Grocery store etiquette

[JCPhoenix]

SueKrum:

It’s just hard when you are standing in one place to be ingnored by everyone who comes through the line. but I do appriciate your advice and I am trying to be better, that’s why I asked. I pray every day to be Christ to my customers and the devil just rubbhs his hands together and says, “oh let me see how I can mess this up!”

GOD BLESS you for what you do!

I do always try to be patient and friendly…I work in customer service, too, just a different type which is prone to difficult people and situations.

You get the whole gamut.

I think it’s rude for ANYONE to talk on the phone when going through the checkout line. It’s rude and inefficient…because first of all, those who do so are subject to errors in the accounting that they will not catch. That, of course, is secondary to the person they are ignoring.

I’m actually amazed at how so many in service careers are treated as “furniture”.

I won’t say I haven’t done so, though. I think the most common example may be at a restaurant when the server comes by to fill water, etc., and my companion and I are in the middle of a very sensitive conversation…ie talking about confidential matters from work, personal stuff, etc…but I do try to acknowledge the server in some way, a thank you or something.

Cashiers…I’m actually taken aback when they are short and rude, although I understand exactly why.

I guess I would prefer to make their day easier.

There are reasons for talking on a cell phone in the face of someone who is trying to help them…but not many of those reasons are actually acceptable.

Rude is rude is rude. And when someone is having an emergency conversation, it’s often pretty obvious, if not through their words, then in their expressions.

All other stuff is pretty much like the girl I saw pass a school bus with the stop arm out…because she was busily engaged in her cell phone conversation.

I think that most of us can stand to give cashiers and others in customer service a little more respect.

RESPECT is NOT synonymous with “chit-chat”.’’

And cell-phone addicts need to get over themselves and if they are having an emergency…have it outside the realm of another person.

If it’s really that important, then it’s worth leaving the store to handle or at least stopping to just take care of business.

And in any case, there is no reason to ignore the cashier and to be rude (ie avoid eye contact, not smile in greeting if for some reason you are otherwise engaged in an important conv., etc).

For cashiers, I don’t think the silent treatment is appropriate, neither is asking unnecessary questions. Maybe just use the necessary words and let it roll off your back.

I have to do that type of thing, too, so I know what I’m saying. I got cussed out today by a customer and actually hung up on him because I refused to hear the Lord’s name taken in vain again…directly after the F-bomber.

Cashiers don’t get to disconnect…they have to deal with it directly, all the time.

So again, God Bless you!

 

[contemplative]

Thanks for sharing your feelings. Although I rarely yak on my cell phone publicly, I will be more sensitive to the person behind the cash register.

I really appreciate what cashiers do…Recently I tried one of those scan and bag your own merchandise lines…I am slower than molasses…and I overpacked the sacks… I’d be fired in hour if I tried that job.

 

[spiritblows]

Dear Sue Krum,
For what it’s worth, I worked as a bagger in a Super Market in West Hollywood when I was in high school. It was called Boy’s Market. I was one of the first ‘Box Girls’ actually.

We had an annoying type of customer there, I hate to use stereotypes, but they were older Jewish women of the old school. This was back in the early 70’s and many of these women were from New York City and some from the old country. They were very exacting about how their groceries were bagged. This was in the days before plastic grocery sacks, btw. These older women were extremely penny pinching as well.

I say this to tell you that I can relate to your desire to exact a little revenge on your inconsiderate customers. I recall two specific instances.

One was one of these old biddies who was patronizingly directing me in my bagging job. First she demanded me to double bag for her, then of course she wanted only a few items put into the double bag, then she said in her weediling tone of voice “Now honey, you be sure to be careful with my tomatoes and put them on the top!” She really got me pissed off. So I smiled at her, and with my hand in the bag squished her tomatoes with my vengeful hand!

The second instance had to do with our Blue Chip stamps. Anyone over 45 years of age probably remembers these. We were the last chain to have these. We even had a little system where, if you brought a cart from the parking lot and pushed it through a slot in the store, you got one of the large stamps. We had two older Jewish folks, one a man and one a woman, who used to spend much of the day working in the parking lot, returning carts. I’ll never forget that they came to blows once over a cart. They were both from the old world with Yiddish accents. The woman had a tatoo from a concentration camp, I recall.

Anyways, once I decided to play a trick and glue a large blue chip stamp to the floor. The checker and I had a good time watching some of our annoying customers try and get that stamp off of the floor. So, I can sympathise with you, the public can really be irritating at times.

 

[WanderAimlessly]

contemplative:

Thanks for sharing your feelings. Although I rarely yak on my cell phone publicly, I will be more sensitive to the person behind the cash register.

I really appreciate what cashiers do…Recently I tried one of those scan and bag your own merchandise lines…I am slower than molasses…and I overpacked the sacks… I’d be fired in hour if I tried that job.

I actually prefer the U-Scan lines. Most of the time there is no waiting line and, since I am ambidextrous, I am usually faster than 90 of the cashiers.

PF

 

[Pug]

Every time you meet and interact with a person, it is an opportunity to treat them with dignity and love. With a cashier, hand them your coupons and smile or maybe say thankyou at the end, something! If anything comes to mind, I tend to make a stray remark of some sort.

 

[Honoria20]

Pug:

Every time you meet and interact with a person, it is an opportunity to treat them with dignity and love. With a cashier, hand them your coupons and smile or maybe say thankyou at the end, something! If anything comes to mind, I tend to make a stray remark of some sort.

…" It’s in the little things", Pug…

 

[Celia]

quotespiritblows/ So I smiled at her, and with my hand in the bag squished her tomatoes with my vengeful hand!/quote

snort

You described that so well I could just picture it! Lol…

JCPhoenix…great post. :clapping:

 

[little_flower_1]

i’m a cashier, too, so trust me, lol, i know how you feel. i HATE rude customers. lkjaldkjfaslkjsa. i could go on and on and on lol… but really, these are great opportunities for practising virtue. bless thy enemies and so forth…

one thing- i hate when ppl don’t say anything at all to me. they let me ring everything up, don’t help bag, i hand them their change with a smile and a ‘thank you’ and they just walk away. they could at least say thank you. i’m a small girl, it ain’t easy to bag 10 bottles of pepsi with no help. i always say ‘your welcome’ loudly when they do that.

 

[bapcathluth]

I think it is rude to talk on the cell phone when you are being checked out. The checker doesn’t need to hear ;your life story, but saying hello and being polite is needed. I really understand the checker wanting to chat because it breaks up the day for himor her.

Otoh, I have been guilty of talking on the phone when getting checked out because somebody called me just at that moment and it is important. I still say hello and thank you though.

 

[MooCowSteph]

I think it’s a bit rude to talk on the phone in the checkout line unless it really can’t wait. If I get a call, I just say, can I call you back? I’m in the checkout line. I don’t usually make too much chit-chat with the cashiers, and I’ve never had one ask me the personal questions Princess_Abby was talking about! How rude! And if I am ever on the phone while needing to talk to anyone, I always at least say hello, thank you, etc.

Can I go off topic for just a minute? I hate it when I’m trying to choose an item in the grocery store and someone else comes up, says excuse me (or maybe doesn’t), and asks me to move so they can get their item. I’ve even had people do this while I was picking multiple items off the shelf. Can’t you wait until I’m finished? That’s what I do!

I don’t mind the hairdresser making small talk, but I hate it when the nail lady talks during a pedicure. I’m trying to relax!

 

[legeorge]

I’ve worked in fast food (all positions, including manager), at a sit-down restaurant as a waitress, at a nice shoe store, and at a retail store as a checker. Needless to say, I think I am a pretty good customer as a result. I’ve seen it all.

For those of you who don’t really care to speak to someone who’s serving you, please, try to acknowledge them. If you had any idea what these people go through in a typical day, you would go out of your way to be nice to them. Even if I get a particularly rude person, I often just say, “Bad day, huh?” They usually smile and say “Yeah”. Of course, maybe I’m just approachable. I can’t tell you how many checkers have complained to me about the person/s they checked out before me. I can sympathize and try to restore their belief in the goodness of people if I can.

Maybe a lot of this has to do with location, because I have noticed that in some areas, people are just friendlier than others.

Oh, and now that I am a customer only, I have a new pet peeve. Those trashy and often indecent magazines at the checkouts. I actually had to turn one around last week, because it was just wrong!

BTW, does anyone have any advice on etiquette when it comes to samples? We shop at Sam’s Club a lot and they always have at least 6 carts out in the food section. I usually let my kids have something that I think they’ll like, but I feel guilty when I don’t buy the item. Sometimes I’ll say “Wow, that’s good. I’ll have to put those on my list for next time” or “We buy these quite often” or “My husband wouldn’t like these, so I better not”. Why do I feel the need to explain myself?

 

[SueKrum]

lori, don’t feel bad about the samples. they don’t work on commision. if you hae a care full of food, the sample lady knows you are not one the (all you can eat buffet in the store people). I love these people. they buy a banana and get a free cup of coffe and hang out for an hour on saturday eating free peices of bread from the bakery and wate for the “aprons” ressupe to be ready and snack on a plate or two. it cracks me. usually, these are the old penny penching people that someone mentioned earlier.
besnides, you have to be a member at sam’s to even get in right? I don’t remember.

 

[Cupofkindness]

The Sam’s sample ladies don’t work on commission, but someone is counting how many boxes of product they sell. So there is a little bit of pressure there…

 

[ElizabethAnne]

catsrus:

Yes, I’m sure she was doing her job, however, the entire mess could have been diffused if she’d have just backed me up and told the guy that she had indeed bidden me to come into her line.

I don’t think that would have diffused the situation at all. The angry customer would either re-direct his anger at the cashier or become even angrier because two people were now “at fault.” Getting the customer to a cash register promptly is the only way I can see that a customer who is already yelling will be pacified.

 

[davy39]

I have worked part-time at a hardware store for nine years, in a small town where I live. I believe that ninety per cent of our customers are great, but a lot more of them are cranky around Christime, for some reason. I guess they take it out on us because we’re the handiest. But anyway, I try to be accomadating, but once in a while they get to me. Thank God, that’s only once in a while.

 

[davy39]

Just one more thing, have you ever gave a clerk a tip for good and friendly service? Why or why not? We do just as much as a waitress at a restaurent.

 

[SueKrum]

when I was a bagger, I would get tips. although it’s against our company pollacy to accept them. we have huge signs that say, “carry out is our pleasure. no tipping please” I got $20 in tips last Christmas eve. I put it in salvation army bucket.

I’m all for tipping people, but I don’t think it should be required. like when I was on a cruse, you had to tip everybody. it was kind of annyoing. like if I wanted a drink from the bar, had to give the BT a tip for each drinnk. even if he just opened a bottle of beer for me. come on!

I do tip well though and if I have a huge order of groceries that need to get carried out, I’ll tip. but it shouldn’t be required in the grocery store.

 

[Brenda_V]

davy39:

Just one more thing, have you ever gave a clerk a tip for good and friendly service? Why or why not? We do just as much as a waitress at a restaurent.

No - I don’t because a cashier at the grocery store will be making at the very least minimum wage where-as a Waiter or Waitress makes far less - the tip is considered part of their wage!

I will be nice though to the cashier or wait-person because I know it is hard to be in the store all day!

I also find that some cell phone users are very rude. When as a cashier I am waiting on you I don’t need your full attention but would like to be able to ask you questions if need be. I used to work at a snack bar and it is really funny the way people will try to order their snacks and talk on the phone at the same time “large bag of popcorn and a… no, I am at Target getting some food… and a large soda… no I am not talking to you right now, hold on.” Most people will ask the person on the other end to hold while they place their order and finish their transaction - this is the polite thing to do. Let the cashier ask the questions he/she needs to ask and then continue with your conversation if needs be.

When you are in a store like Target you have to know that we are required to ask if you would like to apply for a Target Credit Card - don’t get mad, don’t be rude and not look at us as we ask this and for heavens sakes don’t give us a lecture on the evils of credit cards - I use mine responsibly and rarely pay interest on them so, I guess it is all in how you use them. A simple no thank you will do

Brenda V.

 

[catsrus]

originally posted by** ElizabethAnne**
I don’t think that would have diffused the situation at all.

Whether it would have or not is a moot point since:
A. The cashier did not address the customer
B. The mgr never addressed me
C. The incident was over a month ago
D. I don’t shop there anymore
E. You were not there to witness this mess

Bottom line to this entire thread (for me) is, if I am not treated as I have treated others when I worked retail, I do not give that company with the rude/disinterested clerks/mgrs my business. I’m sure the companys will not go under rolleyes: ) but at least I feel I have respect for myself.

 

[spiritblows]

I just had a very funny experience at Safeway, I just got home. Sandra, my very very favorite checker was there, so I got in her line, even though it was longer. Just before my turn, the young guy in the 9 item or less line magnanimously said that I could get in his line, since it was empty. There I was, put on the spot! I thought for a second, then said “No thanks, I don’t want to”. LOL, Sandra started cracking up, cause she know how much I think she’s the best. I was uncontrollably laughing a bit myself.

She’s so natural with people, and we always have a jolly good time. We laughed some more when it was my turn. She said that it happens a lot that her line is longer, and that it really irritates some of the other checkers, because everyone wants to get in her line. She told me that Ginger, the rude checker, is no longer with them, that the job was too much for her. She always calls me by my first name, or calls me ‘babe’, which is really endearing. She’s such a bright beacon in that store.