Give the check out assistant a medal and a promotion

I agree that people who hold different views are entitled to argue robustly.

Sainsbury are just going over to the side they see as winning. The politics of supermarkets involves keeping the customers onside.

The first part of which sentence?

Let me qualify that, I agree completely with your first part of your sentence.

Agree completely Bags.

PS I hold quite a few 'minority opinions' myself, on other subjects.

Of course. I think that goes without saying. But those who disagree with the minority are still entitled to blast the opinions of the minority with better arguments and better principles, which is what has happened with this topic.

I actually disagree with the small percentage of people whose sympathy is with the customer in this instance, but I would support their right to have an opinion, even one I disagree with.

Interesting. There seems to be universal disapproval of a husband who treats his wife as a robot homemaker and bedwarmer, and beats her if she is uppity enough to think she deserves better.

However not everyone thinks it wrong for a customer to consider a checkout assistant as a robot till-operator and bagpacker and reports her to management for commenting to the treatment.

The same rules apply in the home and in the workplace - and online. Otherwise it is the survival of the most ruthless, and to hell with civilisation.

Fortunately, Iam64, the huge bulk of members who actually post (which is apparently a tiny fraction of total membership) are kind, compassionate and courteous. I think the balance of replies on this thread proves that.
I find it quite amusing that I can virtually guarantee a negative response to anything I post from the same handful of people. When the first one pops up, I wait for the next two or three to join them.

Another one in support of people treating each other with respect and wherever possible being positive and friendly. As a relatively new gransnetter I'm still being surprised by the way in which some posters resort to personal insults in order to support their own point of view. In this discussion, the majority of posters express sympathy for the check out operator, and feel the customer was rude and compounded that by her actions after the incident. That seems to be the consensus amongst most people who have contacted radio phone ins, papers etc. It's good to have a discussion, and I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise that the folks who say the customer was right seem to be the same ones who are resorting to rude comment son here

Which only goes to prove that Sainsbury's initial reaction was pure political correctness and had nothing whatever to do with any principles about how people, even check-out workers, should be treated. Well done, the British public.

I see Sainsbury's are backing down and saying actually the customer was rude but they can't do anything about it.

absent maybe you should take that to pedants corner.

Greatnan - you've used a Kindle Fire You know what predictive text is like.

That instance there could be seen as a bit amusing.

Have those people who make passing references to Utopia actually read and understood the book? I do get very cross about the word's use as if it is the same as Shangri La.

Perhaps Aka could let us know which of us are allowed to post on which threads?

We had a few days of pleasantness but I see it's starting up again now that the same old characters have returned. Grow up!

What's that arcade game called where all the little heads pop out and you are supposed to bash them down with a rubber mallet?
Never mind. Time to

It is quite rude to address somebody by the wrong name, isn't it?
I am heartened to see that the majority of people have come down on the side of courtesy.

Gosh blue just because I thought your post silly! Let's get nasty and personal shall we, as ever!

Gosh Aka what a truly intelligent, thoughtful response - as ever

"bluebottle"! (love that)

What on earth is a utopian pc world? Well, I suppose a dystopian unpc one is one where check out staff and other lowly creatures being paid a pittance to do a necessary job are supposed to put up with rude customers and say nothing

Life's just too short to be rude or impolite, a smile is much nicer and often wins the grumpy people round