I swear, I thought cell phones would be the big issue here. But it is not. People who won't get off their cell phones at my store do absolutely nothing to hinder the check-out process. I'm not discounting anybody else's experience, as I believe mine are far from universal, but it's almost like they're more attentive when they're on their phone.
Not that I'm advocating drunk driving in any way (or watching Family Guy) but in my store, it's like this:
Cell phone users are that kind of drunk. They're a little distracted and they don't say a word to me. Still. They smile when I ask them how they are, they shake their head when I ask if they want to buy the line item, and they get their money out when I read them the total and if they use their card, they watch the pin pad until the transaction is complete. I don't mind that they don't say a word to me because crap gets done.
If you really want to ignore me, you have to have someone there in person with you. If two people come to my checkout making small talk, I cringe internally because I know they are about to pay absolutely zero attention to anything. I test the waters with "Hi, and how are you today?" And they don't even flinch. I ask if they want to buy Snickers/lotion/hand sanitizer, and they don't even look at it. Sometimes they stop unloading their cart halfway through and I have to get their attention to show them there's room on the counter.
Then when it's time to pay. They never ever look at the pin pad, they look at who they're talking to. You don't need to make eye contact with a cell phone. If they're paying cash, they say a sentence, pull out their wallet, say a sentence, open the wallet, say a sentence, look through their cash. Say a sentence, take out one bill. Say a sentence, take out another bill. They aren't talking and doing this. They can't talk and count money at the same time, so they ping-pong back and forth. Or if they're really into the conversation, there will be several sentences between each bill. Plus they'll need me to repeat the total three or four times.
The absolute WORST part, though, and why I almost put this in a different subforum but decided against it because it's mostly customers interacting with each other... is that my managers know all the regulars and guess what? They HAVE to make conversation with all of them! So if someone approaches alone and the transaction starts out good, but my manager comes out and recognizes them as a friendly regular, they'll steal my customer's attention away! I just want to punch them! Manager and customer alike! It takes two to tango, after all. (Instead I just replay action sequences from The A-Team in my head until the transaction is over. If you're not going to pay attention, then neither am I.)
That's partly why people with cell phones are the best. If they're on the phone, a customer, manger or coworker is unlikely to steal away their attention.
I know this is nothing new. I know pretty much everyone deals with this. I just needed to get it all out. And I'm partly curious- is there anywhere else in the world where people who approach the counter talking on a cell phone AREN'T completely oblivious to the world around them? Or is my store built on some crazy nexus where everything is oppositey?
Not that I'm advocating drunk driving in any way (or watching Family Guy) but in my store, it's like this:
Quoth Family Guy S5E3
If you really want to ignore me, you have to have someone there in person with you. If two people come to my checkout making small talk, I cringe internally because I know they are about to pay absolutely zero attention to anything. I test the waters with "Hi, and how are you today?" And they don't even flinch. I ask if they want to buy Snickers/lotion/hand sanitizer, and they don't even look at it. Sometimes they stop unloading their cart halfway through and I have to get their attention to show them there's room on the counter.
Then when it's time to pay. They never ever look at the pin pad, they look at who they're talking to. You don't need to make eye contact with a cell phone. If they're paying cash, they say a sentence, pull out their wallet, say a sentence, open the wallet, say a sentence, look through their cash. Say a sentence, take out one bill. Say a sentence, take out another bill. They aren't talking and doing this. They can't talk and count money at the same time, so they ping-pong back and forth. Or if they're really into the conversation, there will be several sentences between each bill. Plus they'll need me to repeat the total three or four times.
The absolute WORST part, though, and why I almost put this in a different subforum but decided against it because it's mostly customers interacting with each other... is that my managers know all the regulars and guess what? They HAVE to make conversation with all of them! So if someone approaches alone and the transaction starts out good, but my manager comes out and recognizes them as a friendly regular, they'll steal my customer's attention away! I just want to punch them! Manager and customer alike! It takes two to tango, after all. (Instead I just replay action sequences from The A-Team in my head until the transaction is over. If you're not going to pay attention, then neither am I.)
That's partly why people with cell phones are the best. If they're on the phone, a customer, manger or coworker is unlikely to steal away their attention.
I know this is nothing new. I know pretty much everyone deals with this. I just needed to get it all out. And I'm partly curious- is there anywhere else in the world where people who approach the counter talking on a cell phone AREN'T completely oblivious to the world around them? Or is my store built on some crazy nexus where everything is oppositey?
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