To think sales staff should help you pack your bags?

[terreyyy]

I normally pack my bags without asking for help.
Today I went into the pound shop.
I had my two kids (one is 3 and other is 5) I had 2 heavy bags in one hand and it was raining so had my brolly.
Bought 5 glass pumpkins and got to checkout.
She told me they had nothing to wrap them in so I said no worries can I have some bags and I would put each in separate bag.
She put the bags down (unopened ) then scanned them really fast.
I had 1 daughter screaming,then I dropped my bank card.
So I'm trying to wrap each pumpkin up then put them in my carrier bag.
She is just stood behind the counter arms folded waiting for me.
She then says to the long queue (sorry about this everyone) whilst shaking her head looking at me.
Would it have actually killed her to just help me?
The guy serving on the next till was packing the bag for someone.
Aibu to think she could have helped ?
Rather than stand there and make me feel like an idiot

If you can’t manage packing your shopping then don’t go shopping and order online. Retail staff need to minimise contact. YABVU.

She was rude op. Dont let it get you down. Ime these days it's just corner shops that have packed my bags.

🤷‍♀️ not really the cashierfault you were clumsy, unprepared to pack your bags and letting your child scream her head off in the middle of the shop. Sure it would have been nice for her to help, but next time prepare yourself to pack your own bags.

It's the pound shop, they never have helped. The clue is in the name to their likelihood of customer service

It was compulsory when I worked there.

It might be because of Covid.

The glass pumpkins sound lovely though!

I'm in Australia and the shop assistant always packs your bags for you here

not really the cashierfault you were clumsy, unprepared to pack your bags and letting your child scream her head off in the middle of the shop. Sure it would have been nice for her to help, but next time prepare yourself to pack your own bags

Thank god you’ve never dropped anything by accident. Children don’t know how to regulate their emotions, they cry at times

Do you feel better now that you’ve tried to put someone down that’s had a stressful morning? Has it improved your day? At no point did OP say she wasn’t willing to pack her bags, she was struggling to, she wanted a bit of kindness. Based on your response I get the impression you’ve not learnt what that is.

YABU. You should have asked, really. And her customer service isn't that bad if she apologised to the queue . When shopping with kids you need to be organised, have everything ready and ask for help when you need it. Not faff around, hold up a queue and then silently fume.

The trick is to not pay until you have everything packed. It kind of gets them to get a move on. There used to one person on the M&S food till who practically threw the items after scanning down to packing area. I couldn't pack as fast as she scanned threw so I took my time packing and then payed her. Haven't come across her in a long time.

I dunno, it is the pound shop after all.

You’re not paying for high levels of customer service - it’s like expecting the quality of customer service from a John Lewis personal shopping session, at Primark.

I’d expect Waitrose to help you, but I think with the more affordable grocery stores they do just want you in and out ASAP.

These stores do attract unreasonable clientele unfortunately; I wouldn’t be surprised if the staff at the pound shop you visited had complaints about them being too close to customers due to COVID, so perhaps she was being cautious as a result? Or if they’ve had complaints/nasty customers about long till queues before - it can be stressful being the only staff member serving a long queue, customers are agitated and annoyed and there’s a 90% chance someone will take it out on you and be absolutely vile. So she may have been preemptively trying to diffuse the other customers, rather than personally attacking you.

5 glass pumpkins-that's what to buy when you're on your own & have no other shopping!

They sound lovely.

Common sense seems to have gone out of the window.

If Op was struggling, surely helping would have been the best way to be able to move on to the next customer?

Even more than normal they can’t do right for doing wrong.

Could have easily been sorted by you saying “do you mind giving me a hand”

I don't expect staff to do anything but take my money, especially in pound shops. Treated like shit for a pittance.

So you had 2 heavy shopping bags
And a brolly
And 2 young children
And bought 5 glass pumpkins?
And it didn’t occur to you that it might be tricky at the till?

These stores do attract unreasonable clientele unfortunately; I wouldn’t be surprised if the staff at the pound shop you visited had complaints about them being too close to customers due to COVID

What does this even mean??

I worked at a pound shop at uni and gave great service. Just because the price point is low doesn't mean the service should be poor. I would have packed your bags.

OP, can you clarify whether you actually said the words 'Could you help me pack these, please?'

Sometimes from reading Mn I find myself wondering whether it's some strange British trait, to skip the asking for help part and go straight to fuming as though you've been refused? When you didn't in fact ask?

She probably should help. But it's the pound shop so I wouldn't expect it. I would have said something to her when she said something to the waiting queue. That was rude.

@insancerre no as normally shops have some sort of bubble wrap or tissue paper to cover glass items

@diddl these bloody pumpkins are like gold dust.
I've been looking for them for weeks.
They wouldn't have been there if I had left them.

"She then says to the long queue (sorry about this everyone) whilst shaking her head looking at me."

And at that point I'd be thinking "well perhaps you should be helping you silly bugger!"

She'll only have made herself look stupid/lazy for that, Op.

Sorry you should have asked. I hate people expecting others to just know assume they want help and start something for them. Its polite to ask for help when you need it, it's not polite to expect help without having to ask.

Surely it's pretty obvious when someone needs help.

"@diddl these bloody pumpkins are like gold dust."

Have googled & they look very nice.

Wouldn't mind a couple myself.

If anyone has got spares & wouldn't mind shipping to Germany!

It’s the £1 shop not John Lewis. Sounds like it was just one of those afternoons really (wet, crying kids, other shopping etc).