I'm sure you can figure that out on your own!

[ariekain]

Yesterday, I was working a woefully short shift, as everyone's hours are being slashed in half (or worse), and for the most part, it was uneventful despite it being the dreaded first of the month.

I've gotten used to handling people and their food stamp cards. And by handling, I mean trying to get them to understand that their Monster energy drink is not covered by food stamps. I don't really care if you get Red Bull with food stamps all the time. Monster and Red Bull aren't the same thing. /end rant

But anyway, this particular customer wasn't that sucky, but she did annoy me a little. She's one of those who I have absolutely no idea who she is; she isn't a friend of mine, and I know nothing about her except that she's a semi-regular. But every time I see her, she starts talking to me as if we've known each other for 20 years, calling me by my first name and asking me all sorts of personal questions. When a stranger who I don't know outside of our brief interactions at the checkout line calls me by my first name, it always throws me for a loop.

But I'm digressing. I was helping a customer who had some issue with her order, so I had to do some corrections on my end, and those corrections required an override. I asked one of our baggers to get one from the manager, but they didn't understand what I wanted so I had to run and grab one for myself.

I came back with the override, at which point the semi-regular customer throws a mini-fit.

SRC: ariekain, is this going to take a long time?
ariekain: No, it'll just take a few seconds for me to figure this out.
SRC: But, ariekain, is it going to take a long time? Should I move to another register? (She had about five items)
ariekain: Um, I don't know. That's up to you.
SRC: Should I move to another register, ariekain?
ariekain: *headdesk, still trying to be polite* Well, I'm not sure, it's up to you if you want to move.
SRC: *sigh* Okay. *doesn't move*

I don't know what she expected. It wasn't bothering me that she was there, except that she insisted on calling me by my name the whole time. I know I have a nametag on but it still takes me by surprise when someone I barely know addresses me like we're best friends.

I guess she wanted me to tell her that yes, she should leave my line. But like I said, it wasn't bugging me that she was there, and if she was in that much of a hurry, she should have left. She seemed like she was capable of making that decision for herself, instead of asking me repeatedly.

Was I being too picky here? Should I have just told her to go to another register?

[pltkcelestial18]

I don't think you were. I would have been annoyed too. It's one thing when a customer calls you by your name when they greet you and when they leave (Hi Celestial, how are you today? Thanks Celestial, have a nice day!) or when it's someone you see so often, you know what they smoke or that they're old enough to drink even though they barely look 21. But when they start or end every other sentence with your name it's annoying.

[notlovinit]

I don't think you were being picky. I hate when people use my first name at work. It's just one of those annoying things that people think is endearing.

[Pixilated]

The name thing might not bother me, but the repeated "Should I move to another line?" would. How should I know? I have no idea how much time will seriously inconvenience to her. Two minutes? Five? If I were doing something that would take longer than five minutes, then I'd certainly warn other customers, but under that, I'm not going to make a decision for somebody else that they should be mature enough to make for themselves.

[TexasT]

My theory? She's asking you, so that when you give her advice, and it doesn't work out well, she can go to the managers and demand "compensation" for the "unhelpful employee." If you had told her to go to another line and yours moved faster, well, then you were WRONG. If you had told her to stay and the line over moved faster, then you were WRONG. In other words, your noncommittal answer was the best to give if this was her motive.