Does working in a supermarket really annoy you?

There is a customer side to this story too. There are many aspects of grocery store checker behavior that can be annoying to customers.

Best policy: Treat each encounter as the individual meeting it is. You say something different and you can elicit different responses.

I’ve tried varying my greetings/comments.

It’s perhaps just the locals. :S

I can see it from the customers side also, i mean, i’ve had people lose it with me…Shouting etc.

Yeah, for the most part my experience working with customers is that they are just trying to be polite. We all (even the customers) know you hear the same things over and over again, but rather than be silent (which is incredibly awkward for some people), they ask the mundane questions, or make the usual comments. Don’t let it get to you too much. I had a woman who used to come into the bakery every now and then who would talk to me about the weather, “them Cubbies”, anything. I think she lived alone and wasn’t able to get out much, so when she came in this was her chance to chat. So I obliged. Now, I realize this isn’t the story for most people, but regardless, your customers are just trying to be polite. Just appreciate that at least when they engage you in the mundane chatter they aren’t yelling at you or complaining.

You’re right :)

I’m just filling fluther with my after-work angst.

@NathanESP
I know, and it is OK. Even though I tried my hardest, it could still get on my nerves. You’re human, its OK. :-)

Yup, that’s work.
You can work any job and you’ll still get the same people saying the same things to you every day.

It sounds like you’re not big on idle chat. That’s commendable. I don’t like the conversations about nothing that strangers start just because they’re uncomfortable with being silent in the presence of another person for 30 seconds.

Maybe you can rotate to the produce section (and remember not to spray the mushrooms). That should produce a whole different class of comments.

All you have to do is smile and respond with one of several innocuous comments. You can almost do it without even thinking about it. Things like “Okay!,” “Sure thing!,” and “Sure is!” are all relatively harmless comments that make people think you are listening.

OTOH, you can also start up a conversation. “Ma’am, that color sure looks nice on you!,” or “What is your favorite way to fix that vegetable?,” or even “How ‘bout them Cowboys.”

@darwin how ‘bout them cowboys…that’s one for my shift on wednesday!

@NathanESP – Well, it works pretty well here in Texas.

yup, i know exactly what you mean. when we work with the public, these certain comments come up all day. just remember, you are there working for eight hours. they are not. when this stuff starts getting on your nerves, it’s time to hunker down and accept the environment or move on to something else.

Ive done it for 9yrs now, short answer yes long answer and more annoying is the pretentiousness of “customer service” to the tune of backwards business policies

not unless i’m having to do the working…..and if i popped in to one and was made to start a shift yes i would be pissed…

@tadpole – That’s why I don’t use the “self-check out” lanes. The store charges me the same amount for my groceries if I do the work as it does when it pays someone else to do the work.