To expect shop staff to be trained NOT to use a certain phrase?

ffinnochio - I do not need to feel special at the checkout. What I am saying is that I do not expect to have an in depth personal conversation over my groceries. I merely ask for a competent and professional approach. I've done the job - its about greeting people, being polite coupled with some product knowledge, and recognising that most people wish to get on to doing something a bit more interesting or important.....e.g. mow the lawn or get back to work.

Most of them are wonderful!!

Blimey, sales assistants/checkout people are just doing a job! Should one want a bow scraping curtesy, or for them to be superb mind readers to make you feel special?

Just go with the flow.

HildaW, May I draw your attention to a previous thread, called (I think) "Engaging with the customer"?

How about 'there's no demand for it' when you have just asked for it!

There seems to be no way that requests can be recorded, added up and translated into 'people want this!' which might then be provided....

Another very irritating phrase is when the checkout staff at the one and only open till say, 'thank you for waiting', as if you had any choice other than to have completely wasted the time taken to visit the store in the first place.

When I took an item to a till in a department store recently the bar code turned out to be missing. The assistant told me to go and find out the price so she could ring it up.

For once, I was quick off the mark and said that I rather thought it was her job to know the prices, not mine.

I'm not a fan of the fashion for checkout staff to ask what I am doing that day.....yes I do get the fact that some people have little personal interaction and are no doubt happy to chat at the till but if I'm doing a big fortnightly shop usually with OH is tow (he's a good packer) I am not really in the mood for a chat as to my plans - its not as if its the hairdressers where you are rather a captive audience and happy to get chatty.
My last trip to an M&S food department was severely tainted by an extremely chatty checkout person who entered into a long conversation with the customer before me....to the effect that it went on after the bill had been paid and the goods packed....the poor girl after me was heard to mutter....I've only got 5 minutes of my lunch break left. The M&S lady was responding to the customer' health moans and then asking her more personal questions....it all got rather embarrassing and I had to do one of my passive aggressive 'huffs'!!

The one that annoys both DH and me is
'Oh, we don't stock that item any more - people are always asking for it!'.

I'm surprised the last one didn't say 'Come back nearer to closing time - it's bound to have been reduced by then.'