Being polite to customers doesn’t always mean having a whole conversation with them.

After seeing videos saying cashiers should talk more to help build a sense of community, this service worker had some thoughts.

She agreed that customers deserve respect, but she didn’t think that should mean answering personal questions or listening to someone vent.

After all, she’d dealt with uncomfortable conversations at work before and couldn’t just walk away when someone crossed a line.

So she explained why expecting more small talk overlooks what employees already deal with throughout the day.

Read on for more of her take.

Cashiers “not talking enough to customers” debate

I’ve seen a lot of videos online lately about how service workers, specifically cashiers, are not “doing enough” when it comes to interacting with customers.

People are saying that cashiers should be expected to hold conversations with customers to re-establish a “third place” and to “build community.”

I believe that as a service worker, in customer-facing situations, I should always be respectful, as that’s just human decency.

Here’s her problem.

My problem with this is that these people are completely missing the point. I am FORCED to work in order to survive. I can’t just leave when someone is making me uncomfortable.

I also think it’s funny how establishing a community is now pushed onto workers (making probably minimum wage, if not around that). It’s genuinely ridiculous.

There were times at a customer-facing job where I was uncomfortable and couldn’t leave. Customers asking personal questions, harassment toward other coworkers or myself, customers yelling or being disrespectful, etc.

She has some advice for people.

This rhetoric is sounding awfully capitalist. People forget how draining it is to interact with people all day, every day, never knowing if a customer is in a bad mood and ready to take it out on you.

Companies are not staffing enough, paying enough, or treating us well enough. How is a community expected when one party is forced to be there? Forced to be at their best without mistakes while being treated like garbage by the company and now the customers too.

If you are coming to a cashier, expect to get your groceries or food in a respectful manner. If you are expecting someone to rant to, thinking about asking for their number, or anything else, WHAT are you doing?

Eek. It sounds like these things are really starting to get to her.

Let’s see what advice readers over at Reddit have.

In reality, most customers probably don’t like it.

This is a great way to handle it.

At least everyone knows what they’re getting into.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a customer who can’t seem to come to grips with the fact that her reward points will not cover a purchase.

Yet another customer who doesn’t like small talk.

She has a point here.

It’s nice when a cashier wants to chat, but there’s no reason to push it when she doesn’t.

After all, cashiers have jobs to do, and other customers may be waiting.

So the best thing to do is be polite and never make it too personal.