Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Just because we serve you doesn't mean we like you
I've worked in the retail industry as a cashier at a grocery store for nine years now and it still astonishes me how so many customers can be so mean and rude to retail workers. It seems the retail worker is the easy target for people to vent all of their frustrations to. What people don't realize is that retail workers are actually HUMAN BEINGS with real feelings. Contrary to popular belief, cashiers do not dictate the price of an item that they scan. Lots of people seem to think that people in the retail or service industries are lowly servants who should merely shut up and do what they are told and to do it with a smile, regardless of how rude the customer is. Well, I'm sorry but the customer is not always right. I've put up with a lot of hostile customers over the years and I've gotten to the point now that if a customer is rude with me right off the bat then I'll return the favor. If a customer doesn't treat me with respect as a fellow human being then I will return the favor in kind. I recently had a customer rip my head off for sneezing a few times... Yes SNEEZING. I caught a whiff of dust or perfume or something and my allergies kicked in and I sneezed a few times. This customer then started berating me for being "gross," "unsanitary," and "sick." I looked at her in disbelief and the customer I was serving at the time looked at her and said "What's he supposed to do about it? He can't control when he's supposed to sneeze!" When it was my time to serve this customer she kept ranting and raving about how unsanitary it is for me to sneeze in a public place and then she asked me very rudely if I had any sanitary hand cleaner at my till to wash my hands. I told her I did, so I proceeded to spray some on my hands, rub my hands together right in front of her face and asked her "Are you happy now?" Then she told me I was rude and asked if there was a manager around. I told her that I am a very pleasant person unless someone is rude with me first. Then I told her to go right ahead and talk to the manager. Well, she talked to my manager and my manager basically chuckled about the whole thing because this customer obviously had some major issues. This is just a minor example, but over the years I could compile a whole book worth of incidents of customers treating me and my fellow employees like shit. My mom works at another grocery store and she's had a frozen turkey thrown at her and someone has threatened to stick a 12 pack of Coke up her ass! I always give every customer a clean slate when I serve them. I always try to be cheerful and respectful and try to joke around, but if a customer is pissy and rude and mean right off the bat without any apparent reason, then I have no patience anymore. They think that just because I'm behind a till that I can't respond and that I'm open season to be verbally abused. Well, I don't play that game anymore.
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1 comment:
Bravo JJ....I work at a call center for CanWest Global and it is the same thing, if a customer is upset about life they take it out on you. I am like dude what did I do to you. I answered the phone and I am trying to help you. I once had this man call in regarding the collection of Hockey Hero Pins that you can buy from The Leader Post or any other CanWest Global Newspaper. He gets on the phone and is ranting and raving about how white people treat him so unfairly, this is all because I wont let him pay via chq. To receive this offer you had to pay via credit card no other way. He is upset at this...I don't make the rules I just abide by them...He then had the nerve to tell me that I am being rasicst to him. Right because I can tell that you are of a different race over the phone. He swore at me and called me down like no other. I am sorry sir but really if you are going to pick an arguement with me, please have sound facts to back it up.
If a person just once worked in our line of work they would understand. I had a guy freak out on me becasue someone who started a subcribtion had accidently, possibly typed in his cc incorrectly and he would not give his number again because on his sales sheet it was correct. He was mad at me becasue of this...and mad that a customer service repersenative called him to ensure that his credit card was correct. Okay I understand someone calling you and asking you for credit card info....fine a bit hesitent I understand but what I do not understand is freaking out on the girl that you called...you called the Herald and you wont give the credit card information.....you called me @ the Herald...the customer service number is in the paper we are not going to publish a fake number in the herald... how can I cannot be an empolyee of CanWest global.....I know that these are not as rediculous as your snizzing customer or the one about your mom getting a turkey thron at her....like really people get a life you all suck......please we re doing our job to serve you....if you want it to be a plesent experience then please be plesent.
The toughts from Dawn
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