retail etiquette
alternatively titled, “how to be a decent human being to people who are suffering enough as it is to help your supposedly entitled ass”
1. get off your cell phone. - cashiers ( not to mention the people patiently waiting in line ) don’t need to hear about how little Kelsey’s doing on the soccer team, or how your mother-in-law is coming into town for her birthday and you’re just SO INCONVENIENCED by having to purchase paper plates and cheap napkins before her arrival. just tell them you’ll call them back when you’re done. - if you can’t be assed to think about other people, at least acknowledge the cashier with a smile or a wave. if they speak to you or ask you a question, don’t shush them. tell your BFF Tanisha to hold on for what might be a total of four seconds.
2. when an item doesn’t immediately scan, please say anything but “oh, it must be free!” please, dear god, anything but that. you’re not being funny. or clever. or original. they hear this at least ten times a day.
3. the number of items listed on the express lane is not a suggestion. if you know that you have more items, don’t go there. it’s that simple. the express lanes have to be kept open for people who have small orders, so they’re not stuck behind someone with a cart piled high with what’s maybe a week’s worth of food and clothes you’ll inevitably be returning.
4. while unloading your cart, put the big items ( i.e., packages of toilet paper, crates of water bottles ) last. there’s very little room for the cashiers to work with. when you’re done unloading your cart, pull it up to the loading space and start putting the bags and other items into your cart instead of standing there and staring off into space or fiddling with your phone.
5. when you ask a cashier a store-related question ( i.e., how many coupons are allowed per order, whether or not you’re getting the right BOGO deal, etc. ), and they answer you politely and confidently, don’t challenge them. they work there. you don’t. they know the way the store works. you don’t. if they’ve forgotten something or made a mistake, by all means, ask them about it – but do it politely. we all make mistakes.
6. do not – i repeat, do not – put your money down on the counter or conveyor belt, especially if the cashier is visibly ready to take it. hand it over to them. if you need to count out some change, tell them so they can wait. oh, and if they’ve already cashed you out, don’t hand over some random amount of change after the drawer’s open.
7. if your card’s declined, it’s not their fault. don’t ask them why it wasn’t accepted. they don’t know. and don’t get angry or impatient with them, or insist you have money because you just deposited a check – they do not care. they cannot help you with problems that are clearly on your end.
8. do not yell at a cashier. once again, for the people in the back: do not yell at a cashier, especially someone who’s clearly new to the job. would you appreciate being yelled at for something beyond your control, or a simple, fixable mistake? no. so don’t do it to them.
9. if you get an answer you don’t like from a cashier and ask to speak to a manager, guess what? you’re most likely gonna get the same answer from them. here’s a news flash: the customer is not always right, the company will not always pander to your temper tantrums, and making a scene in front of a line of people with quickly-diminishing patience will not change their minds.
10. overall, please just be polite. these people are working their asses off to help their customers, most of which don’t appreciate their efforts at all. they’re constantly ignored, mistreated, questioned and degraded, and over time, it really does a number on their emotional state. just be kind and courteous. they’re human beings, not mindless drones. smiles and nice conversations go a long way.
if anyone else has anything to add, feel free. floor associates, back room / production workers – go crazy. share your woes and pet peeves.
These are important and additionally I’d like to add that if you pick up an item and decide not to get it, it’s not annoying to me (as a cashier) for you to hand it to me and politely say you decided not to get it. It IS annoying when I find items all over the store in wrong places or tucked away in random spots. We work on returns and we know where they go, it’s alright to give it to us so it goes to the right place. Maybe it isn’t like that everywhere, but yeah it’s very annoying when you put things in the wrong place.
Alllllll of this x1000
X1000000000
for the love of all things holy don’t just stand there and wait for us to put your 5000 bags in the basket for you
the phone thing is especially important in a food service place. I can’t take your order if you won’t deign to answer MY questions about what you want.
Once I got flustered with a customer that I was at first having a good conversation with. However, I didn't remember the code for the white peach and put in the wrong code, which was the wrong price. I tried a few other codes, voiding each item off.
The Customer then insisted I was triple charging her, because our system doesn't erase the item. It just has a minus by it, and I tried to explain that to her and she was NOT having it. So I suggested I start over that way we can start off on a new slate, and she got even more angry. It was close to my break anyway, and my manager could tell I was upset and that I was trying my hardest not to snap back at her and that I was on the verge of tears.
He ended up coming over and telling me to go on break, I thought I was in trouble but did what I was asked anyway.
I came back, he asked if I was okay, and later on he told me that the lady was rude to him as well and that I was fine.
PLEASE BE KIND TO THE CASHIERS WE'RE TRYING THE BEST WE CAN.
