Seriously - I hate annoying, chatty cash register workers who ask about the things I buy

TWICE this weekend. And it fricking annoys the bejesus out of me!

First was at Wal-Mart. Mind you, I'd rather have root canal than shop at Wal-Mart, but they had this single packet clear caulk stuff that I like to use on my tub. Trust me I looked everywhere for it and it seems only Wal-Mart carries it. So I went into Wal-mart on Saturday figuring shopping there once every 10 years isn't a bad thing. And I get stuck with the chatty register worker who asks about everything I'm buying. When we get to the caulk packets she's all 'ooo and ahh' reading over the packet and talking about how she didn't know it was there and she needs to get some of this blah blah blah blah. I wouldn't care except she's NOT ringing up my stuff!

Just ring the damn stuff up. If you see something you'd like to buy then make a mental note of it and deal with it after your shift is done.

And then again Sunday at Lowe's I bought an 8 foot runner carpet that was on sale for $40. Again I get the register worker getting all gushy over the carpert -- ooo it's so soft, it's so pretty. And instead of ringing up the damn carpert she's there fondling it like a cheap $2 hooker.

Seriously - this is why I love self-service. Can't these folks at the register read facial expressions. If the customer looks pained - then STFU, ring up the items and don't get all chatty.

:-)


Sometimes I am happy to chat with the cashiers, sometimes not.

I just want to pay and go - not have to pass judgement on my purchases!

:P

:hide:

and i use it a LOT.

I'm with you all the way, I already know how good/useful what I'm buying is, that's WHY I'm buying it!

I have worked retail for 20 years. It can be one of the most god-awful jobs, even at the better retail outlets. Imagine how much fun the job would be at Wally World! Most shifts range from 6-12 hours, doing nothing but endlessly ringing up purchases. Not to mention the low wages and standing on one's feet for that many hours at a stretch.

The only decent part of working with the public is the rare, kind customer with whom one can exchange pleasantries. Since most cashiers do not know all about their customers' personal lives, one of the only things left is to discuss are the items being purchased.

I mean, really, how hard is it to respond with a "Thanks! I had heard good things about this bread, caulk, movie...whatever".
It doesn't cost the customer more than a few seconds, and it will REALLY make the cashier's day - a smile and a kind word go a long way. And who knows? They may, in turn, be kind to the next person who waits on THEM, and so on...


Obviously, I'm not referencing the overly loquacious - but just talking in general terms.


;-)

chats with anyone, anywhere, anytime.

I agree with you, muffin1 -- I've learned to chat more with people handling checkout, and it really does seem to make a difference in their day, and in mine.

...how she couldn't afford this or that item for herself. I thought that was a real passive aggressive trip. And the items weren't luxury items!

but I'm in Delaware - have to go to a liquor store for the booze.

I remember visiting DUer Ramsey in Florida and we bought a $40 bottle of champagne. The girl at the register went on and on and on about how expensive it was and she couldn't believe there was booze that expensive. I'm so glad we didn't buy Dom or that girl would have passed out from her shock!

Just proclaim loudly, "I just LOVE me some CAULK!" and look a bit too excited. Trust me, they'll get you out of there faster than you can say "psychotic"

register worker nuts! If I see a pained look on their face I DO STFU though. :o

But you'd probably talk about cool stuff and not about caulking and runners

I pick up tampons for my sister and I don't need comments about THAT, for example. if i were a cashier i would NOT talk about items purchased.

I could never get my ex to buy tampons, he was just too embarassed to be seen anywhere near a box of tampons.

I actually haven't had to buy them in ages. About 2 years ago a store was going out of business and had my brand on sale for half-price. I bought 30 boxes of them.

go through that persons line, with something like duct tape, a butcher knife and bleach. Or KY, condoms, extra strength tylenol, beer and some rope. Just to fuck with them.

What colors?

How much is it?

"I wonder what the ONE item this person came in here for?"

I would never ask it, of course, but when I'm checking out, I always look at the dozens (or more) of items I have and wonder if the cashier could guess which item(s) actually brought me into the store.

I swing wildly on the chattiness scale, depending on the cashier and what my time constraints are like. Just the other day I found myself chatting with the bagger and felt guilty after I left, thinking that if I were the person behind me in line, I'd be pissed (but I didn't start the conversation, I just didn't end it).

As long as they keep ringing up my stuff, I don’t mind the small talk, and I often enjoy it.....but don’t hold me up to chat about my stuff.


Macoy

and i just want to get rung-up and leave.
it's one of the reasons that i use self-checkout whenever possible.

Sorry to hear of your inconveniences. I enjoy striking it up with the cashiers - but only if no one is in line behind me. I know where they are coming from too. That job can surely become monotonous, especially with such low wages. On the flip side of the coin, I can see your point. Sometimes you're in a hurry, and you are just looking to skedaddle.

for the People of Wal-Mart website

:scared:

They're the chattiest.

At Trader Joe's there is one woman that I swear when I see her I avoid her line. She is way too chatty.

Ironically she always has the shortest line at Trader Joe's - which makes me believe that I'm not the only one annoyed by her.

And the person in line ahead of me at TJ's is always up for a good long chat. :(

My g/f and I always go in there and act even more obnoxiously nicey nice to them and they just shut up.

You're RIGHT! SCREW the "little people!"



:rofl:

:hide:

Not everyone gets their joys off of chatting with complete strangers.

.
... when I was getting tampons for my ex, the clerk looked at me smugly and
seemed to be having trouble keeping a straight face. With my OWN straight
face, I told her that men use them,too... but I really didn't feel like discussing
it with a stranger.
.
I'm sure she wonders about me (and much more so, that "process") to this day.
.
One of the games I play while waiting in line at the grocery store is that I try
to combine the purchases of the person in front or behind me and guess what
they're going to cook. If I think I've got it, I'll just ask. I've guessed (correctly)
things like lasagna, chicken cordon bleu, caprese salad, vichysoisse and sauerbraten.
.
It's fun... and people are usually mildly impressed and amused. And I always wonder
if they start checking out the groceries of the people in front of or behind THEM.
Not nosy, just bored.
.
Now... ... ... if say, 20 years ago, I had seen you buying caulk, runnercarpeting,
and THIRTY FREAKIN' BOXES OF TAMPONS in the same order, I would still
be wondering about YOU to this day.
.
At least to the point that I would recognize you so that I could quickly cross
over to the other side of the street in time.
.
They're just folks... like you and me. When a clerk's jerk, he/she is usually
a REAL jerk, and I'll do anything to avoid him/her. But most are nice and I
often enjoy the ultimately meaningless banter. In any case, I don't begrudge
them their opportunity to escape from the horrendous drudgery of their job...
even when it's inane and innocuous blather.
.
You usually seem very nice and funny. I think this is a point you should not
be so aggressively and angrily (STFU?) defending/prosecuting. The minute or
two that it takes that you find so annoying may just be your best chance to
putcher money where your mouth is if you ever talk about the values of tolerance.
.

.
... I DO get annoyed if there's a big line and the clerk and customer
somewhere in front of me get into a long INVOLVED discussion about
their families or plans or problems or whatever.
.
But not just idle chitchat.
.

Do you know the joke about the shy gamma that was sent to Wal-Mart buy tampons for her granddaughter because ...well whatever excuse...

She was given a specific name and brand.

But then horror of horrors.

It requires a price check.

Cashier calls out on the store microphone. "Pricecheck on Tampak. 40 Pack. Aisle 6"

Hardware misheard the product as thumb tacks and reponded "Do you mean the ones you can push in with your finger or the ones you need to pound in with a hammer?"



Gamma fainted

Or something like that.

.
I'm going to pull that line on a friend of mine.
.
It's gonna make her night!!!
.
Thanks.
.

:spray:

and I can see where you're coming from. I do chat with my customers, but I do it as I am ringing their stuff up. I don't stop ringing their stuff up just to chat about what they buy. We do have a cashier here though who does exactly what you are annoyed about... very chatty with customers about stuff they are buying. Some customers won't go through her line because of it.

While we're on the subject of things that annoy us, though... one thing that annoys me is customers who yap on their cell phones the entire time I'm ringing them up, not even stopping their conversation to even acknowledge me. It is very rude and it drives me nuts!

transaction.

from start to stop. They don't seem to mind. I wish they'd tell me if they did.

It isn't like it slows them down. They are just sliding stuff from right to left.

If the machine won't read my card and they need to think, I stop briefly while they type in the number. Other than that, I'm blabbing away.

:)

some companies require cashiers to do that. It seems friendly but at the bank and at Starbucks, we're required to do it to gauge up-sell opportunities and to generate rapport. You're more likely to sign up for premium checking or to buy a scone if you think the person you're receiving customer service from is friendly. Likewise, if you're taking out large amounts of money and I ask why and you say "car payment" I now know to offer you our awesome "car-refinance" loan options, automatic bill-pay and online banking. :)

So insidious. :evilgrin:

give me friendly chatty over surly any day. I mostly do small town transactions so it is always chatty plus we all mostly know each other so there is also the expectation of politeness.

I had a chance to shop in Tucson a few weeks ago after months of not going there and was kind of "culture shocked" by the neutral, non-chatty cashier at a store. She wasn't surly but definitely "just doing the job." In turn, I think I shocked her by my friendly flexibility about bagging or something. (it was a yuppie grocery store, not Trader Joes - but similar clientele - people not afraid to be picky and demanding about every little thing is my nice way of putting it - ha) I got her to smile before the transaction was over - satisfying to me.

Pick up a rope, a shovel, toy handcuffs and a box of condoms.

If the cashier wants to know, I just say, "Are you free tonight?"

Food and household cleansers are one thing but if I'm buying a bra or underwear that's not the time to ooo and ahh.