Wednesday, September 29, 2010

5 more annoying habits of grocery store customers (Part II)

6. not using the divider between orders...I mean how hard is it to use the little plastic divider to separate your order from the order behind you? I recommend using this little plastic divider unless you want to end up paying for the order behind you too. Or if (for some inexplicable reason) you don't want to use the plastic divider at least leave a BIG space between your order and the next order so the cashier can see that they are two separate orders. It's just a simple little thing that makes everything easier.

7. confusing the grocery store checkout for an ATM cash machine... ok so as most of you know most grocery stores allow customers using debit cards to get cash back as a convenience for the customer and this is not normally a problem at all...except when the customer mistakes the checkout for his or her own personal ATM. The way things work at my grocery store is that we start with a certain amount of money is our drawer so when a customer asks for any cash back that is over $100 it kind of wipes out our cash drawer and we run out of money to make change for customers for the rest of our shift. So if you need a significant amount of cash back just ask the cashier if they have enough in their cash drawer or go to your bank or use an ATM. Again I don't mind the customers who ask for $20, $40, or even $60 dollars cash back just don't confuse the cashier at the checkout for the teller at your bank.

8. It's in the bag. . . special requests and other bagging related issues. I was asking some of the other cashiers what customers did that annoyed them and I was surprised that a lot of them said it annoyed then when customers ask for paper bags in plastic bags. That doesn't really bothered me but I have to say that there is something similar that annoys me. A customer came through my checkout line recently and I was scanning her groceries and it was all one order. I was getting ready to start bagging the groceries (because she obviously wasn't going to help) when she said, "Wait, wait, wait. These things are going to different places and they need to be bagged separately." Then she took all of the groceries and split them up into three separate piles. She pointed to the first pile of groceries and said, "All of these things need to be bagged together." "Then these things go together." She said pointing to the second pile of groceries. "And everything else left can go into a bag together." she said indicating the third pile. Now since I am not a psychic and I didn't bring my Ouija board to work with me that day, wouldn't it just have been faster and easier for her to bag the groceries herself since she knew where each of the things were going and how she wanted them to be bagged. I think the idea of paper and plastic is a similar concept...it's a sort of "special request" that can be a real pain in ass! Oh and this also reminds me of another customer. There is a customer, I'll call him Henry, who comes into the store a few times a week and someone always bags his groceries from him. Then after his order is finished and the cashier has rung him out he stands at the end of the register and rebags everything the cashier has just bagged. Henry rearranges everything. My question is this...why not just bag it yourself the first time? I'm sure I could practically write a whole blog just dealing with bagging related issues and I know I have already mentioned bagging your own groceries before so I think you guys get the idea.
I think the main point is that if it's really important for you to have your groceries bagged in a specific way just save everyone a huge headache by taking care of it yourself. . . that way you know it's done the way you want it done.

9. The "But mommy always lets me" customer... Ok, annoying habit number 9 is when the customer asks for something and the cashier says, "Oh, I'm sorry our store doesn't do that." or "Our store doesn't have that service." (whatever it is that the customer is asking for). And then the customer will say, "Oh, well the other grocery store I go to always does this for me" It makes the customer sound like the whiny little kid in the back seat of the car whining to her dad, "But mommy always let me." And here's what I have to say--That's why capitalism is such a beautiful thing. If you have gone to another store and you like their policies or the services they offer better go shop there instead! I'm sorry, that may sound a bit callous (or bitchy even) ok, so the other option (that makes me sound like less of a bitch)--the customer is always welcome to speak to the customer service manager at our store because a large part of his job is to deal with these types of issues and customer concerns (that's why he's called the customer service manager)...but I have to admit, realistically, whining to me (a lowly cashier) about our store's policies won't get you very far. I will always try to be sympathetic to legitimate complaints or sometimes if I have had a few customers come up to me with the same complaint I will try to mention it to the manager. But generally, if a customer complains to me about something I apologize and then I forget about that customer by the time I start scanning the next order. (I know that may sound terrible but I'm just trying to be honest). I had a customer (I'll call him Steve) come in at 11:00 at night the other day and he complained that every time he came in at night, the deli case (which is normally stocked with presliced deli meats and cheese) was out of cheese. Now this may be a legitimate complaint, but the last deli person leaves at 10:00 p.m. and I have never worked in the deli (I wouldn't want to) and have no control over how much cheese they slice before they go: so how exactly would he have liked me to address this particular complaint? There was nothing I could do to help him. In this particular case it probably would be most helpful to "Steve" to talk to the deli manager sometime when he happens to be shopping during the day.

I guess the moral of the story is that if you have a legitimate customer service complaint (in any store) just make sure you are directing it to the right person...if you are just looking to vent, complain to the cashier but I don't think they'll do too much about it.

10. Final one on the list...As I have mentioned before our store is open to midnight. Annoying habit 10 is parents who bring in toddler kids into the store at 11:30. Now, I don't want to sound judgmental and I know some of these parents don't have any other option...but god, it's almost midnight--so shouldn't your little 2 or 3 or 4 year old be at home, in bed? It especially drives me crazy when there are a man and a women (seemingly the parents of this little kid) who are both there shopping. Couldn't one of them have stayed at home and put the kid to bed while the other went grocery shopping? Again not trying to be judgmental or harsh here, just curious. It makes me tired just watching these little kids trying to keep his or her eyes open while their parents are shopping. I mean, god, it's practically past my bedtime so I can't image being a little 3 year old dragged to the grocery store...Oh, and related to this is parent(s) who come through with toddlers and then ask me to go get them a pack of cigs from behind the customer service desk. I mean it's one thing to mess up your own lungs but these little kids are in the house too and they don't have much of choice about the second hand smoke. Do these things count as an annoying customer habit? I'm not sure (but close enough).

Ok, guys. . . you've read the list. Do you agree with me? Do you disagree with me? Are you guilty of any of these "crimes"? I have to admit I am (mostly the talking on the cell phone one). Until next time, take care and happy shopping!

1 comment:

  1. I agree. I had a summer job as a cashier at a deli/bakery/gourmet/coffee shop in a high class neighborhood and shopping district. Customers complained to me over things that aren't up to me. They also would sometimes give me crumpled up bills, and I am a personal stickler on facing bills. So far I have not worked in a grocery store, but the complaints are very similar.

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