Customer "No Service"

Please note that I do not name businesses in this blog post. My intent is not to "bash" any local merchant or business. Instead, I'm hoping my remarks might open some eyes and change some attitudes.

There is a retail establishment I frequent where the cashiers are also the stock clerks. Whenever there are no customers ready to check out, the clerks are elsewhere in the store stocking shelves, arranging merchandise, and tending to other duties assigned to them. Unfortunately, there are very few locations in the store where they have a clear view of the cash register to see if a customer has stepped up to pay for purchases. And there's no bell to ding to alert them to your presence.
I shop this store often. It's one of my favorite places. In fact, I was there earlier this week and had picked up several items which I had not planned to pick up while I was there, but I was very excited about finding them in the store. As I stepped up to the cash register, the previous customer was leaving the store. The door was just shutting behind him.
And the clerk was already gone.
I thought she'd be back soon (after all, she was just there, I'd heard her voice on my way to the front of the store), so I put my purchases-to-be on the counter.
And I waited.

As you can guess, I waited for what I considered to be an reasonable amount of time.
How long is reasonable? That is one of my questions to you. How long should a customer wait for a cashier to return to the check out area?

In my case, I waited about as long as it might have taken me to fish a notepad and pen from my purse and write a note that said, "I waited long enough to write this note."

I left their merchandise on the counter and walked out. No one tried to stop me.
(I didn't actually write that note, but I kinda wish I would have.)

Another business that didn't want my money was a hair salon.
There are plenty of places on my way to and from work where I can get a hair cut. But the one I chose was one I'd heard good things about. When I entered their shop, two stylists were cutting hair and a third woman was in the back doing... something. I could see her reflection in the mirrors lining the walls. The reception desk was empty. I didn't have an appointment, so I didn't expect anyone to rush up and welcome me.
So, I leaned on the desk and waited.
Once in a while, a stylist looked in my direction, but neither one said anything to me. Not a hello. No one said, "I'll be with you in a moment." Neither one called to the gal in the back that someone was waiting.

Again, you can guess I waited for what I considered to be a reasonable amount of time.
I will admit this amount of time was shorter than normal because not one of the three people who could see me standing there so much as acknowledged my presence.
Until I turned and walked away.
One of them called "Hello?" to my back as the door closed. Oh, she just missed me. So sad.

One final example:
When our family decided to spend a chunk of money on a laptop, we needed a little help choosing just the right one. A floor salesman answered our questions satisfactorily, but he more than once tried to sell us "fries with that" which we more than once told him we were not going to buy.
We made our decision, and granted, it was on the lower end of the laptop food chain, but we were ready to buy it. Right there, right then. The salesman excused himself to fetch a set of keys to the security case holding the computer we wanted. On his way back, he stopped to answer a question for another couple... and... he didn't come back.
We watched him talk to them for a good long time. He had the keys in his hand. We were right there. A sure thing. Ready to spend money. Now.
Hello, we want to buy something from your store now. Please take our money?
Nope. We were no longer important enough. How does that happen?
I suppose we should have bought the fries.
::shrug::
We put our credit card back in the wallet and walked away.

What's going on?

Dear Business Owner/Manager, I understand how a tight budget might necessitate a policy of employees handling more job duties than ever before, but are you aware of how this kind of service is trickling down to your customers? (If my phrase "trickling down to your customers" sounds right to you, then something is wrong here.) You are making a mistake by not putting your customers at the top of the list. I can tell you, we're feeling it.
We're feeling last on your list.
Please look into this. Otherwise, I will need to reassess where you fall on my list, too.

Have you ever walked away from a purchase because you felt ignored by a company's employees?
How long would you wait for service before you leave a business... without doing business?
What's the biggest sale you walked away from?