Ever wonder what the cashiers at supermarkets do when they have nothing to do at the checkout counter? When they can’t leave their post? Twiddle their thumbs? Play Sudoku? Doodle? Take a nap?
Pretty much all of the above apply, except for the taking a nap, cuz that would be a bad idea. Oh the countless times I’ve longed to take a nap at work… In addition to the above, at least one supermarket I’ve worked at had a great little timewaster set up for ve cashiers: the Complaints Notebook.
Although the name might imply that this particular notebook serves as a place to write down customer complaints, so the store might improve upon these areas, that’s not the case. It’s something much much better than that.
This notebook is meant solely for the cashiers, for amusement. Management rarely see them, if they even know about them. Instead of writing down complaints that customers have directed at the cashier, the notebook serves as a place for the cashier to write down their complaints about the customers.
Now before you customers start to cry out Bloody Mary and Joseph, read on.
It takes months to fill in this little notebook. Having read many of them, I can tell you that they’re solely for the sake of amusement. No particular customer is singled out by name.
Only about a quarter of the contents of these notebooks are actually complaints about customers, and in those cases they’re very general. As an example, these complaints are typically in the form of “Don’t you hate it when customers…” or “Just had another customer who…”.
The majority of the entries into these notebooks are along the lines of “Boring…”, “Been sitting here for 45 minutes and hadn’t had a single customer in that time…”, “Two hours to go, before I get to party!”, “Register 12 again, the quietest register! Yay?”, and “I need coffee…”. You’ll also find such jewels as “I’ve had it with these f@%§ing christmas carols and it’s only November!” and “Here again, been a while since I last wrote something in this here notebook. How’s everyone doing?”. Must not forget about the doodles, either.
The point I’m trying to make is that not all “bad” customers end up in these notebooks for the amusement of the cashiers. Some of you do though.
So what kind of behavior will grant you a starring role? Read this blog and you’ll get an idea. And it’s not only the notebook you’ll end up in, as the staff love to talk shit about those who made their day sour. It’s a form of therapy to prevent cashiers and clerks from burning out on the job.
To everyone else in the field, how do you vent your frustrations about bad customers? You have a notebook at your checkout counter? Plenty of gossip and such in the breakroom? Need a drink after every shift? Or do you have a blog about it, as I’ve done. What’s your form of therapy?
If you have a story relating to this post, from either side of the counter, let’s hear it!
The customer is NOT always right. If you agree with this, or wish to know what to do and not do as a consumer, please subscribe to this blog’s updates by the way of the RSS feed or email subscriptions. Thank you for shopping at The Consumer Etiquette Guide, now go and make someone have a nice day at work!
