Community Chat

[151949]

Yesterday I went to the grocery store and I only picked up a couple things so I was in the express lane. There was a very elderly lady in front of me.She got her stuff , paid with a $500 bill. This required the cashier go to the manager  - they have to check the bill to be sure it isn't conterfiet etc. I waited patiently, actually chatting with a lady I know from church who was behind me in line. They finally came back with the elderly ladies change, she took a long time to count it and put away in her wallet, then put her wallet away in her purse , so meanwhile - even though this lady was still in the line in front of me - the cashier rings up my items and I pay her, she gives me my change so I have no where to put down my purse so I can put my change back in my wallet - thus - in my hands is the purse, the wallet and dollars and coins, & the receipt  plus the cashier is trying to force me to take the bag with my items in it. How many hands exactly do these people think I have? When the lady in front of me finally moved I sat my purse down on the end of the counter & put away my change and my wallet before taking the bag the cashier was trying to push down my throat. She was trying to ring up the lady behind me but the lady made her wait til I was done and out of the way.

Why do cashiers never seem to want to give you time to put your change or CC away before they are pushing you out of line? This is a real pet peeve of mine. I waited patiently for the lady in front of me , can't I get that same courtesy from the cashier to allow me to put my change away ! No matter where you shop it seems they do this. If there are people in line - once you have paid they want you gone. 

It's not so bad if you have a cart as you then have a place you can set your purse down but I did not have a cart as I only got 2 items.

[Laura14]

Probably because her employer has drilled it into her to get the customers serviced quickly. 

I know in the pharmacy they actually track ticket times and penalize you if you are too slow. 

I think it's ridiculous and companies need to let people not machines deliver the customer service.  Most humans are usually better at it.  

[CrazyDaisy]

Sorry, I am of the mind set that you move out of the way and not hold up the line. 

[house_cat]

I've been in that position before. It is awkward. I have noticed that people have very little patience for the elderly in those situations.  It breaks my heart when I think of my dad, with his shaky hands and failing eyesight, trying to take out his wallet and credit card.  I suppose the cashiers are pressured to keep the line moving, but it hurts to be in that situation.

Something else that I find bothersome is the way many cashiers will hand back my change. Rather than handing me the coins and counting up the bills, as I was taught to do decades ago, they hand me a clump a bills and plop the coins on top of it.  I think that's rude.

[vermint]

@CrazyDaisy She said in her post that she had nowhere to move TO. She had her hands full with purse, wallet, change and no free hand to take the bag from the cashier. The elderly lady was still at the "end" of the line getting her stuff together, so @151949 could not move out of the way, or even set her purse down so she could free up a hand!

[151949]

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@Laura14wrote:

Probably because her employer has drilled it into her to get the customers serviced quickly. 

I know in the pharmacy they actually track ticket times and penalize you if you are too slow. 

I think it's ridiculous and companies need to let people not machines deliver the customer service.  Most humans are usually better at it.  

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I understand that - but was she not able to see , right in front of her, that this elderly lady was creating a backup and just cool her jets a moment ? Could she not observe that I was standing there with both hands full instead of shoving my bag in my face.

[CrazyDaisy]

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@vermintwrote:

@CrazyDaisy She said in her post that she had nowhere to move TO. She had her hands full with purse, wallet, change and no free hand to take the bag from the cashier. The elderly lady was still at the "end" of the line getting her stuff together, so @151949 could not move out of the way, or even set her purse down so she could free up a hand!

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Thats is why they put handles on the bags. If in fact she could still not move up the cashier would have no reason to rush her since she could not ring up any ofthe people behind her.

Suprised to see a $500 bill in circulation, thought they had discontinued that denomination decades ago.  I can see why the cashier was confussed and the line was all backed up.

[VanSleepy]

Was that a typo?  $500 bill?

[Starpolisher]

@151949

I totally agree with you! I also think you and the lady behind you did the right thing. It's exactly what I do. It's not going to kill anyone in line to have some patience and show some courtesy. They'll be elderly someday too, God willing.

[JeanLouiseFinch]

What @Laura14 said is true, managers are all about pushing performance.  In retail, cashiers are monitored and have certain performance requirements that track how many customers they check out during their shift.  Stores can track the employee performance rate by tabulating how many people he/she checks out per hour or per shift and then check that number against the size of the customer purchases.Those results are factored in the employee's annual performance review and have barring on pay increases and maybe even promotions.  The store manager also has an interest in this, for the same reasons.  If his team is performing well, the district manager gets the impression that the store manager is doing a good job...and it continues up the chain.  Times have really changed in many ways.  All too often it's about the bottom line, real life situations and care for the individual are secondary.