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AIBU?

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Original poster

Was I in the wrong with this customer

87 replies

Jungledrinks · 21/07/2022 15:08

2 of us working in a shop college goes to the stock room and a customer asks me to help her with an item. I walk the customer and item back to the till to pay and there is a lady in front of the till who should I of served first. I served the lady I had been dealing with but the other lady got all grumpy and said she was here first. I did say I was dealing with this lady before she even entered the shop but my college would be along in a second to serve her but she walked out.

OP posts:
BeyondMyWits · 22/07/2022 16:56

Haha... come work in a pharmacy... the perceived position in the queue thing is soooo confusing.

In the ops case, would have walked customer back to the end of the queue and kept purchases at the till until she got there.

At the pharmacy you have to deal with people in the shop, in the queue, those who have left the shop and returned, end of life urgent pick ups and many more. People take umbrage at the slightest perceived "favouritism" or hint of queue jumping, we are juggling constantly... you certainly can't keep everyone happy.

iwillnotstaycalm · 22/07/2022 16:57

The woman who complained sounds like an entitled twat.

Beautiful3 · 22/07/2022 17:00

You were right.

CbaThinkingOfAUsername · 22/07/2022 17:03

Battytwatty · 21/07/2022 15:14

No not wrong at all.

i have found that since lockdown was over , most of general public have started to behave like arses. Much worse than before.

I dread to think what it's like now then and feel heart sorry for anyone who works in retail. I used to work in this sector before/during uni, pre pandemic, in a call centre and the abuse was horrific.

RaininSummer · 22/07/2022 17:17

I don't know but if the lady at the till had been waiting because you were helping the other lady then that lady should wait.

girlmom21 · 22/07/2022 17:19

vivainsomnia · 21/07/2022 15:17

I think you were in the wrong. You helped the lady which is fine but if the other was already queuing, the one you gelped should have waited to pay joining in the queue. I would have been annoyed too.

I agree with this. The lady was the first customer in the store but not the first customer ready to pay.

In future I'd say "I'll pop this behind the till for you, just join the queue when you're ready to pay."

Pibble · 22/07/2022 17:25

I work in retail and I'd have done the same thing. She was just one of those customers, don't dwell on it, hopefully she won't be back!

SuperCamp · 22/07/2022 17:28

Tricky, but the other person was ready to make her purchase and was at the till.
Had you not been assisting the other customer she would have been looking for her item, or whatever, and you would have been at the till to serve the other woman.

A but if a grey area.

Miajk · 22/07/2022 17:30

caringcarer · 21/07/2022 15:28

Helping a customer is good but surely the one in queue should have been served first otherwise what is point of queuing? Lady you helped should have joined queue.

The only reason lady didn't queue already is because she needed help though?

If there was a queue of 50 customers would you still think it's fair to send her to the back of the queue halfway through being assisted?

Léighméleabhair · 22/07/2022 17:33

You were already dealing with the customer so of course you then take her payment. The customer stood at the till needs to wait her turn, because you’re already serving someone.

Suppose you’re in the supermarket and the lady on the checkout goes to fetch an item for the elderly customer that she couldn’t get herself because it was on a high shelf?

Would you still insist the elderly customer goes to the back of the queue?

Dear god, there are some thoughtless buggers on here! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Youdoyoutoday · 22/07/2022 17:34

This is a shop with 2 workers in then its not asda, is it? So the other lady must have seen you were with a customer already. What you did was right.

Rosebel · 22/07/2022 17:41

Retail is a horrible job. I would have served the lady who was waiting at the till first, then the customer I'd been dealing with.
However I wouldn't have stormed off just because I had to wait a couple of minutes.

newrubylane · 22/07/2022 17:46

Miajk · 22/07/2022 17:30

The only reason lady didn't queue already is because she needed help though?

If there was a queue of 50 customers would you still think it's fair to send her to the back of the queue halfway through being assisted?

Show quote history

Equally, if there's a queue of fifty customers, all you need to do is demand a member of staff help you, and then you get to skip to the front...?

Watapalava · 22/07/2022 17:48

No other shop does what op does

i can’t think of one

they all put the item behind the till and you wait your turn to be served

op was wrong

KatherineJaneway · 22/07/2022 17:52

I would have called your colleague out of the stock room to help the lady at the till already queuing while continuing to ring up the transaction with the customer you were helping.

Youdoyoutoday · 22/07/2022 17:54

Watapalava · 22/07/2022 17:48

No other shop does what op does

i can’t think of one

they all put the item behind the till and you wait your turn to be served

op was wrong

OMG no!!

Small shop is empty, customer walks in and asks for help. During this time, another customer walks in, picks up an item and goes to the till but that doesn't mean she gets priority over the customer who is already being served by the OP.
She is the second customer, not the first!

BraveGoldie · 22/07/2022 17:54

If the customer was already in the queue before getting help them ok for her to go back in her existing place in the queue. If she was just in the shop, then why on earth should she jump the queue? Whoever arrived in the queue first should be served first. Who arrived in the shop first is irrelevant.

Miajk · 22/07/2022 17:54

newrubylane · 22/07/2022 17:46

Equally, if there's a queue of fifty customers, all you need to do is demand a member of staff help you, and then you get to skip to the front...?

Show quote history

No, if there's already a queue of 50 when you ask for help, you go to the end of the queue.

But the lady asked for help before the other lady was queueing so it's very different? She was already being served first.

Miajk · 22/07/2022 17:56

BraveGoldie · 22/07/2022 17:54

If the customer was already in the queue before getting help them ok for her to go back in her existing place in the queue. If she was just in the shop, then why on earth should she jump the queue? Whoever arrived in the queue first should be served first. Who arrived in the shop first is irrelevant.

It is relevant because OP would have to stop serving the first customer to serve the other lady.

The first customer was already in the process of being served, first step was getting the item with help and second step is payment. Why stop serving her halfway through when she was being served first?

Only reason she physically wasn't in the queue is because she was being served in the shop floor.

Benjispruce4 · 22/07/2022 18:05

I think you should have walked the lady back to the queue and she should have joined it to pay. The other lady had her item ready to pay for so technically she was ready before your customer. Tricky one to navigate.

Original poster
Jungledrinks · 22/07/2022 23:33

The 1st lady came to the counter with her item in hand it came with a choice of box so I asked her if she would like to pick a box and walked her over and then back to the till

OP posts:
Italiangreyhound · 22/07/2022 23:35

You were right.

SoupDragon · 23/07/2022 07:00

Jungledrinks · 22/07/2022 23:33

The 1st lady came to the counter with her item in hand it came with a choice of box so I asked her if she would like to pick a box and walked her over and then back to the till

yeah, you were absolutely right. I think everyone would have agreed if you'd put that in your first post.

coffeecupsandfairylights · 23/07/2022 07:21

Jungledrinks · 22/07/2022 23:33

The 1st lady came to the counter with her item in hand it came with a choice of box so I asked her if she would like to pick a box and walked her over and then back to the till

You were 100% in the right.

I can also guarantee that if you were being mystery shopped and ditched a customer at the till to help some entitled madam, you'd have been failed for poor customer service!

The lady you were serving was first in the queue, you'd just stepped away from the till to help her. You don't just get to walk into a shop and demand you get served before the customers already being helped!

CooooCoooo · 23/07/2022 07:36

You should have served the person waiting at the till first. Helping with an item and serving someone on a till are two separate things but you've rolled it into one. A polite "I'll put this behind the till for you" would've been perfect.

The till works when people queue. First person to the till gets served first. People don't queue in order of who enters the shops first or who asked for help first like you've tried to justify. Woman at the till had stopped browsing and started queuing before the lady you were helping.

I've just seen your update and am perplexed as to why you didn't include that vital bit of information in the original post? If the lady had already queued and got to the till ready to purchase but then needed help because you told her to go get a box then that changes everything.