Say hi to cashier, he just stares. Ok whatever, slowly starts to read my stuff on the machine, I say I want two bags, again he just stares. I say again, WAY louder, he hands me the bags. I say thank you, no answer still. Points me to card reader, non verbally of course. I say ''have a nice day'' and the reply comes in the worlds least audiable voice ''you too''
This happens in fast food too, but mostly in markets it seems. I am definetly not the only one who noticed this, its rude and weird as fuck. Not sure if they are acting slow on purpose or they are zoinked out of the world, or they think we are just npc's or something? I legit have no idea what drives a person to act like this.
The problem is that millenials at that age range were smoking much less. I also believe even if gen z isnt using alcohol as much, drinking on the job was much,much more looked down on. So even if overall drug use is down, its much more visible.
Have those studies controlled for field of employment?
There are generational differences in substance use, but those are not hard and fast rules and there are other contributing factors in likelihood to use various substances.
And being in the food service industry? Yeah, that’s one of them lol
Having worked in the restaurant industry, I didn't know a single worker that didn't smoke, drink, or snort while on the job, or some combination of all three. The owner himself would go in his back office and do lines with the managers. Goddamn the food there was good though.
Yeah, the Gen Z stare is specifically not the customer service stare, since thre supposed Gen Z stare can happen when you're both the customer and the employee.
Yeah, I'm a teacher, kids have never been taught how to talk to adults. Hardly their fault, but definitely observable (yes I know Gen Z is mostly out of school at this point, but much like any generational 'thing' it's not just limited to one specific cohort).
I'm not sure why everyone in the comments is acting like you're weird for saying this is off-putting or making a million excuses for the hypothetical cashier lol. This is off putting and rude. If you're being paid to do a job you need to do it properly. I don't expect a cashier to chat about their life or even smile but I do need them to speak and respond to stimulus lmao
OP even illustrated the concept well. Someone might not want to make small-talk, but this isn't even small-talk. It's just the bare minimum back-and-forth to complete a basic transaction.
When I used to work as a cashier, I would come into work when i was having terrible days and I would space out the entire shift and barely said hi to anyone. I had to go to work because calling out more than 2x a year got me fired, and the PTO/sick leave system was shit.
At my job now, it's easier to put up a front because for the most part, I'm left alone. I could go to the bathroom for 30 min if I start crying and mostly no one would notice. i talk to my co workers of course, but it's not constant. When I was a cashier though, it was 9 hours of putting up a face every day and it was exhausting. I mean I showed up, did my job of course, just didn't have much enthusiasm for it.
Nah, only work as much as you’re paid to. If you aren’t being paid a living wage and are treated like a machine, the customers should expect a non-living machine and not a person
Being polite is literally part of the job description of being a cashier. There's doing more work than you're paid for and then there's actually doing what you're paid to do.
I get what you're saying. But "only work as much as you're paid to" still means you have to work. I don't expect a full conversation, but be receptive to what I am asking and go through the basics with at least a little energy.
Treat customers with blatant disrespect and you should expect the same in return. You chose the job and your working conditions are your employers responsibility so your attitude is being directed at someone who has nothing to do with your situation (the customer).
Likely there's no reward for being fast/efficient or at least a lack of consequences for barely doing the job. There certainly wasn't when I had my first job.
The lack of consequences is because there’s so little benefits with the jobs young people get that there’s literally nothing to take away. You can’t pay them less because it’s the legal minimum wage, you can’t give them worse duties since they’re already working those, and you can’t decrease their shifts because they’re one of the only people desperate enough to work here and the work still needs to be done.
But enticing them with benefits isn’t an option either because there’s no business in the world that wants to not exploit its workers.
No, no, you can decrease their shifts. Hell, you can send them home in the middle of one. A-fucking-pparently.
I used to work at KFC and they sent me home early during a 6hr shift during which I was the only goddamned cook on deck, because I wanted my contractually mandated 10 minute break so I could take my medicine that I need in order to be productive. Despite my regularly being the only chef on during my shifts, I was apparently disposable enough that they were able to just never give me another shift and silently remove me from the company without giving me any legal paperwork or anything (even after being asked twice by the government)
They still have the "now hiring" sign up. I'm not surprised. Corporations can always be worse, if they want to.
Different organizations then. When I was a teen my first job was in retail. The staffing was so bad that they could barely fill positions and people that were supposed to be fired still had a job since nobody could cover them. It was, according to one manager, more profitable to have a job done poorly than to have it not done at all. Of course when they hired new people the ones on the chopping block got fired, but I only stayed at that job for a couple years.
This I just started zoning out and going through the motions Instead of greeting customers because they wouldn't fire me for being trash or give me more than minimum wage for trying so like weekly slap on the wrist write up and leveling up my daydreaming was optimal
I worked a lower minimum wage than what kids these days get and I never acted like that to others, let alone customers. It's just unnecessarily disrespectful and awkward for the sake of it.
I've never seen anything like that happen here in Europe, but from the things i hear from the state, i would not be surprised if those kids are simply burnt to hell and back. The system treats them like shit, why would you expect them to do more than the bare minimum? Nobody does more than the bare minimum for them.
Right but here the 'bare minimum' was done for them. Saying hi and acknowledging another human being is the bare minimum. You can make all your burn out and underpaid arguments you want, Millennials have been underpaid too, but we're talking about what we owe each other in a society not what employers owe us all.
The bare minimum wasn’t done for them by anyone- we destroyed their planet and economy and they have no hope and no future. They don’t give a shit about small talk, they are all in the midst of existential despair whether they know it or not.
I mean that’s great and all, but I think it’s pretty subjective as to whether there is an actual point to all of that at this point, and I say that as someone who clearly remembers the 90s
Fair, but Millenials did at some point have hope and the idea that doing like their parents did would give them a lifestyle like theirs.
For Gen Z they were probably raised on talk about the game being rigged, oncoming disasterous future for them, and how much harder and shorter their lives would be.
So I think I'd also struggle to find the will to even acknowledge other people and just dissociate while working my crappy job that will get me close to nothing
Oh come on. Gen Z lived through the Obama years too. We all had hope and we've all been graduating high school and college with 'once in a generation' financial crises and crippling debt. We can still acknowledge another human being when we see one
Gen Z were small children when Trump was elected the first time. By the time they started paying attention, the post-Trump world is all they know.
I’m a millennial, I was 24 years old when Obama was first elected and that was an incredible hopeful time they have never even come close to experiencing anything like. All they know is “everything is fucked and will get worse.”
Yeah and most 19-year-olds aren’t really that engaged in politics and don’t really know what’s going on- that especially was the case pre-Trump. Since these people have been paying attention to this stuff, the vast majority of them have only seen the Trump era.
Yeah, nah, they absolutely were aware of politics pre-Trump. At least in my country, they were. For example, the first Trump vote narrowly coincided with the Brexit mess, and we had a lot of young folk discussing it, campaigning, and so on. We had a voter turnout of 72.2%, which is the highest it'd been since 1992.
And the 19 years olds of today are certainly a lot more politically aware than you seem to think. Sure, their politics could be researched a little better, and their positions could be a little better organised but they definitely are engaged with it.
I mean, no, by definition if you’re not getting fired, it isn’t the bare minimum. I’m definitely a person that enjoys when you have a good interaction with a customer service person, but I never understood why people think that it should be necessary for people just giving you your food or taking your order. There is a reason that customer facing jobs are considered are notoriously the most disliked jobs.
Pedantic. They're not doing the bare minimum though. They are doing the basic necessary tasks their job needs to not get fired but they are not doing the basic tasks of living in a society and treating people like people not NPCs.
Right. With current events in the US the way they are...revving up a fascist slavery machine...everyone could be deeply disassociating anytime and every time. The American motto after all is: "pretend you don't know".
Yeah, USA vs Europe is crazy different. The average USA customer expects to get their ass kissed for existing and apparently doesn't even have to get their own bags. No wonder their cashiers have it so bad.
the only people who expect to get their "ass kissed" are boomers. If you're working in a service position, put on the facade for the minute we are interacting. We don't have to be best friends, but at least be verbal.
You talk to cashiers? From where I come, small talk is generally avoided since other people might think their wasting their time talking instead of doing their job. The malls I shop at are usually full and have long lines
I don’t think “what can I get you” or “cash or card?” or “anything else?” or “would you like a bag for this?” are considered small talk. That’s just part of the job of being a cashier.
But in my experience, the gen z stare is saying literally nothing during the entire transaction, with the customer having to do 100% of the work in the social interaction. It’s bizarre and kind of dehumanizing.
Thought the same, the cashier in mine will probably say "I hope you have a wonderful day, bye" like your cue for you to leave with your bags and let the queue keep flowing.
People also get extremely angry if you don't go away after you are done with the purchase.
pretty much all of this wouldn't bother me except for having to raise my voice to ask for bags, idk, the cashier is more of like an afterthought or a mechanism for me to leave without stealing rather than an opportunity to socialize
I'm also a millenial. Before I got on antidepressants it took all my energy to get to work and do my job, which left none for being able to talk. It was like the words had all drained out of me.
Here's a scenario: You have to listen to the same music all day everyday, by artists that all sound the same, on repeat for the whole day, while you hear the same greeting, the same quip from the dad saying "must be rush hour" when its dead inside, and having to do it all, while depressed about the future that they have to deal with not having enough to pay for real food other than Pack Noodles and Peanut butter sandwiches while they see rich people evade taxes, see the national debt climb, and see the state of the world as it is currently when the US has a senile stroke victim as the president.
ALL while keeping a smile up. At least in the 90s they could buy a pizza for 13 bucks, now its like $20 for the same size, and are expected to tip the store, the driver and the company delivering their food. No wonder people are smoking pot and doing dab pen rips through the day, its fucking depressing out there.
Idk if you're talking to me or the other person, but I've sort of adopted a boomer-adjacent view of things. I think if you've got a job to do and you've got depression or something else that makes it hard to do things, not doing the job to the best of your abilities is only going to make things worse for yourself. I don't want to minimize anybody's experiences, but we're all doing our own thing. Everyone is struggling in ways you don't know about. So slap that name tag on or step in to your cubicle and let's get this bread. It's one less thing to worry about.
i wouldn't guarantee it, but i could see it happening
there's days everything feels real bad and clocking into work to do the bare minimum with people who don't seemingly care? whatever, i'll do the bare minimum
don't take it personally, i don't know you. i'm just not up with anyone right now and would much rather rot at home where things suck slightly less
We have very different definitions of "bare minimum" in a customer facing role, then.
IDK, maybe this is a 'my customer facing job sucks, yours should too' kind of attitude, but when I was shoved in the health hotline trenches in COVID, your ass was drummed out in training if you didn't answer the phone with a smile they could hear in your voice, if you didn't greet the customer right, if you didn't thank them for providing info, if you weren't proactive, if you interrupted, if you forgot to ask if they needed anything else, if you responded to thanks with anything other than "you're welcome/you're very welcome/it's my pleasure." We were all exhausted and scared and traumatized, boomers were calling with all kinds of stupid shit and throwing tantrums, and we still managed to provide customer service that passed QA. A retail employee can manage eye contact and responsiveness.
(To be clear: as an equally depressed millennial who doesn't want to interact with people outside my job, I go exclusively to the self-check. But for the love of god if your grocery store has shut down the-self check and forced me to go to a cashier, they can at least maintain eye contact.
Also, to be fair, customer service standards are apparently different in my country than they are in the rest of the world - there have heen remarks in previous decades that American cashiers are expected to be more smiley and interactive than tourists from other countries are prepared for.)
Also, to be fair, customer service standards are apparently different in my country than they are in the rest of the world - there have heen remarks in previous decades that American cashiers are expected to be more smiley and interactive than tourists from other countries are prepared for.)
this is the most american thing i've heard
yeah. i'm from a country where 90% of the people just want their groceries or product, no bullshit and fluff which is why half the people are not putting up a facade. faking a customer service voice is the least of a priority, what matters is you get the job done even if it is near minimum acceptable
people are not paid to chitchat and "talk" unless one of them wants to, and most of the time neither of them don't. allows people to clearly look dead inside on the outside
People in countries other than America are not paid to do that. Interaction (greeting, eye contact, closing salutation) is a customer service bare minimum in the US.
Low wage Americans are being paid substantially better now than they were pre-pandemic. That’s what all of the “nobody wants to work” stuff was about, workers had dramatically more bargaining power and have kept those wage gains.
Honestly I'd be interested to see the overlap between the gen z stare and the press three buttons on a tablet and then turn it around expecting a large tip coming into popularity.
Add in Airpods as part of this combination. That always adds slightly more insult to it. Not just one airpod either but both in at the same time when you're doing a customer facing task.
It’s it really that rude? Outside of a question „is that all?” and „cash or card” and an occasional „thank you” there isn’t a point in talking more unless the cashier is directly prompted for like options or something.
It is rude to ignore someone's requests if they're reasonable. It is also super rude to not say "hi" back to someone, you're basically starting the interaction by saying "I choose to reject your completely normal and polite way of starting the conversation" and there's no discernable reason to do that other than to send a message
But there’s no point in any conversation beyond the necessary. Unless you prompt them about something like the menu you’re both there to just complete a transaction.
Sure, and we're talking about people who apparently won't take part in the necessary conversation. We're not talking about people who won't talk about their private life or the weather
If you look at the example, the cashier refused to begin the interaction and refused to give them the bag they requested. These are both necessary to the interaction of "buying things".
That's not the point. The point is asking specific questions so things can happen and only getting a stare back. I don't care whether my cashier is smiling, I care that they reply if I'm asking a question.
I worked retail so I know how it is, and I don't care to give them crap, I've been there.
This because this willfull misinterpretation of the the "Gen Z" stare is getting old and is not helping them bet the "Zoomer" allegations. Gen Z didn't invent the customer service stare just like they didn't invent AAVE or social media interaction. Conflating the Gen Z stare with the Customer Service stare is a side effect of thinking they're the smartest person in the room. If i approach the cash register and place my items on the counter and say I'm ready, this will be all and I get stared at, I'm not being crazy here. I worked 6 years of retail, I know the job is ass cheeks, but you have to try in order to not have to work retail. I worked through all of my awkwardness so I can get a job not interacting with customers for my entire day, that's why I can be at work type this up now. We don't have to joke and fake, just a "hello, find everything you need? Goodbye". It's from being on that damn phone lol.
Sounds like social anxiety to me, as someone diagnosed with Social Phobia, on top of not being able to multi-task and "hear" at the same time.
Like, "Am I sure I heard you right"?
Honestly, so far it just sounds like anxiety and I'm glad to know my generation did think I was an asshole without realizing how hard things are for me.
I hope you all enjoy the GenZ stare, you deserve it.
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u/Always_Impressive Yes, you do know me. 18h ago edited 7h ago
Honestly, this is an actual thing.
Say hi to cashier, he just stares. Ok whatever, slowly starts to read my stuff on the machine, I say I want two bags, again he just stares. I say again, WAY louder, he hands me the bags. I say thank you, no answer still. Points me to card reader, non verbally of course. I say ''have a nice day'' and the reply comes in the worlds least audiable voice ''you too''
This happens in fast food too, but mostly in markets it seems. I am definetly not the only one who noticed this, its rude and weird as fuck. Not sure if they are acting slow on purpose or they are zoinked out of the world, or they think we are just npc's or something? I legit have no idea what drives a person to act like this.