Last night I stood patiently in line at Publix as the cust serv clerk helped shoppers at the register. (I also spend a lot of money there on groceries.) The lottery terminal is at the other end of the counter. It was finally clear of other people and she took my cards. Then a woman walked up next to me and asked if she could get a Moneygram or if the clerk could direct her to a store in the area. I admit she did say "excuse me" but there was only one person working the counter and I had waited for my turn to be served. Then she asked for a telephone book. Grrrr. She was like the people I let cut in front of me when they're in a rush and only have a few items and then they take out a check book!
In the meantime, the phone rang and the clerk answered it & checked the pick-3 and pick-4 numbers for a caller. (people actually CALL a store to get the winning numbers? they can't get online or look in the paper?) Having worked for years in a busy retail store, I have lots of empathy for a busy salesperson or service rep, but when I was a store manager the rule was to let the phone ring if you were already waiting on a client. So here was this cust serv person still holding my cards and there were even more interruptions. The same lady who wanted a Moneygram needed a taxi.
This has been brought up before, but only referring to how cashiers treat lottery players. So how do you handle interruptions? Do you speak up and asked to be helped? Do you allow people to say "excuse me but I just want to ask....." or do you ask them to wait while you take care of business?