# Cashier Confidentiality: How Would You Feel About This **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 24, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239 "2010-12-24T00:36:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Goofus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7feea3/32.png) [@Goofus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Goofus)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/21 "2010-12-24T22:30:54Z")
> [@IaMoDiNaRy](#): > > A pharmacy is a place where you should have an expectation of privacy I agree, and furthermore a pharmacy that fails to protect patient privacy in the way you described is probably violating HIPAA. ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/22 "2010-12-25T00:39:19Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > Making small talk is a pretty normal thing for a cashier to do. Since when does gossiping about someone behind their back qualify as small talk? “Looks like snow!” is small talk. “Did you see the game last night?” is small talk. “Haven’t seen you in a while, glad to have you back again.” is small talk. “Hey, Mrs. Jones was here earlier. You live in her building, don’t you? I see her twice a week these days.” is gossip, bordering on the malicious. There’s no excuse for it. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/23 "2010-12-25T01:18:55Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > In my experience (several alcoholics among my family & friends), when it gets to the point where others start thinking of you as an alcoholic, and you deny it defensively … you probably are an alcoholic. Sounds like a no-win situation. If someone thinks you’re an alcoholic, and you deny it, they’ll think they’re right. If someone thinks you’re an alcoholic, and you don’t deny it, your silence looks like guilt. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/24 "2010-12-25T03:57:58Z")
> [@IaMoDiNaRy](#): > > Slightly OT here - Does anyone here get their prescriptions filled at Target Pharmacy? If you do, have NO expectations of privacy there! I worked there during Christmas once and saw this happen to poor customers over and over. > > Here’s how it goes - you walk up to the counter which holds the actual cash registers. > > Person behind the counter(PBC): “Can I help you?” > You: “Yes, I need to get a few refills please.” > > PBC then walks away to go behind another counter quite a bit farther away where the computers are sitting. > > PBC: “Your name?” they shout. > You: “Jane Smith” you shout back. > PBC: “What medication do you need refilled?” > You: Looking embarrassingly over your shoulder at all the people standing in line behind you - “I need my birth control pills refilled and I need my anti-depressant meds filled but I can’t remember the names.” you shout. “I also need you to check to see if I have any refills on my hemorrhoid cream.” > PBC: “I’m sorry, Ms Smith. I didn’t hear that last part.” they shout. > You: “Cream, hemorrhoid cream!” you shout even louder. > > You then realize everyone in line has stopped talking and are now staring at you, some in silence, some snickering and whispering to each other about your, ummm, “problems”. > > The lesson here is - ALWAYS call ahead so that your refills are ready and waiting for you or DON’T use Target Pharmacy! > > A pharmacy is a place where you should have an expectation of privacy from the cashier but obviously Target doesn’t think so. Why on earth did they place the computers so far away from where you actually talk to the the pharmacist or cashier? Other pharmacies aren’t like this, thank goodness. It makes no sense to me. You could always hand over a written note. And hope no one thinks it’s a stick-up. ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/25 "2010-12-25T04:10:53Z")
I think malicious gossip is on par with the deadliest sins. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2010, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/26 "2010-12-25T04:18:37Z")
> [@lisalan](#): > > Alas, cashiers are not bound by customer/cashier confidentiality. I don’t believe they take the hippocratic oath either. The cashier should really get a life. Of course, if they had a life, would they be cashiers? (Note to all the cashiers I’ve just insulted: I keed! I keed! :D) ---
**Author:** ![Ms.Hazel\_Ice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9c0ed/32.png) [@Ms.Hazel\_Ice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms.Hazel_Ice)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/27 "2010-12-26T03:10:30Z")
I worked during college in a small town grocery store. I got to know most of the regulars pretty well, recalling their bagging preferences, usual purchases, lottery requests, etc. I once made a comment about a previous purchase that proved useful. A woman came through the store buying a round loaf of bread and the generic brand of grape juice. A man came through hours before, buying the same exact thing. I looked up at the woman and commented on the coincidence. Then, she looked somewhat surprised and questioned the appearance of the man, who I described as best as I could. It turns out the man was a minister buying items for communion that Sunday; she thought he had forgotten and was picking it up for the same occasion. Apparently, my observational skills had saved her a purchase. ---
**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:** [December 26, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/28 "2010-12-26T03:18:32Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > I’d be more worried about my friend who jumped to the conclusion that I was an alcoholic based on nothing but a cashier’s innocuous comment. Yeah, me too. I’d be more annoyed with the friend than the cashier. > [@tumbleddown](#): > > Since when does gossiping about someone behind their back qualify as small talk? > > “Looks like snow!” is small talk. “Did you see the game last night?” is small talk. “Haven’t seen you in a while, glad to have you back again.” is small talk. > > “Hey, Mrs. Jones was here earlier. You live in her building, don’t you? I see her twice a week these days.” is gossip, bordering on the malicious. > > There’s no excuse for it. I see Mrs. Jones twice a week is malicious gossip? That seems…kind of insane. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/29 "2010-12-26T03:19:45Z")
> [@t-bonham@scc.net](#): > > In my experience (several alcoholics among my family & friends), when it gets to the point where others start thinking of you as an alcoholic, and you deny it defensively … you probably are an alcoholic. Definitely. Just in case, though, you should never buy tires in that store again! Best wishes, hh ---
**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:** [December 26, 2010, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/30 "2010-12-26T03:32:31Z")
I don’t see how anyone should have any expectation of privacy or confidentiality about anything they do publicly. I certainly make no such assumptions myself. Hell, they have cameras in most of those places. Why would you expect confidentiality? ---
**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:** [December 26, 2010, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/31 "2010-12-26T03:35:08Z")
Incidentally, I think it would take more than hearing about a single purchase of alcohol for me to jump to a conclusion that someone I knew was an alcoholic. If I had no prior reason to believe that, I’d just assume a large purchase meant they were buying for a party or something, especially if it was during a holiday season. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/32 "2010-12-26T08:47:01Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > I see Mrs. Jones twice a week is malicious gossip? That seems…kind of insane. In Tumbledown’s example, I picked the cashier working at a liquor store. ---
**Author:** ![SecondJudith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@SecondJudith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SecondJudith)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/33 "2010-12-26T13:21:55Z")
What exactly did you buy? ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/34 "2010-12-26T14:58:57Z")
> [@Ms.Hazel\_Ice](#): > > I worked during college in a small town grocery store. I got to know most of the regulars pretty well, recalling their bagging preferences, usual purchases, lottery requests, etc. I once made a comment about a previous purchase that proved useful. A woman came through the store buying a round loaf of bread and the generic brand of grape juice. A man came through hours before, buying the same exact thing. I looked up at the woman and commented on the coincidence. Then, she looked somewhat surprised and questioned the appearance of the man, who I described as best as I could. It turns out the man was a minister buying items for communion that Sunday; she thought he had forgotten and was picking it up for the same occasion. Apparently, my observational skills had saved her a purchase. IMHO your nosiness and indiscretion canceled out the $5.00 you saved her. Your remarks were completely inappropriate ESPECIALLY in a small town (I live in one) where people already know too much about each other. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/35 "2010-12-26T15:41:51Z")
In tonight’s top story: Cashier’s unexcused nosiness leads to massive rioting and looting in the town! Story at 11. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/36 "2010-12-27T00:51:11Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I don’t see how anyone should have any expectation of privacy or confidentiality about anything they do publicly. I certainly make no such assumptions myself. Hell, they have cameras in most of those places. Why would you expect confidentiality? Indiscretion is poor customer service. I think we should be able to expect adequate customer service, including a reasonable level of professional discretion on the part of the staff taking our money. ---
**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:** [December 27, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/37 "2010-12-27T01:15:41Z")
I don’t agree that we have any such expectation whatsoever. We are in a public place engaging in public behavior. There is no entitlement to secrecy. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2010, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/38 "2010-12-27T03:58:58Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > I don’t agree that we have any such expectation whatsoever. We are in a public place engaging in public behavior. There is no entitlement to secrecy. The issue isn’t the shopper’s entitlement to privacy. Of course, anything we do in public is, well… public. Everyone has to make decisions about what they will/will not do in public, taking into account the possible behavior of others. The responsibility for those decisions resides entirely with the shopper. That’s not the crux of the matter is here. The issue here is the behavior and conduct of the cashier, APART from expectations of the shopper. As the cashier, how do YOU decide what to do? To say, “The shopper has no expectation of privacy, therefore, _I_ don’t have to be concerned with the shopper’s privacy,” is shirking YOUR duty to honor your own values. Your decision, as the cashier, about whether to comment on or reveal the shopper’s purchases out loud should not be based on what the shopper’s expectations of privacy are. That is completely muddying the water. That would be like saying, “Well, the guy left his wallet on the table, so he EXPECTS someone to steal it.” It’s still wrong to steal the wallet. The realistic expectations of the shopper are completely separate from the cashier’s own decisions and values re his/her conduct. ---
**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:** [December 27, 2010, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/39 "2010-12-27T04:24:28Z")
The cashier isn’t doing anything wrong, in my opinion. I don’t care if they tell somebody what I bought. That doesn’t hurt me. It doesn’t violate any “values.” ---
**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:** [December 27, 2010, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239/40 "2010-12-27T04:25:07Z")
I guess I’m still not seeing the big deal. It might be a bit intrusive, yeah, but it’s not like you can expect total silence from a cashier. It’s nice if they are, but if you’re really that hung up on it, order online or wear a disguise. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cashier-confidentiality-how-would-you-feel-about-this/565239.md?page=3)