You know how some things really piss you off…
Lunchtime, for most working people, has to be planned with military precision, especially if it involves a trip to the shops. If this includes a ‘flying visit’ to Tescos for a sandwich you can always assume things will not go well.
It’s not just the fact that Tescos appear to have adopted a policy of opening at least half as many checkouts than are actually needed.
It’s not just that pensioners choose lunchtime to go shopping – bless them. But why does it always come as a shock to them when, after the painfully accurate packing away of their goods into their wheeled shopping bags, they now need to find their purse – which is usually hidden away under said items?
It’s not even that this is the time when other members of staff choose to do their own shopping. Not that they appear to buy much – it’s just an opportunity to catch up on the gossip with the checkout girls. The ultra slow scanning technique doesn’t fool us. No, we all know the laboriously slow process is a well-established routine, which excruciatingly prolongs the chat time.
No, the thing that’s really got to me at my local Tesco Metro happens at the Customer Service Counter. (Now there’s a misnomer if ever there was one).
Up until a few weeks ago, there was a polite notice requesting that no more than 5 items should be taken to this checkout – which seemed fair enough. This has now been replaced by a large, officious looking notice proclaiming; “Strictly No More Than 2 Items”.
And the Staff have welcomed this with Hitleresque enthusiasm. Rarely a day goes by when I don’t hear an argument break out.
People, laughingly called customers, may buy as many tobacco, CD, DVD and lottery products as they wish – but heaven help them if they turn up with more than 2 items in their basket.
So where’s the logic in this Mr Duty Manager? Is it more efficient to make people queue twice? Is it better to waste everyone’s time by making Staff vilify errant customers who only want to buy a sandwich, a packet of crisps, a bottle of pop and a packet of fags? Perhaps your plan is to make people buy less!
If you really want to save everyone’s time – stop selling those bloody scratch cards which seem to take an eternity to process through the till.
Lunchtime, for most working people, has to be planned with military precision, especially if it involves a trip to the shops. If this includes a ‘flying visit’ to Tescos for a sandwich you can always assume things will not go well.
It’s not just the fact that Tescos appear to have adopted a policy of opening at least half as many checkouts than are actually needed.
It’s not just that pensioners choose lunchtime to go shopping – bless them. But why does it always come as a shock to them when, after the painfully accurate packing away of their goods into their wheeled shopping bags, they now need to find their purse – which is usually hidden away under said items?
It’s not even that this is the time when other members of staff choose to do their own shopping. Not that they appear to buy much – it’s just an opportunity to catch up on the gossip with the checkout girls. The ultra slow scanning technique doesn’t fool us. No, we all know the laboriously slow process is a well-established routine, which excruciatingly prolongs the chat time.
No, the thing that’s really got to me at my local Tesco Metro happens at the Customer Service Counter. (Now there’s a misnomer if ever there was one).
Up until a few weeks ago, there was a polite notice requesting that no more than 5 items should be taken to this checkout – which seemed fair enough. This has now been replaced by a large, officious looking notice proclaiming; “Strictly No More Than 2 Items”.
And the Staff have welcomed this with Hitleresque enthusiasm. Rarely a day goes by when I don’t hear an argument break out.
People, laughingly called customers, may buy as many tobacco, CD, DVD and lottery products as they wish – but heaven help them if they turn up with more than 2 items in their basket.
So where’s the logic in this Mr Duty Manager? Is it more efficient to make people queue twice? Is it better to waste everyone’s time by making Staff vilify errant customers who only want to buy a sandwich, a packet of crisps, a bottle of pop and a packet of fags? Perhaps your plan is to make people buy less!
If you really want to save everyone’s time – stop selling those bloody scratch cards which seem to take an eternity to process through the till.
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