There is a special type of bad consumer that is the bane of both retail employees and other customers waiting in line — the person who not only blabs away on their phone while waiting in line but also holds things up by refusing to pause their call when they get to the head of the line. So what is the best way to deal with this problem in a way that just won’t slow things down even more?
The Unicorn Cafe in Evanston, IL, trains its employees to handle customers with attitude through some role-playing exercises that place them on both sides of the counter. And over at StarbucksGossip.com, barista readers have shared their advice and experience on the matter.
“We used to have a single rule for these kind of people at my old store,” writes one commenter. “Back of the line, please.”
Another barista is less certain:
I am afraid of being written up if I dare to say anything about this problem to the customer. I do not know what is allowed by Mgmt. And if the customer, no matter how wdong he is, calls the Office, which they all do, the Company will fault the Barista because the customer is always right! It does offend me when I cannot get their attention because they are on their cell, and when I simply take the next customer, the person gets all huffy! I worked 3 years with a Mgr. wgo always sided with the customer and never with the Barista, and the result is a write up for “unacceptable” service toward a customer who is rufe in the first place. How do I win here?
Adds another, admittedly former barista, “I would show her one of my fingers too, it just wouldn’t be the same one she is showing.”
While others say they simply ask the finger-wagging phone-talker to step aside until they are done with their call.
“The customer is a very tricky species,” Unicorn Cafe’s Tracie Dahlke tells Consumerist. “Our goal with the Customer Service Refresher Course (CSRC) was to take our employees on a spiritual journey to both sides of the counter, to examine in depth all of the many scenarios that could occur during a common daily transaction. This two-pronged Employee/Customer role playing ensures that our staff understands inner operation of the minds working on BOTH sides of the counter, ensuring that any possible scenario that may arise leaves at least one side of the equation a pacified mannequin.”
We want to know from the Consumerist hive mind how you handle these bad consumers, not just at coffee shops, but in all situations where their phone use puts a damper on everyone’s day.
Do you politely ask them to step aside? Do you just step ahead of them? Or do you grab their phone and see if there is a Blendtec behind the counter?
Share your thoughts in the comments, but please keep the line moving.
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The bathrooms where I work have signs that say “no cellphone use including cameras”. Evidently there was an issue with some moron taking photos in the Bathrooms. People often go into the stall and just use it as a phone booth because outside it can be very busy and noisy. Nothing like waiting to go when someone is sitting in there yapping. I usually just go to the urinal next to the stall and keep flushing it repeatedly a it’s very loud. Eventually you hear them say “yes, I’m in a bathroom. Fine. I’ll call you back”.
LMAO….love it!
Just say very loudly ‘Next!’. If they don’t immediately hang up serve the next customer and then tell them they have to wait in line again.
Unfortunately businesses are fostering this attitude that anything is acceptable since they are in such financial trouble. Any employee that doesn’t ” talk nice ” to a csr is liable to be fired and replaced by some other disposable employee.
I don’t know how many of you remember when movie theatres used to say on the screen ” Please silence all pagers” . Then it changed to “Please turn off all cell phones”. Now they actually say “Please silence ringers”! Not even turn them off! Just silence them! Do you know how many people I see texting during movies? With thier stupid screen which is so bright that it distracts everyone around them. And technically, they followed directions by silencing the ringer! Amazing! I usually call them out by very loudly saying “Hey! That’s really distracting, could you put it away?” That gets everyone looking at them or me but usually gets the point across.
However, where I work we need to process people through security lines as quickly as possible. I simply ask people politely twice to hang up the phone. They usually ignore me. The third time I tell them “I’ve asked you twice to hang up the phone. Now either hang up or step off the line and get back on the end when you are ready.” Sometimes they say “its important” like that makes it ok. I answer with “If its that important step off the line so you wont be distracted. Come back when you are ready. They usually glare at me but hang up. Sometimes they ask where it says that. I tell them right here and point to my mouth. They ask to talk to my manager. I am the manager. They ask for my name to write a complaint. I hold up my ID and tell them to be sure they spell it correctly when they complain that they were holding up the line by talking on thier phone. I haven’t had a written complaint yet. I’m sure I will but until I’m told otherwise I’ll continue.
Easy – hold out your phone and video them while you inform them that they’ll need to step aside until they’re done with their call. When the customer goes apesh1t on you, you have video proof that they’re the a$$hole, not you.
Problem #1: Customer service/home office won’t care.
Problem #2: The cashier would also be disciplined for using his/her cellphone. Many stores don’t even allow them on the salesfloor. Not that this is actually enforced, but providing your own video to CSR is like telling the cop who pulled you over for speeding that you were in a hurry to meet your crack dealer.
Ask your manager what his/her policy is, or check the employee manual or company policy list. Policies are the best thing to cover your ass with. The customer is always right, but if the policy disagrees with the customer, then it’s the policy that would be reconsidered, and not your employment.
If your manager won’t commit to anything better than “use your best judgment”, and corporate has no opinion, you might be out of luck. Stick with the default policy of “stay patient and don’t turn any customer away”. Assume their situation or back story is so compelling, the other customers would agree and willingly wait.
You can try making a business case to your manager to set some sort of policy, or at least prove that it’s not just an imaginary problem. Try [discreetly] writing down how many other customers leave out of frustration being stuck behind Mr. Phone, or how much time Mr. Phone held up the line. Bring that to your manager, and point out how much revenue the company is missing out on.
Except in the majority of US states, which are At-Will Employment, where you’d be fired before the policy was reconsidered.
If you want to be served putcherdam phone down.
I love it when it happens. I make my order from right behind them but in the loudest, most obnoxious way. I pray every day for the first fool brave enough to turn to me and say “do you mind? I’m on the phone”. The torrent of abuse that follows will be talked about in hushed tones for generations. If you’re on the phone and ignoring the person waiting to provide SERVICE that you ASKED for, then you’re a douchebag and deserve whatever comes to you.
How about the other way around when the employee is using some damn headset and talking on the phone and ignoring the PAYING customer.
When I’m on the phone at work, it’s with another paying customer, or a potential paying customer. There’s a reason we have a phone number.
This is only matched by clerks/waitstaff who yack on the phone, yack with their friends, or the worst: serve their buddy further back in line.
(The following only works if it’s an independently owned business, at Starbucks, basically, the employee and manager would have to eat the shit they were given.)
Cell phone asshole approaching checkout: *Blah blah blah cell phone nonsense blah blah*
Employee: *stony silence*
Customer behind cell phone asshole: “Hey, what’s the holdup here?”
Employee: “I’m sorry sir, but I don’t want to interrupt her phone call.”
Cell phone asshole: *continues to blather on cell phone*
Employee: *stony silence*
Cell phone asshole (noticing that the employee isn’t doing anything) “Hey, what the hell is your problem?”
Employee: “Sorry ma’am, I didn’t want to interrupt your call. That’ll be $x, please.”
Cell phone asshole: *tosses money in employee’s direction*
Employee: *rings up cell phone asshole’s order, makes change, then stony silence*
Cell phone asshole: *blathers further on cell phone*
Customer behind cell phone asshole (to said asshole): “Hey, she’s waiting for you.”
Cell phone asshole: “Well give me my damn change!”
Employee: “Sorry, ma’am, I didn’t want to interrupt your phone call. Here’s your change, have a nice day.”
Cell phone asshole: “What the hell is your problem, anyway? Get me your manager.”
Employee: “Right away, please wait a moment.”
Manager: “What seems to be the problem here?”
Cell phone asshole: *blathers on cell phone about how rude employee is*
Manager: *stony silence*
Cell phone asshole: “Well? What are you going to do about this?”
Manager: “I’m sorry, ma’am, to what are you referring?”
Cell phone asshole: “Your employee was very rude to me! I want her fired!”
Manager: “I’m sorry that you’re not happy with the service you’ve received. Please tell me what happened, so I may address your concern.”
Cell phone asshole: *blathers away on cell phone*
Manager: *stony silence*
Cell phone asshole: “Well?”
Manager: “I’m sorry, ma’am, I didn’t want to interrupt your phone call.”
Cell phone asshole: *loses her shit*
Manager: “Please calm down, ma’am, or I will have to ask you to leave. (to employee) So what do you have to say about this?”
Employee: “Just like you, I didn’t want to interrupt her phone call. I thought it might be rude for me to do so. So I waited while she was on the phone.”
Manager: “I see. (to customer) I’m sorry for any inconvenience, ma’am. Your order will be on the house. (to employee) Please refund her money.”
Employee: *processes refund*
Cell phone asshole: *blathers away on cell phone*
Customer behind cell phone asshole: “Hey, what the hell is the problem here?”
Manager: “I’m sorry for the inconvenience, sir. I will be happy to discount your order for your trouble. (to cell phone asshole) Ma’am, you are holding up my other customers. We’ve given you a refund; please step out of the way so that I can help the other customers.”
Cell phone asshole: *blathers away on cell phone*
Manager (to other customers): “Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for the delay in service. (to cell phone asshole, loud enough to interrupt her) Ma’am, I have other customers to help. Everyone here is waiting on you. I am losing business because of you at this point. If there is nothing else I can help you with, I’m afraid that I am going to have to ask you to leave.”
Cell phone asshole: “How dare you speak to me that way! I’m going to call the owner!”
Manager: “You are speaking to him now. Now, please leave.”
Angry mob: *expression of approval*
Cell phone asshole: *stomps off, still blathering away on cell phone*
Basically, kill them with kindness and use mob mentality to be your enforcer.
I would always want to try to help out customers, but sometimes the customers would be difficult. In my job, it was always best to let them talk out the problem, because what I did was a little complicated to the layperson, and from there figure out a resolution or an answer. Some customers, no matter how much you’re trying to help, it was never enough. To get out of phone conversations, I would hang up during my part of the conversation. People are so enamored with their voice that every word that spills from their face was a heavenly statement. To get around that, when given a chance to answer or reply, I would do it seconds while answering. That way, if they were still angry/seeking answers, they would call back (as opposed to actively wasting time). Some would call back, asking why I hung up on them, but I would deny it, since I was the one talking. For example …
Cust: What do you mean you can’t find the package? It shows on the FedEx tracker that it was signed by Mr OK 15 minutes ago.
Me: I understand it was signed for 15 ago, but you have to realize that your one package is one of 300 on the delivery. From the 300, I have my people separating it by high priority packages to low priority packages. Yours wasn’t ordered as high priority, and I won’t have my folks stop work looking for a package that …
Cust: Look, if your people need to stop taking breaks or be trained better to get my part, you should seriously consider that.
Me: Sir, I would gladly do what you’re asking, if your requirement was greater, but by the regulations, you calling me to look for … >click<
Sometimes my boss would be there, and although he didn't condone it, he would "be out of the office" when it would happen. He would later tell me when customers called back and complained about me. Oh, boo-hoos!
If I’m in line, I say something to the person on the phone, so the employee does not have to take a chance and deal with it. When I worked at a store, Our system allowed me put an order “On Hold”, and recall later. So I would just ring up the next person(s) until the phone person gets off, and if they said anything, I would just say “I get in trouble if my line gets too long, so I was just helping a few others until you were done, anything else I can do for you?”