Monologues

This review is for all the stupid customers out there. I can see that most Ciao users seem to be very pleasant people. The sort of customers whom I would be happy to help and have a chat to as I ring their items up.

However...there seem to be a growing amount of people who moan about shop staff.

Well imagine the below scene, played out day after day:

Happened to co-worker of mine. Paperchase is a concession inside Borders. Well...this pair of elderly stuck up women (note women not ladies...) wanted to order in a book. My co-worker explained that they had to go the information desk. One of the women sneered at her and said 'Oh so you're just a sales assistant,' and walked off. My co-worker ended up saying "Paperchase is a concession...we don't deal with Borders as we are a separate company..." The woman turned round and openly laughed at her and walked off. All the time treating my friend like she was dirt beneath her feet because she was a mere, stupid shop girl. Now imagine being treated like this by countless stuck up people all day long. Would you feel bouncy and happy? Would you keep smiling?

My friend has 3 A Level A grades and is now working in an office job which pays much more and she actually likes going to work. I have quit my job, off to uni now and I would rather live off Dad's allowance that have to put up with the general public again.

Imagine being verbally abused day after day as some shop workers are. Imagine being threatened with dirty needles held at you by a mentally ill thief. Imagine gangs of rowdy teenagers in a shop messing it up. Imagine incompetent managers, poor pay, people leaving soiled nappies in changing rooms. I could go on and on.

Many shop workers do it as a part-time job to get some money or work experience. Many people have no choice but to do shop work. Would you rather see them sat at home on the dole, living off your tax? People have to work in shops, if all the miserable staff resigned there would be no one to ring your items up at the till.

There is no excuse for rudeness either side of the counter. But don't moan about miserable staff. They dislike their jobs for a good reason. And you have to shop unless you want to make your own own clothes and grow your own food in the garden.

How would you like to deal with a long line of people because there is not enough staff to work? And having to apologise to each and every customer for something that is not your fault. Having to put up with lots of moaning all directed at you as if it was your fault that no one wants to work in the shop. If the shop is so understaffed that you feel the need to whine why not apply for a job there?

I always made an effort to say please and thank you and smile. And I got nothing back at all. I always tried to help people who didn't bother saying thanks or even smiling at me. People are so stupid, throwing their trash down in the shop, messing up entire displays. And then moaning about what a mess the shop is!

Then you have the people who borrow stock, they buy it, use it and then return it and get angry when you point out it its damaged or the 28 day return limit has expired.

So I went from a happy smiling sales assistant to one who was annoyed all the time due to people (customers and head office management) treating me like rubbish.

We were not meant to drink behind the till but I always did. I needed a drink! I got lots of dirty looks off people because I dared to sip some water. Guess what? Sales assistants are people too! We even require breaks!

Most shop staff simply don't care. They don't care if the item you want isn't sold. Earning £4.50 an hour, would you really care?

Everyone who moans about bad service should spend a week working in a shop. I would love to see how different you behave

Oh and complaints. Shouting at a sales assistant won't get you anywhere. If anyone shouted at me I would refuse to serve him or her and call a manager.

If a staff member is walking off home through the doors, they are off the clock. They do not care. If they are sat in the cafe they are on a break. Find someone who is actually working.

Don’t come into the shop at 1 minute to closing. The staff want to go home too. Yep they actually have lives outside work!

A staff member is getting a discount. It takes a whole minute longer to process. Don't mutter under your breath. Wait your turn.

The till is not working. Don't mutter 'stupid people' at me and walk off. I have told you the problem. I have told you where else you can pay. I have even said sorry. The till is not working. I am not doing it to annoy you.

Your credit card does not work. Guess what? Not my fault your card has been declined. Not my fault if a storm has knocked the power out.

I am not God. I do not have magical powers to pull items you want out of the air. How ever many times I check the stock room it will not be there.

To be honest, it must take a person with low self-esteem to get mad at a sales assistant for not thanking them personally for shopping at the shop with a huge grin. People do complain about not being thanked at the end of a transaction.

If you throw your credit card down on the counter or your change down-expect to have it thrown back at you.

People always say 'well you shouldn't moan...it's your job to serve people and be nice to everyone...the customer is always right.' No the customer is not always right. It's about time people realised that.

For some interesting stories take a look at http://www.usdaw.org.uk/usdaw/news/10929​22133_22410.html which is a retail workers union.

"This supports a survey by Usdaw, published in July 2004, of mainly supermarket workers, which showed many are bullied, spat at, physically attacked, threatened and verbally abused when they refuse to sell age-restricted products. Incidents were not confined to the workplace, with some staff being attacked when off-duty, travelling to work or making their way home."

For some stories of stupid customers go to http://www.planetfeedback.com/sharedLett​ers/0,2924,,00.html and read some of the gems on there.