S/O of Who is next in a retail clothing store

[Zilla]

There is another thread where at a grocery store, customer was waiting in a long line, another cashier called her over to her empty register and another customer pulled up as well (not called over).  Who goes first.  In that scenario, the called over customer goes first IMO.  A poster wrote that she works in a clothing store and this happens to her when she is helping a customer and when done brings her to the register to check out when there is already a customer waiting to be checked out.  She says the customer she brings with her goes first.

I disagree.  In the clothing store, the employee is helping the customer select/find something while the other customer already made their selection and is waiting at the register.  Whomever finished first should be rung up, which in this case is the waiting customer.  Especially since the employee can't be in two places at the same time. 

What do you all think?

[Bea]

Is the cashier who was helping the customer shop the only cashier ringing people up? If not, the person shouldn't be standing at their register waiting: they should be waiting in line for help from a cashier who is actually at her register.

If there is just the one cashier, then yes, I think the customer who is with the cashier and getting her help, and then gets walked to the line, would go first, because that person had the cashier's attention/ assistance first, so they should finish their time with her by completing the transaction before someone else is helped.

[Zilla]

The most common set up I have encountered is that the cashier/employee is standing near the clothes.  Customers walk in and one calls over the employee to help.  Other customer finds what he/she needs and goes right to the register and is waiting.  I am often waiting a solid 5 or more minutes too.


Employee helps other customer finds what they are looking for and then walks up to the register with customer in tow.  I feel that the waiting customer should go first. I don't know if other employees are in the store but I tend to shop during the day during the week which is slower.

[oopsie]

I've seen this go both ways but IMO, if there is only one salesperson who is also acting as a cashier then the person standing in line should be the first to go through.

My logic is this: the salesperson is performing two separate jobs. The person standing in line already had dibs to be assisted first with the "cashier" just as the person being helped had dibs on being assisted first by the "salesperson". Once they no longer need the assistance of the salesperson, they get in line like everyone else to go through the cash.

[Bea]

Once they no longer need the assistance of the salesperson, they get in line like everyone else to go through the cash.

Oooh - once you put it like that, I see your point and agree that this could also make sense! I suppose it would depend on the specifics of the store set-up/ cashiers available. But yes, absolutely this sounds valid to me.

[dirtyweasel]

I was thinking the exact same thing when I saw that post in the other thread and I've had it happen to me in clothing stores before.

I remember when I was younger having to watch one of those customer service videos on how to work with customers in different scenarios.  They had one scenario in which a person in a wheelchair was having difficulty wheeling through a store so they showed an employee helping him and then moving the handicapped guy to the front of the line in front of a couple other people in line.  The people in line weren't happy about it and the video went on to explain that the proper thing to do would have been to help the handicapped guy to the back of the line so that you didn't anger the people who had already been waiting.

So it's sort of a different scenario, but with the same ideas: first come, first served.