I work at a store that asks us to help customers pro-actively, such as when they look lost, unsure, etc. I saw a customer standing at the front of one of our aisles looking dazedly up at the signs for the aisles that tell you what is in them, so I approach the customer.
Me: Can I help you find anything todayÉ
Customer: Yes.
Customer then turned her back on me and walked away.
(I’m a female grocery store bagger in my early 20s. Whenever parents go through my line with their kids, I talk to the kids about how being a parent is the hardest job in the world. We give free snacks to kids ten and under. I have added a spin on this by telling the kids older than four that the rule with the free treat was that they have to help their parents with the groceries. If they don’t, the parents will tell us and then they won’t get the free snack next time. A sweet older lady and her grandson are getting a few things. I start by telling the kid that I’m glad he is there to help deal with the groceries.)
Kid: *looks at me in confusion* “I’m not going to help.”
(I then start bagging, and the kid walks up to me as his grandmother works on paying. I talk to him about how it wouldn’t be that bad if he helped, and then he replies with something like this:)
Kid: “I only help my grandmother for money.”
(I’m so shocked at how mean the kid’s reply is about helping his sweet grandma that I stare in pure shock for a few seconds.)
Me: “Did you really just say that you’ll only help your grandmother if you get paid? That’s horrible!”
(The kid realized what he’d just said, told me, “No,” and started looking ashamed. I’m glad the kid realized how horrific it was to do that to his grandmother, and I hope he learned his lesson.)
(A customer in the next lane has just swiped her card through the reader.)
Customer: “This is credit, so do I push ‘credit’?”
(Usually, my wife and I go shopping together. She’s been picking up extra shifts so I decide to shop at the grocery store where she works. Usually, I don’t shop there, because they’re a bit more expensive than other places, certain members of staff are very rude, and the employee discount system isn’t worth the hassle. I complete the shopping just fine and get into the ONLY AVAILABLE LINE for the registers. My wife is cashiering. When I get to the front of the line, her coworker suddenly runs over, grabs my wife by the shoulders, and forces her away from the register. My wife, who has complained bitterly about this coworker’s behavior every time they have a shift together, leaves to report this new behavior to the manager. The coworker starts running the barcodes for my groceries.)
Coworker: *hurriedly and in a hushed tone* “It’s against company policy for employees to check out their family members.”
Me: *acting casual but pretty annoyed with how she manhandled my wife* “Oh, we didn’t know that. [Wife] only recently got training for the registers; I think it just hasn’t come up yet.”
Coworker: *slightly louder and exasperated* “It’s because people try to steal that way.”
Me: “Well, if I wanted to steal, which I absolutely do not want to do, I’d just have walked out of the doors while no one is looking. Why walk up to a register to steal?” *forced laugh* “Last I checked, approaching a register with a wallet out means I intend to pay.”
Coworker: *suddenly louder and now getting shrill, louder with each sentence* “[Wife] is going to get fired! And it’s all your fault for trying to steal from [GroceryStore]! You should be ASHAMED OF YOURSELF!”
(Customers behind me are staring, and I’m on the verge of a panic attack because of the attention and fear of my wife losing her job. Her job is the only way we’ve been paying the bills lately.)
Me: “I wasn’t trying to steal anything! I just wanted to pick up some things and didn’t want to drive across town to do so.”
Coworker: *accusatory and loud* “Then why did you go to [Wife]’s register?!”
Me: “Because it was the only one open!”
(In my frustration, I forgot to pay with the employee discount and forgot to use our gift card, too. I basically ran out of the store. As soon as I got home, I called the manager and explained to him that it was an accident, that I didn’t steal anything, that I don’t appreciate being treated like a criminal for trying to pay for my groceries, and that [Coworker] is why I don’t usually shop there because she’s creepy and rude. I found out a few days later that [Coworker] got written up for it. It’s her second customer complaint in three days. My wife and I have no idea how [Coworker] keeps her job, since she’s specifically starting fights with other employees all the time and treats customers like garbage.)
(I’m on WIC, and I’m checking out in front of an older man and a couple of teen boys. I tell the cashier I’m using one of the checks, and the older man groans.)
Man: Ugh, why can’t you s**** just keep your legs closed? I don’t want my tax money paying for some welfare babies!
Me: Sir, I just wanna get food and go home.
Man: To your sugar daddy’s house? Does he have some mansion up in the mountains or something?
Me: No, I’m in [trailer park] right now. That’s all we can afford.
Man: F***ing trailer trash, I should have known!
(The teenage boy behind him finally gets tired and taps him on the shoulder.)
Teen: Look, sir, that poor girl already told you that she doesn’t wanna hear this, and I’m pretty tired of it too. Plus she’s probably stressed out enough, being pregnant and having to rely on government assistance. So how about you leave her alone for a bit?
Man: Well, all these kids today being rude! *storms off*
(The teen ended up buying me a couple candy bars, and told me that I shouldn’t worry about people like the older man.)
