I’m sorry it’s been a while but as I’m sure many of you are aware, there’s no wind-down around Christmas for workers in service or retail. During said Christmas period, I’ve encountered all sorts of unpleasantness from customers which have inspired a blog style rant. In my humblest of opinions, if everybody just worked a mere month in a public-serving job, much of this would be avoided.
As a former Lush employee, I was told no retail job would be as trying as working there over the festive period. Aside from a pregnant lady making me cry, it wasn’t all that bad. Optimistic me thought no public facing job would be as stressful. Optimistic me was mistaken.
I suppose this post is really just me suggesting that if you find yourself doing any of the things listed below, that maybe you should take a step back and stop being a dousche bag.
- Don’t get angry with the customer assistant if something is out of stock. Whether that be a pair of jeans or the tomato and basil soup, I can assure you that the person you asked did not single handedly buy all of the jeans or soup in the shop just to ruin your day. So please don’t shout at them like they did.
- Don’t tell a teenager on a salary less than your own who had the misfortune of meeting you at the till that they have to get the management policy changed. You know fine well they’re not in charge so please, if you have an issue with something that is managements responsibility, get in touch with a manager or send an email to someone slightly more high up than a 17 year old cashier. Don’t argue or be rude about something out of their control.
- I personally don’t mind when people are on the phone at the till – I understand that people lead busy lives. I do appreciate when people come off the phone to order but I know that’s not always an option. However, if you do reach the till before finishing your phone call and someone tries to take your order due to the massive queue behind you, do not hold up your finger indicating that you “need a minute”. It’s not only grossly disrespectful to the person at the till but you’re also being a dick to everyone else still waiting in line. Don’t be that guy.
- This one is quite particular but I felt I should include it as it happened fairly recently. If the person at the till says they have very little change in their till when you try to pay by cash, please pay by card if you can’t bare the thought of a few 10p’s. If you do in fact decide to pay by cash then don’t sit and watch the cashier count out £3.60’s worth 50 and 20 pences just to tell them when they’re done that they’re “fucking ridiculous” and “can’t be serious”.
- This is a cafe specific one. If you come across the poor soul who is clearing the tables at the dish trolley and there is a tray of dishes on the trolley and in their hand (aka no room to clear any more dishes at that current minute) then do not make an “ehem” noise and shove your tray at them resulting in the losing their balance and dropping all the dishes. Just wait patiently they’ve put away a couple of teapots or sit at one of the many clean tables instead.
- Also cafe specific: please do not come in on a Saturday lunchtime expecting to be instantly served and for your food to come in a nanosecond. Also don’t blame the employees for it being busy at the busiest time of the day. You know it’s not their fault. Either deal with the extra 10 minute wait on your toastie or come back at 3.
- Manners. You think this would be an obvious one especially since the only time I’ve experienced a lack of manners has been with middle aged women. For example, if the person at the till is saying “Hi, what can I get for you?”, don’t cut them off mid sentence and bark “cappuccino” at them. It’s mind-numbingly rude. Pleases and thank yous really do go a very long way especially for someone like myself who always tries to remain upbeat at work.
Basically, what I’m getting at is that you shouldn’t bite the hand that feeds you (literally). Don’t make someone who is serving you feel inferior because you can’t get your way. That’s not cool. How would you feel if someone spoke to your child / grandchild / partner like that? Maybe the first step in conquering a world full of hatred involves us all try to be a little kinder to eachother.
Sincerely yours,
Anybody that has ever worked in a public facing job position
Lucy's Blog 