If you're in a store and you observe a customer being rude to the store worker, would you say something to the customer?

Nope, not my business.

I am too cowardly for that.

I usually do. I have been on the receiving end of bizarre stuff like that and I always appreciated when someone would stand up for me.
Bullies suck.

No. You could start a fight if you did.

No, not usually. I was in a shoe store this past year in line to buy shoes. The lady in front of me was absolutely berating the cashier because her email was needed to be able to check out. I silently agreed that you shouldn’t have to give your email to be able to check out, but I would never have spoken to anyone like that. I kept quiet because the customer had a little girl with her that looked terrified. I didn’t want to make things worse.
When it was my turn, the clerk broke into sobs. I felt so bad for her. Told her it wasn’t her fault, blah blah blah. I wished I had said something after seeing how broken it left the clerk.

I live in a state where a high percentage of those bullies carry a gun !

I live in a state where I am not likely to be shot for intervening, but even if I did, I would probably still step in. Bullying minimum wage young people is abhorrent.

Maybe. People are rude and should be able to handle it, especially if your work makes you accessible by the public. I have interrupted a few times when I felt an employee was taking advantage or not be helpful to an old person…..that always infuriates me. I stepped between two people once and told them to walk away. I didn’t even think; I just did it. Yeah, my husband had a fit and then there we were standing in the same store having that disagreement. No one stepped in though. ;) A memory.

When I see questions like this, my gratitude to live in Hawaii is renewed. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such abhorrent behavior here. I’m sure it happens, but I’ll bet my last dollar the bad behavior is from tourists.

We have the spirit of Aloha. It’s a real thing. People here are just nice to each other.

^^ Aw, that sounds great.

Germany does not have the spirit of Aloha. I think I would say something, at least something supportive to the employee. I always feel bad for them.

The other day, an old lady down the street was being berated by her son. I heard him roar “GO ON. GET OUT OF HERE.” and then, as she stepped out of the house “I guess that’s how I have to talk to you now.” I was just standing there watching them because I couldn’t believe it. This lady is probably close to ninety, frail, always kind, and very confused about daily life. Then, he yelled “PUT THAT IN THE RECYCLNG BIN.” I went over to them because I couldn’t bear it anymore, and he just said “Is something the matter?” I replied that yes, I just witnessed something awful, and started chatting to the old lady about my dog. He finally left, and we talked about dogs and her son until she felt calmer.

@SnipSnip are you really equating an argument between two adults in the open to a +us to er berating or yelling at a young person who is trapped by the job? <eyeroll>

I am too cowardly for that.
For some reason, I’m having a hard time swallowing this comment. Definitely not the Loli that I’ve come to know and love ¯\(ツ)/¯

Ack! Weird typos. Meant to be “a customerberating”

I might go find a manager.

I had customers come to my defense, when working alone at night shift at a convivence store, and I was thankful for it.

Quite possibly I would.

Not usually. I like to know what the WHOLE story is before I weigh in. However I did lay into a manager one time at a McDonalds because she was being rude to a worker. The worker was helping me and was being very nice. The manager came up and, right in front of me, started reading her the riot act and sent her off. She then turned to me, as sweet as syrup, and asked what she could do for me. In a rather loud voice I dressed her down. I told her that I would like the other worker to help me since that worker was doing a great job before the manager arrived to yell at her. She was caught WAY off guard and began stammering about how the other worker had failed to do something they had been asked to do. I told her that was no excuse for yelling at someone, for being disrespectful to another person and for embarrassing them in front of customers. AND it made customers feel uncomfortable. I then told her I no longer wanted any food but asked for her name as I wanted to file a complaint.

I never did file the complaint, but watching her deflate was enough reward to me (and to the chastised worker).

Not usually, but maybe in a very specific circumstance.

A customer harassing a salesperson or cashier, the salesperson or cashier should get the manager if the customer is unhappy with an answer being given to them or if the customer is being belligerent. If the cashier can’t make the decision then they should pass it up the line to someone who can. I don’t mean it is ever ok for a customer to be mean or threatening, but it is stunning to me how bad customer service can be sometimes, and it’s frustrating.

I might say something like, “it seems like he is trying to help give him a chance,” if the customer isn’t allowing the employee to do what they need to do to help the customer, but if the customer is truly out of control I’d more likely step back and maybe tell another staff member to get some help.

I worked in retail for years, and very rarely did another customer step in, and really that was fine. Luckily, I worked in stores that empowered salespeople to make decisions and especially some stores specifically trained employees to believe the customer.

There’s an old (true) story of a woman trying to return a pair of gloves to Bloomingdale’s NYC and the salesperson wouldn’t do the transaction, because the gloves said Saks on the tag. Eventually, a manager got involved, and the manager recognized the woman as a regular customer. The manager looked inside of the same gloves on the sales floor and they had a Saks tag and so did 20 pairs in the stockroom.

Stores do ask customers to leave or even ban them from stores if they are out of control or very mean.

Yes probably. If you act up in public, you may get public opinion.

I was thinking they might say “Mind your own business,” but if they’re being a loud, rude asshole it becomes everybody’s business. Like neighbors fighting in their yard. It becomes the whole neighborhood’s business.

@canidmajor No idea what you are talking about. Again.