I get several gringos a week buying random hot peppers - they don’t know the name, just that they’re capsicum peppers. But at least we can all figure out they’re hot peppers. It narrows it down at least. All I can figure is that they are either making a hobby of tasting every pepper we sell, or they aren’t fussy how they get the spicy heat in their dinner.
There are also some folks who don’t speak English as a first language. They can name what they’re buying just fine - just not in a language we both find mutually intelligible. I try to help customers regardless of national origin, and sometimes that means turning to another cashier (or even customer!) and asking “do you know the English term for this?”
Nothing in that cite is any different than the VISA and MasterCard merchant contracts I had on my desk in 1998. Merchants may ask for but not require ID. If the card is not signed they ask for ID and ask the customer to sign the card, which is not valid without a signature.
(And writing “see ID” instead of a signature is still stupid. If you report your card lost or stolen, you have zero liability. If someone steals your card, and you don’t report it stolen, and the theif manages to forge the signature on the back of your card, you are still only liable for the first $50 by federal law, and most banks will not hold you liable at all.)
when I worked at macy’s. a woman with her husband wandered around for a while and then asked me where the restaurant was; I told her it was one floor down. She then told me it has to be on this floor. I then pointed out that she walked all over the floor but didn’t see it (her poor husband just shook his head), but she finally went downstairs
Again, except for where it does exist. Every single time an item I wanted was not on the shelf at Trader Joe’s, I’d ask an employee if they had any more and they would all say, “I’ll go check in the back,” and head to the stockroom. Half the time they’d come back with a box full of what I was asking for.
Her: “The sign over there says all sizes 79 cents. If that’s not true you need to change your signs!”
Me: “You mean that great big sign on the wall that says all sizes to XL? Or the sign over here that says all sizes to XL?”
Her: “Well the one on the machine says ALL SIZES”.
Me: “No, it doesn’t”
Her: “Are you calling me a liar?”
Me: “No, I’m telling you you’re wrong.”
Today we had a guy drive off without paying for gas. Right in front of me as I was talking to him asking if he was going to go in and pay for it. While we had multiple police officers in the store.
He’s in jail tonight, no bail, see a judge tomorrow.
Because he was also driving on a suspended license, with no insurance. And mouthy. Tried to tell the cop it was the cop’s fault he didn’t pay for gas. Although the cop wasn’t involved until AFTER he drove off without paying. Oh, and he sped off through two stop signs without stopping.
In the pre-internet days, this is how people price shopped without having to leave their home. The same reasoning applies to “Too low to advertise” sales where you have to either go into the store or put the item in your online cart before it shows. The logic being that once you’ve gone that far, you’re less likely to go somewhere else.
Another reason is you’re less likely to talk about competitor’s prices in-store vs mentioning it to over the phone. How often do you get to the checkout and say “Store X has it for $10 less!”. Even if you talk to a manager and threaten to go to another store, it’s unlikely they’ll price match unless they really want/need the sale.
In my immediate experience and in 2019, among the places that haven’t gotten that memo are Tops groceries and Verizon phone stores; both of which recently went and found me something in the back.
I find that this is very common, especially in grocery stores and especially with specialty or novelty items. My local grocery carries some really tasty cheese spreads. I’m sure they buy them in huge containers which they refrigerate, and then they transfer them to the retail containers on a daily basis. Maybe they put out 12 clamshells of each flavor daily. Then someone like me comes along and decides to stock up. I pick up 6. A couple of other people buy a few. Then someone else is looking for the item and notices they’re out. It’s easy enough to ask a deli employee to go in the back and prepare a few more containers.
And some stores just get shopped really hard and the guys restocking the shelves just can’t keep up.
I sympathize with the customer on the produce issue, too. Especially with tomatoes and oranges. Because my grocery is going to have a dozen varieties. And I select them based on a combination of appearance and price. I may not notice which variety I’m picking up. The piece of fruit itself should (and usually does) have a sticker that identifies it. But if it doesn’t, it’s not on me.
And I’m also the person that frequently forgets what store I’m in, especially if it’s a chain drugstore. They all look alike inside. I’m not that bad if it’s a CVS, but I frequently don’t remember if I’m in a Duane Reade or Rite-Aid, the logos use the same colors. If there’s nothing identifying at the counter, sometimes I have to ask as I’m pulling out the loyalty card.
And if a store made me complete a questionnaire to complete a purchase, I’d leave it all on the counter and walk out of the store. I’m surprised there’s not more pushback on that one.
Just had to respond. When I lived up in Seattle, I adored Freddies. But, they were almost always out of half and half. This was an ongoing problem for the whole time I lived there (15+ years).
