Customer service etiquette

[kitty-cat]

This one is my fantasy for retail...

Customers:  If buying alchohol at my store, please have your ID out and waiting-yes I need your ID even if you were in here yesterday buying the same item.  And it doesn't matter if you are 21 or 101, I still need it.  I have to card my own mom if she comes in.  And no, I can't sell you the alchohol without an ID, and I won't.

Please have your money out and waiting.  Don't wait until I have finished scanning all of your items before STARTING to dig for your wallet.  Or to pull out the checkbook.  Doing either one of those things really messes with my time score and I don't want to get in trouble for a low score because you (generic) take 5 minutes to write a check.  (I'm not bitter, nooooo......)

If you have reusable bags with you, don't bury them under everything.  Please keep them up in the seat of the buggy so I don't start putting your stuff in plastic bags. And yes, I do know how to pack a reusable bag, and no, you don't get the reusable bag discount if I don't put the stuff directly in the bag.  (One person had me put stuff in plastic so she could put into the reusable.)

Please for the love of diety, if you are getting multiple types of apples, please put each type in a seperate bag.  They might cost the same per pound, but inventory needs to know how many we need during restock.  On the same note, please don't roll your eyes when I reach for the fruit/veggie code sheet.  I haven't been here long and I'm still learning them.

If the manager says we can't price match this, please don't argue with her.  That only makes her upset, and I have to close the store-she says when we go home.

Please don't mess up the folded displays.  I understand that you might need to lift a few to get to your size, or to grab a few sizes. But please don't just ball it up and drop it back on the table.  If anything, give it to the person working in the fitting room-much easier to fold 10 over the course of the day than 10 when we are closing and want to go home. 

If I tell you your card has been declined, please don't get angry with me.  I have no control over your card working or not. This may sound rude, but it is your duty to make sure that you either have the money in your bank acct. or to pay the bill in a timley manner.  (one guy put his store card payment in the mail on veterans day, and it still wasn't in on Sunday- not my fault....)

Sorry this is so long, it's been an interesting month.  Oh, and yes, those frozen turkeys are heavy-this is the 20th one I have lifted today...

[Switcher]

This is kind of a pet peeve for me. Sales People- Please come to work well groomed. This is really particularly important for people in food service. I'm not asking for a full updo, but deodorant and clean hands please.

[camlan]

This one is my fantasy for retail...



Please have your money out and waiting.  Don't wait until I have finished scanning all of your items before STARTING to dig for your wallet.  Or to pull out the checkbook.  Doing either one of those things really messes with my time score and I don't want to get in trouble for a low score because you (generic) take 5 minutes to write a check.  (I'm not bitter, nooooo......)

Please don't mess up the folded displays.  I understand that you might need to lift a few to get to your size, or to grab a few sizes. But please don't just ball it up and drop it back on the table.  If anything, give it to the person working in the fitting room-much easier to fold 10 over the course of the day than 10 when we are closing and want to go home. 

Kitty-Cat, I agree with most of what you wrote. But the two items above--the fishing for a wallet and the folded displays. I'm going to argue that the real problem with those two is not the customer, but the store management.

I did not realize until I read your post that a cashier might be timed on each transaction. (My mind is still boggling at this.) There are so many things that can delay a transaction. I'm just amazed that your company feels the need to do this. But, and I speak as someone who almost always has her wallet or debit card out and ready to go, it's a bit hard to blame the customer, who has no idea that there's a time limit for each transaction. In fact, knowing this would make me want never to shop at that store again.

And the folded clothes? Again, the management. While the display might look pretty, it's an inefficient system all around. It's hard to find the right size and color and you pretty much have to mess up the display in order to do so. If the clothes were either hung up, or folded and stacked in clearly marked piles by size, life would be easier for both shoppers and store personnel. And I never would have thought to take the shirt or whatever to the person at the fitting-room. I thought the item needed to stay at its own proper little table. I'll keep that in mind next time I shop at such a store.

Adding two more things to my "What I learned on E-Hell" list.

[kitty-cat]

It's not so much a time limit, as a "nothing is going on for 5 minutes".  Usually if nothing is going on for a while it means that the cashier is taking a really long time to scan in items.  If I am continuously scanning items for 30 minutes, I'm good.  If I scan in your 10 items, hit total and then you (all generic you's)  want to flip-flop about wanting something, and then want me to void stuff out, but then change that price, and then this coupon is acting up, that is what messes with my score.

I think this is because we are supposed to be "FAST, fun and friendly."  Scan each guest as quickly as possible so that a giant line doesn't form.

And the way we fold our shirts and the such, you can see the color and the size sticker is very visable.  (if folded correctly....)

And camlan, thank you for always having your money ready to go   I love it when people do that.

[Switcher]

Bill Maher actually pointed this out, but I do agree.

Customers- If you know you are going to use a check, fill in the name of the store and the date before handing it over. Don't be surprised, you always have to write that information. All you should have to do if you are paying by check is write the amount of the purchase and sign it.

[Mopsy428]

This one is my fantasy for retail...



Please have your money out and waiting.  Don't wait until I have finished scanning all of your items before STARTING to dig for your wallet.  Or to pull out the checkbook.  Doing either one of those things really messes with my time score and I don't want to get in trouble for a low score because you (generic) take 5 minutes to write a check.  (I'm not bitter, nooooo......)

Please don't mess up the folded displays.  I understand that you might need to lift a few to get to your size, or to grab a few sizes. But please don't just ball it up and drop it back on the table.  If anything, give it to the person working in the fitting room-much easier to fold 10 over the course of the day than 10 when we are closing and want to go home. 

Kitty-Cat, I agree with most of what you wrote. But the two items above--the fishing for a wallet and the folded displays. I'm going to argue that the real problem with those two is not the customer, but the store management.

I did not realize until I read your post that a cashier might be timed on each transaction. (My mind is still boggling at this.) There are so many things that can delay a transaction. I'm just amazed that your company feels the need to do this. But, and I speak as someone who almost always has her wallet or debit card out and ready to go, it's a bit hard to blame the customer, who has no idea that there's a time limit for each transaction. In fact, knowing this would make me want never to shop at that store again.

And the folded clothes? Again, the management. While the display might look pretty, it's an inefficient system all around. It's hard to find the right size and color and you pretty much have to mess up the display in order to do so. If the clothes were either hung up, or folded and stacked in clearly marked piles by size, life would be easier for both shoppers and store personnel. And I never would have thought to take the shirt or whatever to the person at the fitting-room. I thought the item needed to stay at its own proper little table. I'll keep that in mind next time I shop at such a store.

Adding two more things to my "What I learned on E-Hell" list.

I do agree that it is an inefficient system and that I never take back the shirt to the fitting room person unless I actually go to the fitting room to try it on. But I do think it's a tad rude for the customer to leave the pile of clothes looking like it was an obstacle on a Double Dare obstacle course.

[Allyson]

Customers: If you are ordering food at a fast-food or similar place, and you need to look at the menu for a few minutes, that's cool! But please let the customer behind you, who knows exactly what she wants, go first. Most people are good about this, but there are enough exceptions to aggravate both customer behind you and sales person!

Salespeople: please don't talk about inappropriate topics when there are customers in the store! When I was shift supervisor I had to get on people for discussing all sorts of unnecessary topics. You are working with food! People come here to eat! They really don't want to hear about your nausea-related complaints, health issues, or really anything that might put them off their food, regardless if you are talking to them or your co-worker.

[CinnamonGirl]

If you're at a busy bar waiting to get serve don't wave your arms at me/bang on the bar/shout at me. It just makes me want to ignore you.
I think that some people need to learn some manners before being let out in public.

[Alida]

Bill Maher actually pointed this out, but I do agree.

Customers- If you know you are going to use a check, fill in the name of the store and the date before handing it over. Don't be surprised, you always have to write that information. All you should have to do if you are paying by check is write the amount of the purchase and sign it.

Actually, most of the stores I go to these days do that for you.  All I have to do is sign the check, the computer prints the store name, the date and the amount.

[AmethystAnne]

To fast food restaurant counter workers: If a customer comes into your store and stands near the door to read the menu, don't keep saying "May I take your order" over and over again.

Please wait until she/he walks up and and stands next to the counter.

Eating in a fast food place is commonplace to alot of people but not to everyone.

[JD5351]

When calling customer service, please realize that what you may think is fair may really not be.

I work for a prescription benefit manager. We MANAGE the prescription benefit. We do not make the rules. (Most of them anyway.)

Your benefits office along with your insurance company created your plan with the following in mind:

Your company has "X" amount of employees with "X" amount of dollars to spend. They have to create a plan to benefit the majority of it's members while still being affordable. If your plan were to cover every drug on the planet with no restrictions your premiums would go up and/or your copays would go up. No matter how many times you scream the F word at me, it will not change. And no, I'm not "playing doctor" when I tell you that your plan does not cover the medication. Your doctor can write a prescription for a Ferrari, but that doesn't mean your plan has to pay for it. I know that sounds awful, but it's the way it works. Again, your employer/group only has a certain amount of money to spend..They have to draw the line somewhere.

[ccpb1214]

I used to work at Starbucks, so here are some things:


Customers, if you're ordering a coffee type drink and you want it iced, please tell the cashier when you're ordering at the register or just before the Barista starts to make it.

Don't stand there watching them make your drink, only to say "Oh! I'm sorry! I wanted it iced" when they're just about finished making it.




If it's early in the morning and it's a long line, don't ask if you could "just" get your drink right now. No, you can't. The Barista knows it's early in the morning and they know it's a long line. They know you want your coffee, but so does everyone else and if the Barista lets you "just" get your coffee, it's not fair to the people who have been waiting.




Last thing: on a busy day, don't just grab the first cup you see. That might not be your drink. Wait for the Barista to call your drink/name.

What would happen is people would grab the cup only to come back and say "This isn't what I ordered."

[Emmy]

CSRs/Cashiers:
I know that i am not a "somebody" to you, please though, when i am in your lane/line/table/whatever.. make me feel like i am. at the very least smile and say "hello"

And please don't continue on your conversation with the employee next to you.

I'm not sure if this is a recent trend, but now it seems like everywhere I go, cashiers do this. I find it *so* rude. If I did that when I worked in retail, my boss would have written me up--or fired me!

Very rude, especially when the employees do not acknowledge your existence in any way except to take your money.  Even if the employee is talking with customer A about work related stuff while ringing up customer B, it is very rude for the employee not to acknowledge customer B in any way.

For appointment based customer service.  If a doctor, real estate agent, or whoever made the appointment will not be able to make the appointment due to a schedule conflict, illness or emergency, they should really let people who scheduled an appointment know instead of waiting until they show up for the appointment.  I also feel a doctor's staff should notify patients if a doctor is running more than an hour late.  (I showed up for a doctor's appt. one time and the doctor was running 2.5 hours late.  Several people with an appointment with the same doctor actually left after waiting hours because they had other obligations.  The staff, who knew about the doctor running late should have called people or at the very least, let people know about their wait when they arrived.)   

[Lisbeth]

Customer service staff, especially cashiers:  Make eye contact with the customer, please!  We are not mannequins or computer-generated graphics going through your line, we are flesh-and-blood human beings just like you.  Please give us the courtesy of treating us as such.

[iridaceae]

Tapping or drumming your fingers to get the customer service person working faster is very rude.

The customer service person is not responsible for your credit card declining; do not blame them.

If a customer comes into the store and says "no, thanks, I'm just browsing" after they've been greeted and asked if they need help, don't hang around them and keep asking if they need help.