I'm Rude.

[Plaidman]

Not so much sucky, as a WTF moment.

Lady brought up a lunchable, and asked for camels. I told her the total, (Which was like, 6 something). She stared at the price for a moment, pointed to her lunchables, and told me that that is to go on her Foodstamp card.

ME: Ok, give me your foodstamp card first then.
lady: *Slams it down*
Me: *run card, it goes through*
Me: 4.89 for the camels please.
Lady: *slams down twenty*
Me: 15.11 is your change, do you want a bag?
lady: No, and your rude. *Grabs stuff and leaves*
Me: *blinking*

What the hell? She didn't have her card in hand, made no mention of it before, and it so damn easy to pay for the two since the computer does all the work for you. You just have to run it first before EVERYTHING else, nad put the amount if the want to put in a lesser amount. I have no idea what her problem with me was.

I had to ask, so I did ask a few customers if I was rude. The answers I got were surprising to me, which is as followed (the best ones)

1: Not really, but you can come off a little smug at times.
2: You can be, I've seen it, but really only ones that really deserve it I think.
3: You can be overly friendly, which I guess comes off a little strange and false.
4: Damn right you are. I expect no less. (This from a cool guy that me and him regularly throw insults back and forth. He normally gets the best. We do have lines. He doesn't insult my eyes, and I don't insult his fake leg/walking).
5: Sometimes you are. It seems your always rushing, and sometimes talking on your cell but you turn it off when people come in so I guess its ok.
6: Yeah, your always fucking watching people. Nobody steals as much as you claim. Its very rude to think everyone is stealing.

There were others, but those are the ones I remember.

EDIT: BTW, anyone here think I'm rude?

[Broomjockey]

If the initial conversation happened exactly as you reported, the customer was likely talking about a lack of "please," "thank you," and maybe "ma'am." Since it sounds like she set the tone, she's just an EW and wanted her ass kissed.

[BaristaTrav]

haha on #6... man if they only knew.

[Food Lady]

I can see how, out of insecurity, she may have felt like she was being called stupid (indirectly) for not knowing to run her card first. That conclusion could be a result of your tone of voice.
Edited to add: You don't come off as smug on the CS boards. But we don't know the Work Plaidman. I will say it's humble to ask for opinions about it; you are obviously interested in changing yourself for the better.

[StarsAreFixed]

Oh one of them, sees insults in everything.

Co-worker walks on to the tillbank where 4 other people are serving. SC ignores the tills that are open and goes to her till while she counts in her float.
CW: Sorry, I'm not open. These tills here are.
SC: NO NEED TO BE SO RUDE!!!

.....?

She freaked out, demanded a manager and was fuming that we don't have signs saying 'sorry, im counting my float' or somesuch waste of money. Yeah because the loud sound of coins being thrown into a till and the total absence of the person saying next wasn't enough.

[Imogene]

SC ignores the tills that are open and goes to her till

Got a customer who yelled at me because I wouldn't check her out while I was busy waiting for my closing report so I could go home.
"I was in your line before you shut down."
Me: "Not likely, I've been closing down for four minutes now."
"You're rude, I was in your line."
Me: "If you say so, nonetheless, I can get in trouble for checking anyone else out at this point, not least because I'm already over my hours for the week. I have been told to leave, so LEAVE I must. There are four other tills still open, and they'd all be perfectly happy to ring you out."
"You're rude!"
I look at the head cashier, helping to get my register pulled. "She HAS to go, and has been unfailingly more polite to you than I would've been."

[Andara Bledin]

I can see how touchy or insecure people might get up in arms over the conversation as you posted it.

Instead of the "give me your card first," comment, maybe try something more like, "I can do that, but your card needs to be rung through first." This puts the perception of a problem (real or otherwise) on the system as opposed to the person.

I wouldn't have had an issue, but then, I'd rather get things done quickly and efficiently and be on my way. Then again, I'd have the card out before I started, anyway.

Oh, and #6, there, is probably a shoplifter. Why else would he even really care about people watching him in the shop? Nekojin & I had the LP guys at a Target follow us around for a couple of aisles, once, and we laughed about it. They weren't very subtle, and we were just shopping, so we didn't care if they wasted time following us around.

^-.-^

[Lace Neil Singer]

I've been followed more times than I care to remember, mainly cuz of the tatty Slipknot hoody I like to wear, and put my hands in the pockets of. I wonder sometimes if "wears nu-metal band hoody" is on the description of the obvious shoplifter. Perhaps they should remove it and replace with "little old lady" instead.

Plaidman, I'd suggest using please and thank you; I do all the time, so as not to seem rude. However, there is the occassional SC who thinks anyone who doesn't bow down and kiss their feet is rude; and of course, the "You told me no so you're rude! OMGBBQeleventy!" people. -.-

[Broomjockey]

if "wears nu-metal band hoody" is on the description of the obvious shoplifter. Perhaps they should remove it and replace with "little old lady" instead.

No, it's just "hoody." Because of the pockets, and usually baggy nature. What is on it is basically irrelevant.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Strange; I've never seen a security guard choose to follow the chavette in the pink velour hoody instead of me.

[Broomjockey]

Strange; I've never seen a security guard choose to follow the chavette in the pink velour hoody instead of me.

You also said it was "tatty," correct? "tatty" = "old." "Old" = "can't afford new." "Can't afford new" = "thief"

Or that's how the thought process in LP goes.

That or it's confirmation bias. You see LP near you, think "hey, they're following me." You don't see LP near you, you don't think "Hey, they're following the chavette." You think "It's nice not to be followed for once."

[Lace Neil Singer]

Actually, I rarely think at all. And I'd think that someone who looked poor but was wearing new clothes would be more likely to be a thief; someone wearing old clothes would surely not be a very good one. O_o

In any case, in the stores I've worked in, the elderly and mothers with pushchairs are the ones that are caught stealing the most often. O_o Especially the mothers who push those giant buggies with enough space to smuggle a baby rhino.

[Broomjockey]

those giant buggies with enough space to smuggle a baby rhino.

You know this, and I know this, but the prevalent thinking as enforced by management knows...

[Lace Neil Singer]

*smacks self* Dammit, I forgot the golden rule... if it makes sense, it's not allowed! X_x

[Ironclad Alibi]

Strange; I've never seen a security guard choose to follow the chavette in the pink velour hoody instead of me.

But had it been a pink camo hoody . . .