This store is cheap, so you can afford to pay attention!

[MrsEclipse]

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:

Ok, who's drunk, but that special kind of drunk where you're a better driver because you know you're drunk, you know the kind of drunk where you probably shouldn't drive, but you do anyways because, I mean come on, you got to get your car home, right? I mean what do they expect me do, take a bus? Is that what they want? For me to take a bus? Well screw that! You take a bus.

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?

[prjkt]

I hate that.

My worst encounter with this was helping a customer from another country, showing him a camera. His friend decided to step inbetween us and talk to my customer in their own language.

Not knowing what else to do, I walked off slowly...

[emax4]

I have gotten used to people on the cellphone, and as a cashier I don't have many/any questions to ask. Today though I told myself that the next customer who checks out in my line while on their phone, I'm gonna say out loud, "THANK YOU FOR SHOPPING ADULT MART!!! HAVE A GREAT DAY!!"

[bainsidhe]

While working at *big box retail*, cell phones didn't normally pose a problem, because while the customer ignored me, I'd ignore them and ring up everything. But yes, I still hated it because it was rude. The worst were those with a blue tooth, because I'd start interacting, thinking they were talking to me. This always resulted in a demeaning and dirty look, as if I was too stupid to realize I had invaded their privacy.

Other delightful events:
-The woman who slooooowwwwllly put everything on the belt. And sllloowwwwly pulled out her wallet. Meanwhile the very patient woman behind her stared bug-eyed and mentally tried to hurry her along.

-The people who interrupted their call in a huff, saying the cashier (me) wanted something. (Yeah, like scan your card HERE so I can finish the transaction).

-The guy who got off the phone, and complained how his woman didn't believe he was at *big box retail* and then he started bragging about stepping out with someone else. Ew.

Ugh.

[notalwaysright]

I haven't gotten to many people on cell phones lately. Regardless of their attitude, they're obnoxious. See, I have to ask how much fabric they want. And I need to REPEAT the amount at least once to make sure I'm giving them what they want. They tend to give me mean looks when I do that, as if I'm deliberately messing with their super important conversation. It doesn't necessarily slow things down, though.

There is the dreaded "my wife will tell you want I need" call. Sad looking middle to older man will make me talk to his wife on his phone. She (while sitting all comfy at home) will tell me a long story while zillions of other people waiting give me the death glare. The worst offenders, as the OP said, are groups. They seriously are in their own little bubble, where time doesn't matter. Usually they are friendly, but I have to prompt them for everything. This is a typical situation:

How much for this? Oh, Mary, this is for Sue's new baby! Should I get two yards? Well, are you going to make a blanket and burp rags? I could... This is on sale, right? Yes. You should just get the whole bolt! Rachel is due next month. But I think she's having a boy. Really? I thought that was Kelly? Maybe you're right. I need to call her and ask if she picked out nursery colors yet. Oh, look at that chevron back there! Can I see that?

[wolfie]

Oh, look at that chevron back there! Can I see that?

Don't you wish you could tell time-wasters like that to GO TO SHELL?

[RealUnimportant]

I find there's 3 kinds of phone customers.

There's the kind the OP likes, which is thankfully a decent percentage of them; some of my colleagues get upset by them but I find a couple of quick gestures in universal sign language is usually enough for us to interact & get through the transaction swiftly & painlessly, sometimes even with a kind smile of gratitude at my understanding that the call's important to them.

There's the kind that come up on the phone, immediately tell the other person "sorry, I have to go, I'll call you back in a minute" and then devote their attention to the transaction and to me. These are among the most awesome people on the planet.

And then there's those that are more willing to listen to the person on the other end of the phone than they are to me, even if they're talking to them about the stuff they're trying to buy - after all, why would I possibly know more than some random friend on the phone about the stuff I'm actually employed to sell?

[EricKei]

I can see the last one now:

"Well, Blanche, the neighbor's stupid little yappy dog was barking up a storm -- *turns to her own purse-dog* Be quiet, Precious! I'm trying to talk! -- and anyway *cashier tries to get her to swipe her payment card for the third time* Stop interrupting me! Gawd! So rude! When am I supposed to swipe my card, anyway, service here is so slow! And can you believe how many stores won't let my Precious in? Something about service animals...I just zip her up in my purse so they don't see her, HEY! It's saying debit or credit! ... what do you mean just press one?! *throws card at cashier* just do it for me! It's debit! My PIN number is....."

[Setsunaela]

Had one of those second ones yesterday, where one woman was in line, and the second woman got in line behind her, recognized her, and tapped her on the shoulder. They then chitty-chatted through both of their transactions, making them both take forever, which was especially frustrating as our touch-screen for the EFT machine isn't working and I have to talk people through pushing the physical buttons, and I had to do this four times, twice per customer, because of their conversation.. And the poor regular in line behind the both of them with his two pieces of candy and a soda, who is usually in and out in a hurry but still polite, glaring daggers through the backs of their heads..