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Post by OntarioScrapper on Feb 24, 2023 18:11:42 GMT
I work in grocery store in Ontario, Canada. It's a bare bones store so you really are going to find cheaper priced items. What I am curious about is, anyone no matter where you live have you seen more RUDE customers on you local grocery store? Where I work, I have since starting there last April moved onto Supervisor in July and then Office in October. I also have worked the self checkout. At my store Self Checkout is for hand baskets only and under 15 items. Main reason is that YES, too much theft so it's way easier for the one cashier to keep an eye on things with these rules. We have had people throw literal hissy fits over not being allowed in with their carts. I've had one woman start running her cart at me so yes, I stepped out of the way. I'm not getting hurt by some idiot. I've been called a racist. Seriously, I don't let ANYONE in with a cart. Recently we have had customers say we are discriminating against them because they have a cart... Um, there's 9 cashiers over THERE. No one is stopping you from shopping. Sometimes people call in to work and I'm done cashiers. It can get bad with customers. Yelling at us. Leaving carts full of food and walking out. This past Tuesday was the worse I have EVER seen. I was done 3 cashiers. Could not get anyone to cover. I was in the Office. My supervisor for the evening had to keep hopping on cash. This meant I had to take calls and deal with customers. I do have to say the floor staff were great. Several of the guys offered to put stuff away from abandoned carts for us. They saw how much we were struggling. Stopped their stocking shelves to help out when things got bad. At 7:30 I was down to just 2 cashiers so of course my supervisor had to get on a til. Monday had been a holiday with many places closed like our store was. You'd think they all ran out of food in just one day.  That night I was done by 11pm. I aim for 10pm. Store close at 9 but I have my tils all counted, the deposit done and the end of the night paper work. Usually I have 1 til to count at 9. I had FIVE. I seriously felt like putting up a sign that night "Please act like an adult."  And lately we have been getting customers who just start tell us that we are stupid, we don't know what we are doing, how could you still be working here. WTF! I had one older man who decided to tell my supervisor this. I had come out to get a til. So stopped to asked what the issue was. He wanted to tell us the price of an item at another store and for us to price match it. WHAT? So I explained it had to be in a FLYER and you need to show US the FLYER. Apparently I was now the stupid one and didn't know how price matching worked.  I sent the supervisor off to do something because frankly he didn't need to be wasting ALL of our time. I then said to him "Sir, I ask you to be more KIND to us." He looked at me in shocked. "What did you say?" I repeated myself. This is how we lose employees. They don't want to put up with this BS. This is how I was able to become a supervisor so fast. Many who have worked there for years, don't want to do. Some have and decided they didn't want to anymore. I have been told that during the height of COVID, it was pretty bad with customers. I'm now in the Office ( I can get scheduled for any position but get at least 2 Office shifts a week) because I don't put up with anyone's BS. It's why the manager likes me. I say it's because I survived a 22 year old and an 18 year old. We do have some great customers. One time one of my cashiers was being screamed at a customers over an honest mistake. One of our regulars came over and yelled at the customer to leave her alone and that she should be ashamed of her behaviour.  |
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Post by Merge on Feb 24, 2023 18:40:53 GMT
I’m so sorry you’re dealing with that. I don’t know why people are so rude since Covid, but it seems to be everywhere.
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Post by Lexica on Feb 24, 2023 18:43:29 GMT
I think people, in general, in all locations and in all walks of life, have become less considerate and caring of their fellow humans. From what I noticed, it started with a certain USA political office. I don’t want to turn this political, but that is when I personally noticed things changing. I think people thought, ‘If he can say this and get away with that, so can I” and things have gone downhill from there. It is really sad to me. I would have thought the isolation of the pandemic would make people happier to be out among others, but it doesn’t seem that way.
And I have always considered Canadians to be very polite. That is their reputation. And if the rot has now reached Canadian citizens, heaven help us. Something big needs to happen to turn things around. It is just so sad to me.
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Post by disneypal on Feb 24, 2023 18:54:27 GMT
I think people, in general, in all locations and in all walks of life, have become less considerate and caring of their fellow humans. So sad but true. I don't get why people think they can treat others so poorly and that they don't have to follow the rules like everyone else. |
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Post by Lurkingpea on Feb 24, 2023 19:01:49 GMT
I am sorry. I hate rude people. It definitely seems to be on the rise.
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Post by Ramona on Feb 24, 2023 19:11:09 GMT
I last worked in a grocery store in 2019. The store had installed self-check outs a few years earlier. People were livid, horrible, disrespectful and hateful. They wanted to be treated as if they were at a high class retail store. Just awful. And then the thieves learned how to cheat the self checks and wouldn't go to the registers with cashiers. There is no winning when you have to work in this type of environment. Try not to take it personally and go on with the correct way to do your job.
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Post by epeanymous on Feb 24, 2023 19:22:25 GMT
I’m so sorry you’re dealing with that. I don’t know why people are so rude since Covid, but it seems to be everywhere. I have been talking about this a lot. Most people are great, really, but the amount of rudeness and antisocial behavior I deal with daily now is measurably larger. People are not OK out there. |
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Post by Zee on Feb 24, 2023 19:46:36 GMT
It's a daily occurrence in health care so I feel your pain. Also, I have to soothe all the feathers. You wouldn't know it from here but my super power is kissing ass, which is how I de-escalate most situations.
Last night an old man started bitching at me about how inept we all were, no one knows what they're doing, we haven't even been watching his heart, we're all doing basically nothing, this place is a joke, etc etc.
So I showed him that the heart monitor pack that he wears goes blank to save batteries but here's how to see it on the pack, pointed out in the hall where I'm sitting watching it, educated him on central monitoring where they're always watching it, showed him what his heart is doing in real time, assured him I do in fact know exactly what I'm doing and so do the other nurses and did he really think I would do him that way (he smiled a little at that) and then let him vent about the doctor. Which I agreed, I can't help with.
Next time I saw him he actually smiled at me. And I told him I'M WATCHING YOU in a loud whisper as we passed in the hall and made a sign for a heart with my fingers. That turned into a grin.
There were umpteen situations like this all week, more than usual. I'm a little drained of my milk of human kindness.
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RedSquirrelUK
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Post by RedSquirrelUK on Feb 24, 2023 19:48:21 GMT
I think that most people are operating under much higher stress levels than they did before Covid. This could be caused by lingering ill health, or financial troubles, or frustration at the general drop in the staffing levels of the services they use, or whatever - but it seems pretty universal. I worked in a supermarket before Covid and 97% of the customers were anywhere between neutral and delightful. That final 3% were the devil's own spawn, and they were the ones that stopped me sleeping at night. Now I work in a doctors' surgery and the proportion of nasty to nice is definitely higher. I have more confidence these days though, and have no problem pointing out to the shouters that if it has taken them too long to get through on the phones, that is specifically because of attitudes like theirs. Not one of us is paid to get shouted at, and if we decide we can get more respect working elsewhere, that means even fewer people to answer the phones and longer waiting times. It's the patient's choice. Take it out on us and drive the staff away, or be kind and make it a nicer place for people to work, and therefore gain experience and be better at it. Compassion, people. Compassion. And hugs to you OntarioScrapper. |
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Post by smalltowngirlie on Feb 24, 2023 20:29:57 GMT
DH was leaving the grocery store the other night and 4 20-somethings decided to stand in the way of the guy bringing carts back into the store. He said he watched them adjust their path to get in the employee's way. DH made it quite clear they needed to move aside to let the gentleman do his job. The 4 moved aside like that was their plan. They were just being asses all around.
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Post by crazy4scraps on Feb 24, 2023 20:49:46 GMT
Sending you a virtual hug, OntarioScrapper. People were just as awful when I worked at the bank. Retail sucks no matter which way you slice it. Even when I had my own retail business, people could be so freaking rude. Even when you’re the owner they treat you like a second class citizen. Sorry, the customer is NOT always right and sometimes you just have to tell them to GTFO and never come back. |
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Post by malibou on Feb 24, 2023 20:59:53 GMT
I'm sorry you are dealing with crap like that on a daily basis. And thank you for being there.
I'd never make it in a customer service job, because the snark is strong in me. I am over the customer is always right crap. That should only apply when you are a decent customer and not an asshat.
Mean people suck and we are being over run with them.
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cakediva
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Post by cakediva on Feb 24, 2023 21:15:05 GMT
I've said it before and I'll say it again - EVERYBODY should have to work customer service as a teenager to see how it really is!!
I was just at a Chamber of Commerce breakfast this week and the panel topic was employee retention. One of the panelists is a small grocery store owner (not a chain, independent). She said she will always back her employee and has NO problem firing a customer. She was out back in the kitchen and heard a customer yelling at her 16 year old cashier. She came out front and immediately the customer changed their tune because the owner was there. She said we'd be surprised at the "pillars of the community" who think it is ok. And she told them they were not welcome back.
That's how she keeps staff happy!
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Post by chaosisapony on Feb 24, 2023 21:36:18 GMT
People are very rude, no matter where they are at. It's been since well before Covid. My first job was as a cashier at a drug store, most of us were teenagers to early 20s. We did a good job and were pleasant to everyone. It still wasn't uncommon for one of us to be driven to tears by being screamed at by a customer. This was in the early 2000s. When the pharmacy was particularly busy they would call some of the cashiers and floor help to the pharmacy to help at their counter. That was AWFUL. We were blamed for insurance problems, if the doctor didn't call in the prescription, if they were out of refills, if the price was higher than they expected. You named it, we got screamed at. It got to the point where I would literally hide in the back room to avoid being called to help at the pharmacy. I made $6.75/hour, not nearly enough to endure the abuse. I don't know why people think it's ok to treat others so terribly.
Most of the shops here don't enforce self checkout limits or express lanes. There's signs up saying "15 items or less" or whatever but when someone cruises up with their cart full of items not a single employee will say a word. It's frustrating as a customer but I get it. It's not worth the drama it causes with such entitled assholes.
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Post by scrapmaven on Feb 24, 2023 21:40:16 GMT
I paid my retail management dues for many years and have had countless rude customers. As a customer if someone is yelling at a cashier I stand up for the cashier. There is no excuse to treat a hardworking person so awfully. Covid is no excuse for rudeness and horrible behavior. I think there should be a zero tolerance policy for rude behavior in retail, food service and similar occupations. On the other hand, if the staff member is rude I also speak up. I get that someone might be having a bad day, but that's no excuse, EVER from either side. I have your back, OntarioScrapper .
Zee, nurses really bear the brunt of this stuff. People at their worst don't understand that you can't magically fix them or their loved one. As you know, I have a special place in my heart for nurses, because you are true heroes! I love the way you handled your heart patient. It's hard to be angry at someone who let's you know how much they care. Yes, I know people still get angry, but you handle it w/applomb! |
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Gennifer
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Post by Gennifer on Feb 24, 2023 22:08:25 GMT
There is a significant change in how the public acts post-COVID.
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FurryP
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Post by FurryP on Feb 24, 2023 22:16:57 GMT
I've said it before and I'll say it again - EVERYBODY should have to work customer service as a teenager to see how it really is!! Not even just as a teenager. I worked in retail in college. I think it made me a better customer. Not only to be more considerate of the workers (like not popping in 5 mins before they close), but also a better consumer by speaking up for myself when needed. And no one is too low on the totem pole to say please and thank you to. And also....NO, the customer is not always right. That is stupid. |
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Post by crazy4scraps on Feb 24, 2023 22:26:34 GMT
There is a significant change in how the public acts post-COVID. I have to agree and I don’t even work with the general public anymore. I try to do all of my shopping at off times because I don’t even like moving among the rude, obnoxious entitled people in the stores or the parking lots. It’s not as if the rank and file employees have any control whatsoever over how short staffed the businesses are or what the policies are that they have to attempt to uphold. They’re just there trying to do a job and they likely aren’t getting paid enough per hour to put up with people’s BS. I was just at the pharmacy a couple days ago to pick up a prescription for DH. The tech rang it up and handed it to me with all the stuff stapled to the front, so I had to root around to make sure it was the correct dosage. It’s one where the dosage is gradually ramped up, and they’ve gotten it wrong the last couple times. Of course it was the previous dosage and not what it was supposed to be. I had to go back with it so I was glad I checked before I left the store. The girl was so annoyed and frustrated because she had to void out the transaction and look for the right thing and redo it all while I waited. I was polite and patient because I know how bad those jobs suck, and I also knew they were short staffed because they didn’t have the drive up open that day so I’m sure other people were annoyed that they had to go in. Anyway, when the pharmacist came up to do the void, the girl said it was her third void that day and literally threw the bag with the wrong meds onto the counter in front of the pharmacist and said out loud, “What are they going to do, fire me?” Probably not. |
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Post by katlady on Feb 24, 2023 23:30:30 GMT
I've been lucky to not have experienced any rude drama at the cash register ... yet. I am sure it happens, but I haven't seen/heard one yet. Maybe because I do self-checkout most of the time. I've seen crazy stuff from people not mentally well, like yelling at the cash register at the self-checkout, or walking down aisles cussing at people and yelling. But I have noticed more aggressive driving.
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Post by mommy2sandb on Feb 24, 2023 23:54:24 GMT
There is a significant change in how the public acts post-COVID. Agreed. It makes me so sad! |
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Post by gracieplusthree on Feb 25, 2023 13:56:57 GMT
I've said it before and I'll say it again - EVERYBODY should have to work customer service as a teenager to see how it really is!! So you're ok with young 16/17 year Olds being screamed at by unruly customers??? No I disagree.., the behavior given by a huge percent of customers now shouldn't be spew at teens in what is probably their first job experience. |
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Post by gracieplusthree on Feb 25, 2023 14:01:14 GMT
Having worked in a grocery store 11.5 years I can attest to customers being down right awful anymore. It started during covid but certainly hasn't slowed or improved any. Downright awful how people act.
And I'm *just* a cashier/uscan actually mostly in gas station not interested in a promotion. The management positions don't pay enough to put up with it, nope.
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cakediva
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Post by cakediva on Feb 25, 2023 14:48:57 GMT
I've said it before and I'll say it again - EVERYBODY should have to work customer service as a teenager to see how it really is!! So you're ok with young 16/17 year Olds being screamed at by unruly customers??? No I disagree.., the behavior given by a huge percent of customers now shouldn't be spew at teens in what is probably their first job experience. That’s not what I said……if everybody worked a customer service job at some point they would become adults who treat customer service staff way better than a lot of people do now. |
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valincal
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Southern Alberta
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Post by valincal on Feb 25, 2023 15:13:43 GMT
I don’t give a pass to these jerks. I don’t care what kind of stress you’re under—it’s no excuse to treat people poorly! And sadly the workers really have no recourse and have to put a smile on their faces as they put up with this BS which has definitely increased in the last few years.
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compeateropeator
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Post by compeateropeator on Feb 25, 2023 16:11:58 GMT
I've said it before and I'll say it again - EVERYBODY should have to work customer service as a teenager to see how it really is!! So you're ok with young 16/17 year Olds being screamed at by unruly customers??? No I disagree.., the behavior given by a huge percent of customers now shouldn't be spew at teens in what is probably their first job experience. Not okay with it but it is how you learn. I am old (58) and for most of my young life (from 7 up to 20s) have worked in jobs that dealt with the public. A mix of campgrounds, stores, and restaurants. There were really rude people back then also, and also very judgmental and annoying ones. After awhile you learn how to deal with it and move on. I agree it also made me a much nicer customer, but then you often feel like you get screwed over because you are too nice…that whole squeaky wheel gets the oil deal. But those are lesson that you learn that will help you with jobs your entire life, not just customer service related either. You will have to deal with it with coworkers, neighbors, community members etc. Kids in grade school and high school have to deal with other rude and nasty kids. It is something you deal with your whole life so not really something you can or should avoid. It is better to learn how to diffuse the situation and try and learn lessons on how your actions, tones, and handling of difficult situations affect others. I don’t deal with the public now but do work a 2nd shift position where I need to often call various departments’ on call people. Let me tell you there are a bunch of them that are truly assholes, some that are great and some that can be both depending on the day…and those of us who have to do this know who have what reputations. I try to have Grace, and use humor when dealing with them, but man do some people need some lessons in anger control, humility and just being a good human. I also don’t subscribe to the just telling it like it is doctrine with no regards on the effect it has on those that are just getting “told”. So this is probably a long rambling post that is basically saying it sucks that there are so many people that feel need to diminish and berate other people when they have issues instead of dealing with it in a constructive way. I do find that if you continue to act courteous and calm you can often change the situation. But that is also mentally challenging and tiresome also, especially when you shouldn’t have to manipulate people into being kind and decent humans. I am sorry for all that take the brunt of others nastiness, no matter who it is and what job they have. |
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scrappyesq
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Post by scrappyesq on Feb 25, 2023 16:18:03 GMT
People are not OK out there.
I think there is a huge mental health crisis that started during lockdowns and is now bubbling over. Think about it: no matter your political persuasion there was so much fear of the unknown, anger about the unknown, loneliness in isolation and the constant emotional battering we all had to take the moment we turned on the news. Combine all of that with people who either lost their jobs or were forced to WFH abruptly with kids who needed school or spouses who also had to be inside with them. Or unexpected family members who had to stay wit them for a million different reasons.
It hit me recently when I started to talk to people who are still traumatized by the height of lockdown. Everyone mentions one or all of these things. I had a hard time understanding why none of it still bothered me and the only thing I could think of is that I spent MONTHS in therapy when restrictions started to be lifted. Working the front lines almost killed me (mentally).
My situation is unique because of the circumstances, but think of everyone collectively. The reopenings then re-shutdowns. Whether or not you agreed with mask mandates and vaccinations people were SURROUNDED by death.
I live in NYC and yes the crime rate is increasing but the types of crimes and severity of the way people are hurting each other is horrifying. Again, many of these people were probably teetering on the edge before lockdown and their crazy was allowed to slow cook for months.
I have noticed the increased hostility towards other human beings and it makes me sad. Oddly enough my natural state pre-Covid was to curse people out pretty regularly (it's Brooklyn what can I say) but now I'm less likely to say anything when people get ridiculous. A lady screamed at me in the drive thru the other day because I wasn't moving fast enough. In the past I **might** have stepped out of my car to scream back. This time? I know that people have gone through things that I'll probably never understand and I can't take it personally. Did I get my hamburger? Yes. I'm good.
OP I can only imagine how hard it is for you dealing with the crazy. I hope that you are able to remember who you are, how hard you work, and what you have to offer the world that has nothing to do with the morons at your job. I could even understand the occasional clap back, since there are some people who absolutely deserve it. I can't say it will get better, but staying grounded in what you know may help.
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Post by 950nancy on Feb 25, 2023 16:26:10 GMT
Our self checkout doesn't have a limit. I think most people use it because there is usually one or maybe two people checking in the regular lines. I don't go that often since my husband does the big shopping trips, but people always seem patient. I do know that running in once every week or so for a few items doesn't show the big picture though. There is a cheaper store close by and it is usually much busier. I try to avoid it.
I am glad you have the right personality to do your job. The whole customer is always right BS went out the window years ago.
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garcia5050
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Post by garcia5050 on Feb 25, 2023 16:54:49 GMT
I paid my retail management dues for many years and have had countless rude customers. As a customer if someone is yelling at a cashier I stand up for the cashier. There is no excuse to treat a hardworking person so awfully. Covid is no excuse for rudeness and horrible behavior. I think there should be a zero tolerance policy for rude behavior in retail, food service and similar occupations. On the other hand, if the staff member is rude I also speak up. I get that someone might be having a bad day, but that's no excuse, EVER from either side. I have your back, OntarioScrapper .
I think management doesn’t want those bad yelp or twitter reviews so they cave too much now. Back in my teller days I had a customer call me stupid (for following procedures). My supervisor immediately stepped in and asked the lady to step aside so that the supervisor could help her. I thought the supervisor was going to make an exception for the client (like they usually do), but no. She cut a check for the balance of the account and loudly announced that she wasn’t going to allow her staff to be treated this way and she could take her $97 dollars and go open an account somewhere else. It was a pretty awesome moment. But it shouldn’t have been the exception. It should be the norm to back up employees, even with twitter and yelp and all that stuff. |
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Post by crazy4scraps on Feb 25, 2023 18:00:44 GMT
I've said it before and I'll say it again - EVERYBODY should have to work customer service as a teenager to see how it really is!! So you're ok with young 16/17 year Olds being screamed at by unruly customers??? No I disagree.., the behavior given by a huge percent of customers now shouldn't be spew at teens in what is probably their first job experience. Well, I think a lot depends on the business itself and the management team. If management steps in and handles the situation properly, I think it can be a good experience for kids to learn how not to act like an entitled ass in public. I was 19 and definitely not in my first job when some old bag went off on me when I was working at a bank as a teller. This was in the days before everyone had a cell phone with a camera, or she definitely would have ended up on YouTube. She literally screamed obscenities at me for fifteen minutes straight in the middle of a crowded payday Friday lunch hour bank lobby for attempting to follow bank policy that I knew I would get written up for if I broke policy and did what she wanted. The.management.did.NOTHING. The branch manager and my immediate supervisor literally stood there 20 feet away watching the whole thing go down and didn’t step in, they just let her go off on me endlessly. I passed off her task to the teller next to me who could do what she wanted and kept my shit together until she was gone. She refused to move out of my line (she had a huge container of coins that she wanted run through the coin counter immediately, I was working at an express line and wasn’t supposed to step away from my window to do it) and cursed at me the whole time the other teller was counting her coins. The very next customer was *so* nice and sympathetic and said she wanted to call the police because that woman was so vile. That was when I broke down in tears which is so not like me at all. If the branch manager or my supervisor would have DONE THEIR JOBS and stepped it to deescalate the situation within minutes, the whole thing would have been a million percent better. But they didn’t. Either one of them could have taken her aside and run her stupid coins through the counter in the back room, and handed any teller the deposit slip to put the correct amount in her account. The result was that in that moment I decided for myself that I was never going to let another person treat me that badly ever again, and I learned that the only one I could really count on to truly advocate for me was ME. After that, I only had one other similar situation come up, and when the dude started in on me I shut that shit right down. I smiled and told him I could either do A or B for him but if he continued to speak to me in the rude manner he currently was, I would be more than happy to go get the manager and let *him* deal with it. Stopped him dead in his tracks, the jackass apologized and took an entirely different tone while I completed his transaction. It was definitely a life lesson on multiple levels. |
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Post by AussieMeg on Feb 25, 2023 23:42:29 GMT
That sound horrendous. Some people are awful! I was in line once when the customer in front of me was abusing the young girl on the register. The poor girl just had to stand there and take it, so I jumped in and had a go at the rude customer. That shut her up.
I had to ring my bank the other day, and the recorded message said that the wait time was about 40 minutes, and to please be kind and respectful to the person when they answer the call. Imagine having to record a message reminding grown arse people not to be a dick!
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That night I was done by 11pm. I aim for 10pm. Store close at 9 but I have my tils all counted, the deposit done and the end of the night paper work. Usually I have 1 til to count at 9. I had FIVE. I seriously felt like putting up a sign that night "Please act like an adult." 
I sent the supervisor off to do something because frankly he didn't need to be wasting ALL of our time. I then said to him "Sir, I ask you to be more KIND to us." He looked at me in shocked. "What did you say?" I repeated myself.
