It is my last five minutes before I get to go home. I am cashiering.

Me: “Sir, I can take you over on lane seven.”

Customer: “Thanks.”

I go through the transaction just fine and, other than small talk, we don’t really talk.

Me: “All right, sir, you’re all set. Have a great day!” 

I hand him his things.

Customer: “This is actually supposed to be 20% off.”

He is pointing to the small kitchen appliance.

Me: “…”

At this point, there is nothing I can do. If he had told me in the transaction and shown me proof of the deal, I would’ve been able to do it.

Me: “I’m sorry, sir, but there is nothing I can do to give you the discount now.”

Customer: *Irate* “Well, then, return it and give me my d*** discount! And do your job!”

Me: “I’m sorry, sir, but I haven’t been trained to do returns. And even if I knew how to do returns, it would be against policy to do it at a register, so you will need to go to customer service.”

The customer just gives me a look, squinting at my name tag.

Customer: “You know what… F*** you, [My Name].”

He grabbed his things and left.

The story with this customer is a bit of a saga. It begins in late fall of 2019 and continues into March 2020.

We have an older semi-regular shopper at my grocery store who is just an a** to all of us. He has never once been polite. I honestly don’t remember what he said to me the first time I had him at my till, but the interaction caused me to dislike him from the start. I think it was just his “cashiers are worthless and your only purpose is to serve me” attitude.

The second time this customer came through my till, I was warned by my supervisor that he would be difficult to deal with, and I received similar treatment from him. I was yelled at for not immediately moving to load his single bag of groceries into his cart. Admittedly, loading carts is something we are required to do by corporate. However, since we are the only store in the area with that policy, most customers load their carts themselves, especially if they have small purchases. They always thank us when we do it for them. But not him.

The third time I saw this customer, I was the supervisor on duty, and he went through a coworker’s till. I went over to her till and bagged for her — even though cashiers at my store are supposed to work without a bagger — because I knew this customer would be disrespectful to her. I was right. He yelled at her for touching his groceries before he had everything out of his cart and then yelled at her again when she took too long to ring him up… which wouldn’t have happened if she could have started when he was loading the belt.

The fourth time I saw this customer, I was again the supervisor on shift, but I couldn’t get to my (other) coworker’s till in time to help her. He berated her for similar “mistakes.” He first yelled at her because she offered to put his receipt in a bag. Then, the customer yelled at her again when she asked if he would prefer to hold on to his receipt or have her toss it.

I’m sure you get the idea; this guy is a piece of work. None of us like dealing with him, but you know how it is when you work in customer service. No matter how big of a jerk someone is being, you still have to smile and be polite.

The most recent time I see this customer is in March 2020, during the crisis. A lot has changed in my store in order to keep it running. Now, there are plexiglass screens in front of the tills, sliding doors behind them, and markers every six feet so customers know where to stand in line. We’ve also had to hire a lot of new people, both to cope with panic buying and because we need to have more tills open to reduce the number of people in close proximity to each other. Also, corporate has suspended our cart-loading policy for the moment, since it would mean getting within six feet of customers.

This time, my supervisor notices this customer first, as he gets into line at a till manned by one of the new hires. At her suggestion, I let the new hire out on break so she doesn’t have to deal with him on her third day after training.

He is just as rude to me as he has been in the past. I complete the sale with a smile on my face in spite of this. When I finish ringing him up, he demands I move his groceries to his cart. I take great pleasure in telling him he will have to load his three bags himself, as I am no longer required to do so by corporate, due to the current crisis.

It’s not much, but boy, did that feel good.

It’s seniors day at the drug store where I work. Usually, the worst customers are on seniors day, and this one is no exception. I am serving an older woman at the cash register.

Me: “Did you need a bag at all?”

Customer: “Do you charge for bags?”

Me: “Yes, 5¢ a bag.”

Customer: “Hmph, I knew when I saw you; some people are just evil.”

Me: “All the money from the bags goes to [Store] foundation!”

I finished serving her and she left without a bag, but she continued to rant at me about being evil as she left and as she got her stuff together on a bench in the mall just outside the store.

I am a customer at a local supermarket. While my items are being rung up, I realize I have forgotten to get lip balm. I notify the cashier and step away from the line to get some from another aisle. When I return with the lip balm, I hand it to the cashier, who rings it up and gives me my total.

However, in the time I was out of the line, the daughter of the female customer behind me had stepped in front of the area where the credit card scanner was. I say to the little girl, who is maybe seven or eight years old, “Excuse me,” and then step in front of the card scanner. As I step in front of the scanner, I brush against the little girl ever so slightly.

Customer: “What do you think you’re doing, pushing my little girl like that?”

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am. I need to pay my bill.”

Customer: “You could at least say, ‘Excuse me.’”

Me: “I did say, ‘Excuse me.’ You must not have heard it.”

Customer: “No, you didn’t! You know, it’s because of people like you that little girls are messed up today!”

Me: “No, little girls are messed up today because of bad parenting.”

Customer: *Scowling angrily* “I denounce you, in the name of Jesus, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done…”

Me: “Why are you using the name of Jesus like that? You’re clearly following the way of Satan.”

The customer closes her eyes and begins clapping her hands while rocking from side to side.

Customer: “In the name of Jesus, in the name of Jesus…”

By this time, close to twenty people had stopped what they were doing to observe the situation. My items were rung up and I had paid my bill, so I invited her to my church and got out of there!

I’m really bad with confrontation.

Cashier: “Your total is $26.15.”

Me: “Okay.”

I hand her $41.15.

Cashier: “What are you giving me all this money for?!”

Me: “I— I— I— Change.”

The cashier gave me a dirty look. She called her supervisor, took a long time to count out $15, and shoved it into my hands. The whole time, she held my items behind the counter. I have no idea how I offended her so badly.