And while I'm ranting...
let's talk about customers. And I do see my share of idiots.
1. If you haven't paid for it, it doesn't belong to you. No, you can't eat the groceries before you pay for them. It's theft, plain and simple. What? Your kid was hungry? Gee, whose fault is that? Certainly not ours. You know enough not to shop when you're hungry, why not make sure the kids aren't hungry either? And no, I cannot charge you for a banana peel. You better have more in your cart because I'm going to pull one off the bunch and weigh it twice.
Yes, I know you intend to pay for everything. Any idea how often someone gets their entire order rung through only to find out they don't have their wallet, or debit card or whatever? Happens a lot more often than you think. You are not immune from the possibility that it could happen to you.
2. It's not rocket science, it's a debit machine. Yes, that little green button on the bottom is the "OK" button. It's the same colour on every single debit machine in the country, so unless you have been living under a rock there is not excuse for not knowing how to press "OK".
3. Regardless of whether or not you are actually signing for all your credit card purchases, you card is still supposed to be signed. Every now and then it happens that your chip won't work. This means I need a signature, which means I need to compare it to the one on the back of your card. No, this does not mean that you borrow my pen and sign it right then. This means you have to produce another piece of identification with a signature. What? You don't have anything else? You just left the house with your credit card in your pocket for a quick trip to the store? Did you drive here? Then where the hell is your license? Oh, you're driving here without it. Brilliant.
4. You want a delivery on this busiest day of the week? Sure, no problem. Did you have the courtesy to let the people in line behind know that this $300 order was a delivery and they would have to wait while it was packed before they could be served? I actually had a lady ask me why she should bother telling them. Um, let's see. Common courtesy comes to mind. Give them the choice of waiting while your order is packed or finding a line that might be faster. Why didn't I tell them? Um, because I'm not psychic. I didn't know until you told me 5 seconds ago.
5. Get off your damn phone in my line. I'm trying to ask you questions, like, did you need bags for your groceries or do you have your own? In our store, we're not obligated to bag your groceries for you. I have no problem whatsoever giving you a hand. But I will not bag them for you while you text or email. Put down the phone, pick up a bag and start doing it yourself. I will gladly give you a hand without you even asking. Got a huge order? Don't wait until I've finished ringing through $300 worth of groceries before you start putting stuff in bags. I am not allowed to help until all the grocery are through the cash. They time how fast I process a customer. That means from the time I ring the first item through to the time I hit the "total" button. I can take all the time I want to help you pack after that.
As a side note, I had two customers at my cash last week. They didn't know each other but both had smallish orders so were close enough together that second person could hear my conversation with the first lady. It went something like this:
First customer (female): It's so nice to have a cashier that's so friendly.
Second customer (male): She's always this nice, I make a point of getting in her line if she's working.
Her: You must really like your job.
Me: Actually no. I hate this job but it pays the bills.
Her: Really?
Me: Yeah, but it's not the customers fault, so that kind of thing shouldn't mean I do a crappy job or treat people badly.
Her: That's a really mature attitude.
Me: I'm 54, I better be mature by now.
The three of us laugh.
Him: And that's why I'm always in her line. There's always great conversation and she's really nice.
My boss walks by.
Me: Hey, Boss (removing his name to protect the innocent :D)
Boss: What?
Me to male customer: He's the one you should tell.
Me to boss: He says he makes a point of getting in my line.
My boss walks away happy that the customers are happy. My customers walk away having been mildly entertained in my line. And I had a bit of fun and made the afternoon go faster.
In fact, I DO hate my job. With every fibre of my being I hate my job. But the bills have to be paid and I do like to travel. People just aren't scrambling to hire those of us over 50.
Oh, and I've been known to threaten to take phones away from customers who insist on using them in my line. :D
1. If you haven't paid for it, it doesn't belong to you. No, you can't eat the groceries before you pay for them. It's theft, plain and simple. What? Your kid was hungry? Gee, whose fault is that? Certainly not ours. You know enough not to shop when you're hungry, why not make sure the kids aren't hungry either? And no, I cannot charge you for a banana peel. You better have more in your cart because I'm going to pull one off the bunch and weigh it twice.
Yes, I know you intend to pay for everything. Any idea how often someone gets their entire order rung through only to find out they don't have their wallet, or debit card or whatever? Happens a lot more often than you think. You are not immune from the possibility that it could happen to you.
2. It's not rocket science, it's a debit machine. Yes, that little green button on the bottom is the "OK" button. It's the same colour on every single debit machine in the country, so unless you have been living under a rock there is not excuse for not knowing how to press "OK".
3. Regardless of whether or not you are actually signing for all your credit card purchases, you card is still supposed to be signed. Every now and then it happens that your chip won't work. This means I need a signature, which means I need to compare it to the one on the back of your card. No, this does not mean that you borrow my pen and sign it right then. This means you have to produce another piece of identification with a signature. What? You don't have anything else? You just left the house with your credit card in your pocket for a quick trip to the store? Did you drive here? Then where the hell is your license? Oh, you're driving here without it. Brilliant.
4. You want a delivery on this busiest day of the week? Sure, no problem. Did you have the courtesy to let the people in line behind know that this $300 order was a delivery and they would have to wait while it was packed before they could be served? I actually had a lady ask me why she should bother telling them. Um, let's see. Common courtesy comes to mind. Give them the choice of waiting while your order is packed or finding a line that might be faster. Why didn't I tell them? Um, because I'm not psychic. I didn't know until you told me 5 seconds ago.
5. Get off your damn phone in my line. I'm trying to ask you questions, like, did you need bags for your groceries or do you have your own? In our store, we're not obligated to bag your groceries for you. I have no problem whatsoever giving you a hand. But I will not bag them for you while you text or email. Put down the phone, pick up a bag and start doing it yourself. I will gladly give you a hand without you even asking. Got a huge order? Don't wait until I've finished ringing through $300 worth of groceries before you start putting stuff in bags. I am not allowed to help until all the grocery are through the cash. They time how fast I process a customer. That means from the time I ring the first item through to the time I hit the "total" button. I can take all the time I want to help you pack after that.
As a side note, I had two customers at my cash last week. They didn't know each other but both had smallish orders so were close enough together that second person could hear my conversation with the first lady. It went something like this:
First customer (female): It's so nice to have a cashier that's so friendly.
Second customer (male): She's always this nice, I make a point of getting in her line if she's working.
Her: You must really like your job.
Me: Actually no. I hate this job but it pays the bills.
Her: Really?
Me: Yeah, but it's not the customers fault, so that kind of thing shouldn't mean I do a crappy job or treat people badly.
Her: That's a really mature attitude.
Me: I'm 54, I better be mature by now.
The three of us laugh.
Him: And that's why I'm always in her line. There's always great conversation and she's really nice.
My boss walks by.
Me: Hey, Boss (removing his name to protect the innocent :D)
Boss: What?
Me to male customer: He's the one you should tell.
Me to boss: He says he makes a point of getting in my line.
My boss walks away happy that the customers are happy. My customers walk away having been mildly entertained in my line. And I had a bit of fun and made the afternoon go faster.
In fact, I DO hate my job. With every fibre of my being I hate my job. But the bills have to be paid and I do like to travel. People just aren't scrambling to hire those of us over 50.
Oh, and I've been known to threaten to take phones away from customers who insist on using them in my line. :D