During a recent visit to my hometown of Butler, I had the opportunity to shop in some of the outlying superstores, restaurants and a local grocery store chain.

In all instances, I found the employees, young and old, to be more interested in chatting with each other in little groups than in serving the customers wandering aimlessly through the store looking for items, and even while checking out.

At the grocery store, the cashier never greeted me or spoke a word in my direction. She was too busy carrying on a conversation with two other girls. Their conversation had nothing to do with work.

Visiting a restaurant, I found the staff were completely unaware of whether their beverages included sugar-free options. They made no effort to find out, preferring to chat with each other instead of attending to my question.

The big box store saw groups of employees talking together while l walked the endless aisles looking for a specific item. They appeared annoyed when I interrupted their conversation to pose a question.

NOTICE: In retail, customers are the reason for the existence of your job. This is not high school. Your conversations with your friends do not take precedence over good customer service.

When customers feel ignored, they choose to go elsewhere, and you lose your job. Perhaps BC3 or the Vo-tech could offer a course on retail customer service. It is sorely needed in Butler.