<p>blankmind - that’s an excellent observation. And OP’s major issue was with how management handled her situation. </p>
<p>In my Walmart tale (several pages back) where I was the customer behind the rude express line customer, the situation could easily have been diffused by the proper handling by the manager. She could have led me to one of the FOUR closed registers right nearby and checked me (and the several customers behind me) out, rather than berating me for engaging with the customer in front of me and leaving me standing there to wait and continue to watch the ridiculous pay-for-one-item-at-a-time. If the goal is pleasing ALL the customers, then that would have been so simple. OP’s manager could and should have handled it exactly as you described. </p>
<p>theaterbrat also apparently has issues with Walmart management, so maybe therein lies the problem. That and the fact that those among us who follow the rules and expect courteous treatment of those around us because we are courteous in return are always surprised, it seems, and disappointed by the uncouth and selfish behavior of the kinds of customers that OP and I encountered at Walmart.</p>
<p>I have only skimmed many of the replies here, but I notice some that seem to find fault with you for being bothered by the poor behavior of others. I think we should all be upset by the poor behavior of others, unless we are prepared for it to be the norm. The store creates a 20 items or less rule for a reason. The polite and correct thing to do is abide by that. Some won’t. As an employee, reminding them of that rule seems reasonable, and then, just as you did, follow the store policy of letting them through anyway. To try to enforce the rule with an uncooperative customer would only escalate the problem. The customer in question also behaved poorly if they falsely accused you of mistreatment. This will happen sometimes and it is perfectly normal and reasonable for you to be frustrated by it. Then the boss…unfortunately, bosses acting in an unprofessional manner and throwing employees under bus is something you may run into in many places. It is certainly not limited to walmart, or even retail. A good manager/boss can and should treat the customer well without treating their employees badly.</p>
<p>I haven’t read every post, but has someone suggested this:</p>
<p>At the entrance to the express lane the sign could read:</p>
<p>“This is an express line for customers with 15 items or less. If you choose to bring more items into this lane, our cashiers have been instructed by management to accept your order. However, other customers in this line might not appreciate your actions.”. </p>
<p>This puts the onus on the customer and directs other customers’ anger at them instead of the cashier.</p>
<p>I haven’t been able to read all of the replies but I do sympathize as someone who spent many years in retail. Just carry this experience forward and remember how you were treated when, years from now, you are the irate customer in a long line. The waitress, cashier, customer service rep, are generally just doing their job as accurately and efficiently as possible. </p>
<p>And FWIW, I avoid Walmart completely unless I am really desperate lol. When I do go there it is never an enjoyable shopping experience. Not because of the staff but because the stores are too big, too crowded, and the parking lot brings out the worst in people. I would rather pay a little more and not have to walk a mile from the shampoo to the milk.</p>
<p>Count me in as another shopper who will NEVER shop at Walmart. Thank you for all the reinforcement of my decision, made years ago. I don’t appreciate the fact that Walmart gets away with paying such low wages, keeping many people part time, that these employees qualify for food stamps and medicaid, while Walmart takes advantage of huge corporate tax breaks. So, Walmart and its employees are already getting plenty of my money. I am happy that I can afford to shop wherever I please, and can find my bargains on Craigslist, Amazon or consignment stores. Or, I decide I don’t need whatever it is I thought that I needed.</p>
<p>OP, you sound like a fine person, and your manager sounds like a moron. If this is company policy, then everybody involved is nuts. OP, you have the patience of a saint. You will do well in life.</p>
<p>I feel sorry for anyone who, because of their economic circumstances, feels forced to shop at Walmart. I am sorry for all the small businesses that have gone out of business due to Walmart’s entry into their towns. I try to support my local businesses as much as possible.</p>
<p>There is no excuse for a manager to allow an employee to be cursed at and to be hit by items. I’m surprised that other customers didn’t intervene. I also avoid Walmart but my mom likes shopping there so I do sometimes accompany her. Fortunately I have never observed any rudeness there. I just don’t like the company policies.</p>
<p>I didn’t support Wal-Mart before working there and I sure try not to buy many things there now. It is hard at the end of the work day not to nip over and go grocery shopping but I am usually so tired that I just want out of there.</p>
<p>Hit by items? As in the customer assaulted you? Really? Assume the OP saying the customer “bashed her” means verbally berated her. Not literally hit er.</p>
<p>OP, if you’re still reading this: in answer to your thread question, yes. This is a glimpse of your future if you are going to become a dentist or any health professional. Every day you will encounter disgruntled and irrational people, and you are going to have to deal with them because your professional ethic will demand it. Dealing with patients can be very difficult. So consider your Walmart cashier experience good training for your future.</p>
<p>That’s what I thought at first but later she said the lady was throwing things at her. I guess she didn’t say she was hit by anything so the lady didn’t have good aim I suppose. It’s also not clear now to me if the manager saw this. At one point she says she’s upset because she didn’t get support while being cursed at and having things thrown at her and another time she says she was upset because the manager walked away and left her to deal with the customer.</p>
<p>When I graduated from pharmacy school, I took a job with a retail chain, local to the D.C. area. They were cozy,nice stores BUT very quickly I learned…retail was not for me for I do not possess the natural armour personality required to endure in it. “The customer is always right” was the rule. Always. I lasted only 3 years till I fled to hospital pharmacy and just celebrated 36 years there last Friday. At least I feel like a professional and not someone’s whipping girl. Good luck to you. I would have to be in perpetual therapy to survive retail for a lifetime.</p>
<p>I think she wad talking about different times. In the past customers threw stuff at her but this woman was just being verbal. That’s my interpretation.</p>
<p>It’s dismaying to see “attitude” in this thread that it’s okay for one human being to have the right to abuse another all in the name of “retail hell”. Ugh. Oh well. I have been on the other side and I am always nice and polite and smile at those serving me just because it’s the nice thing to do and it can help make their day a bit more bearable. Maybe they will remember me while waiting on the next nasty person and try to let it roll off them.</p>
<p>you are not reading correctly. No one has said that it’s “okay”. It is just reality. </p>
<p>Retail is a tough job, no question about it. </p>
<p>btw: those jumping on it bcos it is WM are playing politics – I experienced the exact same “stuff” at my union-dominated retail grocery store. My D worked summer at a high end shop (shirts start @ $100+) in a high end mall and had clothes tossed over on her shoulders and even head when the customer was done with them after trying them on. She’s had mom’s ask her to watch her kids while they go try on clothes.</p>
<p>Like I said pages ago, ‘Welcome to Retail, OP.’</p>
<p>This isn’t unique to retail, or even to customer relations. I think 99% of people are nice to everyone they come across in everyday life. But there are bullies out there, and they choose the soft targets in life, whether it be a clerk in a store or a subordinate in the office.</p>
<p>Interestingly, last month I went to a Walmart in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China. It was a nice medium-size two-level supermarket in a high-quality retail mall, and had good quality and prices on mostly foreign brands. On the other hand, everyone in the store looked quite happy, customers and staff alike.</p>
<p>I was in line at Sbux the other day and this woman was just berating the cashier who was taking her order. It was really unbelievable. The chashier just kept nodding and smiling and nodding and smiling.</p>
<p>The guy making the coffee had seen the whole thing. By the time I got my coffee, he’d forgotten to make her drink for five customers in a row. I was actually laughing as I watched this.</p>
<p>There are some people who ought not to be let out of the house. Walmart wants them in their stores. It’s just a horrible job, but the job isn’t going to change.</p>
<p>you sound like somebody for whom retail is not a good fit. it’s not for me, either. there are infinitely many other areas that you can get a job in</p>