Thursday, June 23, 2005

Be nice to the cashier.

You'd think this was common sense, but damn, a lot of people are boorish elitist rotten vulgar ignorant miserable stupid bastards. I know, I used to work behind the counter at a coffee chain, a competitor of Starbucks that is now out of business in the USA. There's nothing like being shouted at by an old lady who has five minutes to catch a train, but needs four café au laits, one cappuccino, and a pound of coarsely ground beans. An order like that takes about seven to ten minutes, and I happily pointed this out. Well, duh, this Upper East Side "see you next Tuesday" didn't care. After two minutes of her berating me for not making sure she had freshly ground cinnamon sprinkled on top of the foam of the cappuccino and for not doing a it in a cute pattern, I told her to die. She left ranting about how she missed her train.

Whenever I shop, I try to exude patience and understanding towards the cashier, or to anyone trying to help me. These people are over worked, extremely under paid, and don't need to deal with any extra bullshit or stress in their lives. So be nice, answer their questions properly. "How are you doing today?" should not be met with, "Just looking, thanks." A simple, "I'm well, thank you. How are you?" will work wonders for someone's disposition.

And tipping is not just a city in China. If you get good service, reward it. Trust me, an extra couple of dollars can make someone's day. I got a $20 tip once, out of appreciation for getting a difficult order right, and making the customer happy. It was very generous and unexpected.

1 comment:

Jeff said...

Oh yeah, the last thing you want to deal with as a cashier is when a customer tells you their life story when you're three minutes away from taking a break.