Being a moany cow!

It sounds like Morrison's. In our local store my husband and I were so shocked at the rudeness of the cashier as she literally threw the plastic bags we had requested at us that we burst out laughing. This is also the only store where I have been told that the assistants are not allowed to help customers with packing. I have a dodgy arm which is pinned and wired, so if I am on my own I often request a 'packer'. Asda and Waitrose have no issue with this, although I think Asda are brilliant with customer service.

The last time I went into Asda there were no baskets at the entrance. There was an assistant standing nearby, doing nothing, so I asked her if there were any baskets. She shrugged her shoulders, said she didn't know and walked away. On the back of her t-shirt it said 'happy to help. !

Supermarkets I used to use when living in the US nearly always had either elderly men or disabled youngsters at the till offering to pack bags for you. Far preferred to pack them myself but seemed wrong to refuse so ended up with a lot of squashed shopping.

When I went to Japan and shopped there, just for a few things as presents for the children, They not only packed them but the checkout assistant bowed to me after the transaction was finished and thanked me

Not moany at all Jane. I think it's very rare these days to have unpleasant checkout staff, they are usually very pleasant to customers. I had to complain about one once (the first and last time I ever have,I don't make a habit of it) for reasons I won't go into but I never saw him again so I can only imagine he was either moved to a job where he didn't deal with customers or he was sacked. Do I feel guilty? No I don't because I know they wouldn't have sacked him for a one off instance, if he was sacked he must have done it before and had customers complain. So don't you feel guilty, you shouldn't have to put up with that sort of attitude of anyone.

Luckygirl are you ok? Sorry you’re feeling fragile at the mo. Sending a virtual hug and some ? to cheer you up

Not a moany cow - I am reasonably fast at the check out myself but I see lots of people older than myself who struggle and having a 92 year old mum with dementia I always wonder whether they are receiving enough help at the till - people are so quick to judge and the cashiers don’t help especially when they done seem to be able to equate the fact that the goods are yours once they’ve gone through the bleeper and that you have a perfect right to expect them to be looked after by not being flung on the conveyor belt - I always tell the cashier to slow down if things are piling up and make a point of saying that such and such an item has just cost me whatever the price and I don’t want it spoiling - the more of us who make this point to supermarket managements the better

That is so true Jacq10 but I have arthritic fingers and find that by putting everything in my trolley and then moving it to the long bench just doubles my work and discomfort. I explain before they begin stacking stuff up that I am elderly, arthritic and going at a suitable speed for my condition. In no way can I go any more quickly

Cosmos. I was a librarian for many many years. I am horrified to think that a librarian would be this rude to a customer. People working as Librarians have to help people find what they want, and if they are rude like this you should report them to their superior, who is probably in an office somewhere in the building, as they don't usually help out on the counter. A letter would be best, addressed to the Chief Librarian. That person was not a Librarian. she was merely a counter assistant without the qualifications of a proper Librarian. She needs training in customer care. Good for you to make her aware of her duties.

I'm with MOnica I would have slowed down & when the "finger drumming" started would have commented that I had asked her to slow down I have neuropathy in my fingers so am slow to pack & pay.

Maybe it's certain parts of the country as I don't encounter any problems here in Devon, lovely staff & very helpful. I'm always smiling & polite, I expect the same

Local Sainsbury & Waitrose staff are lovely. They always chat just enough to be friendly without nattering on. Plus they always admire my nails which cheers me up too as I spend quite a lot to get them looking good! DH never notices.

Sainsbury's cashiers have to scan a certain amount of items per minute, and if they don't reach that amount they have a disciplinary. The next step if they don't get any faster is dismissal. Harsh times.

I agree with all of the above, BUT if I get bad service or badly treated at a checkout - I tend to keep my mouth shut, because my husband just hates a "scene" as he calls it!! He has been known to walk away from me , if I get into a dispute with staff, his attitude is "why do you get involved - just leave it"--we are both so different, and I feel that he doesn't "back me up" as he just wants to get out of the shop, (not just supermarkets. He hates what he calls DRAMA!!

No, you weren't. Lidls are the speediest check out staff and there's nowhere for the stuff to go whilst you're frantically trying to pack. I expect they've been trained to do it fast to save queueing time, but if you're goods are in a pile and harder to pack sensibly it actually takes you longer so they should go at the speed of the shopper!

I would have done pretty much the same as Monica, she would have known how I felt b her service. Yesterday we stopped at a cafe to break up a long journey home. Ordered just two coffees. The girl made one and it sat there while she talked to another member of staff , then went and took an order, then went into the kitchen THEN started to make the 2nd coffee. Left both on the side for about 5 mins while she had another chat and then brought them over to us. I told her her to take them straight back and replace them with two fresh hot coffees, which is what I paid for. She looked a bit taken aback but rushed off and did it. No excuse for bad, rude service.

I do wonder why people who clearly hate everyone seem to gravitate towards customer based employment. Or perhaps the general public make even the sunniest person hateful! We have a lady on the counter at the local Royal Mail sorting office who is so aggressive and rude that she is now known around the town for her attitude. Several people have told her in no uncertain terms but she still behaves like a crocodile with a migraine.
No - you weren't wrong. A checkout person may be the only human contact for some people, and a smile and kindness cost absolutely nothing.

Many many years ago when my children small I worked in a town centre Sainsbury’s (now demolished for an out of town one)
Because it was in the town many of the customers were older and liked the personal service, help with packing and conversation with the checkout girl. Unfortunately the management had other ideas and there were timers on every cash till. I was forever being called into the office because my items per minute were not fast enough. I hated that because I did not like to rush people, particularly elderly or mums trying to juggle baby around along with packing but my timer didn’t stop until they paid and the till drawer was closed after the transaction.

I don't think you were. This seems to be more of a problem than it used to be and I wonder if they are timed per customer and that it is one of the problems with computers.
I was in Sainsburys recently and the person ahead of me was very frail and so was taking time. The cashier started pushing my stuff through before I could get in front of it and so there was already a backlog but she kept working at pace neck speed. She said the amount and I carried on packing for a few seconds as otherwise I would be even more rushed and she repeated it three times. It was obvious that I was struggling to keep up and I can't pretend that I look young any more. I was very cross. I didn't say anything but did do the survey on the till receipt and wrote a comment about it. I don't know if they get told about them or not.

No you weren't. Yes we have lovely Aldi staff but a lady in Lidl once told me that they have to get through a certain number of customers per hour.

Some of our Aldi have a sign can't remember what it actually says but it is asking you to basically put the goods in your trolley and pack in the packing area.

Perhaps she was on some sort of speed test that day or she had something terrible happen to her or she had to meet some speed criteria? Who knows I don’t understand why people need to come on here and re-live trivial things and hold onto those emotions. It’s gone now. It’s not doing you any good holding onto those negative emotions and then coming on here and looking for validation for said feelings. Now you will feel vindicated and are still re -living that experience but this time not as the victim but now as the victor. Was it really worth it . Same with the AIBU question. If at our age we don’t know, then when. Don’t understand how people need other people to answer that question. It’s giving up your own power in your own decision making to a group of people who will have different views.

I find it really annoying that Lidl staff wear headsets and carry on a conversation with someone we can't see. Many times i have responded, thinking they're talking to me. I can't understand why Lidl allow this.

You were right. My pet hate is when the checkout people are taking to each other whilst serving me. Oh and I do let them know. At my local Aldi the staff are fab. I have been known to say Ready Steady GO when it's my turn in the packing race. ?

Brilliant reaction*Fugazi*. In similar circumstances I was petrified as the angry motorist came right up and screamed obscenities at me.
I my passenger managed to get his number and phoned the police and he was visited by them. A course on anger management at least was called for.

Slightly different, but my car stopped at a T junction and I couldn't get it started. The man behind me started to hoot constantly which made me even more flustered. In the end I got out of my car and tapped on his wndow. When he opened it I said "How about you try to get my car started and I'll sit in your car and hoot at you!". He stopped hooting!!

Yes but surely one puts one's personal feelings aside at work Bradfordlass , maybe that's an old fashioned view now.