Why are 90% of cashiers rude to customers?

Question

You can at least say THANK YOU. Why should the customer say thank you and get this response back >>> YEP......

Must be how they are raised.

and for the people blaiming MIN wage...you are DEAD WRONG. I made min wage when I was young and was always POLITE and said THANK YOU WITH A SMILE or my butt would have been fired. I believe it is something to do with how kids are raised today. MIN WAGE excuse is a cop out.

Answer 1

because 85% of customers are assholes.

Answer 2

Do you live in Michigan, perhaps? I moved to MI from Virginia several years ago, and I was very taken aback by the "yep" I received when thanking them. After living there a while, I realized that that's just the way many people in Michigan are.

As for cashiers living/working anywhere else--I think many of them are rude because they're in dead-end jobs. They don't make much money, they're on their feet all day, they're treated meanly by some customers, they generally have crummy schedules (evenings and weekends) etc. It could also be that they're having some personal problems that we don't know about. Maybe they're in the middle of a nasty divorce, or have a sick child at home and couldn't take the night off.

Answer 3

Because it was the other 10% that had already come through before you that totally spoiled it for the rest of the nice folks to follow. Public service is normally a thankless job and the few thank you's that are tossed out are normally given in a hurry and rarely are felt as serious or sincere. My ex boss would strike up a conversation with her cashier as she rang the items up, how is your day going, lovely weather outside you get the idea...seemed more she talked and smiled back in return the better the cashier acted and seemed to feel after she left...it was really interesting to watch.

Answer 4

It might depend on the particular part of the country you're living in. I experienced this when I visited Boston and I found it to be extremely rude, but it's just how the locals are.

Yep might be a perfectly fine response and not rude. On the other hand, it might be some mannerism that you have that you aren't aware of. I.E., maybe the cashier finds you rude. Because I don't find this 90% thing to be true. Like, are you talking on the phone or something? Because that's extremely rude.

Answer 5

shopping is a frustrating experience in these times. i would tell you the story of someone kicking their cat but that would be too long. imagine if you can that you are a young person in what looks to be a dead end job, maybe married too young and having far too much on your shoulders for someone your age. then imagine coming into a boring job where you have to stand in one spot for 8 hrs. then imagine having to listen to complaints about prices, quality, quantity and mismarked prices. having a line of people getting more antsy by the minute because someone is trying to find the exact change at the bottom of a purse the size of a bushel basket because she doesn't want to break a dollar. if the experience is frustrating for you and you have only been there for 20 mins, how do you think it feels to the cashier? when every i see a cashier that doesn't have a smile on their face, i give them mine. i always ask if they just got there or are they about to leave. no matter what they say, i express my sympathy that they should have to be on their feet so long and listen to all the complaints about things they have not control over and how they are under paid and under appreciated. before i'm ready to pay they are smiling at me and some have actually shoved items through without ringing them up. i have had cashiers see me at the end of a long line and actually open a register and ask me if they can "get me over here". i realize that most people do not like their jobs. most people quit looking for work as soon as they find a job. but i think we all have the responsibility to each other to make every interaction as pleasant as possible, even if the cashier doesn't change their attitude i can still leave feeling i have had a pleasant experience.

Answer 6

because they are not having the correct training like they used to. I used to work in a shop when I was 17 and if I did not smile and be courteous to the customers I would be dismissed.

It had nothing to do with the minimum wage either I was on a very low wage then, some cashiers are on very good wages now, its all to do with manners.

Answer 7

I used to be a cashier myself when I was in school and most of the time the customers were RUDE to me. I can tell because I was the kid being picked on by the school bully. Anyway, by their tone, they would mock me on why on earth did I choose that profession. So, it had nothing to do with wage, but how they were treated in life. My parents didn't believe that I can succeed in a community college so I went there myself. Somehow I got cheated by life. I had NO CHOICE.

Answer 8

Think about this - if your only interaction with anyone for the entire day was "That will be 26.38. Here's your change", and most of the time you got grumbled at, ignored or treated poorly, I suspect you'd eventually internalize and shut down your personality - taking a mental vacation to Hawaii while your body stands there making change.

Whenever I go through a checkout line, I always make an effort to call the cashier by name "Hi there, Angela!" and treat the person nicely. They've got it rough. I'm just another batch of groceries/restaurant bill to them - but if I can make their day a little happier, then it makes me happier.

Answer 9

90% of the cashiers are rude because 90% of the customers are rude. So the 10% nice customers like you take them off guard when they are expecting a rude remark. I always try to make them smile or joke with them to let them know I'm nice. That usually breaks the ice and you get a warmer responce as you leave.

Answer 10

I know your frustration. When I worked as a cashier back in highschool if I wasnt poliete to the customers I would have been lectured or worse(fired). I geuss employer's just dont care what thier employees do anymore. Which is sad since I was in high school only 3 years ago....

Answer 11

They don't get the tips the waiters and waitresses get. You don't need to go back to the place either. It could be how they are raised, but they generally work up from cashier to waitress. The pay is not all that great with out tips.