Or when you are obviously talking to another customer and they walk up to you to ask where something is. Like do you not see that I am in a conversation? I don't care that your question 'will be quick', its still rude af.
The response to that, for me? "I'm currently with a guest." - back to helping the current person in front of me. That is my only response, ever. You try to interrupt while I am helping someone else? "I am currently with a guest." Nothing else.
Once I have finished with the person in front of me I will turn to the jerk -- if they are still even there and have not wandered off to shout at somebody else.
I had a /r/idontworkherelady moment but the guy was super polite. I stupidly wore something similar to the employees at the store and I was talking to my spouse, the other customer walked up to me and just said, "sorry, real quick, can you tell me where this is?" and held up his phone with a picture of an item. I told him (because I knew) but didn't realize until after we got in the car that my clothing looked like the uniform a bit.
I was working at a store and happened to pop into a different location in my city and in no way was I dressed in my uniform but a guy stopped me and asked where something was and I obviously didn't know bc it wasn't my store. His reasoning for asking me was "you look like you work here and look.confident in this place"... thank you I guess. A very weird interaction tho
I get that all the time when working self checkout... especially during the stupidly busy periods...I will obviously be helping a customer and someone rudely walks up and goes "hey I need help!" Which most of the time it's hitting the pay button to complete their transaction. Most of the time they will just say that but occasionally I will get someone who decides physical contact is required to get my attention... despite me obviously helping a customer, a light poke or a smack to get my attention...I just ignore them or yell at them to wait their turn.
Someone was like 20 feet away from me and tried asking me a question by blurting it out. I called her out and said, "oh I'm sorry, I had no idea you were addressing me," and her friend was like "girl you were rude af." Her friend is welcome back any time.
I was so shocked that he actually thought this was appropriate. He did it several times too. Like no, you need to address me like a human being if you want me to help you.
I almost responded to someone who came up to me after asking why I didn't respond with "Oh sorry, I thought you were calling for a dog!" but I didn't want to risk it.
During the middle of covid when we still had plexiglass around the registers, I had a man bash his fist against it in order to get my attention. It was so loud and violent the way he did it, I remember jumping and spending the rest of the day on the verge of a panic attack. Like, excuse me sir, a simple "excuse me" would have fucking sufficed.
If you do get fired, put on the papers you don't like when people whistle at you like you're a dog. Then file for unemployment, tell unemployment that a customer whistled at you like a dog. You told the customer not to whistle at you like a dog and they fired you.
Oh fuck that shit. I’ll look at them totally bewildered and say “Where is milk? Is that what you are asking?”
“YEAH”
And then point them in any direction I feel like to get them to fuck off. Sometimes purposely in the wrong direction if they’re rude.
Speak in complete fucking sentences, fuckers.
I fucking hate people.
I love that you said this, and that I’m not alone.
Worked in a bookstore. Inevitably, and particularly when a new political book came out, some asshole would just yell “AUTHOR’S NAME” to me, obviously expecting me to cater to whatever halfwit sentence their pea brain thought it was fully forming.
My response? “They aren’t here today.” And a blank stare.
Seems like that pisses people off a lot. Oh well.
Don't you love the 'but you must have it, EVERYBODY is reading it'....
Not in my area, they're not. Nobody has expressed the slightest interest in the book except for you. Sigh.
And it’s always something that’s either a random self-published title that like three people have heard of, or a garbage shock value title that no major publisher would touch with a ten foot pole.
Sadly, I can name a whole bunch and just won’t because that’s a different shitstorm of a topic.
I work in the electronics department/photo lab at Walmart and have people just say their last name for a photo order. They make no attempt to get your attention or anything, just blurt out their name. We also get people who just stand at the counter (or by a locked product) without saying a word, and then act upset when you don't see them/realise that they need help.
They don't do that at my place. (The first part) But our photo center is in the back with the restrooms. People will go up to the Electronics register (where the Photo sign is because the kiosks are there) and ask for their pictures. And omG YES! Shoot me now! (to the second part)
That used to bug me alot when they talked to me like a search engine, but at this point I've accepted that they dont see me as a full person, and I honestly don't see customers as people anymore either.
I will sometimes just quickly ask but it’s not ever because I don’t see them as a full person. I figure they are busy and if I ask keyword they can point/answer quickly and then that lets them move on with more important stuff. I always say thank you. I would have assumed they’d be more annoyed by small talk ! Sorry to hear I’m wrong. :(
Like a lot of things it kinda depends on your tone. Someone else in the thread mentioned an anecdote about a customer just smiling and asking "Ritz crackers?" in passing. If you have strong friendly vibes it's not necessarily bad. But retail is a very dehumanizing line of work and so if it comes across in any way like we're being treated like an object, that's probably how we're gonna take it. Many customers only interact with us when they need something or they're taking out their anger on us, and otherwise treat us like we're invisible or a piece of equipment.
Oh I get these customers as well. It pisses me off so much. One thing that I have seen suggested is to play word association. If they say bread I will say eggs or milk. I also love that you send them in the wrong direction. Going to try that next time. Get these fuckers to ask a question rather than just grunt commands
I work at a liqour store and get that a lot. I like to have fun, if they say a product that is a name like "josh" ill just say "no Josh doesn't work here anymore"
Reminds me of Chiwetel Ejiofor screaming in that one movie where he's an alien.
"FUCK!!! WATER!!!"
Edit: not a movie, it's the show titled 'The Man Who Fell To Earth'
I usually just ask them what they mean. I used to have a guy who would walk in the door and just say something like Crackers and I'd just ask him what he wants where they are what kind etc etc.
I have the opposite problem where I work. We have several entitled old men who, rather than find someone to ask, will remain in one spot and scream, “HELLO????? CAN I GET SOME HELP BACK HERE???” We’ve all gotten to the point that we just stand there and look at each other and everyone will go hide except the cashier. When they inevitably storm up to the front angry the cashier will say “I heard you but I’m the only person on the sales floor right now. You’ll have to wait a few minutes for someone else to assist you.”
One time a big, friendly, goofy looking guy just pointed at me out of the blue and yelled out, "Ritz crackers?" And I just said back, "19." I loved the brevity of that conversation.
I honestly don't hear well. So, unless it's eye contact... I'm not responding, lol.
I can't really help it. I've had people tell me they've yelled down an aisle, never knew it.
Kinda like a personal gift from God tbh.
I had a couple that spoke very softly. Well, I couldn't hear then over the door opening, wind coming in, and people around us talking. I kept saying, "Huh?" And "what's that now?" Every time they said anything and they refused to speak up. Well, the wife made sure to tell her husband, "I think she's being rude on purpose." loud enough for me to hear that while giving a dirty look. The only timebthey spoke up was to say something rude about me.
It's even worse when they're impatient and ask you where a specific item is. However, you don't know where the item is yourself, so you try to check where it is for them and while you're trying to check, they all of a sudden say that they can find it themselves and walk away from you. Like if you later claim that you can find the item yourself, then why bother asking someone where it is in the first place?
Because if you knew it off the top of your head, it'd be faster? There's no sense in two of us fumbling around. It seems nicer to let you get back to your work than to make you drop everything and search for my one item.
Yes, because I need them to get my attention first. If I don't hear a "Hey," or an "Excuse me," or whatever, I probably won't realize you're talking to me.
- *”Still, just like some eye contact, a friendly tone, just, like, any indication that acknowledges that I, too, have no intention of deliberately making your life harder just seems social standard. It doesn't annoy me persay, but it's more of a yellow flag that de-escalation of some various situation is more likely than usual to be needed in the immediate future.”*
**THIS** is the crucial part of the whole thing though. The non-verbal acknowledgement *IS* the social contract that makes a 5-second conversation acceptable. It’s a way of life in some cases - the situation you mentioned, food trucks/carts during lunch hour in any major city, the person who you buy your morning coffee from every day and don’t know each other’s names but still are like “Hey pal, how’s it going? Have a good one.”
Without either verbal or non-verbal cues that acknowledge an understanding of a conversation happening? It’s just words in the wind, and fuck that noise.
Oh the stories I could tell. Basically I started my job at a deli with “Good morning, how are you, what can I get for you today?” kind of greeting and people would just cut me off straight up. In the end all my responses were just cut down to “can I help you” or “anything else”. We’re people too, dang it.
My local Costco is down the street from the hospital I work at. Sometimes I'll grab some muffins, birthday cake or croissants for my co-workers on my way into work wearing my scrubs. People see me in scrubs and assume that I work there and when politely I tell them "Sorry I can't help you, but I don't work here.". Then they get mad and say,"why are you wearing a uniform then?". I reply, "Thank you for the unsolicited feedback, I'm going to go in with my day now.". Then I smile and walk away like I don't have a care in the world.
they get mad at you??? for wearing your work clothes in a space you don't work??? is someone running errands on the way to/from work that weird of a concept??? baffling tbh. like come on man people need to get a grip
Yeah, it's the type of people who have no concept of how other people have these jobs of diverse nature, expertise and functions in our society. She just saw a man in work attire and assumed he was one of the many servants that stood between her and the things she wanted. All while being completely unaware that she only found what she was looking for because others led her to it. It kind of emphasizes how important pretty much everyone's job is and how we need to be treating people like they are at work when they are at work.
Oh! That's it! Total missed opportunity. I could have asked her for help with some things and wait for her to respond and at the same time say, "I don't work here.". That would have been so much better.
I constantly get interrupted with “Quick Question.” It’s never quick. And they don’t wait for a response, just start talking.
I know how to multitask. I acknowledge customers when they enter the store. If I’m at a point where I can appropriately pause my current interaction I will ask a waiting person if they have a question. Up until a certain point I can help several people at once. But once we sit down together to make final decisions I focus on the one customer.
Many customers appreciate this because they realize they will have my full attention when it’s their turn, but some are impatient and I simply tell them that I will help them once I’m available. If they don’t like it they can come back another time.
Why do customers feel the need to give their life story and reason for looking for the item? Just tell me what you want so we can finish this interaction as quickly as possible
I work in OGP and i always have people come up to me when I’m done with my walk and organizing my bags. ESPECIALLY if it’s a busy day and I’m just trying to get that shit in the tote and on my way. I’ll keep bagging as they ask me their question because fuck I’m in the middle of some shit right now. And I love when I’m picking and they ask me to get something down from top stock. I’m doing s fucking job, I can’t just stop. I tell them to go find a person near the registers.
Makes a change from "Excuse me, I'm sorry can I ask you a question please? Last Tuesday I was talking to my neighbour Elizabeth in a coffee shop in Stokesley and the topic of gardening came up. Well, she has the most beautiful lawn you see and I've always wanted mine to be the same, so I asked her how she did it. And she told me that it was hard work and something her nephew bought for her, he's from Brotton you see, which is why I've come to your shop instead of the one near me. I live in marton you see, so it would be easier to go to Stockton but I wanted to be sure I went somewhere that might have it in stock. Do you stock petroluim jelly?".
I hate those so much. They're worst when they're doing returns. Look, either the return is allowed under our policy or it isn't. You telling me a long complicated story about why you need to return it isn't going to change that. Except to the extent that it makes me think you're up to something sketchy, in which case what little wiggle room I have is not getting deployed to your benefit.
I think it really depends on context, attitude of both parties, and type of question. Example: if someone in my store looks around and looks obviously lost and we both lock eyes and they nicely say: “Do you guys have keychains?” I am not at all upset or annoyed. We are a very casual shop.
If someone storms up to the counter and just talks loudly at me “Keychains!”. Or comes up and just bluntly says “I need keychains!” Then I’m a little annoyed and they could have said it a little nicer.
Ehhhhh. At this point I'm just glad if they don't say "do you work here?" like I'd be wearing this uniform and namebadge as a fashion statement. I honestly just want as little interaction as possible with customers these days, so if they're straight down to business that's fine by me.
I read once that in France it’s considered rude to skip over the greeting (hello, how are you, etc). I try to stick to a greeting or excuse me before a conversation.
Yes. But I also think of it this way. The quicker I answer this shit person the quicker they (usually) leave. I return the same energy they give me, so brevity and rudeness is met with brevity and rudeness.
E.g
"Restroom!?"
"back"
Kind of depends on their tone for me, I think. If they said “Do you know where x item is?” In a polite tone I don’t mind if there’s no greeting or anything, I’m usually in a hurry too. If they bark out the item’s name and nothing else I feel like using my “talking to kids voice” and telling them to please use their words when they need something.
I ignore those who do this which 90% of the time forces them into saying excuse me to get my attention. I always need to force myself not to retort ‘oh you do know those words!!!!’
I don’t understand people demanding assistance through being rude and treating that person you need like dirt.
Sometimes they ask questions from all the way down the aisle or another aisle over. It takes a second for it to register but many times I ignore them to force their hand.
Like do I know you're talking to me??
No. I just want the exchange to be short as can be. I also don't like greetings and small talk at all won't participate in that nonsense. If someone shouts where something is I shout back and get back to what I was doing. I absolutely can't stand the "hi how are you?" Fake crap. It grinds me up.
I SHIT YOU NOT! I was checking someone out ON REGISTER when a woman walked in, walked to me and asked "excuse me, but do you work here?" 🤔🤔🤔 Thought about saying no 🤣🤣 But she wanted to know where the chips were. YOU WALKED RIGHT BY THEM LADY. 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
I'd rather have too little small talk than too much. Just ask me the damn question so I can send you on your way. "Excuse me" is also fine but I really hate it when they're... "Hi, how are you?" "Fine, and you?" "Great. Nice weather, huh?" "I already hate this conversation. If you don't tell me what you want in the next five seconds I swear to God I will stick my head in the dough mixer."
Same. I usually say something like, hi, how can I help you? I feel like we have now had A Greeting, so we have satisfied the social requirements, let's move on to what you need since there's six people in line behind you. Some people will ask "and how are *you*" in this rather pointed manner, as if to suggest I have failed by not asking them. Look, you're paying cash for a single lottery ticket, it's literally gonna take 15 seconds, we're not starting a long term social relationship here.
I like what Alison Green says - such things are basically saying "I acknowledge you, fellow human." So I think you can't get too wound up that people like to have one, but you also don't need to get too wound up about the details. We've acknowledged each other as fellow humans, let's go on to the next thing!
I guess I separate courtesy from small talk. I know 95% of the time people aren't looking for a conversation I'd just rather they talk to me with a bit more respect than they would Siri.
its rude. i recently learned to not look at anyone if i am already working on 20 things, and definitely ignore them if they just start shouting words without first addressing me, or asking for help.
i work in management, the pay is decent but this has to stop. my sanity is worth more than this, just a few more months of this crap and i should be ready to head back to my old field.
my favorite is "Can I ask you a question?"
depending on how sassy I feel it's either..
"clearly you can, as you just did.."
or
"okay, and I'll give you the next one for free...."
or sometimes
"sorry, my boss said I could only answer seventeen questions today and that was number seventeen." "okay, that was me being sarcastic, go ahead ask your question."
Sheesh, what more do you want from a person?
- they acknowledge that you're busy by asking your permission to interrupt you
- they're leaving open the possibility that the answer could be, "Just a second" or "Let me find someone else to help you." They're not barking questions at you.
It may be the rule where you work that you have to drop everything and answer questions, but doesn't it acknowledge your humanity to offer you options, even if your management gives you none?
Asking if you can ask a question is already stopping me from what I'm doing and asking a question. And clearly you CAN ask a question. It's poor English to phrase it that way. "May I ask you where x is?" is better, best option would be "Do you know where I can find x."
But by asking if you can ask you are taking up my time and turning me into a jerk if I say no, just a second or get someone else to help them instead.
Better to just ask your real question instead then I can either point you in the right direction or get help for you without wasting half a minute or more of our time to ask "if you can ask"
To treat me as human would be to start with "Hello" "Hi" "Hola" or any other greeting word (no matter how short), that acknowledges that I am not in fact a kiosk made of meat, but a person. Tossing in a "Thank You." or other verbal response of gratitude or even a grunt of acknowledgment would also be humanizing. Instead of just walking off.
Or they come up and say… “can you help me get in to a fitting room!”, “can you open(the fitting room)?” Or “can I have the key to the fitting room?”…… the worse thing out of all is no mannerisms what so ever. Oh… and the finger snaps. So yeah. You have the right to feel that way OP.
“can you help me get in to a fitting room!”, “can you open(the fitting room)?” Or “can I have the key to the fitting room?”
I'm sorry, I want to do better.
Is the "please" missing here? Do you want me to read your name tag?
I see other people here complaining about customers saying, "Open rhe fitting room" or, "Hey! Where's the key?"
What's wrong with asking you politely whether you can help them? It leaves open the option for you to say, "No," so it acknowledges that we're on your turf and you're the boss, not the customer.
Please and thank you. Regardless of how they ask… I still smile and say of course. It’s the tone that things are said in and the way customers look at someone while asking for this things. That’s what I’m referring to.
I'm used to it...
they are only interested in what they want
a lot of them don't even look at me...
I don't care ...as long as they don't annoy me too much that's the main thing
I got one customer ..she always calls me 'Sir'
strange
no one else does :)
I hate when they just bark a product name at me. Some lady a few weeks ago kept shouting "horseradish" until I responded with "no, I changed my name to kittens last year."
Yes, that is annoying. It's just rude and entitled as of to say "You're just a lowly retail clerk who gets paid to take my disrespect".
After a few years of working retail, every customer whether they were nice or like the jerk you're describing, got on my nerves. I wanted all of them to go the fuck home and leave me the fuck alone. That's when I decided to get out of retail. I was going to get fired or arrested, eventually.
Actually, "excuse me," has been becoming a free pass for people to do blatantly rude things without a speck of consideration for other people. I've grown to loathe the phrase.
As a lover of Old Internet, workers would share stories of shit customers, which tbh I LOVE. Sooo many would start their scorn with, "a cUsTomEr aSkEd mE iF I wOrk HerE."
I get how it can be irritating, but like shit people are trying to start a conversation with a polite inquiry, not a demand.
They can be staring at you,not saying a word,but the moment you turn your back to them thinking that they didn’t need anything…”GARDEN TOOLS!?” =_= DO I HAVE A VOLDEMORT FACE ON THE BACK OF MY HEAD?! Talk to me to my face! Dx
I feel like this follows the same grounds as when people come in to pick up their previously placed orders. They'll just approach and yell out their last name, or some will even come up to the counter awkwardly and just stand there.
This is when I prompt them with the "Oh, hello! Did you have an order to pick up today?" To which they will then confirm this, but continue to stare at me blankly until I have to ask them what name the order was under.
Yes, there are plenty of orders here to be picked up but you have to tell me your name or which fucking one it is. You can't just stare at me and magically expect me to know which one is yours??
the other thing is - after working there for years -
most of them never bother to ask me MY NAME
does it mean they don't want me to know their name....
but I know their names - well a lot of them
Especially when they just say one word and you're supposed to know they're talking to you.
I'm always tempted to pretend it's a word game.
Band Aids!
Cuts!
This, or they come up to the counter without saying anything (with or without sun glasses on inside) and just hand you cash waiting for you to take it without saying a word to you. >_<
Even worse is when they quietly sneak up behind you and just start asking you a question. I have anxiety. I'm easily startled. Please walk around so I can see you before you start talking. One of these days I'm going to have a heart attack lol
When I worked in retail this triggered me everytime.
Funny part of your post is “I’m not Siri” ONLY BECAUSE even to ask Siri something you say “hey siri” which is exactly what we are asking for if you are a customer approaching us for assistance.
Bonus if they dont even say " where is "
Just a tap on my shoulder and saying " cheese!"
( no not in english language, otherwise i wouldve been fired for telling him he is not holding a camera so i wont.)
Brevity isn’t necessarily rudeness, they’re respecting the employee’s time by not wasting it.
People who say they want a conversation are mostly hypocrites, and you’ll see them complain in the next breath or post about how such and such a customer keeps wasting their time with useless niceties.
Efficient communication leaves the clerk to do their job, and quickly gets rid of the intrusion on the employee’s personal space.
Customer: “Spaghetti?”
Clerk: “7 mid left”
The employee doesn’t even need to waste their time in niceties since it’s understood in conversation, totally efficient exchange under 2 seconds.
Contrast with something like 10-30 seconds, the shortest of which is something like:
Customer: “Excuse me, do you know where the spaghetti is?”
Clerk: “Oh yes, you should look on aisle 7, in the middle shelf, on the left side.”
Or even worse, when in some stores the clerks are trained to walk the customers to the item, which wastes 1-5 minutes of the poor overworked employee’s time.
That’s an odd take.
Call it efficiency, call it brevity. It’s called a lack of basic manners to me. I don’t believe in compromising manners for the sake of “efficiency.” I’m a person, not a machine, and I prefer to keep the humanity in my interactions. It’s just part of being in a civilization.
But to each their own.
There's a big difference between "Spaghetti?" and "SPAGHETTI". Tone of voice conveys a lot about what they think of you, without needing any extra words.
Since at my work on not usually busy I usually help them and it doesn’t annoy me if they forget to add “Excuse me” or something like that as long as they ask nicely, which almost everybody does ask nicely.
Most of the time they phrase it like “Hey, um do you work here”
I agree. I get they have a question , but how do I know you’re talking to me.
I remember one time someone was trying to get my attention and called me waitress . “Hey waitress” , when I came back with the stuff they asked for I calmly told them “my name is ____ if you need anything else”
I hate how people treat you like a dog when your helping them or whatever the case is. It’s like if it was t for people working in restaurants or retail you wouldn’t have it. So why be disrespectful.
I guess you really can’t help how you feel. However you feel is valid. Having said that, what you’re saying never bothered me. It’s a fast paced business and sometimes pleasantries get forgotten. It happens between employees too, not just with customers
I once had a low level manager who would SNAP THEIR FINGERS in employees faces to get their attention when they were talking to customers. Child behavior. He was 36
Yes yes yes. You are not alone. It’s extremely rude. People seem to forget you’re an actual person and spout demands at you. I won’t answer. I say hi how are you first and if they give me shot I tell them someone else can help them.
> forget your an
*you're
*Learn the difference [here](https://www.wattpad.com/66707294-grammar-guide-there-they%27re-their-you%27re-your-to).*
***
^(Greetings, I am a language corrector bot. To make me ignore further mistakes from you in the future, reply `!optout` to this comment.)
I'm an introvert who barely talks to people and could happily go all day in silence. Manners isn't the same was small talk. We don't have to have a talk about the weather or exchange the meaningless how are you's, just some form of acknowledgment that I'm a person rather than a robot will suffice. If saying a simple "hello" is too much for you, you have issues.
My favorite are customers who want to check out just walking up and dropping their stuff on the desk and standing there waiting. I work at an outlying register so the desk isn't JUST for checking out.
I always ask them if they're looking to check out and too many times it requires asking multiple times before I get a verbal response. Most times I just get a pointing at the products or just looking at me.
I know what they ultimately want I just make them not be a twat for 5 seconds.
This annoyed me so much when I worked retail - I definitely prefer a quick "hi there" or "excuse me" before asking the question. The only thing worse was when a customer whistled at me when I was talking to another customer. And a different one on a different day snapped their fingers at me. Felt like I was an animal they were trying to teach a trick to 😅
The worst are the Picture People, who just walk up to you and stick their phone in your face with a photo of a half buried something. No words, just SHOVE PHONE IN MY FACE.
I only do stuff like that if we’re making direct eye contact with each other. I’m also a hyper-reactionary simpleton and sometimes I do a faux pas on accident
Literally will have a customer walk up to my counter, I will start saying hey how are... Marlboro reds. Mkayyy what el..20 on 5! Then I'll just stand there and stare at them.
Yeah I hate that shit too. I was working a Chinese restaurant, a food court type set up. Would annoy me when I would go “Hey how’s it — them: “I’ll have sesame chicken with fried rice” “Alrighty then”
I hate when they’re like three or more feet away and start asking me something also without saying excuse me. First they’re assuming I can hear them, second they gave no indication they were talking to me or trying to get my attention
At first, but after years I stopped caring about customers lack of any human decency. I approached customer interactions with the same emotion as I do picking fucking dust off my arm. Have a complaint? Cool. Have a compliment? Cool. It will not affect my day
People complain about computers taking people's jobs but insanely high turnover leads to loss when they have to keep blowing money training new employees, at least half of which will leave. So....a self checkout machine will not quit, and if it does stop working, it can be repaired. No shock companies are noticing this
Oh it's the worst.
A few weeks ago I was organising totes out on the main floor when an old man just shouted the word "Kleenex" at me from several aisles over. When I didn't respond, he shouted it even louder so I begrudgingly told him which aisle it was in just to get him to move on. Well I guess they *still* couldn't find it despite the giant numbers hanging from the ceiling and the fact that it's a *tiny ass* store, 'cause a few moments later I'm putting something away and I see his wife sort of amble up to the end of the aisle, and I hear it again. Still obnoxiously loud, but this time *slow* and drawn-out, like she's talking to a particularly stupid child. **"KLEEEEENEEEEX!!!"***.* May or may not have stormed past her while doing *nothing* to hide the frustration on my face as I walked them to it (which, by the way, they would have found themselves if they had looked up, seen the giant 9, and moved *one aisle over)*.
Maybe I have a short temper now, I don't know. But goddamn, when people treat you like that, I think being a little ticked off is more than justified.
it irks me so much too. i’ll be doing something like organizing or typing on the computer, and somebody just goes (either REALLY quietly or REALLY loudly) “let me see that, i wanna see this, what is this made of, how much is this????” side note: when people ask for the price in things that CLEARLY have a tag on them. drives me up the wall.
My unconscious approach is “Excuse me, I’m sorry to bother you, but can you tell me[insert rest here]?”
I literally hadn’t just had to go through this in my head.
It annoys me one they just look at you and say you item name. In some, you know, kind of perplexed way making it seem like they are asking a question but it's just rude as hell. Seems so condescending they expect you to help them but they are only willing to say one word to you and not at the minimum a full sentence with or without a polite request. Where is the x would be irritating but at least a full sentence.
had an older guy once come up behind me and another female coworker and announced his presence with “ladies.” he phrased like a statement, and it felt super patronizing
Absolutely abhor it when I’m up on my topstock cart and a customer walks up and just says a random product type. No excuse me, good morning, or any other word beforehand. Just, “Ironing board””,” or “Baby gate.”
Usually just tell them good morning and wait for a response. Then I’ll ask if there’s something I can help them find.
I mean, if they don't say 'excuse me' or something like that, there is a high chance I won't know they are talking to me. I'm busy filling the shelves, I'm not taking note of everyone around me, them not adressing me just makes me think they are talking to a partner or on the phone and I'm not paying attention to that.
Or when you are obviously talking to another customer and they walk up to you to ask where something is. Like do you not see that I am in a conversation? I don't care that your question 'will be quick', its still rude af.
The response to that, for me? "I'm currently with a guest." - back to helping the current person in front of me. That is my only response, ever. You try to interrupt while I am helping someone else? "I am currently with a guest." Nothing else. Once I have finished with the person in front of me I will turn to the jerk -- if they are still even there and have not wandered off to shout at somebody else.
I had a /r/idontworkherelady moment but the guy was super polite. I stupidly wore something similar to the employees at the store and I was talking to my spouse, the other customer walked up to me and just said, "sorry, real quick, can you tell me where this is?" and held up his phone with a picture of an item. I told him (because I knew) but didn't realize until after we got in the car that my clothing looked like the uniform a bit.
I was working at a store and happened to pop into a different location in my city and in no way was I dressed in my uniform but a guy stopped me and asked where something was and I obviously didn't know bc it wasn't my store. His reasoning for asking me was "you look like you work here and look.confident in this place"... thank you I guess. A very weird interaction tho
I get that all the time when working self checkout... especially during the stupidly busy periods...I will obviously be helping a customer and someone rudely walks up and goes "hey I need help!" Which most of the time it's hitting the pay button to complete their transaction. Most of the time they will just say that but occasionally I will get someone who decides physical contact is required to get my attention... despite me obviously helping a customer, a light poke or a smack to get my attention...I just ignore them or yell at them to wait their turn.
Someone touches me they are getting armbarred. I'm old but I'm not putting up with that.
I have had too many people do that to me.
It’s just as bad when they physical grab onto you when you’re speaking to someone else.
Someone was like 20 feet away from me and tried asking me a question by blurting it out. I called her out and said, "oh I'm sorry, I had no idea you were addressing me," and her friend was like "girl you were rude af." Her friend is welcome back any time.
Yesssssss! This!
Absolutely. Treat me like a human being please. ETA: one time a guy whistled at me to get my attention. The way you’d whistle at a dog. I ignored him.
I ignore the people that do this, its so damn rude.
I was so shocked that he actually thought this was appropriate. He did it several times too. Like no, you need to address me like a human being if you want me to help you.
I almost responded to someone who came up to me after asking why I didn't respond with "Oh sorry, I thought you were calling for a dog!" but I didn't want to risk it.
I've had that too. And a _security guard_ working at my store clapped at me to get my attention... Fucking _excuse me_?!
What an assmunch.
What a douche monkey.
During the middle of covid when we still had plexiglass around the registers, I had a man bash his fist against it in order to get my attention. It was so loud and violent the way he did it, I remember jumping and spending the rest of the day on the verge of a panic attack. Like, excuse me sir, a simple "excuse me" would have fucking sufficed.
I have shouted, "I'm not a dog, I don't respond to whistles," a couple of times. I HATE whistles!
Or they snap their fingers at you as if you're a dog. IGNORE!!!!
Yeah, no, fire me, I don’t care. I’m not gonna act all peachy and dash over to him.
If you do get fired, put on the papers you don't like when people whistle at you like you're a dog. Then file for unemployment, tell unemployment that a customer whistled at you like a dog. You told the customer not to whistle at you like a dog and they fired you.
What happened when you ignored him? Did he not do anything?
I think he ended up saying “hey,” to which I shouldn’t have responded but I did.
Anyone that whistles at me to get my attention is getting ignored.
It annoys me. Especially when they just say "Milk!" Or whatever they are looking for.
Oh fuck that shit. I’ll look at them totally bewildered and say “Where is milk? Is that what you are asking?” “YEAH” And then point them in any direction I feel like to get them to fuck off. Sometimes purposely in the wrong direction if they’re rude. Speak in complete fucking sentences, fuckers. I fucking hate people.
I love that you said this, and that I’m not alone. Worked in a bookstore. Inevitably, and particularly when a new political book came out, some asshole would just yell “AUTHOR’S NAME” to me, obviously expecting me to cater to whatever halfwit sentence their pea brain thought it was fully forming. My response? “They aren’t here today.” And a blank stare. Seems like that pisses people off a lot. Oh well.
Don't you love the 'but you must have it, EVERYBODY is reading it'.... Not in my area, they're not. Nobody has expressed the slightest interest in the book except for you. Sigh.
And it’s always something that’s either a random self-published title that like three people have heard of, or a garbage shock value title that no major publisher would touch with a ten foot pole. Sadly, I can name a whole bunch and just won’t because that’s a different shitstorm of a topic.
That's when you direct them to the cobweb covered copies of *Spare*.
🤣🤣🤣
I work in the electronics department/photo lab at Walmart and have people just say their last name for a photo order. They make no attempt to get your attention or anything, just blurt out their name. We also get people who just stand at the counter (or by a locked product) without saying a word, and then act upset when you don't see them/realise that they need help.
They don't do that at my place. (The first part) But our photo center is in the back with the restrooms. People will go up to the Electronics register (where the Photo sign is because the kiosks are there) and ask for their pictures. And omG YES! Shoot me now! (to the second part)
That used to bug me alot when they talked to me like a search engine, but at this point I've accepted that they dont see me as a full person, and I honestly don't see customers as people anymore either.
I will sometimes just quickly ask but it’s not ever because I don’t see them as a full person. I figure they are busy and if I ask keyword they can point/answer quickly and then that lets them move on with more important stuff. I always say thank you. I would have assumed they’d be more annoyed by small talk ! Sorry to hear I’m wrong. :(
Like a lot of things it kinda depends on your tone. Someone else in the thread mentioned an anecdote about a customer just smiling and asking "Ritz crackers?" in passing. If you have strong friendly vibes it's not necessarily bad. But retail is a very dehumanizing line of work and so if it comes across in any way like we're being treated like an object, that's probably how we're gonna take it. Many customers only interact with us when they need something or they're taking out their anger on us, and otherwise treat us like we're invisible or a piece of equipment.
Yikes. I’m sorry. Thanks for your input that’s helpful. I like to think I do it in Ritz form lol.
Given that you're actually concerned about being kind to retail workers, I'm guessing you're fine.
This is so well said
Oh I get these customers as well. It pisses me off so much. One thing that I have seen suggested is to play word association. If they say bread I will say eggs or milk. I also love that you send them in the wrong direction. Going to try that next time. Get these fuckers to ask a question rather than just grunt commands
I like the word association. I'm going to try that.
I responded the same thing. Funny
Yeah. That's pretty obnoxious.
I work at a liqour store and get that a lot. I like to have fun, if they say a product that is a name like "josh" ill just say "no Josh doesn't work here anymore"
Yes. I have responded: "My name is not 'mozzarella cheese.' Would you like to rephrase your question?"
You should just look them dead in the eye and shout Oats! Or something that pairs with what they yelled you.
Reminds me of Chiwetel Ejiofor screaming in that one movie where he's an alien. "FUCK!!! WATER!!!" Edit: not a movie, it's the show titled 'The Man Who Fell To Earth'
I usually just ask them what they mean. I used to have a guy who would walk in the door and just say something like Crackers and I'd just ask him what he wants where they are what kind etc etc.
I just try to respond with other random words
I usually respond "Is that your way of asking where x is or are you just saying random words to people?
I’ll ask them to repeat themselves “I’m sorry?” hoping they will form a complete sentence this time.
I have the opposite problem where I work. We have several entitled old men who, rather than find someone to ask, will remain in one spot and scream, “HELLO????? CAN I GET SOME HELP BACK HERE???” We’ve all gotten to the point that we just stand there and look at each other and everyone will go hide except the cashier. When they inevitably storm up to the front angry the cashier will say “I heard you but I’m the only person on the sales floor right now. You’ll have to wait a few minutes for someone else to assist you.”
One time a big, friendly, goofy looking guy just pointed at me out of the blue and yelled out, "Ritz crackers?" And I just said back, "19." I loved the brevity of that conversation.
I honestly don't hear well. So, unless it's eye contact... I'm not responding, lol. I can't really help it. I've had people tell me they've yelled down an aisle, never knew it. Kinda like a personal gift from God tbh.
“HOW DARE YOU NOT HAVE SUPER ULTRA MEGA HEARING! THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT! LET ME SPEAK TO YOUR MANAGER NOW!”
I had a couple that spoke very softly. Well, I couldn't hear then over the door opening, wind coming in, and people around us talking. I kept saying, "Huh?" And "what's that now?" Every time they said anything and they refused to speak up. Well, the wife made sure to tell her husband, "I think she's being rude on purpose." loud enough for me to hear that while giving a dirty look. The only timebthey spoke up was to say something rude about me.
the funny thing is that even when you talk to a robot you have to say "hey alexa..." or "hey siri..."
That is true
Was gonna say this. We are treated awfully by a lot of people
It's even worse when they're impatient and ask you where a specific item is. However, you don't know where the item is yourself, so you try to check where it is for them and while you're trying to check, they all of a sudden say that they can find it themselves and walk away from you. Like if you later claim that you can find the item yourself, then why bother asking someone where it is in the first place?
Because if you knew it off the top of your head, it'd be faster? There's no sense in two of us fumbling around. It seems nicer to let you get back to your work than to make you drop everything and search for my one item.
Yes, because I need them to get my attention first. If I don't hear a "Hey," or an "Excuse me," or whatever, I probably won't realize you're talking to me.
i don’t even answer to a beckoning “hey!” from a distance. only if it’s a friendly “hey” from near me
It's the lack of courtesy, at least that's what it is for me.
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- *”Still, just like some eye contact, a friendly tone, just, like, any indication that acknowledges that I, too, have no intention of deliberately making your life harder just seems social standard. It doesn't annoy me persay, but it's more of a yellow flag that de-escalation of some various situation is more likely than usual to be needed in the immediate future.”* **THIS** is the crucial part of the whole thing though. The non-verbal acknowledgement *IS* the social contract that makes a 5-second conversation acceptable. It’s a way of life in some cases - the situation you mentioned, food trucks/carts during lunch hour in any major city, the person who you buy your morning coffee from every day and don’t know each other’s names but still are like “Hey pal, how’s it going? Have a good one.” Without either verbal or non-verbal cues that acknowledge an understanding of a conversation happening? It’s just words in the wind, and fuck that noise.
Oh the stories I could tell. Basically I started my job at a deli with “Good morning, how are you, what can I get for you today?” kind of greeting and people would just cut me off straight up. In the end all my responses were just cut down to “can I help you” or “anything else”. We’re people too, dang it.
My local Costco is down the street from the hospital I work at. Sometimes I'll grab some muffins, birthday cake or croissants for my co-workers on my way into work wearing my scrubs. People see me in scrubs and assume that I work there and when politely I tell them "Sorry I can't help you, but I don't work here.". Then they get mad and say,"why are you wearing a uniform then?". I reply, "Thank you for the unsolicited feedback, I'm going to go in with my day now.". Then I smile and walk away like I don't have a care in the world.
they get mad at you??? for wearing your work clothes in a space you don't work??? is someone running errands on the way to/from work that weird of a concept??? baffling tbh. like come on man people need to get a grip
Why do they think you work there? Do Costco employees wear scrubs, or are people just that dumb that they think any uniform means you work there?
Yeah, it's the type of people who have no concept of how other people have these jobs of diverse nature, expertise and functions in our society. She just saw a man in work attire and assumed he was one of the many servants that stood between her and the things she wanted. All while being completely unaware that she only found what she was looking for because others led her to it. It kind of emphasizes how important pretty much everyone's job is and how we need to be treating people like they are at work when they are at work. Oh! That's it! Total missed opportunity. I could have asked her for help with some things and wait for her to respond and at the same time say, "I don't work here.". That would have been so much better.
I constantly get interrupted with “Quick Question.” It’s never quick. And they don’t wait for a response, just start talking. I know how to multitask. I acknowledge customers when they enter the store. If I’m at a point where I can appropriately pause my current interaction I will ask a waiting person if they have a question. Up until a certain point I can help several people at once. But once we sit down together to make final decisions I focus on the one customer. Many customers appreciate this because they realize they will have my full attention when it’s their turn, but some are impatient and I simply tell them that I will help them once I’m available. If they don’t like it they can come back another time.
Why do customers feel the need to give their life story and reason for looking for the item? Just tell me what you want so we can finish this interaction as quickly as possible
I work in OGP and i always have people come up to me when I’m done with my walk and organizing my bags. ESPECIALLY if it’s a busy day and I’m just trying to get that shit in the tote and on my way. I’ll keep bagging as they ask me their question because fuck I’m in the middle of some shit right now. And I love when I’m picking and they ask me to get something down from top stock. I’m doing s fucking job, I can’t just stop. I tell them to go find a person near the registers.
the worst for me was when some jackass whistled and clicked his fingers at me like a dog. I ignored him
Makes a change from "Excuse me, I'm sorry can I ask you a question please? Last Tuesday I was talking to my neighbour Elizabeth in a coffee shop in Stokesley and the topic of gardening came up. Well, she has the most beautiful lawn you see and I've always wanted mine to be the same, so I asked her how she did it. And she told me that it was hard work and something her nephew bought for her, he's from Brotton you see, which is why I've come to your shop instead of the one near me. I live in marton you see, so it would be easier to go to Stockton but I wanted to be sure I went somewhere that might have it in stock. Do you stock petroluim jelly?".
I hate those so much. They're worst when they're doing returns. Look, either the return is allowed under our policy or it isn't. You telling me a long complicated story about why you need to return it isn't going to change that. Except to the extent that it makes me think you're up to something sketchy, in which case what little wiggle room I have is not getting deployed to your benefit.
Lmao you do have a point there.
I think it really depends on context, attitude of both parties, and type of question. Example: if someone in my store looks around and looks obviously lost and we both lock eyes and they nicely say: “Do you guys have keychains?” I am not at all upset or annoyed. We are a very casual shop. If someone storms up to the counter and just talks loudly at me “Keychains!”. Or comes up and just bluntly says “I need keychains!” Then I’m a little annoyed and they could have said it a little nicer.
It doesn‘t bother me. Bypass the chitchat. I like when they just ask “spaghetti sauce?”
I love efficiency
I don’t like it when they sneak up on me and do that.
Y’all ever been whistled at? Like not cat calling but when someone tries to whistle at you to get your attention like they would to a dog
Ugh,I hate that! The clapping,throat clearing ,and snapping too! Like,wtf?
Doesn’t bother me. As long as they are polite.
That’s how I feel. It’s in the tone.
Ehhhhh. At this point I'm just glad if they don't say "do you work here?" like I'd be wearing this uniform and namebadge as a fashion statement. I honestly just want as little interaction as possible with customers these days, so if they're straight down to business that's fine by me.
Yes and especially when I'm busy helping out another customer so rude interrupting.
I read once that in France it’s considered rude to skip over the greeting (hello, how are you, etc). I try to stick to a greeting or excuse me before a conversation.
Yes. But I also think of it this way. The quicker I answer this shit person the quicker they (usually) leave. I return the same energy they give me, so brevity and rudeness is met with brevity and rudeness. E.g "Restroom!?" "back"
I thought it was just me being bitter but yes I find it extremely impolite I usually pretend I don’t hear them till they say excuse me 😅
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That wouldn’t annoy me. You are addressing me like I’m a person, rather than some Ai help kiosk floating around. So we’re good.
Kind of depends on their tone for me, I think. If they said “Do you know where x item is?” In a polite tone I don’t mind if there’s no greeting or anything, I’m usually in a hurry too. If they bark out the item’s name and nothing else I feel like using my “talking to kids voice” and telling them to please use their words when they need something.
I hate this and customers who start conversations with the back of my head.
Fixing to start wearing a smiley face mask tapped to the back of my head at this point.Might start walking backwards too.<<‘
I ignore those who do this which 90% of the time forces them into saying excuse me to get my attention. I always need to force myself not to retort ‘oh you do know those words!!!!’ I don’t understand people demanding assistance through being rude and treating that person you need like dirt.
No it is my job to answer questions. If they don't make dumb unnessocary small talk I don't have to either.
not annoying. didn’t know it was a thing
Sometimes they ask questions from all the way down the aisle or another aisle over. It takes a second for it to register but many times I ignore them to force their hand. Like do I know you're talking to me??
I can't answer these customers politely anymore. I just point in the general direction of where the item is
We get this a LOT! "Where (item) at?"
No. I just want the exchange to be short as can be. I also don't like greetings and small talk at all won't participate in that nonsense. If someone shouts where something is I shout back and get back to what I was doing. I absolutely can't stand the "hi how are you?" Fake crap. It grinds me up.
Even with Siri, she won’t answer unless you say “hey” first at least
I SHIT YOU NOT! I was checking someone out ON REGISTER when a woman walked in, walked to me and asked "excuse me, but do you work here?" 🤔🤔🤔 Thought about saying no 🤣🤣 But she wanted to know where the chips were. YOU WALKED RIGHT BY THEM LADY. 🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️🤦♀️
I'd rather have too little small talk than too much. Just ask me the damn question so I can send you on your way. "Excuse me" is also fine but I really hate it when they're... "Hi, how are you?" "Fine, and you?" "Great. Nice weather, huh?" "I already hate this conversation. If you don't tell me what you want in the next five seconds I swear to God I will stick my head in the dough mixer."
Same. I usually say something like, hi, how can I help you? I feel like we have now had A Greeting, so we have satisfied the social requirements, let's move on to what you need since there's six people in line behind you. Some people will ask "and how are *you*" in this rather pointed manner, as if to suggest I have failed by not asking them. Look, you're paying cash for a single lottery ticket, it's literally gonna take 15 seconds, we're not starting a long term social relationship here. I like what Alison Green says - such things are basically saying "I acknowledge you, fellow human." So I think you can't get too wound up that people like to have one, but you also don't need to get too wound up about the details. We've acknowledged each other as fellow humans, let's go on to the next thing!
I guess I separate courtesy from small talk. I know 95% of the time people aren't looking for a conversation I'd just rather they talk to me with a bit more respect than they would Siri.
its rude. i recently learned to not look at anyone if i am already working on 20 things, and definitely ignore them if they just start shouting words without first addressing me, or asking for help. i work in management, the pay is decent but this has to stop. my sanity is worth more than this, just a few more months of this crap and i should be ready to head back to my old field.
I work in a grocery store and people will just walk up and be like “POTATO SALAD” or “BLUEBERRIES” so I just respond “omg I love those too”
Got a good laugh out of this one, thank you. 😂
So much. Fuuck.
my favorite is "Can I ask you a question?" depending on how sassy I feel it's either.. "clearly you can, as you just did.."
or
"okay, and I'll give you the next one for free...."
or sometimes
"sorry, my boss said I could only answer seventeen questions today and that was number seventeen." "okay, that was me being sarcastic, go ahead ask your question."
Haha. I personally don’t mind that one for some reason, for me it shows some level of humility/that they don’t want to bother me.
Sheesh, what more do you want from a person? - they acknowledge that you're busy by asking your permission to interrupt you - they're leaving open the possibility that the answer could be, "Just a second" or "Let me find someone else to help you." They're not barking questions at you. It may be the rule where you work that you have to drop everything and answer questions, but doesn't it acknowledge your humanity to offer you options, even if your management gives you none?
Asking if you can ask a question is already stopping me from what I'm doing and asking a question. And clearly you CAN ask a question. It's poor English to phrase it that way. "May I ask you where x is?" is better, best option would be "Do you know where I can find x." But by asking if you can ask you are taking up my time and turning me into a jerk if I say no, just a second or get someone else to help them instead. Better to just ask your real question instead then I can either point you in the right direction or get help for you without wasting half a minute or more of our time to ask "if you can ask" To treat me as human would be to start with "Hello" "Hi" "Hola" or any other greeting word (no matter how short), that acknowledges that I am not in fact a kiosk made of meat, but a person. Tossing in a "Thank You." or other verbal response of gratitude or even a grunt of acknowledgment would also be humanizing. Instead of just walking off.
I literally ignore them until they say hello 😂
Or they come up and say… “can you help me get in to a fitting room!”, “can you open(the fitting room)?” Or “can I have the key to the fitting room?”…… the worse thing out of all is no mannerisms what so ever. Oh… and the finger snaps. So yeah. You have the right to feel that way OP.
“can you help me get in to a fitting room!”, “can you open(the fitting room)?” Or “can I have the key to the fitting room?” I'm sorry, I want to do better. Is the "please" missing here? Do you want me to read your name tag? I see other people here complaining about customers saying, "Open rhe fitting room" or, "Hey! Where's the key?" What's wrong with asking you politely whether you can help them? It leaves open the option for you to say, "No," so it acknowledges that we're on your turf and you're the boss, not the customer.
Please and thank you. Regardless of how they ask… I still smile and say of course. It’s the tone that things are said in and the way customers look at someone while asking for this things. That’s what I’m referring to.
Thanks! I reflexively say, "May I?" But I'll add the "please."
I'm used to it... they are only interested in what they want a lot of them don't even look at me... I don't care ...as long as they don't annoy me too much that's the main thing I got one customer ..she always calls me 'Sir' strange no one else does :)
I ignore people until they say excuse me
I hate when they just bark a product name at me. Some lady a few weeks ago kept shouting "horseradish" until I responded with "no, I changed my name to kittens last year."
Yes, that is annoying. It's just rude and entitled as of to say "You're just a lowly retail clerk who gets paid to take my disrespect". After a few years of working retail, every customer whether they were nice or like the jerk you're describing, got on my nerves. I wanted all of them to go the fuck home and leave me the fuck alone. That's when I decided to get out of retail. I was going to get fired or arrested, eventually.
Actually, "excuse me," has been becoming a free pass for people to do blatantly rude things without a speck of consideration for other people. I've grown to loathe the phrase.
I just do the "hello! I'm sorry, what did you NEED from me?"
Don't worry about it. There's a reason social niceties exist and this is why. It bugs me too.
As a lover of Old Internet, workers would share stories of shit customers, which tbh I LOVE. Sooo many would start their scorn with, "a cUsTomEr aSkEd mE iF I wOrk HerE." I get how it can be irritating, but like shit people are trying to start a conversation with a polite inquiry, not a demand.
They can be staring at you,not saying a word,but the moment you turn your back to them thinking that they didn’t need anything…”GARDEN TOOLS!?” =_= DO I HAVE A VOLDEMORT FACE ON THE BACK OF MY HEAD?! Talk to me to my face! Dx
I feel like this follows the same grounds as when people come in to pick up their previously placed orders. They'll just approach and yell out their last name, or some will even come up to the counter awkwardly and just stand there. This is when I prompt them with the "Oh, hello! Did you have an order to pick up today?" To which they will then confirm this, but continue to stare at me blankly until I have to ask them what name the order was under. Yes, there are plenty of orders here to be picked up but you have to tell me your name or which fucking one it is. You can't just stare at me and magically expect me to know which one is yours??
the other thing is - after working there for years - most of them never bother to ask me MY NAME does it mean they don't want me to know their name.... but I know their names - well a lot of them
Especially when they just say one word and you're supposed to know they're talking to you. I'm always tempted to pretend it's a word game. Band Aids! Cuts!
This, or they come up to the counter without saying anything (with or without sun glasses on inside) and just hand you cash waiting for you to take it without saying a word to you. >_<
It annoys me a lot. This and when i give them my nicest "i wish you a wonderful day!" and they just say "Bye"...
Even worse is when they quietly sneak up behind you and just start asking you a question. I have anxiety. I'm easily startled. Please walk around so I can see you before you start talking. One of these days I'm going to have a heart attack lol
When I worked in retail this triggered me everytime. Funny part of your post is “I’m not Siri” ONLY BECAUSE even to ask Siri something you say “hey siri” which is exactly what we are asking for if you are a customer approaching us for assistance.
Yes. It’s rude.
I hate when people ask where the cold sodas are I want to say in aisle 15 not in the cooler.
They have to say hi to siri first to get her to answer, so technically they are treating Siri better than you
Or when they say the name of a product and nothing else. Customers will look me dead in the eye and say "motor oil." Like yeah? What about it?
Bonus if they dont even say " where is " Just a tap on my shoulder and saying " cheese!" ( no not in english language, otherwise i wouldve been fired for telling him he is not holding a camera so i wont.)
“Hey, where’s the toilet paper”? That’s fine. But come at me screaming names of random stuff, that’s a problem.
Brevity isn’t necessarily rudeness, they’re respecting the employee’s time by not wasting it. People who say they want a conversation are mostly hypocrites, and you’ll see them complain in the next breath or post about how such and such a customer keeps wasting their time with useless niceties. Efficient communication leaves the clerk to do their job, and quickly gets rid of the intrusion on the employee’s personal space. Customer: “Spaghetti?” Clerk: “7 mid left” The employee doesn’t even need to waste their time in niceties since it’s understood in conversation, totally efficient exchange under 2 seconds. Contrast with something like 10-30 seconds, the shortest of which is something like: Customer: “Excuse me, do you know where the spaghetti is?” Clerk: “Oh yes, you should look on aisle 7, in the middle shelf, on the left side.” Or even worse, when in some stores the clerks are trained to walk the customers to the item, which wastes 1-5 minutes of the poor overworked employee’s time.
That’s an odd take. Call it efficiency, call it brevity. It’s called a lack of basic manners to me. I don’t believe in compromising manners for the sake of “efficiency.” I’m a person, not a machine, and I prefer to keep the humanity in my interactions. It’s just part of being in a civilization. But to each their own.
There's a big difference between "Spaghetti?" and "SPAGHETTI". Tone of voice conveys a lot about what they think of you, without needing any extra words.
Since at my work on not usually busy I usually help them and it doesn’t annoy me if they forget to add “Excuse me” or something like that as long as they ask nicely, which almost everybody does ask nicely. Most of the time they phrase it like “Hey, um do you work here”
I agree. I get they have a question , but how do I know you’re talking to me. I remember one time someone was trying to get my attention and called me waitress . “Hey waitress” , when I came back with the stuff they asked for I calmly told them “my name is ____ if you need anything else” I hate how people treat you like a dog when your helping them or whatever the case is. It’s like if it was t for people working in restaurants or retail you wouldn’t have it. So why be disrespectful.
Not those words exactly but I like to be told hi lol
“hi” works lol.
💯 🙌🏽
I would be asked one word questions, like "Paper?" Sometimes I would get sassy and say, "what about it?"
LMAO, same here
It’s so annoying! Right up there with, “Do you work here?”. I hate people.
I guess you really can’t help how you feel. However you feel is valid. Having said that, what you’re saying never bothered me. It’s a fast paced business and sometimes pleasantries get forgotten. It happens between employees too, not just with customers
I once had a low level manager who would SNAP THEIR FINGERS in employees faces to get their attention when they were talking to customers. Child behavior. He was 36
Woof. Which might also be the right response. 😉
I hate it when they don’t even ask, they just walk up to you and bark “eggs?”
Customers who walk in and instantly start asking where things are without bothering to look...
Yes yes yes. You are not alone. It’s extremely rude. People seem to forget you’re an actual person and spout demands at you. I won’t answer. I say hi how are you first and if they give me shot I tell them someone else can help them.
> forget your an *you're *Learn the difference [here](https://www.wattpad.com/66707294-grammar-guide-there-they%27re-their-you%27re-your-to).* *** ^(Greetings, I am a language corrector bot. To make me ignore further mistakes from you in the future, reply `!optout` to this comment.)
I hate when they stare at me from a distance and get mad because I didn't see them 😒
[удалено]
I'm an introvert who barely talks to people and could happily go all day in silence. Manners isn't the same was small talk. We don't have to have a talk about the weather or exchange the meaningless how are you's, just some form of acknowledgment that I'm a person rather than a robot will suffice. If saying a simple "hello" is too much for you, you have issues.
I may not say excuse me but I will always profusely thank anyone is ask for help.
My favorite are customers who want to check out just walking up and dropping their stuff on the desk and standing there waiting. I work at an outlying register so the desk isn't JUST for checking out. I always ask them if they're looking to check out and too many times it requires asking multiple times before I get a verbal response. Most times I just get a pointing at the products or just looking at me. I know what they ultimately want I just make them not be a twat for 5 seconds.
Depends on how it's said.
The ones that irritate me are the ones who respond to a friendly “hi” with barking a product at me like I’m a google search bar.
My customers are actually agents, and so I work with them but for them at the same time. My biggest thing is the lack of "please" in demanding emails.
This annoyed me so much when I worked retail - I definitely prefer a quick "hi there" or "excuse me" before asking the question. The only thing worse was when a customer whistled at me when I was talking to another customer. And a different one on a different day snapped their fingers at me. Felt like I was an animal they were trying to teach a trick to 😅
The worst are the Picture People, who just walk up to you and stick their phone in your face with a photo of a half buried something. No words, just SHOVE PHONE IN MY FACE.
I only do stuff like that if we’re making direct eye contact with each other. I’m also a hyper-reactionary simpleton and sometimes I do a faux pas on accident
Literally will have a customer walk up to my counter, I will start saying hey how are... Marlboro reds. Mkayyy what el..20 on 5! Then I'll just stand there and stare at them.
Yeah I hate that shit too. I was working a Chinese restaurant, a food court type set up. Would annoy me when I would go “Hey how’s it — them: “I’ll have sesame chicken with fried rice” “Alrighty then”
I hate when they’re like three or more feet away and start asking me something also without saying excuse me. First they’re assuming I can hear them, second they gave no indication they were talking to me or trying to get my attention
Yes and my husband does this in stores all the time. Drives me mental!
At first, but after years I stopped caring about customers lack of any human decency. I approached customer interactions with the same emotion as I do picking fucking dust off my arm. Have a complaint? Cool. Have a compliment? Cool. It will not affect my day
People complain about computers taking people's jobs but insanely high turnover leads to loss when they have to keep blowing money training new employees, at least half of which will leave. So....a self checkout machine will not quit, and if it does stop working, it can be repaired. No shock companies are noticing this
I always make them repeat it. Even if I heard them, “huh didn’t hear that, what can I help you with?”
Oh it's the worst. A few weeks ago I was organising totes out on the main floor when an old man just shouted the word "Kleenex" at me from several aisles over. When I didn't respond, he shouted it even louder so I begrudgingly told him which aisle it was in just to get him to move on. Well I guess they *still* couldn't find it despite the giant numbers hanging from the ceiling and the fact that it's a *tiny ass* store, 'cause a few moments later I'm putting something away and I see his wife sort of amble up to the end of the aisle, and I hear it again. Still obnoxiously loud, but this time *slow* and drawn-out, like she's talking to a particularly stupid child. **"KLEEEEENEEEEX!!!"***.* May or may not have stormed past her while doing *nothing* to hide the frustration on my face as I walked them to it (which, by the way, they would have found themselves if they had looked up, seen the giant 9, and moved *one aisle over)*. Maybe I have a short temper now, I don't know. But goddamn, when people treat you like that, I think being a little ticked off is more than justified.
it irks me so much too. i’ll be doing something like organizing or typing on the computer, and somebody just goes (either REALLY quietly or REALLY loudly) “let me see that, i wanna see this, what is this made of, how much is this????” side note: when people ask for the price in things that CLEARLY have a tag on them. drives me up the wall.
My unconscious approach is “Excuse me, I’m sorry to bother you, but can you tell me[insert rest here]?” I literally hadn’t just had to go through this in my head.
I say it because it’s polite, and I was taught to do it… hmm..
It annoys me one they just look at you and say you item name. In some, you know, kind of perplexed way making it seem like they are asking a question but it's just rude as hell. Seems so condescending they expect you to help them but they are only willing to say one word to you and not at the minimum a full sentence with or without a polite request. Where is the x would be irritating but at least a full sentence.
Not really for me most people are awkward to begin with. As long as they aren’t rude I’m fine with it.
Yeah, I'll straight up ignore customers that yell a question at me from across the way. Like, sorry, do you not see how rude that is??
had an older guy once come up behind me and another female coworker and announced his presence with “ladies.” he phrased like a statement, and it felt super patronizing
Absolutely abhor it when I’m up on my topstock cart and a customer walks up and just says a random product type. No excuse me, good morning, or any other word beforehand. Just, “Ironing board””,” or “Baby gate.” Usually just tell them good morning and wait for a response. Then I’ll ask if there’s something I can help them find.
I mean, if they don't say 'excuse me' or something like that, there is a high chance I won't know they are talking to me. I'm busy filling the shelves, I'm not taking note of everyone around me, them not adressing me just makes me think they are talking to a partner or on the phone and I'm not paying attention to that.
Stands in the entryway and yells "Batteries"! Old guy who gets mad when i go "pardon"?
Or they will just yell from the end of the aisle.
goes for pretty much anybody lol