Just got back from the local supermarket to pick up some groceries. Among the items I purchased was some club soda and Tom Collins mix. As the lady is checking the order, and sees the beverages, she says, loud enough for most of the frontline to hear:
“AH-HA, GONNA DO A LOT OF DRINKING IN THIS BAD WEATHER, AREN’T WE??? HAHAHAA!!!”
Then, to make things worse, there was an older couple who must have bought about 20 small bottles of tonic water. As the cashier hands me my receipt, allowing me to slither off in humiliation as every shopper in the store now knows I am a raging alcoholic, she bellows “OH!!! WE MUST BE DOING SOME DRINKING TOO!” then she realizes her mistake and, not making things any better, bellows:
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" … .OR DO YOU HAVE CRAMPS???"
The shopper sheepishly admitted she had cramps, and seeing my opportunity to pass on the spotlight of shame to her, I saw my opportunity and powdered.
Miss Cashier Lady:
Not that I have to answer to you, but NO, I don’t plan to do a “lot of drinking”. I bought one bottle of mix and two small bottles of club soda, not an entire truckload. Does look like I’m in for a “lot of drinking” to you??? Whether I have one Tom Collins a week, or sit home from now until tomorrow and drink myself out of my mind, as long as I don’t get behind a wheel or hurt anyone, it is none of your goddamned business what I drink or how much. Just run the fucking Tom Collins mix and club soda over the machine, and keep your mouth SHUT before I smash this bottle of Tom Collins mix over your stupid head.
It is not your place to announce to the entire store the potential health issues of customers. I am sure that lady wanted the ENTIRE store to know she had cramps. I can only imagine what embarrassments customers who check Pepto-Bismol, condoms, Preparation-H or stool softener must endure as they have to deal with your inquisitions.
As a lowly grocery store clerk, you are a low level, brainless monkey whose job is to stare at my selections, run them over the scanner, and bag them. The only three things I want to hear from your fucking pie hole are:
“Do you have your shopper’s card today?”
“Your total is XXXXX.”
“Here is your receipt, have a nice day and thank you!”
NOT:
“Wow thats a lot of cranberry juice! Urinary tract infection?”
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“Saltless pretzels? What do you have, gout or high blood pressure?”
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“Dr. School’s, huh? I hate smelly feet, too!”
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"Head and Shoulders—I hear that really controls those flakes!
You might think you are being friendly, and relating to your customers. You are not. You are embarrassing them and making them uncomfortable to make purchases that they might want to keep discreet. Keep it up, and you will be out of a job soon, your stupid twat. And when I see you out on the street, holding out a “Will Work for Food” sign, I will roll down my car window and yell, “UNEMPLOYED, HUH???”
While I completely agree with you that the clerk was out of line, I can’t agree with this at all. Yes they’re doing a menial job, but they’re people too. It’s bad to go out of line with some comments, but I think its nice when they get a little bit of small talk going, especially if its a cashier I’ve seen a few times before and they recognize me. It makes me feel more comfortable, and I imagine it makes their days go by a little faster than repeating the same select lines over and over.
And while commenting about drinking or medical items is bad, I don’t think that commenting on purchases is always bad. For instance, with the Super Bowl coming up, if I were to buy a bunch of stuff that looks like it’s for a Super Bowl party, and they perhaps commented on that and asked about the game, that would be cool. Or if the person in front of me buys some cake mix and birthday candles and they want to ask about whose birthday it is, I think that’s cool too.
So yeah, out of line, but you need to chill out a bit about it too.
Lord help if you have a baby with you, and the cashier is a grandmother. Look, I know my child is cute, and thank you. But if you could do your job whilst oohing and ahhing, I’d really appreciate it. I had one woman actually stop scanning my groceries to baby talk to my kid. You do know you’re in public, right?
Every time I hear about this happening, I think of a line from Northern Exposure:
“THERE’S A FUNGUS AMONG US!”
(Said of course by the clerk to someone buying anti-fungal cream.)
When I was a cashier, I was always taught never to comment on purchases. Of course, I was also taught how to count back change, and to put the coins in the person’s hand first and then to hand them the bills. There are plenty of things to make small talk about (the weather, the Super Bowl, etc.) without calling attention to a person’s buying habits.
I don’t mind small talk with cashiers; in fact I rather enjoy it. But it is highly, HIGHLY rude to comment on someone’s purchases.
I routinely buy feminine products for my wife, and “kiddie” stuff (girlie toys, girlie clothing, etc), for my 7-y.o. daughter, and it’s never bothered me a bit to do so. But I’d be quite embarrassed if someone called excessive attention to any of it.
Back when I worked at Eckerds, I would always ask pet food buyers what their animal was named. You wouldn’t believe the stuff people name their pets…I remember one cat’s name was something like Princess Jellybean Jizzbubble.
I did have a co-worker who would ask very personal questions, but he was trying to be a jerk. Once I saw him ring up this girl who had timidly put a box on the counter. He snatched it up and bellowed, “Trojans Economy Pack! Hold on, I need to call for a price check!” She turned bright red and fortunately started laughing.
Yeah, I don’t mind when a clerk says, “Oh, is that salsa any good?” or the girl at the pet store asks me how many cats I have. I don’t even mind if they notice that I’m buying a chilled bottle of wine and wish me a pleasant evening at home. I’d mind if they made some sort of weird negative comment, of course. I had the customer behind me once give me the strangest stare when I was buying condoms and pancake mix.
Seconded. Well, maybe not the douche bag part - no need to be insulting- but my first thought was that the cashier’s comments must have hit a wee bit too close to home. That may be totally untrue but that’s how the OP’s curious overreaction comes across. On second thought, we may just leave the douche bag part in, in light of the" lowly, brainless grocery store clerk part".
I do find it curious how long some cashiers will take to peruse my newspaper, however.
No, it’s the “Aunt Jemima treatment” from Stripes.
Cashiers don’t need to be treated like pariahs, but neither do they need to be making comments on my purchases, other than “Do you want to get another of these? Because they’re two for the price of one.” I do not need the asshole who works at my Giant Eagle who used to comment on everything I bought like the one in the OP. I couldn’t get a bag of pretzels without “Are you having a party? When is the party? Can I come to the party?” I was seriously creeped out by him. Then I just stopped going through his line, even if it meant waiting.
