My last name baffles most people, so most don’t even attempt it, which was good for 2 free movies at Blockbuster (“If we don’t thank you by your last name, your next movie is free!”) before they finally resorted to calling me Mrs. V.
When I made hotel reservations in my maiden name for my honeymoon, we were greeted at the hotel as “Mr. and Mrs. [My Maiden Name]” It was really rather amusing. He was just highly relieved that they hadn’t called us by my former married name… That he would not have taken too kindly to.
I also hate the horribly crowded aisles in many stores. A drugstore in our area was recently sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act because of this problem, so maybe there’s some hope. I’m not that big, but I’m kind of a klutz and so I almost always end up knocking something over.
The thing that drives me nuts about my local department store is that you must go through the perfume department to reach anything else. Additionally, they frequently have little gift bags of potpourri on display, which contributes to the overwhelming odor.
Re: the unfolding of piled garments. Finding your size is one factor in the unfolding, but looking at the style is another factor. I’m a Dockers fan, but I buy the plain front (no pleats) pants, and my local store puts the plain fronts and the pleats in the same pile. Plus you have to check for flaws in the garment (unfinished seams, a snag in the fabric, etc.). I do try to fold them back up, but they don’t look as nice as when the store folds them.
But it makes your commercial transaction so personal! :rolleyes: Yeah, as personal as all those epistles from Publisher’s Clearinghouse and the Agents Of Satan record club.
Safeway staff are seemingly required to get the customer’s name off their airmiles/ club card, so I called Safeway and told them to take my name off the club card. Now the receipt they read the name off says’ Safeway Shopper’ instead of Annie Vader*. Please guess the number of times I’ve been told “Thank you, Ms. Shopper”?
I stopped counting at six. * of course that’s not my name, but I do whine a lot when Master Kenobi tells me off
Here’s another vote for customers who won’t control their children. It drives me nuts when I’m shopping and it drives me nuts when I’m working.
At the consignment store I work at, the owners have banned more than one customer from bringing her children in because she refused to control them. Believe me - the kids must have been running and screaming like BANSHEES for this to happen. I bring my DOG with me when I work there and they don’t care.
The person in front of me who waits until all the items are scanned and put away. Waits for the total on the bill. Then reaches in to his pocket or her purse and pulls out the checkbook. Now has to write date, store, total, word out the total, memo line and sign their name. You can do a lot of that while waiting, really.
Regarding the cashier asking “did you find everything”:
Well, by the time I’m there at the cashier, I obviously found something, and if there was something additional I wanted, it’s a little later now, isn’t it?
I prefer if there’s a person out on the sales floor who will help me find stuff. First time I was at the new Nordstroms in my area, I couldn’t find what I wanted. A salesperson asked if she could help, and I said no, they didn’t seem to have what I needed, which was a navy blue business suit for a job interview. “Certainly. Just a moment.” Within 5 minutes I was in the dressing room with 3 choices. By the time I’d tried those, she was back with more. I found one I liked, but it didn’t fit exactly right. No problem. A snap of the fingers and a tailor appeared. How much will that cost? Nothing. Free alterations.
There should be a special Hell for cashiers who pile up a bunch of crumpled bills in your hand and then put 99 cents change on top of them.
Likewise for the jerks who stand gaping at the totals add up at the checkout stand and then when all is finally done reach for their checkbook or start fishing around for their wallet, or worse a coin purse. The fact that they are going to have to pay for this stuff seems to come as a complete surprise to them.
