Cashiers rushing me out of the supermarket

At first I found the packing your own bags to be a real hassle (my US home is a small town and the cashiers are taught how to pack bags correctly - when there isn't a "bagboy" available, which there usually is -, they always load them into your cart and usually engages in pleasant conversation during) but like you, I found that the cashiers just toss everything into the bag with no consideration at all.  Then I realized that packing my bags was much more practical regardless of how long it took.  Oh, I do put my items on the cart in the 'correct' order (i.e. frozen stuff together, boxes together, cans together, bleach or cleaning products together, etc) and it still gets jumbled up.  I remember getting home one time to find that my bread was in the bottom of a bag (and I always put my bread on the conveyor belt dead last so I have yet to figure out how that happened), a 2L bottle of pink lemonade on top of that and bottle of toilet cleaner beside that with package of mini muffins on top.  Who the hell does that?

Aside from the that, I always felt rushed in grocery stores in the UK.  The cashiers just seem to have the worst attitude ever.  I always felt like the were running late for a really important date with some really hot guy waiting outside for them and somehow doing the job they are getting paid to do is a slow death.

I've had service like that in the US also but I guess I've been spoilt by the little old men who work in my local grocery store (in the US).

Well, you can't avoid bad packing when ordering a delivery.  Essentially, it might be a bit better than some in the shops, but the last time I had Sainsbury's delivery, they packed a bottle of household cleaner and a bottle of liquid hand soap with antacid and paracetamol.  Yes, the antacid and paracetamol aren't food, but the packages were covered with all purpose cleaner.  

I used to be a cashier, and it's a miserable job, but I believe they get paid more here, most places have seats (I would have loved that, and so would my feet.  Not laziness, but those who have worked a job where you essentially stand on the same bit of concrete for hours on end know why this is a huge benefit to cashier's well beings).  I don't mind packing my bags.  I always did at least some packing when I shopped in the States.  Plus, I use my own bags here (usually).  I know I wouldn't want to have to pack people's reusable bags.  Most would be okay until you get the couple a shift where they don't ever clean them, and there's years worth of chicken blood in the patina on the inside of the bag.

Cashiers can't win sometimes.  When I worked as a cashier in the past I was told by my supervisors to process customers as fast as possible in order to clear queues or stop them building up.  The belt/till cleaning thing was also supposed to happen pretty frequently throughout the shift so it's not always someone trying to finish up their shift quickly.  

I don't think it's entirely the cashiers' fault. I am sure that most of them are doing what management told them to do.

My OP, though, was directed to the way that their behaviour differs just before they are leaving.  I wasn't complaining about being rushed all the time; I was complaining about being rushed at a certain time of day.

If the cashiers can be polite and patient at 3 PM, they can be polite and patient at 5 PM.

I actually do like where I shop and I prefer getting to look at and choose the things I am buying to shopping online. It's just the change in attitude around the time of what is probably the end of a shift that bothers me.

It's just the change in attitude around the time of what is probably the end of a shift that bothers me.

Oddly, when I worked a cash register, I found knowing the last few people were my last of the shift I was nicer to them. There was something about knowing I was going to be finished soon that made me spread the happiness around no matter how tired I was or how much my feet hurt. It is a shame more people don't think of it that way.

One of the first things that I learned when I was working is that you never rush to be out by exactly whatever time your workday is supposed to end.  You finish whatever you need to do, and you do it to the best of your ability.

Acting like you don't have to work as hard because it's almost time for you to go home is incredibly unprofessional.

O.K, maybe its just me but I have always thought it rude to take your time packing things away and that you should move aside and do it.  Politeness goes both ways and England is a bit different when it comes to what is expected from service. If I know its shift end an people want to go home (perhaps pick up their kids) I make sure I hurry even more.

Thats the thing about living in different countries things are done differently and expectations develope differently.  I think here politeness in the past was very entrenched and you in no way want to bother or get in the way of staff.

O.K, maybe its just me but I have always thought it rude to take your time packing things away and that you should move aside and do it. 

It's not just you.

I think it depends on what is meant by "taking your time".

I don't think anyone should stand around for ten minutes pondering which bags to put things in.

But I don't think there is anything rude about waiting till everything else is packed before you put your eggs on top of the pile so they don't get squashed or taking half a minute to make sure that you've put all our change back in your purse.

About having to leave early -  I worked full time and got my degree in the evenings, which required an hour commute in between.  I somehow managed to make it to my classes on time without having to rush out leaving work half done. If you need to leave your job earlier, that's between you and your manager; nothing to do with the customer.

It was difficult at first just getting used to how cashiers are here. I haven't personally had any problems with cashiers in Tesco's. I did get a bit annoyed at first when cashiers think that it's okay to have a conversation with other workers and leave you standing there waiting. I then realised to not be so impatient. I was not in any rush and I have learned to adapt rather than let it bother me. I also don't mind being rushed because I also like to get the heck out of there too. I have always hated grocery shopping, it doesn't matter where I am.

I did get a bit annoyed at first when cashiers think that it's okay to have a conversation with other workers and leave you standing there waiting. I then realised to not be so impatient. I was not in any rush and I have learned to adapt rather than let it bother me.

I find that to be rude, whether I'm in a rush or not. To me it sends the message 'you are not important'. I was told at my very first job that the customer is your boss, because without the customers, you don't have a job. I know from experience it is tedious to feel you have to focus every second on every customer, but you should at least smile and greet each one for a few seconds to let him/her know you are aware they exist. I've had some (here and in the US) who ignored me to the point of not bothering to tell me my total, so I'd have to look to find out, while they sat there, hand out waiting for cash or a card without even looking away from the co worker they were talking to. It is a matter of courtesy.

. I was told at my very first job that the customer is your boss, because without the customers, you don't have a job.

Yes. I was told that it is easier to replace a cashier than to replace a good customer.

Having cashiers ignore you is not unique to the UK though, which is what Sarah Marie seems to imply.

Most of the cashiers I have encountered in both countries have been polite and helpful, however.

It can be quite hard to recruit people to work tills in supermarkets. Tesco advertise in Poland and other East European countries. The money is not great, so it may be easier to replace a "good" customer than a cashier.

I suppose it is different if you live in a country where not having a job can mean not having access to medical care. It makes you less choosy.

I never had health insurance as a cashier.

Regarding Tesco recruiting in Poland, I heard that some of the people who've applied for cashier have had to take a test which involved testing their experience in stock ordering.  If that's true, maybe their problems recruiting have less to do with the stereotypical work shy Brit on benefits (or working in shops being something British people don't want to do), and more to do with not having legitimate entry level positions (or at least, not considering entry level positions as that).  Perhaps it has to do with area?  I just put in my post code (SW London) and the closest openings of any sort is in Coventry, Southampton and Cambridge...

It makes sense that in an economy where jobs are scarce, employers would be looking for employees with more experience and a wider skill set.

I haven't worked as a cashier in the UK, but  I think that wherever they are, cashiers' behaviour has to do with management. If the cashiers are throwing your things on the counter and rushing on to the next customer without giving you a chance to put them away, I think it's because the managers have told the cashiers that they need to work faster and have said very little about customer service to them.

In my case, the importance of treating every customer like they were special and anticipating their every need - as well as being as fast and efficient as possible without skimping on customer service - was drilled into me from the first day.