But I don't like you...

Ahhh...the ying/yang quality of my blog continues. Yesterday was all about some of my favorite customers and today will be the flip side of the coin...the types of customers who drive me crazy

1. The indecisive ones-I guess the reason that the indecisive customers at the grocery store drive me crazy is grocery shopping is not rocket science or brain surgery, right? Yet there are people who come into the store and act like they have never been shopping in a grocery store before in their whole lives and have no idea what to expect or they agonize over every decision like it will really impact there day in some significant way. Like when a customer comes through the checkout and they have a bulky or heavier item I often ask would you like this in a bag. So, here is a customer (I'll call her Clare) with a five pound bag of potatoes. I ask her, "Would you like your potatoes in a bag?" Now for most people this would be a simple question with either a "yes" or a "no" response. But Clare looks at me as if she has never considered this before. "Oh, Ummm..." Then she stares down at the bag of potatoes. "Well...ummmm." Looks down at the bag of potatoes again. "I guess they don't need to be in a bag, do they?" As if she is mentally running through all the scenarios in her head where it might be better if the potatoes were in a bag. Then, finally, she shakes her head. "No," Clare says decisively, "No, they don't need to be in a bag." Well, what a relief--we can all breath a sigh of relief knowing that the potatoes will make it safely home.  There are starving children, political strife and natural disasters all over the world but at least Clare made a decision about her bag of potatoes.  
2. Similar to the indecisive customer are the customers who answer yes or no questions with 'maybe' or 'it doesn't matter'. There was a customer and I asked her if she would like paper or plastic. Her answer--"Sure." Now, I had asked her a question with two possible answers--either 1) paper or 2) plastic. 'Sure' was not one of choices. So I stood there for a minute and decided would just use plastic bags because I was too tired to try and decifer her code.  Or when a customer uses a bank debit card and I will ask, "Is that going to be debit or credit?" And it annoys me when their response is, "Oh, it doesn't matter." If it didn't make a difference I wouldn't be asking which one they wanted to use. Here's a quick lesson for you about why it makes a difference. A debit card is a card that is generally issued by your bank and has a credit card logo on it so that any place that accepts the credit card will also accept your bank debit card. And it is true that the funds are withdrawn directly from your account so whether you are using the bank card as a debit or a credit card the money comes from the same account. However, there are a few small differences. For example, transactions that are processed as credit cards sometimes take a day or two extra to process while debit transactions are generally taken out of your account more quickly. Also, (at least at most grocery stores I know of) you can get cash back when you use the card as a debit but can only charge for the exact amount when the transaction is processed as a credit card transaction. Finally, sometimes bank have different fees depending on whether you use the bank card as a debit or credit. That is why it annoys me when I ask a customer if it is a debit or credit and they say that it doesn't matter.
3. College students--these are some of the most fun customers in the store but they can also be some of the most obnoxious, too. Some of the college students who are annoying come in late at night in a group (generally between 5-7 of them). They are overly loud and obnoxious and generally they are each only buying 3 or 4 things so you have to ring up each person seperately while the rest of the group stands there and watches you check out the rest of his friends.

4. Wasteful customers. I had a customer who came through my line and bought a toothbrush. Just out of habit and sort of as a courtesy I asked her if she would like a bag. She said yes. Now, maybe she had her reasons for wanting a bag but that just drives me CRAZY! There is no need to use a regular size plasic bag for one tiny little tooth brush. Maybe it would be different if we had different sized plasitc bags but we don't. I also have to say that in my opinion almost nothing (and there are exceptions here) with a handle needs to be in a bag, either! The bag is to help you carry something--but if it already has a handle you don't need the bag!  Don't be wasteful!