid]

... doesn't mean I'm thick! 😡

I had a woman approach me on checkout and demanded (didn't ask) that I convert the size of something for her from mm to inches e.g. 270mm by 540mm.

I get my phone out and use google to convert 27cm and 54cm. I tell customer is x inch by y inches. Customer immediately says I'm wrong? That the box says medium and y inches is this long whilst holding her arms out to show me. I explain it is correct and show her my phone. She says no you can't be right. There's no way it's that big.

At this point, I reiterate what I've typed in, and explain that it is definitely correct. She snatches the box from in front of me and says she's going to ask somebody who actually knows what they're doing

I have to admit I did lose my temper here and told her not to bother coming to my till as I won't be serving her. Luckily my supervisor heard everything and backed me 100%.

I was fuming. Why do people assume that people who work in shops are thick and speak down to them. I have a first class degree and a post graduate degree. I work in a shop because it's stress free (most of the time), flexible hours and I enjoy it. I am not thick

I worked in a low-level office job, as a legal secretary/typist, and when one of the solicitors found out I had two degrees, she told me I was wasting my life. I replied that I needed to eat and pay the bills somehow. And my mum worked in M&S in the cafe and remembers a woman she knew from the Halle SNAPPING HER FINGERS at her. That made me furious. It's so rude. just because someone's wearing an apron doesn't make them stupid or a lower form of life.

I'm 30. Due to my super old fashioned dad insisting on it, I can actually convert between metric and imperial in my head. Will do it if I'm not under time pressure/don't have my phone to hand. Otherwise of course I'd do it through my phone - and to be honest if there's a client involved I'd definitely do it on my phone, just to be 100% certain I haven't made a mistake!

I worked in various min wage jobs during my undergrad and postgrad and some people are just shockingly rude to anyone doing a job like that. She was BU. Glad your manager had your back.

I worked in a supermarket and many of the people i worked with where in college.

One co worker got a real arsey woman and was talking down to her.
Co worker came in a few days later,laughing.Saying arsey woman came in to the chemist.And who was behind the counter,only co worker.She was doing placement there.She was training to be a pharmacist.She said her face was priceless.

Umm, yeah, it’s 2.54, which means that a 30cm ruler is slightly longer than 30cms to allow for the 12in which overhang at either end. Not a big deal if you’re dealing with tiny things, but a significant difference if you’re making curtains (or piloting a space craft!), and not one i’d be comfortable doing in my head!

You’re absolutely right Op.
I work in retail. I’m a former accountant. In my convenience size shop, I work with a biologist, a teacher, a psychologist, a tax inspector ....... the list goes on.
And yet some of the general public still like to believe they’re superior.
You have to laugh.

@PhilSwagielka my boss does the snapping thing at waiting staff so he no longer gets invited to team lunches.

Then again he thinks everyone's there to serve him.
Once we went on a team building evening to one of those places where they give you a buzzer to collect your food when it's ready. Myself and a colleague were collecting some plates, gave boss his and he looked at me dead pan and said "I asked for mayonnaise". He actually expected me to take his food back because it was missing a sauce he'd asked for.
I said "go and ask for it again then. I don't work here." He didn't!

He's from a different country, one of those where people say "oh it's because he's X" as an excuse.

@LemonPrism I'm not having a go but did you honestly not know one inch = 2.5cm? How old are you? Genuine question not being nasty.

I'm 41. I didn't know until reading this thread.

Now I know. But I still luvs Google. ❤❤❤

PepePig....agree with everything youve said..do we work together! 😂

@GiveHerHellFromUs I hate it when people do that. It's so rude. A guy from synagogue did it one time when a group of us went out for a post-service meal and I was so embarrassed.

You're right, I shouldn't take it personally she just got under my skin. I've dealt with all sorts of abuse and it doesn't phase me, but I did bite back at this one 😅

@Cannotresist - It's not that I can't do calculations in my head, I can, but using my phone took less than 10 seconds. Mental arithmetic would have taken longer

I doubt it was because you were a shop worker, OP. More likely just because she's a cow.

@Cryptofascist - I know you could google this yourself but anyway:
"Muphry's law is an adage that states: "If you write anything criticising editing or proofreading, there will be a fault of some kind in what you have written." The name is a deliberate misspelling of "Murphy's law"."

I remember mentioning it on a thread ages ago, might even have been a FB thread rather than an MN thread, and people simply being unable to read that it said "Muphry" instead of "Murphy" and getting more and more frustrated and annoyed! Was quite funny, really.

Yes, I used to work in retail as a teenager and people would often talk down to us as though we were thick as pigshit - I was trying to make ends meet as a student without a full grant, so definitely not "thick" and I used to get pretty wound up by some of them. Had to hide it through gritted teeth though!

Reading this post and my husband walks in from work saying, Christ bloody customers!

I had to laugh. I could give you a story about badly behaved customers with every day that goes by. That's just me, I also work in our petrol station with husband and 3 other staff who could all do the same. We have a workshop attached that's almost in a different league!!!

If only customers could see what we see they would be embarrassed by themselves!!!!

You have a first class degree and a postgrad degree and you chose to work in a shop?

Dividing by 2.5 in your head isn’t that easy

No, it isn't so you multiply by 10, halve then halve again. Voila!

Nixby3. And?

I know someone who had a professional career for thirty years, a degree, a professional qualification etc and works in a shop.

Why? Because her son died and she no longer wanted the hassle and the politics of a professional job.

You never know other people's circumstances.

Anyway I agree that even if someone isn't that academic, it doesn't give anyone the right to be offensive or rude.

To be fair, most retail workers do not have a First and a post grad.

When I worked in retail as a student there were generally two types of staff - students and full time workers who worked retail as their career.

On A level results day, they asked me what results I got, (2 A grades, 2 Bs) and there was much rolling of eyes, sly comments and nudges from the full time employees. “Oh I suppose you’re going to university now, we aren’t good enough for you” type comments.

People working in retail should be treated politely no matter how good or bad their education and intelligence is. But most retail staff are not going to be post grads.

my boss does the snapping thing at waiting staff so he no longer gets invited to team lunches.

My mother does this, which is why I won't go out for meals with her. She treats serving staff like skivvied, thinks just because she's paying £10 she gets a servant.
She had a poor, working class upbringing so I don't know where she got that attitude from.

If I was buying something I needed to know the length of in inches I'd not want anyone to do that calculation in their head. As many people have pointed out the rough calculation maybe 2.5 cm to an inch but it's not exactly that, its 2.54 (which is beyond most people's mental arithmetic, even if you were taught it at school) and I'd rather it was accurate than fast...
And when I worked in a bar my mental arithmetic was amazing, now I have a job that requires me to write budgets and do financial forecasting and stuff I use spreadsheets that add stuff up for me and I can't add up at all anymore...

Nixby3

May be they do choose to work in a shop, what's wrong with that?
Are you one of those customer who thinks that you can't be intelligent, skilled etc and work in retail because those workers are in fact thick?
Stop being snobby there are umpteen reason why someones job does not match their qualifications one of which may even be that its because they are on the whole happy to do it as it fits in with their life at the moment and they don't need to prove their intelligence to anyone.

Work in a call centre becuase I am disabled, while working there I got a diploma and degree. Everyone always treats me like I'm thick, I always get sworn at, called stupid, an idiot, the R word, the C word. All becuase customers get something wrong and don't believe me. I get threatened with court, yesterday I was in work for 5 minutes before someone told me to F off. Customer service is horrendous

You have a first class degree and a postgrad degree and you chose to work in a shop?

So? It’s up to people where they work. My oldest has a first class degree in phycology, but worked for the housing executive, because he took it as a part time and ended up loving it.

Green - because it is highly unlikely that you spend all the money, time and effort into getting a first and a masters to go and work in a shop. You'd have to be extremely motivated and ambitious for a start and to do a masters you'll likely to have a career in mind. Because you know of one person with extenuating circumstances does not make it the 'norm' so to speak.

Because you know of one person with extenuating circumstances does not make it the 'norm' so to speak.

Again. So? Are you trying to ‘catch’ that poster out or something? I know quite a few young people with degrees that have decided after qualifying, that the original career choice was the wrong one for them.

The norm

People should be able to go against the norm if they wish, the achievement of gaining a masters etc may be enough for some. An achievement for them, some don't feel the need to broadcast it, show it off or keep going. Some do it for themselves.