Presumptuous Cashier at 7 Eleven

[Aswan]

When the weekend looms on the calendar, that means one thing: an overdose of football. And beer, chips and salsa, and pizza. Absolute Heaven.

We all usually get together at somebody’s place because a) it’s cheaper and 2) we can insult one another far more creatively. It has become my habit to bring more beer than necessary because we never know how many guys are going to show up and, God knows, you don’t want to run out in the middle of the fourth quarter.

So I usually get one of those big honkin’ 18 packs at 7 Eleven. But we’re going to a sports bar this time and so I just get one of those four bangers for myself. (They’re the tall ones so just one goes a long way.)

I put the beer on the counter and the kid looks at me and says, “Didn’t you mean to get one of the suitcases? I mean, you usually get the suitcase.”

I am confused at first. Is he suggesting that this was some silly mistake and that I’ll slap my forehead and say, “Of course, thank you for reminding me.”

Then it slowly dawns on me that what he is really saying is, “I mean, you are an alcoholic, right?”

Now maybe he’s trying to be courteous or friendly or chatty. No matter; I am now seriously pissed off. What I want to tell him is to f#%k the f#%k off. But I pride myself on my politefullness. That and the fact that he might have a gun under the counter.

So instead, I simply say, “No this is what I want. Would you ring it up? I’m in a hurry.”

There. I feel better. Thank you.

Something like this ever happen to you?

[Fried Dough Ho]

As a professional wine writer, there was a point where I was getting CASES delivered to me.

The FedEx driver -- leering at my large bosom -- in what I am sure he thought was full of charm, commented that I must have been "some party girl."

It was the licking of his lips that made me want to slam the door in his face.

[Lanzy]

Is that really what he was saying or just being friendly?

[Roderick Femm]

I personally hate it when any clerk at a cash register makes any comments at all on what I am buying (with the possible exception of "did you know these are 5 for the price of 4 so one more would be free?"). You're a clerk. Don't try to be my friend or my product advisor or anything else. Just ring it up and let me get out of here.

I don't get that stuff very often, I think it's because I have cultivated a face that is very business-like and that doesn't invite casual conversation.


Roddy

[Stuffy]

Wow, I woud have thought you'd feel a little bit special that the kid obviously remembered you from previous trips.

[Fried Dough Ho]

Lanzy, I'm pretty dense and not exactly sure what you are asking.

[MeanOldLady]

Is that really what he was saying or just being friendly?Yeah, I think he was just being friendly. Sometimes attempts to be friendly seem stupid if you dissect them, but really, I think he was just noticing that you were diverging from the usual. I've had the opposite happen: people will ask me if I'm having a party. No, but I really don't want to come back here more than once a week.

[appleciders]

Wow, I woud have thought you'd feel a little bit special that the kid obviously remembered you from previous trips.

I've got to say, the guy at the liquor store is practically the single guy I want most to forget me. Only the guy at the vibrator store needs to forget my face faster.

[needscoffee]

Am I missing something? It's as though you buy a pack of Marlboros every day, but one day you ask for Eves, and he takes notice. All this guy knows about you is what you bring to him to ring up each time, so that's what he noticed. You're reading too much into it.

[Ca3799]

I used to shop at this one particular convenience store just for the insults.

One, in the morning, the clerk said "Are you really going to work dressed like that?"

Another morning, he questioned my purchase of coffee and cigarettes. "Breakfast of champions," I said. He replied "I thought that was gin and marijuana."

Another time, I was buying a single beer for some BBQ sauce, and had my ID out because they had a sign up that said "We ID under 35" and I was well under that. He said "Oh, come on. Do you really get carded all that much anymore?"

I liked the abuse! LOL!

[LeeshaJoy]

Wow, I woud have thought you'd feel a little bit special that the kid obviously remembered you from previous trips.

I've got to say, the guy at the liquor store is practically the single guy I want most to forget me. Only the guy at the vibrator store needs to forget my face faster.

You consider a 7-Eleven to be a "liquor store"? :dubious:

[Patch]

I think you're overreacting. I don't drink, and my trips to the local convenience store is for the occasional bottle of Pepsi. I've done it often enough that they've remembered me, and they've commented on it since apparently most people pop into convenience stores to grab booze. It's just someone being friendly.

[kaylasdad99]

Lanzy, I'm pretty dense...Nah, that's probably just the wine. You'll feel better in the morning.




:D :p

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Yes, by pointing out the true fact that you usually buy more beer and were buying less on this occasion, he was absolutely suggesting that you're an alcoholic. You should have come back later, drunk, and killed him.

[descamisado]

I get the beer thing too, only it'll happen when I'm not buying any amount of beer.

Juice, chips, etc., on the counter.

"What, you not going to get any beer?"

"You know I completely forgot the beer, but now that you've reminded me (thanks!), I'll be getting a case. How did I ever make it through life without you!? And if I am an alcoholic, it's still none of your goddamned business." :rolleyes:

I once boycotted a store for two years because the clerk pulled this.

[Southern Yankee]

As a professional wine writer, there was a point where I was getting CASES delivered to me.


Wine AND donut connoisseur? If I wasn't married.....

[Sampiro]

If I was a clerk and a guy usually bought beer by the suitcase I'd probably assume he was either 1) an alcoholic or 2) had lots of buddies, but above all else as long as he wasn't drunk and driving when he came in I couldn't care less. I don't think he meant it as anything other than an observation.

[Jimmy Chitwood]

This one time, I went into the liquor store, got my case of Zima XXX Hard Green Apple and made my way to the checkout, as is my wont.

This mealymouthed motherfucker behind the register - get this - he's all like "oh, hey, dude, you aren't usually wearing a diaper when you come in here. What's up with that?" And at first I was like, uh, yes, I usually am. I just wear pants over them. Thanks for your concern, like what the fuck? Then it hit me. Diaper. Oh, like I'm a baby, right? Fucking punk.

[digs]

Is that really what he was saying or just being friendly?

Some days that's almost as annoying. Our local Trader Joe's must teach their people to be nosy: "Hey, grillin' mango sausages, and marinating 'em in beer..." "Actually, it's my next door neighbor that I'm marinating." That was what I said... I wanted to say "Makin' copies..."

But just tonight the sorority-girl cashier looked at my lamb tips and wine, and said, "Ooh, big plans tonight?" And I finally did it: "If I did... they'd be none of your business." But I said it with an arched eyebrow and a smile, so she laughed and said she asks because she's stuck behind the register and lives vicariously through her customers. So then i made up an outrageously cosmopolitan evening involving a casino in Zurich, a microchip heist, an ambassador's estranged wife... and lamb tips.

But still, i've had to bite my tongue probably twenty times to keep from saying "None of your business."

[Euphonious Polemic]

I once boycotted a store for two years because the clerk pulled this.

And the store went out of business due to the precipitous drop in beer sales.

[Diogenes the Cynic]

Most of the examples here just sound like people trying to make conversation to me, not any attempt to be rude or insulting. I say take things in the spirit they're intended.

Except for the "diaper" comment that Jimmy Chitwood got. That's just fucking weird and rude. That is ask to see a manager time.

[descamisado]

I once boycotted a store for two years because the clerk pulled this.

And the store went out of business due to the precipitous drop in beer sales.Never said it did nor that was my intention.

But, uhm, yeah, they did.

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Except for the "diaper" comment that Jimmy Chitwood got. That's just fucking weird and rude. That is ask to see a manager time.

Oh, don't you worry. I cried for hours.

[E-Sabbath]

Dio, well, to be fair, he _wasn't_ wearing pants over them that time.

Hey, is that a low flying...

[may_be_ignorant]

Yes, by pointing out the true fact that you usually buy more beer and were buying less on this occasion, he was absolutely suggesting that you're an alcoholic. You should have come back later, drunk, and killed him.

this is what i would have done. god bless america. fuck the arab obviously calling you a drunk at the seven eleven, lets abuse the 2nd amendment

[Euphonious Polemic]

Except for the "diaper" comment that Jimmy Chitwood got. That's just fucking weird and rude. That is ask to see a manager time.

Don't worry. He poked the clerk in the eye with his rattle. It made a whooshing sound.

[Captain Midnight]

I used to work in the casinos where people would work three shifts, with the Graveyard (or third shift) not getting off work until 8 AM or so.

This girl I knew who worked that shift would say she would go to the beer store at 8:30 AM with the clerk and people giving her stares, like she was an alcoholic. What they don't realize is that it her off time, and she is going to sleep the afternoon and her drinking a beer at 10 AM is no different than most people having a beer at 7 PM.

[PlainJain]

Then it slowly dawns on me that what he is really saying is, “I mean, you are an alcoholic, right?”Oh for Pete's sake. Lighten up Francis, it's just conversation. And on the off chance he did mean that so fucking what? He's a fucking 7-11 clerk.

What I want to tell him is to f#%k the f#%k off.
Would it really kill you to write out the word fuck? I mean you were tempted to yell it at a complete stranger in public but you need to f#%k it up here.

[Rick]

As a professional wine writer, there was a point where I was getting CASES delivered to me.


Wine AND donut connoisseur? If I wasn't married.....

Get in line.
:D

[Really Not All That Bright]

Did you ask him if he meant to go to college?

[MeanOldLady]

Did you ask him if he meant to go to college?This is only slightly more dickish than coming back drunk to murder him.

[Two Many Cats]

I don't know about 7/11, but I know when I worked at McDonald's as a cashier, I was always supposed to suggest other items that the customer could buy. I always fucking hated doing that because of the looks I would get from the customer. You could see them thinking "WTF? If I wanted an apple pie, I'd ask for it."

But no, the managers were listening, so I did it.

I was sixteen at the time, and thus started my looooong hatred of the business community.

[Aswan]

Then it slowly dawns on me that what he is really saying is, “I mean, you are an alcoholic, right?”Oh for Pete's sake. Lighten up Francis, it's just conversation. And on the off chance he did mean that so fucking what? He's a fucking 7-11 clerk.

What I want to tell him is to f#%k the f#%k off.
Would it really kill you to write out the word fuck? I mean you were tempted to yell it at a complete stranger in public but you need to f#%k it up here.

Hmmm. I think if anyone here needs to lighten up, it might be you.

Read it again slowly. (If you must, you can move your lips to sound out the hard words.) It wasn't, "Hey, nice to see ya again. How's it going?" That's conversation. It was, "So how come you're not buying it by the truckload? You on the wagon or something?"

You wouldn't by any chance happen to be a 7-Eleven cashier, would you?

Fuck. Are we happy now?

[moejoe]

Me: Latte please
Coffee lady: Nonfat?

Every single time. I don't go there anymore.

[Cat Whisperer]

I think he was just trying to be helpful (or just make conversation), too. Unless he's quite stupid, I think he just didn't realize that most people don't mistake four beers for 18 beers. I'm guessing he spoke without thinking. I prefer my cashiers to say hi, here's your total, and have a nice day. That's all I'm looking for in a social exchange with a cashier.

[LurkMeister]

Slightly related story:

As I've mentioned in the past, I don't drive so I do all my grocery shopping by bus, and I usually have a cart i bring along so I don't have to carry everything. Yesterday I was running several errands, one of which was to stop off and pick up a few things at Food Lion on the way home. Since the groceries weren't going to be that heavy and I didn't feel like lugging the cart around on the early errands, I just stuffed a tote bag into my jacket pocket. When I walked into the Food Lion the cashier near the door, who obviously recognized me, asked me where my cart was. I was not at all offended.

Nor was I offended last Saturday when I went to the Harris Teeter (one of my other regular grocery stops) and instead of being there in the morning I slept in and went in the afternoon, and while I was walking through the store one of the staff commented that I was late this week.

[Aswan]

I don't know about 7/11, but I know when I worked at McDonald's as a cashier, I was always supposed to suggest other items that the customer could buy. I always fucking hated doing that because of the looks I would get from the customer. You could see them thinking "WTF? If I wanted an apple pie, I'd ask for it."


See, I understand your discomfort but I don't think it's the same thing. There was an implied value judgement. The classic, "Would you like fries with that?" is not objectional. "You know these babies are loaded with calories, right?" might be, especially if you're Kirstie Alley.

[Jimmy Chitwood]

You made up the judgment in your own anecdote, though, probably because you're too drunk to remember which things are things and which things aren't.

"No X this time? You usually get X" is just the cashier observing something that's true. If that fact being a fact makes you an alcoholic, it isn't because the cashier observed it.

[Darth Nader]

Yeah, I absolutely called him a faggot, but he ordered Chardonnay. What was I supposed to do?
..

[rogerbox]

Is that really what he was saying or just being friendly?

Some days that's almost as annoying. Our local Trader Joe's must teach their people to be nosy: "Hey, grillin' mango sausages, and marinating 'em in beer..." "Actually, it's my next door neighbor that I'm marinating." That was what I said... I wanted to say "Makin' copies..."

But just tonight the sorority-girl cashier looked at my lamb tips and wine, and said, "Ooh, big plans tonight?" And I finally did it: "If I did... they'd be none of your business." But I said it with an arched eyebrow and a smile, so she laughed and said she asks because she's stuck behind the register and lives vicariously through her customers. So then i made up an outrageously cosmopolitan evening involving a casino in Zurich, a microchip heist, an ambassador's estranged wife... and lamb tips.

But still, i've had to bite my tongue probably twenty times to keep from saying "None of your business."

I can indeed confirm if you don't talk to your customers ENOUGH you get in trouble at Trader Joe's. I can't believe how rude you were.


This girl I knew who worked that shift would say she would go to the beer store at 8:30 AM with the clerk and people giving her stares, like she was an alcoholic. What they don't realize is that it her off time, and she is going to sleep the afternoon and her drinking a beer at 10 AM is no different than most people having a beer at 7 PM.

She might have felt self conscious about buying beer at this time but I bet you the "stares" she got were imagined. People who work at stores don't assume because you are buying beer at 10am you are immediately chugging it as soon as you get home.

Most store employees can scratch together enough braincells to understand that people shop for what they want when it is convenient to do so. :rolleyes:

[Ravenman]

Why was the OP buying beer at a 7-11 if he was going to a sports bar?

And considering we are in week 4 of the football season, has this habit of buying a case on Sunday extended through the 7 months of the offseason?

[Aswan]

When I walked into the Food Lion the cashier near the door, who obviously recognized me, asked me where my cart was. I was not at all offended.


And I understand that: someone acknowledging you by mentioning a small personal detail is okay. Unless it's, "What, no cart today? You lazy or something?" I think your reaction might be different.

"No X this time? You usually get X" is just the cashier observing something that's true. If that fact being a fact makes you an alcoholic, it isn't because the cashier observed it.

That's not what he said. "What, no beer today?" is different than suggesting "Hey, buddy, I think you made a mistake and you didn't get near enough beer. Wanna think it over?"

You made up the judgment in your own anecdote, though, probably because you're too drunk to remember which things are things and which things aren't.

Thank you for making my point for me so eloquently.

[Lynn Bodoni]

"You know I completely forgot the beer, but now that you've reminded me (thanks!), I'll be getting a case. How did I ever make it through life without you!? And if I am an alcoholic, it's still none of your goddamned business." I was a clerk at a convenience store/deli/liquor store (it sold hard liquor as well as beer and wine, and also sold some pretty nice champagne). I worked swing shift, which meant that I saw a lot of people stop buy every evening after work, and most of them had fairly well established habits. There were the folks who would buy one can or bottle of name brand beer, and a 12 pack of Scheaffer (cheapest beer we stocked), so they'd have the one can to taste, and the rest to get a buzz on. And many of the regulars would want something from the deli for dinner, some beer or wine, and a pack of cigarettes. I'd usually have their preferred brand of cancer sticks in my hand when they came up to the counter, and if they didn't have something that they usually got, I'd ask if the beer wasn't in the case, for instance. If it wasn't, then I'd run back into the big cooler and get them a pack. Most of the customers seemed to appreciate the fact that I remembered, and that I'd go get the stuff that they wanted. I don't know how many times someone thanked me because they'd forgotten to ask for cigarettes.

The cashier might just have meant to be friendly, and he might also have wanted to know if the kind and pack you prefer isn't up front in the cooler. If I had a customer who regularly bought a half or full case of beer, my first thought was that he was having a party, not that he was an alcoholic. Now, the folks who bought the one good beer and then the 12 pack of cheap stuff every night? I was pretty sure that they were alcoholics. But I didn't comment on their choices, other than to ask if the Sheaffer was not in the cooler where they could reach it if they showed up with just the one beer.

[PlainJain]

Read it again slowly. (If you must, you can move your lips to sound out the hard words.) It wasn't, "Hey, nice to see ya again. How's it going?" That's conversation. It was, "So how come you're not buying it by the truckload? You on the wagon or something?"
OK, I'll read it again (moving lips as I do to make you happy)...“Didn’t you mean to get one of the suitcases? I mean, you usually get the suitcase.”
Oh, so you are just making shit up. Again.




Fuck. Are we happy now?Don't know... I am.

[Aswan]

Why was the OP buying beer at a 7-11 if he was going to a sports bar?

And considering we are in week 4 of the football season, has this habit of buying a case on Sunday extended through the 7 months of the offseason?

I wasn't actually on the way to the sports bar, I was on my way home. You've never stopped off to get something and then later went out?

And yes, it happens to be football season. But for the last six months or so we've been watching baseball. (Which complicates things because the Rays are in the playoffs and there are only so many hours in a day.)

You're kinda funny. If I'd loaded all those details into the OP, you'd probably have been the first one to post TL, DR.

[needscoffee]

Warning signs of alcoholism:
1. Drinking alone
2. Making excuses, finding excuses to drink
3. Daily or frequent drinking needed to function
4. Inability to reduce or stop alcohol intake
5. Violent episodes associated with drinking
6. Drinking secretly
7. Becoming angry when confronted about drinking
8. Poor eating habits
9. Failure to care for physical appearance
10. Trembling in the morning
Pay special attention to #7.

[Mr Buttons]

"You know I completely forgot the beer, but now that you've reminded me (thanks!), I'll be getting a case. How did I ever make it through life without you!? And if I am an alcoholic, it's still none of your goddamned business." I was a clerk at a convenience store/deli/liquor store (it sold hard liquor as well as beer and wine, and also sold some pretty nice champagne). I worked swing shift, which meant that I saw a lot of people stop buy every evening after work, and most of them had fairly well established habits. There were the folks who would buy one can or bottle of name brand beer, and a 12 pack of Scheaffer (cheapest beer we stocked), so they'd have the one can to taste, and the rest to get a buzz on. And many of the regulars would want something from the deli for dinner, some beer or wine, and a pack of cigarettes. I'd usually have their preferred brand of cancer sticks in my hand when they came up to the counter, and if they didn't have something that they usually got, I'd ask if the beer wasn't in the case, for instance. If it wasn't, then I'd run back into the big cooler and get them a pack. Most of the customers seemed to appreciate the fact that I remembered, and that I'd go get the stuff that they wanted. I don't know how many times someone thanked me because they'd forgotten to ask for cigarettes.

The cashier might just have meant to be friendly, and he might also have wanted to know if the kind and pack you prefer isn't up front in the cooler. If I had a customer who regularly bought a half or full case of beer, my first thought was that he was having a party, not that he was an alcoholic. Now, the folks who bought the one good beer and then the 12 pack of cheap stuff every night? I was pretty sure that they were alcoholics. But I didn't comment on their choices, other than to ask if the Sheaffer was not in the cooler where they could reach it if they showed up with just the one beer.

I always assumed this level of service is what everyone who regularly frequents a mini-mart/beer station would pray for. I see nothing wrong w/ this, and would adopt this store as my own new beer depot.

Every time I stop at the local chain store mini-market nearby, they always ask me if I need cigs (they know the brand as well). Do I assume they're calling me a cig addict, I suppose on some level they are; but they're not name-calling, they're being helpful/friendly, believe it or not.

[Lynn Bodoni]

The thing is, I hate smoking/cigarettes. But it was my job to sell the damned things, so I sold as many as I could. If I lectured people about smoking, or drinking, or reading porn mags (which we also sold), then I'd have a lot of pissed off customers. On the other hand, if I told someone that the newest issue of <preferred porn mag> was out, I had a customer who was pleased...and who might mention to the owner how helpful I was.

[Euphonious Polemic]

On the other hand, if I told someone that the newest issue of <preferred porn mag> was out, I had a customer who was pleased...and who might mention to the owner how helpful I was.

I am now picturing you yelling across the store at some guy in a fedora and overcoat:

"YO BOB! THERE'S A NEW ISSUE OF "BIG BONDAGE JUGS" THAT JUST ARRIVED! THOUGHT YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW!!"

[Aswan]

Read it again slowly. (If you must, you can move your lips to sound out the hard words.) It wasn't, "Hey, nice to see ya again. How's it going?" That's conversation. It was, "So how come you're not buying it by the truckload? You on the wagon or something?"
OK, I'll read it again (moving lips as I do to make you happy)...
Oh, so you are just making shit up. Again.


Okay, apparently not slowly enough. I was attempting to rephrase my interpretation of the implied value judgement so that you might better comprehend it. So yeah, I made it up. Again. People do that when the message doesn't get through the first time. It's called communication, not "making shit up."

Just tryin' to help.

[Blank Slate]

Warning signs of alcoholism:
1. Drinking alone
2. Making excuses, finding excuses to drink
3. Daily or frequent drinking needed to function
4. Inability to reduce or stop alcohol intake
5. Violent episodes associated with drinking
6. Drinking secretly
7. Becoming angry when confronted about drinking
8. Poor eating habits
9. Failure to care for physical appearance
10. Trembling in the morning
Pay special attention to #7.

7/11 is hiring.

[Aswan]

Warning signs of alcoholism:
1. Drinking alone
2. Making excuses, finding excuses to drink
3. Daily or frequent drinking needed to function
4. Inability to reduce or stop alcohol intake
5. Violent episodes associated with drinking
6. Drinking secretly
7. Becoming angry when confronted about drinking
8. Poor eating habits
9. Failure to care for physical appearance
10. Trembling in the morning
Pay special attention to #7.

Warning Signs of PMDD:

1. Hypersomnia or insomnia
2. Feeling nervous, anxious, and irritable marked depressed mood, and mood lability (crying spells for no reason)
3. Feeling of sadness or hopelessness, possible suicidal thoughts
4. Trouble concentrating
5. Panic Attacks
6. Decreased interest in usual activities
7. Marked appetite change, overeating, food cravings
8. Lack of energy

Pay special attention to #4.

[pepperlandgirl]

I think the OP needs to chill out and have another beer.

[needscoffee]

You're finding offense where absolutely none was present. This has been pointed out to you repeatedly, yet you still think the clerk was remarking on your alcohol consumption rather than your purchasing a different item than the one he'd come to associate you with. If you feel unhappy that he has come to associate your weekly purchase with you, then that's your issue, not his. You are way too touchy about it, which seems to speak to you more than to him.

[bengangmo]

My question is....
What only 18 beers when you have friends coming over and want to make sure you have enough?
In my day we would be a round dozen per person, most in the time I would buy it in 30 bottle packs...and I was at the low end of the spectrum.

[Fuji]

This one time, I went into the liquor store, got my case of Zima XXX Hard Green Apple and made my way to the checkout, as is my wont.

This mealymouthed motherfucker behind the register - get this - he's all like "oh, hey, dude, you aren't usually wearing a diaper when you come in here. What's up with that?" And at first I was like, uh, yes, I usually am. I just wear pants over them. Thanks for your concern, like what the fuck? Then it hit me. Diaper. Oh, like I'm a baby, right? Fucking punk.

This is my favorite post of the day.

[Who_me?]

OK, I'll read it again (moving lips as I do to make you happy)...
Oh, so you are just making shit up. Again.


Okay, apparently not slowly enough. I was attempting to rephrase my interpretation of the implied value judgement so that you might better comprehend it. So yeah, I made it up. Again. People do that when the message doesn't get through the first time. It's called communication, not "making shit up."

Just tryin' to help.

God, you're a mean alcoholic. Just because you drink so much, you shouldn't take it out on us.

I think you're a fucking idiot.

[Captain Midnight]

I don't know about 7/11, but I know when I worked at McDonald's as a cashier, I was always supposed to suggest other items that the customer could buy. I always fucking hated doing that because of the looks I would get from the customer. You could see them thinking "WTF? If I wanted an apple pie, I'd ask for it."
But no, the managers were listening, so I did it.

I was sixteen at the time, and thus started my looooong hatred of the business community.

Thank you. I hate suggestive selling also.

One of my favorite college professors would say that if he went to a fast food place and asked for a coke and was told "Is Pepsi Ok?", unlike most people who would not care, he would say "No, I don't want Pepsi, I want coke!"

However, he was probably trying to make a point. We all know that McD's has cokes, while Taco Bell and KFC has Pepsi. More Americans know this than know their civil rights.

[LurkMeister]

When I walked into the Food Lion the cashier near the door, who obviously recognized me, asked me where my cart was. I was not at all offended.


And I understand that: someone acknowledging you by mentioning a small personal detail is okay. Unless it's, "What, no cart today? You lazy or something?" I think your reaction might be different.

I (unlike some people - and not just in this thread) have no problem with clerks making friendly comments while ringing up my order. There was one clerk at the Harris Teeter who greeted me by name whenever I went to her register; she had a good memory for names and remembered it from the first time I'd been in her line.

And actually, using the cart is laziness on my part; I just don't want to have to do the extra work of carrying things if I don't have to. When I first got the cart I only used it if I was buying things that were heavy or bulky, like 14 lb boxes of cat litter or multiple bottles of juice. But after a while I started using it all the time.

[Really Not All That Bright]

On the other hand, if I told someone that the newest issue of <preferred porn mag> was out, I had a customer who was pleased...and who might mention to the owner how helpful I was.

I am now picturing you yelling across the store at some guy in a fedora and overcoat:

"YO BOB! THERE'S A NEW ISSUE OF "BIG BONDAGE JUGS" THAT JUST ARRIVED! THOUGHT YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW!!"
*goes to 7/11*

[Smeghead]

"Are you sure you wanted these extra large condoms? Were the smalls all sold out?"

[jsgoddess]

If I change my routine at a store, there's a decent chance I will forget to buy something, even if it's something I buy every other time at that store. I would guess that about 50% of the time, if someone has enough of a pattern for the cashier to note it, that if they come to the register without that item it's either a mistake on their part or the store is out (or appears to be out) of the item.


ETA: OP, you're projecting more than a drive-in theater.

[Cat Whisperer]

What's PMDD?

I hate the upselling, too. It irritates me because I know it's not helpful, it's upselling. The same way cashiers trying to use my name at Safeway irritates me, because it's not to improve customer service, it's to give the illusion of customer service.

[PoorYorick]

I've got to say, the guy at the liquor store is practically the single guy I want most to forget me. Only the guy at the vibrator store needs to forget my face faster.
They have vibrator stores now? Sweet! Now I know where I can do one-stop Christmas shopping this year.

Me: Latte please
Coffee lady: Nonfat?

Every single time. I don't go there anymore.
I'm picturing this:

Customer: Latte please.
Coffee lady: Here you go.
Customer: (sips, then spit take) What?! This isn't nonfat! Are you trying to kill me?

Repeat about 20 times. You can't win.

[Really Not All That Bright]

What's PMDD?
Pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder. Really bad PMS, basically.

[MeanOldLady]

Warning signs of alcoholism:
1. Drinking alone
2. Making excuses, finding excuses to drink
3. Daily or frequent drinking needed to function
4. Inability to reduce or stop alcohol intake
5. Violent episodes associated with drinking
6. Drinking secretly
7. Becoming angry when confronted about drinking
8. Poor eating habits
9. Failure to care for physical appearance
10. Trembling in the morning
Pay special attention to #7.Oh, I'm only 3 for 10. Come on, old gal, you can do better than that!

[Bill Door]

Warning signs of alcoholism:
1. Drinking alone
2. Making excuses, finding excuses to drink
3. Daily or frequent drinking needed to function
4. Inability to reduce or stop alcohol intake
5. Violent episodes associated with drinking
6. Drinking secretly
7. Becoming angry when confronted about drinking
8. Poor eating habits
9. Failure to care for physical appearance
10. Trembling in the morning
Pay special attention to #7.Oh, I'm only 3 for 10. Come on, old gal, you can do better than that!

Whenever someone confronts me about my drinking I tell them I don't drink because I have to, I drink to quiet the voices in my head, and if they knew what the voices were telling me to do, they wouldn't want me to listen. That usually ends the conversation toot sweet.

[Vinyl Turnip]

One of my favorite college professors would say that if he went to a fast food place and asked for a coke and was told "Is Pepsi Ok?", unlike most people who would not care, he would say "No, I don't want Pepsi, I want coke!"

However, he was probably trying to make a point. We all know that McD's has cokes, while Taco Bell and KFC has Pepsi. More Americans know this than know their civil rights.

I'm sure that every minimum-wage restaurant employee he dickishly hassled found his "point" extremely profound.

[Jack Batty]

I had a similar experience as the OP this morning, which had me close to overreacting. I'm glad I perused this thread so I can see that that (my potential overreaction) was actually the case.

You see ... usually at work, I'll swing down to the cafeteria somewhere around 9:00 to 9:30 and get a Fresca. This morning, I was in a little late and I hit the cafeteria at around 8:45 just to grab a muffin before heading up to my desk. I had a Dunkin Donuts coffee with me and the entirely too bubbly for my tastes cashiere looks at me and says in a completely believable faux-concerned kind of way:

"Are you feeling ok?"

"Uh ... yeah ... I guess" followed in my head by, "what the fuck are you talking about?"

"No Fresca this morning?"

I gave a equally impressive faux-chuckle and responded, "Not yet ... little early still."

But I was thinkng, shut the fuck up, I'm sorry I give you a steady stream of business with my soft-drink buying schedule, but I'll thank you to not make fun of me for it.

Then I read this thread and realized she was just being friendly. She's still too fucking bubbly, though, I'll stand by that one.

[Annie-Xmas]

I go to the local 7-11 every morning for coffee. The first time I came in with the cast on my arm and got my refill, I was fumbling for the 27 cents in change to go with my dollar. The clerk had the gall to notice this and announce "You are really having trouble handling that change. While you are wearing that cast, your refills are only a dollar."

I had never been so insulted in my life. Imagine, implying that I couldn't afford the 27 cents in change.:rolleyes:

[Really Not All That Bright]

Then I read this thread and realized she was just being friendly. She's still too fucking bubbly, though, I'll stand by that one.
She wants you.

[justrob]

Thank you. I hate suggestive selling also.
I worked at McDonald's a long time and hated suggestive selling. Unfortunately it did work enough that I understood why we had to do it. I still hated doing it though.

One of my favorite college professors would say that if he went to a fast food place and asked for a coke and was told "Is Pepsi Ok?", unlike most people who would not care, he would say "No, I don't want Pepsi, I want coke!"

However, he was probably trying to make a point. We all know that McD's has cokes, while Taco Bell and KFC has Pepsi. More Americans know this than know their civil rights.

He should've taken his happy ass to someplace that sold Coke then. For most people the substitution was OK buty you had to ask becaus for some, like your dick professor, it wasn't so they would get something else. I seem to remember it was a bigger deal for Diet Coke/Diet Pepsi than the regular cola though.

However, he was probably trying to make a point.
On preview I'd just like to come back to this and say what a fucking dick. Obviously the high and mighty College Professor is so fucking superior he has to berate the (probably near) minimum wage worker for pointing out that he ordered something they don't have but would he like this other thing that is so very close.

After all this time I'm surprised at how much that pissed off.

[Freudian Slit]

I don't know about 7/11, but I know when I worked at McDonald's as a cashier, I was always supposed to suggest other items that the customer could buy. I always fucking hated doing that because of the looks I would get from the customer. You could see them thinking "WTF? If I wanted an apple pie, I'd ask for it."


See, I understand your discomfort but I don't think it's the same thing. There was an implied value judgement. The classic, "Would you like fries with that?" is not objectional. "You know these babies are loaded with calories, right?" might be, especially if you're Kirstie Alley.

But he didn't say anything like that. It wasn't like he said, "You know alcohol is really bad for you, right?" He just pointed out that your normally get something different. If you normally get a big bottle of laundry detergent and you get the smallest one today and the clerk asks if you've made a mistake, is that the same situation to you? If the only reason that it's different is the fact that alcohol is involved, maybe it's just a sensitive subject for you.

[PlainJain]

I was attempting to rephrase my interpretation of the implied value judgement so that you might better comprehend it. So yeah, I made it up. Again. People do that when the message doesn't get through the first time. It's called communication, not "making shit up."
Oh, sorry, I see now that your problem is illiteracy. We all got the OP: The clerk reminded you of what you usually get and you being a bit touchy about your drinking problem over reacted. So there's really no need to keep parsing the poor minimum wage bastards comment in an attempt to show us your interpretation of the implied value judgement. I get it, I just think you are wrong.


I (unlike some people - and not just in this thread) have no problem with clerks making friendly comments while ringing up my order.
Nor do I in fact I will sometime initiate it. I like people and I enjoy talking to people I haven't met. As far as up-selling, it's very easy for me to say no.

[bup]

But we’re going to a sports bar this time and so I just get one of those four bangers for myself. (They’re the tall ones so just one goes a long way.)Did you remember to pop your collar when you went out to the sports bar? Otherwise people might not know you're a college or still-hasn't-grown-out-of-college asshole.

[DanBlather]

As a professional wine writer, there was a point where I was getting CASES delivered to me.

The FedEx driver -- leering at my large bosom -- in what I am sure he thought was full of charm, commented that I must have been "some party girl."

It was the licking of his lips that made me want to slam the door in his face.Wait, you are a professional wine writer, and female. How you doing? Are you single?

[Jack Batty]

Then I read this thread and realized she was just being friendly. She's still too fucking bubbly, though, I'll stand by that one.
She wants you.

Then she must be a total slut; she apparently wants everybody.

[Really Not All That Bright]

Wait, you are a professional wine writer, and female. How you doing? Are you single?
Much hotter than an unprofessional wine writer.

[Scuba_Ben]

I think the OP needs to chill out and have another beer.

cd /pub
more beer

[jsgoddess]

I (unlike some people - and not just in this thread) have no problem with clerks making friendly comments while ringing up my order.
Nor do I in fact I will sometime initiate it. I like people and I enjoy talking to people I haven't met. As far as up-selling, it's very easy for me to say no.

Yep. I don't mind if someone is chatting with me, as I'm chatting right back.

I like people. Cashiers are people, and generally they're trying to get through an annoying day filled with boredom and tedium and the occasional surly customer.

[Jimmy Chitwood]

I go to the local 7-11 every morning for coffee. The first time I came in with the cast on my arm and got my refill, I was fumbling for the 27 cents in change to go with my dollar. The clerk had the gall to notice this and announce "You are really having trouble handling that change. While you are wearing that cast, your refills are only a dollar."

I had never been so insulted in my life. Imagine, implying that I couldn't afford the 27 cents in change.:rolleyes:

Well, but how drunk were you?

[Gukumatz]

I think the OP needs to chill out and have another beer.

cd /pub
more beer

I like this post's potential infinite loop problem.

[Guinastasia]

One of my favorite college professors would say that if he went to a fast food place and asked for a coke and was told "Is Pepsi Ok?", unlike most people who would not care, he would say "No, I don't want Pepsi, I want coke!"

However, he was probably trying to make a point.

The only "point" he seems to be making is that he's a complete tool.

[Gilliver]

I was a convenience store manager for twelve years. One thing I never did was comment on customers alcohol purchases.

If someone came in once an hour every hour for three days straight and bought a case of beer and a roll of toilet paper each time, I still wouldnt have commented.

I did, however, have customers who would take it upon themselves to explain why they were buying alcohol on subsequent trips. You know: Company showed up. The first case fell off the back of my pickup truck and broke.

I had a trip to a convenience store that bugged the hell out of me, though. Christmas morning 2004, my boyfriend had passed away after an unsuccessful fight with cancer.

Leaving the Hospice residence, I had to stop and get gas. The world seemed strange to me as I had barely been out of the residence in almost two months. I walked in the door of a 7-11 and told the clerk I would like twenty in gas. He says to me: Hey SMILE, things cant be THAT bad !! I managed to force a little smile on my face.

The whole time I was pumping my gas, I was getting mad about it, though. Why the hell would he feel that he needed to comment on the fact that I looked sad?? Why did I feel the need to smile for him so he would feel better?

After I got done pumping gas I went back in the store and asked the guy if he knew where the hospice residence was (as if I was asking for directions). He said he didnt. I pointed to the road I had just come from and told him, it is a couple of blocks down that road and the next time you have a customer come from that direction looking like their world has just ended, maybe it's because it has. And I turned around and walked out.

It probably didnt do any good, but I hope that clerk realized that personal comments to customers can sometimes be very inappropriate.

[Aswan]

Oh, sorry, I see now that your problem is illiteracy. We all got the OP: The clerk reminded you of what you usually get and you being a bit touchy about your drinking problem over reacted.
**Snip**
I get it, I just think you are wrong.

So if you think I am wrong, I am therefore illiterate. Interesting.

Please show me how I overreacted. He made his comment, I was mentally pissed but made no mention of it nor did I act on it, and I completed the transaction courteously. If that makes me

...a college or still-hasn't-grown-out-of-college asshole.

well, I can live with that.

If you're with the Thought Police, I'd like to see some identification.

[Zulema]

I'm reading this and realizing that the perfect retirement job for my husband is to be a store clerk. He loves to comment on everything. Maybe after a long day thinking of witty comments he would tire of it and we could have normal conversations at home.

[Dallas Jones]

I always hate it when service people pretend to take an interest in me personally and strike up a conversation.

There is this woman at the local Safeway who is always asking how my day is going, what I'm doing. She even gets overly personal and calls me "sweetie". Very annoying and I have reported her to the management several times. But it does no good.

I'm always, like, "Fuck You, Mom!"

[Attack from the 3rd dimension]

Attacklad and I were recently buying a few items: duct tape, trash bags and bleach and some other stuff. We were wishing we had time to throw in the obvious other items: hacksaw, rope, rubber gloves and anchors.

If the cashiers don't notice what you're purchasing, you can't fuck with their heads.

[kaylasdad99]

Me: Latte please
Coffee lady: Nonfat?

Every single time. I don't go there anymore.Why wouldn't someone want nonfat? Makes the best foam.

[Guinastasia]

I remember the opposite -- when I was working at a grocery store, I had a woman come in buying a bunch of cookies. She looked at me and said, "I'm PMSin' it today, that's why I'm buyin' all these cookies." The stockboy who was bagging for me turned bright red. TMI, thank you very much.

[Aswan]

I always hate it when service people pretend to take an interest in me personally and strike up a conversation.

There is this woman at the local Safeway who is always asking how my day is going, what I'm doing. She even gets overly personal and calls me "sweetie". Very annoying and I have reported her to the management several times. But it does no good.

I'm always, like, "Fuck You, Mom!"

And it will never do any good because her management wants her to do that.

A female employee at Publix brought suit against the company because she was instruted to act in just this manner. A male customer took it the wrong way and made unwanted sexual advances to her.

Don't remember how the suit turned out, but it definitely gave Publix a black eye. But the female employees still do it. I suppose on balance it must be good for business.

[jsgoddess]

I always hate it when service people pretend to take an interest in me personally and strike up a conversation.

There is this woman at the local Safeway who is always asking how my day is going, what I'm doing. She even gets overly personal and calls me "sweetie". Very annoying and I have reported her to the management several times. But it does no good.

I'm always, like, "Fuck You, Mom!"

And it will never do any good because her management wants her to do that.

Yeah, dude, you're excellent at picking up those subtle cues in interpersonal communication.

[Moonlitherial]

Warning signs of alcoholism:
1. Drinking alone
2. Making excuses, finding excuses to drink
3. Daily or frequent drinking needed to function
4. Inability to reduce or stop alcohol intake
5. Violent episodes associated with drinking
6. Drinking secretly
7. Becoming angry when confronted about drinking
8. Poor eating habits
9. Failure to care for physical appearance
10. Trembling in the morning
Pay special attention to #7.Oh, I'm only 3 for 10. Come on, old gal, you can do better than that!

I'd say that list needs context. I drink about 4x a year and I can hit 3/10 (4 if I include #4. I mean it's more that I don't want to than I can't but still ;))

[Guinastasia]

I always hate it when service people pretend to take an interest in me personally and strike up a conversation.

There is this woman at the local Safeway who is always asking how my day is going, what I'm doing. She even gets overly personal and calls me "sweetie". Very annoying and I have reported her to the management several times. But it does no good.

I'm always, like, "Fuck You, Mom!"

And it will never do any good because her management wants her to do that.

Another sign of a drunk: inability to recognize a whoosh. :p

[Aswan]

:smack:

[PlainJain]

So if you think I am wrong, I am therefore illiterate. Interesting.
No, that you're wrong is a separate issue. You are apparently illiterate because you can't read your own OP. Your OP stated that the clerk said
Didn’t you mean to get one of the suitcases?
And later you claimed that he said
So how come you're not buying it by the truckload? You on the wagon or something?
No where in our discussion was there a mention of "rephrasing your interpretation" until I pointed out that you were being disingenuous regarding what the clerk actually said.


Please show me how I overreacted.
You took a harmless bit of conversation and blew it up in your mind to the point of wanting to yell fuck at the pobe. And then you came in here huffing and puffing about it.
But hey, don't let me rain on your parade. Carry on with it. I simply offered my opinion that that you needed to let it go. Honestly I don't care. I'll just create a little avatard of you in my mind for future dealings....

;)

[bup]

He's just cranky because he hasn't started his daily drinking.

[Vinyl Turnip]

And it will never do any good because her management wants her to do that.

Yeah, dude, you're excellent at picking up those subtle cues in interpersonal communication.

See, this is why the board needs rimshot, slide whistle, bouncing spring, and needle-scratching-across-a-record sound drops.

[PlainJain]

See, this is why the board needs rimshot, slide whistle, bouncing spring, and needle-scratching-across-a-record sound drops.
Oh HELL yeah! I'll take those over avatars any day.

[OtisCampbellWasRight]

Good Pitting!

I recognize that people behind the counter are people too, and when cashiers are friendly I generally play along. But when they are judgmental about what you bought, or overly snotty, I like to fire back a snappy answer.

Two come to mind, feel free to use them if you wish:

At a deli counter I got some low sodium ham and then got a couple knishes (which are kinda salty.) The doofus gives me this "You're getting low-salt ham AND knishes" to which I responded "My mother is still alive. When she dies you can have the job." Shut the little bitch right up.

The second time that comes to mind was when I bought live lobsters in a supermarket. They had a special deal on them. The guy at the register is some smartass that says to me, condescendingly "You know, these things are like the garbage cans of the oceans, I wouldn't eat them!" Without missing a beat, I replied "Well then it's a damn good thing you're not invited to my house, isn't it?" The woman behind me in line did a loud snort, then bit her lip. I complained to the manager about him, saying that if I buy expensive seafood here I don't want to be judged by some schmuck at the register. Turns out "Steve at register" number four is "special." So I was glad I didn't say what I REALLY wanted to say...It's NOYFB, just bag the stuff asshole! People suck.

[Darth Nader]

I remember vividly the time I bought q-tips, toilet paper, toothpicks, and super glue at 3 in the morning at a 7-11. The clerk said "I'm not gonna ask."

Yep.

[Zsofia]

I used to shop at this one particular convenience store just for the insults.

One, in the morning, the clerk said "Are you really going to work dressed like that?"

Another morning, he questioned my purchase of coffee and cigarettes. "Breakfast of champions," I said. He replied "I thought that was gin and marijuana."

Another time, I was buying a single beer for some BBQ sauce, and had my ID out because they had a sign up that said "We ID under 35" and I was well under that. He said "Oh, come on. Do you really get carded all that much anymore?"

I liked the abuse! LOL!

I'd go out of my way for that.

[mske]

"YO BOB! THERE'S A NEW ISSUE OF "BIG BONDAGE JUGS" THAT JUST ARRIVED! THOUGHT YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW!!"

Or Tongue In Cheeks (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_BayeiME1Fs).

[needscoffee]

Warning signs of alcoholism:
1. Drinking alone
2. Making excuses, finding excuses to drink
3. Daily or frequent drinking needed to function
4. Inability to reduce or stop alcohol intake
5. Violent episodes associated with drinking
6. Drinking secretly
7. Becoming angry when confronted about drinking
8. Poor eating habits
9. Failure to care for physical appearance
10. Trembling in the morning
Pay special attention to #7.Oh, I'm only 3 for 10. Come on, old gal, you can do better than that!

Oh, I'm only 3 for 10. Come on, old gal, you can do better than that!

I'd say that list needs context. I drink about 4x a year and I can hit 3/10 (4 if I include #4. I mean it's more that I don't want to than I can't but still ;))Hell, I have 3 and I don't drink. I only picked this particular list because it included #7.

[astro]

When the weekend looms on the calendar, that means one thing: an overdose of football. And beer, chips and salsa, and pizza. Absolute Heaven.

We all usually get together at somebody’s place because a) it’s cheaper and 2) we can insult one another far more creatively. It has become my habit to bring more beer than necessary because we never know how many guys are going to show up and, God knows, you don’t want to run out in the middle of the fourth quarter.

So I usually get one of those big honkin’ 18 packs at 7 Eleven. But we’re going to a sports bar this time and so I just get one of those four bangers for myself. (They’re the tall ones so just one goes a long way.)

I put the beer on the counter and the kid looks at me and says, “Didn’t you mean to get one of the suitcases? I mean, you usually get the suitcase.”

I am confused at first. Is he suggesting that this was some silly mistake and that I’ll slap my forehead and say, “Of course, thank you for reminding me.”

Then it slowly dawns on me that what he is really saying is, “I mean, you are an alcoholic, right?”

Now maybe he’s trying to be courteous or friendly or chatty. No matter; I am now seriously pissed off. What I want to tell him is to f#%k the f#%k off. But I pride myself on my politefullness. That and the fact that he might have a gun under the counter.

So instead, I simply say, “No this is what I want. Would you ring it up? I’m in a hurry.”

There. I feel better. Thank you.

Something like this ever happen to you?

I glad you "feel better" but your bizarre, paranoid accusations make absolutely no ***ing sense. You are dialing a relatively innocuous comment WRT your normal purchasing habits into crazy land. This reminds of Joe Pesci's "funny like a clown (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_ff46b58Hk)" scene in "Goodfellas'

Not everything is all about you. Not everything is a moral comment about your personal choices. Sometimes a casual reminder is just a casual reminder. Get over yourself.

[needscoffee]

I don't mind if cashiers remember me and my purchases and want to make innocuous small talk about it. What I hate is when cashiers I don't know read my name off the receipt and say, "Thanks for shopping with us, Ms. needscoffee." I know they're instructed to do so, so I don't tell them to shut up, but I want to.

Once I had a female cashier remark on the feminine products which were on the conveyor belt and about how she no longer needed them. I only wish I had had condoms there, too.

[Morbo]

Relevant link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwXjm64a3QE)

[MeanOldLady]

I'd say that list needs context. I drink about 4x a year and I can hit 3/10 (4 if I include #4. I mean it's more that I don't want to than I can't but still ;))Hell, I have 3 and I don't drink. I only picked this particular list because it included #7.Indeed. Next time someone comments on the shabbiness of my dress, I will retort that it's one of the symptoms of my disease.

[needscoffee]

Hell, I have 3 and I don't drink. I only picked this particular list because it included #7.Indeed. Next time someone comments on the shabbiness of my dress, I will retort that it's one of the symptoms of my disease.And after you punch their lights out for bringing it up, you can also blame #5: Violent episodes associated with drinking.

[Damuri Ajashi]

When the weekend looms on the calendar, that means one thing: an overdose of football. And beer, chips and salsa, and pizza. Absolute Heaven.

We all usually get together at somebody’s place because a) it’s cheaper and 2) we can insult one another far more creatively. It has become my habit to bring more beer than necessary because we never know how many guys are going to show up and, God knows, you don’t want to run out in the middle of the fourth quarter.

So I usually get one of those big honkin’ 18 packs at 7 Eleven. But we’re going to a sports bar this time and so I just get one of those four bangers for myself. (They’re the tall ones so just one goes a long way.)

I put the beer on the counter and the kid looks at me and says, “Didn’t you mean to get one of the suitcases? I mean, you usually get the suitcase.”

I am confused at first. Is he suggesting that this was some silly mistake and that I’ll slap my forehead and say, “Of course, thank you for reminding me.”

Then it slowly dawns on me that what he is really saying is, “I mean, you are an alcoholic, right?”

Now maybe he’s trying to be courteous or friendly or chatty. No matter; I am now seriously pissed off. What I want to tell him is to f#%k the f#%k off. But I pride myself on my politefullness. That and the fact that he might have a gun under the counter.

So instead, I simply say, “No this is what I want. Would you ring it up? I’m in a hurry.”

There. I feel better. Thank you.

Something like this ever happen to you?

I think he was just trying to be nice.

[Lynn Bodoni]

I was a convenience store manager for twelve years. One thing I never did was comment on customers alcohol purchases.

If someone came in once an hour every hour for three days straight and bought a case of beer and a roll of toilet paper each time, I still wouldnt have commented.

I did, however, have customers who would take it upon themselves to explain why they were buying alcohol on subsequent trips. You know: Company showed up. The first case fell off the back of my pickup truck and broke.

I had a trip to a convenience store that bugged the hell out of me, though. Christmas morning 2004, my boyfriend had passed away after an unsuccessful fight with cancer.

Leaving the Hospice residence, I had to stop and get gas. The world seemed strange to me as I had barely been out of the residence in almost two months. I walked in the door of a 7-11 and told the clerk I would like twenty in gas. He says to me: Hey SMILE, things cant be THAT bad !! I managed to force a little smile on my face.

The whole time I was pumping my gas, I was getting mad about it, though. Why the hell would he feel that he needed to comment on the fact that I looked sad?? Why did I feel the need to smile for him so he would feel better?

After I got done pumping gas I went back in the store and asked the guy if he knew where the hospice residence was (as if I was asking for directions). He said he didnt. I pointed to the road I had just come from and told him, it is a couple of blocks down that road and the next time you have a customer come from that direction looking like their world has just ended, maybe it's because it has. And I turned around and walked out.

It probably didnt do any good, but I hope that clerk realized that personal comments to customers can sometimes be very inappropriate. Some people have appointed themselves as Head of Cheerfulness Enforcement, or something. When I was younger, men were always telling me to smile. Apparently, women were put on the earth to smile at these guys, no matter what the women might feel like at the time. These Cheerfulness Enforcers are actually very controlling people, or they want to be.

I remember vividly the time I bought q-tips, toilet paper, toothpicks, and super glue at 3 in the morning at a 7-11. The clerk said "I'm not gonna ask."

Yep. What, no baby oil? I never worked mid shift, and the store I worked at was NOT 7-11, but I did have a couple of guys come in and buy that combo, plus the baby oil. I never indicated my burning curiosity to my customers...but I gotta know, what DID you need that combo for? And would baby oil have helped in any way?

[pepperlandgirl]

I glad you "feel better" but your bizarre, paranoid accusations make absolutely no ***ing sense. You are dialing a relatively innocuous comment WRT your normal purchasing habits into crazy land. This reminds of Joe Pesci's "funny like a clown (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_ff46b58Hk)" scene in "Goodfellas'
.

So what are you saying? That Aswan amuses you?

[Guinastasia]

Lynn -- I'm thinking school project left until the last minute, what with the super glue and all that.

[Cat Whisperer]

I<snip>

After I got done pumping gas I went back in the store and asked the guy if he knew where the hospice residence was (as if I was asking for directions). He said he didnt. I pointed to the road I had just come from and told him, it is a couple of blocks down that road and the next time you have a customer come from that direction looking like their world has just ended, maybe it's because it has. And I turned around and walked out.

It probably didnt do any good, but I hope that clerk realized that personal comments to customers can sometimes be very inappropriate.
I think you handled that pretty well, actually - someone being that obnoxious when they work a couple of blocks from a hospice residence could use that information.

[Darth Nader]

What, no baby oil? I never worked mid shift, and the store I worked at was NOT 7-11, but I did have a couple of guys come in and buy that combo, plus the baby oil. I never indicated my burning curiosity to my customers...but I gotta know, what DID you need that combo for? And would baby oil have helped in any way?
Did you work in a college town? When the art supply stores are closed, one has to improvise to finish that sculpture.
Baby oil would have helped, it's a good release agent.

[digs]

Attacklad and I were recently buying a few items: duct tape, trash bags and bleach and some other stuff. We were wishing we had time to throw in the obvious other items: hacksaw, rope, rubber gloves and anchors.

If the cashiers don't notice what you're purchasing, you can't fuck with their heads.

Yeah, I thought it'd be funny if I bought nothing but ten pounds of apples and a pack of big old razor blades. On Halloween night.

But the cashier just rung them up. :~{

[Darth Nader]

Try gunpowder, roofing nails, and teddy bears next time. Bring along the local TV asshat for maximum outrage.

[Dallas Jones]

I always hate it when service people pretend to take an interest in me personally and strike up a conversation.

There is this woman at the local Safeway who is always asking how my day is going, what I'm doing. She even gets overly personal and calls me "sweetie". Very annoying and I have reported her to the management several times. But it does no good.

I'm always, like, "Fuck You, Mom!"

I guess I should have used smileys. This was a little joke about my actual mom.
:D

[needscoffee]

I always hate it when service people pretend to take an interest in me personally and strike up a conversation.

There is this woman at the local Safeway who is always asking how my day is going, what I'm doing. She even gets overly personal and calls me "sweetie". Very annoying and I have reported her to the management several times. But it does no good.

I'm always, like, "Fuck You, Mom!"

I guess I should have used smileys. This was a little joke about my actual mom.
:DIf people can't read the last sentence, they're probably not going to notice the smilies, either.

[Lynn Bodoni]

What, no baby oil? I never worked mid shift, and the store I worked at was NOT 7-11, but I did have a couple of guys come in and buy that combo, plus the baby oil. I never indicated my burning curiosity to my customers...but I gotta know, what DID you need that combo for? And would baby oil have helped in any way?
Did you work in a college town? When the art supply stores are closed, one has to improvise to finish that sculpture.
Baby oil would have helped, it's a good release agent. This was in Las Vegas, and the guys in question weren't students, though there was a college in town. Yes, I knew them well enough to know that they weren't students. I didn't know them well enough to know what they wanted that particular combination for. I probably didn't WANT to know them well enough.

[Beware of Doug]

On the other hand, if I told someone that the newest issue of <preferred porn mag> was out, I had a customer who was pleased...and who might mention to the owner how helpful I was.

I am now picturing you yelling across the store at some guy in a fedora and overcoat:

"YO BOB! THERE'S A NEW ISSUE OF "BIG BONDAGE JUGS" THAT JUST ARRIVED! THOUGHT YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW!!"Because all us fedora-wearers are sleazy pervs, of course. Well, I am, anyway.

BTW, I claim band name rights on Presumptuous Cashiers.

[aruvqan]

Oh, I'm only 3 for 10. Come on, old gal, you can do better than that!

I'd say that list needs context. I drink about 4x a year and I can hit 3/10 (4 if I include #4. I mean it's more that I don't want to than I can't but still ;))

I got 2 out of 10, I get shaky in the morning just before my meds and breakfast, we cant figure out why, it isn't my blood pressure and my morning glucose stick is normal [for me], and I got *real* angry when some jackasses at an AA meeting were bound and determined to force me into agreeing I was an alcoholic - on the grounds I drove a friend to a required meeting because he couldn't drive, and I like to cook with wine or booze as a flavoring [to add extra flavor instead of salt or fat] and i liked a teaspoon or so of brandy in coffee a few times a week just before bed.

[Attack from the 3rd dimension]

I am now picturing you yelling across the store at some guy in a fedora and overcoat:

"YO BOB! THERE'S A NEW ISSUE OF "BIG BONDAGE JUGS" THAT JUST ARRIVED! THOUGHT YOU'D LIKE TO KNOW!!"Because all us fedora-wearers are sleazy pervs, of course. Well, I am, anyway.

BTW, I claim band name rights on Presumptuous Cashiers.

You can have the band name, I want dibs on the username Presumptuous Cashier.

[Gyrate]

I've got to say, the guy at the liquor store is practically the single guy I want most to forget me. Only the guy at the vibrator store needs to forget my face faster.Trust me - the guy at the vibrator store isn't remembering your face.

[PlainJain]

I guess I should have used smileys. This was a little joke about my actual mom.
:D
FWIW I got it.

[Martini Enfield]

The second time that comes to mind was when I bought live lobsters in a supermarket. They had a special deal on them. The guy at the register is some smartass that says to me, condescendingly "You know, these things are like the garbage cans of the oceans, I wouldn't eat them!" Without missing a beat, I replied "Well then it's a damn good thing you're not invited to my house, isn't it?" The woman behind me in line did a loud snort, then bit her lip. I complained to the manager about him, saying that if I buy expensive seafood here I don't want to be judged by some schmuck at the register. Turns out "Steve at register" number four is "special." So I was glad I didn't say what I REALLY wanted to say...It's NOYFB, just bag the stuff asshole! People suck.

I've worked in retail a long time, despite my best efforts to change careers all the same.

So, let me share something with you: The poor sod behind the register is bored out of their tree, probably has about eight billion pointless tasks they're supposed to complete (despite not being able to leave the counter), is probably mentally lamenting the fact they're not going to get their coffee/smoko break because someone phoned in sick so they're understaffed again, and once again some cranky customer has yelled at them because of something they've got no control over (price/lack of availability of an item, most frequently), and quite possibly lonely.

So, with all that in mind, it's little wonder that occasionally the staff will try and talk to the customers. Now, personally, I wouldn't comment on what someone's buying except for something like letting them know there's something similar which can save them money (eg someone buying a 32Gb USB stick might not know a 320Gb Portable Hard Drive is about the same price) or observing that they've made a good choice (or possibly purchased an item I'm interested in getting too), but the fact is lots of register staff do actually like to talk to customers.

Even if they're not doing it in an attempt to feign (or genuinely show) friendliness, they may be doing it simply so you're not both standing there robotically completing the transaction in complete silence.

All of which is a very long way of saying: "Sure, sometimes the register staff say things or ask questions that you may think are none of their smegging business. There's no need to get the manager involved and generally be a dick about it. Brush it off, be a grown-up, and move on with your life."

Obviously, if the register person makes really, really out of line comments (eg scolds a customer for purchasing condoms, observes that a customer might not be so obese if they weren't buying soft drink by the keg etc) then that's an entirely different kettle of fish, but a register operator observing they're not a fan of lobster or expressing surprise that someone likes [product] is, IMHO, not something to be giving the manager an earful over.

[Little Plastic Ninja]

Judgmental is one thing. But guess what: the people working in a service industry are PEOPLE. One of the few things that makes working in service even remotely tolerable is interacting with people. The work you do has very little purpose. It's easy. Anyone can do it. There's no end goal, there's no "Hooray You've Helped A Thousand People" party, there's just an unending stream of more shit to do, more bags to fill, blank-faced person after blank-faced person.

So the most fun in a job like that -- assuming you legitimately like people -- is making small talk. Usually this works best with regulars: after all, you see them every day/week/whatever. You've almost built enough seconds in their lives to be an acquaintance. They're not trying to be dicks, for the most part. They're trying to liven up their day and yours.

Mostly, if a person isn't TRYING to give offense, I don't take it. And if they are, I don't care. If I did, I'd never get anything else done.

[Aswan]

I guess I should have used smileys. This was a little joke about my actual mom.


Nah, would have ruined it. What I needed was this:


See, this is why the board needs rimshot, slide whistle, bouncing spring, and needle-scratching-across-a-record sound drops.
;)

[OtisCampbellWasRight]

The second time that comes to mind was when I bought live lobsters in a supermarket. They had a special deal on them. The guy at the register is some smartass that says to me, condescendingly "You know, these things are like the garbage cans of the oceans, I wouldn't eat them!" Without missing a beat, I replied "Well then it's a damn good thing you're not invited to my house, isn't it?" The woman behind me in line did a loud snort, then bit her lip. I complained to the manager about him, saying that if I buy expensive seafood here I don't want to be judged by some schmuck at the register. Turns out "Steve at register" number four is "special." So I was glad I didn't say what I REALLY wanted to say...It's NOYFB, just bag the stuff asshole! People suck.

I've worked in retail a long time, despite my best efforts to change careers all the same.

So, let me share something with you: The poor sod behind the register is bored out of their tree, probably has about eight billion pointless tasks they're supposed to complete (despite not being able to leave the counter), is probably mentally lamenting the fact they're not going to get their coffee/smoko break because someone phoned in sick so they're understaffed again, and once again some cranky customer has yelled at them because of something they've got no control over (price/lack of availability of an item, most frequently), and quite possibly lonely.

So, with all that in mind, it's little wonder that occasionally the staff will try and talk to the customers. Now, personally, I wouldn't comment on what someone's buying except for something like letting them know there's something similar which can save them money (eg someone buying a 32Gb USB stick might not know a 320Gb Portable Hard Drive is about the same price) or observing that they've made a good choice (or possibly purchased an item I'm interested in getting too), but the fact is lots of register staff do actually like to talk to customers.

Even if they're not doing it in an attempt to feign (or genuinely show) friendliness, they may be doing it simply so you're not both standing there robotically completing the transaction in complete silence.

All of which is a very long way of saying: "Sure, sometimes the register staff say things or ask questions that you may think are none of their smegging business. There's no need to get the manager involved and generally be a dick about it. Brush it off, be a grown-up, and move on with your life."

Obviously, if the register person makes really, really out of line comments (eg scolds a customer for purchasing condoms, observes that a customer might not be so obese if they weren't buying soft drink by the keg etc) then that's an entirely different kettle of fish, but a register operator observing they're not a fan of lobster or expressing surprise that someone likes [product] is, IMHO, not something to be giving the manager an earful over.

As I said at the very beginning of my post, I try to be a cheerful and friendly member of society. Under normal conditions I would just laugh it off, and not waste my time talking to an indifferent manager. But in this case, money is tight, and buying lobster was a very large splurge for us, and this chump pissed on the parade. Perhaps if you had been there, and seen the actual malevalent behavior, you might think differently. Involving the manager was my attempt at preventing this from happening to the next unfortunate slob.

[Ravenman]

Why was the OP buying beer at a 7-11 if he was going to a sports bar?

And considering we are in week 4 of the football season, has this habit of buying a case on Sunday extended through the 7 months of the offseason?

I wasn't actually on the way to the sports bar, I was on my way home. You've never stopped off to get something and then later went out?

And yes, it happens to be football season. But for the last six months or so we've been watching baseball. (Which complicates things because the Rays are in the playoffs and there are only so many hours in a day.)

You're kinda funny. If I'd loaded all those details into the OP, you'd probably have been the first one to post TL, DR.So you can't write concisely, so I am an asshole.

Geezus christ, you need counseling.

[Jackmannii]

I personally hate it when any clerk at a cash register makes any comments at all on what I am buying (with the possible exception of "did you know these are 5 for the price of 4 so one more would be free?"). You're a clerk. Don't try to be my friend or my product advisor or anything else. Just ring it up and let me get out of here.This tends to be my reaction to restaurant waitstaff who go on about what their favorite entrees are.But just tonight the sorority-girl cashier looked at my lamb tips and wine, and said, "Ooh, big plans tonight?" And I finally did it: "If I did... they'd be none of your business." But I said it with an arched eyebrow and a smile, so she laughed and said she asks because she's stuck behind the register and lives vicariously through her customers. So then i made up an outrageously cosmopolitan evening involving a casino in Zurich, a microchip heist, an ambassador's estranged wife... and lamb tips.Were you buying Chianti by any chance? Did you look her up and down and say "Love your suit"?

[Mekhazzio]

To chime in with the others with retail slave experience, cashiers are often required to encourage customers to get additional items, larger quantities, or anything else that squeezes out an extra buck or two. There may even be a quota in place that must be met Or Else. This practice is as universally loathed on the other side of the register as it is by the people who receive this harassment, but much like advertising and spam, there is a substantial portion of the population that it works on, and anything that generates more sales than complaints is considered a net gain by the beancounters.

[Aswan]

[So you can't write concisely...
Actually, it was Friday afternoon, not Sunday as you erroneously declare. Later I was taking my son out to dinner and didn’t want to have to stop. Oh, and I was wearing a tan sports coat and jeans.

I usually only buy beer once a week because several guys bring beer (they like their own brand) and after the game there's always plenty left over and I take mine home.

Are these details really that important to the narrative? Or are you merely sniping? I think the latter.

[...so I am an asshole.


Yeah, I'd have to agree with you.

[ducati]

While I generally disdain Presumptuous Cashiers and other retail minions - only because I'm just not chatty - one time did turn out well.

While bartending at a strip club, I would get off work at 5 am, stop by the Waffle House near home for a burger, and go home to sleep. For weeks, the same cute waitress would take my order, ring me up, and tell me to have a nice day.
One morning, she had to ask why I get a burger at breakfast time and what kind of work I did.
I told her what I did, and this was dinner time for me. She mentioned that she had been thinking of becoming a dancer, but didn't know if she had the right figure.
Being a red-blooded, average 23yo pig male, I replied that I would have to see more in order to render a valid professional opinion. I certainly did not expect the response I got, which was "I get off in 10 minutes. You want to take a look then?"

Turns out she was more than qualified, and we met recreationally most mornings for many months.

Good times.

[descamisado]

Well, if I'd gotten into that kind of exchange with the cute Middle Eastern male clerk, I'd have bought the extra case of beer toot sweet.

[OtisCampbellWasRight]

Dear Penthouse Forum,

I usually wouldn't write in like this, but...

Well, if I'd gotten into that kind of exchange with the cute Middle Eastern male clerk, I'd have bought the extra case of beer toot sweet.

[OtisCampbellWasRight]

Dear Penthouse Forum...

While I generally disdain Presumptuous Cashiers and other retail minions - only because I'm just not chatty - one time did turn out well.

While bartending at a strip club, I would get off work at 5 am, stop by the Waffle House near home for a burger, and go home to sleep. For weeks, the same cute waitress would take my order, ring me up, and tell me to have a nice day.
One morning, she had to ask why I get a burger at breakfast time and what kind of work I did.
I told her what I did, and this was dinner time for me. She mentioned that she had been thinking of becoming a dancer, but didn't know if she had the right figure.
Being a red-blooded, average 23yo pig male, I replied that I would have to see more in order to render a valid professional opinion. I certainly did not expect the response I got, which was "I get off in 10 minutes. You want to take a look then?"

Turns out she was more than qualified, and we met recreationally most mornings for many months.

Good times.

[purplehorseshoe]

* pout *

I prefer to think that the story is, indeed, true. Call it denial, I don't care. I thought it was kinda ... sweet, in a way. So I'm ignoring Otis, lahlahlahIcan'thearyoulahlahlah.

[Sundrop]

I only recall one instance of having a presumptuous cashier. We were in a CVS and they had. a cheap brew your own beer kit near the front. My wife saw it and on the spur of the moment we bought it. When I was grabbing it from the stack, this 16 year old clerk tells me very solemnly that I should never drink and drive.

A flippant, 'Aww, but Dad, I was gonna install it in the back and drink -while- driving', sprang to mind. But I realized the kid probably just had some anti drunk driving stuff at school was trying to do me a mitzvah, not realizing he was being a sanctimonious prick. So I laughed it off and solemnly assured him I wouldn't.

[Peremensoe]

I once boycotted a store for two years because the clerk pulled this.

Hoping that post was a joke. If so, :p, and whew.

Is that really what he was saying or just being friendly?

Some days that's almost as annoying.

Why does friendliness make some people angry? :(

[Peremensoe]

Most of the examples here just sound like people trying to make conversation to me, not any attempt to be rude or insulting. I say take things in the spirit they're intended.

Of course. Life is hard enough.

[Jack Batty]

It's not the friendliness, it's the faux-familiarity that grates. Like being called "honey" or "dear" by a cashier or clerk or whatever.

Look at my example -- remember the overly bubbly cashier?

"Are you feeling alright? No Fresca this morning?"

Sure, just being friendly and joking around ... but I don't know this woman from a hole in the ground. It's a little presumptuous to be cracking unsolicited jokes to someone you don't know. What if there was something wrong with me that day? In fact, now that I think about it, I wish I had responded, "I just got back from the doctors. I have brain cancer," ... taken my muffin and walked away. That woulda learned her.

[begbert2]

Why does friendliness make some people angry? :(Well, for myself, I expect my cashiers to be inanimate extensions of the cash register; part of the mechanical process of checking out that I have no choice but to do. To have to suddently interact with them at an interpersonal level with them is not something I expect, and so it catches me off guard. When caught off-guard like this, I am prone to incorrectly interpret their comments as being from the context of somebody who is intruding on me inappropriately, merely because I have an expectation of what the checking-out transaction will entail and chatting isn't part of it.

It would necessarily be worse if they seem to be judging your purchases; you have no choice but to expose your purchases to them, and it comes off as being railroaded to judgement. Yeah, intellectually I know you're just trying to be friendly, but if I had any choice in the matter I wouldn't give you the opportunity to examine my purchases and make judgements on them.

[Peremensoe]

Well, for myself, I expect my cashiers to be inanimate extensions of the cash register; part of the mechanical process of checking out that I have no choice but to do. To have to suddently interact with them at an interpersonal level with them is not something I expect, and so it catches me off guard.

Yikes.

[jsgoddess]

Well, for myself, I expect my cashiers to be inanimate extensions of the cash register; part of the mechanical process of checking out that I have no choice but to do. To have to suddently interact with them at an interpersonal level with them is not something I expect, and so it catches me off guard.

Yikes.

I think it's a joke. I think.

[begbert2]

Yikes.

I think it's a joke. I think.An exaggeration, but not a joke. And I honestly don't think I'm alone.

When I walk up to a cash register, I simply don't expect the person working there to strike up a conversation. I'm there to get the junk I'm buying rung up, and honestly, that's usually what happens. The cashiers who ring you up with only mild generic 'hello' type comments and comments directly related to the sale are by far more common than the chatty ones, in my experience. So yes, when one starts asking for me to pontificate on my purchases, I'm surprised, and have to take a moment to 'shift gears' from 'buying stuff' mode to 'chatting' mode. Or maybe 'justifying my purchases' mode, if that's what seems to be required.

And like I said, I don't think I'm alone in this. The "Just shut up and ring up my damn purchases" sentiment seems to have been shown by several people in this thread.

[pbbth]

This kind of thing happened to me last night and it was hilarious.

First, the back story. For this you need to understand 2 things. First, my husband and I are both overweight. Second, for the past 2 weekends we have gone out to his mother's house (about 2 hours from us) and helped do some readings of the book she recently wrote. Because of this we have had to cram all of our chore-type things into the weeknights. We always do our grocery shopping on the weekends and because of the busy schedule we've kept we just haven't found time to go to the store for more than a quick half gallon of milk. So last night we were about 2 days away from having gone 3 weeks without buying any kind of real food and our pantry had 2 cans of soup, a pie crust, and a couple boxes of jello in it. We decided that even though the store is so crowded it looks like they should be playing techno music on Thursday nights we were still going to go shopping.

So we get our cart and wheel it down to the grocery store. We knew that this trip was going to take us forever and that we were going to be buying a ton of food so we took our time wandering through the aisles and loading up the cart. We had plenty of room in the pantry for all of it considering it was empty, after all, and lots of stuff was on super sale. And to make it worse since we were pretty much restocking our entire kitchen we had mostly canned/boxed/dry/frozen goods. Plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables too but proportionally we had a lot more of the other stuff.

We got up to the check out lines and they were incredibly long. To ease the boredom of standing in line the woman behind us started make conversation. Very light, easy, weather-related conversation at first. Then we got up to the front and started unloading the cart and her eyes got huge. That is when the pseudo-insulting questions started. It didn't even register at first because they were fairly innocent questions and comments.

"Wow, how big is your kitchen? Do you have room for all of that stuff?"

"How long does it take you to go through that much soup?"

"I think you missed their celery sale."

Then they started to get more personal.

"Is your hand cart even big enough to haul all of that food home?"

"Wow, I didn't know adults ate chicken nuggets."

Then as she was bagging up her purchase she started telling us about the wonderful whole wheat crackers she was buying and how they were tasty and very low calorie. She encouraged us to by some 4 or 5 different times.

The longer she talked the more I laughed inside my head. It got to a point where I was holding in my guffaws by covering them up with faux coughing. I just wanted to wait for her to ask another question so I could respond with, "Damn, we're fat! I hadn't noticed before! Quick, honey, put some of this stuff back on the shelves!"

[pepperlandgirl]

At Smiths, the following happened this afternoon.

Sister: Oh, we didn't buy carrots and I didn't get any from mom.
Me: That's fine, I hate carrots anyway.
Sister: But you make me buy them every week at the farmers market.
Me: I don't. I just don't tell you not to get them.
Checkout clerk to my other sister: They don't get out much do they *laughs*

I tore that bitch a new cunt.

[rogerbox]

I don't get it, what about your guys' convo indicated that you guys don't get out much? I'm genuinely confused. That is AMAZINGLY rude to say your customers have no life though!

[Freudian Slit]

The "they don't get out much" line does seem a bit weird, but I think if I were watching my response would be that the carrot conversation-havers were a bit insane. I'd try to be polite if I were waiting on them, though. If I were just another customer, all bets are off. :D

[Trepa Mayfield]

It's not the friendliness, it's the faux-familiarity that grates. Like being called "honey" or "dear" by a cashier or clerk or whatever.

Look at my example -- remember the overly bubbly cashier?

"Are you feeling alright? No Fresca this morning?"

Sure, just being friendly and joking around ... but I don't know this woman from a hole in the ground. It's a little presumptuous to be cracking unsolicited jokes to someone you don't know. What if there was something wrong with me that day? In fact, now that I think about it, I wish I had responded, "I just got back from the doctors. I have brain cancer," ... taken my muffin and walked away. That woulda learned her.

There are some places where that level of familiarity is just...normal. That's how everyone talks to everyone.

[Lanzy]

Lanzy, I'm pretty dense and not exactly sure what you are asking.

Didn't really mean it to be a question. The guys that work at 7/11 don't know they are low life scum that don't deserve to make comments or try to be friendly, they think they are actual human beings and are allowed to notice regulars and strike up conversations. Believing the guy is actually saying the customer is an alcoholic instead of just making an inane comment is blowing this way out of porportion.

[Martini Enfield]

As I said at the very beginning of my post, I try to be a cheerful and friendly member of society. Under normal conditions I would just laugh it off, and not waste my time talking to an indifferent manager. But in this case, money is tight, and buying lobster was a very large splurge for us, and this chump pissed on the parade.

So what? Some poor sod in a tedious, menial job mentioned he didn't like the lobster that you were buying. Are you really that sensitive that the comments of one bored and probably unhappy cashier are enough to ruin your special treat? Seriously. I'm sorry things are tough for you, but don't let the largely insignificant opinions of bored/frustrated/misguided cashiers ruin a treat.

Perhaps if you had been there, and seen the actual malevalent behavior, you might think differently.

Probably not. The last time I complained to the manager at a retail store (well, a bank, actually) about something, it was because all the tellers had simply closed their windows and left their posts to vanish out the back, despite a sizeable (and rapidly lengthening) queue. In the middle of the afternoon. Anything less than that? I don't care, because it's not worth caring about.

[rogerbox]

I think insulting what someone is about to eat at a Grocery store is as horribly unprofessional as a shoe store clerk telling someone how ugly the shoes someone is buying are. Very, very bad.

Saying he doesn't eat lobster is one thing, but calling them disgusting bottom feeders like the example, is ONLY excuseable by the fact that that poster later four out that employee was mentally disabled in some way, imo...

[jjimm]

Sometimes clerk cheekiness can pay off. When I was a teenager I pumped gas in the evenings and weekends.

One day an American guy pulled in to the forecourt in a convertible Ferrari Testarossa, with a scantily-clad, model-hot blonde girl in the passenger seat. I wiped up my drool and filled his car, and when he came into the shop to pay, I put on my poshest accent and said "Sir, the situation in which you present yourself has elicited in me at least four of the seven deadly sins."

I got a laugh and a £5 tip.

[palacheck]

Well this thread is just full of little snowflakes.

Were you all this socially stunted before the internet?

[MrBerious]

I too hate it when lower orders have the audacity to address me in an informal manner with nary a bow or curtsey

[GuanoLad]

You can't get good Help these days.

[Smeghead]

I too hate it when lower orders have the audacity to address me in an informal manner with nary a bow or curtsey

It's well past time to bring back flogging!

[KinkiNipponTourist]

I was having my items rung up by the male owner of a local small mom&pop-type drugstore when I realized I'd forgotten something. This 50-ish man standing next to the register, probably a sales rep, immediately offered to go get it for me.

"No thanks, I'll get it myself."

"No, really! I know where everything is here! Just tell me what you need, and I'll grab it for you!"

"I'd like to get it, thanks--"

"I insist! What can I get for you?"

"Tampons."

To his credit, he retracted his offer.

[Zsofia]

Why? Who do you think stocks the things?

[PlainJain]

Why? Who do you think stocks the things?
The tampon fairy of course.

[Valerieblaise]

Ha! That reminds me - once, many, many years ago I stopped at a little grocery store after a long waitressing shift to pick up a few things I needed on my way home. When I set a box of tampons, bottle of Advil and a fifth of Southern Comfort on the counter, the cashier - with complete sincerity and sympathy - said, "Oh, one of those days, huh?" I hadn't really thought about how it looked to buy those things at the same time and I had to laugh.

I think I normally find it a LITTLE weird when a cashier comments on my purchases because I'd had a brief stint cashiering in high school and after awhile, I really stopped paying attention as I scanned people's stuff, but I'm certainly not bothered by it.

[pepperlandgirl]

I don't get it, what about your guys' convo indicated that you guys don't get out much? I'm genuinely confused. That is AMAZINGLY rude to say your customers have no life though!

The "they don't get out much" line does seem a bit weird, but I think if I were watching my response would be that the carrot conversation-havers were a bit insane. I'd try to be polite if I were waiting on them, though. If I were just another customer, all bets are off. :D

In all honesty, we probably did look a bit insane. She was well within her rights to comment on it.

[even sven]

Nothing like the internet for finding people who are horribly offended by someone daring to subject them to basic human interaction.

You are a person. The clerk is a person. People make small talk. It doesn't hurt you.

[The Devil's Grandmother]

You can't get good Help these days.

Sure you can, it just costs a lot.

[kaylasdad99]

Why does friendliness make some people angry? :(Well, for myself, I expect my cashiers to be inanimate extensions of the cash register; part of the mechanical process of checking out that I have no choice but to do. To have to suddently interact with them at an interpersonal level with them is not something I expect, and so it catches me off guard. When caught off-guard like this, I am prone to incorrectly interpret their comments as being from the context of somebody who is intruding on me inappropriately, merely because I have an expectation of what the checking-out transaction will entail and chatting isn't part of it.

It would necessarily be worse if they seem to be judging your purchases; you have no choice but to expose your purchases to them, and it comes off as being railroaded to judgement. Yeah, intellectually I know you're just trying to be friendly, but if I had any choice in the matter I wouldn't give you the opportunity to examine my purchases and make judgements on them.

Well, for myself, I expect my cashiers to be inanimate extensions of the cash register; part of the mechanical process of checking out that I have no choice but to do. To have to suddently interact with them at an interpersonal level with them is not something I expect, and so it catches me off guard.

Yikes.



Yikes.

I think it's a joke. I think.I think it sounds like something that could have been lifted from the book Future Shock by Alan Toffler; specifically the section titled Modular Man.*





*The above is not intended to be a veiled or overt accusation of plagiarism, btw; it's just that the entire thread has put me in mind of that excerpt, and begbert's post seemd to be the most "out there" wrt the phenomenon.

[ducati]

* pout *

I prefer to think that the story is, indeed, true. Call it denial, I don't care. I thought it was kinda ... sweet, in a way. So I'm ignoring Otis, lahlahlahIcan'thearyoulahlahlah.

True, every word!

While I have settled into an average wife/2 kids/2 dogs/1 cat household, un-recognizable from millions of others, my youth was actually fantastic, filled with world-travel, unlimited debauchery, motorcycles, airplanes, and countless trashy girls and women. Then the money ran out.

Cest la vie! I have my stories and a few pictures!

[Frank]

While I have settled into an average wife/2 kids/2 dogs/1 cat household, un-recognizable from millions of others, my youth was actually fantastic, filled with world-travel, unlimited debauchery, motorcycles, airplanes, and countless trashy girls and women. Then the money ran out.
At least you didn't waste it.

[purplehorseshoe]

Well, for myself, I expect my cashiers to be inanimate extensions of the cash register; part of the mechanical process of checking out that I have no choice but to do. To have to suddently interact with them at an interpersonal level with them is not something I expect, and so it catches me off guard. When caught off-guard like this, I am prone to incorrectly interpret their comments as being from the context of somebody who is intruding on me inappropriately, merely because I have an expectation of what the checking-out transaction will entail and chatting isn't part of it...

It's horseshit like that which has me convinced that everyone, everyone, should work one (1) service/cashier job and one (1) food prep/waitstaff job at some point. Little perspective, ferchrissakes.

[pantheon]

At least he knows you leave the house. (http://www.toothpastefordinner.com/100710/see-you-tomorrow.gif)

[Chimi]

One of the things I enjoy at my job at the ol' corporate movie rental chain is telling non-regulars (and regulars as well, but they don't get the same look on their faces) that the movie they've picked is horrible. Not like I'm judging them for their choice or anything, and I always temper it with an 'I've heard' or 'I thought,' and with some regulars it's more of a raised eyebrow and a "Seriously?"

"This movie? Awful. Really bad. I'll take your money if you want it, but I cannot let you leave without a fair warning. No refunds. Please, for your sake, pick something else."

I'd say, for non-regulars, about half will pick something else, about half will stick with it.

Never had a complaint about it, but from the thread I'm guessing some of you would either bite my head off or have it eat you alive for the next few days.

[Ispolkom]

I'd just as soon not have cashiers make comments about my purchases, but since I always look at what others have in their carts, who am I to complain?

I did think that it was over the top, though, when Mrs. Ispolkom went to the bank to deposit her unemployment check, and the teller said sympathetically and oh-so-very-loudly, "Oh dear, you still haven't found a new job?"

[purplehorseshoe]

I'd just as soon not have cashiers make comments about my purchases, but since I always look at what others have in their carts, who am I to complain?

I did think that it was over the top, though, when Mrs. Ispolkom went to the bank to deposit her unemployment check, and the teller said sympathetically and oh-so-very-loudly, "Oh dear, you still haven't found a new job?"

When I was laid off from my previous job, my severance check was just that, a paper check. When I took it to the bank, the cashier looked at the company name on the header and said, "Oh, you work there? What do you do?"

(Me: "Um, I used to work there.")

[Frank]

One of the things I enjoy at my job at the ol' corporate movie rental chain is telling non-regulars (and regulars as well, but they don't get the same look on their faces) that the movie they've picked is horrible. Not like I'm judging them for their choice or anything, and I always temper it with an 'I've heard' or 'I thought,' and with some regulars it's more of a raised eyebrow and a "Seriously?"

...

Never had a complaint about it, but from the thread I'm guessing some of you would either bite my head off or have it eat you alive for the next few days.
Well, I do have some problem with this. Just because you don't like the movie doesn't mean they won't. I like lots of stuff other people don't; other people like lots of stuff I don't.

I mean, unless it's Showgirls or something. And even then, if someone whose rental history is Girls Gone Wild Vol. 1 through Girls Gone Wild Vol. 22,316 wants to rent it, you're going to tell him it's a bad movie?

[Attack from the 3rd dimension]

It's a BAD movie, sailor.

[Martini Enfield]

Well, I do have some problem with this. Just because you don't like the movie doesn't mean they won't. I like lots of stuff other people don't; other people like lots of stuff I don't.

I mean, unless it's Showgirls or something. And even then, if someone whose rental history is Girls Gone Wild Vol. 1 through Girls Gone Wild Vol. 22,316 wants to rent it, you're going to tell him it's a bad movie?

There are some movies that are just awful no matter how you look at them- movies that are designed to cash in on more popular titles, for example, hurriedly rushed-to-DVD movies that look promising but really aren't, and so on.

Also, just to scuttle your own example, there are lots of people who don't think Showgirls is a bad film. I've seen it, and whilst I wouldn't call it an Oscar contender, I honestly don't think it's anything like the Worst Movie Of All Time And An Embarrassment To The Movie Industry that everyone seems to think it is.

I don't think Chimi is going to be criticising the choices made by customers of movies that he, personally thinks are terrible; but rather movies that are widely acknowledged to be terrible or quite probably not what the person renting them thinks they are.

I'd rather my local video library give me a heads up that Plan Nine From Outer Space is not a great film so I can say "Thanks, I know it's bad, that's why I'm renting it" than have them say nothing, have me get home, and discover the movie isn't the Worthy Classic (But it's in Black & White!) that I thought it was going to be, and then get mad at them for "letting" me rent something they knew was terrible, how dare they!

Other people who've worked in customer service for any appreciable length of time will understand the rationale behind that, I'm sure. ;)

[saje]

Well this thread is just full of little snowflakes.

Were you all this socially stunted before the internet?


:cool: Excellent :D

[Attack from the 3rd dimension]

Well, I do have some problem with this. Just because you don't like the movie doesn't mean they won't. I like lots of stuff other people don't; other people like lots of stuff I don't.

I mean, unless it's Showgirls or something. And even then, if someone whose rental history is Girls Gone Wild Vol. 1 through Girls Gone Wild Vol. 22,316 wants to rent it, you're going to tell him it's a bad movie?

There are some movies that are just awful no matter how you look at them- movies that are designed to cash in on more popular titles, for example, hurriedly rushed-to-DVD movies that look promising but really aren't, and so on.

Also, just to scuttle your own example, there are lots of people who don't think Showgirls is a bad film. I've seen it, and whilst I wouldn't call it an Oscar contender, I honestly don't think it's anything like the Worst Movie Of All Time And An Embarrassment To The Movie Industry that everyone seems to think it is.

I don't think Chimi is going to be criticising the choices made by customers of movies that he, personally thinks are terrible; but rather movies that are widely acknowledged to be terrible or quite probably not what the person renting them thinks they are.

I'd rather my local video library give me a heads up that Plan Nine From Outer Space is not a great film so I can say "Thanks, I know it's bad, that's why I'm renting it" than have them say nothing, have me get home, and discover the movie isn't the Worthy Classic (But it's in Black & White!) that I thought it was going to be, and then get mad at them for "letting" me rent something they knew was terrible, how dare they!

Other people who've worked in customer service for any appreciable length of time will understand the rationale behind that, I'm sure. ;)

Plan 9 was my first thought also.

I cultivate my relationship with service people most of the time, since they are the source of suggestions and such. It's a good deed to make a person in a sucky job laugh.

Plus I love buying the weird selection of things that might just make them wake up at 2 a.m. and wonder if they should call the cops.