Supermarket workers chatting while working...

The Lovely Muffin · 13-03-2010 08:47PM #1

Yesterday when I was in the supermarker with my mam and she had her stuff on the conveyor belt waiting for it to be scanned, the cashier was chatting to another customer about how useful the gift cards are (the other customer bought a gift card), they must have been a good 5-10 minutes yabbering away. The other customer had no items on the conveyor belt, she had all her items packed in bags and in her trolley and everything paid for. Just stayed for a natter.

I wanted to stay something, but couldn't, mam would have killed me if I'd opened my mouth to the cashier, since mam was next to be served, not me. If I was alone/ahead of mam, I'd have said something.

Presumably this has happened to Boardsies? What did you do, if anything?

bonerm · 13-03-2010 08:48PM

I just hit them repeatedly with the plastic Toblerone yoke until security escort me off the premises.

Biggins · 13-03-2010 08:49PM

I've seen it happen loads of times.
i think its downright rude! I end up saying something like "Excuse me - HELLO!!!!"
- and I make damn sure I say it loud enough that she/he gets some attention, especially from the manager is she/he is near. Stuff them.

msg11 · 13-03-2010 08:49PM

Self scan springs to mind...

Sea Sharp · 13-03-2010 08:50PM

Perfect opportunity to flip out and let off some steam.

sink · 13-03-2010 08:53PM

Reminds me of this! :pac:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT5t678S1f4

The Lovely Muffin · 13-03-2010 08:53PM

msg11 wrote: »

Self scan springs to mind...

There aren't any self-scan checkouts in this supermarket.

Biggins · 13-03-2010 08:54PM

Its no fun when you at a till with four young kids, a crap load of shopping and your under pressure to get them home for meal times.
Meanwhile the person in the till is ignoring you and having a good old LONG chin-wag with a best mate that just popped in to say "hello"

Grrrrr. Reg rag to bull! :mad:

pikachucheeks · 13-03-2010 08:55PM

Just say "Excuse me, I'm waiting to be served"

If you don't say anything, they'll just keep on chatting.

It's even worse when they're serving you and they're chatting to the cashier on the till next to them, completely ignoring you! :mad:

Scarydoll · 13-03-2010 08:57PM

Having worked in retail for quite some time, I can say this happens all the time lol Some times the people are just lonely and want someone to talk to.
I remember one time a woman I was serving was telling me how her mother and sister had died of cancer. I didn't know what to say only I'm sorry to hear about that etc etc.
Oh there was this other time I was on the 'express' checkout and this old guy gave out to me for a full ten minutes because we were selling kingsmill bread.

msg11 · 13-03-2010 08:59PM

Purple_Bobbin wrote: »

There aren't any self-scan checkouts in this supermarket.

I would start shopping somewhere else then. Only joking, It's two worlds really;

Say something rude and the operator will go really slow with your stuff.

Don't say something and the operator will still chat away.

Just start coughing or something simler, low key get's there attention. Or just start asking about the gift card yourself too.

amcalester · 13-03-2010 09:02PM

If the customer was talking to the cashier then what was she to do? Ignore 1 customer to serve another?

Damned of you do and damned if you dont.

Saying that the cashier should try and keep the conversation as short as possible.

mikom · 13-03-2010 09:03PM

Shop in aldi or lidl and you won't see this happening.
If they dared open their mouths for a non-work related matter then you can bet herr kommandant in the machine gun nest would raze them to the ground.

13-03-2010 09:07PM

if the cashier was talking to the customer about the giftcard, she was only being nice and friendly to the customer. its not her fault if the customer has no home to go to and wants to stay yapping to her for 10 minutes.
this happens to me all the time, people just love to tell me there life story. you just have to embrace the talkers out there! and join in the conversation!!
if you didnt say anything to her, she genuinely might not have even seen you, plenty of times i havent noticed people and they've been waiting...!

i used to work with a guy that used to talk to absolutely everyone! it was so much fun being on till with him, he would have 2 or 3 customers standing with there trollys fully loaded all talking to him as he packed bags!!!

force majeure · 13-03-2010 09:24PM

mikom wrote: »

Shop in aldi or lidl and you won't see this happening.
If they dared open their mouths for a non-work related matter then you can bet herr kommandant in the machine gun nest would raze them to the ground.

Too true, 110% you aced it mikom.:D:D

Coriolanus · 13-03-2010 09:28PM

In my local Supervalu, I usually push all the stuff off the conveyor and inch it onto the scanner without them noticing. They they get all flustered when they notice, so announce that your were just trying to help them and get all offended!

ejmaztec · 13-03-2010 09:44PM

Switching into "bastard mode", you can walk away from your trolley and tell the cashier that you'll be back later when she's not so busy. Eventually, when you don't come back, they'll have to put the trolley's contents back on the shelves.

uriah · 13-03-2010 09:58PM

was once in a 'pound shop' and arrived arms laden with lots of small items (no baskets available) to the checkout. Customer in front of me, who had completed her business, and employee obviously knew each other and continued conversation about customers offspring who were sooooo successful, travelling to very exotic places and having the most fabulous time. When I could stand it no longer, I dumped all my items on the counter in front of employee and said "may come back later when you two have finished your personal discussion"

After I had left the shop, the now very red-faced customer accosted me to tell me how rude I had been.
"I'm so sorry," said I. "Should I have waited there until you had discussed your entire family with the person who was being paid to serve me?"

The.Wanderer · 13-03-2010 10:08PM

As others have said, sometimes it can be difficult to get rid of the first customer. I had a woman once who came up to my till to ask me how to send a text on her phone (I should point out I work in a supermarket, not carphone warehouse!) so I showed her, no hassle.

The next 25 minutes were spent with her telling me about her daughter in australia who she was trying to text. People started forming a queue behind her so I tried to wrap up the conversation as nicely as possible but she wouldn't budge! At one point she even turned around, saw the 3 or 4 people behind her and said to me "Oh they want to be served, ah sure they can wait". %&$£ sake! I said to her "If you could just move a little to the side so I can serve this lady behind you..." But no. She just would not leave. It was beyond ridiculous. I eventually had to outright say to her she was going to have to let me serve the people behind her but if my manager heard me say that to a customer I would have been killed.

Some people are just impossible to get rid of.

rubadub · 13-03-2010 10:18PM

scareydoll wrote: »

Some times the people are just lonely and want someone to talk to..

That is very true, one supermarket I go to is full of auld ones and they are always talking to one cashier, who is a middle aged woman. I look at the people in queues to see if they are likely to be chatters. The cashier in this place is grand though and trys to move them on and does process my stuff.

Shop in aldi or lidl and you won't see this happening.

I LOVE the lidl "pay and GTF away from my till" policy, no room or time for packing at the till.

bonerm · 13-03-2010 10:23PM

The.Wanderer wrote: »

At one point she even turned around, saw the 3 or 4 people behind her and said to me "Oh they want to be served, ah sure they can wait".

I wish a swift death for this person. (and no that is not just a humourous throwaway remark.)

Knifey Spoony · 13-03-2010 10:50PM

msg11 wrote: »

Self scan springs to mind...

That won't help at all. Usually there is someone in front of you who just has to feed there entire change purse into the machine and will take there damn time doing it.

Or you could get stuck behind someone trying to scan the contents of their shopping trolley.

Or even worse, you get past all of those obstacles and when you scan the one and only product that you have the machine decides to break down. Then you have to wait for some employee to stop talking to another customer and help you out. It is just one visious cycle in those damn supermarkets.:mad:

Mrmoe · 13-03-2010 10:53PM

It think it is worse when they are speaking another language other than English and you can't even have a good auld nose into what they are saying. I was in 24H Dunnes last night, not too many people around , nobody on the checkout, I was tempted to walk out but I needed the items so not an option. What really irked me was the non chalant way the employee walked strolled up to the checkout 5 minutes after being called by her colleague.

The.Wanderer · 13-03-2010 10:53PM

bonerm wrote: »

I wish a swift death for this person. (and no that is not just a humourous throwaway remark.)

I agree! Then I'm the one who gets in trouble because the queue wasn't moving?! :mad:

goat2 · 13-03-2010 10:57PM

ejmaztec wrote: »

Switching into "bastard mode", you can walk away from your trolley and tell the cashier that you'll be back later when she's not so busy. Eventually, when you don't come back, they'll have to put the trolley's contents back on the shelves.

and hopefully there would be plenty ice cream on board, on a good hot day

dambarude · 13-03-2010 11:04PM

What annoys me is the cashiers who don't acknowledge you, but continue to keep SINGING whatever's on the radio the whole way through the transaction, and then push the change at you at the end. :mad:

The.Wanderer · 13-03-2010 11:14PM

And when the cashier throws the change on the counter with barely a glance in your direction when I had handed them the money with a smile. That really annoys me.

Bonito · 13-03-2010 11:17PM

In the Q you are not a human being. You are merely a customer. Which is an inanimate object to said cashier.

13-03-2010 11:17PM

In fairness, I can understand the cashiers talking to each other. They have to stand there for hours.

Though I don't agree with talking and doing nothing else, obviously.

goat2 · 13-03-2010 11:32PM

The.Wanderer wrote: »

And when the cashier throws the change on the counter with barely a glance in your direction when I had handed them the money with a smile. That really annoys me.

that happened me today, i said hello, did not get an answer, at the end handed her the money with a smile, she looked at me with a bold look, i had done nothing to upset her, yet i was spending my money there as i have every week, and she could not see that it is hundreds like me in that has her in her job, least she could have said was thank you. i know the owner of the shop, am thinking of letting him know, as this action did upset me today, she did not make my day brighter, she put a cloud on it for 20 minuits

The.Wanderer · 13-03-2010 11:37PM

goat2 wrote: »

that happened me today, i said hello, did not get an answer, at the end handed her the money with a smile, she looked at me with a bold look, i had done nothing to upset her, yet i was spending my money there as i have every week, and she could not see that it is hundreds like me in that has her in her job, least she could have said was thank you. i know the owner of the shop, am thinking of letting him know, as this action did upset me today, she did not make my day brighter, she put a cloud on it for 20 minuits

Definitely say something to the owner, that kind of thing is not on. In my place we actually have really good customer service but that's only because we keep everybody on their toes.

Supermarket workers chatting while working...

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