This article appears in Dec 6-12, 2007.
grocery store cashiers
You know who you are. Yes, the ones that don’t say hello or even acknowledge me, the customer. I only have a few items (that’s why I’m in the express lane) and I’m not causing you any problems or giving attitude. I’m just wondering why you don’t even
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Cut them some fucking slack, they are cashiers, and I’m betting a good number of them don’t love their life at that moment. I bet you would be spaced out after hearing that beep for 8hrs a day. Get some real friends and don’t drag these poor people into your day.
Keep smiling and set an example. You shouldn’t always expect it back but the least you can do it keep doing it. Dont forget these people see a million people so don’t take it personally.
At least that cashier told you the total of your order. I love it when they are done ringing you in and just put their hand out – NICE!!!!!
Who cares?! You’re there to buy a few groceries not make small talk. Get in and get out. Grocery cashiers see alot of people, God forbid they don’t say hi to YOU, what makes you so special?
Man, what’s up with the service industry? They’re about as cheerful as nsgueu or cupe employees who are always bitching about their jobs. If you don’t like the job, go get another. Stop inflicting your piss ass attitude on the paying customers!
Wow, shittily standing in one square-foot spot all day, making shit pay, working shitty shifts, dealing with shitty customers usually in a rush would definately make me want to smile….as I shoved a screwdriver in my head!!! I bet you have a nice little job at a desk somewheres, where you get to spend several hours on your own….and not have customers in your face for 8-12 hours a day demanding a fuckin’ smile. Oh, and P.S. A lot of cashiers simply do not have the means to just quit such a job (you know, responsibilities like families to support on maybe $250 a week, perhaps scholl to pay for, etc etc etc)or else they’ll quit one lousy cashier job and simply get another lousy cashier job and so their cycle continues. So buy your groceries, appreciate that that cashier is human and doing the best they can in such an inhumane shitty job, and fuck off. There’s bigger things to bitch about.
I think it is a cycle – you start your day happy and smiley and then the next thing you know you are staring at a person who was just cut off in traffic, so they are still pissed and can’t seem to find their credit card to pay for the groceries that they probably shouldn’t have splurged on, and now there is this “stupid” grocery clerk waiting to get paid, and the customer just grunts at the clerk and walks out. this will happen a few more time until the clerk just can not stand feeling like some cog that everyone is looking through them! and so they begin to feel invisible and who talks if they are invisible?? why bother if all you get as a response is grunts. this go from customer to clerk to customer to clerk. break the cycle and just smile anyway!
I work a decent-paying government job in customer service, dealing with all sorts of assholes day in – day out. Even when I am in the most sour of moods, I still will force a small smile and hello to people. You don’t have to jump into a full conversation, just that simple gesture is better than the lack of eye contact you often receive from various retail and grocery employees. I have worked jobs like that for minimum wage and still smiled because it’s part of the job. If you are that cranky, there ARE other jobs out there that do not involve as much of the public. Try housekeeping at a hotel, working in the kitchen of a restaurant instead of out front, cleaner at a movie theater, stocking shelves, delivering flyers/papers, etc.
I, for one, do not need some poor kid having to force a smile or greeting to me. I’m there to get groceries, not to yak so if the cashier doesn’t say anything, that’s fine with me.Naturally, I always get stuck behind some twat shopper who decides she needs to tell her life story to a clerk who wishes she had a loaded rifle. Can’t blame the poor kid.
And people wonder why NS just ranked last in a list of happy provinces? Clerks who are grumps and the friendly clerks who get customers too good to say hello. Fuckin NS is really starting to suck big time!
“the place is turning into a joke” is turning into a joke when his only input to every bitch is to seize an opportunity to rag on how much he hates Nova Scotia.BOOORING!
Minimum Wage = Minimum Effort. Why is this so hard for people to understand. You can’t pay people shit wages and expect to be rewarded with excellence. The whole a job is a job and you get paid to do it to the best of your ability mentality is for suckers. Employees with that mindset are every corporations wet dream. They salivate at the thought of minimum wage employees with a “solid work ethic” they can exploit all the way to the bank.
I think Banjon might be on to something here – attitude is everything. I’ve bought coffee at Tim’s, I always get groceries at Sobey’s, and I shop at various department stores and other retailers… almost without fail, the checkout staff are courteous and pleasant, and do manage a smile… even the woman at a Winner’s store the other day, having just had the customer from hell, managed a smile for me – and it wasn’t forced. She had made the decision not to allow the horrible customer to ruin her day.I’m always pleasant and smiling to the people who ring my purchases through – I know their job is tough, and I know that people often take out their frustrations on a clerk who has NO power to change the fact that maybe your bank card didn’t work, or whatever.Sure, there are occasional less-than-happy campers out there, and when they show themselves, I notice! But the reason I notice is because they are the aberration, not the norm.You get what you give – I think that if you offer courtesy and a pleasant smile, you will get it back. And if you don’t? Well, maybe the person you’re speaking with has actually got a good reason and is trying his/her best to give you good, efficient service anyhow.
Who sees more people in a day: bus drivers, cab drivers or grocery cashiers? Bus drivers & cab drivers talk to their customers. If the cashiers don’t like their jobs, quit already and stop giving everyone so much attitude. If they don’t want to at least say “hello”, then we should replace them all with the self serve checkouts. At least then you won’t have mutes working that give attitude.
Is your life so boring that this is what you are worked up over? Why don’t you try and work a shift at a grocery store and see it all from the other side dummy.
Is your life so boring that this is what you are worked up over? Why don’t you try and work a shift at a grocery store and see it all from the other side dummy.
Maybe Sobey’s cashiers make you happier when they drone out … Have you got your airmiles card? Did you find everything you were looking for? Would you like parcel pickup service? … It’s a script, they dont’ give a shit about your answers and have probably seen dozens of customers before you lining up and just looking for a fight.Cashiers are nice to people who are nice to them, just like everyone else who works in the service industry.I suspect the problem just might be with YOUR attitude.
I hate the one ‘did you find what you’re looking for.’ Is that a fucking standard in all stores now? Don’t bug me.
Yah…ok…I worked at Sobeys and I despised every moment I was there. I was not happy about standing behind a cash to ring in ignorant peoples groceries. However, I did say hi to every single person who came through my cash. I got mystery shopped twice and got 100% both times. It made the day go by much faster to be nice to customers than to be miserable to them. There really isn’t any excuse to not say hi, I don’t care if you hate your job. That being said, there are some fucking miserable customers out there, but I always, always said hi to them and usually managed to get a smile back.
Maybe these poor cashiers are pissed because they have to work Sundays?
Ok, to the people who have a problem with reading comprehension: in my original bitch, I did not state that I wanted to have a conversation with the clerks. I just asked that they acknowledge that I was actually there. I did not give them attitude or anything like that. The scenario is this:1. line up2. put items on conveyor3. proceed to pay4. say thank youWhy is it that the clerk doesn’t even say hello or even you’re welcome. They scan the product(s) and then tell me the total and don’t even say anything else. That was my original bitch.Regardless of how many people who are rude to you or if you’re having a bad day, it does not mean you take it out on your customers. There are a lot of other jobs in this world where people get crapped on day in & day out yet they don’t treat their customers that way. Other retail workers don’t do this, it seems that only the grocery store ones behave in such a manner.
“Minimum Wage = Minimum Effort”- this is an excuse to have little or no work ethic. through the years people have worked harder for much less, i am not saying that i think our minimum wage is appropriate- but your argument is typical of this generation that has little accountablity and feels they deserve somthing for absolutely nothing. life is hard and all you can do is grin and bare it, try to find a dream and hope for moments of happiness. i don’t think it is beyond expectations to hope for a “thank you” and “you’re welcome” from your grocery clerk!
“Minimum Wage = Minimum Effort”- this is an excuse to have little or no work ethic. through the years people have worked harder for much less, i am not saying that i think our minimum wage is appropriate- but your argument is typical of this generation that has little accountablity and feels they deserve somthing for absolutely nothing. life is hard and all you can do is grin and bare it, try to find a dream and hope for moments of happiness. i don’t think it is beyond expectations to hope for a “thank you” and “you’re welcome” from your grocery clerk!
You know, if you want some friendly little portly Bavarian grocer to chat you up about your kids and the weather then you’re welcome to go to high end shops and pay for it or maybe even open one yourself.I’m so tired of people beeaching about retail stores when as customers we basically demand lower prices above all else = min wage kiddies work there. Ever wonder why boutique shops are such a hard go? You can’t have it both ways