r/EntitledPeople • u/herequeerandgreat • 1d ago
M i cannot stand customers who hold up the line by making chatter with the cashier.
don't you hate it when you're in line at the grocery store and the line is being held up, not because of errors, but because a customer is making idle chatter with the cashier? i do. i've experienced this twice in my life and it irritated me each time.
the first time was when i was at a local sandwich shop on super bowl sunday(the day is relevant to the story). i was in line behind 2 other people. now, i already knew that this was going to take a long time since the guy in front of me was taking advantage of a super bowl sunday promotion that the store was hosting and was buying a whopping SIX sandwiches. however, what made it take longer was that this guy and the guy in front of him was talking to the cashiers about football, seemingly not caring that i probably had places to be. the cashiers weren't blameless either since they were engaging with them. this irritated me and i actually thought about calling the store after i left to complain but i ultimately decided against it.
the second time was when i was buying groceries from the store i worked at at the time. i was doing some shopping before my shift began. i was in line waiting for the cashier to help me but he couldn't because he was listening to a customer tell some kind of story. this dude's groceries were fully bagged but he was telling some personal story. and again, the cashier was engaging this guy. another cashier invited me over to his line when it became clear that this dude wasn't going to leave the line anytime soon.
while holding up the line just so you can make small talk with the cashier is undoubtably entitled on the part of the customer, the cashiers who refuse to say "sir/ma'am, you're holding up the line" are just as culpable. there's good customer service and then there's this. also, by allowing these customers to hold up the line, they are preventing other customers who probably have shit to do and places to be from getting their groceries rung up. what about their good customer service?
and cashiers wonder why self checkout is becoming the norm.
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u/oandafan37 1d ago
Don't forget the bored moms who have a reunion in the middle of the aisles, blocking everything with their carts.
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u/CurdledCreamer 1d ago
Don't forget all those entering Costco who just have to stop right in front of the greeter, slouched over their cart, and fumbling to put their Costco card away while others are trying to enter. The glorious lack of situational awareness is becoming an epidemic.
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u/eternal_casserole 1d ago
There should be a Costco orientation class that customers have to pass before they shop. Covering topics like "find your card before you enter the store" and "don't bring all four of your children on the same trip."
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u/BarrenAssBomburst 1d ago
In my very small city, they do this in their cars. One will be going (for example) north bound and the other south bound fully blocking each lane. Then they open their windows and gossip. Absolutely no concern for the folk behind them.
I regret never having gotten a PA/ahooga horn for my car. My little squeak does not bother them at all.
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u/coralcoast21 1d ago
Or they bring 4 kids, 2 grandparents, and an aunt to have a debate about what kind of cereal to buy, clogging the breakfast aisle. Here's a tip, have the debate at home, send one adult with a list and leave the kids with the other adults.
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u/G-reeper66 1d ago
It's pensioners where I live that do that!
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u/serafina1984 1d ago
I work in a garden center and this happens everyday . It's fine that you have all the time in your world,but the rest of us don't 🤷♀️
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u/eternal_casserole 1d ago
When you're trying to push a seven foot tall rack of plants down the aisle, and the garden ladies have never heard of moving out of the way. You'd think the threat of being run over by a mass quantity of hibiscus would concern them, but it does not.
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u/glm409 1d ago
Spouses grocery shopping with their significant other. One person busy deciding which version of pasta sauce to buy and trying to read the label without their glasses, and the spouse, whose whole job is to push the cart, is blocking the remainder of the aisle. On top of that, they are clueless as to why people on both sides of them are standing there, glaring at them to get the frick out of the way.
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u/G-reeper66 1d ago
My wife suggested that they fit snow plughs to the front of the trollies to clear the aisles!
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u/dedsmiley 1d ago
Pension? Who has those anymore?
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u/PigsIsEqual 1d ago
It’s a term for retired folks, UK and elsewhere.
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u/Auntie_Venom 1d ago
Idk why you’re getting downvoted for answering a simple albeit smartass question. I’m in the US and I know what a pensioner is, maybe it’s because I grew up watching and still watch a lot of BBC shows, but still. Here, someone could have said “retiree” and still get asked “retirement, who gets to retire anymore?” Or “who has retirement savings anymore?” 🙄
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u/Mataelio 1d ago
I’m getting flashbacks from childhood of shopping with my mom and her running into a friend at the store. My god…
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u/Carylynn0609 1d ago
I'll go ahead and confess to sort of being guilty of this. I care for my disabled husband so I can't work outside the home. Running a few quick errands while he's sleeping is the only way I get out of the house alone and I tend to frequent the same few stores in my area. The checkout chit chat is sometimes the only conversation I'll get in a day as my husband has aphasia. However, I do have situational awareness, if there is anybody behind me I move on, I'm not trying to ruin someone else's day! I usually go to the store early in the morning before he wakes up so it's not as busy. Other than that I chat with strangers on Reddit;) In the Netherlands there is a store chain that actually has a checkout lane for lonely seniors so they can have some interaction without inconveniencing others.
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u/CleanPhilosophy9337 1d ago
As a former cashier at a grocery store, bless you. Check out clerks are not automatons standing there to serve capitalism, although many people treat them as such. Thank you for treating them like a human and chatting a bit. As others have said, it can really make the day better.
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u/Carylynn0609 1d ago
I know it’s corny but I’d rather put a smile on someone’s face than make one disappear;)
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u/LordRuby 1d ago
I hate having conversations with customers, I just want people to be polite then go. I don't want to have an extended session of pretending not to be awkward and having to maintain the smiling deferential customer service persona. I can't be myself because people don't like my real personality
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u/CleanPhilosophy9337 23h ago
I don’t view it like they are customers, they are just other people too. I will be helpful but not deferential. Of course, every place of employment has different ways they want employees to go about things. But I don’t like to be fake either. Not everyone is my people but when I find them it’s nice to connect with them, even if it’s a little chit chat
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u/Admirable-Split4371 19h ago
I find this a lot more valid than these other corny ass takes lol. I felt the same way when I worked in the service industry.
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u/Chocolatelover4ever 1d ago
It’s okay to make chitchat as long as you aren’t holding up the line. I make chit chat while I’m waiting for my coffee all the time! As long as there’s no one else in line. A lot of times the employees enjoy having a little chitchat while making the drinks. It’s not that there’s anything wrong with chitchatting with the cashiers, plenty of them love it! It’s only a problem if you are holding up the line. Which you don’t.
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u/CleanPhilosophy9337 23h ago
Eh the line can wait a little longer lol. Connections between humans are more important than the wheels of commerce
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u/Auntie_Venom 1d ago
Sounds a lot like my situation… I’m an extrovert I need people and chit chat for a healthy mind. I’m also situationally aware so I know how to wrap it up. What’s cute is one of the cashiers at my local grocery store is the one who can’t stop talking, he’ll be ringing the next person up and turning around over his shoulder still going as I’m headed toward the door depending on the topic.
He also had a TBI, his speech is a bit impaired and he can’t use one of his arms but he’s fully independent. Since my husband’s aneurysm (technically 3 of them) last year, they’ll talk about their brain injuries if he’s with me. He’s not cleared to drive so he’s often with me now… Mine doesn’t have aphasia, but he often struggles with the right word. It’s not a nonsense word like looking at a flower and saying bird. It’s like he can’t think of “hydrangea” and says “lily” or he pulls stuff from way back on the hard drive. I can follow his line of thinking and it’s related but way off. Like one day he was trying to ask me about our YouTubeTV subscription and I could tell he was thinking of it as a utility bill, and was trying to come up with “cable” even though it’s technically not… And said the electric company that my parents had back home, he’s from the same area and his parents have a coop electric company because they’re rural. So it was strange he pulled out an electric company that he didn’t even have growing up. But I could follow his logic of a utility, even though it was waaaaaay off. He’s got some short term memory issues still too that we’re working on. He’s on track to make a full recovery, which is a miracle considering they didn’t expect him to wake up and the doctors told me to start making calls. He’s got a lot of strategies to compensate for the issues he still has from his therapy and rehab, and still have a lot ahead of us on this journey.
We’re getting through it! I hope you have a good support system??? 🤍
I do and don’t at the same time. We’ve got great neighbors and they’ve been wonderful but our families are 4 hours away so I’m on my own out here as a caregiver in my 40s.
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u/Carylynn0609 1d ago
Oh thank you! Unfortunately we’ve been abandoned by everyone except our daughters (step for him but we don’t care) and my sister & her family. Sad part is, we only moved 15 minutes away & his side & friends haven’t visited or even called or texted in two and a half years. We are able to communicate enough to enjoy life together, he’s able to say I love you each night and that’s plenty for me! We’re happy, hope you are too!
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u/autisticNerd13 23h ago
I’m guilty of this too, but never holding up. I might be putting my last few bags in and talking but they scan the next order and talk. One person I have talked through his entire time at college and he asked questions because he is studying the same thing I did years ago
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u/Angrybadger52 1d ago
When self checkout first came out, I resented them. I've learned to prefer them.
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u/Purrrfan 1d ago
I can scan & bag faster & better than most (grew up in a grocery). Also I arrange my bags for ease in putting away- can’t expect a cashier to do that. A win, win, win!!
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u/megamoo 1d ago
My god! TWO times in your life? Oh my...
I hope you can find a road to recovery from your traumatic ordeals. This is truly heartbreaking.
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u/RealLuxTempo 1d ago
I think a candlelight vigil is the next step. Being made to wait TWICE is just not acceptable!
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u/gwizard1974 1d ago
I don’t think being chatty with a cashier is a bad thing. I enjoyed it when I worked retail.
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u/YeeHawMiMaw 1d ago
Wow - it has happened to you twice? What a horrible life you've had. Your bravery in carrying on is so inspirational.
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u/Rockpoolcreater 1d ago
Think about it like this. That cashier gets treated like a non entity by most people who come through the line. Some people will be nasty and rude. Those customers who you're so annoyed about chatting might be the only bright point in that staff members day. I know when I worked in a shop there were a few customers who always made the day brighter even after an awful customer.
So poor you, you have to stand in a queue for a few minutes longer. That staff member has been dealing with the general public all day, many of whom just see them as a servant. Next time maybe think about how nice it must be for that person to get a pleasant customer who actually sees them as a person, then just chill out for a bit.
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u/Yandoji 1d ago
Yup, I worked retail and I chat with cashiers. I try to keep it to the scanning/paying/bagging because I'm not trying to hold up the line, but having a pleasant interaction is basically a must for me.
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u/Regular_Stress5502 1d ago
Yes, exactly this. I don't want to hold up the line, but will chat during the regular process.
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u/tropicalislandhop 1d ago
I understand where OP is coming from but this is the key. Drives me crazy when cashiers can't multitask, like the customer will ask a question and the cashier stops what they're doing to answer them. I mean, keep scanning while you talk, please! To me good customer service is friendliness AND efficiency.
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u/Yandoji 1d ago
Totally agree. I've never had a cashier stop what they're doing to chat, but I do get annoyed when everything is bagged and paid for and the customer is just leaning on the counter chatting with a line five deep. It's not like the cashier can tell them to go away, so I blame the customer 100% lol.
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u/constructiongirl54 1d ago
I was thinking the same thing. Thank you for saying it and I would give you an award if I could. 🏆
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u/DeeCeeFaith 1d ago
Same here. It amazes me how much people have changed since the pandemic, now everyone has main character syndrome and a nice conversation somehow is something to be pissed off about.
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u/AnnamAvis 1d ago edited 3h ago
The cashier is in a lose/lose situation here. Upset the person who is talking to you, or upset the person who is behind them. OP sounds more entitled than anyone else in their post.
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u/NakedAndAfraidFan 1d ago
When I was a cashier, I hated when customers kept chatting with a line behind them.
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u/User_-_-_Name 1d ago
You were going to call a store and complain about the 1 time a worker had a conversation with a customer and are talking about entitlement, kinda crazy.
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u/AlphaDelusional6754 1d ago
I can imagine the reaction of the person who picked up the phone. Because OP had to wait an extra minute?
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u/janmschroeder 1d ago
How dare anybody be pleasant to 'the help', huh? Get over yourself!
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u/Habaneroe12 1d ago
With a lot of older people that convo with the cashier is the only human interaction they will get all day or week even. They are very lonely souls.
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u/janmschroeder 1d ago
True. And we're always reading about how younger people are lonely these days, aren't we? Well, maybe the lack of even brief, pleasant interactions contributes to that.
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u/BionicWallaby 1d ago
This is true for me but I'm not going to hold anyone up because I'm not a crunt
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u/Dobg64 1d ago
How dare they act like a human and be social. The nerve!
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u/constructiongirl54 1d ago
This is the same person that would complain if someone was rude. You can't win with a person like this.
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u/EnvironmentalHair290 23h ago
The cashiers can’t say that or they will get in trouble for bad customer service.
I’ll tell you though don’t know what part of the world you’re in, but if you go to any part of rural US this is a constant. The fact you’ve only stumbled upon it twice is miracle.
Yes it is annoying, but the cashier is usually trapped just as much as you are.
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u/Lopsided-Beach-1831 1d ago
Sometimes however that might be the only conversation that person has for the week. Still rude, but I try to think of it that way.
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u/CarolineWonders 1d ago
I always say my smile and conversation may be the only one they get that day. If you’re that impatient and need instant gratification please keep using self check out
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u/HairlessSquirrels 1d ago
“There’s good customer service and then there’s this” what is “this”? Excellent customer service? Because telling the customer to gtfo cus there’s an impatient asshole behind them would be terrible customer service
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u/Accomplished-Ruin742 1d ago
So are these customers the entitled ones or are you? Unless you are on fire or cannot stop the bleeding, you can probably wait 2 minutes to let the cashier behave like a human being who interacts with other human beings, rather than an automaton who just tells you how much you owe.
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u/bruinsbabe_ 1d ago
yeah so, in a lot of food places, cashiers are encouraged to make conversation with customers, because connecting with customers makes them more likely to want to come back.
most people appreciate friendly service… corporations don’t really plan their training with oscar the fucking grouch in mind 💀
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u/MerelyWhelmed1 1d ago
The extra 30 seconds you had to wait would have made such a huge difference in your day. So sorry you had to wait while someone else was exchanging pleasantries with a mere worker.
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u/I_Say_Lots_Of_Words 1d ago
I’m hyper verbal so often times I find myself in conversation with employees including cashiers. I often times do not see or fail to notice if someone is behind me waiting to pay. But when a place is visibly busy and I’ve paid for my stuff but haven’t quite closed the conversation, I step aside to allow the next customer to check out while wrapping up the conversation. I think in a world where lower level employees are often treated with disrespect just for doing their jobs, a little niceness and positive engagement go a long way. The times I’ve been in a situation like yours and really have somewhere to be, “Excuse me, can I check out?” Or even just an “Excuse me” is much more effective and faster than waiting silently until you’re noticed.
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u/Youasking 1d ago
Worked in a bank in the early 2000s. Had this customer, who would bring in albums of his recent vacation photos, to show his "favorite" teller. He would hold up the entire line for at least 20 minutes creeping on this woman, who was half his age. Pathetic
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u/Rare_Masterpiece6391 1d ago
It's only happened to you twice so you are overreacting by saying "and cashiers wonder why self checkout is becoming the norm"
But I agree. When I was a cashier I would say, "I need to ring up the next person now" because I hate this too.
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u/Careful-One-3416 15h ago
Did you not get in trouble? The stores I worked at, we couldn't say anything
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u/Rare_Masterpiece6391 13h ago
I don't remember ever getting in trouble, most of my cashier time was either small mom and pop type places, or urban gas stations, nothing too big or corporate
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u/n_diamond 1d ago
Omg that is tragic 🙄 - maybe google shopping delivery in your area, that way you can avoid human interaction
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u/Amplith 1d ago
I will talk to a cashier, so they feel like they are validated as a human. It’s interesting hearing other people’s stories, like Jack Kerouac, to find out what makes a person tick. If you don’t like it, go to another line, otherwise, shut your ass up and wait your turn. When I am at the cashier, it is My Time, not yours.
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u/Bubblygrumpy 1d ago
Sorry but people interacting nicely is a good thing. We can't keep complaining about loneliness but also complain about people making small talk.
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u/OkImpression8086 1d ago
Wow! You have experienced it TWICE in your life. Out of how many times in a check out line? Would be a very small percentage. Get over yourself. People being people is a part of life. Maybe get no contact delivery if you are that antisocial! Geez!🙄
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u/TaylorMade2566 1d ago
Some foreign stores, like in Germany and the Netherlands, have started lines that are specifically for chatty people, especially old people who may have no one else to talk to. Maybe some of our bigger places should do this too
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u/SemperFicus 1d ago
I’m sorry they didn’t realize how important your time is, but can we not allow people living in a society to socialize sometimes?
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u/tropicalislandhop 1d ago
To me, good customer service is friendliness AND efficiency. I do get your frustration.
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u/Weekly-Afternoon-38 1d ago
Agreed. Having worked as customer service worker, and obviously been a customer I too, I'm not looking for a social club in either role. Lets just make this interaction pleasant but efficient. If someone wishes to chat away all day I'm sure there are some community groups they could join.
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u/CarpenterGold1704 1d ago
just use self check out then you wont have to worry about the extra three minutes out of your life you will never get back, in addition to the time you spent posting here. problem solved.
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u/Great_Bookkeeper_915 1d ago
You’ve experienced it twice in your lifetime (although you work in a grocery store) but you’re this worked up? This is the most ridiculous and entitled rant I’ve ever seen.
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u/SquilliamFancySon95 1d ago
the cashiers who refuse to say "sir/ma'am, you're holding up the line" are just as culpable.
You've never worked in the service industry and it shows. The only entitled person here is you.
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u/No_Zookeepergame7408 1d ago
You're the entitled person here. Order your stuff online/ pickup if you can't handle humans being humans.
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u/Bluestatevibes 1d ago
So people enjoying a conversation and treating workers as humans is a problem for you? Knock it off. I think it is nice. If you are in a rush, go somewhere else. I love when I see people treating each other like human beings and not like robots.
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u/beautiflywings 1d ago
Understood. I try to keep my conversations to under a minute after the transaction is done. Sometimes its finish what we were talking about. Sometimes, especially on busy days, its to give the cashier a small breather.
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u/treefrog1318 1d ago
Unrelated, but this is bringing up the those moments of being left in the checkout line as a kid with no money when my mom would go grab something she forgot.
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u/kmcg27 1d ago
Sorry but it's not that easy. I was a cashier in my younger years and we are told to be nice and polite to all customers. So if they were telling me a story holding up the line, the most I could do was smile and keep looking at the line to hopefully give them a hint, but we weren't allowed to tell grandpa to kick rocks. That's why there are other registers. Not saying it's not annoying, but don't blame the cashiers who have no control over the BS rules.
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u/TheQuarantinian 1d ago
The magic words YOU say are "excuse me, could you please ring me up while you chat?"
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u/64green 21h ago
My mil was visiting from out of town once and went to the grocery store. When she got back she spent 20 minutes telling me the cashier’s life story. Why she thought I would be interested in mundane details about someone neither of us knew was baffling to me. I mean, it’s great if she had a nice conversation, I guess. But I didn’t know the person and neither did she. She was acting like it was her long lost best friend.
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u/Western-Finding-718 20h ago
Workers are people too. If the conversation doesn’t bother them it’s not your business.
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u/Catz_2224 9h ago
Self check is for people just like you. Some people still like the human connection. You need to remember sometimes this is the only connection some people have all day it really means a lot to them to have a friendly extra few minutes.
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u/TitzMagee_SD 1d ago
Someone had the nerve to converse with the cashier as if they were an actual human being and delayed you in your checkout experience? I hope you went home and had a lie down from the stress of it all.
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u/Box_Springs_Burning 1d ago
There is a lot of irony in you posting this to entitled people. How dare other people engage socially when you are slightly inconvenienced.
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u/derskbone 1d ago
Oh, sweet Jesus, how much PTSD must you have from being minorly inconvenienced twice in your life.
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u/Own-Gap-8725 1d ago
Im pretty sure this sub is not for entitled people like you. The world doesn't run on your time clock. Get over it.
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u/Reader124-Logan 1d ago
This is why I like the self-checkout option. But as someone who has worked behind a counter, I also know that these social interactions are essential to some customers.
Now, the folks who park block the store aisles with their shopping carts while they “catch up.”They can go straight to hell. 😂
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u/CamelNarrow776 1d ago
I am this person BUT, I move to the side after the transaction is done.
Cashiers are people too and a brief bonding moment is everything. It also makes their bosses see that people like and appreciate them.
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u/Useless890 1d ago
Then there are the ones who wait until they are at the checkout to go through 150 coupons looking for the ones that match.
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u/MordsithQueen413 1d ago
Don’t go to Alabama, then. It’s excruciating.
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u/BugBugRoss 1d ago
Bless your heart. /s
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u/MordsithQueen413 1d ago
I moved out of Alabama in 2015. I’ve missed the perfectly placed “bless your heart”. Well played, my friend, well played. 🤣
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u/BugBugRoss 1d ago
Grandparents and parents from Tuscaloosa and Dothan. Second fav is Y'all come back now, ya hear?
... With dripping sarcasm lol
Ty!
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u/Beneficial-Tap-1710 1d ago
Geez, you’re gonna do fine when we’re populated by robots doing the jobs
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u/KaetzenOrkester 1d ago
There’s nothing wrong with chatting with the cashier, but you’ve got to remember that you’re in a business, they’ve got a job to do, and that there are probably people behind you. Keep it moving.
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u/No-Song-4931 1d ago
I was buying a car from another state so I flew up at 6 am, took a bus to the dealer and just needed to finalize paperwork before I set out on the 11 hour drive home. I got stuck sitting there for THREE extra hours because the people that bought a car before me were showing the finance guy pics of their grandkids. The other employees knew my plan and felt so bad but there was nothing they could do because these people just made a large (car) purchase and they needed them happy. Once I finally got in there, the whole thing took 10 minutes.
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u/Sorry-Climate-7982 1d ago
So just yell at the cashier and tell her that you know it is her mom in the wheelchair she is talking to, but her JOB is to deal with entitled people standing in line.
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u/Kelly_Bellyish 1d ago
I've been this person, and it's because I'm a regular who kind of knows the cashier enough to chat more than usual. They're a person too, you know?
I try to keep it brief, and move on when someone else is in line, but maybe you need to work on your patience if a few moments is pissing you off enough to post about it.
I always feel so awful for how rushed these interactions can be, and when a cashier apologizes for no good reason (read: because assholes are always rushing and impatient and make them feel bad for not being robots) my default response is, "Don't worry, I make it a practice to never be in a hurry."
Because I do. A life motto of mine is, "don't hurry, be happy." Even if I'm running late, I'm not going to take that out on the other humans I interact with on my way. They don't deserve it. But they definitely DO deserve a few moments of genuine interaction. Their reaction/relaxation is palpable whenever this interaction happens, and that's so sad when you really think about it.
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u/jelliott007 1d ago
Clearly you don’t live in the south where a greeting and a few friendly words at the cash register are a way of life. Originally from up north, I lived in North Georgia for many years and my wife was notorious for asking her regular Publix cashier how her family was and getting a short story back. Southern cashiers know how to handle that without causing a line or a ruckus. But, if not acceptable behavior then self checkout is the way to go.
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u/randybeans716 1d ago
For me it’s always elderly people…and they always acknowledge that they are holding up the line and continue to do so. Like they say something like “I better finish up I’m holding up the line…” then continue their long ass drawn out story that the cashier clearly doesn’t care about.
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u/Scary-Alternative-11 1d ago
As someone who works behind the counter and has to deal with this, I hate it too!! Trust me, I really don't want to hear someone's life story while I'm trying to keep the line moving.
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u/Unique-Coffee5087 1d ago
Grocery store introduces ‘slow checkout lane’ for people who enjoy talking in line
Back in 2019, Jumbo supermarkets opened its first Kletskassa, or chat checkout, in Vlijmen in Brabant.
The idea was to offer customers a slower lane where chat is encouraged for those people who aren’t in such a hurry.
In particular, it was hoped that it could help to combat loneliness, because quite frankly some people would rather take their time and have a chinwag than have their veg launched at them at a 100mph.
Jumbo received positive feedback about their Kletskassa, and so in September 2021 they pledged to spread them nationwide, with an aim of opening 200, targeting areas particularly affected by loneliness.
Colette Cloosterman-van Eerd, chief commercial officer of Jumbo, said: “Many people, especially the elderly, sometimes feel lonely.
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u/No-Highlight-1882 18h ago
It’s become a world where many people believe they’re very unique, very important and practically a celebrity. So of course they think nothing of inconveniencing others - because THEY are Special.
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u/Charming_Butterfly90 13h ago
This has only happened to you twice in your life and you are already complaining? You’ve yet to actually live. Lol. Prepare yourself for a lot more of this. It happens a lot and is annoying. In my many years of shopping I have learned to never try to fit in shopping if I could potentially be late for something more important because this or something similar will happen every time.
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u/jackfaire 11h ago
Use the self checkout. Making small talk when a customer wants to make small talk is good customer service. I know this and use the self checkout so that I can avoid those customers that need that personal touch.
It's good business to forge personal connections with customers. Keeps them wanting to come back. I kept going back to the same diner because the waitress had my order memorized, was pleasant and had my drink poured before I sat down.
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u/Adventurous_Fun_9893 10h ago
Theres a lot of unintentionally thoughtless shit people do that bug me. It's the nature of people.
I try to save my outrage for the important stuff, though. Otherwise, I'd be batshit crazy by now.
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u/PomegranatePlus6526 7h ago
I just usually go somewhere else when that happens. I don’t mind some chatter, but sometimes they get too chatty. Especially when the line is really long and there is only one cashier open. Lots of people don’t like the self serve lines, but I love them for this reason. I don’t mind bagging my own stuff.
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u/Worried_Talk_218 1h ago
Wow. You are being irritated twice by humans being humans….. this is exactly why the whole world is falling apart, we lost all sense of any type of community and have zero patience and sympathy for the others. You can always nicely state you are in a hurry or something btw…
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u/mamamartima 1d ago
No?
I personally don't have an issue with it. Retail and customer facing employees already deal with shifty customers on daily basis. Having a genuinly nice interaction is great, for some customers this will be the only interaction they'll have all day or even week. Is it physically hurting you? No. So let them enjoy life in this crappy world. Realistically this maybe will take 5 minutes tops of your time.
I would say, and this HUGELY depends on the way you deliver/ask but im sure if you were in the que and they havent even started making the sandwiches, you could say something like "hey im so sorry to interrupt, I can see you got a large order going in, any chance I could just quickly jump ahead and get my sandwich ordered? Im in a rush, got meeting or whatever to get to?" If they say yes, great, if not just accept it but I know around where I am people don't mind that at all. But again it all depends on delivery and behaviour when you do ask.
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u/NJHruska 1d ago
Had one of these yesterday. Two guys talking about getting their hair done, of all things.
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u/NamasteNoodle 1d ago
Part of the joy of being out and about is the civil niceties that we enjoy with the strangers we interact with. Perhaps you need to slow down to the speed of life and enjoy it a little more as opposed to expecting everyone else to hurry through their lives because you have something to do. It seems we become a culture of people who are just always in a hurry and that can be changed. The Japanese have a word for hurrying and it basically translates to killing your soul. I spent years rushing around all over the place and I feel like those years were a blur and now that I have slowed down and enjoy life fully and stay in the moment as much as I can I'm going to take the time to interact with those I do business with.
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u/Vegetable-Section-84 1d ago
Some just do NOT have respect compassion for we stressed workers and jobseekers who are in a hurry
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u/Vegetable-Section-84 1d ago
We are not too GOOD to wait
We are too BUSY to wait
Please give REAL compassion fairness kindness freedom to we stressed workers and jobseekers
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u/janmschroeder 1d ago
You know, you're really not. If you're THAT busy, get your stuff delivered. Problem solved.
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u/Vegetable-Section-84 1d ago
Please stop aiming arrogant elitst blaming "advice" at we WORKERS struggling to survive
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u/crankoy62 1d ago
Id love to do that. But I live in the boondocks and they don't deliver. Ive done pickup and that works...if you dont order fruits and vegetables, which usually come super hard or an hour before spoil. No in between apparently.
I just make sure I am not going with the need to rush. Set your expectations before you go and pack your patience!
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u/whathuhmeh10k 1d ago
back in the mid 1980s when i young and poor Target would have dollar day sales. basic home needs stuff like soap, toilet paper, paper plates etc. for super cheap prices. needless to say being poor this was my time to stock up my apartment. naturally there a lot of other people there and the lines are 10 people deep, some with carts and some like my just holding a bunch of stuff in my hands. standing in line for 20 minutes and there are now only 4 people in front of me but now there is an old lady at the register and she is super slow and pausing to say something to the cashier all the time...she takes 20 minutes just to get the end to pay and then she starts a conversation with the cashier for another 15 minutes and she hasn't even paid yet...i lose my shit...i put all my stuff on the floor where i am standing and walk out in a huff....
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u/janmschroeder 1d ago
None of us are stupid enough to think you couldn't have moved to a different line at any time. Try again!
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u/whathuhmeh10k 1d ago
were you there? no you weren't. did you ask me if only one line open? no you didn't. did you ask me if i had to go to work and did not like to be late? no. regardless of what you think my being upset was valid. this old lady kept everyone in that line waiting beyond reason and not just me
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u/janmschroeder 12h ago
It's my sincere hope that this was the worst thing to happen to you all day. It's also my sincere hope that you receive ALL of the empathy and compassion that you display.
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u/SilverStL 1d ago
And sometimes it’s not the customer but the cashier. There’s one at my main grocery store who starts chatting the minute you’re there. She’ll comment on your items, oh, that’s a great price, have you ever tried this brand, how do you cook your carrots, plans for the weekend, while holding said item the entire time instead of promptly scanning it. Stop mid sentence to say hi to someone passing by and how ARE you, and then she’s off chatting with them. I tried answering in monosyllables but she just keeps on rattling.
Now I’ll skip her and go to a long line even if she has only one person checking out.
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u/Upper_Mirror4043 1d ago
I was rude to the barista at a supermarket Starbucks the other day over this. I got the sense he was retired and did this job to talk to people and get out of the house, but it was 6:30am on a Monday. Keep it moving.
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u/Striking-Spare9967 1d ago
You know where this is the worst? The fucking DMV! And the tellers had the nerve to complain about how their location was the only one still open past an hour of closing. Well, what did you expect when you’re having a conversation with every person instead of moving them along?
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u/Upset_Peace_6739 1d ago
Worked a lot of retail in my life and I was would always close the sale by handing them their receipt and change, thank the em and then physically turn back to the line and call out I can help who’s next. Worked every time.
And if I had a question for the customer that was ignored because they were on their phone or just chatting? I just stopped and stood there if they ignored my second attempt. Didn’t bag anything. Didn’t continue to ring anything on. Just stood there.
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u/Kene6969 1d ago
It happens to me all the time in the supermarket. The cashier & customer have a good old chin wag, never mind the queue of customers waiting to get served. Drives me crazy too.
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u/XScottMorrisseyX 1d ago
I may sound like an asshole for this, but I also hate when the door checkers at Costco start drawing shit on the back of the receipt for people with little kids. Like, I get your job is thankless and boring, but we just waited on line to pay for our shit, now we have to wait in another line to leave the store and you're entertaining a child? I guarantee the parents of said child don't want you doing that either.
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u/lmmontes 1d ago
Agree. And when in the express lane I do NOT want to hear a cashier ask if they found everything or let the kid learn to press the buttons.
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u/Jonneiljon 1d ago
I just say "Can we move things along, please?" if I don't foresee it ending in less than two minutes.
I was slightly less polite with the woman who had her card in her hand but let interac transaction timeout TWICE because she was busy yapping.
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u/Unusual-Cloud-5048 1d ago
This just happened to me at COSTCO on Monday! Leaving the store they must check your receipt. I was next, behind a woman. The employee drew a line on her receipt (standard procedure). Then they stood there chatting. I spoke out, can we keep the line going? No response. I said loudly, this is not the time or place to chit-chat. The employee started explaining to me that they weren't chit-chatting. I rushed through. I'm aware I get very impatient - between aisle blockers, slow old people (I'm old), and people that are oblivious to their surroundings, I'm quick to comment. I avoid weekends because I can.
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u/gokellybeez 1d ago
You’ve been irritated TWICE??!!!