“For me, it’s a huge lack of respect”: I’m a baker and I can no longer tolerate this attitude from customers
When you're a shopkeeper, there's one essential variable to consider: customer interaction. While it's often said that customers are treated like royalty, certain behaviors have a knack for exasperating those on the receiving end. This is particularly true of an all-too-common attitude at the bakery. Let us explain.
While customer satisfaction is a laudable goal for any retailer, it sometimes comes at the cost of considerable frustration. It's probably best not to systematically answer every question, or even every remark, however pointed, with absolute honesty.
Consumer behavior can also lead to frustrating situations. One such situation is particularly common in bakeries (but not only there). Ordering and paying while holding a smartphone to your ear, continuing a conversation that could easily be paused, is enough to exasperate the person opposite you.
Bakers frequently have to deal with some rather fanciful requests (which often demonstrate a serious lack of understanding of the work and the product), but this seems relatively acceptable in the face of a form of disdain imposed by not putting away one's phone.
The baker: a zen master in everyday life
Beyond economic considerations and the difficulty of maintaining an iconic culinary craft in the face of mass distribution, the baker must also deal, every day, with questions from consumers that are not always very reasonable.
Of course, there's nothing more normal than wanting to make sure the product you buy meets your expectations. However, when you ask for a baguette that's not overcooked, for example, what the baker hears first and foremost is a request for bread that loses part of its identity.
Like many other professions involving direct contact with customers, a baker must be able to demonstrate a certain resilience in the face of tasteless jokes, overused puns, and simply the varying behaviors of each customer. Nevertheless, some attitudes, even with the best intentions, remain offensive.
A modern scourge?
The smartphone has completely transformed our relationship to communication. While it has become very easy to talk to and see people on the other side of the world (or just a few kilometers away), it seems more complicated to take into account those who are standing in front of us.
Ordering bread and paying while continuing a phone conversation is not only a blatant lack of respect for the baker, but also a problem that can affect other customers. Of course, nobody wants to be subjected to a private conversation, especially one held loudly in a confined space.
Furthermore, continuing a phone call while buying bread inevitably impacts attention. In such situations, it's difficult for the baker to communicate effectively, even if the questions are essential (and would prevent complaints later). Moreover, it can slow down payment and therefore the flow of the process, something anyone in line will greatly appreciate!
The problem with smartphones lies in the message they send. They convey a sense of ignorance, a hierarchy, as if to say, “My call is more important than you (the baker).” This is inevitably unpleasant when you put all your energy into satisfying the customer and interacting positively. And let's not forget, this isn't limited to bakeries!
