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There's a place we go to where the guy is a jerk every time... and we are paying a lot for things. Another place I can think of the cashier is always smiley and friendly... knows our baby and we know her name. Both cashiers at independent stores. I don't know what this proves
I find it funny that some cashiers on this thread have justified being jerks to ALL their customers because SOME of them are jerks. Unbelievable!
Yeah the job is minimum wage and you are made to put up with a bunch of cr*p but with an attitude like that don't expect to be making more any time soon!!
I don't let it get to me when cashiers do rude things like text while they are checking me out or have conversations with co-workers instead of focusing on the task at hand and am generally a very nice costumer. But one thing I absolutely don't stand for is attitude, I have no problem telling them "It's not my fault you work here" and dishing the attitude right back at them.
The worst I've ever seen was last winter at Kohl's (which usually has great cashiers!!) my cashier had a big scarf on and had actually wrapped it in such a way that she had her phone tucked into it and was yapping away the ENTIRE TIME. I asked her if she was trying to make employee of the month; she looked flabbergasted that I had the audacity to say something to her!
I only really have a problem with the cashiers who have a chip on their shoulder--they hate their job, they hate their circumstances, they resent you for creating work for them...and they want you to know this in no uncertain terms. If it's a teenager, I'll cut them some slack...chalk it up to a child being childish. However, if it's an adult, I silently shake my head at their pathetic lack of character, maturity and work ethic.
The ones that are merely stone faced and don't know how to say Hello, Thank you or You're Welcome, I just ignore. I have bigger things to worry about.
Having said that, I've been on both sides of the cash register myself. I've worked for minimum wage at various chains and small businesses and I've worked as child slave labor for my parents' small business. I've worked in some frou frou places serving supposedly high class people, I've worked in the ghetto serving straight up hoodlums, and I've worked everywhere in between.
One thing is universal, regardless of socioeconomic status and/or education: customers can be real JERK OFFS. And this is not a once in a while kinduva thing. It's an everyday thing. During the busy seasons, it's an HOURLY thing.
Here is a list of things I've had to deal with as a cashier/customer service employee:
Customers arguing with you and blaming you for things that (a) are beyond your control and (b) you did not institute, e.g.:
the "outrageous" prices that Big Box Corp. has the nerve to charge
the "outrageous" sales tax--my favorite customer complaint: "How can you have the nerve to charge full sales tax when over in [name of city in Urban Enterprise Zone] they only charge 3.5%?"
the "fact" that sales tax should not be charged on a Whitman's sampler because technically it is food, or the "fact" that sales tax should not be charged on ________ because XYZ.
discontinued items
reformulated, revamped items
what credit cards are, and are not, accepted
the fact that the cash register is actually a computer and there are certain protocols...you can't "just" MAKE it do anything
Customers trying to scam you.
Customers trying to pass off counterfeit bills.
Customers trying to return/exchange things with no receipt and/or after an absurd period of time, or customers trying to return/exchange clearly used items. I once had an idiot try to argue his way into exchanging a greeting card that he had already written in!
Customers who claim that you short changed them (this time, not because they are trying to scam you but because they are morons).
Customers that call you names, insult you, scream at you and even threaten your life.
Customers that talk trash about you in a foreign language that they ASSume you can't understand, but you do.
Customers that break things, put things back in the wrong place, make a damn mess everywhere and let their screaming kids break things, put things back in the wrong place and make a damn mess everywhere.
Customers that think you are being racist or discriminatory because you do or don't sell too much or too little of whatever item.
U should have made about 30 bucks an hour to deal with these idiots. I guess this is the answer to the OPs question.
I shopped in a large department store in Paramus on Monday. I found the sales people hit or miss. I did sympathize with some of them, because I got the impression that they were short staffed, probably because the department store was trying to save money by cutting staff. The staff wasn't really rude to me, there was just none to be found!
I do find stores where the sales people where head gear and talk to god knows who on them, annoying. You have no idea if they are talking to you or not!
I only really have a problem with the cashiers who have a chip on their shoulder--they hate their job, they hate their circumstances, they resent you for creating work for them...and they want you to know this in no uncertain terms. If it's a teenager, I'll cut them some slack...chalk it up to a child being childish. However, if it's an adult, I silently shake my head at their pathetic lack of character, maturity and work ethic.
The ones that are merely stone faced and don't know how to say Hello, Thank you or You're Welcome, I just ignore. I have bigger things to worry about.
Having said that, I've been on both sides of the cash register myself. I've worked for minimum wage at various chains and small businesses and I've worked as child slave labor for my parents' small business. I've worked in some frou frou places serving supposedly high class people, I've worked in the ghetto serving straight up hoodlums, and I've worked everywhere in between.
One thing is universal, regardless of socioeconomic status and/or education: customers can be real JERK OFFS. And this is not a once in a while kinduva thing. It's an everyday thing. During the busy seasons, it's an HOURLY thing.
Here is a list of things I've had to deal with as a cashier/customer service employee:
Customers arguing with you and blaming you for things that (a) are beyond your control and (b) you did not institute, e.g.:
the "outrageous" prices that Big Box Corp. has the nerve to charge
the "outrageous" sales tax--my favorite customer complaint: "How can you have the nerve to charge full sales tax when over in [name of city in Urban Enterprise Zone] they only charge 3.5%?"
the "fact" that sales tax should not be charged on a Whitman's sampler because technically it is food, or the "fact" that sales tax should not be charged on ________ because XYZ.
discontinued items
reformulated, revamped items
what credit cards are, and are not, accepted
the fact that the cash register is actually a computer and there are certain protocols...you can't "just" MAKE it do anything
Customers trying to scam you.
Customers trying to pass off counterfeit bills.
Customers trying to return/exchange things with no receipt and/or after an absurd period of time, or customers trying to return/exchange clearly used items. I once had an idiot try to argue his way into exchanging a greeting card that he had already written in!
Customers who claim that you short changed them (this time, not because they are trying to scam you but because they are morons).
Customers that call you names, insult you, scream at you and even threaten your life.
Customers that talk trash about you in a foreign language that they ASSume you can't understand, but you do.
Customers that break things, put things back in the wrong place, make a damn mess everywhere and let their screaming kids break things, put things back in the wrong place and make a damn mess everywhere.
Customers that think you are being racist or discriminatory because you do or don't sell too much or too little of whatever item.
I forgot to mention...I can't tell you how many times I have caught employees sitting on the toilet talking on their cell phones! They are obviously not on a break because they wouldn't have to hide in the bathroom. I remember this happening in Panera Bread in Westfield, and there were a line of customers waiting ot use the restroom (busy lunch hour). I almost got the manager but I don't think it would have done much.
truth be told, i seriously believe that the customers have most if not almost all the blame for the bad reception they get from the customer representative person. that's the honest truth. you have to start mirroring yourself because if you roll up on somebody looking mad as hell, with an attitude, acting obnoxious, with a chip on your shoulder, it's very hard for someone to act friendly and be nice to you. people give you what you give back to them. most customer service people hate their jobs and can you blame them. do you think that you're going to make them feel any better if you act in a way that reminds them of why they hate their job so much. that's the honest truth. a lot of customers want to act rude and be mean and have the audacity to think they deserve to be treated nicely. you have to look at yourself. maybe you're the one that has the problem. if you run into a good customer service person, appreciate them because realistically speaking, with all the things they have to put up with, they really aren't entitled to treat you nicely.
and if you notice, people like to give the person that is working with the public the bad rep (the teacher, the train driver, bus driver for nj transit, the nurse) but most of the time, it's the people that they have to work with that usually is the problem. you don't know how many times i've seen a passenger delaying the bus service by taking their time to get on the bus, searching for change, arguing with the driver etc or the students back in high school and even in college that did nothing but interrupt the class by trying to talk over the teacher that would give them some slack if they just behaved themselves and shut up, or the nurse that would pretty much give a patient the right treatment if they weren't cursing them out, etc. if you act nice towards people, most of the time you'll get treated accordingly.
Last edited by the nation is still angry; 08-05-2011 at 12:47 PM..
I find it funny that some cashiers on this thread have justified being jerks to ALL their customers because SOME of them are jerks. Unbelievable!
Yeah the job is minimum wage and you are made to put up with a bunch of cr*p but with an attitude like that don't expect to be making more any time soon!!
I don't let it get to me when cashiers do rude things like text while they are checking me out or have conversations with co-workers instead of focusing on the task at hand and am generally a very nice costumer. But one thing I absolutely don't stand for is attitude, I have no problem telling them "It's not my fault you work here" and dishing the attitude right back at them.
The worst I've ever seen was last winter at Kohl's (which usually has great cashiers!!) my cashier had a big scarf on and had actually wrapped it in such a way that she had her phone tucked into it and was yapping away the ENTIRE TIME. I asked her if she was trying to make employee of the month; she looked flabbergasted that I had the audacity to say something to her!
Was this in response to my post about jerky customers? I never said anything justifying jerky behavior from anyone, whether customers or customer service people. I certainly never said it was OK to act jerky to ALL customers. I really don't know how you could have gotten that from my post but I'm sorry if it came across that way. My point was that there is an abundance of jerky behavior on BOTH sides. You said yourself that low level clerks are made to "put up with a bunch of cr*p". My philosophy is that NO ONE should be made to put up with a bunch of cr*p.
The fact that someone makes only minimum wage does not give them the justification to be bitter and hostile on the job---yes, I absolutely agree with this. At the same time, the fact that someone makes only minimum wage does not make it OK for other people to treat them like cr*p. It boils down to people, on both sides, having an inflated sense of entitlement.
FWIW, I acted jerky to a customer ONCE in my life. I was 15 and working at my folks' shop. My father slapped me upside the head, made me apologize to the customer, lectured me about respect, character, 2 wrongs don't make a right, bread & butter, blah blah blah, and then he made me go clean the bathrooms.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sawdustmaker
Get out of retail if you can't handle it.
I was talking about past experiences in an effort to share a different perspective. And not that you should give a damn, but I pretty much grew up in a retail environment and had some type of cashier/clerk job from the time I was 11 years old till I graduated from college. I eventually took over my folks' business after my dad kicked the bucket. That was at 25. I handled retail just fine from the bottom all the way up. I sold the business and got out of it a few years later NOT because I could not handle it, but because I wanted to pursue other things.
There certainly are some cry babies in this thread but I'm not one of them.
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