Hi Randy, glad you decided to stick around. Feel free to suggest any topics you'd like to discuss here and I'll make sure to get the ball rolling.

Thomas, feel free to chime in any day. :-) You are one of the most rounded professionals I know and your insights and expertise could only complement my writing. Thanks for stopping by.

To all the busy people out there; it really doesn't take much to let someone know they're not suddenly invisible, you DO see them and, you'll be with them as soon as you finish what you were tending to. Here are just a few suggestions:
- The "wait a second" finger
- A smile
- Eye contact
- An "I'll call you when I'm done" gesture

Not a lot of creativity involved as you can see, just courtesy and respect for the human being waiting on you.

Monica F

Karen,
Here's how I feel about that - Arghh!!! :-)
I don't know, going out on a limb here, but it might be a good idea to also make it part of their training that - not only is it rude to ignore your customers while you're checking out their purchases and too busy chatting with your friend but, well... you really shouldn't be talking bad about the customer that just left either.
Not a good impression, no.

Monica F

LOL, been there done that. Unfortunately, sometimes we are faced with situations like this where you simply can't pick and choose because you have hungry mouths at home you've got to feed. You have to take what comes your way, especially in this economy, and let the universe do the rest. However, I believe that professionalism, our personal professional character and standards, is something we take with us no matter where we are and so, can influence any environment we find ourselves in.
Enkel, I wish you the best of luck. Keep us posted.
Monica F