Sorry if this has been covered before

[Damianvargas]

How do you guys handle SC's who are impatient? What I mean is, right now is like our Christmas season. Everyone is moving into a new dorm or out of a dorm and into their first apt and our catalog drops in the summer so we are slammed.

I realize everyone's time is precious and everyone wants to get out asap but if I'm helping someone, and the entire staff is busy, you gotta effin wait.

Not our customers though, lately I've taken to just ignoring them until I'm done. I used to do the polite thing and say, I'll be right with you but that always led to, "But my question is just real quick" (it isn't).

I've had customers literally stand between myself and the customer I'm already helping and just start talking. I feel bad for the few decent one's out there.

What do you guys do?

[sms001]

Other than adding "So is theirs." and nodding at the current customer, not much different that you can do from what you're doing. What have older staffers or management said when you talked to them about this?

[EricKei]

Just ignore them, as much as possible. Attention is what they want, so if it is denied to them, they shrivel up and dry out into dust before they are scattered to the four winds....

What? >_> A guy can dream, can't he?

[aurelemsrealm]

I also ignore the impatient ones when I am already busy with a customer.

[Skittles88]

If somebody barges in the way of a person I am helping, I politely tell them I am helping someone and will be right with them, and if they don't listen I bring the person I am helping to the other side of my desk and ignore the jerkwad. If I can't do that i will ask them to move out of the way, since there is sensitive info being processed. I have no tolerance for impatient people.

[PandaHat]

You could just repeat "I'll be with you shortly" and turn back to the customer you're serving. What always confused me was how to deal with customers in the store whilst the phone is ringing. I kinda feel that those who have made the effort to come in should take priority but we were also expected to answer the phone in 5 rings. If we really got slammed I'm sure that sometimes we tookt he phone off the hook heh heh.

[Pixilated]

Just ignore them, as much as possible. Attention is what they want, so if it is denied to them, they shrivel up and dry out into dust before they are scattered to the four winds....

What? >_> A guy can dream, can't he?

Sounds like a good dream, LOL. That's pretty much what I would do. If they barge in anyway, as Skittles88 said, just repeat that you are helping somebody and will be with them in a moment. I would absolutely NOT allow some SC/Speshul Snowflake to get what they want, which is to be allowed to shove in front of the rest of the world.

You could just repeat "I'll be with you shortly" and turn back to the customer you're serving. What always confused me was how to deal with customers in the store whilst the phone is ringing. I kinda feel that those who have made the effort to come in should take priority but we were also expected to answer the phone in 5 rings. If we really got slammed I'm sure that sometimes we tookt he phone off the hook heh heh.

Necessity is the mother of creativity. I was briefly alone in the store the other day when the phone started ringing. I didn't recognize the name and was serving some customers so I just carried on. They kept glancing nervously at the phone and I said, "Hey, YOU are here, so YOU get served first. I'll return the phone call as soon as I can."

[Damianvargas]

Just ignore them, as much as possible. Attention is what they want, so if it is denied to them, they shrivel up and dry out into dust before they are scattered to the four winds....

What? >_> A guy can dream, can't he?

THIS X 1000!!!

[RealUnimportant]

List alternatives. Either they can use one of them, or be faced with the stark realisation that there are no real alternatives besides shutting up or being ignored.

[pzychobitch]

I usually take my time and make them wait ever so longer, under the guise of making sure that what they are after is taken care of just how they like it down to the T.

Of course, that was at previous jobs. I have yet to come across an impatient SC at the place I am now employed.

[delidewd]

I have it a little differently. At the deli we have between 3 to five people helping on the counter which covers 6 cases which are all part of the same counter.

Sometimes we have 3 workers on the sandwich bar and there are a couple people at the far end looking with deer in the headlights left and right. We try to tell them we will be right with them but sometimes they do not hear or other times they so annoyingly shriek is there ANYONE who can help us over here. I reply yes and WE will be right with you.

"You guys are always understaffed." They look at my deli manager name tag and say, "Oh so its your fault."

Have a little patience. I am already working faster than I should and you complain that you have to wait maybe one minute for help.

[Mike Taylor]

To the OP, one of my favorite replies is.

"Your question may be quick, but my answer may be long and involved and the customer I'm with was here first."

[MelindaJoy77]

Depending on how close I am to being finished with the customer in front of the impatient one, I'll either ignore them or hold up my index finger to indicate "just one moment please". I don't know if that's polite or not but people who interrupt just drive me nuts so I don't really care

[sms001]

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could turn to the customer we're currently waiting on and say "It's up to you - you were here first, and I'm currently helping you. Do you want to give up your place in line to this person?"

'course, the 'wonderful' aspect depends on interrupter being embarassed, which is gonna be few and far between.

[HotelMinion]

I ignore them. Usually I'm helping someone and another person cuts in and asks a question, I ignore the impatient cutter, then the first person feels bad, and say go ahead and help the cutter, and I say no way you were first, he'll (it usually is a he) have to wait! Then the first person feels awkward and the cutter gives me the evil eye and usually walks off, to write to corporate I guess. But once corporate finds out what a cutter he is, they usually just give him a certificate and don't penalize us.