# It is NONE of your business what I buy **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 26, 2006, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277 "2006-06-26T23:21:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BrattiAtti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c57346/32.png) [@BrattiAtti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrattiAtti)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/41 "2006-06-27T04:43:12Z")
Not that I would ever, ever make comments like those mentioned here, but… When I worked at a local retail store, we were _required_ to make conversation with each and every customer. It’s rather difficult to sound enthusiastic about what the weather’s like for the hundredth time in one shift. It’s easier to be inspired by what people may be buying. OTOH, it absolutely should be kept to niceties and nothing more. “Oh, nice, I have that same air freshener in my kitchen and absolutely love it,” versus, “Oh, great, like you’ll really be able to attract visitors with that stench wafting about your house.” Since one customer once made me cry for the next three, until I could finally break away for the restroom, I’ve made it a point to try to never act angry toward the cashier… even if I am feeling it. Considering I often say things without first thinking, it would be kind of hypocritical to make a huge deal about the faux pas of another. A chilly smile and thanks ought to make the message clear. My downfall would be giving people the benefit of the doubt. Don’t listen to me. Please. Or, at least wait until I’m in another room before you laugh. Thanks much. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/42 "2006-06-27T04:43:32Z")
Here’s a fun one: {Wrinkle your nose and sniffle a bit} “Well, since you’re being so helpful, let me return the favor. I recommend you use a better douche.” I don’t know how tacky that is, but it certainly is tacky. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/43 "2006-06-27T05:04:04Z")
> [@MelCthefirst](#): > > It was more of a joke - and really with health and obesity being a major issue in the US (and other countries), leaving it up to each person to control their own food intake is not really working is it?! "Americans’ life expectancy hit an all-time high in 2001, while age-adjusted deaths hit an all-time low, according to a new report released today by HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson. " [Link](http://www.brightsurf.com/news/march_03/HHS_news_031403.html) No, not working at all. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/44 "2006-06-27T05:14:47Z")
I once bought beer and mini-cream puffs for a party, and the Cashier said “Looks like someone is being naughty.” I said “Looks like I’m not the only one.” Her face turned beet red. I thanked her and left. ---
**Author:** ![ejtx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b77776/32.png) [@ejtx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ejtx)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/45 "2006-06-27T05:21:00Z")
> [@Excalibre](#): > > No. Fuck you. If another customer behind me in line decided to remark on what I was buying, I’d be appalled. If a cashier did it, you can bet there would be some nasty comeback coming their way before I recovered my dignity. If you defend your employees against unreasonable members of the public, good for you. > But if you permit your employees to be so mind-bogglingly rude to your customers, you certainly don’t have any right to act shocked when customers respond in kind. Where exactly did I say I permit that sort of behavior? Nowhere. As a matter of fact I don’t permit it from either side of the counter. I’m tired of self-important egotistical jerks coming in and walking all over employees because they feel they have the privilige of doing so. Just because someone is making slightly more than minimum wage does not make them less of a person. I’ve seen cashiers being yelled at, made fun of, called names and threatened. I’m advocating a mature and reasonable resolution to any conflict that may arise. Some of the suggestions made like those in posts 5, 18, and 30 are not conducive towards that goal, I think. I don’t like to see situations escalate over tiny, insignificant things like an offhand remark. A simple comment to the manager is more than sufficient and whole lot more effective, I can assure you. > [@Excalibre](#): > > If you’re concerned about this thread, it means you’re concerned that your employees are not conducting themselves in a professional or even remotely socially-acceptable way. In that case, the problem is you and the obviously insufficient training you’re providing your employees. Be careful, it is pretty slippery over here. > [@Excalibre](#): > > Hopefully, you will not keep your job for long, as your higher-ups will catch on to the incredibly poor job you’re apparently doing at operating your business. Says you. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/46 "2006-06-27T05:38:24Z")
> [@ejtx](#): > > Where exactly did I say I permit that sort of behavior? Nowhere. > > As a matter of fact I don’t permit it from either side of the counter. I’m tired of self-important egotistical jerks coming in and walking all over employees because they feel they have the privilige of doing so. Just because someone is making slightly more than minimum wage does not make them less of a person. But it doesn’t free them from the basic human responsiblity to be kind, and responding to their remark directly seems more like treating them like a person than running behind them to go tattle tale to their boss. That would be appropriate only for something mind-bogglingly rude (like the ciggarette story above) > [@](#): > > I’ve seen cashiers being yelled at, made fun of, called names and threatened. I’m advocating a mature and reasonable resolution to any conflict that may arise. No one has advocated anything like that. > [@](#): > > Some of the suggestions made like those in posts 5, 18, and 30 are not conducive towards that goal, I think. I don’t like to see situations escalate over tiny, insignificant things like an offhand remark. A simple comment to the manager is more than sufficient and whole lot more effective, I can assure you. Why would I want to get someone in trouble with their boss over a “tiny, indignifigant” thing? I’d much rather let them know–with a cold stare or a brief remark–that they’ve hurt my feelings and crossed a line of socially acceptable behavior. I am not going to be hateful, but I might well say something like “That was an unbearably rude thing to say.” or “That’s none of your business” Frankly, if a clerk has made remarks I find humilating, I am not going to want to repeat the remark to a stranger, and I don’t really like to get people in trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Excalibre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@Excalibre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Excalibre)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/47 "2006-06-27T05:58:49Z")
> [@ejtx](#): > > Where exactly did I say I permit that sort of behavior? Nowhere. Gosh, but you were willing to chastise people who consider responding to what is, by any standard, appalling rudeness in kind? If a cashier is so absolutely rude to me, and I’m rude in response, I probably haven’t done my karma any particular favor, but the responsibility still rests with the cashier. If a cashier treats customers that way, _that_ is the problem; what he or she may evoke in a customer is a minor issue at most. Besides, if your cashiers are behaving that way, it’s not particularly my responsibility to tell you. Ideally, if you trained your cashiers, they wouldn’t do such a thing. however, should it happen anyway, I’m far more inclined to use social pressure - an icy look or cutting response - rather than involve a manager (who will certainly be very difficult to get a hold of anyway - I should take twenty minutes out of my day to inform you that your employees aren’t properly trained? Isn’t that what you have mystery shoppers for?) ---
**Author:** ![bdgr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a87d85/32.png) [@bdgr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bdgr)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/48 "2006-06-27T06:06:10Z")
I remember an episode of Dahrma and Grag where Jenna Elfman did this when she was filling in as a grocery store cashier. I think that if the grocery store cashier looked like Jenna Elfman I probably wouldnt complain to the manager…I would probably go find more unhealthy stuff to buy and get scolded for. ---
**Author:** ![Sleel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Sleel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleel)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 8:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/49 "2006-06-27T08:09:11Z")
I’ve got nothing rage-inducing. The most annoying comment I ever got from a checker was when I was babbling on about the size of the ravens in Japan to my aunt when we were at the plant nursery. Me: “Really, they’re frigging huge, like pterodactyls or something. I saw a couple of them harassing a hawk once. The hawk was actually smaller than them.” Checker: “Pterodactyls were dinosaurs, not birds.” Me: \ “I know that. Where do you think birds eventually came from? Also, ever hear of the word ‘simile?’” ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 8:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/50 "2006-06-27T08:47:51Z")
> [@Sleel](#): > > Checker: “Pterodactyls were dinosaurs, not birds.” Actually, they weren’t. The pterosaurs - one of whom _pterodactylus_ was which - were flying reptiles, not dinosaurs. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/51 "2006-06-27T11:33:36Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > The only thing a cashier should comment on with regard to your choices is “ooh, that looks good, have you tried it” or “oh, I love that flavor”. Period. I’ve had a couple instances where I got remarks from the cashier: one who liked the bedsheets I was buying (she hadn’t seen them before, it was a new article in a huge supermarket) and one who’s known me since I was knee-high and figured my grandparents must be in town from the amount of fruit I was carting out. Grandma has been known to eat three kilos of peaches in one seating. The remarks listed by the OP would have met fire and brimstone right there. ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/52 "2006-06-27T11:46:09Z")
> [@ejtx](#): > > For those here thinking of going to the grocery store and chastising the “register monkeys” - here’s a hearty cup of Shut The Fuck Up. Your petty complaints pale in comparison to the metric ton of shit that anyone in customer service puts up with on a daily basis. If you came into my store and started anything like that I would politely inform you to remove your whiny ass from my store post-haste before I arrange for an escort. I don’t care who started it. Nobody in my store is going to be harassed for 7 bucks an hour. > > So the next time before you dismount your high-horse to engage the proletariat at their subterranean level, you may want to ask yourself if you have a legitimate reason for doing so. If so, I would kindly submit that you do it in a mature fashion to the manager on duty. That means no kicking, screaming, insults or yelling. If that is not sufficient, then feel free to write the company. Or just take your business elsewhere. This thread is about cashiers being nosy assholes. Start a thread that talks about how much cashiers are maligned, and you’ll get some positive response. This aint the thread for that sentiment. Start another thread. I’m all about social rights for the underpaid. ---
**Author:** ![Rune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e68b1a/32.png) [@Rune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rune)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/53 "2006-06-27T12:13:12Z")
People get enraged over the slightest things these days. So she chit chats. So the world falls apart. > [@Lord Ashtar](#): > > Once when I was in the supermarket stocking up on a few essentials like yogurt, tuna, and frozen dinners, the lady ringing me up offered, “You know, if you’d learn how to cook, it’d be a lot easier to get a girlfriend.” > > Needless to say, I was stunned. heh! I wish I got grocery girls like that. Mine can’t hardly be bothered to say hello. Some really good looking girls among them too, that I would be thrilled to be insulted by. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/54 "2006-06-27T13:57:34Z")
> [@Sleel](#): > > “I know that. Where do you think birds eventually came from? Also, ever hear of the word ‘simile?’” and us humans came from mouse-like mammals, does that mean I can call you Ratty? 😉 Some of stories here show rudeness on the part of the cashier, but many of them show my fellow dopers to be a bunch of cry-baby, whiny, drama-queens. Hell, a couple of the stories are obvious flirtation attempts that fell flat. Fuck get over yourselves. Except you **Antigen** nobody attacks Mom! ---
**Author:** ![kayT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayt/32/3633_2.png) [@kayT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayT)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/55 "2006-06-27T14:26:09Z")
> [@](#): > > They say that the customer is always right. That isn’t the case. It should be; “there will always be another customer.” That right there is the problem. As long as store management and workers see customers as completely replaceable, customer service will be nonexistant. It used to be that if you had lousy service and high prices and were always out of stock on the sale items, you would go out of business for lack of customers. No more. Too many people in too much of a rush and so they buy the product that is CLOSE to the one they wanted, from the really rude cashier, because they need something and need it now. So there’s no penalty for lousy, rude service. So, what next? Is it only going to get worse? (Have I turned into a cranky old fart overnight?) ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/56 "2006-06-27T15:25:43Z")
> [@FordPrefect](#): > > and us humans came from mouse-like mammals, does that mean I can call you Ratty? 😉 > > Some of stories here show rudeness on the part of the cashier, but many of them show my fellow dopers to be a bunch of cry-baby, whiny, drama-queens. Hell, a couple of the stories are obvious flirtation attempts that fell flat. Fuck get over yourselves. Except you **Antigen** nobody attacks Mom! Ehh, if someone can’t be bothered to even flirt properly, they deserve to be smacked down. ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/57 "2006-06-27T17:54:32Z")
> [@MelCthefirst](#): > > I’m nosey and like to look at what people are checking out too - ofcourse I would never say anything, although I am soooooo tempted when I see someone buying bucket loads of bad food, and they are in the demographic prone to diabetes and heart problems and they are more than moderately overweight and they have children in tow (eating habits of the young becoming eating habits for life) and so on… Funny, that’s just how I feel when I hear someone bragging about how often they’re tempted to demonstrate what an arrogant, rude, nosy fucker they really are. So hard to bite my tongue. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/58 "2006-06-27T18:00:14Z")
> [@Scuba\_Ben](#): > > …my favorite phone number to use when they really don’t need to know my phone number is: 202-456-1414. Ask for George. 😉 Holy shit! That number actually works! ;j Now if I could just get Georgie Boy’s extension… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/59 "2006-06-27T19:31:37Z")
Og, why is this so complicated for some people? I think I’ve experienced this from every conceivable angle: as a cashier, as a supervisor of cashiers, and of course as a customer. It’s common sense; you’re having a socially expected interaction with someone who is otherwise a complete stranger. Be polite. I actually like it when a cashier personalizes the interaction with a little relevant small talk, even if it’s a little informal. Good example: **OneCentStamp** is at the checkout line a couple weeks ago with a bag of charcoal and a couple of really nice ribeyes. (18-22 y/o male) Cashier: Man, can I come over to _your_ place after work? **OneCentStamp** : Sure, as long as you bring the beer. (both laugh) Now, if he’d said “you know, you’re a little fat to be eating those” (none of his business, unsolicited, insulting), or even “you know, charbroiled muscle meats are known to cause cancer” (none of his business, unsolicited), that would be another matter. But I still would have dealt with it directly to his face rather than get the manager. Going over the cashier’s head and trying to get him in trouble seems far mor dickish to me than just glaring him down or telling him to mind his own fucking business. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2006, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277/60 "2006-06-27T20:39:12Z")
The OP brings up on of my pet peeves. Other than the crappy bagging, this is the thing that bugs me the most. Yes, I buy a lot of bottles of water at once, because I don’t feel like going shopping that often, and I drink a few bottles a day. I don’t need to hear “Someone’s thirsty!” every time. I also don’t need to hear your sarcastic comment about how “nutritious” my frozen dinners are. And, no, there isn’t always another customer. We’re a small town and eventually you will use up everyone. No need to alienate the people who do come in. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/it-is-none-of-your-business-what-i-buy/362277.md?page=4)