Can't get the staff...

[redsturgeon]

I am usually quite patient in shops with staff since I don't see the need to raise my blood pressure unnecessarily but yesterday I had to speak up...

I filled my car at the local supermarket and went in to pay. There are two tills, at one a woman was waiting while two members of staff were trying to to something with the till. At the other till a the cashier was watching events while a man stood in front of her, he was ahead of me in the queue.

There was much talk going on between the two staff at the one till, nobody else was saying anything. I assumed all tills had a problem and we were waiting for them to be sorted. I waited....and waited. The queue built up behind me. This being England we all waited in silence (apart perhaps for the occasional heavy sigh)

Finally one of the staff at the till said to the unoccupied cashier, can you phone the store and get someone over.

Nothing was said to the now ten or so customers waiting.

It was now or never, my chance to break through the veil of silence and stop the "hanging on in quiet desperation".

"Excuse me but could you tell us what is happening please?" I asked.

"We are trying to sort out a refund for this customer" He replied

"How long will it take? I asked, reasonably enough I thought.

"I don't know" was the curt reply.

"OK', said I, "I will go away and come back later then when you are ready for me to pay".

And now for the grand denouement...

"Oh that's not necessary, she can take your payment now," He said gesturing to the cashier next to him who had been idly watching the whole scene.

The chap in front of me in the queue then moved away...it seems he was with the woman who was waiting for a refund.

The cashier then proceeded to take my payment as if nothing had happened.

"Pump number please", in that bored Estuary twang that seems to be de rigueur in these situations

I paid but could not help wondering how long I would have waited if I had said nothing.

As I walked back along the now dozen person queue nothing more was said.

Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

John

[AF62]

Don't they offer 'Pay at Pump'? That way you could avoid the human contact.

[Itsallaguess]

Don't they offer 'Pay at Pump'?

It sounds like the staff at this particular petrol station might have modified that slightly -

'Pray at Pump'.....

I don't think I'll read a more 'British' story all week....

Cheers,

Itsallaguess

[redsturgeon]

Don't they offer 'Pay at Pump'? That way you could avoid the human contact.

No pay at pump at this one. When I do have the option at other establishments I take it every time.

John

[stevensfo]

That's one reason, at a self-service garage, why I always do my best to get the price not only to the nearest pound, but to what I know I have in my wallet. To be honest, something like your experience has only happened once and wasn't nearly as bad, but I was in a hurry. I just put the money in front of the till, said the number of the pump, amount spent and left. There are security cameras everywhere so you can't be accused of doing a runner.

Steve

[PinkDalek]

... my chance to break through the veil of silence and stop the "hanging on in quiet desperation". ...

How else would you be ticking away the moments that make up a dull day?

PinkD

[redsturgeon]

... my chance to break through the veil of silence and stop the "hanging on in quiet desperation". ...

How else would you be ticking away the moments that make up a dull day?

PinkD

Ha ha I can always count on you to spot the easter egg.

John

[AleisterCrowley]

He may have been thinking Thoreau (having quoted Shelley)

[PinkDalek]

... my chance to break through the veil of silence and stop the "hanging on in quiet desperation". ...

How else would you be ticking away the moments that make up a dull day?

PinkD

Ha ha I can always count on you to spot the easter egg.

John

You may have made it less easy without the "s but most will have spotted the reference. A well as your Elvis quote (without the "s).

[redsturgeon]

How else would you be ticking away the moments that make up a dull day?

PinkD

Ha ha I can always count on you to spot the easter egg.

John

You may have made it less easy without the "s but most will have spotted the reference. A well as your Elvis quote (without the "s).

Damn, I didn't even spot that one.

John

[midnightcatprowl]

While understanding the frustration of the situation the OP was in, I feel I have to say that in general I find retail staff whether in supermarkets, corner shops, or high street establishments, remarkably helpful, patient, and even positively enthusiastic about not just assisting customers but positively going the extra mile to help them. It always surprises me a bit given how badly they tend to be paid and the often ruthless way they are treated by their employers.

[redsturgeon]

While understanding the frustration of the situation the OP was in, I feel I have to say that in general I find retail staff whether in supermarkets, corner shops, or high street establishments, remarkably helpful, patient, and even positively enthusiastic about not just assisting customers but positively going the extra mile to help them. It always surprises me a bit given how badly they tend to be paid and the often ruthless way they are treated by their employers.

Indeed...and that is why I am generally very patient.

John

[nmdhqbc]

While understanding the frustration of the situation the OP was in, I feel I have to say that in general I find retail staff whether in supermarkets, corner shops, or high street establishments, remarkably helpful, patient, and even positively enthusiastic about not just assisting customers but positively going the extra mile to help them. It always surprises me a bit given how badly they tend to be paid and the often ruthless way they are treated by their employers.

Can't you just let people have a harmless moan without trying to be some sort of hero of the proletariat. The OP said absolutely nothing about generally being unsatisfied with such workers. Just these ones on that day. Well done on being the PC brigade and attempting to ruin the moment. I've been on minimum wage for about 11 years now and it's plenty to live off. These folks don't need saving on forums or in real life.

[bungeejumper]

Can't you just let people have a harmless moan without trying to be some sort of hero of the proletariat. The OP said absolutely nothing about generally being unsatisfied with such workers. Just these ones on that day. Well done on being the PC brigade and attempting to ruin the moment. I've been on minimum wage for about 11 years now and it's plenty to live off. These folks don't need saving on forums or in real life.

I'd agree with everybody so far that most (British) till staff do indeed do their best to be friendly and helpful. (Although try a typical French supermarket if you really want to see how low pay and repetitive work impacts on staff behaviour. Their 'customer throughput' per hour is maybe half of what you'd get in my local Sainsburys, and usually pretty surly.)

But in any country, I suspect, low-paid staff will tend to come up against a brick wall whenever Computer Says No, or when it throws up a technological challenge such as organising a customer refund. Everything stops while they all wait for the supervisor, who's probably the only person with the authority to log in and reverse a payment.

Of course, they could perfectly well carry on normally while the safe-cracker is performing his delicate task, but it's quite likely that they'll find it safer to wait and watch until he's finished fiddling with the system. This is, after all, an age when the man from BT Openreach will tell you on no account to use the phone while he's checking the line. And when your computer urges you on no account to switch to another window while it's debiting your credit card. Can you really blame the till staff, who've probably been told damn all about how the computer system works?

BJ

[stevensfo]

I'd agree with everybody so far that most (British) till staff do indeed do their best to be friendly and helpful. (Although try a typical French supermarket if you really want to see how low pay and repetitive work impacts on staff behaviour. Their 'customer throughput' per hour is maybe half of what you'd get in my local Sainsburys, and usually pretty surly.)

I really regret not keeping a detailed diary during the 10 years I worked in Grenoble, since I think it would have become a bestseller...well, at least 3 copies.

The guy in charge of the '24 hour' photo developing kiosk who, after about four days, tried to convince me that they were working hours, so '24 hours' really meant three days, oh and probably 'minimum' 3 days. Staff in Castorama (like Homebase) who were so unbelievably miserable and unhelpful, but where we'd seen a really nice fireplace. I tried going at different times to catch someone else in that dept, but whenever I tried, it was always the same miserable git whose job description seemed to be 'Do not sell anything!' The staff at the Prefecture, Mairie and Hotel de Police whose aim in life was to make life hell for everyone else, the Post Office outside the station that opened at 9.15, closed for 2 hours at lunchtime, then closed at 5pm, making it impossible for any working person to use it, supermarkets with staff who obviously hated their customers, ticket inspectors clearly descended from WWII german SS stormtroopers, arrogant teaching staff who expected parents to obey all orders without question - and don't dare to try teaching your kids 'anything' at home! Drivers who believed they were the only person on the road, never indicated, thought it was perfectly acceptable to park just in front of traffic lights to read a newspaper, park on a pavement along a busy street, assume pedestrian crossings were for decoration...etc

Oh, and that was just Mondays!

Steve

[midnightcatprowl]

I really regret not keeping a detailed diary during the 10 years I worked in Grenoble

When I was running a shop of my own I had a regular customer whose son married a Romanian girl. The customer had been to Romania a few times to stay with her daughter-in-law's family, her son and daughter in law (who were resident in another European country) came from time to time to stay with her in England.

This customer gave graphic descriptions of the problem of trying to shop in Romania. She explained that shop staff seemed to be absolutely determined not to let you buy their stock. If you asked for something they would deny that they had any, and if you pointed to the item in question clearly visible behind the staff behind the counter, they would still maintain they didn't have any. Only by being very determined and contradicting everything said by the staff could you hope to be finally reluctantly allowed to pay for and remove your chosen item from the shop.

When visiting the UK her daughter-in-law was fascinated and amazed by the enthusiasm of shop staff to not only let you buy the stock you could see but to actively search for items you wanted but couldn't see.

[GoSeigen]

I really regret not keeping a detailed diary during the 10 years I worked in Grenoble

This customer gave graphic descriptions of the problem of trying to shop in Romania.

I recall when living in Ukraine in the closing months of the USSR (remember that?) the shopping system, e.g. in a department store, approximated the following:

1. Find item you want in one of the glass cabinets arranged around the shop.
2. Wait in line to tell the assistant behind the cabinet what item you want, obtain a chit for said item.
3. Wait in line at a cashier to pay for the item.
4. Return to original counter with endorsed chit, wait in line to receive item.
5. Repeat for other items around the store.

I soon understood why shopping came far below drinking vodka in the list of Soviet pastimes.

GS

[jfgw]

I recall when living in Ukraine in the closing months of the USSR (remember that?) the shopping system, e.g. in a department store, approximated the following:

1. Find item you want in one of the glass cabinets arranged around the shop.
2. Wait in line to tell the assistant behind the cabinet what item you want, obtain a chit for said item.
3. Wait in line at a cashier to pay for the item.
4. Return to original counter with endorsed chit, wait in line to receive item.
5. Repeat for other items around the store.

As recently as 1999, Foyles, the bookshop in Charing Cross Road, London, used to have a similar system except that it was self-service rather than glass cabinet. You would select your books, go to a counter to get a chit, take the chit to a window in a little cubicle to pay, then return to the counter to pick up your books.

Julian F. G. W.

[didds]

As recently as 1999, Foyles, the bookshop in Charing Cross Road, London, used to have a similar system except that it was self-service rather than glass cabinet. You would select your books, go to a counter to get a chit, take the chit to a window in a little cubicle to pay, then return to the counter to pick up your books.

I can confirm that - i bought books from Foyles back in the 80s and that was system in place.

When at uni we woud get the book list at the start of each year. I found in the first year that a good deal of the books on my list were not much short of useless, or in one case was a way of a professor ensuring sales of his own book. So in my second year I waited several weeks until it was clear which books were of benefit and worth buying [ checking in uni library etc ] - buy which time the university bookshop had sold out I found!

Fortunately my dad worked in London, so was able to get them from Foyles - even if they were posted it was still a saving over a pile of books that were of no use. So that was my actual plan in my 3rd year!

[bungeejumper]

As recently as 1999, Foyles, the bookshop in Charing Cross Road, London, used to have a similar system except that it was self-service rather than glass cabinet. You would select your books, go to a counter to get a chit, take the chit to a window in a little cubicle to pay, then return to the counter to pick up your books.

I can confirm that - i bought books from Foyles back in the 80s and that was system in place.

Actually it was worse than that. There was a separate counter and ticket window for each department at Foyles, and heaven help you if you tried to slip a science book through the music section window just because the queue was shorter. I was still buying books there right up to the moment when they changed the format in 2000. Even the Foyles website agrees that:

Having once had said of it 'if Kafka had been a bookseller, Foyles would have been the result', the business now flourishes as a successful 21st century bookshop. Gone are the dusty piles, the confusing layout and the archaic queuing system and in their place is a truly modern retailer, but one which has not forgotten the values and virtues of traditional bookselling

.

Happy days.