Cashiers rushing me out of the supermarket

For the past few weeks, I haven't been able to get to the supermarket till after 5-ish, which seems to be around the time that the cashiers end their shifts.

The supermarket doesn't actually close till 10.

The cashiers make it blatantly obvious that they want you to get through as quickly as possible so that they can go home.

Sometimes, they have started to clean their counters while I was packing my groceries or couting my money.

If you are standing in a queue someone will ask you to go to a queue with fewer peopel waiting. (Funny, they don't seem to care about long queues if you go earlier in the day.)

I walk to the supermarket and carry my items in a small four-wheeled trolley.

Yesterday, I was waiting in a queue. I don't mind waiting because I don't like being rushed and I have a chance to put my things on the counter while the person in front of me has their items rung up.

I was asked to move to a till where there were no people waiting.

When I got there, the cashier asked me if I wanted help packing and if I needed any bags.  It sounded like she wanted to pack my things for me (that is, throw them into bags for me)  so that as soon as she was done ringing my things up, all my items would be packed and she could leave.

I told her I didn't want help and I had my own bags.  I prefer to pack my own groceries because I know how to fit everything in my trolley so I can get home without everything falling out and I can get all my shopping up the stairs to my house. When cashiers here "pack" for you, they tend to just throw as many items as they can into a bag without considering how you actually plan to carry it.

The cashier said, "Do you mean you are just going to throw everything in your trolley?"

Erm, no. I am going to pack my things neatly because I have to get home with them.

After she rang my things up, I wasn’t done packing, and I always refuse to pay  till I’m finished packing.

I could see how annoyed she was getting as  she was waiting for me to pack. (This is when she started cleaning her counter and even got up and walked away from her till to take care of other things.)

This was a middle-aged women, BTW.

Now, I have worked as a cashier in the US when I was younger (which is why I can pack my own groceries better than any UK cashier can – because I was trained to pack groceries as efficiently as possible as part of my job) and it was expected that I treat every customer politely and with patience, regardles of what time it was.  

It was expected that I stay at least ½ hour – 1 hour after I closed my line down – straightening up my counter,  counting my drawer,  putting overstock away and cleaning if it was the last shif t before closing, etc.

If there was a long queue before I closed down, then I would have to stay longer or work faster doing  the things that I had to do after the customers left.

I would never dream of rushing a customer so that I could get home earlier. If I needed to leave early for a specific reason, I would ask my manager in advance.

Jeez, sounds like you got the short end of the stick with such a pill for a cashier!  Surprised you didn't tell her where she could pack it in! 

I haven't had such an experience, but it does seem like cashiers aren't NEARLY as pleasant here as they are in the States, maybe that's just me.  But lemme tell ya, if some silly cashier had said something like that I would have told her what for.

Is this the same place you always go?  Is there anywhere else to shop?  Have you mentioned this to anyone in a management position there?  Couldn't hurt to complain!

When I got there, the cashier asked me if I wanted help packing and if I needed any bags.  It sounded like she wanted to pack my things for me (that is, throw them into bags for me)  so that as soon as she was done ringing my things up, all my items would be packed and she could leave.

Almost every grocery store I shop in, I am asked if I need help bagging or if I'm ok bagging.  I think it is just a common thing here.

 I get asked if I want help all the time, too, and I usually appreciate it.  In this case, though, she was ringing my things up while I was first putting them on the counter, and from her expression it seemed like she was trying to get rid of me as quickly as possible. She seemed bothered when I said I would pack my own bags.

The general attitude around that time of day seems to be "Let's get everyone out of the shop as fast as we can so we can go home." As I said, the store doesn't actually close until hours later.

I don't like it when I'm a customer and I'm treated as though I'm an annoyance.

I have found that most of the time when I go to Spar (quick trips for a thing or two) or Morrisons for the weekly shop, they are always in a rush to get rid of me, or will take their own sweet time while talking to another cashier or friend. I have had to wait while a cashier (Spar) took her time ringing up and talking to a friend, then spoke to her a couple more minutes. When she finally took care of me, she seemed annoyed she had to let her friend leave to take care of customers. There does seem to be a lot of them calling out 'Next please', before you are ready to move on. I am not sure what the need to make customers feel like a nuisance is all about. I have worked cash registers before and always tried to treat everyone with the same respect I wanted when I was out shopping.

At Morrisons they are either slinging my items at me faster than I can pack them, or slowly ringing them one at a time so I have to wait for each one. I would rather pack my own because of the haphazard way they throw as much as they can in, and don't care which order it is in. Smashed bread isn't worth carrying home if you intended it for toast or sandwiches.

In this case, though, she was ringing my things up while I was first putting them on the counter,

I'm not sure I understand. Did you want to get all of your things out before she even started ringing you up?!?

she was ringing my things up while I was first putting them on the counter

What's wrong with that?

There was nothing wrong with her ringing my items up while I was putting them out.

It just meant that by the time she finished ringing everything up, I wouldn't have been able to start packing, because I would have just finished taking the items out and putting them on the counter. So it would have taken twice as long.

If she wasn't able to ring things up until after I put my things out, then as she was ringing them up, I could put them in bags. This time I couldn't because I was still first taking my things out and putting them on the counter.

If she had packed for me or gotten someone else to pack for me, my things could have been thrown into bags as she was ringing them up, so once she was done ringing up I could have paid and taken my things, and she could have left.

This way she had to wait till I packed my groceries, which I guess was a huge imposition.

I was just thinking that when I worked in a supermarket, sometimes old ladies would not let you ring anything up until they had everything out on the counter, and then they would just stand there and watch you ring up every item to make sure you put the right price on everything. (They didn't trust the scanners.)

I guess I just don't see what the problem is. I'm sorry. If she spoke to you inappropriately or in an impolite manner, then I do understand you being annoyed by that. But, honestly, when I'm in a supermarket I want to get in and out as quickly as possible. In fact, I recognise the people on the tills now so I know which ones are speedy and which ones take too much time ringing up my things. I always want the person who'll start ringing up immediately and do it quickly! My guess is that most people probably feel as I do.

This is why I like Sainsbury's - their policy is to WAIT and not start anyone else until the current customer is done.

I now pack all my stuff, I never take the help and pay when I am done.  I agree with putting it all in right, not just chucking it in.

I do think it was rude of your cashier to get up and walk away - I mean you couldnt have had that much '-)

I don't like them to start ringing up my groceries until I am there to watch them.  Yes, I am that sort of customer, but most where I've shopped in London wait anyway.

When we were still doing the bulk of our shopping in the shops, Mr A and I would just put everything back into our shopping trolley (the shop's one, not ours).  We'd then go and bag everything near the wall at the far end of the tills (near the tills that rarely get used).  It would take some time for us to pack them, as Mr A had the same thing about balancing everything (we have a two-wheeled trolley which will be too hard to pull if not done right), and we didn't want to hold people up.  Granted this might not be an option if there's not the room.

We now order most of our food online.  I HATE grocery shopping, partly because of trying to lug everything home.  Depending on who you order from, you can get deliveries for free to around £5, depending on the slot you book.  It's not the most economical, but it saves us the hour (or usually more) shopping.  Our time is worth more than that.  I know you have other issues with shopping, and if you think you could swing it, I highly recommend it.  It's one of the luxuries I'd have a hard time giving up at this point.

Mysupermarket.com allows a fair comparison.   Our personal preference is Ocado (can be expensive, of course, but super awesome, and you rarely if ever get substitutions), Tesco (surprisingly close second), Sainsbury's, and finally Asda (avoid in my experience.  Sent the bulk of our stuff without sacks, yet didn't end up with fewer sacks and had to hand carry most of our crap to the back of the house, didn't warn us that half of our sale items were going off offer before the delivery when the others do, were really crappy on the phone when trying to get a refund on a substitution which caused one of our multi-buy things to go up in price).

Anyway, best of luck, but I don't think you will change how they do things without picking a different time to do your shopping.  

I'm not sure I understand. Did you want to get all of your things out before she even started ringing you up?!?

I do, so I can pack/unpack my groceries appropriately. I try to get all or most of a large shop on the belt before its scanned. This way as its rung up, I can pack refrigerated food, frozen foods, can goods, etc in the right order. Nothing gets missed and all the cold food stays together. This might be OCD or just come from being a cashier too long and knowing how to pack appropriately (on Sat packed £150 worth of food into three large re-usable bags - most of it dry goods as well since our cabinets were BARE)

Ive found the big Sainsburys will wait, while the smaller high street/local ones will try to rush you out.

Waitrose, its hit or miss. The older cashiers seem to rush you, while the younger staff seem to wait and listen to your requests. Rarely shop in Tesco and havent been in a Morrisons in about 5 years...

I guess I just don't see what the problem is. I'm sorry. If she spoke to you inappropriately or in an impolite manner, then I do understand you being annoyed by that. But, honestly, when I'm in a supermarket I want to get in and out as quickly as possible. In fact, I recognise the people on the tills now so I know which ones are speedy and which ones take too much time ringing up my things. I always want the person who'll start ringing up immediately and do it quickly! My guess is that most people probably feel as I do.

There's a difference between doing things quickly and efficiently (which is good) and rushing customers or providing poor service, such as throwing bread at the bottom of a carrier bag, (which is bad)

An analogy would be in a restaurant, the difference between a waiter coming over  to you and asking you if you would like the bill when you have stopped eating and are just sitting around chatting vs. a waiter coming over to you, writing the bill and throwing it down in front of you when your plate is still half full and you are putting food in your mouth.

Speed is great, but the customer should never be made to feel rushed.

It's the same when I'm paying for something at a counter and the cashier is ringing up the next person's stuff while I'm still putting my cards and money away.

I should be able to leave a shop confident that my items are packed properly and nothing is going to break or be crushed, my debit card has been put away properly, etc.

You should save time by ringing up items more quickly, counting out change quickly, not having personal conversations with other workers, etc.  You don't save time by rushing customers.

Kerri, I don't think you are  OCD. I am the same way. I know how to pack things properly.  I don't want to have to deal with milk being put in a bag with bleach or 8 bottles of beer thrown into one flimsy plastic carrier bag. I also need to make sure that I can get everything into my trolley so I can get it all home.

Packing in the UK seems to just mean putting things in bags. Very different from my US experience, where we were trained to pack and to put the bags in peoples' trolleys for them, fitting the most items in the least possible space while separting things that needed to be separated, making sure eggs stayed on top, bags wouldn't break, etc.

We were also trained to considerer customers' needs. For example, if you  were packing for a frail, little old lady you would pack lots of very light bags becauseshe wouldn't be able to lift them if there were too many things in one bag, while if you were packing for a big, burly guy, you would puts lots of items in one bag and double the bags so they wouldn't break.
 

I also like to pack my own bags for similar reasons (fridge stuff together etc).  If I haven't got all my stuff up by the time the cashier is ready to start (ie when she/he asks do you need a hand packing?) I simply say 'thanks but that's okay, I'll pack myself, if you could just give me a moment to finish putting stuff up I'll be ready to start'.  I've never had any bother doing that. 

What does make me feel rushed sometimes is when they tell you how much and ask if you've got a loyalty card while I'm still packing.  I just say 'thanks, yes I do' and continue to pack.  I'm not opening my handbag while I'm still packing and not completely in charge of my cards etc.  Again never had a negative response.

I do try to engage with cashiers though as (having once been one) I know how boring it can be otherwise.  So maybe they feel warm towards me?

On the odd occasion that I've felt a cashier was rude or something I've had no hesitation in either going to customer services to say something or catching the eye of the supervisor and having a quiet word - I take the attitude that they'd rather know how the customer feels!  (And I'm British - one of those who doesn't usually like to complain/make a fuss!!)

An analogy would be in a restaurant, the difference between a waiter coming over  to you and asking you if you would like the bill when you have stopped eating and are just sitting around chatting vs. a waiter coming over to you, writing the bill and throwing it down in front of you when your plate is still half full and you are putting food in your mouth.

Except that having a meal in a restaurant is something done for pleasure. Food shopping is simply a necessary chore in the middle of a busy day.

I do, so I can pack/unpack my groceries appropriately. I try to get all or most of a large shop on the belt before its scanned. This way as its rung up, I can pack refrigerated food, frozen foods, can goods, etc in the right order.

I take my food out of my basket in the order I want to pack it, so it gets rung up the right way. It's not that complicated.

Speed matters, people!