# When (and why) the fuck did checking out at a store become such a goddamned stupid ordeal. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 4, 2013, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803 "2013-04-04T04:07:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/61 "2013-04-04T13:40:16Z")
I agree with **Dangerosa**. Let the man pit in piece. While his experience was less than objectionable, I’m sure there have been retail experiences that have bothered some/most/all of you. My peeve is the recent trend of cashiers on their phones. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/62 "2013-04-04T13:49:25Z")
It’s pretty obvious that the real villains in this story are the corporate wahoos who force their employees to harass the customers. I very politely and firmly refuse customer harassment attempts and then vote on store policy with my feet. I’m going to pass up the tempting opportunity to pile on **pkbytes** and state that the op has a valid point. Harassing customers under the guise of loyalty only causes friction between your staff and the customer. It’s a stupid idea to purposefully place both of them in that position. None of you know what actually happened in the store. The op could have been smiling cheerfully while winding his way through that “customer loyalty” gauntlet only to save it up for the harmless rant later. Also, I don’t agree with the “pity the poor drones” stance some of you are taking. If you take a job where you are required to harass people then you better just grow a thick skin and be done with it. People just plain do not like to be harassed. Negative responses should be expected. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 1:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/63 "2013-04-04T13:51:50Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Also, I don’t agree with the “pity the poor drones” stance some of you are taking. If you take a job where you are required to harass people then you better just grow a thick skin and be done with it. People just plain do not like to be harassed. Negative responses should be expected. Definitely. It reminds me of the defense of telemarketers because they’re just doing a job (granted, one in which the pay is awsome.) ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/64 "2013-04-04T13:58:52Z")
Yeah, K-Mart occupies one of the circles of hell. The OP’s mistake was even going there in the first place. The rest is just so much tardtastic punkfaggotry. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/65 "2013-04-04T14:01:10Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > …Also, I don’t agree with the “pity the poor drones” stance some of you are taking. If you take a job where you are required to harass people then you better just grow a thick skin and be done with it. People just plain do not like to be harassed. Negative responses should be expected. Yeah. I’m with you here. I think it is really stupid when people say, “How can you work for a company that does X or Y or Z?? You should quit! I would never work for a company that does XYZ.” I can’t tell you how pompous and clueless that sounds to people struggling to provide for their families in an uncertain economy. But! I also think it is silly for people who do XYZ to say, “Don’t take it out on me.” Getting it took out on you is part of your job. You get paid for it. I used to have disgruntled customers tell me, “I know it isn’t your fault…” after chewing me out. I would always respond, “Ma’am, I am here to represent my company fully, so if you have an issue with us, you have every right to vent to me, and I will do my best to assist you.” Of course, I was in sales, so it was hard cash in my pocket if I schmooze them up, but I kicked the same spiel even when I wasn’t trying to sell them something. I really did consider customer service a part of the job…if you are in retail or sales, it is a part of the job in many ways. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/66 "2013-04-04T14:05:20Z")
The last time I went to K-Mart was like five years ago. It was the worst retail experience of my life. The store had just opened and there was merchandise just lying around on the floor in almost every aisle (and I don’t mean on a pallet or something). There were 42,000 cash registers and just one actually open. It took 25 minutes for me to pay for the fucking toilet plunger or whatever I’d gone to buy. 25! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/67 "2013-04-04T14:11:00Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The last time I went to K-Mart was like five years ago. It was the worst retail experience of my life. But the good thing is, it sucks so much that no one goes there, so it is not as crowded as Wally World. Of course, checkout takes about as long at both places even though there’s never more than 1 person in the K-Mart line, because K-Mart employees are so slow. Plus, their locations are older and thus more likely to be conveniently located, versus the big-box out in the boonies location of Mall\*Wart. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/68 "2013-04-04T14:12:57Z")
IME, their locations don’t really exist at all anymore. There was one on 50 about level with Waterford Lakes when I first moved here that I think is a Burlington Coat Factory or something now. The one I described above is in Winter Springs and it’s the only other one I’ve seen in East Orlandoish. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/69 "2013-04-04T14:21:46Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > Also, I don’t agree with the “pity the poor drones” stance some of you are taking. If you take a job where you are required to harass people then you better just grow a thick skin and be done with it. The problem is that I know too many people who have been told they have to take the first job offered or they lose their government benefits. _No matter how awful the conditions_ you can’t quit or you lose your benefits. So the choice is not simply “don’t take the job” or “quit the job”. The choice is “take the job or lose your ability to house and feed your family”. The choice is “suck it up otherwise you lose your ability to house and feed your family”. That’s not an equitable position and yet more illustration that the poor are held to a harsher standard than anyone else even as self-righteous assholes feel justified in heaping personal invective at them while at those shitty jobs. ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/70 "2013-04-04T14:40:51Z")
> [@BubbaDog](#): > > None of you know what actually happened in the store. The op could have been smiling cheerfully while winding his way through that “customer loyalty” gauntlet only to save it up for the harmless rant later. This is what I came in to say, except that, this being the Pit, I was going to put it this way: Yeah, totally. I mean, just look at all the shit the OP said he gave to those poor workers. Oh, wait. The OP didn’t say anything about giving shit to anyone. I guess that makes you morons, then. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/71 "2013-04-04T15:46:28Z")
Nah, a moron is someone who uses the phrase “punkfaggot” and tries to pretend there’s no gay slur involved in the term “because Urban Dictionary!” If I called someone/something (to steal from _The Aristocrats_) a “niggercunt” and then said, "No, it’s one word, not two separate words, and according to a site online it merely means ‘ostentatious’ ", no non-moron would fail to call me out on it. Even if I tried to excuse it by saying I didn’t use it to refer to a person. ---
**Author:** ![fjs1fs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9e8a1a/32.png) [@fjs1fs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fjs1fs)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/72 "2013-04-04T15:57:16Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > If you hyphenate it, you get [punk-faggot.](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=punk%20faggot) Fucking hilarious that Urban Dictionary goes out of its way to say that “Punkfaggot” absolutely does not mean Punk and/or Faggot, yet it has a separate hyphenated version punk-faggot, which kind of means the combination of the two words. More hilarious is the OP using the former term and defending it. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/73 "2013-04-04T15:58:21Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Nah, a moron is someone who uses the phrase “punkfaggot” and tries to pretend there’s no gay slur involved in the term “because Urban Dictionary!” If I called someone/something (to steal from _The Aristocrats_) a “niggercunt” and then said, "No, it’s one word, not two separate words, and according to a site online it merely means ‘ostentatious’ ", no non-moron would fail to call me out on it. Even if I tried to excuse it by saying I didn’t use it to refer to a person. I regret this already, but fuck it… I don’t think “niggercunt” really works in this case, because ‘nigger’ hasn’t really changed in language the way ‘fag’ has. Like it or not, kids are using ‘fag’ in a way that has zero to do with being gay. Just, zero. Kids who are gay or who support gay rights or who would kick another kid’s ass for putting down gay people, will use fag. I’m not defending it…I’m just saying what I have noticed while observing slang. Nigger just hasn’t been used that way yet. Not that I have a problem with the word ‘nigger’. I don’t. But I can see how it is different. If I join a board where the kids hang out and they call me a ‘newfag’, I know they aren’t calling me gay, and I know that they don’t have anything against gay people (at least, not that can determined by their use of that word). But if they call me a newnigger, I will guess they may be racist, just because ‘nigger’ hasn’t evolved in the way that ‘faggot’ has with kids these days. And again, I know that ‘nigger/nigga’ has seen its own evolution, but it took a very different path than ‘fag’ did. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/74 "2013-04-04T16:03:49Z")
Apparently I exude a Don’t Even Bother Field because on the rare occasions I’m asked if I have a discount or membership card, I say nope, they ask if I want one and I say nope and then we collectively move on. The hardest sell I’ve ever gotten was the lady in Byerly’s who asked if I wanted to start an account at the instore bank. I said no and she whined “whyyyyy nooot?” at my back as I walked away. It was comical. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/75 "2013-04-04T16:06:06Z")
> [@Dag\_Otto](#): > > I blame his wife for not marrying someone who would just man up and change the fucking tire. This. Seriously. And Fix-a-Flat ain’t gonna fix shit if it was a valve, as was suspected. ---
**Author:** ![woodstockbirdybird](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/woodstockbirdybird/32/7905_2.png) [@woodstockbirdybird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/woodstockbirdybird)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/76 "2013-04-04T16:10:34Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I regret this already, but fuck it… > > I don’t think “niggercunt” really works in this case, because ‘nigger’ hasn’t really changed in language the way ‘fag’ has. Like it or not, kids are using ‘fag’ in a way that has zero to do with being gay. Just, zero. Kids who are gay or who support gay rights or who would kick another kid’s ass for putting down gay people, will use fag. I’m not defending it…I’m just saying what I have noticed while observing slang. Maybe it’s a regional thing, but I can assure you that where I live, the absolutely gayest place on Earth, there’s no way “punkfaggot” would fly, even among the kids. Perhaps we’re more hyper-sensitive in the Bay Area, but even “fag” as a supposedly non-gay insult is considered bigoted by a large number of people. Of course, just like with “nigga”, gays often refer to each other as fags or call something faggy. But put the punk in there and add the “got” and you’re in dangerous territory. ---
**Author:** ![fjs1fs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9e8a1a/32.png) [@fjs1fs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fjs1fs)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/77 "2013-04-04T16:12:02Z")
> [@Nzinga\_Seated](#): > > I regret this already, but fuck it… > > I don’t think “niggercunt” really works in this case, because ‘nigger’ hasn’t really changed in language the way ‘fag’ has. Like it or not, kids are using ‘fag’ in a way that has zero to do with being gay. Just, zero. Kids who are gay or who support gay rights or who would kick another kid’s ass for putting down gay people, will use fag. I’m not defending it…I’m just saying what I have noticed while observing slang. > > Nigger just hasn’t been used that way yet. Not that I have a problem with the word ‘nigger’. I don’t. But I can see how it is different. If I join a board where the kids hang out and they call me a ‘newfag’, I know they aren’t calling me gay, and I know that they don’t have anything against gay people (at least, not that can determined by their use of that word). But if they call me a newnigger, I will guess they may be racist, just because ‘nigger’ hasn’t evolved in the way that ‘faggot’ has with kids these days. > > And again, I know that ‘nigger/nigga’ has seen its own evolution, but it took a very different path than ‘fag’ did. I disagree with your point. I think I hear the word nigger used 100x more often without it being meant as a slur against blacks than I hear the word fag or faggot used without it being meant as a slur against (or unflattering comparison to) gays. ---
**Author:** ![fjs1fs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9e8a1a/32.png) [@fjs1fs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fjs1fs)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/78 "2013-04-04T16:14:19Z")
Before I read the “niggercunt” post, I was going to type “kikenigger,” and allege that that term could have some separate meaning, and not have anything to do with its obvious two components. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/79 "2013-04-04T16:26:16Z")
> [@fjs1fs](#): > > I disagree with your point. I think I hear the word nigger used 100x more often without it being meant as a slur against blacks than I hear the word fag or faggot used without it being meant as a slur against (or unflattering comparison to) gays. How often to you hear it used as a non-slur by people who aren’t black? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2013, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803/80 "2013-04-04T16:29:22Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > Maybe it’s a regional thing, but I can assure you that where I live, the absolutely gayest place on Earth, there’s no way “punkfaggot” would fly, even among the kids. Perhaps we’re more hyper-sensitive in the Bay Area, but even “fag” as a supposedly non-gay insult is considered bigoted by a large number of people. Of course, just like with “nigga”, gays often refer to each other as fags or call something faggy. But put the punk in there and add the “got” and you’re in dangerous territory. I’d argue that living in the gayest place on earth makes you more sensitive to it than not. I’m with Nzinga in that fag has a much less strict adherence to definition than the n-bomb. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-and-why-the-fuck-did-checking-out-at-a-store-become-such-a-goddamned-stupid-ordeal/654803.md?page=5)