# 100 things a customer should never do. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 3, 2009, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154 "2009-11-03T11:31:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/161 "2009-11-05T19:19:50Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > In our defense, when the cashier hands back bills, receipt, and change all together, it’s really hard! You have to stuff the coins in somewhere, try to put the receipt somewhere else. Not to mention counting the change to make sure that it’s right, because they just dump what they _think_ the register told them to grab in your hand happenstance without any explanation of it. > [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I wear my coat inside grocery stores because the inside of a grocery store tends to be on the chilly side anyway, especially the frozen section. (This may be an early indicator that I am turning into an old person.) Haven’t you recently lost a bit of weight? You’re less insulated! > [@Mavis\_Topholese](#): > > While we’re venting: > > You’re at the grocery store. You’re in front of the milk. Do you really need to stand there blocking the aisle and my access to the milk while you ponder the ramifications of getting 3.5% or 2% or skim? Just grab some milk already. It’s milk. There are differences. And it’s not just regular milk that’s in that case, there are flavored milks, soy milks, buttermilk, cream, half-and-half, maybe-dairy coffee creamer products and often juices and teas in the same case. Oh, and at this time of year, egg nogs, too. And pints, quarts, half gallons and gallons. And best as I can tell, at the store where I shop, there’s no rhyme or reason for where various products are from week to week. It can take a minute to find a gallon of skim if it’s not where the last gallon of skim you grabbed was. I don’t drink cow milk (only soy) and my mom doesn’t drink it but sometimes wants some for breakfast cereal and I always have to hunt for a simple quart of 2%. Sometimes I’m hunting for something specific for a recipe. I’m pretty sure that the end result of using half-and-half or non-dairy creamer product in a recipe that calls for whipping cream isn’t going to be very optimal. You can wait 20 seconds while I look, and go complain to the store manager who keeps rearranging the freakin’ dairy case from month to month. > [@](#): > > My theory is that there’s a whole bunch of people for whom a trip to the grocery store or the drugstore is the high point of their week and they are going to savor every minute of the experience, chat with the cashiers, examine every product, etc. I don’t know about high point of the week, but there are a lot of people, particularly elderly or infirm people, who are very isolated and cashiers are the only people they might have a face-to-face conversation with for several days at a time. Human interaction is vital to our wellbeing; I’m not willing to begrudge someone a conversation _during_ their transaction. My addition to the list: Be more thoughtful about people using the electric mobility carts in the store. When I’m on a cart, I and the cart are one. I am not blocking your access to the Cocoa Krispies out of spite, but because I don’t have any other way of getting to my oatmeal. I am not going to apologize for having to be where I am to get the items I need just because the cart is large. I can’t help that. Do not block my way. Do not walk in front of me or cut me off with your cart. The electric cart and I together weigh a hell of a lot more than you and your cart and we can’t stop (or turn) on a dime. I’m moving slowly, you can see me coming and judge accordingly. I’m at a disadvantage trying to both steer the behemoth, plodding cart and find the items I need in a store designed to be visually engaged from about two feet above my head when I’m in that seated position. (Which puts me on roughly the same eyeline as a toddler in the front seat of a standard cart.) Quit looking at me in disgust too. My legs don’t work well enough to walk me around a 20,000 square foot supercenter. I wish that they did, but that they don’t doesn’t make me inferior to you. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/162 "2009-11-05T20:43:42Z")
> [@Shot\_From\_Guns](#): > > This is it, exactly. It’s not that any person here is necessarily a skeevy creeper–it’s that the object of the flirtation has no good way of getting out of the interaction if they so desire. But that’s just it. Waitresses _can_ avoid the person or say something There are plenty of ways of communicating that you don’t want to be flirted with, whether verbal or nonverbal. But, instead of trying these, they decide that it’s more important to get the person’s $30 tip than it is to be comfortable. So they _choose_ to deal with it. (I do understand if they’ve tried to communicate their discomfort and it failed. But not when they intentionally fake enjoyment, or worse, flirt back.) Bartenders are even worse. They’re serving alcohol. You know, that substance that increases the testosterone in women and decreases the inhibitions of everybody else. It’s part of the job to deal with the drunks. Don’t you think you are going to get flirted with? Heck, most bartenders I know chose the job for that very reason. But I also want to point out that a lot of people are really bad flirters. They go straight for the overly sexual, 100% transparent come-ons. A good flirter knows to test the waters with something innocuous and see if the other person flirts back. If they do, again, they are choosing to do so. If not, the flirter should back down, and nobody’s the wiser. If more people would do this, it would help alleviate a lot of problems like those mentioned above. (Well, it would if alcohol weren’t involved. It not only makes people become perverts but makes them stupid, too.) ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/163 "2009-11-05T21:00:06Z")
> [@RaftPeople](#): > > Keep your eyes forward at all times. Minimum 12inches separation between people and maximum 18inches. > > Do not make any vocalizations in a language other than the first language of the majority of the people in line. If this is unknown then keep all communications in a written form. > > Never, and I mean never ever question the price that is rung up. If the product was marked incorrectly, you should have noticed that when the same product was rung up for one of the customers in font of you or in one of the lines to either side. > > Finally, we hope you enjoy shopping at FU-Mart! No soup for you! NEXT!!! ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/164 "2009-11-05T21:01:58Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > But that’s just it. Waitresses _can_ avoid the person or say something There are plenty of ways of communicating that you don’t want to be flirted with, whether verbal or nonverbal. But, instead of trying these, they decide that it’s more important to get the person’s $30 tip than it is to be comfortable. So they _choose_ to deal with it. (I do understand if they’ve tried to communicate their discomfort and it failed. But not when they intentionally fake enjoyment, or worse, flirt back.) Yeah, really, why DO they care so much about getting paid? It’s not like they’re at work or anything…oh, wait. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/165 "2009-11-05T21:30:51Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > And while we’re at it let’s mention how to maneuver a cart down the aisle while shopping. > DO: > -Keep the cart parallel to the aisle > -Keep the cart to one side of the aisle > -Stand either behind or in front of the cart when browsing > DO NOT: > -Stop the cart perpendicular to the aisle > -Park the cart in the middle of the aisle > -Stand beside the cart I’ll do you one better. Once you enter the store, do not let the wheels on the cart stop until you get to the cashier. If you can’t grab what you need while still moving, you didn’t really need it in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/166 "2009-11-05T21:33:04Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > I’ll do you one better. Once you enter the store, do not let the wheels on the cart stop until you get to the cashier. If you can’t grab what you need while still moving, you didn’t really need it in the first place. If you turned this into a movie starring Keanu Reeves, I would watch it. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/167 "2009-11-05T21:36:30Z")
You mean about a cart that had to keep a certain speed and couldn’t go below that speed because if it did go below that speed it would cause all the items inside to instantly reach their expiration dates? I think it was called The Cart that Couldn’t Slow Down. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/168 "2009-11-05T21:36:58Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > I’ll do you one better. Once you enter the store, do not let the wheels on the cart stop until you get to the cashier. If you can’t grab what you need while still moving, you didn’t really need it in the first place. Ah. Somebody else remembers _Supermarket Sweep_. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/169 "2009-11-05T21:51:21Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > You mean about a cart that had to keep a certain speed and couldn’t go below that speed because if it did go below that speed it would cause all the items inside to instantly reach their expiration dates? I think it was called The Cart that Couldn’t Slow Down. You people laugh, but when I enter a grocery store, every other mother fucker in there becomes my mortal enemy. ---
**Author:** ![Shot\_From\_Guns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ccd318/32.png) [@Shot\_From\_Guns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shot_From_Guns)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/170 "2009-11-05T22:39:22Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > But that’s just it. Waitresses _can_ avoid the person or say something There are plenty of ways of communicating that you don’t want to be flirted with, whether verbal or nonverbal. But, instead of trying these, they decide that it’s more important to get the person’s $30 tip than it is to be comfortable. So they _choose_ to deal with it. (I do understand if they’ve tried to communicate their discomfort and it failed. But not when they intentionally fake enjoyment, or worse, flirt back.) No, they **can’t**. Unless the customer is pretty much **flat-out groping them** , there’s not a hell of a lot then can do but smile. If you disagree, please tell me when you or anyone you know personally worked in a service job where the manager said, “If anybody makes you the least bit uncomfortable, by all means, tell them to stop talking to you.” Sure, they could try just not playing along at all, but when you depend on tips to pay your rent and buy your food, even that isn’t much of an option. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/171 "2009-11-05T22:50:50Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > But that’s just it. Waitresses _can_ avoid the person or say something There are plenty of ways of communicating that you don’t want to be flirted with, whether verbal or nonverbal. But, instead of trying these, they decide that it’s more important to get the person’s $30 tip than it is to be comfortable. So they _choose_ to deal with it. (I do understand if they’ve tried to communicate their discomfort and it failed. But not when they intentionally fake enjoyment, or worse, flirt back.) Well…yeah, but as you yourself admit, these ways involve not getting paid. If they stare blankly at the customer making a stupid come on, he might get the picture, but she’s not going to get tipped and her manager might give her a talk on being more accommodating to the customers. “More important to get the person’s $30 tip than it is to be comfortable”? You make them sound like strippers or hookers. Besides, if guys KNOW they’re going along with it out of wanting a tip, why are they doing it? That’s so incredibly creepy. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2009, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/172 "2009-11-05T23:04:19Z")
I’m sorry, **Big T** , but you’re just wrong about waitresses being able to avoid or blow that stuff off. It isn’t nearly that easy, and a lot of guys can’t take a hint if they try to be subtle. I think it’s also distasteful to suggest that they should have to choose between getting paid for their work (and they make their living off of tips, not salary) or being free from sexual harrassment. ---
**Author:** ![valleyofthedolls](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a4c791/32.png) [@valleyofthedolls](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/valleyofthedolls)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/173 "2009-11-06T01:01:19Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > But that’s just it. Waitresses _can_ avoid the person or say something There are plenty of ways of communicating that you don’t want to be flirted with, whether verbal or nonverbal. But, instead of trying these, they decide that it’s more important to get the person’s $30 tip than it is to be comfortable. So they _choose_ to deal with it. (I do understand if they’ve tried to communicate their discomfort and it failed. But not when they intentionally fake enjoyment, or worse, flirt back.) So basically because they’re waitresses or bartenders and they want to be paid for the work they put in, they deserve whatever they get? You know, these people are working. Their job is to provide customer service to paying customers. Shucking and jiving for attention starved men isn’t part of the description. It’s not okay to interfere with their ability to earn a livelihood. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/174 "2009-11-06T02:17:52Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > But that’s just it. Waitresses _can_ avoid the person or say something There are plenty of ways of communicating that you don’t want to be flirted with, whether verbal or nonverbal. But, instead of trying these, they decide that it’s more important to get the person’s $30 tip than it is to be comfortable. So they _choose_ to deal with it. (I do understand if they’ve tried to communicate their discomfort and it failed. But not when they intentionally fake enjoyment, or worse, flirt back.) > > Bartenders are even worse. They’re serving alcohol. You know, that substance that increases the testosterone in women and decreases the inhibitions of everybody else. It’s part of the job to deal with the drunks. Don’t you think you are going to get flirted with? Heck, most bartenders I know chose the job for that very reason. > > But I also want to point out that a lot of people are really bad flirters. They go straight for the overly sexual, 100% transparent come-ons. A good flirter knows to test the waters with something innocuous and see if the other person flirts back. If they do, again, they are choosing to do so. If not, the flirter should back down, and nobody’s the wiser. If more people would do this, it would help alleviate a lot of problems like those mentioned above. (Well, it would if alcohol weren’t involved. It not only makes people become perverts but makes them stupid, too.) Wow. So instead of having the person who is doing the inappropriate behavior stop doing it, you believe it should be the waitress/bartender’s job to just deflect it or tell them to stop and risk being stiffed on a tip they’ve earned? Well gosh, that sounds all kinds of right doesn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/175 "2009-11-06T03:16:04Z")
Don’t just bark your order unadorned at the server. That is an actual human being you are interacting with, so you still have to say please, thank you, and may I have. It absolutely makes me cringe when I see someone ahead of me in line doing this. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/176 "2009-11-06T03:49:42Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Tough. I like hundreds. They occupy much less space in my wallet. If the restaurant can’t keep enough change on hand to handle them, they should just go out of business right now. Late night or a drive thru is one thing. Inside is another. Suck it up, plate jockey. Where’s my change?😛 Where I worked as a waitress, each server had their own “bank” and made change for each table. When the server says “I’ll take that when you’re ready” it’s pretty literal. I didn’t run the money to some secret cash register, I made the change myself. So, I would save 20.00 from the night before broken down to make change. 100.00 from the first table was always a hassle! Yes, I could run upstairs to the bartender to break it, and it wasn’t a huge huge issue (unlike unwanted flirting) but I still empathized with Bouv’s rant. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/177 "2009-11-06T04:01:41Z")
> [@valleyofthedolls](#): > > So basically because they’re waitresses or bartenders and they want to be paid for the work they put in, they deserve whatever they get? You know, these people are working. Their job is to provide customer service to paying customers. Shucking and jiving for attention starved men isn’t part of the description. It’s not okay to interfere with their ability to earn a livelihood. In most restaurants, yeah, putting up with “friendly flirting” from customers is not part of the job description, unless the restaurant is Hooters or one of its clones. Then, the waitress is expected to be flirtatious and extremely friendly, and I assume that any woman who applies to be a Hooters girl knows this. But for the most part, waitresses shouldn’t be expected to put up with sexual attention from people that think that the waitresses are actually interested in the diners, and not the tips. I said it before, and I’ll say it again. Try all those friendly flirty lines on someone who can tell you to get lost, to see if people are REALLY welcoming that sort of attention. Any server who discouraged flirting, or made any sort of attempt to avoid a customer, would almost certainly get disciplined, if not fired. We already see that the people who are flirting are in denial, that they think the attention is welcomed. They aren’t going to pick up on subtle hints. Nothing short of being told “Cut it out, you loser” is going to discourage their behavior. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/178 "2009-11-06T06:37:17Z")
> [@bout](#): > > Don’t pay your $20 check with a $100 bill, _especially_ if you’re my first table. Why the fuck do you even _have_ a $100 bill? Who walks around with those? ATMs give out $20s, so this means you went into the bank to get money…ok, not too unusual, you had to cash a check. But why did you get $100s? In Vegas, they pay out your winnings in 100s. What are you supposed to do? Wipe your ass with them? You might, but I’m not that rich… yet. You do have a point overall, though. Don’t try to buy a pack of gum with a $100 bill. That makes you an ass. Hell, don’t even try it with a 20. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/179 "2009-11-06T11:25:14Z")
> [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](#): > > Wow. > > So instead of having the person who is doing the inappropriate behavior stop doing it, you believe it should be the waitress/bartender’s job to just deflect it **or tell them to stop and risk being stiffed on a tip they’ve earned?** Well gosh, that sounds all kinds of right doesn’t it? Not to turn this into a thread on tipping but…any boss that didn’t put a stop in any sort of such harrassment in the workplace is looking at all kinds of trouble. As a “boss” (and the tip is your wage) if you made pay dependent how much the employee flirted you’re in for a world of hurt. But I guess tipping is a good way to pay service staff :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2009, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154/180 "2009-11-06T12:48:33Z")
> [@MeanOldLady](#): > > In Vegas, they pay out your winnings in 100s. What are you supposed to do? Wipe your ass with them? You might, but I’m not that rich… yet. > > You do have a point overall, though. Don’t try to buy a pack of gum with a $100 bill. That makes you an ass. Hell, don’t even try it with a 20. I was surprised at the number of people who would pay for things with $100 notes, and as far as I could tell probably 75% of them were doing it as an excuse to flash their cash: “Look at me! I’ve got a $100 note!” The way I see it is that as long as you’re not flashing the $100s at 9:04 am (or on weekends) when buying less than about $20 worth of stuff, it’s not a big deal- a sale is a sale, after all. But really, no-one cares that you have a $100 note. Especially since it won’t be your $100 note as soon as you make your purchase; it will be _our_ $100 note. In relation to the OP: Do no blame the front-line staff for Head Office policies. They have no control over them at all and, in all likelihood, hate them even more that you do. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/100-things-a-customer-should-never-do/516154.md?page=10)