Shop Staff Using Mobile Phones.

I walked into our local Spar with a couple of friends, quite a few years ago now, and the man on the til suddenly sat up, smiled at me & greeted me. My friends were taken aback at this normally grumpy & rude man being so pleasant with me.
We picked up what we wanted and went to pay. I handed him my electric key, he charged it, handed it back, nicely bagged our items, was very polite in telling us how much etc and wished us a nice day as we left.
My friends were gobsmacked!!
"Ok. What did you do?" They asked me.
Haha. Well, I'd gone in one day in a bit of a mood. I had 2 little toddlers, was tired, and their dad had decided it was my turn to go to the shop.
So I'd handed my electric key to him, politely asked for it to be charged which he did, and then he tossed it back at me like he couldn't be bothered to stretch a couple of inches to my outstretched hand.
I did say I was tired and moody, well he was sternly put in his place about treating his customers well. I tossed the key back at him and told him if he expected me to treat him with respect then I should get the same as I am always polite to him. I told him what people think of him and that his customers would treat him better if he treated them better, or my friends & I could shop elsewhere!!
He really improved after that. 🙂
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I have stood at the til at another shop with my DC waiting beside me. After so many minutes of me holding my cash ready to pay for my goods, I loudly spoke up, "Well, it seems like they don't need or want our custom. Let's go to (name of different shop) instead!" Left the goods on the desk and walked out....followed by 3 or 4 other customers who had also gotten fed up waiting!
They must gave had complaints as they got new staff at that shop not too long afterwards.

All mobiles should be put in the lockers during worktime unless you have to be contactable by family members if someone is ill. I once worked in a large, well known, store where the girls on the tills were looking at TikTok videos and would leave serving to someone else. It's just not professional.

I worked in a few banks but not on the till. I still organise my notes properly but wouldn’t expect the bank person to do it for me. How annoying misuse of mobile phones is. What can be so important? I ignore my phone unless I’m totally free and chilling out.

Louella12

This is something I've never encountered.

Me neither, I'm in Lancashire.

I still align my bank notes in my wallet...

And I fully agree with no phones while working, unless of course they are business calls you are required to answer.

This is weird. What’s happening to big supermarkets. I worked for Tesco and retired 7 years ago. Absolutely a no-no to have your mobile phone on the shop floor.
It would have been a sacking offence and quite rightly! You’re paid to do a job…. so do it!

welbeck

bank notes aligned, face up, is something i would expect.
maybe the bank just thought that was standard practice, but they should have covered it in training.

I started work in a bank in the late 60’s. Back then, bank notes had to be in order, Queen’s head to the front, right way round.

By the time I retired, that practice had disappeared. Not by me, I still sorted my notes properly, but I was very much in the minority. ‘Covered in training?’ The powers that be would think what an absolute waste of time.

Still like my notes right way round, even in my purse.

bank notes aligned, face up, is something i would expect.
maybe the bank just thought that was standard practice, but they should have covered it in training.

This is something I've never encountered.

I agree absolutely, it's almost as if work is an interruption to the shop assistant's social life in some shops. Things have changed so much especially in recent years.
Mind you I should point out that I did work in a bank for a couple of years after 'retirement' and was astonished one day when a customer reprimanded me for not handing over her cash with all the notes facing the same way! She said that when she was a cashier in a bank that was one thing they had to do so I guess I was guilty of poor service too.

There’s an ad on tv for over 50’s life insurance. The granny is playing hide and seek and on concealing herself in a wigwam, she rings the insurance company to buy a policy, adding that she’ll have to be quick. When DD2 sees that ad, having worked in insurance, says she’d tell the caller to ring back when she had more time and be able to fully discuss a policy!

Not on mobile phone but I was being served by a surly young man in M&S. When the transaction was completed, I looked him in the eye and said, ‘do you hate your job?’ He was so shocked he just blurted out, ‘yes’. Lol
I replied, ‘well your job is to pretend you don’t when serving customers or better still, get another job’

Happens a lot in Greece! Even in banks, where a teller or assistant will answer their phone and start chatting away whilst 'serving' you! Seems to be a very cultural thing there, also almost everyone just answers their mobile wherever they are with 'nai' (yes)....never with their name or hello etc....whoever it is that is calling them!

When serving customers on my bank counter, if they carried on a phone conversation when it was their turn to be served, I busily sorted the notes in my till drawer until the conversation ended, (usually quite quickly when they realised I was politely ignoring their paying in book or whatever).

I then smiled and said “Good morning, and how are you today?” and proceeded to serve them.

Some years ago I was buying school uniforms for both sons. Came to quite a large sum of money. When I approached the till the assistant was chatting on her phone. She grabbed my purchases with her spare hand at which point I grabbed them all back and said “I’ll wait until you’ve finished your call”. The look on her face was priceless but finished her call. I thanked her profusely (somewhat tongue in cheek) but never went back to that shop.

It does happen in M & S timetogo2016!

A local old fashioned grocery store here has a notice on the counter stating, politely, that they won't be serving customers who are using their phones. If I am being ignored by an assistant when buying something, particularly the ones who hold out your change or receipt while chatting, or just don't bother to look at me, I simply stand there looking away myself until the assistant looks at me, and then he or she will get a beaming smile and a 'Thank you SO much!' as I take the proffered whatever.

many years ago I was in a supermarket with my youngest daughter who was around 20 I think, the girl on the checkout was more interested in having a conversation with her friend who was at the end of the counter than the paying customers. When it came to our turn and the girl was still conversing with her friend my daughter leant over, tapped her on her arm and said in a quite loud voice" Excuse me ( read girls name from name tag)I am so sorry to interrupt your obviously important conversation, but you are being very rude and If I were your employer you wouldn't have a job as you don't seem too keen to do it. oh and you can explain to your manager why your customer left without buying anything and wont be back" with that she just left all her groceries on the checkout and walked out.
was a pain to have to go to the next supermarket to get the groceries but she made her point.

I agree with timetogo 2016... time or is it people(?) have changed

I would treat any shop assistant who continued to talk on his or her phone in exactly the way I have always treated shop assistants who were too busy chatting or doing nothing to serve me.

I say, fairly loudly, "Excuse me, do you actually work here, or are you just employed here? If you can't serve me, get someone who can.."

Once served, I would either request to speak to the supervisor or inform the assistant that I would shop elsewhere in future.

Why put up with bad manners? Service will not improve if you do not complain about it. It may well not, even if you do complain, but then at least you have tried to do something about it.

This is not to do with mobile 'phones and not recent but some forty plus years ago I took my daughter to our local confectioner/newsagent to buy her two ounces of sweeties as a reward for holding her bladder (potty training and her first day out in pretty cotton panties).

We stood at the counter as two middle-aged/elderly (they looked ancient to me but were probably early fifties!!) assistants looked over to us but carried their obviously riveting conversation.

We patiently waited a little longer before my daughter told me that she needed to do a wee soon. I coughed 'politely' and called 'excuse me', as we edged towards the door but the two assistants carried on chatting.

At that moment, my poor daughter couldn't hold it in a moment longer so performed a wee - on to the shop floor.

I said 'never mind' to the assistants and we left the shop. They had a lovely job to clear up when they had finally completed their conversation! Serves them right too.

All those years ago and have never forgotten, so ignoring customers due to an engaging conversation is not new!

Oh, I told my daughter that it was not at all her fault and her toilet training went swimmingly well!

I will not pay unless I receive full eye contact and a spoken request for payment, there is no excuse for bad manners.

Customers and sales assistants are as bad as each other. When I was a store manager my staff kept their phones in their lockers and they checked them at break times. Customers ignoring you as you are serving them is so rude, especially if they expect you to pack their bags because they are holding their stupid phones and are unable to do the two things at once.

I experienced that sort of service when I was living in London, usually by a male server running an independent confectionery/tobacconist/newspaper/small grocery type store. Handing money over, all the while the person serving remains on the phone, change handed back whilst never a word is exchanged not so much as a thank you.. Yeah not great!
I completely understand the annoyance of cashiers, when the boot is on the other foot, a couple of times my phone has rung whilst being in a queue to be served at the supermarket, I'll get off before it's my turn. Once my son rang me about nothing really important, told him I had to go I was about to be served, he said something like "can't you wedge phone under your ear" my reply "No it's rude to talk on the phone whilst being dealt with Goodbye!"

I always go through self service now, but I still don't want phone calls while I'm checking out, phones are a blessing but a damn nuisance too!

I find that most sales assistants/check out operators etc. are helpful and attentive, but those few who are totally wrapped up in a conversation, either one to one or phone-based while they "serve" you are a pain in the proverbial, and need recalibrating. The most effective response I ever witnessed was a few years ago now, when at a supermarket check-out the staff member was heavily involved in a phone conversation as she served the "sweet little old lady" in front of me. She then actually tutted at the slight delay when the customer was trying to find the correct change. The old lady paid up, and then said: "I'm now going to find your Manager and ask him to explain to you that you are overheads, and I am profit". Talk about a red face. I almost applauded.