Face mask face off

[DonutDolittle]

In Tesco self checkout this morning: Woman shopping wearing mask, needs assistance with a voucher.

Assistant: I can't hear you, I'm a bit deaf, can you take off your the mask.

Woman shakes head and points to the notification on the screen whilst saying she needs help.

Assistant: Well I can't hear you and I don't know what the problem is. There is no one else. The mask thing is a little over the top.

Woman takes off mask: I work in A&E and last night dealt with a Covid positive patient. I'm protecting you, you idiot.

Woman storms out, leaving the shopping.

Assistant bursts into tears. Another person comes over. She's saying it's not fair she's not an idiot, she can't do her job like this, something about discrimination.

Manager comes over and tells her to go home and have a day off. Then all three walk off.

AIBU to think that through all of that someone should have really noticed my awkwardly flashing red light and given me some assistance..?! There I am stood like a fucking lemon waiting for someone to confirm that I have indeed bagged said item and they all just walk off. Fuckers. I'm half joking.

[Popc0rn]

StillCounting123

I thought people were supposed to self-isolate if they've been in contact with a Covid positive person? Why was she out and about in Tesco?!?

We only have to isolate if we have had close contact (less than 2m) with someone with covid for longer than 15 minutes, while not wearing PPE.

We all wear PPE around patients so this isn't really an issue.

[WorraLiberty]

OP was there any obvious reason why this hearing impaired shop assistant, didn't simply look at the screen?

[canigooutyet]

Some of the errors on the screen aren’t self explanatory and customer still needs to explain.

Could just be me though who as a customer somehow manages to monumentally screw up.

We all have phones. Customer could have quickly typed something once it became clear the other person couldn’t hear.

Wonder if a&e person would have called her an idiot if she was a patient.

Ok I get she will tired and stressed after a long shift. Still no excuse.

[Isthisfinallyit]

I'm with the assistant - I rely on partially lip reading and find masks make it very hard for me to understand. It's discrimination to suggest she shouldn't be allowed to do a job she's probably managed to do for years. There's Perspex screens, masks aren't needed

Although I sympathise that communicating is more difficult for you at the moment, I draw the line at where you get to decide what other people wear. If they choose to wear a mask then they should be able to without judgement. If you can't communicate with them you'll just have to make them wait while you fetch a colleague.

[withlotsoflove]

This! 100%
I’ve worked self serve way too many times. It’s not even my department.
Problem is, it’s down to user error ( 9 times out of ten) and the poor fragile general public just.cant.cope.
Being abused is not a part of retail positions. Our union works constantly to help with this - unfortunately it’s proving very difficult!

[StuffThem]

Assistant was well out of order here. Like the woman said, she's protecting others.

As somebody who is both hard of hearing and vulnerable (therefore I wouldn't take a mask off for love nor money) I agree totally with this. I would be highly unimpressed if a shop worker told me to take it off because it was OTT. I get the difficulties it causes for people who are hard of hearing or deaf, i work in that line of work, but the assistant's actions were still very much not okay.

I also really wish the customer had home deliveries or click & collect if she's been dealing with Covid+ patients. Slots are easy to get now and I'd be mortified if I was the OP standing next to somebody in a shop who knew they had been dealing with Covid.

However both are having a really rough time at work right now, and I can totally forgive them both for having a short fuse.

[bumblingbovine49]

If you are a bit deaf and you work in a shop at the moment, couldn't you ask mask wearers to write down what they need is noone else is available to help them

The assistant was the one who started being rude. They are the one who said ' the mask thing is a little over the top' There was absolutely no need to make that comment so she upset he customer first. the assistant needs some strategies and training about how to deal with customers in masks if she has trouble hearing them, without being rude.

I absolutely understand the issues about disability discrimination etc but the woman in the makl was right, she was trying to protect the assistant and ended up being told she was basically a 'cowardand a drama queen' which is what the assistant was implying with her comment . I'd be pissed off as well if I was the customer

[WorraLiberty]

Some of the errors on the screen aren’t self explanatory and customer still needs to explain.

Yes, but I'm asking why she didn't look at the screen?

That's what I find so odd here.

[diddl]

Where were the customer & assistant in relation to each other?

I have visions of the assistant shouting across to the customer rather than going to see what the problem was.

That can't be right!

[IndecentFeminist]

Honestly, why didn't the assistant look at the screen?

[HeckyPeck]

The customer shouldn't have called the assistant an idiot because she's disabled.

She didn’t call her an idiot because she’s disabled. She called her an idiot because she said OP was being over the top for wearing a mask.

Speaking as a disabled person we can be idiots sometimes just as much as everyone else!

[andyoldlabour]

None of the staff in my local Asda or Tesco bother to wear masks, none of them follow the one way system or self distance. Very few customers wear masks.
It is as if it is just a joke to them. They are just ignorant, selfish idiots.

[Billben]

@hellosally

why wasnt the nurse customer self isolating after exposure?

Who do you think would look after all the Covid patients if every nurse self isolated after dealing with them? 😂

That’s why you wear PPE.

[Billben]

And “I’m a bit deaf” doesn’t automatically mean she has a disability. It could just as easily mean she has a temporarily problem hearing clearly because of water in her ear or wax etc.

[Ormally]

Shoppers may try to use the self service machines to be able to minimise contact with others, and minimise needing help, so when you do, it's not unreasonable that you do need someone able to troubleshoot and to understand the issues, communication included.

In the last 2 weeks I've needed to get help with a self service checkout twice, once because the card reader had a totally blank screen (after scanning all shopping and it looking normal prior to use) and then a whole till screen conking out halfway through scanning. Both resulted in having to start again and re-scan the products. This is pretty frustrating in the first place as well as the extra weirdness of a supermarket shop at the moment

[Billben]

The mask thing is a little over the top.

I’m not surprised she was called an idiot. You’ve got to be particularly thick to say this 🙄

[Marpan]

The purpose of wearing a mask is to not remove it in a shop, for example touching your face.

A deaf assistant should be on the hearing impaired specific checkout desk.

It’s rude to have someone remove a mask, they could be a vulnerable or chemo patient and it is putting their life at risk.

A Muslim woman wouldn’t be asked to remove her niquab.

That said the public are generally horrid to shop assistants. I worked at one while at uni, but would never cry that’s a bit of an overreaction.

[StuffThem]

@Billben but it's not unreasonanble to expect somebody who is at fairly high risk of transmitting the disease to get home deliveries instead of go to a supermarket.

[maisydaisy20]

The nurse was probably very tired and stressed. Very regrettable though.

[Spasandstripes]

A deaf assistant should be on the hearing impaired specific checkout desk.

What on earth is this?

[EQTONYEQ]

A story that proves coincide isn't a myth. YANBU

[pigoons]

Personally I am not in favour of masks in shops for these very reasons and because they are so uncomfortable people tend not to wear them properly. I am in Scotland and we have no choice.

I found myself so uncomfortable in the shops with mask on that I rushed around not bothering too much about SD as I just wanted it done. And fiddled with my mask and glasses as no solution I have tried stops my glasses steaming up

[WorraLiberty]

A Muslim woman wouldn’t be asked to remove her niquab.

That's very true.

I'm sure she would've looked at the screen then.

[Sweetpotatoaddict]

I’m boggled that the customer service assistant needed the customer to explain what the issue was at the till. In my experience they usually attend to you wordlessly, after the endless unexpected item in the bagging area tirade.
To all those suggesting remove the mask, are you aware you should be performing hand hygiene prior to touching your mask then either disposing of it safely or storing for washing then hand hygiene again. You would then require a fresh mask to maintain your safety. I imagine the ED worker is more than aware of this and possibly had no additional
mask with them.
Of course the healthcare worker can go to the shops. Blimey, healthcare staff would need to be paid exponentially more if their activities outside the home were going to be drastically curtailed every time they came in contact with someone with Covid. If they had to enter a period of isolation away from work there would be no staff to care for the nation.
There is no mention of where this was, in Scotland they are compulsory in shops.

[TellingBone]

@Marpan

The purpose of wearing a mask is to not remove it in a shop, for example touching your face.

A deaf assistant should be on the hearing impaired specific checkout desk.

It’s rude to have someone remove a mask, they could be a vulnerable or chemo patient and it is putting their life at risk.

A Muslim woman wouldn’t be asked to remove her niquab.

That said the public are generally horrid to shop assistants. I worked at one while at uni, but would never cry that’s a bit of an overreaction.

Deaf assistant should be on hearing impaired specific checkout? What would this achieve? How would it work?

Are you suggesting no mask/perspex screen only checkout? Speech would still be muffled.

Or are you saying a checkout for signing people? I have damaged hearing and don't sign. Very few members of the public do anyway.