{"id":1076,"date":"2010-08-22T20:57:38","date_gmt":"2010-08-23T01:57:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/?p=1076"},"modified":"2014-02-08T14:27:29","modified_gmt":"2014-02-08T19:27:29","slug":"the-customer-most-assuredly-is-not-always-right-a-cashiers-bill-of-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/?p=1076","title":{"rendered":"The customer, most assuredly, is NOT always right: A cashier’s bill of rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Robert Gillis
\nPublished in the Foxboro Reporter and the Boston City Paper, 8\/2010<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Good<\/a>
Greatest name for a store, ever! This store isn’t mentioned in this article (and service here is excellent), but I LOVE the name!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All of us have cashier and store clerk horror stories and instances where \u201ccustomer service\u201d was anything but. We\u2019ve all dealt with disinterested teen cashiers and surly seasonal clerks who chat with friends as they count our change. We\u2019ve tolerated rude clerks and cashiers for whom social politeness is a nebulous concept. We\u2019ve each faced people behind that counter who make it very clear they are not interested in us, or our business.<\/p>\n

Good customer service is often very hard to find; many cashiers simply do not want to be at the job they are working, or are just not, shall we say, \u201cPeople persons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite that, my experience has been that the customer is FAR from always being right, and that cashiers, store clerks, and anyone who works behind a counter (cashiers from this point forward for ease of reading) are often the victim in the transaction, and with that in mind, I\u2019d like to propose the beginnings of a \u201cCashier\u2019s Bill of Rights.\u201d While hardly inclusive, I think it\u2019s a good start.<\/p>\n

Dear customers:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • You are not better than, or superior to, a cashier. So many customers, if they even bother to speak to the cashier, talk down to them like they are stupid, or beneath them. Someone working a register at McDonalds is often a hard-working individual who\u2019s on their feet all day, and often at their second (or sometimes third) job.<\/li>\n
  • Customers, if you are talking on your cell phone while you are being waited on, the cashier should have the right to say, \u201cI\u2019ll be with you as soon as you finish your call. Next in line, please.\u201d You expect a cashier to give you their full attention, return the courtesy.<\/li>\n
  • Stop throwing money at cashiers. Stop placing a fistful of change on the counter and expecting them to count it. Put the money in their hand, like they do for you.<\/li>\n
  • If you have a problem with a cashier, discuss it quietly. If you\u2019re not getting anywhere (and that does happen), then ask to speak the manager. Be firm but polite. As soon as you start yelling and making a scene, you\u2019ve lost the argument.<\/li>\n
  • Keep your cool. I saw a guy in a local store a year ago who was screaming \u2013 I mean screaming \u2013 at the cashier because she would not accept the many coupons that had expired — A YEAR BEFORE. The police were called because the guy got so crazy. Look, it\u2019s one thing to ask a cashier for an exception to the policy, and we all have special requests, but don\u2019t be an unreasonable jerk and make ridiculous demands. Cashiers rarely make corporate policy but must enforce it.<\/li>\n
  • Don\u2019t be a jerk part one: I once saw a woman at Shaws yelling at the flower clerk because he could not fill a special order quickly. She kept threatening to go to his manager. When she left, I gave the kid my name and phone number and said if the woman made trouble I would speak to the manager and stand up for him \u2013 he had done everything right, and had been nothing but polite to the crazy flower lady. It would be unfair for him to get in trouble because a customer had a bad day.<\/li>\n
  • Stop getting angry because the cashier asks to see your ID when you buy cigarettes or beer, even if you look like you\u2019re 90. It\u2019s the law, it\u2019s their job. And it\u2019s a good law.<\/li>\n
  • Don\u2019t yell at the cashier because your credit card was declined. Take it up with your bank. Likewise, the cashier doesn\u2019t work for your doctor or insurance company. If your coverage is declined, don\u2019t blame the cashier.<\/li>\n
  • Be reasonable when arriving at any business just before closing time. It\u2019s one thing to need an emergency prescription, or medicine or baby food or something. It\u2019s quite another to do a massive amount of shopping or needing a lengthy transaction five minutes before closing. Years ago it was two minutes to closing at the post office and I was buying stamps. The door opens and a man comes in to mail a large box. To Nigeria. The box isn\u2019t even sealed. He hasn\u2019t filled out any custom forms. And it\u2019s now 60 seconds to closing. The clerk on duty took care of him and was very polite to him, but I left thinking how unfair it is for someone to do that. Look \u2013 there are valid reasons to patronize a business minutes before closing. But unless it\u2019s important, let cashiers close up on time so they can get home to their families.<\/li>\n
  • Parents, control your children. Get off the cell phone and pay attention to little Jimmy and Sally running around amok, knocking items off the shelves and causing havoc. We all love children but they are NOT precious when they are trying to climb inside a soda cooler or throwing merchandise on the floor.<\/li>\n
  • Foxboro teens: Local businesses are NOT your playroom to mess up and cause havoc. Period.<\/li>\n
  • Parents, when the store manager tells your teenager to leave the store because he\/she was caught shoplifting AGAIN, please don\u2019t yell at the manager. Please speak with your child. Sternly. On that note, it boggles my mind that many store managers are not allowed to ban repeat shoplifters because \u201cCorporate\u201d doesn\u2019t allow it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Finally, a few years ago, I<\/span> was the bad customer. Because my bank neglected to tell its customers that they\u2019d lost over 10,000 records, they decided to ensure our security by confiscating ATM cards — without notice. I was one of the ten thousand. I was very abrupt with the supermarket bank cashier who told me she couldn\u2019t help me \u2013 the ATM wasn\u2019t even their bank (and not the one that lost all the records). But honestly, I was a jerk to her.<\/p>\n

    I felt so bad leaving the store \u2013 and five minutes later, I went back and apologized to her. \u201cI\u2019m not THAT guy, who comes in to make YOUR life hell,\u201d I explained sheepishly. She was so nice about it. I felt really bad \u2013 but better after I apologized.<\/p>\n

    At Saint Anthony\u2019s Church in Boston, there is a counter where people can buy mass cards and other items. A sign reads, \u201cChristian courtesy is the rule here \u2013 on both sides of the glass.\u201d That\u2019s good advice!<\/p>\n

    Friends, the person behind the counter often works harder than you do. They are not your servant, you are not better than them, and their time is valuable too. Perhaps if you started treating them with a little more respect and courtesy, you would see a lot more of that good customer service you\u2019re always complaining you never see anymore.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    By Robert Gillis Published in the Foxboro Reporter and the Boston City Paper, 8\/2010 All of us have cashier and store clerk horror stories and instances where \u201ccustomer service\u201d was anything but. We\u2019ve all dealt with disinterested teen cashiers and surly seasonal clerks who chat with friends as they count our change. We\u2019ve tolerated rude […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[157],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1076","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-events-commentary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1076","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1076"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1076\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1076"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1076"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1076"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}