Okay, at the first of the year, SNAP (food stamps) in Iowa stopped paying for certain kinds of junk food. Yes, the decision is controversial, and that’s why a gas station near my home put up a sign listing what is covered there, and at the bottom, it said, “Please do not take it out on the cashiers.”
That kind of behavior is nothing new, I fear. 25 years ago when I worked at the grocery store pharmacy, we joked that we should put up a sign that said, “ABUSING THE STAFF WILL NOT RESULT IN LOWER PRICES.” We didn’t think the store management would like that, so we didn’t do it. Nice thought, however.
My doctor’s office has a sign right by the entrance, besides the usually “no tobacco or weapons” warning, that verbally or physically abusing employees will lead to the police being called. I know this is not a new problem, but it’s sad that people need these reminders.
Non-pharmacy people generally think that sick people are going to be troublemakers, but TBH, that’s not the case. It’s the walking well who cause most of the problems, and the people who bitch & moan the most about their copay going up 17 cents are also the type who probably have a lot of money stashed under the mattress.
Having unfortunately had to use the services of an oncologist, that office was one of the most chill places I’ve ever been. Really. I’ve never heard people laughing in the next room more than I did there.
I’ve had to deal with, I don’t even know how many, angry customers over the years, yelling at my cashier and blaming them for their credit card declining. I’ve had customers call me and ask to speak to the cashier (we don’t do that) because they “demand to know” why they declined their credit card.
So many times I’ve had the “I’m sure you have enough money, no, really, you don’t have to show it to me, you need to call this number on the back of the card and talk to them about it, no, I promise, declining or approving your purchase isn’t a thing anyone here has any control over” conversation with a customer. And half the time they still don’t get it.
One lady typed her PIN wrong probably a dozen times and when she got it right, the card was locked. She’ll go to her grave blaming us for locking it.
I’m glad my office is within earshot of my cash registers. I seem to be able to sense when an interaction is starting to go sideways and get myself out there before they take something out on the cashier.
I didn’t see those kinds of signs at any of the medical facilities I haunt until COVID. Apparently bad behavior was a problem in a variety of places, including my eye clinic.
Absolutely. Many people started to get really abusive towards medical staff in the past six years, or since the beginning of the pandemic. And the abuse has contributed to many clinicians (doctors, nurses and others) leaving the profession.
Edited to add that workplace violence happens more often in healthcare settings than others.
This is another of those things that I lay at the feet of the Trump regime. It is well-known that Trump has severely coarsened public discourse. His fans view this as a positive. The reality is that he says what they are thinking but lack the nerve to actually say. But, since he says horrible things without negative consequences, this emboldens others to act in similar ways. Of course, most people lack the immunity to consequences that Trump enjoys.
Our society/culture is changing, and not for the better.
That’s a blast from the past! The Not Always Right website is still around? I used to amuse myself with it at least 15 years ago in slow working hours…
Whenever I see a sign like that, it’s always at some place that is often frustrating to deal with. One that comes to mind here is Service Ontario, which I’ve never had a problem with but because they deal with all manner of government services mostly involving vehicle registration, driver’s licenses, and health insurance cards, the bureaucracy can be frustrating for anyone who doesn’t have all their documentation exactly right.