shop assistants

s_b

maybe its just me but i find a lot of shop assistants now wont physically put your change in your hand but want to literally drop it in case they touch you and get lurgy
is it me only or anyone else getting it? im talking big shops here too not just local shop

are they in the wrong job

System

If I worked in a shop I would rather not touch people.

nomadical

I find it perfectly acceptable that they don't want to physically touch every customer they serve. As long as it's not done in a rude way and they are polite in every other aspect, why should they have to touch you? They don't know where you've been, if you've just sneezed into your hand, not washed your hands after going to the toilet etc. It's also the perfect way to spread illness: touch a customer that has a virus, get the virus, pass virus on to the next customer and so on.

When I worked in retail I'd get some customers that insist on grabbing your hand when you give them their change. I kept a little bottle of hand sanitiser out the back for such occasions and I'd not say a word to the customer about it (keep smiling!) but quietly nip out the back and use it after they'd left.

I don't think it's rude or says anything negative about the customer service. I'm sure there are a lot of customers who don't like to be touched by every shop assistant they are served by either!

Just curious OP, but what is your issue with this? Would you prefer this not to happen or are you simply making an observation?

s_b

i think to have change dropped into your hand like you are a pleb is rude

somethingcorporate

Would you want them to touch you when they have touched hundreds of other plebs they have passed change over to?

No thanks!!

nomadical

s_b wrote: »

i think to have change dropped into your hand like you are a pleb is rude

Totally agree. As I said, if it's done in a polite way (chatting, friendly smile, not dropped from a height of more than a cm or so) I think it's reasonable.

s_b

i think some of you are missing the point
i dont want a hug or a handshake i just want my change placed in my hand rather than dropped from 2 inches
the money is already full of snot and cocaine so saying im going to give them lurgy is absurd
maybe some of you never actually use change and only have contact through the pins on the card reader

Blackpool_Saver

hmmmm, what about all the fingers that have touched the keys on the the hole in wall machine...

molerat

likelyfran wrote: »

Yes, they probably are.
I don't know how half the people in retail actually get or keep their jobs.
Too many are courtesy/hygiene/cerebrally challenged.
Customer service just doesn't seem to be fashionable any more.

On a par with customers then

MothballsWallet

"Pleb" seems to be the new word-of-choice on MSE these days.

I still prefer gimboid, or modo.

likelyfran

nomadical wrote: »

I find it perfectly acceptable that they don't want to physically touch every customer they serve. As long as it's not done in a rude way and they are polite in every other aspect, why should they have to touch you? They don't know where you've been, if you've just sneezed into your hand, not washed your hands after going to the toilet etc. It's also the perfect way to spread illness: touch a customer that has a virus, get the virus, pass virus on to the next customer and so on.

When I worked in retail I'd get some customers that insist on grabbing your hand when you give them their change. I kept a little bottle of hand sanitiser out the back for such occasions and I'd not say a word to the customer about it (keep smiling!) but quietly nip out the back and use it after they'd left.

I don't think it's rude or says anything negative about the customer service. I'm sure there are a lot of customers who don't like to be touched by every shop assistant they are served by either!

Just curious OP, but what is your issue with this? Would you prefer this not to happen or are you simply making an observation?

What a funny post.
You must be a minority of hygiene-conscious retail workers.
It's usually them that lick their fingers and put it all over people's shopping.
But that's OK.

I've also experienced s.a.'s doing what the OP is talking about and it does appear extremely rude.
Fine, you don't have to grasp or stroke (!) someone's hand whilst giving them change but to basically drop or throw it into someone's hand in an oviously purposeful way, is just downright rude.
If someone is so extremely worried about hand to hand contact then they shouldn't be working with money/customers.
Sensible thing would be to just give people their change in whatever way is best to place it in the hand securely, without ado, keep yer fingers away from yer gob throughout the day and wash your hands thoroughly before eating/at end of day. Handgel if someone has been OTT smelly or something.
Simples.

Retail/service staff should surely be pleasant, friendly and helpful in manner, not surly or giving off a vibe of 'I can't be @-rsed' or 'ugh don't touch me you minger' (like so many of them are/do these days).