I was just recuperating from a week long cold and eager to get out of the house, so it was off to the grocery store for color, characters, and sustenance. The supermarket is now the equivalent of Ye Olde General Store in rural Virginia, the center for meetings, greetings, smiles, and stories.
But, things did not go well this time and “I shoulda’ stood in bed.”
- Instead of friends, there were fruit flies flying around the onion bins – confused fruit flies. Don’t they know onions are not fruit?
- I forgot half the items on the shopping list because well, I left the entire list at home.
- Finally, to check out and hoping for Cheer and Sympathy (for my venerable age and sickly pallor) I chose a young, energetic checker named Charlie. Charlie was not friendly but he is my fevered story of the day.
As I unloaded the shopping cart onto a moving belt, I felt Charlie.
I mean I felt Charlie WAITING. My 6th Sense you know.
“What is he waiting for?” I wondered.
Then I realized he was waiting for ME to put each item he bagged into the shopping cart.
Now it should be noted that I always do this anyway as my personal gift to the cashier.
I never thought I was obliged to do it.
I actually think I am helping a hard working person who has to do it all day.
And the cashier always chips in to help me too, with heavy or bulky items.
It is a friendly sharing and we even chat in the process.
This worldly concept of peace and harmony did not overwhelm Charlie.
Charlie stood, arms folded, waiting.
He was waiting for an almost-elderly lady with a sickly pallor to move heavy items from his carousel back into the shopping cart.
Could this be true? Could Charlie be so callous?
My foggy phlegm-filled brain slowly began to register CUSTOMER NEGLECT.
It certainly did not register CUSTOMER SERVICE.
And with each heavy item I loaded and as I tried to fit giant rolls of paper towels into the cart, I got madder and madder. Can a person be screamingly silent? I was screamingly silent but kept on working while Charlie waited.
The frown lines I had long been wishing to erase (with happy facial exercises) came back as deep, permanent etchings.
And in some mysterious way my otherwise docile charming personality evaporated, leaving an aggrieved sickly ogre.
When all the items were transferred BY ME (out of the shopping cart) onto the moving belt and then transferred BY ME back into the shopping cart, a young lady checker joined Charlie at the register. And as I was writing out the check, they began bitching complaining about the nasty attitude and stupidity of a previous customer.
THAT DID IT!
“I am just curious,” I said with a grim grin and in my most charmingly sugar laced voice.
“You, young man, have not lifted a finger to help load these groceries.
Are the BUYERS in this establishment now EXPECTED to load all their groceries without help?”
And to my astonishment, the girl answered, “Yes, that’s the way we were trained.”
WHAT?
“You were TRAINED not to lift a finger to help a customer?”
Charlie did look a bit chagrined but he obviously had no idea how to answer the ogre in their midst.
I then turned to the lady behind me in line who had a case of colas in her cart. “Let THEM lift it,” I said.
The ogre in me was so mad I could no longer engage in conversation and simply left the store muttering vows never to return.
Do you think Charlie and his friend were actually trained not to do anything to help a customer? If so, how very unfortunate for future generations.
Maybe new young employees have never even heard of Customer Service and never will.
Maybe Charlie had a cold too.
After loading the car, I began to feel sorry for ignorant Charlie and his future progeny.
I am still slightly disturbed at the process though.
Here is what I believe Charlie was taught in store “training.”
- Customers are the enemy.
- Say, “Hello,” if they say it first.
- After the customer’s groceries are bagged, he or she MUST reload them (without help) into the shopping cart.
- NEVER assist a customer in any way, even if the customer complains.
- Always maintain a blank faced decorum.
- Never apologize.
I realize of course, that Charlie was being confronted by the menacing side of me.
It was a day when “I shoulda’ stood in bed.”
Maybe it was a day Charlie shoulda’ stood in bed too.
“I shoulda’ stood in bed” is an idiom that was often quoted by my Hungarian father.
It means I should have stayed in bed.
My pet peeve is that the checker doesn’t even begin to scan until after he has finished his personal conversation with another employee.
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Ugh. I could gripe for a long, long time about customer service, but this is bad. I hope you feel better soon. Now go back to bed.
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I can’t believe a store would train them like that…perhaps they were hoping by saying that they were curtailing a call to the manager.
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Sounds as if everyone had the grumps that day. But now that you mention it Dora it seems that all the supermarket staff are either busy filling up shelves or busy at the tills .However, if you approach one of them they are usually helpful but definitely not anxious to lift or carry the customers shopping. So its TAKE YOUR MAN WITH YOU WHEN SHOPPING.
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Unfortunately, this seems to be the way of commerce now days. No good or friendly customer service. Gripes me too….guess I shoulda stood in bed instead of going to stores also!!
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I take it that you frequent this store often, and that you’re usually helped with your groceries? At the stores in our area, the customer always takes the groceries out of the cart and puts them back in. In fact, the way the check-outs are configured, it would be difficult for the cashier to get around to where the cart is. I use self check-out most of the time anyway, but it IS a challenge when there are heavy items involved.
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I can’t believe he was trained that way. Unless you are getting a discount (like at the mega box stores where they don’t have bags), they should help. It would have helped the line move faster. Shudda stayed in bed for sure!
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I’m surprised you didn’t seek out the manager over at the “Customer SERVICE” desk and let them know you were going to vote with your feet and take your business elsewhere! There has been a sad decline in service these past few years. Well, at least you can still get you gas pumped for you, which is impossible around here. 😉
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Too many cashiers–the face of the store we see–seem to have gotten the same training.
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Oh no … that’s crappy to leave the house feeling lousy and then feel lousier AFTER your outing. 😦 What irks me is when you thank some (toddler) clerk who replies, “No problem.” Huh? When was there a problem? Makes me cranky!! MJ
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You go girl!! How dare they treat you like that, and I’m glad you said something!! You really have to nowadays because otherwise you will just get stomped on every time you turn around. I always figure as long as I’m not rude, I have a right to stand up for myself.
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Oh, and I really hope you are feeling better :).
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Thanks pal! I am on the mend… still falling asleep at odd times and avoiding human contact. 🙂
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Oh, you are helping me feel less guilty about losing my “cool.” Thanks Cindy!
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That’s it. That’s the word I was looking for MJ – “Cranky.” Poor Charlie.
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Right you are Patti and that is so sad.
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I did think about seeking out the manager Eliza but then felt sorry for Charlie and thought he might get fired because of my cranky reactions.
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Thanks Kate. Now that I am on the mend, I figure part of the problem was my cranky reaction. I could have said something earlier, asked for his help in my usual sweet way, and left the store smiling. On the other hand, it was a righteous complaint. On the other hand, I sure shudda stood in bed! 🙂
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In our little town we are accustomed to friendly cooperation and help when needed in our grocery stores and anywhere in town. So this aloof non-involvement came as a real surprise.
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Sounds like you are in the same mood I was in yesterday! We do seem to experience the same things the same way at the same time. Thanks Cindy. 🙂
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Good advice as always Rita…
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I think you are onto something there Suzicate.
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Best advice yet Seasweetie. It’s basically where I spent the day today and am feeling better – just not ready for the grocery store again. 🙂
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Argh! Actually, I have experienced that but absent the manic ogre inside me, I always wait patiently for “my turn.”
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Sorry you are ill. It seems more and more stores are doing a serve-yourself mode, but the prices don’t reflect the decrease in service, I don’t think.
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I’m speechless! I can’t believe they are actually trained that they should not help bag and load the groceries into the cart. I understand self-serve stations, but not the ones “with service” – that is one with a cashier are different! I would most assuredly have voiced my opinion. I agree with photosfromtheloonybin that we have a right to stand up for ourselves in this case – as long as we are not rude.
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You shouldn’t feel any guilt at all!! Glad to hear you’re on the mend :).
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Thanks Lilly! I like to think I’m still on the “cutting edge” but continue to refuse the self-serve stations at the grocery store. And you are right about the prices for sure.
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You and Cindy from photosfromtheloonybin are so right about standing up for ourselves. Problem is I am from the old-older-oldest school. I was taught never to make a scene and to mutter to myself. The re-learning process is slow and painful, so I tend to mutter on my blog instead. 🙂
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You are the best! O.k. The guilt is gone! 🙂 🙂
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I agree that making a scene does not help anyone in whatever the situation is. I tend to voice an opinion (muttered or otherwise) and leave. So feel free to mutter all you want in your blogs; I will be happy to keep reading them. 🙂
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Still, the policy of ‘no help’ is crazy, unless this is a wholesale discount store like Costco’s.
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You are an inspiration for me to keep on muttering through cyberspace. Thank you Kate! 🙂
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Loved reading your silent thoughts Dorann, because they are spot on – sick or not – has nothing to do with good or bad customer service. Our world has changed and customer service is only one of the areas that its not only taken a back seat but in most circumstances it’s missing. There aren’t even excuses any more, just moving closer to being a totally (c)rude society.
So sorry that you are not feeling well and hope that this weekend you’ll start to feel better.
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You are such a kind person Mary. I can tell. And I totally agree with you that our world has changed and not necessarily for the better when it comes to human courtesy. Maybe it’s more of a shock here in this small rural backswater where most of the time people are very caring.
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And that’s what makes it so sad – it’s pretty shocking how quickly even our innocent communities have changed from the wholesome towns we once knew. I like to think things are going to change for the better, but it takes a crisis to wake people up.
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Ditto Mary! I still believe the younger generations will wake up and make things better again.
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