The other night I was in line at 7-Eleven to buy a Slurpee. I was sixth in line with one guy behind me. After standing there for about 10 seconds, the customer behind me marches to the front. "I have a tab," he says. "Can you just scan my stuff?" The cashier stops the line, scans the man's items, and makes the rest of us wait.Aside from the fact I had no idea you can have a tab at 7-Eleven, my point here is really the lousy customer service that cashier offered. The customer's method of payment was irrelevant. It took just as long to conduct his business as it would have had he paid in real-time like the rest of us. Sure, one guy was happy, but the six people in line were mad. I'm not a math whiz, but I say the ratio of pleased customers to annoyed customers in this scenario favors the latter.
Ironically, the following day I was in line at the post office. As I was waved to the counter and started to conduct my business, a woman siddles up next to me and asks if she can buy a stamp. I can't remember the words the clerk used, but I do remember he sent the gal to wait in line. I promptly thanked him on behalf of everyone who had waited in the cue for their turn.
Now, if you're thinking, "What's the harm? It's one lousy stamp!" you may very well be part of the customer service problem. I've been in the "I need one stamp" boat, too. How have I solved that problem? Well, I've said loudly to the people in line, "Anyone have a stamp I can buy?". There has always been someone willing to sell me one. I have never thought my time was more valuable than any of the others waiting in line and tried to cut ahead. Never.
If you run a retail business, you should put a cutsies policy in your customer service guidelines. There is nothing wrong with a clerk telling an out of line customer (pun intended!), "I'd like to help you, but it wouldn't be fair to the others who have been waiting in line. I'll get through everyone just as quickly as I can. I promise." What rational person could argue with that?
In the case of the post office scenario, after I thanked the clerk for turning away the cutter, he told me that if they have enough cashiers, they'll call people out of line who have simple transactions (like purchasing stamps). They do that same thing at my bank. Sounds like a good policy to me. (Yeah, the irony that I'm using the U.S. government in an example of good customer service is not lost on me!)
Perhaps in some backwards world, the cashiers who allow cutsies think they're offering great customer service. You don't want to wait? Alright, let me take care of you right now! One delighted customer and a line of irate ones. Sounds like a winning proposition to me...
I'm no "cutsie." Haha, love that term but I've been situations where others have allowed me to cut in front if they saw I only had a few items and I've done the same. However I've never tried to cut in front intentionally. People really have no common sense.
ReplyDeleteAt TJ Maxx, I had a lady literally run me down trying to be first in line and she had a million clothes in her shopping cart vs my shirt. My transaction would have been a lot faster than hers. *sigh*
Hi Sukhraj, thanks for adding your take on things. I'm with you! If I have a bunch of stuff and someone behind me doesn't, I almost always offer to let them go ahead of me. On the flip side, your example is sad but true. I think lines bring out the worst in people, don't they?
ReplyDeleteso you can run a tab at 7-Eleven? Like at a bar? Whatevz. Look, I hate waiting in line more than anybody. I'm the person most likely to turn around and walk out when I see too many people waiting. But I do agree that people who have quick transaction shouldn't have to wait behind someone who is (for example) returning 10 items, using 80 coupons, and updating their address in the same transaction. I'm not a saint, but I'll let people go ahead of me in line when I think I might inconvenience them otherwise, and I've had a lot of people let ME do "cutsies" in front of them when they see I'm just buying a pack of gum and they have a month's-worth of groceries...
ReplyDeleteTrue, and I often wished I could magically float to the front just out of sheer frustration and having to wait there but I still wait my turn anyway or attempt to start a conversation so that the process moves faster.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think a person's character is defined by how they behave while waiting in a long line ;-)
ReplyDeleteHi Trish, thanks for chiming in. As customers, we can all probably improve a lot. As Sukhraj and I were talking below, letting someone ahead of you if you have a long transition is a nice thing to do. And, of course, if a business has a "10 items or less" or "Cash only" line that certainly helps keep the order.
ReplyDeleteIf I had a book of stamps on me, I might have given one to the woman. However, she pushed her way up with such a sense of entitlement, that I was really turned off.
Most corporations don't care, don't train their employees and don't place any emphasis on customer service when it comes to your 'cutsies' morons.
ReplyDeleteHaving an action plan in-place for these situations is best for customer service and the patrons.
I've only seen once in my life a cashier at a grocery store tell a patron she had to go to another line because she exceeded the posted 'max items' rule for the line. He handled the situation quite well however, it just seemed to me he was reacting to others in line.
Thanks for chiming in, Stan! You are absolutely right (unfortunately). Employees aren't trained and businesses don't seem to care. Frankly, I can't believe that effectively handling a line of customers isn't Day One in the training manual!
ReplyDeleteAnd, even further, that is the last point of contact a customer has. The checkout leaves the last impression! How can any smart business blow it by not doing everything within its power to ensure that last encounter is the best?
oh my goodness, yes.
ReplyDeleteI love it when those in line with huge purchases or transactions notice someone with one item and allow them to cut ahead.
Katana, thanks for leaving a comment. A little niceness makes the world a better place, doesn't it? ;-)
ReplyDeleteThere probably are policies in place to prevent cutsies, they're just not enforced for whatever reason. Cutsies is one of my pet peeves. I've never understood why a cashier would allow someone cut in line. I was a cashier at 7-11 years ago. I never allowed someone to cut in line because it would throw me off from what I was doing. Also, from what I can remember, the only people who can have a tab (at least at 7-11) were employees. They had to wait in line just like everyone else.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the insightful comment, Marianne!
ReplyDeleteI rarely see good customer service anymore, so not much surprises me. In this economy, you'd think companies would be going out of their way to make the shopping experience a good one. I mean, what a no-brainer. Treat people well and they come back. I suppose at a convenience store, people come back regardless though. Sigh...
The cashier should have explained why he let the guy with the tab first. I don't even know anything about a tab system in 7-11. That clerk from the post office should serve as an example to people. He did what's right. He served as the lady's conscience. That's a good way of making your customers happy. Just like a call center agent like myself would do, he prioritized customer satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteThe cashier should have explained why he let the guy with the tab first. I don't even know anything about a tab system in 7-11. That clerk from the post office should serve as an example to people. He did what's right. He served as the lady's conscience. That's a good way of making your customers happy. Just like a call center agent like myself would do, he prioritized customer satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteHey Sonia, thanks for adding to the dialogue. Quite frankly, I doubt the 7-Eleven would have had an adequate reason for letting the guy cut in line. Short of being the owner of the place, I don't think there's a satisfactory excuse. And, yes, I agree with you about the Post Office clerk.
ReplyDelete>> FYI, on an unrelated note. I approved your comment even though it was flagged as spam because of your link. I'm not sure what your motivation was for including it, but it is considered inappropriate for most commenting systems and will almost always be flagged as junk. If you are a real person who is just trying to promote your workplace, you'll have better success doing it another way. I've given you the benefit of the doubt because your comment was legit. However, in general, including advertising related links are a big no no on blogs.
Kudos to you for respecting the cue! Without a little common courtesy, our society would be chaos, I say. Utter chaos! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI am also not the so called "cutsie". And I do admit, that sometimes, they also let me go first in the line when I have less of what they have. But, I never attempt to cut them even if I only have less, because I know, we all have the same chance of getting onto the cashier.
ReplyDeleteDanielle