Being a moany cow!

My daughter (special needs) always shops at Asda and they g out of their way to help her. Getting her a trolley, helping her select her shopping, packing and giving her a chair to sit in while she waits for her taxi. They even took her home one day when she couldn't get a taxi. Excellent helpful service.

^ Waitrose food is lovely but the staff are indifferent.^

Is it just us?
The staff in our local Waitrose are lovely - as are those in others we have visited.
In fact, we never seem to meet anyone, anywhere, who has more than about 4 degrees of separation.

The staff at my local Tesco are lovely. It’s a small store and has a friendly atmosphere and the staff enjoy working there.
We also have a Morrisons, which is a lot bigger and busier , so we don’t get the same friendly service and why do they put staff on the check out with a streaming cold, which I always seem to catch? It doesn’t seem very hygienic.

Annaram1 That person was not a Librarian. she was merely a counter assistant without the qualifications of a proper Librarian

Then why was she doing a Librarian's job? YOU certainly have the typical attitude of the old fashioned Librarian, demanding respect while expecting someone else to do all the actual work.
This is probably to make up for the fact that the Great British Public (including the person who triggered your response) simply do not appreciate the high intellectual standing of a Librarian, and think that if you work in a library you are perforce a Librarian.

And the person behind the desk was in all likelihood a volunteer anyway...

Sainsburys expect the checkout person to maintain a speed of seventeen items a minute and they're questioned if it falls below that more than a couple of times.

Well I guess it depend where said store is, if it's full of middle class older ladies doing a few hours or Sam and Ned adding to their spending money, the staff will be pleasant. If it's some poor sod on zero hours who has just wrestled 3 kids into school, possibly on a short fuse.

Another ridiculous post.

is that to me please?

Yes

Of course, it could be different where you live ……. in which case I apologise.
However, I have lived in several places, go to supermarkets in several locations - and worked in a supermarket - and never realised that the staff fit into those particular categories.
With very few exceptions, I have always found them to be pleasant and friendly.

Sorry but what exactly do you mean by" Another ridiculous post?"

Where are the others?

It seems obvious that people struggling to survive might be slightly less chatty than somebody doing a few hours to get out of the house and take advantage of the staff shop?

I am always reminded of a brilliant scene from Only Fools and Horses, where Del Boy retorts to a surly assistant ‘ you should ask for a refund’. When she asks what he’s on about he replies ‘From the charm school’. One day I’ll say it!

I won't shop at Lidl's any more. I have a bad back so shopping is already painful but to have to put it all in the trolley, get it out to put it on to the checkout, then to put it back into the trolley so I can get it out to repack it into bags is just too much. I tried to pack the shopping straight into bags but the shop assistant told me off and directed me to the packing area. I explained my problem but she was adamant I had to pack, "Over there!" That was the last time I shopped there. Aldi's are much more friendly.

i await news of ny other ridiculous posts.

Not usually yours Lily65!

But that one was a classic

How so? If people are poor and under pressure and working for minimum wage they may be less customer focussed than people doing it to add to a pension for example?

All supermarkets have scan rates their check out staff have to stay within. And its monitored.

Some have deliberatley slow rates others have deliberately high ones.

The checkout person just didnt want a warning/to get fired. Customers cant change the scan rate the checkout person has to stay within.

The way around it if you dont like it is to use self check out, then you can go at whatever rate you like.

This post shows how different we all are! I always take a trolley even if I have only five or six items as I have arthritic hands so therefore the system of packing at a separate shelf at my leisure suits me. Of course it is only Aldi and Lidl where this is provided but in other supermarkets I take my trolley away from the checkout and pack my bag.

Or if you ask for help before you get to the checkout where it affects the servers rates (and chances of staying in a job) most supermarkets will get a staff member run your shopping through while you sit.

But telling a server to mess up their rates and recieve a warning at the last minute when they have already started putting your shopping through isnt exactly meeting them half way...and IMO justifies a degree of frostiness..

Jane10.
If the manager, laid down the law to his staff I would be very much surprised. Retail staff wages do not bring queue's waiting for work so I doubt many customer complaints see the light of day.

I don't know if some of you who have trouble keeping up with the check-out operators might find these trolley bags helpful. I use these when shopping at Lidl and you can just drop the goods straight in very quickly. Just a thought.

hondagirl. I feel sorry for the Aussie shop staff, when I visit my family over there. It must be tiring to have to stand and do all the packing. I would rather pack my own, though, rather than risk items being squashed by bad packing. I am also appalled at the huge number of plastic bags they use, sometimes putting single items into a bag.
My family take their own re-usable ones, but it makes it more difficult for the staff, having to hang them on the little carousel thingy!

We are very lucky here in Australia in that the staff scan and then pack your goods for you. All you need to do is pick up the bags and put them in your trolley.
Whenever we are there, hondagirl we always remark on this and thank them!
A couple of relatives work in supermarkets there and I think it must be quite exhausting, particularly as they are not young.

Akdi and Lidl checkout staff do have to have a faster check out rate than other supermarkets but they are also better paid because of it.
But Tesco also have a fast "pick" rate for the workers who pick out the items for peoples internet shopping lists. My DGS is doing this at the moment and was getting very frustrated at not reaching it. But after a few weeks it became easier.

No you were not being a 'moany' anything. I would be just the same and so would anyone. It is very bad practice, especially when you cannot be hurried. It would not suit me either. Did you check the bill that you had paid the right amount and that all your items were rung up correctly? Some dishonest people would undercharge their friends and increase yours to keep the till receipts correct. I would find somewhere else to shop. It is the height of rudeness.