Yes, I do know the basic principles of bag packing. And if you put a bunch of things on the counter and ask for them in a separate bag, I will be happy to do it. But don’t give me the red napkins and 19 items later give me the red plates “Oh, and put these with the red napkins…” which were 2 bags ago.
And people who put items on the counter one by one instead of keeping multiple items together so I can ring them up together should be banned from the store.
And another thing is what I’ve dubbed “the 7-eleven mentality.” All stores have to be open all the time. One of our strictest rules is to close two hours before Sunday on Friday. Do you think people understand this? HELL, NO! They want to come in five minutes before closing and shop for an hour. We station a person at the door to tell people we’re closed, and they say “Oh, I only want to get one item.” One or fifty, we are closed. That means you cannot come in.
We’ve gotten phone calls from people asking us to stay open until they get to the store, and from people outside telling us “You’re still open. I see people in there.” No, you see workers in there who are trying to finish up and get the hell out of there.
We had a person who slipped in when a worker was leaving, insisting she was not leaving without shopping. When a store worker tried to leave, she grabbed her and refused to let her go out. I immediately called the police and accused the woman of assault and kidnapping. The cop viewed the tape and said “Yes, that’s what you did.” They took her away.
this is the one that bugs me the most. It’s like they had no concept of having to pay for their purchases. It was worse in the check-writing days because they never seemed to know where they stashed their checkbook – even the men – sl-o-o-ly pull it out and put it on the counter, gaze blankly at the date line for several seconds then ask what the date is, painstakingly write the information like it’s an illuminated check, and finally, of course, are completely surprised when an ID is asked for…
I don’t understand it either. Please explain.
Sundown, not Sunday. Likely auto-correct. The owners of the store A-X works at are Orthodox Jews.
Right. Two hours before SUNDOWN (damn auto correct) on Friday, and we can only open again two hours after sundown on Saturday evening. This allows us to be outside the blue laws, meaning we can be open on Sunday and sell anything. And that, my dears, is a gold mine.
Other than alcohol, what else is restricted to non-Sunday sales at other stores?
Also, I think you should change the store signs to reflect the typo! They’ll notice “two hours before Sunday on Friday” for sure! Give 'em something to talk about while they’re waiting in line.
I’m guessing **Annie X-Mas ** works in Bergen County NJ. Where you can’t buy clothing, building materials ,furniture, home furnishings, appliances and probably a whole lot more I don’t know about on Sunday. Ikea is closed on Sunday and so are the malls. Although I think you can buy beer on Sunday.
I had no idea that the US still had enforceable blue laws anywhere.
I remember them in PA from when I was a kid but I’ve been under the impression that they were ruled unconstitutional at some point.
I remember them, too, when we moved to Reading for a time in 1969. All of the cleaning supplies and other non-food items were collected into one aisle and on Sunday, that aisle was roped off. Alcohol could not be sold anywhere publicly on Sunday,* except Pittsburgh and Philadelphia who [del]were beyond redemption[/del] didn’t want to lose convention business.
*There were a lot of ‘private clubs’ where you could buy a drink. Some were legitimate fraternal organizations like the Elks or VFW but there were also others where you could join for a dollar, get a card, then mosey up to the bar.
Right. Bergen County NJ still has blue laws, unless you work in a store that is closed from two hours before sundown and Friday and doesn’t open again until 2 hours after sundown on Saturday, and is closed for the major Jewish holidays. However, it does exempt said store from Christian blue laws.
And, oh yes, all the food you sell has to be kosher.
Snipping mine.
The way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race. What is the fascination with white males?
It’s a trap!
What? Guess I’ve never run into Blue Laws (and what’s "blue"about them?).
Are lawmakers (and presumably the people who elected them) expecting everyone to say “Damn, I can’t buy a couch today. I know… I’ll go to church and sing hymns instead!”
Yes.
All you never wanted to know about blue laws.
Blue was used as a disparaging reference to rigid moral codes and those who observed them.
Yes.
Here in Indiana for decades there were no alcohol sales on Sunday. I have heard one customer scold another “If you want alcohol on Sunday you should get it at communion” and “You should be in church, not drinking”.
Things have loosened up in recent years - you can now buy alcohol between 12 noon and 8 pm on Sunday - but you still can’t buy a car in this state on Sunday. Which law benefits the car dealerships across the state line.
They are called “blue” because, allegedly, Sabbath regulations in Connecticut were printed and distributed on blue paper way back in the day.
I once talked to a rah-rah Christian who insisted the blue laws were Jewish laws, past to keep Christians from making money on Sunday. I couldn’t change his idea. As they say “You can’t fix stupid.”
The joke is on them. Maybe you can buy a car on Sunday in Ohio or Kentucky, though I doubt it, but not in Illinois. The law was supposed to make sure salespeople got a day off, but why not Monday? Why a prime car selling day? Doesn’t make sense.
Blue laws were always more about limiting competition than any moral codes.