Consumer Etiquette Part 7: Disorderly Conduct

Moving away from specific groups of customers, today I’ll outline a shared characteristic which many undesirables share: disorderly conduct.

What is disorderly conduct? Quite simply, it’s any behavior which deviates from the norm, characterized by causing misery and annoyance in clerks and other customers alike.

I purposely chose such a general term as “Disorderly Conduct” to signify that this behavior is inherent in all kinds of customers. It doesn’t matter if you’re a little kid, a middle-aged drunk, or a senile grandma, you still have the capability to be obnoxious, annoying and rude.

As I’ve spent the last few days repeating myself when focusing on specific groups. Hence, today I’ll focus not on people and groups, but rather the actual behavioral habits.

There are many different kinds of negative means of conduct. A good way of measuring and classifying these said types of behavior, in my view, is by categorizing them in terms of volume, in the auditory meaning of the word.

Silent
Silent disorderly conduct is probably the most frustating yet only mindly annoying form of wrong behavior. Silent conduct is typically only present in two cases: when at the cash register or shoplifting.

At the cash register, some customers, when not satisfied with the service, for whatever reason, tend to demonstrate their frustrations quite quietly. It may be a misunderstanding, as it usually is, or it may be that the clerk has made a mistake and the transaction will go a bit slower. Or, the customer themselves has made a mistake and are pissed at the clerk for it.

The manner of behavior in these situations, silent in auditory terms, is nevertheless a nuisance. Muttering under your breath, whispering into your phone to another person, making dissatisfied sounds, or just staring at the clerk silently is not the way to go. What do expect us to do?

Being grumpy is not the most preferable or beneficial way of going about it. I’ll tell you the honest truth here: we’ll consider you a grumpy bitch or an asshole. I’m sorry if that offends you, but it’s the truth. There’s a better way of going about it, which I’ll specify later.

The other silent form of disorderly conduct, as I mentioned, is shoplifting. Won’t go too far with this one, because it’s evidently behavior which should be avoided at all times. If you’re a normal human being, that is.

If you’re shoplifting, it’s not in your best interest to be loud or even vocal about it, is it? As shoplifting is a form of disorderly conduct, it deserves a mention here, but not too much. I’ll go so far as issue a warning: there are security cameras, and the police will listen to every word we say in the instance of someone stealing from the store. You will be caught.

Moderate
This level of disorderly conduct encompasses most customers. Moderate is pretty much the normal level of speaking, it’s just how you use this tone.

Most customers use this tone of voice for their everyday conversing with clerks and whatnot. It’s, as I said, the tone of voice that use a moderate level of volume with. More so, the words you use.

I’ve noticed that people who use this tone of voice in complaining, or otherwise going about their business in a negative manner, have the most sense, compared to the other levels of disorderly auditory conduct.

If a customer has a problem and they use a normal tone of voice, in an effort to not make a scene, we as clerks feel more compelled to correct the wrongs and satisfy the customer.

In this tone of voice and level of volume, it’s more up to the words used. Swearing, no matter what the situation, is never called for. In silent mode, if there’s swearing involved, it’s atleast quiet. When using a moderate tone of voice, it’s directed directly at the clerk, and honestly, do we deserve to be sweared at while doing our job? We don’t come to your place of work and complain and swear at you, do we?

As the moderate tone is the most common, all types of spoken disorderly conduct are evident here. Yet, it’s all about how and what you say that makes difference. Think about what you say before you say it. Think to yourself: does the clerk really deserve to be treated like this?

Loud
Now this is where the going gets tough, if you accept that use of the quote. Oh, it’ll get worse, but let’s just focus on loud for now.

With loud, we’re starting to go beyond normal behavior and tone. Yeah, obvious, isn’t it? But really, when a customer walks into a store and is notifying people that he or she has a voice, that’s what we’re talking about.

This is also where alcohol first comes into the equation. And kids. First alcohol. These people in question here have had a bit to drink. Never sure how much, but regardless of that, whether or not they demonstrate that they have been drinking, it’s typically the volume of their speech, and the amount of disturbance they cause that’ll define whether or not they’ll be served alcohol.

Alcohol has the tendency to make people lose control of their voice levels, granted. I’m vocal under the influence of alcohol. So are most people. It’s just some situations where you’d better whip the alcohol into shape and take back control. A place of business is one of those places. If you want to be served alcohol, even if you’ve only had a few,keep your voice down. If you’re being loud, we’ll play it safe and assume you’re drunk.

Let’s proceed to the checkout counter, under the influence of a few beers. Here, if something doesn’t work, and you’re in a bad mood to begin with, your voice will rise, you’ll swear, you’ll be obnoxious, to an extend. Raising your voice at the clerk is the worst thing you can do. One, we won’t sell you alcohol. Two, we’ll call the security guard over to throw you out. Three, you’re really annoying and aren’t really achieving anything. Keep your voice down.

Kids. I would assume that with maturity also comes the ability to control your voice. Kids running, screaming and playing in a store is very, very disruptive. Everyone suffers except for the kids running around. And teenagers, they’re not any better. Still can’t control their voices. So I’ll give all kids and teenagers a little bit of advice: it’s a place of business, and you’re supposed to act appropriately. Running? Not allowed. Screaming? Not allowed. Playing games like hide and seek, catch, etc,? Not allowed. Anything you shouldn’t be doing at home? Not allowed. Pretty simple, isn’t it? If you have kids, TEACH THEM!

Extremely Loud
And finally, the worst of the general populace. Drunks, junkies, alcoholics, all fall into this category. So do many other people, grumpy people. I won’t go on about the drunks and the junkies because common sense would tell you how they behave. Instead, I’ll focus on the other extremely loud people.

If you’ve ever shouted at a clerk in a store, you fall into the same category of disruptive customers as the most undesirable people, such as junkies and drunks. Fun crowd to be in, isn’t it?

I didn’t think so…

So don’t do it! If something happens at the checkout counter that dissatisfies you, don’t start screaming. It happens everyday. The cash register doesn’t work. The barcode on some item doesn’t work. You forgot to weigh some fruit. The clerk presses the wrong button on the cash register, which is easy to do. Anything really. Have some bloody patience. There’s NEVER any reason to raise your voice and scream while in a store. NEVER!

So what can you do avoid disorderly conduct? Quite a few things actually. I’ll mention a few of the general things here:
-Don’t ever raise your voice.
-Shit happens. Deal with it like a normal human being.
-If the clerk won’t sell you alcohol, for whatever reason, accept it. There’s no going back after that, and we’re just doing it to stay on the safe side of the law.
-Walk, don’t run. There’s never any logical hurry.
-Keep your voice down at an acceptable level at all times.
-Avoid entering a store when drunk.
-Control your kids. Make sure they know how they should behave.
-Don’t argue with the clerk. Especially by screaming and swearing.
-If you have a complaint, either express in the form of constructive criticism or formally in writing.
-If you’ve had a bad day, don’t infect it upon others. Be considerate towards others.
-And finally, always consider this. How would you feel if someone came to your place of work or study and yelled at you? Wouldn’t be too nice, would it? So behave like you would like people to behave towards you.

Fairly simple, isn’t it? Yet, so many people forget these simple rules. Take them to heart, and act appropriately. Disorderly conduct is always uncalled for. ALWAYS…

I’ll leave you with a rule of thumb. While in a store, act like you would act at home, or how you would like people to act at your place. Do you want people screaming at you? Do you like people running around breaking stuff? Do you want to be threatened at home? No? So learn how to act in a store.

[<---Go To Part 6]
[Go To Part 8--->]

Part Zero: Introduction [16.08.2007]
Part One: What You Might Not Know [17.08.2007]
Part Two: Everyday People [18.08.2007]
Part Three: Under The Influence [19.08.2007]
Part Four: Children And Their Parents [20.08.2007]
Part Five: Senior Citizens [21.08.2007]
Part Six: Animals [22.08.2007]
Part Seven: Disorderly Conduct [23.08.2007]
Part Eight: Tips And Hints [24.08.2007]
Part Nine: For The Workers [25.08.2007]
Part Ten: Summary [26.08.2007]

If you have any comments, experiences or additions to this post, please leave a comment! Thank you in advance!