I’m working the register like I do every day. It’s after lunch, so we’re slow. I start stocking and cleaning up. The manager is sitting at a table behind my register. A customer is ready for me to cash him out, but his drink doesn’t ring up — “item not found” — so I start typing in the product.

The man suggests a few ways to try to find it but to no avail. We can’t. I turn around to my manager and explain the situation. Still fixated on his laptop, he tells me to do what I’ve already done. I smile and say, “Yes, sir, I’ve already done that.”

“Did you look it up as the product?”

“Yes, name, type, flavor, and there’s nothing for it. So what should I do? This customer wants it.” I ask, rolling my eyes as he remains there on his laptop.

The customer proceeds, “Ma’am, never mind. Sorry to have caused trouble. Clearly neither of us is going to get help.”

“No, sir, here you go. I’ll charge you this price since it’s the same product. I apologize for the inconvenience,” I say as I smile, clearly annoyed. I proceed to finish what I started.

My boss goes to the register and looks it up — it isn’t there. He looks at me and says, “Well, why isn’t it in here?”, obviously irritated.

“Why’re you asking me? You’re the manager!”

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I am a high-school senior working as a bagger, and I have just been accepted to a large college in the South. It is a busy Sunday afternoon with all the checkout lanes full.

Cashier: “All right, your total today is [amount].”

Customer: *Curtly* “That’s not right.”

Cashier: “What seems to be the problem?”

Customer: “The laundry detergent should be $2.29.”

Cashier: *Rescans the item* “Sorry, ma’am, this is ringing up at $3.99.”

Customer: “It’s wrong.”

Cashier: “[My Name], can you go and check the stacks to get her the right detergent?”

Me: “Sure.”

I go to where the detergent is and discover the brand the customer wants is completely out of stock, and I return to the front.

Me: “Sorry, ma’am, but it seems to be out of stock.”

Customer: “No, you’re wrong. Here, follow me; I’ll show you where it is.”

I stand there stunned for a few seconds.

Customer: “Well, aren’t you going to follow me?”

While I’m gathering up her groceries to follow her, she stage-whispers:

Customer: “D*** boy can’t read.”

I follow her to the stacks and show her where the laundry detergent is, and I see that it is on closeout sale, meaning we won’t stock it for a long time.

Customer: “Well, grab the sticker so I can get a rain-check.”

I return to the front.

Cashier: “I didn’t know [College] accepted illiterate students.”

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The small supermarket I work at used to have these weekend deals from Friday to Sunday and would usually involve two or three items. These deals were really popular and really good value. Quite sometime after we stopped doing these weekend deals, I get tannoyed to the till.

Coworker: “Hey, [My Name], can you do a shelf-price check on this?”

I get handed a jar of coffee.

Coworker: “The gentleman here claims it is only £1.99.”

I am initially puzzled as that particular coffee is very well known and very expensive, brand. I check the shelf and find that the man is mistaken.

Me: “It says £6.99 on the shelf.”

Customer: “But last time I bought it, it was £1.99. It was some kind of weekend offer.”

Then, it clicks. That coffee was on a weekend deal at £1.99 at one point. I put the sign out myself. But that was months ago.

Me: “Sir, the weekend deals changed every week. And we don’t do weekend deals anymore.”

Customer: “Oh.”

He looks slightly crestfallen at the news. As he leaves the shop, my coworker and I can’t help but giggle.

Coworker: “But today is Wednesday.”

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When my brother is about five or so, he is at a grocery store with my mom. They happen to see our pediatrician there shopping for groceries, too. He and my mom greet each other, but my brother is confused.

Brother: “What are you doing here?”

Doctor: “I’m getting some things for dinner.”

Brother: “Don’t they give you food at the office?”

Doctor: “Sometimes people bring in food, but I’m having dinner at home with my family.”

Brother: “You have a home?”

Doctor: “[Brother], I don’t live at my office.”

For bonus points, our grandfather and two uncles are doctors, and Mom’s a nurse — and my brother was well aware that none of them lived at their offices or hospitals!

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Masks are mandatory in my entire state. This particular grocery store that I was at has large, clear signs not only outside the store but throughout the entire store, and they will kick anybody out who tries to walk in without a mask or face covering. But that doesn’t stop people who try to cheat the system.

My daughter and I were at the store shopping and I saw a woman and what could have been her daughter not wearing masks. The older one was holding one in her hands and the younger one didn’t have one at all. As I passed by them, I quietly said, “You ladies need to put your masks back on.”

The older woman launched into a screaming fit about how she had some breathing ailment, and she couldn’t breathe, and I needed to mind my bleeping business.

I said, “Oh, I understand about difficulty breathing; that’s why I have one of these.” I point to my face shield.

You would have thought that I suggested she go eat feces. She turned red in the face and started screaming even louder about how they didn’t have any money, only food stamps, and on and on. I imagine the entire store could hear her rant as she was so loud.

I know how to pick my battles and refuse to fight with unreasonable people, so I just turned away. But as they were walking by, I thought, “Wait, you supposedly have this problem; what about the younger woman?” But I just let it go. 

I did happen to notice the case of beer in her cart; you can’t buy those with food stamps. Seems she had money after all. It’s all a matter of priorities, and caring about her fellow human being is lower on the list for her than beer.

It’s been my observation that those who scream and protest the loudest quite often do not have whatever ailment they claim to have. We didn’t see them again until we were leaving the store and she was screaming and cursing at somebody else. I just shook my d*** head.