Final answer:
Leaving a customer should be considered only if they do not need immediate help or have agreed to a pause in service, such as when they are independently considering alternate products.
Step-by-step explanation:
When considering when it is acceptable to temporarily leave one customer to help another, it is important to focus on the situation rather than on customer characteristics or judgments about their potential purchases. Ideally, a customer should only be left temporarily if they do not require immediate assistance or if they have given implied or explicit consent for the pause in service.
For instance, if the first customer is looking at alternate products independently and seems comfortable doing so, this could be an appropriate time to attend to another customer, provided you inform the first customer of the brief interruption and your intention to return quickly.