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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/05/unthinkable-ban-mobiles-checkouts

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Unthinkable? Ban mobiles at checkouts Unthinkable? Ban mobiles at checkouts
(3 months later)
The hero of this week is obviously the checkout assistant in the Crayford branch of Sainsbury's who refused to serve a customer because she was on her mobile. Quite right, too. The supermarket chain was certainly wrong to apologise to the 26-year-old caller, still less to offer her vouchers. As anyone stuck in a supermarket queue behind someone yapping into their cellphone ("No, I got the Yoplait. YOPLAIT!") will attest, there are few less life-affirming events than seeing precious moments, nay quarter-hours, tick by, while waiting for another to pipe down, pay up and move on. But the real outrage is surely the unspoken contempt shown by the Samsung-toting shopper (other brands of hi-tech rudeness are available) to the man or woman who is trying to help them on their way. Cashiers are not servants but equals; that parity does not disappear because so many retail workers are modestly paid. They still deserve a show of manners: nothing fancy, but a "hello", "please" and "thank you" would make a good start. So here is a modest proposal: shops should ban the use of mobile phones and iPods at staffed checkouts. The message would be enforced by a symbol of the gadgets in a red circle with a diagonal line running through it. That would allow people actually to – heavens! – talk to each other and certainly get through their grocery shopping much faster. And if that's too much to handle, go to the self checkout and learn the real pain of dealing with a non-human.The hero of this week is obviously the checkout assistant in the Crayford branch of Sainsbury's who refused to serve a customer because she was on her mobile. Quite right, too. The supermarket chain was certainly wrong to apologise to the 26-year-old caller, still less to offer her vouchers. As anyone stuck in a supermarket queue behind someone yapping into their cellphone ("No, I got the Yoplait. YOPLAIT!") will attest, there are few less life-affirming events than seeing precious moments, nay quarter-hours, tick by, while waiting for another to pipe down, pay up and move on. But the real outrage is surely the unspoken contempt shown by the Samsung-toting shopper (other brands of hi-tech rudeness are available) to the man or woman who is trying to help them on their way. Cashiers are not servants but equals; that parity does not disappear because so many retail workers are modestly paid. They still deserve a show of manners: nothing fancy, but a "hello", "please" and "thank you" would make a good start. So here is a modest proposal: shops should ban the use of mobile phones and iPods at staffed checkouts. The message would be enforced by a symbol of the gadgets in a red circle with a diagonal line running through it. That would allow people actually to – heavens! – talk to each other and certainly get through their grocery shopping much faster. And if that's too much to handle, go to the self checkout and learn the real pain of dealing with a non-human.
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