The customer is always a pillock.

[electric discordian]

Firstly for American, Australian and southern British readers. I don't exactly know what a pillock is but it's northern slang for a stupid person.

I am beyond frustrated by the fact that the consumer is getting stupider by the moment, no one is immune not even myself. I work in a shop it's my career I handle money all day deal with customer complaints and queries and yet when I walk into a shop it's as if my spinal column and my brain part company!

I lose the ability to add, make decisions and have on one notable occasion paid ten pounds more than I should have for a product!

So is this a recognised effect that other people notice? From either side?

 

[Cpt_Oblivious]

We use pillock in the South....

I would say it's the shop-people getting smarter, but I think you're right.

 

[Gxas]

The customer is never right. Ever. Even if they are right, they're wrong. I've worked in food service and, believe me, you never truly notice the dumbing down of the world until you have taken an order.

 

[Kuchinawa212]

You may want to look at this thread
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.70218#684399

But yeah, I've noticed a fair share of bad customers. Even if you don't work they you still wanna slap 'em

 

[madcap2112]

Oh the stories I could tell about ***** customers that have driven me insane over the past three years I've been working. Working as actually helped improve my actions at shops and restaurants. I do what I can to clean up after myself best I can and I try to be work with the cashier the best I can. I do what I can to be as easy to deal with as possible.

 

[whiskey rock n' roller]

Well you get the good with the bad, unfourtunatley these days the ratio seems to be somewhere around 1:1000 good to bad. Its all the stupid rights we give them, like your always right and we'll help you with everything. So customers swagger around the stores nonchalantly breaking things and swearing at the employees.

 

[jthm]

Here in the Midwestern United States, we usually go with Douche bag, but yes. The customer is always a douche bag.

 

[I III II X4]

I lose the ability to add, make decisions and have on one notable occasion paid ten pounds more than I should have for a product!

So is this a recognised effect that other people notice? From either side?

Nervousness, I'd say. If the worker doesn't want to be there, they broadcast negative feelings, which in turns makes the consumer uncomfortable, and when they grow uncomfortable, the shit hits the fan, and the opposite is true as well. If the clerk has to deal with a bitchy customer, they aren't going to operate at their best...which THEN causes the cycle to repeat, as then they're in a bad mood, next customer feels unwelcome, they screw up, employee becomes more pissed, manager gets called...

It's a vicious cycle, yet which can be stopped by having a good attitude, and not letting some shmuck who just waltzed into your store get under your skin.

 

[CakeDragon]

Oh I'm completely the opposite.
When I'm serving a customer I go completely sponge, I never know anything and have to ask the staff around me for help...
When I'm shopping I have a clear goal in mind and will achieve it dilligently and argue like hell if something goes wrong...

 

[MelziGurl]

I can handle it when customers are right, when they are wrong but are still easy to talk to or don't mind being corrected on things but I have worked with some fucked up customers in both food and retail. I love my job though, the amount of decent customers I have everyday make up for the small percentage of arseholes out there. Plus, the company and it's bosses treat me well

 

[Andalusa]

I love that word. Pillock.

Anyway, I work in a place where I have to handle money and it's easy enough to do mental sums there, but elsewhere I do seem less capable of simple mathematics. I think it's because I'm used to a set list of prices for certain things, when I go into a different shop, similar things may be a different price. Usually I just round up to the nearest 50p and if it goes over that, I don't buy something.

 

[Cakes]

http://notalwaysright.com/
Just in case you didn't know. I recommend you follow this site religiously.

 

[Rusty Bucket]

The customer is never right. Ever. Even if they are right, they're wrong. I've worked in food service and, believe me, you never truly notice the dumbing down of the world until you have taken an order.

Dear god yes! I've lost count of the amount of times someone has tried for pay for two 'breakfastses'. It hurts me inside.

 

[Thisbedutch]

I used to be a waitress and once had someone ask me what meat was in the veggie-burger. I'm agreeing that customers aren't the brightest buttons in the box.