Dollar Store Dingbat

[Melicious Motormouth]

A couple of days ago, I went to the dollar store after work.

When I got my purchases and reached the cash counter, I ended up in line behind this young (couldn't have been more than 20) and very pregnant woman. She had quite a lot of merchandise in her cart.

There was another person ahead of her, and as she waited, she began reconsidering her purchases - by taking them from her cart and stuffing the rejects into the impulse candy rack. She looked behind me, saw me watching her, giggled, then went back to stuffing.

Even as the cashier started ringing in her purchases, she took more merchandise from off of the counter. And stuffed.

Seriously - how hard is it to take out what you don't want and tell the cashier "I'm sorry, but I've changed my mind; I don't want to buy these anymore." Or at least offer to put them back when your transaction is finished. Usually, the cashier will appreciate you speaking up, decline your offer, and tell you they'll do it themselves.

Just stuffing it in an arbitrary place makes more work for the store employees. I know that it's a major pet peeve of a lot of the members of this board - having to pick up after lazy customers.

As I said in another thread: Customer SERVICE, not Customer SERVANT.

[dalesys]

Jeebus! My 78 year old mother would ring my chimes if I didn't take it back to exactly the right place.

[Shimatta]

And to think she's about to have a child of her own and hasn't yet matured herself .

[Melicious Motormouth]

And to think she's about to have a child of her own and hasn't yet matured herself .

The thing is: after I left the store and while waiting for the bus stop...I saw her husband/boyfriend...and their pre-school aged daughter, crossing the street! So she's on her second child!

[bainsidhe]

On two occasions at a specific grocery store, I've handed unwanted merchandise to the cashier. The first time was random items other customers stuffed into the rack and the second was when I changed my mind about something. I've always appreciated customers who will hand me their reshops. I may not like it, but it's much better than playing scavenger hunt later. Both times in this particular store, the cashiers looked at me utterly confused. This is a huge grocery chain. I figure either most of their customers are perfect or simply never bother with handing reshops to the cashier. Has anyone else noticed this from a customer's standpoint?

[Kogarashi]

Every cashier I've handed my reshops to has thanked me for doing so. Only a few times have I actually pulled another customer's hide-n-seek merchandise from the impulse racks to had to the cashier, and that was when it was perishables. ::twitch:: When will people realize that there's a reason bras and brooms and tubs of sour cream and sponges and the like don't fit on the impulse racks?

[zzapp the witch]

My friend Tammi and I went shopping and wound up at a dollar store. She was ahead of me at the register and decided against a purchase and stuffed it at the end of the belt. As she moved up, I grabbed it and handed it to the checker, saying, "We decided not to get this item." Tammi gave me an odd look and I just shrugged and told her I hated it when I was a checker and my line was cluttered with stuff I couldn't reach.

I honestly think she learned something.

[karl hungus]

Just stuffing it in an arbitrary place makes more work for the store employees. I know that it's a major pet peeve of a lot of the members of this board - having to pick up after lazy customers.

I've seem 'em do that s**t with sushi or nice deli dinners at the Valu Mart I go to all the time.
I guess it's the ol' "I don't want it so I better let it go to waste" mentality.
People do really suck.

[Calie]

[QUOTE=zzapp the witch;520131 "We decided not to get this item." Tammi gave me an odd look and I just shrugged and told her I hated it when I was a checker and my line was cluttered with stuff I couldn't reach.

I honestly think she learned something.[/QUOTE]

Good on you for teaching your friend that. I've gotten in the habit of cleaning up the magazine/candy racks as I go through checkout...one time I caught some yogurt that was still cold (but wouldn't have been for long). Just yesterday I found a tub of strawberries that was starting to leak. Some people, what is so hard about saying "I changed my mind" - do they think the cashiers will force them to buy it or something?

[Spork4pedro]

This is BY FAR my biggest pet peeve! I've been in retail all of my adult life but this has always driven me nuts! My sister is defintely one of those "I don't want this anymore....here's its new home!" droppers and everytime I glare at her and put it back myself. She always huffs and says "But it's their job to clean it up!" *shudder* makes me want to throttle her everytime!

[mandaliz8704]

I give the stuff I changed my mind about back to the cashier if I'm already in line. If I'm not, I go put it back where it belongs myself.

There was one time in a Publix though.... I gave the cashier a couple small things that I decided I didn't need *right then* and she looked at me like I just took a dump in the middle of her belt-thingy. I just shrugged and said "If you'd rather I stuff them behind the National Enquirer, I can do that instead...?"

[Buzzy]

I hate that too. Especially when the items are perishables. I had some dunce walk up to my register one day and tell me she didn't want a couple items, and that she had left them at the end of the pet food aisle. I could see the items, which was a half gallon of milk and some celery, windex, and a bag of chips. Just sitting comfortably in the middle of the floor there. She asked, "Is that OK if they sit there?" I said no, that it would be better if she had given them to an employee. She just said, 'oh, ok." and walked off. Of course, I had to go pick up after her lazy ass.

[jjllbb]

Seriously - how hard is it to take out what you don't want and tell the cashier "I'm sorry, but I've changed my mind; I don't want to buy these anymore." Or at least offer to put them back when your transaction is finished. Usually, the cashier will appreciate you speaking up, decline your offer, and tell you they'll do it themselves.

YES YES YES YES YES YES YESYES YES YES YES YES YES YESYES YES YES YES YES YES YESYES YES YES YES YES YES YESYES YES YES YES YES YES YESYES YES YES YES YES YES YESYES YES YES YES YES YES YESYES YES YES YES YES YES YESYES YES YES YES YES YES YESYES YES YES YES YES YES YESYES YES YES YES YES YES YESYES YES YES YES YES YES YESYES YES YES YES YES YES YESYES YES YES YES YES YES YESYES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I can't even tell you how right you are. That goes for EVERY store.

I'm sick of people shoving things in the clearance section because its mismatched and hard to tell that they put it in the wrong place because then someone inevitably brings it up to the registers thinking its clearance and all hell breaks loose.

I've had people say "hold on a second" and walk 10 feet away to toss a shirt on top of a random rack in the middle of cashing out. I'll stop what i'm doing and send them back to pick it up again.

[RootedPhoenix]

I've got a friend of mine who I HOPE sosoSO fervently that I have broken of this. I used to give her "the look" (tm) when we went shopping together and she put something in some weird spot. I don't recall her doing this with perishable items, but still...

People need to give it to the cashier. Either that or put it back where you got it. Seriously. Retail people have enough to do without chasing your stuff all over the store.

[Blade]

People need to give it to the cashier. Either that or put it back where you got it. Seriously. Retail people have enough to do without chasing your stuff all over the store.

If someone noticeably ditches their stuff anywhere I can see 'em do it (when I'm on the register), I WILL tell them that they need to give it to me to put away.

It always amazes me the people who stuff their crud just riiiiight there, and they KNOW I see them do it but do it anyway (or even better, tell the person they're with to "just stick that there")- like, not only do they not care, but they truly have NO idea that it might be just a jerky thing to do.


The downside to all this is that it takes me longer to go shopping now that I work in a store, since I keep picking up misplaced items and straightening the merchandise everywhere I go... *grin*