I am a Utility Clerk and during my sweeps, they ALWAYS call me up front for bagging, carts, etc. Now when you are on sweeps, they are technically NOT supposed to call you. So when they call me, I politely say that I am on sweeps or a clean up. It seems as if they do not "hear" what is said over the voycall or they do not care, or both.
With that said, how do I politely tell them I am on my sweeps or do I just ignore all calls up front?
I was always told to ignore them; the sweep is more important because if someone was to fall or slip whilst doing your sweep they can look back and see who it was, your'e more likely to get into trouble (at least in my experience) for not keeping on the sweep. Do the sweep, let others come up to bag, or other clerks step their game up.
When I was a utility clerk, the front end/management didn't care if the bathrooms got clean, floors got swept, whatever... if they needed a surge checker/bagging help/cart round-up/other stuff done, then that's what you did. The only time anyone "cared" was if a customer complained or company was coming. Otherwise, ignoring a page meant a serious grilling when a front end supervisor or member of management tracked you down.
I would ask management what They want you to do. Put the ball in their court. Usually they'll say continue your sweeps or come up front and then go back. If there is an incident and They say who was on sweeps, you can look at the cameras before saying you were called up front. That way you may be cleared of any trouble.
Ignoring a page will not only piss front end off, customers off, but you want to refrain from saying you are on "sweeps." What I would say, is xxx is on a major clean up or helping a customer.
