Anyway, today I went into a department store to pay off my store card. I know this particular chain of stores has staffing issues (because it's the one I used to work at) so I'm not too fussed that it takes me a while to find a staff member to assist me. That's more of a corporate suck, after all.
I find what appears to be the sole staff member on the selling floor, and she's standing behind a cash desk. Facing me. Fantastic, I can pay my store card and get out of here (note that it's about 10.15am so there is neither a rush nor any set-up going on). Not so.
Said staff member has just gotten on the phone (it seems to be ringing at this point at this point, like she's waiting for the other end to pick up). She doesn't stop the call, doesn't even acknowledge me, and instead starts talking to the person on the other end, once they pick up.
I decide to wait, perhaps it's something important and it shouldn't take long anyway - not when there's a customer waiting. I should preface this by saying that I'm not one to listen in on private conversations, but I couldn't really help it, she was speaking pretty loudly and was right in front of me.
The content of the conversation wasn't so much bad service as unprofessional behaviour. She's on the selling floor, in the presence of customers, and she starts quizzing the person on the other end (obviously an employee at another store) about whether they worked as a bra fitter (she did), what rate of pay they got, whether they were a member of the union, and also whining about how she felt that because she was a bra fitter she felt she should be entitled to a higher rate of pay, they weren't paying her enough, and they therefore owed her backpay.
It went on and on. Eventually I decided she wasn't likely to end the call and assist me, so I just left. Do you think this is bad service?
tl;dr: I go into a department store and am ignored by a staff member making a phone call to whine about her payrate to another staff member.