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.
I finish a grocery order, and the woman pays in American money. I give her change in Canadian loonies and toonies. She just looks at the money and blinks.
Customer: “I’m American. Can I have my change in bills, please?”
The supermarket where I work has introduced measures as a result of the current health crisis. There is a limit to how many can be in the store at one time so people aren’t squished together, and we’ve reduced the amount of checkouts that are open because they’re very close together and limited the amount of certain items you can buy in one shop so we can recover from the panic and bulk buying that’s happened.
I’ve been manning the entrance queue, which takes about eight minutes to get in. I know this because I decided to time it when I saw my mum enter the queue and shop for my granny — her mum.
My shift ends and I join up with her to finish with the shop. We join the checkout queue of about nine people, with an off-the-clock colleague in front of us. A couple joins the queue behind us with a basket and only a few items.
Male Customer: *Loudly* “Another f****** queue?! Outside one took half an hour; this one will take what?”
Female Customer: *Loudly* “Probably an hour and a half!”
Mum: *To me* “They pushed in front of me in the queue outside, so it did not take that long for them to get in.”
Male Customer: *Loudly* “[Other Supermarket] doesn’t have this f****** problem; we can just go straight to the checkout!”
Female Customer: *Loudly* “AND they haven’t limited the amount of pasta you can buy!”
Me: *Loudly, to them* “There are eleven people and eleven checkouts; it’ll be a few minutes.”
They ignore me and continue to loudly complain about how awful and stupid our policies are, and how good [Other Supermarket] is. At this point, the queue includes my off-the-clock colleague, my mum, and me, and then this couple. My colleague walks up the queue as she’s called this couple forward several times to use the basket shop and they’ve been too busy complaining to hear her.
Checkout Queue Colleague: “EXCUSE ME! You can go to the basket shop! Please and thank you!”
Male Customer: “F****** rude! [Other Supermarket]—”
Mum: *Yelling* “If [Other Supermarket] is so great, why don’t you just shop there and save us the headache?!”
Female Customer: “Because they’re out of pasta!”
All Of Us: “THAT’S WHY WE’VE LIMITED THE PASTA TO THREE PACKETS PER SHOP!”
The couple scurried to the basket shop.
It is in the middle of self-isolation, social distancing, and panic buying. My small local grocery store is still open and I head down to get some desperately needed supplies. Other stores have been limiting the numbers of customers inside at any time and have had shoppers waiting outside in lines, six feet apart.
Not so this store; it’s as busy as any given time. As worrying as this is, I am wearing a mask and gloves, and I really need these supplies, so I decide I will be okay.
I get to the checkout, and the poor woman working the register looks very pale, and I can see she is desperately trying to stifle her coughs.
Me: “You shouldn’t be working if you’re sick! H***, you shouldn’t even be outside!”
Cashier: “I tried, but my boss said I had to come in.”
Me: “What?! Call your manager!”
She does so and we wait. She has to call a second time before a grumpy-looking man storms up to the cashier.
Manager: “What?!”
I interject before the poor cashier gets any more bad treatment.
Me: “Your cashier is sick. She needs to go home and self-isolate right now.”
Manager: “I need her to work! Too many people have been lazy and called in! She has to work.”
Me: “She has to do nothing! She is sick, coughing, and handling other people’s food! What you’re doing is—”
Manager: *Interrupting me* “Buy or don’t buy. You’re holding up the line.”
Realizing the manager is a lost cause, I turn to the cashier.
Me: “Go home, now. Call this number for medical advice.”
Manager: *To the cashier* “Leave and you’re fired.”
Me: “Wow, seriously? That is it.”
I call the police. They arrive surprisingly quickly and I explain the situation. They step into the store, see the cashier, see the lack of social-distancing, and approach the manager.
Officer #1: “Sir, why are there no social-distancing procedures in place? Everyone here should be at least six feet apart, with controlled entry. Also, your cashier is obviously sick; why is she not self-isolating at home?”
Manager: “Look, all these policies are ridiculous. Everyone is saying they’re sick, and I have a store to run!”
Officer #2: “They’re probably sick because you don’t have these procedures in place! Also, they are not just policies; they’re also the law.”
Me: “He also said that he would fire the cashier if she went home.”
Both officers look shocked at this and they turn to the manager.
Officer #1: “Is that true?”
The manager, for the first time, begins to realize how much s*** he might be in.
Manager: “I… uh… Look, you have to understand.”
Officer #2: “That’s it; I don’t need to hear any more.”
[Officer #2] shouts out to the entire store authoritatively.
Officer #2: “Ladies and gentlemen, please put down your shopping and leave the store immediately! This establishment is being closed due to health and safety violations!”
Manager: “What?! You can’t do that! I—”
Officer #1: “And you, you’re coming to the station.”
The manager was led away to the car, cursing and screaming. All the customers did end up leaving but took all their unpaid shopping with them anyway. The sick cashier left immediately and another member of staff closed up the store, with the officers leaving him some documentation and explaining what he should do next.
The store is still closed. I have to go further to a larger store which, thankfully, is adhering to the state-wide health and safety mandates.
This story was featured in our May 2020 roundup!
I work at a supermarket as a baker. Currently, due to the disease outbreak that’s gripping pretty much everywhere, we’re in lockdown and time has lost meaning. I get to work and there’s a massive queue of customers waiting to get in. It’s 6:00 am.
Customer: *To me* “Why isn’t the store open? Shouldn’t it open at 6:00 am?”
Me: “It’s Good Friday. We open at eight.”
There was a cry of various swear words, laughing, and then a mass of people leaving cause they weren’t gonna hang around for two hours.
