If you’ve ever worked in customer service, or retail, you know that dealing with people is hard. It’s exhausting, and trying, and sometimes you just don’t want to deal with the same things over and over. While most customers are fairly considerate, or at least just kind of normal, a decent chunk of customers are rude, inconsiderate, or just annoying. Here are some tips to be a good customer while you’re shopping.
- Be aware of your surroundings. This has a couple meanings, please be aware of where you are, and where your cart is. If you turn your cart sideways in the aisle and block it off, and you’re asked politely to move, and you ignore the person asking, and they try and move the cart out of the way, causing you to death glare, just don’t. Know where your stuff is. This also includes trying to not drive your cart into full displays, or glass sliding doors.
- Read signage. Sales are regularly posted, and marked. If you spend an hour and half shopping and then come to the sale and act shocked that there is a sale, when we’ve been doing quarter hour pages, and you had to walk past a neon sign to get in, I’m not sure what to tell you.
- Pick up what you drop. Be considerate. If you drop something on the floor, pick it up. If you don’t know how to fold it, that’s fine, just put it back, don’t leave it to get stepped on, and dragged around.
- Please be prepared. Don’t pile your bags under all of your groceries, and then expect the cashier to somehow store all your food until you get your bags dug out from the cart. Leave them up top. Make sure you have your money. If you have meat/dairy in your cart and leave them behind because you forgot your wallet, lots of places have to throw the food out. It’s a waste.
- Check coupons/price matches first. If you bring something to the till, and your coupon is expired, that’s not the cashier’s fault. Always double check. With price matching, make sure you have the correct product, and size.
- Don’t trash the fitting rooms. It’s so obnoxious and disrespectful. If you try on clothes, don’t leave them inside out in a pile of hangers, hang them back up. If you don’t know how to hang them, put them neatly, not in a dirty pile in the middle of the floor. Especially if there’s an item limit, and you have 50 pairs of jeans inside out on the floor.
- Don’t touch the cashier. It shouldn’t have to be said, but it’s happened too many times to count. Don’t touch hair, jewellery, or clothes. Don’t grab my watch to look at it. Don’t grab my hand to see my ring. Do. Not. Touch.
- Don’t ask invasive personal questions. Don’t be weird. There is a difference between small talk, and asking weird questions. Don’t ask about family, their address, their politics, their religion, or their sexuality. Don’t.
- Being irritating. While this is obviously subjective, general census is, “it didn’t scan so it must be free”, “why is this priced this way”, “I can get it cheaper at x”, “my friend works here and she says x”. It also includes obnoxious pranks, or trolling your cashier. Stop thinking it’s funny.
- Don’t criticize their job. It’s demeaning, insulting, and rude. If you don’t want someone coming into your job and making comments, “oh, so this is why you work here”, and “it’s no surprise someone like you works here”. It happens too often.
Abusing customer service workers has become a trend, especially since “the customer is always right” has taken hold. While you might not actively scream and yell at employees, following the above list definitely makes our day a lot better. It’s respectful, and polite, and we all appreciate it greatly.
