I am working late at night at a grocery store. It’s about ninety minutes before close and there are two cashiers — a coworker and me — and two baggers, but one is doing closing duties, so I don’t have anyone helping me at the moment. For some reason, it’s crazy busy and both [Coworker] and I have six to seven people in our lines waiting to check out. The manager is nowhere to be found.

I scan a customer’s item and he says it’s the wrong price. I go check and the customer is correct. As I am walking back to my register, another customer stops me.

Customer: “These pop-tarts I bought earlier rang up wrong; I need a refund.”

I glance at the receipt and the sign.

Me: “Okay, sir, I can help you with that in a minute, if you can just get in line.”

This customer starts screaming at me saying I am disrespecting him and that I am being rude. He also claims he is a regular — I’ve never seen him in my life — and that he can’t believe I would talk to him like that.

I try to get a word in while I continue to check out the customer in my line.

Customer: “I am going to speak to your manager right now!

Again, I have no idea where the manager is at the time.

Me: “Okay, sir.”

Before I can say another word, this customer stomps off and starts yelling at my coworker and the bagger who have no idea what is going on. Finally, out of nowhere, the manager finally shows up and the customer demands the corporate number, all while screaming at the manager about how rude I am and claiming that I purposely charged him wrong.

Finally, the manager gives him the info and the crazy customer leaves, but not before yelling at me that he WILL get me fired.

A few days later, I got called into the store director’s office and he asked me what had happened with this customer, as he had called the regional director and told him I was rude and that I was too busy to help him. 

I explained and ask him point-blank what he would have liked me to do in that situation. I wasn’t rude, the manager was nowhere to be found, I didn’t have a chance to call the manager because he was screaming and yelling so loud, I had a line and had to help them since they were there first, I couldn’t just pull money out of my drawer and give it to him, and customer service was closed.

The store director just looked at me and told me to go back to work.

I work supporting a disabled man accessing the community. He is in his mid-twenties and built like a rugby player, but he has the mental age of a six-year-old and can’t speak. I’ve worked with him for nearly three years, and he can be protective of his staff.

We have helped him complete a small shop — six items — and are second in line to be cashed out in the basket-only lane. Just as the cashier starts scanning our items, a woman barges the wrong way into our lane with a trolley full of shopping.

Woman: *To us* “I’m in a hurry!” *To the cashier* “Don’t overstuff the bags!”

Cashier: “I’m sorry but this is the basket-only lane, and this gentleman was next.”

Woman: “That’s not my problem! And I’m not waiting for that to take all f****** day!”

Me: “Excuse me—”

Cashier: “You’ll move your items off my register and find another lane now or I’ll have you removed from the store! And it wouldn’t hurt to apologise, either.”

Woman: “Don’t start that political f****** correctness with me! In my day, we’d keep them indoors where they belong!”

She thrusts the trolley at the register, hitting me.

Woman: “Now check me out!”

My client picks up the woman’s full trolley, lifts it over the register, and carries it over to the entrance where he deposits it by the security guard. The cashier and woman are staring in disbelief and I’m trying to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself. He, however, is stood smiling at the security guard, clearly happy with his solution.

The woman is running after the trolley.

Woman: “What the h*** are you doing?!”

She screams at security.

Woman: “Did you see that?! What are you going to do about this?! I’ve been threatened!”

The security guard speaks in a deadly calm tone.

Security Guard: “You’ve got two options, miss. One, you apologise and leave this store now. Two, I’ll escort you out and you’re banned. Your choice, but you won’t act like this in our store. The CCTV alone will make sure you’re not served in any of our stores again.”

The woman stuttered out an apology and dashed out of the store. My client let out a huge belly laugh and was given his choice of a balloon, a treat from the cafe, and a magazine free. Every time we go back, he makes sure to go see the security guard first.

This story is part of our July 2020 Roundup – the best stories of the month!

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Due to too many cashier errors, when doing scratchcard payouts for customers, we can no longer do it in the same transaction. So, if someone wants to pay with their scratchcard winnings, they have to give us the scratchcard first. Most people are okay with this. But as with anything, there’s always one who makes a fuss.

Or in this case, one person making a fuss repeatedly. A woman comes in with a basket full of shopping and dumps it in front of me. I scan and bag everything for her and read the total. She then takes out a bunch of scratchcards and hands them to me.

Me: “I’m sorry. I’ll have to give you your winnings separately.”

Customer: “What? Do it now!”

Me: “I’m sorry but I can’t.”

Customer: “Someone did it for me last time!”

I’ve worked at that shop for a year, and in that time we’ve never paid out winnings at the same time.

Me: “Again, I am sorry. Our tills do not let us do it.”

Customer: “I don’t see what the problem is! Just give me the money!”

Me: “Our tills don’t let us select the ‘payout’ option once something has been scanned. We can only do it after you pay.”

Customer: “I don’t have any money on me. I wanted to use my scratchcard winnings to pay with! Just go and do it and stop being awkward!”

Me: “This is something we have no say over. The only way to do it is to void the transaction, give you the money back, and then scan it through again.”

I called a supervisor to void it off. All the while, the woman was muttering under her breath about how ridiculous it was and how much we’d inconvenienced her. Finally, I processed her winnings, gave her the money, and scanned it all through again.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the last I saw of her. Just a few days ago, she came back in, gave me her shopping, and then once again gave me a scratchcard after I’d scanned everything through. I explained again how I had to do it separately. She nodded and then stood there staring expectantly at me. I repeated that she had to pay first.

Again, she complained about how pathetic it was, but this time, she had other cash on her. I think she expected me to suddenly decide I could override the entire companies till system just for her if she stood, stared, and wished hard enough!

I’m a cashier at a large grocery store. I’m ringing through a middle-aged man and his son, who is around my age: early twenties.

Father: “So, do you like working here? Is it a good job?”

Me: “It’s not a bad job. Some days are better than others, of course.”

Father: “And how much money do you make here?”

Me: *Slightly confused* “A little over ten dollars an hour?”

Father: “TEN DOLLARS AN HOUR?! Holy crap!” *Turns to his son* “She makes TEN DOLLARS AN HOUR! That’s way more than you make; you don’t make anything! You should get a job here!” *Pauses* “Better yet, just marry her!” *Back to me* “Will you marry my son?”

Me: “Umm…”

Father: “Because he really needs money and you make ten dollars an hour!”

I’ve more or less had enough of my job. The customers are the worst I have dealt with, and although other staff fairly share their time on the till, I’m generally just put on a till and forgotten about. All in all, I’m out of patience.

On one day like this, a gentleman comes to the till with a single can of beer taken from a pack of four. We don’t sell them this way. There is only a price for the four-pack. Also, due to a fairly new minimum alcohol unit pricing law, we legally cannot reduce the price lower than a certain amount.

Me: “I’m sorry, we can’t sell those singly.”

Customer: “Seriously?”

Me: “Seriously.”

Customer: “Well… just scan it through!”

Me: “I can’t. The price will come through as the four-pack since the barcode is for a four-pack of beer.”

Customer: “Reduce it. Work out whatever they normally are divided by four. If you can.”

Me: “I know maths, but because of the alcohol law, I cannot reduce it. The till will think I’m selling a four-pack for £1.15.”

Customer: “Oh, just do your job and scan it! I don’t have time to argue!”

I do as I am told and scan it.

Me: “Okay. That’s £4.60.”

Customer: “What? For one can?”

Me: “As I told you, we don’t sell them singly. The till assumes there are four. You might as well get the other three.”

The customer glared at me and got the others. We finished the transaction in silence. I’m quitting that job tomorrow. It can’t come fast enough.