Passive-Aggressively Express-ing Your Frustration

A few years back, I was a lowly cashier at a local grocery store. For the third day in a row, I was assigned to the “ten items or less” express checkout since I was decently fast.

I helped one customer, while the one behind her proceeded to pile at least fifty items into my register belt. Being express, I wasn’t assigned a bagging associate.

The customer did not help bag any of her groceries or put them in her cart. Okay, jerk, I see you. I didn’t bag her gallon jug of orange juice or her gallon jug of milk as I had already bagged her two weeks of groceries.

Customer: “I want them both in a bag!”

I simply looked at her and responded sweetly:

Me: “You want both of them in a bag?”

She confirmed, ever so “politely,” that that was what she wanted. So, complying with her request, I put both jugs in A singular bag, together, and set them in her cart, smiling.

The woman got upset and complained to my manager. I was called to the front desk, where I explained to my boss that I did exactly what the customer wanted and put both gallons in A bag, together. I received an eye roll and was sent back to my station.

Employee, one. Customer, zero.