Employee Or Not, You Could’ve Said “Please”

Last Wednesday, I went for some shopping. We needed groceries, and my mother needed a new heater. I (regretfully) decided to kill two birds with one stone and went to a big store that has both groceries and stuff for the house — heaters, TVs, barbecues, etc. I was in black sweatpants and a red blouse; the employees were wearing blue trousers and blue shirts with yellow letters on them.

I grabbed a cart and headed to the grocery section first, where I was asked three different times if I worked there; all were very respectful and just asking for help, which in two out of three cases I could provide. Finishing my groceries, I went to the part of the store that dealt with the other things I mentioned.

I was browsing the available heaters with my grocery ladder cart next to me when an older guy came to me with a pack of AA batteries.

Guy: “Do these work on a phone?” *Showing me the batteries*

Me: “Probably not. You’ll need rechargeable batteries for that.”

Guy: “Okay. Go get me some. I’ll be right here.”

Me: “Nope.”

Guy: *Annoyed* “Why?”

Me: “Because A, I don’t know where the batteries are, and B, even if I did, I wouldn’t fetch them for you.”

Guy: “That’s not a proper way to talk to a paying customer!”

Me: “Indeed.”

Guy: “And not knowing where is something on your store…”

Me: “My store?”

Guy: “…is preposterous! I will complain about it to management!”

Me: “Okay. You do you.”

And, grabbing my cart, I walked away.

For the next five minutes, he followed me around the store, red in the face and complaining about the “unruly employee”, until an actual employee stopped him and explained to him that I was a shopper and not an employee. That apparently did not compute in his brain, because the last time I saw him, he was confused as h***.