I work in a food hall, and with restrictions in place when I’m on a till ringing up customers’ products, I ask the next customer to wait at the end to keep an appropriate distance. 

The customer I’m serving is a lovely elderly lady who is clearly uncomfortable with how close the woman behind her is getting.

Me: “Excuse me, ma’am, but I’m gonna have to ask you to wait at the end of the till until I’ve finished serving.”

The woman takes the tiniest step back and then proceeds to be rude towards the elderly lady who is having trouble packing. I take her spare bag and begin packing while the other customer is loudly proclaiming: 

Customer: “I’m wearing a mask; what more do you both want? It’s not as if I’m going to infect her or anything.”

A moment later:

Customer: “If she’s so bothered, maybe she shouldn’t be out in public.”

I ignore her. The elderly woman thanks me and I serve the rude lady in silence before she goes to the customer service desk to pick up a parcel.

We’re short-staffed at this moment in time, all spare staff are on tills or are on their breaks, and there’s a queue of around eight people waiting for parcels or to return them. I serve a few more before quickly jumping off to help out with parcels while our manager is dealing with a customer having some sort of issue with online ordering from our website.

Lo and behold, the rude woman tries pushing to the front. She bluntly gets told to get to the back since she left her position in the queue to try to get ahead. I rush through the customers and get their parcels as quickly as possible, since I can see I’m needed back on the till, and then there she is. The final customer waiting for a parcel.

Customer: “My name is [Customer] and my postcode is [postcode], then I’m picking up parcels for my daughter, [Daughter]… and [postcode]…”

Me: “I’m sorry, but I didn’t quite catch that. I’ll sort out your parcels first; could you repeat your surname and postcode for me?”

I get through hers and her daughter’s orders, taking my time just to be a bit petty, I’ll admit, holding them at arm’s length for her to grab. I’m thinking this will be the last of it, but she then gets super close to the customer my manager is dealing with, pulls her mask down, spits all over the desk, and exclaims at my manager.

Customer: “You’ve got customers to deal with! They should be more important than whatever her issue is.”

She stormed off, and my manager looked like she was ready to punch this woman; she was probably the most annoyed I’ve seen her.

I understand being annoyed at waiting but literally all of the other customers that were in that queue said they had no issue waiting because they knew that as soon as someone was available, they’d be assisted. That woman just had a bee in her bonnet and a stick up her a**, in my opinion.

She is now a joke amongst us staff whenever a member of staff is busy on the front desk and has a queue building up.

I work at a grocery store chain based in North Carolina. Not many people know that my chain is actually owned by a popular grocery store chain based in Ohio. As such, in any given area, you will either find my store chain or the parent store chain, but not both.

When calling our store, there are plenty of people who don’t listen to the automated message options.

Sometimes people will get through to the wrong company, and most people are fine when I explain that they called the wrong department and I have to transfer them.

Me: “[Store], Express Lane, this is [My Name]. Can I have your last name, please?”

Customer: “Is this [Parent Company]?”

Me: “No, this is [My Store].”

Customer: “It is? Then what’s the number for [Parent Company] in [Town]?”

Me: “There isn’t a [Parent Company] here.”

Customer: “Yes, there is! I know there is! I shop there all the time.”

Me: “No, there isn’t. There may have been a [Parent Company] in the area a long time ago, but there isn’t one now. However, they own [My Store], so we carry most of the same products.”

Customer: “[Parent Company] owns [My Store]?”

Me: “Yes.”

Customer: “Where’s the closest [Parent Company]? I only shop there.”

Me: “Uh… I know there’s one in [Town almost two hours away]. If you hold, I can transfer you to customer service. They might know better.”

Customer: “You are customer service.”

Me: “No, this is Express Lane. People call me when they’ve placed an online grocery order and have a question.”

Customer: “This isn’t [Parent Company]?”

Me: “No. You’ve called [My Store].”

Customer: “Is there a [Parent Company] in [Town forty-five minutes away]?”

Me: “I doubt it. [Parent Company] usually doesn’t want their stores so close to our stores.”  

Customer: “But I want [Parent Company]. I Googled [Parent Company] in [Town] and came up with this number.”

Me: “That’s because they own us.”

Customer: “Well, you are just no help.” *Click*

I work in a grocery store bakery. Our bakery does not have a register and no one in the bakery is trained to use one. This customer approaches my counter when I’m just about to close and am the only person in the department.

Customer: “How much are these croissants?”

Me: “They’re $3.99, $2 with a club card.”

Customer: “I don’t have one of your stupid cards. Here, just take four.”

The customer tries to hand me cash.

Me: “Sorry, I don’t have a register; you have to pay for that up front or in the deli department next door.”

Customer: “I’m not walking all the way up front! Stop being lazy and just take the f****** money!”

Me: “Your purchases need to go through a register, and I’m not even trained to use one. Please stop trying to hand me your money and go find a clerk to process your transaction.”

Customer: “F*** you! I can’t believe you won’t let me pay you because you’re lazy. Get me a manager! I’m going to have your stupid a** fired!” 

Me: “Mmkay.”

I page over a manager and the customer is “nice” enough to explain the entire situation exactly before I can speak, albeit belligerently and loudly.

Manager: “Ma’am, every purchase needs to go through a register so we can keep track of what is sold and how much money is being earned; that’s how a business works.”

Customer: “Shut up! Thieves!”

The customer throws her money in my face and runs out of the store with the croissants.

Me: “So, uh, what now?” 

The manager picks up the money and begins counting.

Manager: “She left $20.” *Shuffles through it* “Here’s $16; consider it a tip. Too tired to deal with this s***.”

Related:
Lack Of Register Does Not Register, Part 13
Lack Of Register Does Not Register, Part 12
Lack Of Register Does Not Register, Part 11
Lack Of Register Does Not Register, Part 10
Lack Of Register Does Not Register, Part 9

I am shopping when I witness a middle-aged woman purchasing various things, including cigarettes, for a grand total of about 140kr (about $16). Her card has been denied once as I enter. I walk behind her at the back of the line.

Customer: “I know I have 300kr on my card! Stop taking my money!”

She enters her PIN again.

Employee #1: “No money was taken; it was denied.”

Customer: “Denied again! I told you to stop taking my money!”

Employee #1: “Again, none was taken because it was denied.”

Customer: “Fine! I’ll go home and get some, then. Can I borrow the cigs in the meanwhile?”

Employee #1: “As you have not purchased them, no, you cannot take them.”

Customer: “Well, all right! I’ll be back soon; keep the stuff here!”

The customer walks off. [Employee #1] turns to [Employee #2].

Employee #2: “Think she’ll be back?”

Employee #1: “Nope.”

Three minutes later, she returns.

Customer: “I’ll just get the cigs, then. I should have enough for that!”

Employee #1: *To [Employee #2]* “Take her at the other till.”

[Employee #2] starts helping her.

Customer: “Green button again?!”

Employee #2: “Yes, enter your PIN and press green.”

Customer: *Half-sobs* “What does it want now?!”

Employee #2: “It wants you to authorize the amount.”

She presses green and gets denied.

Customer: “What the h***?! I knew you guys took it out! I want my receipts!”

Employee #2: “There are none.”

Customer: “There has to be! Gimme them!“

Employee: “As no transaction occurred, there is no receipt to print and as such, we cannot give you any.”

Customer: “Come on! Anyone! It is just 50kr! Help me out with 50 kr!” *Half-crying* “FINE! I’ll just borrow these!” *Grabs the cigs*

Employee #2: “You cannot take those; that’ll be theft. Come back when you’ve sorted this out with your bank.”

The customer walks out after handing back the cigs.

Me: “She was either on something or withdrawal from something.”

Employees: “Mmhmm.”

I have been struggling with IBS for a few years and have had a hard time pinpointing what exactly is making me sick. I’ve been to a dietitian. I wrote down everything I ate and my symptoms for weeks and had a blood test to detect coeliac disease, but nothing was conclusive.

Finally, someone suggests a food sensitivity blood test that comes back positive for all things gluten! I am both relieved to have a new hope at controlling my symptoms and panicked at the idea of having to restrict the omnipresent gluten from my diet.

I am going on my first gluten-free grocery shop, and I’m in turn excited to find gluten-free options and sad to give up some of my favourite foods. I go to the “food of the world” section, and since burritos are my absolute favorite and a staple in my diet — meaning every other night is burrito night — I am hoping to find some corn flour tortillas. To my dismay, all of the corn tortillas also have wheat flour in them.

In a very dramatic turn of events, as I prepare to leave and give up on my dearest burritos, my eyes fall on gluten-free tortillas! Elated, I take a ridiculous amount of them and put them in my cart.

As I am looking down on my grocery list, another customer, an older man, approaches.

Customer: “Huh! Would you believe they even have gluten-free tortillas now?! It’s ridiculous, you know, how many products there are now for this fad gluten-free diet.”

Me: *Pause* “Well… I just got diagnosed with a gluten sensitivity.”

I pull my dozens of gluten-free tortillas to show him.

Me: “So I, for one, am very glad to have options so I can stop being in pain so much, y’know.”

The customer mumbles something awkwardly as I leave.

I’m a very non-confrontational person, so this was really big for me.

And since I’ve stopped eating gluten, the improvement has been phenomenal, and I am definitely very happy to have so many good gluten-free products at my disposal!