Trashy Customers

I’m a cashier at a big box store that sells groceries. It’s evening and a grocery employee is currently out on the floor tossing out-of-date food into a rolling trash bin.

A customer comes up to my register with a package of steak that has been slightly marked down.

Customer: “I took this out of a trash can, but there is nothing wrong with it.”

Me: “Ma’am, I cannot sell you food you took out of a trash can. It’s not safe to consume if it was tossed in the garbage.”

Customer: “It’s fine.”

I talk to a supervisor a few feet away and explain the situation.

Supervisor: “Excuse me?”

Me: “Yeah.”

We both return to my register.

Supervisor: “Ma’am, we cannot sell you food that was thrown away for a reason. You could get sick and then we’d be liable.”

Customer: “Well, I take responsibility for whatever happens. I want that steak.”

Supervisor: “Ma’am, we will get you another steak and sell it to you for the same price as the one you found.”

Customer: “I don’t want another one. I want that steak.”

The supervisor confiscates and removes the steak. The customer pays for the rest of her items and leaves. Then, the supervisor calls the grocery employee over the radio.

Supervisor: “Please remove any trash cans remaining on the sales floor ASAP!”