Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Told off at supermarket for using the wrong checkout

175 replies

ToldOff292 · 04/03/2021 16:25

I was shopping in Morrisons today and then went to self-checkout. There were some clear screens covering some of the checkouts but I thought this was for social distancing purpose.

The till was ready to be used (as in not turned off), so i scanned my items and I bought some paracetmal which triggered an age check to come up meaning a shopkeeper had to come and confirm it.

Anyway, this girl started telling me to watch where i'm standing and "you shouldn't even be using this till, it's closed you know" and rolling her eyes at me.

I just said "sorry I didn't realise".

But AIBU to think some shopkeepers think we're psychic? They could have turned the till off if they didn't want people to use it?
There was no "do not use" signs on it either 😕

OP posts:
YouokHun · 04/03/2021 20:42

I think we are all struggling. I find that when I stray into a shop I haven’t been in since the pandemic started I often get it wrong; go against an arrow I haven’t seen, queue in the wrong place etc. Yesterday I went into the pharmacy and realised I didn’t have my mask on as I was talking to the person on the till, I haven’t done that through the whole pandemic. Hurriedly put it on with apologies. So it’s easy to make mistakes as a customer and it isn’t always obvious what the shop’s requirement is.

It’s also clear that some customers are pretty unpleasant to retail workers, I’ve witnessed a few aggressive customers in my local supermarket, one young looking girl on the till reduced to tears. That customer was given a hard time by someone else in the queue for being so horrible and rightly so. On the other hand I know this particular rude, snappy customer and though she has no right to be unpleasant, I know her DH is dying of cancer and she is likely very stressed and unhappy.

I’ve come across a few curt shop assistants and some who seem to be enjoying a bit of a power trip, telling people off without much reference to professionalism but they are just as likely to have been treated very poorly by customers and may have tried all day to be polite against a barrage of unpleasant behaviour.

Who knows what people are dealing with either side of the counter?

To be honest I feel rather sorry for us all!

SchrodingersImmigrant · 04/03/2021 20:44

Absolutely no excuse for rudeness. If anybody has a customer facing job there is no excuse for taking out any frustrations on the customer. If they can't live by that, then they should find a different job because it really isn't for them.

I quite agree, I also think that there is absolutely no excuse for rudeness. If anybody is going to the shop there is no excuse for taking out any frustrations on the staff. If they can't live by that, then they should find a different way to shop because it really isn't for them.

Nowayhozay · 04/03/2021 20:51

It wasn't a competition and she was very rude in her manners and actions, in the end I felt she needed telling off.
Is good customer service a thing of the past now?

Original poster
ToldOff292 · 04/03/2021 20:51

@SchrodingersImmigrant there's a massive difference between genuinely rude customers and customers making covid 'rule' errors though.
If a shopkeeper if having a go at someone because they accidentally walked down the wrong facing arrow, then they are on a massive power trip.

Just the other day, a supply TA from outside of school didn't realise she couldn't come through our class as it wasn't her bubble.
Did I think
"Oh my god. What a massive idiot." And start bolloking her? No I didn't. Nor did I get the urge to.
I just smiled and asked if she was okay and if she needs anything and then told her which way to go to get to her class. Not hard to show politeness and not presume people are idiots.

OP posts:
Original poster
ToldOff292 · 04/03/2021 20:53

It's not hard to just smile and say to a customer "Sorry this till is not in use, do you mind going to this till or waiting in this line" rather than going over all thunder-faced

OP posts:
Nowayhozay · 04/03/2021 20:53

@Nowayhozay

It wasn't a competition and she was very rude in her manners and actions, in the end I felt she needed telling off. Is good customer service a thing of the past now?
Sorry that was @lynora
SchrodingersImmigrant · 04/03/2021 20:54

I don't know shere you people shop. I simply never had shopworker "have a go at me", "shout at me" "roll their eyes at me" and whatever else is happening to half a Mumsnet.

Original poster
ToldOff292 · 04/03/2021 20:54

This thread isn't even about "rude" customers, it's about the customers who genuinely make a mistake regarding covid rules and then receive a telling off from a shopkeeper

OP posts:
ilovesooty · 04/03/2021 20:55

When someone name changes for one specific thread I generally assume that they don't want any response indicating that they might be even a bit unreasonable.

Sparklingbrook · 04/03/2021 20:55

in the end I felt she needed telling off

Telling her to 'sod off' and patronising her over her age. I bet she felt proper told off. Hmm

Sparklingbrook · 04/03/2021 20:55

@ToldOff292

This thread isn't even about "rude" customers, it's about the customers who genuinely make a mistake regarding covid rules and then receive a telling off from a shopkeeper
So how long are you going to let this eat you up?
Original poster
ToldOff292 · 04/03/2021 20:55

@SchrodingersImmigrant just because you specifically haven't doesn't mean other people haven't?
I've never been knocked over by a car, does that mean I should presume the people who have are lies? Hmm what a silly thing to say

OP posts:
Original poster
ToldOff292 · 04/03/2021 20:56

@Sparklingbrook it's not anymore, this thread just just turned into a debate about customer service which i'm free to get involved in. If you don't like it then you don't have to read

OP posts:
ilovesooty · 04/03/2021 20:57

@SchrodingersImmigrant

I don't know shere you people shop. I simply never had shopworker "have a go at me", "shout at me" "roll their eyes at me" and whatever else is happening to half a Mumsnet.
I don't think it's ever happened to me either and during the years I worked in retail I don't recall an employee doing it to a customer.
Sparklingbrook · 04/03/2021 20:57

[quote ToldOff292]@Sparklingbrook it's not anymore, this thread just just turned into a debate about customer service which i'm free to get involved in. If you don't like it then you don't have to read[/quote]
I am reading because it's fascinating.

Wine
Original poster
ToldOff292 · 04/03/2021 20:58

@ilovesooty like I said, just because it hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

OP posts:
UhtredRagnarson · 04/03/2021 20:58

How is this even a thread? Confused nothing happened. No one was told off. A staff member rolled their eyes. That’s it. Why would anyone give this a seconds thought? It’s like some sort of victim mentality.

Original poster
ToldOff292 · 04/03/2021 20:59

@Sparklingbrook me too. I am finding it fascinating that people believe shopkeepers have a right to be rude. I'm enjoying the laughs Halo

OP posts:
UhtredRagnarson · 04/03/2021 20:59

I’m picturing a daily mail sad face while OP types.

ilovesooty · 04/03/2021 21:00

[quote ToldOff292]@ilovesooty like I said, just because it hasn't happened to you doesn't mean it doesn't happen.[/quote]
I see what you said. Of course when "things happen" people interpret the same incidents differently.

Forestcantrun · 04/03/2021 21:01

There is a right way and wrong way to address this, the staff member clearly could have communicated better in this instance. I am sorry this has made you feel this way but don't let it get you down.

I recently checked out with 3 bottles of wine and set off some alarm at the supermarket. The young guy who was patrolling the self service was brilliant. He asked did I have alcohol, I replied loads then he started laughing, pointed at a 5 cm high notice under the screen "no alcohol", obviously I was laughing at the ridiculousness of this sign, he scanned my till or whatever wizardry occurs and agreed absolutely no one saw this sign but he enjoyed it.
Some people are just brilliant and make your day, some people are just not that great at communication. Hopefully your next interaction is with the former.

Sparklingbrook · 04/03/2021 21:01

[quote ToldOff292]@Sparklingbrook me too. I am finding it fascinating that people believe shopkeepers have a right to be rude. I'm enjoying the laughs Halo[/quote]
No, not fascinating because of that-in many other ways.

Calling them ''Shopkeepers' is quite quaint, reminds me of the local corner shop when I was growing up. I believe we are talking about retail staff here, not the shop owner.

LaceyBetty · 04/03/2021 21:02

I cannot believe this has 145 responses. People are rude to me everyday of my life. Way worse than this incident. I'd be a shell of a human if I took stuff like this so personally.

Honestly OP, I know I sound rude, but I really don't think it has done your well-being any good to have posted this and dwelled on this for so long.

Original poster
ToldOff292 · 04/03/2021 21:02

@Forestcantrun wait, why was there a 'no alcohol' sign? Never heard of this Grin

OP posts:
Original poster
ToldOff292 · 04/03/2021 21:03

@Sparklingbrook i didn't say that's why you find it fascinsting but it's why i find it fascinating Flowers

OP posts: