I am with my boyfriend at a chain restaurant where you make your order at the till and pay up front. My boyfriend always orders the same thing and I have gone up to put in our usual order.

When our food arrives, my meal is correct but my boyfriend’s is not. I check my receipt and realise that they have taken my order wrong; they have given us a new meal on their menu I’m not familiar with. I figure that I should have checked my order at the till, and even small arguments really stress me out, so I really don’t want to make a fuss. I turn to the server who took my order as he walks by our table.

Me: “Hi, sorry, I asked for the [correct meal] but you must have misheard me because I realise is on the receipt… but I should have checked it at the time, so I’ll pay for it. Can I please come up and order [correct meal]?”

Server: “No, this is the one you asked for.”

Me: “Um… no… I actually didn’t even know that this was on the menu, but I get that it’s loud in here so I understand that you probably didn’t hear me properly.”

Server: “You asked for .”

I am getting stressed already because I’m not sure why he’s arguing with me when this was specifically what I was trying to avoid.

Me: “No, look, I’ll pay for the order. It was my fault for not checking the receipt; I just want to order the correct meal.”

Server: “This is the one you ordered.”

I’m freaking out slightly because I don’t understand how else to explain myself, or why this guy won’t let me get my boyfriend’s food. My boyfriend seems as much at a loss as I am, so I decide to just ignore this guy and go and try to order from another server, although he is standing directly in my way to the tills. I stand up.

Me: *Voice raised and kind of squeaky from stress* “Look, I just want to go and order the right meal!”

The server is suddenly in de-escalation mode, relaxing his posture and smiling at me, speaking in a calming voice.

Server: “Whoa, whoa, caaaaalm down. No need to make a scene! I’ll go get [correct meal] for you. It’s all right, it’s all right.”

The manager came over a few minutes later to check that everything was okay and they ended up not charging us for the wrong meal, but years later I still think about this often, partially because I’m embarrassed at my own inability to deal with the slightest hint of conflict, but also because I’m baffled as to how that guy not only misheard my order, but apparently also misheard me explaining several times that I was prepared to accept the fault for it and pay for the replacement meal.

I work at a discount retail store where I do every possible job in the store depending on what needs to be done on any given day. Usually, I am the front end supervisor, but I’ve worked cash, office, stockroom, markdown team, etc.

I overhear this conversation between a customer and my cashier. The customer lays her items on the counter and smiles. They exchange the usual pleasantries, and then my coworker starts scanning the first item.

Customer: “Has that been reduced?”

Coworker: “No, ma’am, the price on the ticket is the correct price. Our markdown team already went through the area earlier this week.”

Markdowns are on Monday and Tuesday. Today is Saturday and the new markdowns won’t register in our scanners until the following Monday. My coworker then proceeds to scan the next item.

Customer: “Is that one reduced?”

Coworker: “No, ma’am… the price is what the ticket has on it.”

The customer crosses her arms: the first red flag of the transaction. Something is bothering her.

The same thing occurs with every item this customer has. About twenty items in, my cashier stops acknowledging the question.

Customer: “Are you ignoring me?”

Coworker: “No, ma’am, I’ve already explained that the price on the ticket is the current price of the item.”

Customer: “I NEED TO SPEA—”

Before she even finishes, I step over and take over the situation.

Me: “Hello, I am the front end supervisor over the cashiers. I understand that you are curious about the prices that are on each of your items. I assure you that these prices are the current ones. I’ve worked on the markdown team for several years and the clothing you have selected to purchase was already scanned this week and was not marked down. Do you have any other questions?”

Customer: “I don’t have any other questions, but I don’t think I’ll be purchasing anything from your store anymore. Your cashier can go ahead and put these items back; I don’t want them.”

Me: “Certainly, ma’am. I’ll personally put these items back. You have a great day.”

Customer: “F*** you. And the company you work for, and your stupid cashier.”

Me: “The only stupid one here is you. Have a great day.”

She called and complained about me and was assured action would be taken. I laughed with my store manager for about ten minutes in the office after she called.

I’m the author of this story. It seems this runs in the family!

My mom just told me about a time she was at the grocery store with my brother when he was a baby. Included in her purchases were a loaf of bread and a few jars of baby food.

Cashier: “Hmm, baby food. You know, it’s a lot better to make your own. Cheaper, too.”

My mom is bouncing my brother on her hip as she responds.

Mom: “I guess. I’m excited to have him try these foods.”

Cashier: “I mean, it’s just a better choice all around to make your own. It’s not like it’s hard.”

Mom: *Rolling her eyes* “Okay, then. I’m ready to pay.”

Cashier: “That’ll be [price way higher than Mom expected].”

Mom: “That… seems a little high.”

Cashier: “Your total is [same price].”

Mom: “Can you print out the receipt for me to check it?”

The cashier prints out a receipt, which my mom studies.

Mom: “You charged me for twenty-three loaves of bread when I only have one.”

Cashier: “Um, oops…”

Mom paid the correct total, and my brother survived just fine on the food Mom fed him, jarred or not. And she still keeps an eye on receipts and totals in case someone’s too busy judging her to properly ring her up.

Related:
Can I Return This Judgy Cashier, Please?

I am a supervisor at a popular store. Now that the holidays are over, it has been pretty slow, so we have fewer associates in the store since there is less to do.

I am the current manager on duty and I am talking to my assistant manager about upcoming projects near the registers. The cashier takes the one customer in line and asks how her shopping experience was.

Customer: “Terrible! I don’t think there is anyone working upstairs at all!”

Cashier: *Casually* “There probably isn’t.”

The assistant manager and I exchanged bewildered looks. There is never no one working in an area, especially at night when the bulk of the work gets done. There are also several price checkers on each floor that all have a button to call for an associate. We both approach the register.

Assistant Manager: “We do have four people working upstairs right now.”

Me: “I’m so sorry that you weren’t able to find anyone. Is there anything you were looking for? I can have someone help find it now.”

Customer: “No, I found [Upstairs Associate]. She was very helpful. But I had to go and find her. You should have more people. I want your corporate phone number.”

While the assistant manager shows her where she can get the number and briefly explains the funding and floor coverage, I relay communication to our upstairs team to make sure they are not getting too absorbed in one area and to remember to walk their areas so that customers know they are there.

Customer: “I usually like shopping at [Store], but this whole experience has left a bad taste in my mouth. We’ll see how I feel about it tomorrow. No wonder my store in Alabama is closing.”

Assistant Manager: “There are three to five stores that are closing in order to reopen in different locations. So [Store] is keeping the same number of stores.”

We make sure that the customer doesn’t need anything else and let [Cashier] finish. I then have to leave for my lunch. 

The transaction ends up taking almost forty minutes! It’s usually five to ten minutes max for a very full cart. The customer lost her wallet upstairs, so [Upstairs Associate] brings it down and then she and the cashier start talking for a while. Luckily, there are almost no other customers in the store, and we have someone there to help the couple that come up to check out.

Later on, I am talking to the assistant manager about it. 

Assistant Manager: “…and guess what? [Customer] opened a [Store Credit Card]! I guess she didn’t have such a bad taste in her mouth that she didn’t want to stop shopping here!”

I am the shift manager, working as a register backup when it’s busy. A coworker calls me up to get customer service feedback from a customer. The customer had come in to pick up an order and I was the one to physically hand her the order. You don’t get a paper receipt for an in-store pickup order; the receipt is emailed to the customer.

Me: “Hi, how can I help you?”

Customer: “The girl who just gave me my order didn’t do it right. I didn’t get a receipt and I didn’t know if I got charged; she just checked my order number and handed me my bag and didn’t give me a receipt. I think she was confused and now I’m confused. I don’t like how she acted.”

Me: “Was there someone else who helped you with the order?”

Customer: “No, just the one girl. She was confused and didn’t do it right, and now I don’t know if my order is right.”

Me: “Let me look your order up in my system and make sure it was right.”

Customer: “Does it tell you who did the pickup so that you can talk to her?”

I’m becoming increasingly aware that this customer is not joking.

Me: “Can you tell me what she looked like?”

Customer: “She has pink hair.”

I am the only person with pink hair.

Me: “Okay. I know who that is. I’ll make sure she knows about this incident and gets the proper training.”

Customer: “Thank you. That makes me feel better. I was so confused.”

Good to know we’re all interchangeable, faceless drones to some customers.