(I’m shopping after work at an electronics store. They have convenience items, like cookies, sodas, and various treats along a small aisle by the cash registers. A man and his kid are checking out in front of me.)
Kid: “Daddy! Daddy-daddy-daddy-daaaaddyyyyy! Can I have this? Please?” *puts a bag of cookies on the counter by the register, and addresses the cashier* “I wanna get these cookies, too!”
Dad: “Son, no. Reme—“
Cashier: “OH! I don’t know; you’d better ask your mommy! She mi—“
Kid: “I DON’T HAAAAAAAVE A MOMMY!” *starts wailing*
Dad: “Who? What?” *trying to talk and comfort his son through the crying* “Son, I already told you, we have those cookies at home!” *glares at the cashier and says quietly* “You have some d*** nerve.”
(They rush out of the store, the man consoling his very agitated son, as I bring a cart, a soda, and the same brand of cookies to the register, along with a ticket for a TV in the back.)
Cashier: “Oh, you just like contradicting your husband, don’t you? And what is this?” *holds up my ticket for the TV*
Me: “What? I’m extremely single. I don’t have any husband. And that’s for a TV.”
Cashier: “Oh, so, he won’t be helping out with this today? How can a little girl like you lift such a thing?” *holds up the ticket for the TV*
(Instead of scanning the ticket for the TV, the cashier talks in the most condescending, smarmy manner she can muster about how small and weak I must be, and how a real man would help me lift a TV like that. I’m pretty vexed at this point, and while I may be super skinny, I’m also rather tall so, instead of slouching over the cart I have for the TV, I push the cart aside and stand up to my full height. The cashier stops talking mid-sentence.)
Cashier: *finally scans ticket* “Um… so, how will you be paying for this today?”
Me: “Oh, me? Pay? This?” *going from serious to sarcasm in the next couple sentences* “Oh, I am no longer interested in purchasing those items. They are oh sooooo very hard to lift because I’ve never, ever, ever lifted a single thing ever in my entire life before this! Oh, dear me. Whatever shall I doooo?” *wipes my hand across my forehead, fake coughs, and becomes serious again* “I’d like to speak to your manager now!”
(The manager seemed rather apologetic about her behaviour, saying that they’d gotten several complaints, and even had one customer who was refused service after the cashier had scanned her item with a guy’s items, and told both of them to suck it up, when he realized that he was paying for the random person behind him. I said that while I appreciated his apology and the offer for free delivery and installation of my TV, the fact that the company seemed willing to tolerate this cashier and her antics – particularly the story he mentioned – made my decision for me. I accepted only corporate’s phone number, opting to never shop there again. On my way out, I saw the man come back with his son, who was sleeping in a cart. I gave him the number to corporate and introduced him to the manager I had spoken with. The manager was short-tempered and grumpy towards the man, who returned his entire order and got a refund for that and the cookies he was charged for but never took out of the store.)
