For the SECOND time, I DON'T work here! (with bonus loss of patience)

[Dave1982]

Ugh!!!

Was at [hospital site] again today after a week+ reassignment to cover bereavement leave. After work I scooted over to the nearby supermarket where my friend works to say hi and to pick up a few things I needed. As I walked in, I realized i still had my hospital badge on and took it off, lest some moron think I work there.

*knock on wood*

I'm walking up one aisle with items in my hands, and a guy looks at me and says "Where's the Crystal Light?"

Me: I don't work here.

Idiot: Oh! YOu look like you do!

I was dressed nothing at all like ANY employee of that store up to and including the GM.

I just walked away.

Less than 30 seconds later I was walking down another aisle, and I saw the same guy walking up.

Idiot: Excuse me? Where's the Crystal Light?

I looked at him dumbfounded for a couple of seconds.

Me: You just talked to me.

Idiot: Oh! Yeah, sorry.

At this point I saw the glassy, distant gaze in his eye. Must've been some good shit.


Then, as I'm waiting in line at the EXPRESS LANE (12 ITEMS OR LESS) I realized the woman in front of me had easily double that. Her yogurts alone almost exceeded 12 items!

Now, it was certainly not because of the guy earlier, but I had very little patience left, as the past two days have been beset with all manner of problems at work. Computer issues, copier issues, printer issues, morons at the Help Desk who can not give me a consistent reason for the rash of problems, not to mention the downright obscene traffic lately. Took me an hour and forty minutes to get to work today, and it usually takes only 45 to get to this site.I left 25 minutes earlier than usual (since traffic has been bad lately) and was still half an hour late!

Anyway, that woman just pissed me off. I had 5 items.....she had 23!! (as it said right there on the screen that pointed towards the customers.).

13 or 14 items? No biggie. 15 or 16? That's pushing it. 23???? How fucking selfish are you????

I almost said something to her right then but didn't. However, since it turned out she was parked near me, I shouted towards her as I got to my car "23 items on an EXPRESS LANE is AWFULLY SELFISH!!!!!!!!!!"

Then I got in my car and went home.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Bet she was counting 12 yogurts as one item.

[ArcticChicken]

Bet she was counting 12 yogurts as one item.

Yup. I have had people, in all earnestness, insist that they thought it was 12 different items.

[XCashier]

Bet she was counting 12 yogurts as one item.

Like this guy? http://w00t.chaobell.net/20021220.html

Dave, I hope you have a normal, sane day soon.

[Teskeria]

Well, you could always say to them, with a sympathetic expression so it looks like you are trying to be nice "you know, ma'am/sir, the local jr college/college/wherever has some great adult education classes. I'm sure they have first grade math to help you learn how to count. I'm sure you are a really nice person and just didn't know that 23 is MORE THAN 12'

[Dave1982]

You know something? I completely forgot the best part! The second time he asked about the Crystal Light? He had walked PAST IT to ask me! It was right freaking there!

[MoonCat]

Crystal Light must mix well with meth, or something.

[Dreamstalker]

The second time he asked about the Crystal Light? He had walked PAST IT to ask me! It was right freaking there!

I get that all the time. I'll be blocking/stocking an aisle, and a customer will ask me about something that they would have had to pass right by...or is on the very shelf I'm working on, meaning they have to be looking right at it while asking. Sometimes they still can't see it; when this happens I lead them down to the end of the aisle, then back--it seems to reboot their eyeballs.

Some guy this morning asked "Where's your ATM?" while standing practically in front of it...and then played the "are you SURE?" game until a CW almost dopeslapped him.

[Draco]

Yup. I have had people, in all earnestness, insist that they thought it was 12 different items.

I've seen this more often than I care to remember. Seriously annoys me.

At my store, the registers have ringers (buttons are Price Check, VIP, Change, and Security. The latter rings all the mobile phones in the store to bring the managers up ASAP). I've only had to (purposely) hit Security once.

Guy had about thirty or so items (express is 15 or less). He was maybe in his late thirties/early forties. Behind him were two older men (not together), likely in their sixties or later. They started making comments about him not being able to count, not being able to read, etc.

Well, the guy in line started to threaten them, that he was going to beat these two older men up in the parking lot, etc. I hit the button. The assistant store manager we had at the time (great guy, though always seemed a little too hyper for his own good) came up and, after seeing what was going on, had the first guy pay and escorted him out of the store, to his car, and made sure he left and stayed gone.

It was a very interesting experience. lol

[Sheldonrs]

Crystal Light must mix well with meth, or something.

Maybe that's why it's called crystal meth. Lol

[greek_jester]

I get that all the time. I'll be blocking/stocking an aisle, and a customer will ask me about something that they would have had to pass right by...or is on the very shelf I'm working on, meaning they have to be looking right at it while asking. Sometimes they still can't see it; when this happens I lead them down to the end of the aisle, then back--it seems to reboot their eyeballs.

Unfortunately I'm frequently the person asking where something is, but I try to at least open with "I'm really sorry, I've probably walked past the silly thing 3 times already, but where's XYZ, please?" Chances are, I'm standing right next to it.

On one occasion, the nice store person reached behind herself without looking, picked up the item, then handed it to me with a sunny smile.

[jedimaster91]

It happens to all of us. I've lost count of things that I couldn't find that ended up being right in front of me the whole time. Usually if I'm tired or have had a bad day. My brain just no worky sometimes. Just be polite, say thank you, and hopefully the employee waits until you're gone to roll their eyes.

[Trixie]

Back in my store's old setup our giftcards were just beyond the middle registers on an endcap. People would come in and ask where the giftcards were and I'd point to them. All they had to do was follow my finger, yet sometimes it would seem like they just couldn't see it. Just turn your head and there it will be.

[raudf]

Now, I've literally walked by the item three or four times without seeing it. I asked an associate where product was, get led to it and find out.. the maker change the packaging and I was in "scan" mode for the old packaging. What sucks is that all the new labels at the time were white, with no way to easily tell what was what. Glad that's changing.

[wolfie]

Then, as I'm waiting in line at the EXPRESS LANE (12 ITEMS OR LESS) I realized the woman in front of me had easily double that. Her yogurts alone almost exceeded 12 items!

Anyway, that woman just pissed me off. I had 5 items.....she had 23!! (as it said right there on the screen that pointed towards the customers.).

Since cash registers nowadays are computers, why can't stores put a "special" program on the express lanes that counts the items, and if there are more than the limit, add a surcharge as a line item - in this case, the line would be "Excess item surcharge 11@$1.00 $11.00"?

Bet she was counting 12 yogurts as one item.

Yup. I have had people, in all earnestness, insist that they thought it was 12 different items.

A dozen eggs counts as one item (scan the carton, and the register records "dozen eggs") because the way they're packaged "bundles" them together. A box of 4 Brita filters counts as one item because it's 1 box rather than 4 filters. A dozen yogurts counts as 12 items because THEY CAN BE SOLD INDIVIDUALLY.