Checkout Peeve Volume One - Rudeness, Arrogance and Personal Space Invasion

'Kay, so todays rant is one that most people would certainly have had experience with at some point in their lives - rudeness, arrogance and personal space invasion. So this morning, I'd just rocked up to work, was only about five minutes into my shift, and this older 'gentleman' (and I use that term very, very loosely) came through with one item - 200g of smoked salmon, the pre-packaged kind. Our particular company has a policy that if customers purchase 3 items or less, we are not to offer them plastic bags. If they require one, they simply ask and we will supply it. Anyway, this particular 'gentleman' came through, pompously holding his nose in the air, carrying that salmon as if he was the most important man on the planet. He proceeds to drop the salmon onto my workbench. Fair enough so far. I greeted the man, he replied abruptly. I put through his salmon, received his payment, and left the salmon on the bench for him to collect, perfectly in accordance with company policy. Once he'd finished putting his change away however, instead of asking for a plastic bag for his purchase, Mr Arrogant (as he shall hereby be known) reached over to my side of the counter and tried to pull a bag off my rack himself. I was furious, naturally, but I bit my tongue. I silently helped the man to get the bag, gritted my teeth and smiled sweetly, while inside I was raging. The rudeness! Must have been beneath his dignity to ask a lowly checkout worker for a plastic bag.
This particular situation is rather uncommon - not many people are rude enough to reach over and invade my personal space because they couldn't be bothered opening their mouths to ask for what they require. Sadly, however, the rudeness and arrogance that inspired this act are not. Many parents would be ashamed to see how their offspring behave in the supermarket. I mean, when you are greeted in a friendly manner by someone, the polite thing to do would be to respond in kind, yes? Apparently not. About a third of customers at the checkout don't even bother to acknowledge that we have spoken. They proceed to throw their items up onto the bench/belt without even looking at us. Still more believe that having a mobile phone conversation while going through the checkout is perfectly okay. Don't get me wrong, if it's a business call then fine, you need to take it, but when all you're doing is discussing Nikki's latest boyfriend or what you'll be wearing to the club Friday night, would it kill you to put down the phone for 5 minutes while we process your order? Really? Is Mike's STI really that important?
My points is, why do people find it necessary to check their manners at the door when they enter the supermarket? Contrary to popular belief, the people behind the checkout are human too. We aren't robots. We are there to do a job, to make some money, just like you are when you are at work. And it really wouldn't kill you to give us just the tiniest bit of respect, would it? No, I didn't think so. But then I guess for some that is just too hard.