Ringing Up Phoneys

One kind of customer you see every day as a cashier is the phoney, a person who spends the whole transaction on their cellphone or Bluetooth. It’s one thing if you’re on a business call, but if you’re just yakking with someone, please hang up or put it on hold until the transaction is over, and especially don’t pick up if the phone goes off during the transaction. The former is ignorance at best, obliviousness at worst; the latter’s just rude.

Put the shoe on the other foot: how would you feel if an employee was answering someone else’s questions over the store phone while ringing you out, perhaps even having picked up the phone while scanning your items? I’d wager that most stores have a policy that the customer physically present takes precedence over the person calling. Employees have to give you their undivided attention, please extend them the same courtesy.