To think that gen Z is completely disengaged in service industry

[Hocuspoc]

...and to just stop hoping I will get any value for my money.
No offense, generalisation is never good, but just this last week:

• Clarks, shopping for toddler shoes, usually there is this older lady there who knows exactly what are the bestsellers, what works for little ones depending on age size etc... anyway - nowhere to be found, the floor is cover by two youngsters. Neither approached to help, on their phones, I had to chase the girl around to notice us (empty shop) so I can get DS foot measured. She measured him 2 sizes up (took us some time to establish that) but long story short - every answer is 'I don't know' and shrugs. Started explaining school shoes - I reminded her he is 2. Didn't know what is discounted, what is in stock, one can only dream of some initiative like trying a similar style to confirm a size and than order...

Anyway - completely clueless, borderline rude and no indication that she cares or sees herself working there longer than a month.

Then, the other day... Entering a train station, my usual platform closed, I asked the young bloke operating the gates about it - he was literally shocked he is being asked anything, looked like I woke him up from daydreaming. Also glancing at his phone.

I will stop here, but same everywhere. No cutlery pre-set or brought with your food, rolling eyes for asking for a coffee in a proper mug because it is to stay in, I can go on forever.

Just rudeness everywhere, no professionalism, no taking pride in your work, just abysmal...

Should be interesting

😆 😆 🤣

YANBU

Had a very similar situation the other night. Can’t even call it an interaction as there was zero interaction with the person who was serving me.
but…do you think the older generation would have said the same about us? Grumpy teenagers , shrugging their shoulders and looking bored ??

The sort of jobs you're talking about will NEVER get gen Z a mortgage and will likely come with crap working conditions, zero hour contracts. They can't even afford to move out and rent.

They no longer pay over- time for the weekend hours like they used to do, which was good for students. My dh used to get double on a Sunday which meant he wasn't much worse off that full time employees working around school.

And we're STILL paying them a lower minimum wage for doing the same work as their 40 year old counterparts. Which last I checked was discrimination.

Why the fuck are they going to try?

I've actually had some really nice service experiences from "young people" recently - I'd all guess under 25, so young compared to me. Young man working in John Lewis who was super patient buying DS trainers (he's fussy). All the waiters/waitresses when DH and I had a nice meal. Thinking about a few local cafes I use regularly - really friendly staff.

I also think it's a bit of a teenage rite of passage to half arse your Saturday/holiday job. And as PP said, my working conditions were probably a lot better - I got time and a half on bank holidays, do many places do that now?

YANBU that Clarks has gotten terrible recently. I've stopped using them for DC shoes because they barely have any stock in and the kids fitting staff are rubbish.

I think that’s a bad sweeping generalisation. I’ve been out for food twice this weekend to different establishments. Both lots of waiting staff were in their late teens I’d say and both were lovely and helpful.

the young staff at my health club are mainly enthusiastic and helpful. The odd one who isn’t but to be honest the middle aged management level are worse 🤷‍♀️

dd used to work as a barista and took a pride in her job, was popular with the regular customers. And the stories she could tell about rude, middle aged and older customers was unreal. People clicking their fingers, someone told her she must be thick because she works as a barista (she was doing an architecture degree at the time). I personally see other customers being unnecessarily rude to waiting staff and shop workers.

I told another customer off recently, was someone at the dentist who was tearing a strip off the young receptionist because the dentist was running 20 mins late. The way he spoke to her was terrible and she remained polite and professional. I told him he was a total twat 😂

I don't think it's universal. Go to Poland or Lithuania or the Netherlands and young people have a totally different energy. Wish I could move :(

😂 stealing

I do think train station staff are next level, asking them a question seems to really annoy them.

I agree OP. I run my own business and interview/employ anybody between 18 and 60. The 18 to 30 year olds impress me enough to employ them, but once employed it's a completely different story. Lazy, don't turn up and no interest whatsoever. They do the bare minimum to satisfy their job centres. It's very rare that I meet a decent hard working Gen Z. 30 and above - completely different story. Hard working, willing to learn, immaculate etc.

Disclaimer - I do realise that there are plenty of hard working Gen Z. I just haven't met them

The young woman in my local coffee shop knows my usual order & the other day, asked how my cat was because she’d seen me walking past with her in her carrier.

And a young bloke in the supermarket saw me trying to reach something, stopped to get it down for me & asked if I needed anything else.

Well we've just been for a meal in the cafe next to where we're staying on holiday. All the waitresses looked to be under 25 and all of them were pleasant and efficient. As an example DD wanted Appletise and they didn't have it so the waitress suggested that she tried apple juice and lemonade. They were friendly and efficient and engaged really nicely with Dd who has autism.

Yanbu. I had this in John Lewis the other day and tiger. Phones more important than serving... In John Lewis case...only time been into John Lewis and to spend voucher I was given I was rescued by a 60 ish staff member who dealt with me well unlike the two rude staff members who at the previous till..I dared to want to pay with cash and got eye rolled...John lewis your younger staff members in solihull need retraining...in tiger the lady on her phone never noticed me...I Put my items back and left after struggling to get the self service till to work..she was next to it playing on her phone...

You're right that generalisation is never good. We have some fantastic people in their early 20s where I work (engineering/manufacturing industry), and I also work with a lot of older people who moan a lot and aren't as effective as they think they are and also lack the resilience that they claim their old fashioned upbringing gave them, moaning about things instead of just getting on with the realities of the situation.

And of course a few useless young people and a lot of great older people.

I've stopped using 2 local cafes because they use young, clearly from the conversations, six formers on Saturdays. These are left alone to run the place with little or no training, not enough life experience to think outside of the box.

Prime example home made soup on the menu. All 4 of us order, it's 40 minutes to come because the youngster was heating it up in a domestic microwave, a bowl at a time.... not her fault that is what she was told to do...

It is very annoying but this is a management issue. Gen Z need to be motivated differently to earlier generations. It’s very well documented so there is no excuse. Either that or employ older workers.

I had a really positive with a gen z employee recently, took the littlest to build a bear last week and was shocked how young the employees all seemed but one individual specifically was just a joy.

They helped a very shy little girl to do her ‘ceremonies’ and enjoy the process of making the bear, it was lovely. They were a lot more confident than I was at that age, it was impressive.

Because this is Mumsnet I feel like I need to specify the gender neutral language is because I frankly have no idea and wouldn’t feel right guessing.

YABU - my last experience in Clarks was with a Gen z-er who was absolutely incredible with my pre-schooler - 10/10 service.

Every time I’ve been in Clarks a younger person has always greeted me and made eye contact.

I’ve actually had a lot of rude experiences with women 50+ in retail who seem like they literally can’t be arsed to work anymore and have forgotten their manners. I’m not going to generalise because I know that there is good service and bad service from all ages.

There’s a woman 50+ at my local Tesco and when she’s on self scan I can’t bear it, she’s so rude.

In contrast a very young man does it at weekends and he is actually their best member of staff - so lovely.

It’s more the older staff in the shops around here who are an issue - seems like customers are an inconvenience to their social lives. Particularly the M&S staff, for some reason.

The Gen Z staff I have come across are, without exception, extremely helpful.

😂

The little cafe run in the museum in a small market town near us.had 2 New young girls. Very polite and keen

I think that's just Clarks. It's shit. Trades on some wistful idea that they are good quality. They're crap quality and they do not fit the shoes..they measure the foot with a foot guage and then declare the size and then say all the shoes in that size fit. No actual fitting of each shoe.

We went to an independent store that check each shoe and how it fits everywhere. Is it close in at the ankle for example,.check to see if the strap is snug across the top of the foot. Sadly its shut down now because the shoes were so good you only went back once a year!

If I were you op I would just buy a foot guage and order better quality shoes (froddo tickets, geox) online. You'll be better off.

This is just as ageist as the threads generalising about older people.

Ageist generalisation.

Frankly I think GenZ and the generations beyond have every reason to feel pissed off.

They will work for longer than any generation before them and are likely to receive worse renumeration,conditions and opportunities for work, home ownership and will live in an unstable damaged world.

I'm waiting for them to go cultural revolution on all of us.