Bullied at work on how to help a customer

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Today, I went to work to do a job that i have done for 4 years with no problems. I am a hardworker and always follow the rules. But today, i just don't understand on why one of my line manager would say to me "you do not need a piece of equipment, which you need to use as part of your job".

Each shift, i go into an office and collect a small portable computer to use when i am on the shop floor. I use this computer to make shelf labels, check stock levels, price history and do price enquires for customers. A part of customer service is to help the customer. When i told my line manager my duties is customer service, she said you don't need that portable computer. Now what is customer service is it:
a) telling a customer to go to this location in the store to get a price check on the product they are enquiring
b) telling the customer how much product, then and there. not brushing the person off. What if the customer can't read ?

Now tell me is that customer service or not? Me, i would not like to brush the customer off. I would like to help them in anyway i can. But my line manager said "You don't need it because it not your job to help the customer but it your job to clean the store for the next day of trade." When you are on the shop floor, you must be ready for all situations. And need to make the tough decision. I would like to be prepare and execute my job, how i been doing it for the last 4 years. but how could change be that quick. Or was this the wrong move by my line manager. At the end of the day all the money that a company makes then invested in technology to improve store service - just doesn't make sense.

I need to be clear on this. You're always going to be gifted, and the people around you are usually NOT going to be gifted. Find a way to spoon-feed this manager without making him/her feel like an idiot.
You have very different skills from that manager, and the manager doesn't want to know that.
Essentially, you may have to find a way to do it without a portable computer. That would hurt me a lot if it were me, but I would struggle to find a way, even if it's a small notepad in my pocket. But I would know that the only alternative here is to quit. I know managers, and they are famous for not budging. This person cannot admit to being wrong, because in their mind, that is not being a "manager." Even though it is.. Still, we have to censor, censor, censor ourselves until we get what we want and need.
If you do quit, please consider working the notice.
(Also, have there been any customer complaints about your service? If you don't know, find a really polite way to ask that.)

This manager in the past didn't even care that i took a portable computer out on to the shop floor. How can i do my Job the way management wants me to do it. Then say you don't need it because you can just brush off the customer to the nearest price enquire. If stores have the technologies and right people on how this technologies are use then, management would be sitting back and enjoying the reward.

I should also mention, when i clean the store i need to fill gaps on the shelves. Now if i need to fill, each product should be mark with a price on the shelf so the customer knows how much it is. Now should i ever do the following
a) use the portable computer to print the stores shelf tickets
b) put no ticket on the shelf and let the customer guess the price, then get the customer to walk out without the sale.
c) write my own ticket

I would choose point a

You should do what your boss tells you to--looking up the exact details for a customer on a computer is not your job. Your boss made that clear.

You should do what most people in your job do--refer that person to someone else or make a quick guess and get on with stated job assignments.

Now, if you just happen to have the computer in front of you and the boss is clearly not around, you might look it up as a favor--and perhaps even say that--"I'm not suppose to be doing this, but since the boss isn't around, let me check this for you...."

"The customer comes first" is a LIE. You come first. Your co-workers come 2nd. The customers come third.

BTW, you aren't being bullied. You are getting paid for following "reasonable" orders from your boss.

Look at it this way--if you get tied up helping customers and don't fully clean the floor, there might be some junk on the floor that may injure someone and cause a big lawsuit. It is far more important to prevent injuries than to help customers.

But, in a job like yours, the most important part of it is following specific orders from your manager. They will just get someone who can do what they are told.

Which will reinforce the fact that you shouldn't be doing that.
But, most customers will take the hint and not tell anyone about the wonderful service you are providing.

The lie that the customer comes first results in a small percentage of "time vampires." Customers that come in with long monologues and/or rants that can tie up employees for a long, long time. In theory, some of these customers could be helped in a minute or two, but they NEED to tell you the ENTIRE STORY. If you do your job you should be able to avoid them and do what you are paid to do.

But, perhaps you have a clever trick that allows you to listen faster?

Ahhh, yes. What spiderpig said. The customer will essentially rat you out up and down, remember that.

The customer DOES come first, but not when it comes to you losing your job for trying to help the company. If the customer leaves and gets better business elsewhere, that is still putting the customer first.
If it means your company takes the crappy end of the stick, that is their fault, because you did everything you could.
Just try everything you can to follow the boss's order, no matter how strange it may seem, in order to keep your income steady. And it's right that you can't neglect cleaning the floor just because somebody is neglecting the price tags.

Sadly, these are the sorts of misunderstandings that make people on the autism spectrum unemployable.

The manager is just trying to do her job, which is making sure the OP only does his job--nothing more, nothing less.

Which makes logical sense--the OP is being paid by the hour--and there is only so much money to pay him. If he does other things, there may not be enough time to complete his job in the allocated time.

In the case of a lawsuit, it helps the company to show something called due diligence, that they are paying someone to keep the floors clean. It weakens their case if that person is allowed to do other things. Decades ago this didn't matter, but it does now.

I have read some of these messages and understand the message you guys are trying to send to me

Thanks your support in this matter