I am not here for YOU.

[vikingchyk]

Long title : I am not here for your convenience, amusement, or to be your audience, or be your target for abuse when you make assumptions about me, and I don't conform to how things work in your world. #phew#

Background: I am extremely introverted and shy. </b>

So, I go into my local grocery store to exchange some cat food (found out the bag I bought Monday expired last May) and I go to the CS desk. It's after 7pm. We join this episode already in progress...

OB : Old biddy, late 50s to early 60s
CSM: poor guy
Me: Middle-aged biddy have I mentioned I'm an introvert?

Suck the First
OB: --blah blah blah yogurt blah blah blah--
CSM: {trying to fill out a rain check form and still be polite to blithering OB}
OB: blah blah blah rain check blah blah yogurt blah blah- oh! I shouldn't talk at you while you're trying to do that...
Me: {returns to internal checklist of current errands, To Dos before vacation, and work thoughts}
CSM: Here you go-
OB: I need a raincheck for Nifty Yogurt - wow, it's really on a good deal this week blah blah blah...
CSM {trying to find details in circular, can't find it}
OB: Oh, and then I need a raincheck on the Whatever bottled water pack
Me: {internal sigh, back to my thoughts}
CSM: we're out of Whatever water? I thought we still had plenty in-
OB: Oh, no, I need it for next week!
Me:
CSM: {patiently} Ma'am, I can only give a raincheck for items we run out of, not because you want to wait to buy them.
OB: Oh. {cue CBF; tersely:} OK.
{that didn't sound like things were OK to me...}
CSM: {returns to looking in the circular for the sale yogurt}
OB: It's a dairy item.
Me:
CSM: OK, I don't see it, so I'm going to have to go back and check. {leaves slowly, probably hoping she'd say nevermind - no such luck}

Suck the Second
Me: {I look around at all the people milling around in the front of the store, and wonder why he couldn't send one of them to check the shelf, instead of leaving the CS desk unmanned.} #shrug# {returns to internal checklist of current errands, To Dos before vacation, and work thoughts. Oh crap, no. No. No, don't talk to me. No... no.... no... }
OB: {turns to me, CBF, then in snotty tone} Sor-reee!
Me: {Damn.} #grunt# {translation: leave me alone - back to To Do list}
{pause}
OB: Well, what's wrong with YOU???
Me: uh, what?
OB: why are you standing there giving me such a sour look??
Me: umm-
OB: How rude! I said I was sorry! You don't have any reason to be so sour!!!
Me: {Oh great, Chronic Bitch Face strikes again} Leave me alone.
OB: What? How dare you BLARGLE blah blah blah blah
Me: Leave me alone.
{I admit that my fight or Flight kicked in really quickly, so I don't know exactly what I said, but it was several attempts of Leave me alone, go away, then escalated from there. I wanted to hit her with my cat food and run }
OB: rant rave rant rave
Me: Shut up!
OB: How dare you RANT RAVE RANT-
Me: Fuck off, bitch!!! {this was the only time I swore at her}
{silence - yay? Oh, no, of course not...}
OB: Well I could say something rant rave rant but I won't stoop to your level rant rave rant rave but likewise rant RAVE.
...
{silence - yay? Oh, no, of course not...}
OB: There must be something seriously wrong with you rant rave rant-
Me: I think there's something wrong with you.
OB: What?? RANT RAVE RANT there's something wrong with people who stoop to calling other people names RANT RAVE RANT-
Me: I think there's something wrong with people who won't stop talking.
OB: {fume, leans in like we're confidants, lowers voice} Oh, eat shit!! {turns her back on me}
Me: Oooo, scary {laughs}
{silence - yay? Oh, wait, she's punishing me with the silent treatment? And I got her to swear, when she had previously declared she didn't talk like that?? - Double win!! }
Me: {returns to internal checklist of current errands, To Dos before vacation, and work thoughts}

CSM returns, fills out the rain check, and OB is on her way, thankfully without a parting shot.

Suck the third (bonus, non-people related - well, no people who were present)
Me: Hi, I bought this Monday, and it actually expired in May.
CSM: {looking at date} No, they put the year first on these.
Me: No they don't. I checked it again another bag I had. This expired 14 May 2013.
CSM: #sigh# do you want to do an exchange?
Me: Yes, please.
CSM: OK, go back and get another bag - leave this one here and come back.
Me: OK.
{trudge back to the pet food aisle get another bag, go back to CSM - here's the actual suck : }
Me: Look, this is how I know that was a really old bag. That one was 4 pounds, and this fresh bag is only 3.2 pounds.
CSM:
Me: Have a good evening!
CSM: You too!

Stupid Supermarket shrink ray.

Fin.

[Sandiercy]

I misread the first bit and thought you were working in the store and treating a customer this badly. Then I realized that you did not work there so it made the story a LOT easier to understand. Some people are just really bitchy. Way to stand up for yourself.

[fma_fanatic]

I think Pink said it perfectly:

http://youtu.be/YUtHjOvPKT0

[Insomnia]

OB: why are you standing there giving me such a sour look??
Me: umm- because you look sour.

A bit of l'esprit de l'escalier

[SongsOfDragons]

{trudge back to the pet food aisle get another bag, go back to CSM - here's the actual suck : }
Me: Look, this is how I know that was a really old bag. That one was 4 pounds, and this fresh bag is only 3.2 pounds.
CSM:
Me: Have a good evening!
CSM: You too!

Stupid Supermarket shrink ray.

AGHLBAGHLE. I was talking with Housemate's mum recently about this; every bugger market is shrinking everything, sometimes to half their original weight, not telling anyone and still charging full price!! Everyone I or Housemate's mum has discussed this phenomenomenom with is pissed about it. We'd rather pay more for the same bloody amount!! Where or who did they get the big idea from that to give you less for your money was the preferred option?

[sms001]

... market is shrinking everything.... We'd rather pay more for the same bloody amount... that to give you less for your money was the preferred option?

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but apparently pretty extensive market research shows that this really is the preferred option for most consumers. I'm with you on this, I'd much prefer sizes stayed the same and prices increased, but apparently we're in the minority. I guess immediate perception (HEY! Candy Bar is still 1.59!) outweighs common sense (Decrease in size of 10% is equal to Candy Bar now costing 1.75)

Of course, many of us could stand a little less Candy Bar in our lives anyway, but I hope they don't start applying it to things I count on to come out even. I bake regularly and would hate to get 4.5 loaves of bread rather than 5 out of a regular bag.

[SongsOfDragons]

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but apparently pretty extensive market research shows that this really is the preferred option for most consumers. I'm with you on this, I'd much prefer sizes stayed the same and prices increased, but apparently we're in the minority. I guess immediate perception (HEY! Candy Bar is still 1.59!) outweighs common sense (Decrease in size of 10% is equal to Candy Bar now costing 1.75)

Of course, many of us could stand a little less Candy Bar in our lives anyway, but I hope they don't start applying it to things I count on to come out even. I bake regularly and would hate to get 4.5 loaves of bread rather than 5 out of a regular bag.

Fair enough... Utter divvies!! Why can I never find this kind of research being done. I repeatedly feel short-shrifted by all this shrinking. Prices here are slowly but constantly climbing too, for less return.

I swear I read very recently on here, someone said that standard boxes of cake mix had decreased from something like 20 to 15 oz but the recipe and the standard number they say the mix produced hasn't changed.

[Gizmo]

Where or who did they get the big idea from that to give you less for your money was the preferred option?

Research aside there is another reason: People may not actually look at the weight for a while. They are less likely to take flack for less in the packet than a higher price - at least initially.

[Tama]

Not to mention all the good brownie mixes are only in 8x8 size anymore. I have to BUY pecans if I want a brownie mix bigger than for an 8x8 pan...

[Dreamstalker]

I've mentioned this elsewhere, but apparently pretty extensive market research shows that this really is the preferred option for most consumers. I'm with you on this, I'd much prefer sizes stayed the same and prices increased, but apparently we're in the minority.

Coffee is one of my pet peeves in this area. I buy the 'good stuff' (Dunkies, Caribou) and am wondering when 12 ounces became a pound? That seems to be the standard size now.

[Aethian]

Not to mention all the good brownie mixes are only in 8x8 size anymore. I have to BUY pecans if I want a brownie mix bigger than for an 8x8 pan...

Wait you used to get a brownie mix that included the nuts? As far as I know they have always been 8X8 but my Mom used a recipe book so...I might be remembering wrong.

[Tama]

I vaguely recall finding one or two 13x9 mixes with nuts once upon a time, I could be wrong.

[Canadian In Maine]

I vaguely recall finding one or two 13x9 mixes with nuts once upon a time, I could be wrong.

You're not wrong. It was Betty Crocker and it came with walnuts in it.

[bunrotha]

AGHLBAGHLE. I was talking with Housemate's mum recently about this; every bugger market is shrinking everything, sometimes to half their original weight, not telling anyone and still charging full price!! Everyone I or Housemate's mum has discussed this phenomenomenom with is pissed about it. We'd rather pay more for the same bloody amount!! Where or who did they get the big idea from that to give you less for your money was the preferred option?

They got the idea, I suspect from the pound shops. Poundland and others of that ilk often have slightly smaller packs of stuff, even branded stuff, so that they can sell it at a lower price, which in turns gets them customers through the door.

Supermarkets in the UK have to give not just price but price per unit weight/volume I believe (anyone know for sure?) so it's easy to compare, but only when the two packs are in the same shop.

[wolfie]

OB: Oh, and then I need a raincheck on the Whatever bottled water pack
Me: {internal sigh, back to my thoughts}
CSM: we're out of Whatever water? I thought we still had plenty in-
OB: Oh, no, I need it for next week!
Me:
CSM: {patiently} Ma'am, I can only give a raincheck for items we run out of, not because you want to wait to buy them.

Back when I worked in a machine shop, I had a (discontinued model, but with lifetime warranty) air drill bought at Orange Apron. It broke down, and I took it in for repair. Since it was a discontinued model, I wasn't sure if they'd be ABLE to repair it, and while it was in for service, Canuckistan Rubber Donut had a sale on a different brand of air drill.

Naturally, I wanted to get a rain check so that if my drill wasn't repairable (wouldn't find out until after the sale was over), I'd be able to get a replacement at the sale price. What did I do? I went on-line to check stock availability at stores in my area - then went to the ONE branch that showed out of stock. Because they were out of the item, I got my rain check.

Turns out that my drill was repairable, so I didn't need the rain check.