why do people think its ok to be rude to shop staff?

Question

The more rude the customer the nicer I am. I really winds them up when you won't give them cause to complain about the service.

If I get paid for it then its ok? I don't think SOME people realise just how threatening customers can be.

(some) customers.

I think limendoz is one of the afore mentioned people who spout abuse when they wont have to face the consequences. I have worked my way up the ranks for nearly 10 years why should I leave my job for a "better one" because of a minority of ignorant people? They dont affect me that much or I would have been gone years ago.

Answer 1

I take it limendoz that you have never done a days work in your life? What gives you the right to call anyone who is willing to work for a living idiots? I get the impression you are a spoilt brat living off daddy's money. You are the idiot for having no respect for anyone.

I work in a supermarket, I am not an idiot, and some people's behaviour is unbelievable.There have been a few incidents where customers have been thrown out over the way they speak to staff. One was so abusive to a young girl she fled in tears. Do you think that's acceptable? I agree with Sherrie. Everyone should work with the public for a while, it will certainly open their eyes.

Answer 2

Why do most shop staff nowadays think that being rude to customers and ignoring customers is their right? Poor customer service seems to be the norm these days. As someone who worked both in retail and restaurant environments years ago, I can tell you it was not tolerated then the way it is now. Sassing back to a customer would get you fired.

Here's something that drives me crazy. I go in a shop looking around. Find something I like but don't see it in my size. The clerk walks by and says "Can I help you find something?" I tell her I can't find my size and she says "Well everything we have is out" and then walks away. She hasn't helped me find anything. She's worthless and she's rudely walked away without helping find an alternative. This is what makes people think shop clerks have dust between their ears!

Answer 3

Shop staff and restaurant staff are supposed to meet a customers needs with efficiency, knowledge and cheerfulness.
If someone is rude to you, it's probably because you suck at your job or don't care about doing it well. It might be because you spent time talking on the phone to your friends while people were waiting in line.
The "rudeness" is intended to make a point, that you are there to serve: you are being paid by your employer and not on your own free time and you need to stop acting like someone is torturing you and forcing you do hard labor. Any idiot can do your job, but most idiots are motivated to get better ones; so they don't have to.

Answer 4

I agree with some of the answers. You do get some shop staff who are very grumpy and dosy and need a good lesson or two in customer service. But these people are in the minority.

I always reckon that if you want good customer service, be a good customer yourself. After all, you are dealing with another human being, not just someone who is there to serve you. If you go into a shop with the intention of getting what you are looking for, AND ALSO being good-natured and even friendly to the server, or bus/taxi driver etc, you will get very good service.

Even a mere smile helps; it works for me every time.

Answer 5

I thought this was a fallacy until I went to work for Tesco! I couldn't believe it - it was as though we were serfs! People would order me around and while I tried to explain that I couldn't help them - although I wore the uniform, it wasn't my department - they would just snap "It's your duty to help me!" I remember once being unable to leave the store for 2 hours after my shift ended, because I couldn't get through the door without someone asking me to help them. Even though I wasn't in customer relations or on the shop floor. And customers thought it perfectly acceptable to snarl at me, shove trolleys at me, and just be rude. And yes, as a shopper, I've come across rude assistants, but nothing like the way the shop assistants are treated. Believe me, you can understand why they are rude on occassion!
Customers have the managers to complain to, but who do the shop assistants complain to about the customers?
Every single person in the world should have a stint in a supermarket. It will treat you to respect others.

Answer 6

Rude people aren't just rude - they are hurt or angry or self-conscious about something else. Shop staff, like wait staff, often get the butt of these people's problems. It's easy to be rude to people you don't know because you can leave and have gotten it off your chest with no consequences - or so they think, unfortunately.

Try not to take rude people personally. You can choose to be rude back and maybe that will open their eyes to their rudeness - or maybe it will make them worse and rude-er to more people. Or you can let it slide and hope they can get some help somewhere else.

Answer 7

People seem to think that store staff is there to SERVE them, rather than HELP them. Yes, your job is customer service, but there is a distinct difference between asking a question nicely and demanding someone lick your dirty feet.

Those who cannot understand this difference are either complete snobs or they are ignorant, self-haters (often both). I like your method, just be as nice as pie and make them feel that much worse about themselves.

Answer 8

Maybe it's because shop staff seem to think it's OK to be rude to customers.

Maybe it's because people are rude full stop nowadays.

Me, I'm never rude to shop staff directly (I used to be one) but everynow and again I get really impatient with lazy shop staff and speak to their manager about it - I wasn't lazy or rude as a shop assistant and I don't expect anyone else to be either.

Answer 9

In my experience the rudest people are the most powerless in the real world. They are rude in the safe knowledge that you cannot be rude back. Next time some jerk is getting off on seeing you squirm remind yourself that they are emotional arsonists looking to start a fire as a consolation for their self esteem issues!

Answer 10

I think it is people unsure of their own worth who want someone they can look down on. Some of them also like to have others at their beck and call like servants sending us all over the shop at up to the store a dozen times instead of giving us a list.