>> Mr Joseph S>>>> I've made it my policy that if I'm waiting in line to be served and
>>>> the sales clerk thinks it's *more* important to take a telephone
>>>> interruption than to serve me I'll put down my purchase and walk out
>>>> of that store. Telephone customers do not have any more clout than
>>>> customers who are in front of you.
>> I'm a little more lenient. I figure the caller has no idea that
>> there's a queue for the clerk's attention. I let the clerk answer the
>> phone, and if they're good, they'll put the person on hold, and then
>> apologize for the delay. No real loss of time or attention for me. If
>> they begin to talk to the person, then I can get upset.
> In fact, the same goes for face-to-face service. I once walked into a
> picture frame shop and the owner (who was the only person working
> there) would not even acknowledge my presence -- he just continued an
> ongoing conversation with other people.
Other customers, or just shooting the shit?
After 10 minutes of this, I
> walked out and wrote him an angry letter. How much would it have cost
> him to say, "Hello, I'll be with you in a minute"? It cost him $200
> in business not to do so.
While true, would it have made that much of a difference?