Overheard

[LewisLegion]

So I hit the grocery store last night real quick to pick up a twelve pack of soda. Went through the self-checkout as every other line is pits deep with customers. As I was finished and heading toward the exit I passed one register in time to hear this comment from a gentleman to the young girl bagging his groceries:

SC- "So, do you feel like working tonight or are you gonna make ME do it?"

I shot him a dirty look but of course he didn't see me. Sure enough, as I'm getting in my car, I see him and his perfectly fit wife leading the girl and the cart of groceries to their car.

Now me, I don't ask for help unless I know that I absolutely physically cannot do it on my own. A full cart of groceries? No sweat. I can get them to and in my car. May take a moment longer but heck, no big deal. An 80 gallon fish tank that weighs a hundred pounds empty? Yeah, I'mma ask for help with that one.

Not that I fault other people for asking for help but c'mon...when you're perfectly able to do it yourself AND to make a smartass comment like that to the poor girl busting her butt off trying to get through the holiday crowds while still wearing a smile?

You, sir, are a glutteous hattimus.

[blas]

They made the girl push their cart outside? What a dick!

[BookstoreEscapee]

I have never asked for help getting anything to my car. The only time I would would be if it was something large that I couldn't lift (and in all likelihood I would not be shopping for something that big by myself) or if I were on crutches or something...I had help when I bought carpet for my room, but my dad actually wheeled the cart out to the car, and an employee came by a few minutes later and helped him get it onto the car - we didn't even have to ask (the only reason an employee didn't help in the first place was because I had gone to pay for the carpet and was waiting for my dad to meet me, so we just moved the cart out of the way while I waited. The employee waited a few minutes with me but then he had to go do something and told me to just have him paged when my dad got there, but my dad said don't bother).

gluteous hattimus - I love it!

[RammsteinGirl]

It always irks me when I'm checking out an able-bodied (or at least appears to be, with no limping or any other apparent physical limitation) young man and I'm struggling to lift up something heavy like a TV or a vacuum cleaner and they just stand there staring at me without offering assistance. I'm not a helpless damsel or anything.. but to me, that just screams bad manners and ungentlemanlyness (is that a real word? ). Shit, even being a woman I would help someone I saw struggling to lift something!

We do have hand scanners (but half of them don't work), but if the customer flops the barcode face down in the cart, then I have to lift up the box and flip it until I find the barcode on it to scan. I've actually hurt my back from lifting things like that working checkouts.

I guess it just depends on how the person was raised. I guess chivalry just isn't cool anymore.

Back to the OP's post, I think some people just like ordering others around. Makes them feel big and powerful when they can go to the grocery store and point their finger at the bagger - "YOU! PAPER INSIDE PLASTIC!" Then stand there at their vehicle with a scowl and arms crossed while the small female bagger loads their $300 order. I think there's a term for this condition - SPS - "Small Penis Syndrome."

[Tex]

I guess it just depends on how the person was raised. I guess chivalry just isn't cool anymore.

Amen to that! I'll agree, stupid men have killed it for us few good guys left. However, women have become just as bad. Society trries to convince women to have one-night stands, then wonder why they can't ever find a good man. Most women don't deserve my time of day anymore.

But back to the topic, that pisses me off. Or I love it when you're ringing up a family's groceries, and either everyone will stand around watching you, or the parents will yell @ the kids to help out. Then, they bitch when the child does it all wrong. Well, duuuuh! They don't know how to bag. They're kids, for Cripessakes!

Tex

[Seshat]

It always irks me when I'm checking out an able-bodied (or at least appears to be, with no limping or any other apparent physical limitation) young man

Except when I'm particularly tired and sore, I have no apparent physical limitation. It's probably best not to assume they're just being rude - they may well have a non-apparent physical limitation.

[JustADude]

The only time my physical limitations comes into effect is after a long day at work or school and I can't convince my right hand and arm to work quite properly. Because I wear long sleeves in public people can't see the scars that are the visible part of what I did to my arm. If I'm being given a hard time on a day like that I pull my sleeve back and explain calmly what I did to it, and what the specialist had to do to fix it - in graphic detail. That usually shuts them up right quick

Does whatever it is have the word "Multiple" or "Compound" in it anywhere? If so, that's 'nuff said for me. NOTHING with those words in it coming out of a doctor's mouth is ever good.