"Why can't I get served at an empty register??"

[customersruinmylife]

OK, so, you walk up to a bar. You see there are four registers, three of which are being used. The fourth is not, and there are no staff or customers near or around it. The other three are crowded with staff and customers. What do you do?

Well, you would walk up to where all the people are right? Not this lady.

I had literally walked through the door to begin my shift and she went apeshit.

SC: Excuse me! I have been waiting at this register for ten minutes!

She is stood at the empty register. The empty register is out of sight of the other three (the bar curves around the building), so none of the staff were aware of her existance, and there were no other customers near her.

Me: There are staff serving further down the bar.
SC: And I am down here! Waiting! Why can't I get served down there? Get down there and serve me! I have been waiting ten minutes!

A cool customer jumped in.

CC: Excuse me, but wouldn't it have been easier to walk down the bar a bit to where EVERYONE ELSE was?
SC: What?
CC: Well, you have been stood at an empty register that is quite clearly CLOSED due to the fact it has a SIGN saying "SORRY. THIS REGISTER IS CLOSED" and there are no staff there. And there are no customers. What did you expect?
SC: .....
CC: Well? What did you expect?
SC: This has NOTHING to do with you!
CC: I'm sorry, but I just hate rude people.
SC: I can't be bothered with this.

She walked away.

Me: Thanks a lot dude, I was about to lose it with her.
CC: It's OK, I work in a bar as well, and I love saying what I like to horrible customers on my night off.

If he was a woman I would have kissed him.

[Scotlers]

It really just amazes me the self-centeredness of some people. Was she thinking that someone was going to spontaneously sprout from the register to serve her?

Kudos to your cool customer, glad they were there and had your back!

And she got hers as well.

[SnapAddict218]

What? You didn't give him a CS card?!

[RecoveringKinkoid]

They used to do this All. The. TIME. at Kinkos. They would stand out in the lobby, near a dark, unoccupied desk that was only open during certain hours to relieve traffic in the self serve area. There was a big sign right there in front of the register that said "Please let us help you at another register." God is my witness, sometimes, there were TWO of that sign in front of the register.

They would stand there getting increasingly impatient, tapping their feet and making their faces into the standard cat-butt-face expression.

It never seemed to occur to them to..you know...go get in one of the actual lines.

I'm sure if any of us were nicer people, we would have done more than stand up at the front taking bets on how long they would stand there like morons. But alas, we were not. I figure if a person is going to be THAT stupid, they deserve to stand there.

[Rubystars]

I got some people angry with me today because I said they were acting like three year olds by throwing a hissy fit for having to show their ID.

I like telling off SCs but I'm thinking it could be dangerous. They always react badly.

[karath]

They used to do this All. The. TIME. at Kinkos. They would stand out in the lobby, near a dark, unoccupied desk that was only open during certain hours to relieve traffic in the self serve area. There was a big sign right there in front of the register that said "Please let us help you at another register." God is my witness, sometimes, there were TWO of that sign in front of the register.

They would stand there getting increasingly impatient, tapping their feet and making their faces into the standard cat-butt-face expression.

It never seemed to occur to them to..you know...go get in one of the actual lines.

I'm sure if any of us were nicer people, we would have done more than stand up at the front taking bets on how long they would stand there like morons. But alas, we were not. I figure if a person is going to be THAT stupid, they deserve to stand there.

Hear Hear!

[Imogene]

Sounds just like our 'customer service' desk, which is actually register #1. If we don't have a cashier ringing there, it's never in use. Yet people apparently see the huge sign above it that faces into the store, that says "customer service" and assume that's where they need to go to make returns, ignoring the lines backed up to the floral department, and just stand there at an empty register, getting angrier and angrier, until they finally get my attention by shouting, "Hey, you! Get someone over here! I have a return!"
"Sir/Ma'am/Bitch! We don't have anyone to work THAT register, if you will pop yourself into one of our other lines, we can do your return for you at our registers, since we're, you know? Open?"

[BlaqueKatt]

I'm sure if any of us were nicer people, we would have done more than stand up at the front taking bets on how long they would stand there like morons. But alas, we were not.

so what was the longest time anyone ever stood there( and who won that bet?)

[marasbaras]

Any bets a lot of these folks get helped by spineless managers because these SCs are angry?

[Peppergirl]

Any bets a lot of these folks get helped by spineless managers because these SCs are angry?

Oh I'm sure. I saw a manager do that at Kroger once. As one of the people who was waiting in line patiently, I was madder at the manager than the SC.

Two or three of us went to the customer service desk after we *ahem* patiently waited our turn and told them exactly what we thought of that manager catering to the idiot SC, while the rest of us being patient had to suffer.

[Bright_Star]

I got some people angry with me today because I said they were acting like three year olds by throwing a hissy fit for having to show their ID.

I like telling off SCs but I'm thinking it could be dangerous. They always react badly.

What is so freaking hard about showing ID? & how come so many people react like spoiled brats when they're asked to show ID? All it takes is just a few seconds!

[TryNotToBeThatOne]

I don't know but I sympathized with a clerk about that the other day when she asked my mom for her ID and the clerk about freaked. My mom & I were all 'but it's for my protection? What are those people thinking?' and the clerk just nodded and rolled her eyes.

[JesseCuster40]

That's one of the things that aggravates me the most. Not just because of the fact that they can't figure out the register is closed, but the way they stand there impatiently waiting for service.

What happens at work is this:

We have two registers in the Electronics department where I work, opposite to each other. If two cashiers are working at each one (rare event) then they are back to back.

I'll be on the main register, with a line of people, and someone will come up behind me, and stand there. It's somewhat understandable. After all, if you go to the register, you know someone will be there. But there are other employees around to ask.

Either that or they put their stuff on the counter and wait to be served. Hey, guess what?

1) There's a line. That isn't the end of it.

2) No one else is going to come up to serve you because we have two people here and one of them is running around helping customers.

3) Even if there was another employee available to help you, you sure wouldn't be the first in line because the other customers in my line will want to hop over to the other register first.

4) You're not special.

I like my job. I really do. I like helping people, and solving their (usually simple) problems. But some people just make me crazy.

[lightmylamb]

My mom did that once. She had a carton of cream or something, and decided that she'd just go to the closed courtesy counter because "She wanted some scratch tickets and cigarettes" both of which can be attained from one of the regular lines. Meanwhile she's getting angry and I'm shooting apologetic glances at the cashier who's trying to page someone to open for my mom. Nobody opened and my mom just left her stuff and we went home. What's strange is she's never done anything like that before (That I can remember) or since.

[Tito]

What? You didn't give him a CS card?!

I was thinking the same thing. If you see him again, tell him about this website. I can imagine he has some great stories to tell!