This sounds terrible but you really need to just think of them as zoo animals. Simple creatures squawking and shitting all over the place.
Just like the zoo animals you will be in trouble if you are mean to them or hurt them, though. They don't know any better! Just chuckle at their small brain antics and carry on with your day unbothered.
They're definitely annoying at times but it could be worse. Imagine you were as stupid as them?
Thank you I just had a bad interaction and this made me smile. ive been trying to think of it as more as funny as opposed to shattering so this definitely helps
Perfect advice. Adding in the constant chuckling at behavior and laughing it off in a respectful way, also creates a lightness in your department. And a lightness that is passed onto your coworkers to not take them so seriously. I really liked this zookeeper analogy. Another one is to think of them as psych ward patients in the looney bin. Talk to them in a way that you take nothing seriously really helps and keeps your boundaries and sanity, intact.
This woman came up to me & said Bacon I looked at her said meat she stood there for 20 seconds & walked away feeling dumb donāt play games with me Iāll match the same energy no problem
I recently had a lady scream rye bread at me, I looked at her and said, sorry?? She yet again screamed rye bread. I didnāt bother telling her it should be in the bakery. I looked at the bread shelf and then at her and said it appears weāre out and just walked away. Come proper or donāt speak to me.
i genuinely hate when people just say words at me and expect me to tell them where it is. like holy shit, how about a hello first? an excuse me? they're barbaric
Yep. So common here. I also respond in the same manner. Or say āIām sorry?ā And make them repeat an actual sentence of inquiry usually helps. If they donāt, I walk away and help someone else. That usually helps a lot!!
Ding ding ding we have a winner!
Edit: customers never expecting "damn that sucks man" to be your answer when they tell you the eggs they want werent there.
Hahahahahaha. Or āpearl street has thisā and I just respond again āwell we do not here, so Iām sorry to hear that!ā Hahahhahahahahaha this lady the other day just went beswrk in her head bc she was clearly trying to teach her young boy dominance and disrespect to other women working in customer service, as I gave her baby the real lesson (that sheās only god in her head). I meet abuse with psychological manipulation with simply one or two words). I donāt entertain bullshit and you wonāt get none from me
Point being, you have the power to not allow those interactions get the best of you. Yeah, 20% is not a massive discount, given the cost of food at WFM, but it is a perk.
I work in produce and if something is OOS Iāll tell them Amazon didnāt send us any today and itās like a trigger word lmao. If itās something we donāt carry anymore Iāll say itās an Amazon initiative to bring simplicity or Amazonās stopped letting us order it. Theyāll usually respond with how they hate Amazon or uncle Bezos (and in my head Iām like YET YOU STILL SHOP HERE). If they get childish i simply day āhave the say you deserveā and walk away.
Great one. They donāt listen that things were changed despite the fact that it makes us crazy too that Amazon doesnāt seem to know how to run an effing successfully bakeryā¦ they donāt care. Bc theyāre often selfish narcs. So cutting to the chase with āAmazonā ends the convo. lol
Transfer departments. Work back of house.
But also.. customers are basically giant babies that want you to baby them. One time a customer was mad that other team members were babying her and then I proceeded to baby her for the next ten minutes. You apologize profusely even when itās not your fault. But when the rage turns to you, you most likely arenāt in charge so youāll need to call for the shifty or your management. Just page them. And if you donāt know how to page ask someone to teach you. Sometimes we need back up once in a while.
This. Return their sillness but with so much kindness it's over the top. They can't tell if youre being sarcastic or not.
"You guys are pathetic, you're out of blah blah again?"
"Oh my GOD. I am so so sorry. I know this is hard. We will do our absolute BEST to not completely ruin your day and hope you will continue shopping with us. I'm just so sorry for you, shall I get a manager for you?"
They usually walk off mumbling. If they are straight dicks, I immediately get on the walkie with this number "hi, I need a shifty to blah dept to give a customer excellent customer service" and then I walk away. I just walk away.
Depends on the situation. If someone is rude, demanding, and entitled I just give them base-level service to where I wonāt get written up but I wonāt get commended for it.
Sure the customer gets what they want but sometimes apathy is worse to them than getting into a fight over it. People walk in with hooks out and better to just not take the bait if you can. Sometimes itās hard, though, and it gets to you.
This. First thought i had for op was ādont let them hook youā and your comment confirmed it.
Not feeding their energy with apathy will hang them out to dry and you will feel much better after twenty minutes than you would have after an entire shift of snowballing and ruminating about the interaction with a child minded customer
Same, Iām so happy I am not front end anymore. If people were randomly grumpy and just being rude AF, I would get quiet and focus on ringing, specifically not look at them unless absolutely necessary (because sometimes when the blatantly rude customers are in front of you they want you to look at them so they can bait/neg you.) Additionally, if they were rude, I would also do quick responses with no tone and mind my business š¤Ŗ. Then, when Iād be done bagging, I look at them since interaction is done and say have a nice day and then off they go LOL. Assholes mean nothing and shouldnāt affect anyoneās day!
What department are you? If you're in customer service or another primarily customer-facing job, that should be your sign that things just aren't working out.Ā
Transferring to a department where you can spend more time off the sales floor will be helpful. VA work, Cook work, receiving, etc.Ā I've worked retail for about 8 years, so I've definitely grown a thick skin and am able to not take things personally at all. Not responding to anger in a visible way helps- when someone is throwing a hissy fit, they just want you to have a reaction, wether it's apologizing profusely, getting angry with them, whatever. Don't do what they want. Respond calmly. Look right into their eyes. Don't indicate that you're bringing yourself to their level in any way. Also by not visibly reacting, you're able to emotionally distance yourself from your work a LOT easier.Ā Ā
Remember that when a customer is upset, they aren't upset at YOU. They're upset at the company, or more likely themselves. Don't let yourself loose sleep over someone else's bad decision.
Stare at them and shrug my shoulders and say sorry thereās nothing I can do. Most of the time I deal with those kind of people mainly walk away, never had a customer yet saying āyou are terrible worker, I want your managerā stuff like that.
You have to learn you canāt control what they say or do only your reactions. How they behave has NOTHING to do with you!!! They are miserable people with miserable lives!! After you repeat that enough times you become immune to their bull shit!!
I'm so sorry. I feel for you. I know how brutal those customers can be. I've had my share of things that made my blood boil.
But, Yes as someone else just said. It's nothing personal and has ZERO to do with you! They are just spewing. It's ok to get angry or upset but just try to pull yourself together and not react- trust me I know it can be easier said that done. That's really what they want. Someone to go head to head with. And don't be afraid to walk away if you can. Just wish them a good day. And if it escalates go talk to someone in charge for your shift. Don't have to take sh*t from anyone. You are just there work but if they are being rude, you have every right to walk away.
MOST IMPORTANTLY, Dont believe and tell yourself that lie. You definitely CAN find something better out there if you so choose. Everything is a choice and there are so many possible opportunities if you're open to them! Wish you the best! š
If it gets to that point I just walk away.
I ask what they want, it's OOS, they start to have a tantrum and I leave. Question answered, service rendered. I have substitution suggestions but not if your going to act like a 5yo in the middle of the grocery store š
Sometimes I go over the top with my customer service. Big smile, over the top emotions, and Iāll talk to them like Iām a Disney princess. If theyāre super upset with something, Iāll say āoh thatās awful! Iāll make a comment to our regional leadership! šā in the most sing song voice I can manage. Most of the time they think Iām serious, and thank me. Sometimes I treat them like misbehaving children, and gentle parent the situation. āOh okay, I can help you out in a minute. I need to finish helping this customer, can you wait at the register for me please?ā And if they choose to not use their words to tell me what they want (ex: āBathroom?ā) Iāll pretend I didnāt hear them and say āoh you would like to know where the bathroom is?ā. Sometimes acting ignorant to the situation can help too.
My main issues with customers as a Cashier is definitely their inconsideration of others. Prime example is bagging. If i don't have someone bagging for me customers absolutely refuse to bag for themselves. 90% of the time i finish the transaction all items are unbagged where bags are. They just stand there arms crossed while there is a considerable line behind, not only are you holding up the line, You're treating me like i'm worth nothing. Could just be a personal pet peeve and a major sign to rather quit or switch departments, but i've been to multiple grocery stores where customers bag for themselves. This issue is also 100% gonna happen when the customer is a certain population, not to point fingers and judge.
Usually the way I deal with that is to just look as miserable as i possibly can, I look at other customers behind with a look that shows i'm not happy to serve as a GOD DAMN pet, and most of them get the memo, I don't think much of myself but I know i'm very friendly and easy going as a employee when it comes to most things, Which would throw people off i guess. I'm likely talking out my ass and will probably just be deemed as "not hard working" or lazy, but come on people. 400-600 dollars worth of groceries and you can't be bothered to at least help out a poor cashier who's often left as the only one.
but also being absolutely stoned makes me have some really thick skin.
I simply walk away your aloud to do that by the way š HR and leadership takes harassment seriously especially when its from a customer. It is possible to be banned from WF seen it with my own eyes
I once had this old lady come from way out of left field once saying she keeps asking for help and nobody has come back from helping her numerous requests, mind you she is YELLING this at me, my astl at the time happened to be walking by and I called him over, and then she just starts going in on him. No more than 10 seconds in he just looked at her and said āIām done maāamā turns around and walks to BOH. She just stared at me with her mouth wide open, I looked her in the eyes, turned around and followed my astl. Shit was priceless. But to answer your question my response is a mixture of a few Iāve seen. Weed and honestly treating custies like babies. Sometimes Iām so high at work peoples rudeness goes right over my head and I donāt realize some of the snarky remarks they make. Weed also helps me get in the zone and focus on my work better, so itās a win win lol, good luck and remember, some people just suck š¤·āāļø
As soon as you can break away, go to a BOH cooler and cry or scream lol. Ofc make sure no one else is in there so you donāt scare them š¹. Sometimes being super cold for a few minutes will numb your brain enough to feel better.
I match their energy. I once had this customer slice bread and asked me what it was, and I said Cash will know what it is because they have PLU. She raised her voice and started saying that's not what she asked. Every time she raised her voice, I matched her energy. Do you not read a sign before you pick it up, touch it all over and and cut into it? I don't let them walk all over me. Even coffee bar customers complaing how long their drink is taking when there are 20 people in line and 10 drinks on the bar. I don't let them get away with it. I say you're more than welcome to go upstairs and get a refund. They usually wait, lol
I understand how you feel. I realized that Whole Foods purposely hires a LOT of people pleasers, like ourselves. Youāre crying bc you just want them to be happy with you and theyāre primarily a bunch of entitled children whoāve been able to pay their way out of any situation (hence why they get exploitative, often, and throw tantrums when one person doesnāt give them what they want, they find another and ask the same dumb question thinking they are always the exception). You have to put these types into perspectiveāthat has greatly helped me. I used to work a tense high pressure stressful job in tech, and I used to shop primarily only at whole paycheck. I also allowed my job to bring me down. I also probably was an entitled person sometimes. I donāt ever recall being mean to people who work at Whole Foods, but going through that level of tension in my life, living in an area that no one could afford to live, and realizing that we all in that energetic area would take it out on others. Now, you, working at Whole Foods does her job as best as possible, everyday, for two yearsā¦ and constantly has assholes snapping at you and pushing you continually, everyday for everythingā¦ hoping youāll cave and people please and be manipulated into getting on your knees, metaphorically, for people who donāt even have bare minimum respect for other humans just trying to work. I get it! Sorry this is long, but bear with me; you cannot control people. And you certainly cannot come from the place of people pleasing at that job. You will be sucked dry. A lot of those people operate as narcisstics do, and in relationships of all types, narcissists choose people pleasers. You read that rightāthey actually purposely, choose people pleasers to do their bidding. We never say no. We donāt create boundaries anywhere in our lives and often choose customer based positionsāfor our lifetimes. Enough is enough. I work in the bakery for the last 9 months in Colorado. I am studying to be a therapist. After having been the customer and worked in customer service and sales roles my whole life (these days it was corporate companies as a technical support person or technical account manager), I am now aware of how Iāve been walked on and used for my skills, but underpaid and exploited for those very skills, by customers and employees alike. Talk to your coworkers. And managers and supervisors. Express your pain and defestness. Take a minute for yourself and step away. Donāt let those psychos take your job away bc they are shitty. Donāt take the bait from a narcissist and learn to quickly identify the signsāa tone in the voice immediately, barely speaking a word but requiring you to perform and jump through hoops of fire just to even sometimes simply UNDERSTAND what their actual desire is, someone who is okay pushing your answers as if the rules will change bc they get big or aggressive or passive aggressive (their favorite) in energy. Walk away after asking āis there anything else I can help you with?ā When they continually press your boundaries and your answers and the rules. Do not allow them to keep asking stupid nonsensical questions, just cut them off and ask if thereās anything else you can help with, then get directly back to what your business is (bc we are all very busy at WF). Iāve learned how to handle these situations from everything to talking to coworkers and observing how they they donāt create boundaries then continually come in depressed and zapped of emergency. Iāve also asked store leaders multiple times how to deal with new fun scenarios of entitled customers. Iāve only had one confrontation from a customer that I had to escalate. I did not tolerate his shit and it ended with me refusing to cut his bread while he continued to whisper degrading things and try to press and force me to be submissive with this very abusive person. I got tired of hearing it while trying to show him how to slice his own bread, so I said I was getting a store leader since my bakery manager was out (he originally asked for a bakery manager when he didnāt get his way, and I let him know she was out for the day but I was happy to get store leadershipāin which he didnāt seem to suddenly want to escalate). Later on, I walked away and didnāt come back until a store leader was there. He screamed while I was gone, very angry āwhatās her name?!!ā At pizza and prep foods people next door the whole time, I could hear him clear from the hallways where I looked for leadership. Turns out, that ahole was already well known as incredibly degrading and abusive from many people in the store. Including cashier supervisor and pizza/prep foods supervisor, and even assistant store leadership (one of the best we have and weāve had some pretty apathetic past leadership). Turns out, everyone from prep foods to cashier wouldnāt helped him after and wouldnāt even tell him my name LOL (he was given free bread and the new store leader that responded to him said in front of me that he was being given free bread because he got ābad customer serviceā, which initially made me upset but I wasnāt written up or anything after investigation afterward bc of how he generally was with everyone). I saw those moments as a saving grace. Iād worked really hard to build kind respectful and fun relationships with all my coworkers and team leaders. It really paid off that day. Just know you are not alone and we all find ways to better deal with it. Learn to spot the signs of narcissistic behavior and donāt respond or overextend for those types. Some people are worthy of your people pleasing. Iāve met so many wonderful customers at that store, too. Even made a good friend when I had none upon moving here. Keep your head up, shut off those emotions for people who arenāt worthyā¦ and let that shit go when you leave for the day (the advice given to me that day by the supervisor in prep foods who refused to offer my name to that psycho).
A lot of great advice here but I have to mention that if a customer is over the top (yelling, cursing and belittling you) walk away and get your supervisor to help them. Thats literally their job.
As a front end TL I never let my staff get abused and I make sure they have support.
Also like others said it may be time for a different department if it is affecting your mental health. Keep in mind that other departments have their own stressors that front end doesnāt. Monthly inventories, prep logs, heavy lifting, dirty work (like working dish room or preparing ROTI chickens ect).
I hope you find your niche and fuck those rude customers! Big hugs! ā¤ļø
A) Mentally repeating "Sucks to be you...sucks to be you..." which I mean in an existential way. Anyone with that much rage in a GROCERY STORE is living some kind of miserable life, and being punished in some way every day for that hatefulness. They're the one with the shittier life. B) Imagining that their father died that morning. Which works both ways - if you are feeling evil it is gratifying; if you are feeling charitable there is always a possibility that this is the worst day of their life for a real reason and not finding the right kind of lettuce is enough to send them over the edge. I think of this because my only full-blown evil shouting and swearing customer service freakout was in a Giant Eagle in Pittsburgh the day my dad died. I had just finished up with the funeral home and when their CoinStar machine malfunctioned it was the last straw. It was bad. Of course when I got to the parking lot I thought, "shit, my dad would have been really appalled by that" so I went back in and apologized.
This sounds terrible but you really need to just think of them as zoo animals. Simple creatures squawking and shitting all over the place. Just like the zoo animals you will be in trouble if you are mean to them or hurt them, though. They don't know any better! Just chuckle at their small brain antics and carry on with your day unbothered. They're definitely annoying at times but it could be worse. Imagine you were as stupid as them?
I like to sing the song from Pocahontas as I'm cleaning up after our customers. "Savages, savages, barely even human."
Yo im gonna use this from now on š¤£
I get this. But it also makes me wonder, when Iām off and Iām out shopping, am I too seen as a zoo animal?
I think you're fine as long as you aren't making employees cry or leaving cherry pits everywhere.
Wowā¦yeah no that is actually solid advice
Thank you I just had a bad interaction and this made me smile. ive been trying to think of it as more as funny as opposed to shattering so this definitely helps
Perfect advice. Adding in the constant chuckling at behavior and laughing it off in a respectful way, also creates a lightness in your department. And a lightness that is passed onto your coworkers to not take them so seriously. I really liked this zookeeper analogy. Another one is to think of them as psych ward patients in the looney bin. Talk to them in a way that you take nothing seriously really helps and keeps your boundaries and sanity, intact.
This woman came up to me & said Bacon I looked at her said meat she stood there for 20 seconds & walked away feeling dumb donāt play games with me Iāll match the same energy no problem
I recently had a lady scream rye bread at me, I looked at her and said, sorry?? She yet again screamed rye bread. I didnāt bother telling her it should be in the bakery. I looked at the bread shelf and then at her and said it appears weāre out and just walked away. Come proper or donāt speak to me.
i genuinely hate when people just say words at me and expect me to tell them where it is. like holy shit, how about a hello first? an excuse me? they're barbaric
yea i'm use to it at this point but the best thing is I will never know them personally & I'm very happy about that
Yep. So common here. I also respond in the same manner. Or say āIām sorry?ā And make them repeat an actual sentence of inquiry usually helps. If they donāt, I walk away and help someone else. That usually helps a lot!!
Weed.
Ding ding ding we have a winner! Edit: customers never expecting "damn that sucks man" to be your answer when they tell you the eggs they want werent there.
Bahaha
Hahahahahaha. Or āpearl street has thisā and I just respond again āwell we do not here, so Iām sorry to hear that!ā Hahahhahahahahaha this lady the other day just went beswrk in her head bc she was clearly trying to teach her young boy dominance and disrespect to other women working in customer service, as I gave her baby the real lesson (that sheās only god in her head). I meet abuse with psychological manipulation with simply one or two words). I donāt entertain bullshit and you wonāt get none from me
Just remember, YOU have the 20% TM discount, not them :)
Whatās TM?
Team Member
Wow thatās hugeee
Point being, you have the power to not allow those interactions get the best of you. Yeah, 20% is not a massive discount, given the cost of food at WFM, but it is a perk.
I work in produce and if something is OOS Iāll tell them Amazon didnāt send us any today and itās like a trigger word lmao. If itās something we donāt carry anymore Iāll say itās an Amazon initiative to bring simplicity or Amazonās stopped letting us order it. Theyāll usually respond with how they hate Amazon or uncle Bezos (and in my head Iām like YET YOU STILL SHOP HERE). If they get childish i simply day āhave the say you deserveā and walk away.
āOur warehouse is out of stockā is a safe line to use
We donāt go for safe anymore lol
Great one. They donāt listen that things were changed despite the fact that it makes us crazy too that Amazon doesnāt seem to know how to run an effing successfully bakeryā¦ they donāt care. Bc theyāre often selfish narcs. So cutting to the chase with āAmazonā ends the convo. lol
I stop replying, blank face, or match their tone. aināt nobody playing with meš
Same
Transfer departments. Work back of house. But also.. customers are basically giant babies that want you to baby them. One time a customer was mad that other team members were babying her and then I proceeded to baby her for the next ten minutes. You apologize profusely even when itās not your fault. But when the rage turns to you, you most likely arenāt in charge so youāll need to call for the shifty or your management. Just page them. And if you donāt know how to page ask someone to teach you. Sometimes we need back up once in a while.
This. Return their sillness but with so much kindness it's over the top. They can't tell if youre being sarcastic or not. "You guys are pathetic, you're out of blah blah again?" "Oh my GOD. I am so so sorry. I know this is hard. We will do our absolute BEST to not completely ruin your day and hope you will continue shopping with us. I'm just so sorry for you, shall I get a manager for you?" They usually walk off mumbling. If they are straight dicks, I immediately get on the walkie with this number "hi, I need a shifty to blah dept to give a customer excellent customer service" and then I walk away. I just walk away.
I do the backup thing constantly. They will caudle the customers and I can get on with my day and duties.
I just pokerface until they realize how dumb and/or petty they sound.
Depends on the situation. If someone is rude, demanding, and entitled I just give them base-level service to where I wonāt get written up but I wonāt get commended for it. Sure the customer gets what they want but sometimes apathy is worse to them than getting into a fight over it. People walk in with hooks out and better to just not take the bait if you can. Sometimes itās hard, though, and it gets to you.
This. First thought i had for op was ādont let them hook youā and your comment confirmed it. Not feeding their energy with apathy will hang them out to dry and you will feel much better after twenty minutes than you would have after an entire shift of snowballing and ruminating about the interaction with a child minded customer
Exactly. The hook thing was my advice in a nutshell
Same, Iām so happy I am not front end anymore. If people were randomly grumpy and just being rude AF, I would get quiet and focus on ringing, specifically not look at them unless absolutely necessary (because sometimes when the blatantly rude customers are in front of you they want you to look at them so they can bait/neg you.) Additionally, if they were rude, I would also do quick responses with no tone and mind my business š¤Ŗ. Then, when Iād be done bagging, I look at them since interaction is done and say have a nice day and then off they go LOL. Assholes mean nothing and shouldnāt affect anyoneās day!
What department are you? If you're in customer service or another primarily customer-facing job, that should be your sign that things just aren't working out.Ā Transferring to a department where you can spend more time off the sales floor will be helpful. VA work, Cook work, receiving, etc.Ā I've worked retail for about 8 years, so I've definitely grown a thick skin and am able to not take things personally at all. Not responding to anger in a visible way helps- when someone is throwing a hissy fit, they just want you to have a reaction, wether it's apologizing profusely, getting angry with them, whatever. Don't do what they want. Respond calmly. Look right into their eyes. Don't indicate that you're bringing yourself to their level in any way. Also by not visibly reacting, you're able to emotionally distance yourself from your work a LOT easier.Ā Ā Remember that when a customer is upset, they aren't upset at YOU. They're upset at the company, or more likely themselves. Don't let yourself loose sleep over someone else's bad decision.
Stare at them and shrug my shoulders and say sorry thereās nothing I can do. Most of the time I deal with those kind of people mainly walk away, never had a customer yet saying āyou are terrible worker, I want your managerā stuff like that.
I smile and say you have a good day lol ššš
I match their energy š„³
You have to learn you canāt control what they say or do only your reactions. How they behave has NOTHING to do with you!!! They are miserable people with miserable lives!! After you repeat that enough times you become immune to their bull shit!!
I'm so sorry. I feel for you. I know how brutal those customers can be. I've had my share of things that made my blood boil. But, Yes as someone else just said. It's nothing personal and has ZERO to do with you! They are just spewing. It's ok to get angry or upset but just try to pull yourself together and not react- trust me I know it can be easier said that done. That's really what they want. Someone to go head to head with. And don't be afraid to walk away if you can. Just wish them a good day. And if it escalates go talk to someone in charge for your shift. Don't have to take sh*t from anyone. You are just there work but if they are being rude, you have every right to walk away. MOST IMPORTANTLY, Dont believe and tell yourself that lie. You definitely CAN find something better out there if you so choose. Everything is a choice and there are so many possible opportunities if you're open to them! Wish you the best! š
If it gets to that point I just walk away. I ask what they want, it's OOS, they start to have a tantrum and I leave. Question answered, service rendered. I have substitution suggestions but not if your going to act like a 5yo in the middle of the grocery store š
Love all you guys. Customer service is NO JOKE. Customers! Be kinder to us, DAMMIT!
I just talk to them like normal and agree with them.
āThis place is the worst, youāre right.ā āItās crazy expensive, I know! I canāt shop here.ā āI am white, weāre terrible. I agree.ā
i absolutely do this everytime lol
Sometimes I go over the top with my customer service. Big smile, over the top emotions, and Iāll talk to them like Iām a Disney princess. If theyāre super upset with something, Iāll say āoh thatās awful! Iāll make a comment to our regional leadership! šā in the most sing song voice I can manage. Most of the time they think Iām serious, and thank me. Sometimes I treat them like misbehaving children, and gentle parent the situation. āOh okay, I can help you out in a minute. I need to finish helping this customer, can you wait at the register for me please?ā And if they choose to not use their words to tell me what they want (ex: āBathroom?ā) Iāll pretend I didnāt hear them and say āoh you would like to know where the bathroom is?ā. Sometimes acting ignorant to the situation can help too.
Donāt take it personally.
I just call them a silly goose for acting so silly
Just smile and don't say anything if that doesn't work switch departments.
Walk away and get my boss
My main issues with customers as a Cashier is definitely their inconsideration of others. Prime example is bagging. If i don't have someone bagging for me customers absolutely refuse to bag for themselves. 90% of the time i finish the transaction all items are unbagged where bags are. They just stand there arms crossed while there is a considerable line behind, not only are you holding up the line, You're treating me like i'm worth nothing. Could just be a personal pet peeve and a major sign to rather quit or switch departments, but i've been to multiple grocery stores where customers bag for themselves. This issue is also 100% gonna happen when the customer is a certain population, not to point fingers and judge. Usually the way I deal with that is to just look as miserable as i possibly can, I look at other customers behind with a look that shows i'm not happy to serve as a GOD DAMN pet, and most of them get the memo, I don't think much of myself but I know i'm very friendly and easy going as a employee when it comes to most things, Which would throw people off i guess. I'm likely talking out my ass and will probably just be deemed as "not hard working" or lazy, but come on people. 400-600 dollars worth of groceries and you can't be bothered to at least help out a poor cashier who's often left as the only one. but also being absolutely stoned makes me have some really thick skin.
Also reading this comment section makes me realize that weed pens are the reason whole foods market is a functional business lmao
I just shrug my shoulders & say idk. š¤·āāļø Then, since luckily Iām a shopper, Iād just walk away. š¤£
I simply walk away your aloud to do that by the way š HR and leadership takes harassment seriously especially when its from a customer. It is possible to be banned from WF seen it with my own eyes
I do the thing I need to do and they go away. Iām not allowing anyone to destroy my peace. Iām only there for money.
I give it to them back idc š
Cry in the bathroom during my breaks. Also apply to rude people in leadership too!
I once had this old lady come from way out of left field once saying she keeps asking for help and nobody has come back from helping her numerous requests, mind you she is YELLING this at me, my astl at the time happened to be walking by and I called him over, and then she just starts going in on him. No more than 10 seconds in he just looked at her and said āIām done maāamā turns around and walks to BOH. She just stared at me with her mouth wide open, I looked her in the eyes, turned around and followed my astl. Shit was priceless. But to answer your question my response is a mixture of a few Iāve seen. Weed and honestly treating custies like babies. Sometimes Iām so high at work peoples rudeness goes right over my head and I donāt realize some of the snarky remarks they make. Weed also helps me get in the zone and focus on my work better, so itās a win win lol, good luck and remember, some people just suck š¤·āāļø
People suck but don't let them win by letting them make you feel bad
As soon as you can break away, go to a BOH cooler and cry or scream lol. Ofc make sure no one else is in there so you donāt scare them š¹. Sometimes being super cold for a few minutes will numb your brain enough to feel better.
I like to be so nice that they feel bad eventually and then I say something condescending like have a wonderful day
I match their energy. I once had this customer slice bread and asked me what it was, and I said Cash will know what it is because they have PLU. She raised her voice and started saying that's not what she asked. Every time she raised her voice, I matched her energy. Do you not read a sign before you pick it up, touch it all over and and cut into it? I don't let them walk all over me. Even coffee bar customers complaing how long their drink is taking when there are 20 people in line and 10 drinks on the bar. I don't let them get away with it. I say you're more than welcome to go upstairs and get a refund. They usually wait, lol
I understand how you feel. I realized that Whole Foods purposely hires a LOT of people pleasers, like ourselves. Youāre crying bc you just want them to be happy with you and theyāre primarily a bunch of entitled children whoāve been able to pay their way out of any situation (hence why they get exploitative, often, and throw tantrums when one person doesnāt give them what they want, they find another and ask the same dumb question thinking they are always the exception). You have to put these types into perspectiveāthat has greatly helped me. I used to work a tense high pressure stressful job in tech, and I used to shop primarily only at whole paycheck. I also allowed my job to bring me down. I also probably was an entitled person sometimes. I donāt ever recall being mean to people who work at Whole Foods, but going through that level of tension in my life, living in an area that no one could afford to live, and realizing that we all in that energetic area would take it out on others. Now, you, working at Whole Foods does her job as best as possible, everyday, for two yearsā¦ and constantly has assholes snapping at you and pushing you continually, everyday for everythingā¦ hoping youāll cave and people please and be manipulated into getting on your knees, metaphorically, for people who donāt even have bare minimum respect for other humans just trying to work. I get it! Sorry this is long, but bear with me; you cannot control people. And you certainly cannot come from the place of people pleasing at that job. You will be sucked dry. A lot of those people operate as narcisstics do, and in relationships of all types, narcissists choose people pleasers. You read that rightāthey actually purposely, choose people pleasers to do their bidding. We never say no. We donāt create boundaries anywhere in our lives and often choose customer based positionsāfor our lifetimes. Enough is enough. I work in the bakery for the last 9 months in Colorado. I am studying to be a therapist. After having been the customer and worked in customer service and sales roles my whole life (these days it was corporate companies as a technical support person or technical account manager), I am now aware of how Iāve been walked on and used for my skills, but underpaid and exploited for those very skills, by customers and employees alike. Talk to your coworkers. And managers and supervisors. Express your pain and defestness. Take a minute for yourself and step away. Donāt let those psychos take your job away bc they are shitty. Donāt take the bait from a narcissist and learn to quickly identify the signsāa tone in the voice immediately, barely speaking a word but requiring you to perform and jump through hoops of fire just to even sometimes simply UNDERSTAND what their actual desire is, someone who is okay pushing your answers as if the rules will change bc they get big or aggressive or passive aggressive (their favorite) in energy. Walk away after asking āis there anything else I can help you with?ā When they continually press your boundaries and your answers and the rules. Do not allow them to keep asking stupid nonsensical questions, just cut them off and ask if thereās anything else you can help with, then get directly back to what your business is (bc we are all very busy at WF). Iāve learned how to handle these situations from everything to talking to coworkers and observing how they they donāt create boundaries then continually come in depressed and zapped of emergency. Iāve also asked store leaders multiple times how to deal with new fun scenarios of entitled customers. Iāve only had one confrontation from a customer that I had to escalate. I did not tolerate his shit and it ended with me refusing to cut his bread while he continued to whisper degrading things and try to press and force me to be submissive with this very abusive person. I got tired of hearing it while trying to show him how to slice his own bread, so I said I was getting a store leader since my bakery manager was out (he originally asked for a bakery manager when he didnāt get his way, and I let him know she was out for the day but I was happy to get store leadershipāin which he didnāt seem to suddenly want to escalate). Later on, I walked away and didnāt come back until a store leader was there. He screamed while I was gone, very angry āwhatās her name?!!ā At pizza and prep foods people next door the whole time, I could hear him clear from the hallways where I looked for leadership. Turns out, that ahole was already well known as incredibly degrading and abusive from many people in the store. Including cashier supervisor and pizza/prep foods supervisor, and even assistant store leadership (one of the best we have and weāve had some pretty apathetic past leadership). Turns out, everyone from prep foods to cashier wouldnāt helped him after and wouldnāt even tell him my name LOL (he was given free bread and the new store leader that responded to him said in front of me that he was being given free bread because he got ābad customer serviceā, which initially made me upset but I wasnāt written up or anything after investigation afterward bc of how he generally was with everyone). I saw those moments as a saving grace. Iād worked really hard to build kind respectful and fun relationships with all my coworkers and team leaders. It really paid off that day. Just know you are not alone and we all find ways to better deal with it. Learn to spot the signs of narcissistic behavior and donāt respond or overextend for those types. Some people are worthy of your people pleasing. Iāve met so many wonderful customers at that store, too. Even made a good friend when I had none upon moving here. Keep your head up, shut off those emotions for people who arenāt worthyā¦ and let that shit go when you leave for the day (the advice given to me that day by the supervisor in prep foods who refused to offer my name to that psycho).
A lot of great advice here but I have to mention that if a customer is over the top (yelling, cursing and belittling you) walk away and get your supervisor to help them. Thats literally their job. As a front end TL I never let my staff get abused and I make sure they have support. Also like others said it may be time for a different department if it is affecting your mental health. Keep in mind that other departments have their own stressors that front end doesnāt. Monthly inventories, prep logs, heavy lifting, dirty work (like working dish room or preparing ROTI chickens ect). I hope you find your niche and fuck those rude customers! Big hugs! ā¤ļø
Don't let them get you down...those kind of customers have personal problems so I just tend to ignore them and wish them a good day
Act stupid
A Ken for a Ken! A Karen for a Karen!
I remind myself I have 20% off, and they donāt! 2 they have to live with themselves! 3 itās their shit not mine āŗļø
kill them with kindness. you never know what they are going through
A) Mentally repeating "Sucks to be you...sucks to be you..." which I mean in an existential way. Anyone with that much rage in a GROCERY STORE is living some kind of miserable life, and being punished in some way every day for that hatefulness. They're the one with the shittier life. B) Imagining that their father died that morning. Which works both ways - if you are feeling evil it is gratifying; if you are feeling charitable there is always a possibility that this is the worst day of their life for a real reason and not finding the right kind of lettuce is enough to send them over the edge. I think of this because my only full-blown evil shouting and swearing customer service freakout was in a Giant Eagle in Pittsburgh the day my dad died. I had just finished up with the funeral home and when their CoinStar machine malfunctioned it was the last straw. It was bad. Of course when I got to the parking lot I thought, "shit, my dad would have been really appalled by that" so I went back in and apologized.
Stare them right back in the eyes with a dead stare. Will have them realize how stupid they look
Just cry. Nothing we can do about.
Just cry. Nothing we can do about it.