Is there a reason that people throw manners out the window when dealing with cashiers?

People just don’t care, I think. When I worked in fast food I noticed the same things you mentioned. People are so damn rude sometimes, I wish I knew why.

I guess the times are a changin’. One of my first jobs, nearly 40 years ago was a cashier and a rude customer was extremely rare. Today’s lack of manners and basic courtesy is indicative of selfishness and misconceived entitlement.
See ya….Gary/wtf

I’m thinking more and more people are feeling powerless against what they perceive as Big Business causing the depression, and they take it out on the only “face” of the company they can find. It’s a form of lashing out at a system that has failed them.

^^ Both good answers ^^

But I would suspect most of these people are rude elsewhere in their life also. An equal-opportunity asshole, if you will.

@cprevite….I wonder what @sccrowell is thinking? It’s 3:20 AM here in L.A., I’m awake in the other room and laughing my ass off! An equal opportunity ass-hole? I will! Lurve to you for a good laugh! See ya….Gary/wtf

Big corporations, from experience, care more about keeping customers than they do their employees. They coddle and appease the customers that explode, or are rude, or are generally making a scene.. with the goal that the person’s dollars will remain being spent at that business.

What this has done is feed a climate of the customer thinking they are right no matter what, that they can throw tantrums and be rude, or whatever else, because they’re spending money at the business. At corporate-owned joints, there is no real consequence to bad customer behavior, provided they’re not doing something illegal or totally inappropriate (stealing, flashing, etc.). In fact, these customers usually get rewarded because managers aim to appease and retain the customer. I’ve seen people lie and act like complete freaks just so they could get a free meal or gift card.

Because so little emphasis is placed on the employee (or on the fact that they’re just another human being), I think the customer also started feeling like they are better and they have free license to misuse and abuse to their liking.

I’ve done customer service and dealt with the public for a very long time (about 15 years) and have seen just about every kind of person. Knowing how awful people generally are to those in service industries, I make a point to be calm, reasonable, polite, and civil to cashiers, servers, phone operators, etc.

“look at me, I have money, I can buy stuff. I’m not at work right now. you have to watch me buy stuff. I’m better than you.”

I think your last sentence @live_rose has the answer.

1. Customer service in our current times is very poor in the U.S. This makes people surly.

2. People at Wawa’s are often on the run.

3. Not everyone rude. Take a deep breath and keep you smiles for those who are not.

I’ve been in “people” business a long time and I’ve learned these few things:

* If people call on the phone, they almost expect to be talked to rudely, dismissed as quickly as possible, helped as little as possible and so they are already on the defense.

* If people approach a cashier in person, they have probably had more experiences where they were looked at with dread, talked to mechanically, dismissed as quickly as possibly, maybe they were made to feel less important than an incoming text message or online chat session, they are apprehensive when they approach.

It’s the opportunity of customer service to take the bad experienced customer off guard, gently re introduce them into a relationship of business and respect. It’s how we win from our competitors and seek to win positive surveys that will mean revenue and reputation.

Same reason the manners go out the window when those same people deal with the wait staff at a restaurant…rudeness.

I’m a waitress, and I feel the same way. I think that most people are polite and genuine, just the rude ones stand out in my mind more sometimes. When I first started out, it was a lot worse, but as I gained experience and confidence in dealing with people, it became a lot easier to win over even the most difficult customers.

It does seem like some customers have an awful sense of entitlement when they’re dealing with people in the service industry. I heard a quote, “the less power someone has, the more they will abuse it,” which I think applies in this case. People who feel small and powerless in their own life take it out on others during interactions with cashiers, waiters, etc. because it’s the only time they can act however they want with no repercussions.

I don’t have much idea. I can speculate, though. Perhaps people feel like cashiers must be dumb slackers, so you have to yell at them to get them to do things right. Perhaps people who habituate convenience stores are just poor, powerless jerks. Maybe they just do it because they can, and they know cashiers aren’t likely to give them any backtalk, because they can go to the manager, and the customer is always right.

I think that customer service phone reps for large companies are the best people to tee off on if you have a good case. Of course, it’s not their fault, but they are the “face” of the company, and if they don’t treat you right—well, the company deserves it. After all, companies are people, right?

I work banquets now and even though some of these events are huge and who is sitting in what section is completely random, I pretty much always end up with the biggest assholes in the whole group. It’s actually such a phenomenon that my coworkers notice and joke about it.

I’d wonder what I did for the constant karmic bitchslap, but it perplexes me because I’m a really nice, easy-going person who is very polite and respectful. I also get satisfaction out of making other people happy and ensuring they have a good time. I dunno.

I have read on a few Q & A sites that manners are old fashion, and people don’t use excuse me, please, thank you and such anymore. I didn’t really believe that, but apparently it is true in many cases.

I recently read a nifty book on gratitude and the positive effects that can be felt when one stops and thinks about the things they are grateful for. I seem to remember there have been studies done that found that grateful people are healthier and happier. One easy thing they suggested is practicing saying “thank you”, even in simple transactions with a cashier. This will get you in the mindset of being more thankful on a daily basis, and it also pays it forward a bit, in that you’re openly offering thanks to a stranger for something they did for you. The result of which could brighten their day or even set off a chain of positive effects.

People do seem to care less and less about manners nowadays and being a receptionist myself I have experienced many a rude customer. I often think that they feel it is ok because the chances of them ever seeing me again are slim and so I am not important. I also work in a fairly rich area and I have noticed that the customers I get here are ruder than any other place I have worked which makes me think it could have a lot to do with class :(