# 100 things a customer should never do. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 3, 2009, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154 "2009-11-03T11:31:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/101 "2009-11-04T14:25:47Z")
> [@Swallowed\_My\_Cellphone](#): > > Try this: while you’re waiting in line behind other cars, read the menu. It’s just like when you’re standing in line at the counter. While people are placing and paying for their orders, you’re looking up at the menu, right? Wow! What a brilliant idea! How have I gotten this far through life without such sage advice? Note to self: never impede, even for a minute or two, a fast food junkie’s path to his greaseball burger. Got it. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/102 "2009-11-04T14:47:10Z")
> [@Student\_Driver](#): > > Hell, this happens to me pretty much every day that I work. I think the “no, I’m just looking” line is pretty much an automatic response for people (as it is for myself) when approached by store clerks; I honestly think people don’t realize they’ve said it. Clerk approaches, automatic “nothanksjustlooking” response, and then it registers in their brain “hey, I need help, and there’s this guy standing right here looking at me, might as well ask him!” Right–it makes perfect sense to me. She did the autoresponse and then thought he seemed friendly and maybe it would be easier to just ask. I won’t fall for that though–every time I decide to take a chance, the person can’t answer my question. :smack: And I prefer “Let me know if I can help with anything” rather than “Is there anything I can help you with” since I get to say “OK” rather than “No” which feels like a rejection. /neurotic > [@tdn](#): > > It’s flirting in a welcome way. I know that many of you think that there ain’t no such beast – maybe because you’ve never experienced it. Most women don’t. But you’ll have to trust me on this. Wow. \*\* tdn\*\*, really? You have to know this is an overstatement. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/103 "2009-11-04T14:47:26Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Yeah, it’s not the worst thing ever but it’s pretty cheesy/eye roll inducing. But you can’t tell the customer he’s being a big ham because bye bye tip. Yeah, my father-in-law does that to waiters/waitresses, and he turns into a real jerk if they don’t laugh along like it’s the best thing ever. He’s even complained to the owner at one place about a particular waitress; fortunately this guy knows what kind of person my FIL is. He also likes to play “guess the nationality of non-white staff” and at one incident, asked the waitress if she was from the Philippines. She just said no and didn’t play along further in what was supposed to be a lead-in to a guessing game for his entertainment. He sulked after she left that “Filipinos are good, hard-working people; I don’t see why that was insulting.” After that she could do nothing right - she was too slow, she didn’t bring more coffee fast enough. I claimed the check because I knew he was going to stiff her on the tip, but he insisted on tipping. He was worked up enough that I suspect he would have made a scene if I said anything, so I just went straight up to the register and gave the cashier (the owner’s wife) a good tip along with the tab and said, “My FIL is going to stiff our waitress, and she doesn’t deserve it; he’s being a jerk.” ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/104 "2009-11-04T14:49:08Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > Wow! What a brilliant idea! How have I gotten this far through life without such sage advice? > > Note to self: never impede, even for a minute or two, a fast food junkie’s path to his greaseball burger. Got it. Damn straight, skinny. I bet you were deciding which salad and low-fat parfait to get. :rolleyes:😛 ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/105 "2009-11-04T15:03:55Z")
Successful servers thrive in their environment because they are, largely, very social people. They enjoy the interaction, smile easily, are often quite gregarious and truly like people. Are there times, when it piles up on them, and they feel like they’ve had their fill? Absolutely, but that’s just a bad shift/bad mood, it passes. They’ll be back tomorrow, sunny and smiley. These are the people who succeed as servers. It’s much easier to avoid a customer who’s hitting on you as a waiter, you can always find recluse in the kitchen, but when you’re the bartender there’s no where to go. Catering is even worse you could be in their library! Still, in the end, servers are adept at handling these situations and are, largely, not the types to take any of it too seriously for too long. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/106 "2009-11-04T15:35:40Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Successful servers thrive in their environment because they are, largely, very social people. They enjoy the interaction, smile easily, are often quite gregarious and truly like people. [snip] Still, in the end, servers are adept at handling these situations and are, largely, not the types to take any of it too seriously for too long. I spent most of college paying my bills by working in coffeeshops, and back in high school, I worked as a cashier in a grocery store. I am very outgoing. I hated **every fucking minute** of having to smile and nod and laugh and play along with stupid fucking flirting and jokes. I did it anyway because I was fucking great at my jobs, and the customers all loved me, but it \*\*still \*\*bugged the hell out of me. ---
**Author:** ![SunSandSuffering](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@SunSandSuffering](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunSandSuffering)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/107 "2009-11-04T15:49:36Z")
[hijack] I work in tech support and people think I’m great at it. I am helpful, take time to explain and always go a bit further to anticipate other problems that need fixing. Like **Shot From Guns** above _I hate every fucking minute of it_. [/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![Vihaga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Vihaga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vihaga)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/108 "2009-11-04T15:50:53Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I don’t get why customers can’t just treat waitresses as they would their waiters. You’re probably not the lone guy who’s so funny/hot you’re going to make her day. > > And for those guys saying that you can tell from her body language/laughter she’s into you, are the ladies at a strip club also into you? I don’t get it either. My Dad was one of those “oh, I’m just being amusing” flirters, and it took my mother, sister and I YEARS to convince him otherwise. He doesn’t do it now, though, thank God. Number whatever: Don’t expect restaurants to accommodate your party’s nearly criminal lateness. There’s a great restaurant not too far from us, but it’s _small_ and they don’t take reservations. They also don’t seat a party until they’re all present, which is clearly stated on a sign by the door. People will bitch endlessly about this policy, despite the fact that with as few tables as it has, the place needs to keep them moving to stay in business and there’s no way they can miss the sign. Oh, well. I appreciate that the place doesn’t waste my time by letting them increase my wait time. ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/109 "2009-11-04T16:03:07Z")
When you are standing in line, say at the supermarket checkout, don’t start up a conversation with everyone else in the line. Nobody cares that your son is a doctor or lawyer, and since you can’t possibly do two things at once you will become distracted and that will slow down the line. When you’re in a grocery store verify that the item you pick up has a visible bar code or price tag on it. If the cashier can’t scan the item (or see the price) that means that someone will have to run around the store trying to find it, and that can easily take up to 5 minutes. Everyone else is stuck until your can of corn can be rung up properly. Look at the can or box when you grab it and make sure there is a visible bar code or price tag. If there isn’t one for some reason put it back and grab a different one. Cashiers don’t memorize the price of every item in the store. Think about it. Ladies, have your money ready by the time you reach the cashier, including your check signed and filled out, and stuff everything into your purse as soon as your groceries are bagged and the receipt is in your hand. Don’t stand there trying to neatly put everything back in your purse… move your cart out of the way and deal with all of that on your own time. And most importantly, don’t make idle chit chat with the chasier, waitperson, or receptionist unless they are truly a close friend of yours. I can stand waiting in line while the customer discusses the latest gossip or the weather. You’re allowed to say ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’, but that’s about it. If they ask you a direct question answer it as succinctly as possible. In the rare case that there is nobody behind you feel free to yak away as much as you want, but if someone else is waiting keep the chit chat to an absolute minimum. It slows down the entire transaction and makes us all have to wait longer. Isn’t life short enough as it is? ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/110 "2009-11-04T16:07:39Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > When you’re in a grocery store verify that the item you pick up has a visible bar code or price tag on it. If the cashier can’t scan the item (or see the price) that means that someone will have to run around the store trying to find it, and that can easily take up to 5 minutes. Everyone else is stuck until your can of corn can be rung up properly. Look at the can or box when you grab it and make sure there is a visible bar code or price tag. If there isn’t one for some reason put it back and grab a different one. Cashiers don’t memorize the price of every item in the store. Think about it. I must disagree. It is not my job to make sure the prices and the bar codes are attached to the labels correctly. It’s not my job to make sure the prices are coded into the computer correctly. If I’m holding up the line because my yogurt won’t scan, how is that MY fault? The fault lies with the store. I don’t blame the cashier. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/111 "2009-11-04T16:12:30Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > If anybody is holding up the line searching for a checkbook, it’s a woman. I’ve found these people are almost exclusively old. And wearing a jacket indoors. Never noticed a gender gap, though. I love self check out because old people are afraid of technology. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/112 "2009-11-04T16:14:25Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > Ladies, have your money ready by the time you reach the cashier, including your check signed and filled out, and stuff everything into your purse as soon as your groceries are bagged and the receipt is in your hand. Don’t stand there trying to neatly put everything back in your purse… move your cart out of the way and deal with all of that on your own time. In our defense, when the cashier hands back bills, receipt, and change all together, it’s really hard! You have to stuff the coins in somewhere, try to put the receipt somewhere else. I do move out of the way, but the cashiers do not make it easier on us. I’ve also never taken out my stuff in line, but it only takes a few seconds to pull out my wallet. I mean, I don’t see guys pulling their wallets out in advance either. ETA: Self check out at the library is so awesome because the lines there to get them checked out by a…checker outer are heinously long. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/113 "2009-11-04T16:15:34Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > Successful servers thrive in their environment because they are, largely, very social people. They enjoy the interaction, smile easily, are often quite gregarious and truly like people. > > Are there times, when it piles up on them, and they feel like they’ve had their fill? Absolutely, but that’s just a bad shift/bad mood, it passes. They’ll be back tomorrow, sunny and smiley. These are the people who succeed as servers. > > It’s much easier to avoid a customer who’s hitting on you as a waiter, you can always find recluse in the kitchen, but when you’re the bartender there’s no where to go. Catering is even worse you could be in their library! > > Still, in the end, servers are adept at handling these situations and are, largely, not the types to take any of it too seriously for too long. Some are better at blowing it off than others, but it wears on them. On more than one occasion, I saw waitresses come back to the kitchen, break into tears, then wipe them away, put the fake smile back on and go right back out to the dining room. It’s a wearing job, and sexual harrassment from the customers is too often exepected to just be accepted as part of it. The cornball jokers aren’t as wearing or as creepy, but they do become tiresome over time. It’s tough to keep laughing at the 15th guy of the day to ask if you’re working hard or hardly working. I can tell you that sevrers appreciate nothing more than a quiet, low maintenance guy who leaves them alone. Those are the guys who make their day. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/114 "2009-11-04T16:21:43Z")
I thought of this thread (and wanted to kill the woman) yesterday when I went to the grocery store, and when I got up to the front of the line, after all of her stuff was scanned and the cashier told her the total, then the old woman next to me got out her checkbook and with agonizing slowness, flipped to the right page and started slowly filling it out. I wanted to beat her over the head with her own celery. Every line was full, both express and regular, and this woman couldn’t have dug her checkbook out of her gargantuan pocketbook a little earlier? Gargantuan pocketbooks weird me out anyway. I just went to one that was even smaller, even though my old one was not big, because I HATE fishing around. Maybe that’s a thread - why do women like those big old bags? How much stuff do you have to carry? ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/115 "2009-11-04T16:31:43Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > When you’re in a grocery store verify that the item you pick up has a visible bar code or price tag on it. This never bugged me when I was a cashier. The customer has no reason not to expect that an item has been properly labeled, and it’s not their job to make sure of it. > [@MeanOldLady](#): > > I love self check out because old people are afraid of technology. Unfortunately, some people our age are also \*\*deeply \*\*stupid. > [@Anaamika](#): > > Gargantuan pocketbooks weird me out anyway. I just went to one that was even smaller, even though my old one was not big, because I HATE fishing around. Maybe that’s a thread - why do women like those big old bags? How much stuff do you have to carry? I tend to carry large-ish purses because I don’t drive–my requirement for a purse is that it must be able to fit a hardcover book in it. Some of the contents of my current bag (which is apparently about 12" x 8" x 4"): wallet; glasses case (for my sunglasses, which are prescription); gloves; Kindle; cell phone; iPod; checkbook; notebook; pill bottle (ibuprofen, etc.); nail clippers and file; hair brush; hairbands; hair clips; band-aids; lip balm; memory stick… However, most of the little piddly crap is in the zippered pocket, so I can find my wallet quickly. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/116 "2009-11-04T16:58:19Z")
> [@dolphinboy](#): > > When you’re in a grocery store verify that the item you pick up has a visible bar code or price tag on it. Sorry, no, that’s not my responsibility as a customer. I’m a cashier, and fully realize that it is my store’s job to post a price, and make sure the cashier knows the price, either by scan or by tag. Joe ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/117 "2009-11-04T17:34:09Z")
> [@MeanOldLady (bolding added)](#): > > I’ve found these people are almost exclusively old. **And wearing a jacket indoors.** Can you explain this? I’ve never seen a coat rack at Target or the grocery store where all the shoppers can hang up their coats. 😕 What do **you** do with your outerwear when you’re in a store? ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/118 "2009-11-04T18:01:42Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I don’t get why customers can’t just treat waitresses as they would their waiters. You’re probably not the lone guy who’s so funny/hot you’re going to make her day. I always thought the rule of thumb was “Just be normal and polite. If the waitress wants to flirt, she’ll flirt with you first.” This has happened to me twice in the fifteen years I’ve been going to restaurants and interested in flirting. I ended up with a date both times (because while I won’t cop to knowing when someone’s enjoying flirting, I’m pretty sure I can tell accurately when I’m being flirted with.) ---
**Author:** ![Chanteuse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chanteuse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chanteuse)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/119 "2009-11-04T18:31:42Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > Can you explain this? I’ve never seen a coat rack at Target or the grocery store where all the shoppers can hang up their coats. 😕 What do **you** do with your outerwear when you’re in a store? I fold it up and put it under my purse in the front of the cart. (I don’t fold the seat flap down, so I’m not overly concerned with the tushies that have been there.) ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/120 "2009-11-04T18:46:02Z")
In Wisconsin in the winter, taking off your outerwear just to shop would be ridiculously time-consuming. (Not to mention you’d have everybody parking their carts by the exit to bundle back up on the way out.) Even in the spring and fall, you almost never see people take their jackets off. I might unbutton or unzip something, but that’s about it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154.md?page=7)