I write this letter on behalf of all people working in retail.
I am the manager of a local pet hyper and I have had it with rude customers. I can’t take it that customers underestimate my intelligence just because I am behind a till, and I can’t take the way some customers treat my shop assistant just because he can’t speak Afrikaans. He is always friendly, polite and helpful even when he needs a translator to understand what a customer wants.
People in retail work very long hours and we have to deal with all the people who walk through the door. Just greet back when I greet you, you only have to do it once. I on the other hand have to greet the 100 people who come through the door after you.
We go out of our way to be polite and respectful, but some customers just cannot return the favour. It feels as if the mentality is that the person who sells me the things I need to live and survive is of non-importance. Just because I work in a shop does not mean I did not finish my education, it does not mean that I am incompetent – you would be surprised at the amount of training we have to do.
So on behalf of all people in retail I thank the friendly customers and ask the rude ones to put themselves in my place. If you treat me badly you affect my whole day and after you have left I still need to put on my smile and say “good day, how can I help?”.
