Unprofessional & disrespectful behaviour

Dear Sir/Madame, Makro has always been my favourite store and I have placed several bouquets (compliments) on Hello Peter over the past few years. Today, however, I offer my first brickbat.

On Thursday, 28 June 2018, I arrived at checkout no 41 and was greeted with a sarcastic “Hello Meneer”; An automatic assumption that I was Afrikaans-speaking. A neutral “Sir” or, if the cashier does not feel courteous, “Hello”, “Good Day”, or something similar, would suffice. I helped her take items from the trolley and left a pack of 12 tins in there, which she then scanned. After a few minutes, I asked her whether she had scanned it and she indicated “yes”. And I pushed the trolley to the chap packing the groceries into bags.

The cashier then took the tins back and said in a mocking way to her fellow cashier at no 40 that “we (she and I) learnt English at a different schools – hence the misunderstanding. Her friend (cashier at no 40 checkout) found this very amusing and burst out laughing.

Dealing with customers is NOT a joke. If behaviour like this becomes an entrenched habit, more cashiers will follow suit. Customers will feel uncomfortable and stop shopping at Makrostores. They will then find alternative service providers.

There is lots of retail competition out there. Shoprite and Checkers are already eating everybody’s’ else’s lunch and will continue to do so. For those of us that still believe in Makro and Builders, etc. this type of behaviour is worrisome, because sooner or later it will reflect in the companies’ results and then in the share price.

Dealing with customers in a shop crucial part of a business. Flippant, sarcastic and disrespectful behaviour is uncalled for. We live in a country where respect is dwindling daily.

Remember: 1. Sometimes you only have one chance to impress a customer, and 2. Some customers need only one bad experience to decide to avoid a certain shop or retail group.

Therefore, cashiers need to be professional, courteous and work as a team. The cashier is an especially important link in a business as they operate at the public interface - as the visible ambassadors of the company. Therefore, one needs the right personalities. People that: • Enjoy working with the public. • Are professional and respectful.

Thank you.

Gargantua.