Their Ungratefulness Is Very Taxing

(The grocery store where I’m a cashier, about once a month, has “No Tax” promotions where the store pays the sales tax for all sales. To ring this through, however, all the tax has to be manually taken off by the cashier, like a coupon. This is not normally a problem at the regular tills, but at the self checkout it is a hassle. We have big signs on every register to inform customers that they need to call for the cashier when they’re finished scanning their items to have their tax removed, but no customers actually read the signs. As I’ve worked a lot of long shifts on these promotions, I’ve got running around and cancelling customer’s debit transactions so I can take their tax off down to a fine and quiet art.)

Customer: *has a purchase of $10 with about $1 in tax*

(As most of our products aren’t taxable anyway, this is moderately significant percentage.)

Me: *busy helping another customer*

Customer: *hits the debit button*

Me: *finishes, notices what he’s doing, rushes over to his machine, removes his card from the machine, hits cancel*

Customer: “What the— You scared me!”

Me: “If you’ll just give me a moment to take off your tax for you, sir…” *by the time I’m through with my sentence, I’m already back at my own station taking off the tax from his order*

Customer: “What?”

Me: “It’s ‘No Tax’ day.” *releases his machine, his order now tax free, and begins working on the next customer’s* “I need to manually take off your tax for you. You’re good to pay now.”

Customer: “What? There should be signs up instead!”

Me: “There are signs.” *points to the large sign right in front of him* “It’s just nobody really reads them.”

Customer: *completely, and utterly serious and loud enough for all of my customers and three cashiers over to hear* “Well, that’s your fault.”

(Needless to say, I know this man’s face, and plan to do him no favours in the future. If he comes through next time I’m working one of those days, he’d better read the signs and call me, because I have other customer’s payments to intercept.)