I had a similar experience, at a Sears store in Minneapolis, many years ago. When I came to the cashier to pay for the my purchases (all found without any help from her) she was talking on the phone to her boyfriend. (It was a black dial desk phone, to show how long ago this was.)
After waiting a minute or two, with no reaction from her, I simply reached out and pressed the button on the base to disconnect the phone. She was shocked and upset with me, and quite resentful as she rang up my purchases. It didn’t bother me much.
Here in Canada, I (and many others) have had to deal with Chapters, Canada’s big-box book store. You cannot go twenty feet in that store without somebody [del]bugging you[/del], or I mean, asking you if you need help finding something.
I’d like to find the corporate bigwig who told the staff to harass browsing patrons with uninvited enquiries as to how the patron is doing and could he or she use any help finding anything in particular. If I had such bigwig, I’d enquire as to how he or she was doing every two minutes–every two minutes, by the clock, from opening until closing, sixteen hours a day. Not exactly the same as the OP, but if I could inform Chapters of something it would be this: you’re a bookstore, I’m browsing, I came in for nothing in particular, though I may find something, but I will walk out in disgust if you will not leave me alone!
Honestly, I’ve left Chapters fifteen minutes after walking in, because no less than seven employees have bothered me (“Need any help, sir?” “What can I help you find, sir?”) in that fifteen minutes while I’m browsing. A supermarket is where I want to get in and out of quickly, but this is a bookstore, dammit! Browsing is expected. Go away!
The first one, when you are first entering the store, might be of some use if you were looking for something specific. But after that, it’s best to pretend to be deaf. Just ignore them entirely – any reaction just encourages them.
I’m thinking of a plan whereby you pick up a sign when you come in to a store that says, “Just browsing; I’ll let you know if I need help” and you carry it the whole time you’re in the store so the clerks don’t keep on “helping” you.
Then there’s hardware stores, where we often do need help, and there’s one clerk in the whole two acre store.