How to deal with rude customers as a cashier?

Well I've worked in retail/grocery since I was 15 (I'm 21 now) and I've found that the best way to deal with rude customers is to kill them with kindness. There's no sense in letting a few rude people ruin your whole day, especially when you're not doing anything wrong. If they have a snarky remark just tell them, "Ma'am (or sir) I'm just starting this job and I still haven't learned the ropes yet, so if you would just please bear with me, I'd be happy to wait on you." Also, if you have a customer that starts getting really angry with you, the best thing to do with that is to direct them to your manager and let him take it up. Just don't get embarrassed, mad or sad. The best thing to do after a rude encounter is to take a deep breath and know that there are still plenty of nice people out there.

Well I've worked in retail/grocery since I was 15 (I'm 21 now) and I've found that the best way to deal with rude customers is to kill them with kindness. There's no sense in letting a few rude people ruin your whole day, especially when you're not doing anything wrong. If they have a snarky remark just tell them, "Ma'am (or sir) I'm just starting this job and I still haven't learned the ropes yet, so if you would just please bear with me, I'd be happy to wait on you." Also, if you have a customer that starts getting really angry with you, the best thing to do with that is to direct them to your manager and let him take it up. Just don't get embarrassed, mad or sad. The best thing to do after a rude encounter is to take a deep breath and know that there are still plenty of nice people out there.

Retail pays really really bad wages . Get out of it sooner than later. There are alot of people who get sucked into the industry and never get out. Be careful in that respect. See it as a temporary job rather than permanent. There is better money is different industries.

These are my favorite lines to jerk off customers: 1 (They complain about bagging) "Then bag it yourself. I do this job to get everyone out in a fair amount of time. I have no problem servicing you so please dont have a problem with me giving you my service. Theres also other lines youre welcomed to go to in the future." 2 (Cigs) "Im under age and cant be in posession of tobacco. If you cant be bothered to wait in another line then you shouldnt have bothered to start smoking in the first place," 3(They complain about how slow or busy the line is) "Im sorry you had to wait as long as you did. As you can I am one person with two arms and two hands. But theres 20 other check outs. Just bringing that to your attention." Truth is you are allowed to defend yourself as long as you dont curse or scream. Be a polite smart *** and kill them with kindness. What else could they do? complain that you being informational? Welcome to the backwards world of retail hell.

I commend you for hanging in there. I work in retail and I've been at the register and come up against rude people too so I know what it's like. A little line that tends to work for me is "I'm sorry you have a problem with this. If you're concerned I'll be happy to locate a manager for you to talk to. This lets them know in a subtle and polite way that you don't have to take their crap. They generally get the hint that you're not committing any huge violations and you are confident management will take your side. Good luck.

I worked in retail for 2 years, from the ages of 16 - 18 so I can definitely sympathise with your problems. I have had countless occasions of people being nasty to me over the years, one of which had me in tears, and one occasion of being physically assaulted where the customer shoved me against a freezer unit because I told him that there was nothing I could do about the fact that the bank machine outside our store (which has nothing to do with our store) had eaten his bank card. I agree with the comments above who say that you should always just smile, and the nastier they are to you, the nice you are to them, and remember you aren't paid to take anyone's sh*t, so if someone starts getting really nasty, refer them to your manager. We were always told that we weren't paid to be abused, so if someone was being genuinely abusive we could refuse to serve them.

I feel for you. I had one today who didn't want to stand in line so she punched me in the side of the head. I got in trouble for saying "dude what was that for" and not 'smiling and brushing it off' according to my manager. So don't feel bad, I swear the administration makes life worse sometimes.

The thing that pisses me off most is when people are pleasent when I'm pissed off. Try that. No matter how much crap they give you just smile and be overly sweet. Be like I'm so so sorry but I just started working here and I'm still gettin the hang of it and smile at them or when they leave smile and say have a nice day! Don't be sarcastic bout it or that could get you in trouble but actuaally really try to do it and mean it. It will be fun to see peoples reactions and to mess with them and it will probabley piss em off too :) give it a shot.

Retail pays really really bad wages . Get out of it sooner than later. There are alot of people who get sucked into the industry and never get out. Be careful in that respect. See it as a temporary job rather than permanent. There is better money is different industries.