Guess what time it is!! (Yeah, I had to go shopping again today...)

[lupo pazzesco]

So, I walked up to the nearest store for a gallon of milk and a few necessities. It wasn’t as bad as it has been in past encounters, but let’s be honest. This is me. This is me going to a grocery store. Getting out unscathed is unheard of, isn’t it?

The first bit occurs as I’m walking along the sidewalk to the grocery store. This store shares a lot with a bunch few other little shops and restaurants and whathaveyou. As I’m passing a smaller shop, I see it. Tiny kidlets with those boxes. It’s that time of year, where enterprising little kidlets start selling chocolate bars and kitchy little things from holiday catalogs. As I pass, I see a mother encouraging her son in his salesmanship skills. She told him,

“Ok, honey, look for the fatter people. They’ll buy more chocolate from you.”

Oh fantastic…I ignore her and head into the store. Remember this bit, kids, there WILL be a quiz later.

Onto the antics in the store!


No, just no!
For the most part, things were fairly smooth until I got to the meat section. I was perusing chicken breasts, in my own little world when I hear someone say excuse me from behind me. So I excuse him and shift over. Well, would be creeper looks at me, and gets a grin on his face.

Him: Well. HelLO there…
Me: ….
Him: <opens his mouth to say something else>
Me: <in a completely flat voice> I’m a lesbian and an ax murderer. Don’t even bother.
Him: <blinkblinkblink>
Me: <grabs my chicken and puts it in the cart.>
Him: <he starts laughing behind me> So…I’m guessing you get hassled a lot?
Me: yup.
Him: Not interested?
Me: Nope.


…and he accepted it.

I was baffled. Usually most guys who open with skeezy lines with grins like that end up being creepers who won’t give up. So…not as much suck as what could’ve been!



Um. I really hope you’re kidding
So, I make it up to the cash registers, and start unloading my groceries onto the belt. I brought some reusable bags I brought and put them in front of my groceries. When it’s my turn, the cashier picks up the reusable bags, which have the name of a DIFFERENT STORE on them, and picks them up.

C: did you bring these with you?
Me: um…yes…
C: <Gets an annoyed look on her face and tosses them down the counter to the bagger> So you want to USE them, right??
Me: <resists urge to sarcastically note I just put them there for decoration> Um, yes. Please.

She ignores me and continues ringing up my stuff. Then she gets to the payment portion, and I swipe my card. Machine says, please wait for cashier, so I tell her it’s a debit card. And wait. And wait. And wait. Then:

C: Swipe your card.
Me: I did. It’s debit.
C: Swipe your card.
Me: I did. Debit.
C: <sighs and finishes the transaction>

I move down to grab my bags, in time to see the bagger throw a half gallon carton of soymilk on top of my bunch of bananas and my tomatoes.

Me: Um. Can you put the milk below the produce, please?
B: <CBF and she hands me my bags.>

I leave without a word after that.


Parking Lot, Part Deux
So, I exit the store, and get approached by chocolate boy’s mother. Not chocolate boy.

CBM: Hey, would you like to support my son? Buy some chocolates?
Me: <With a cheerful smile> Nope, not interested, sorry!
CBM: But they’re only $1 apiece!
Me: <still grinning cheerfully> Nope! Sorry. Guess I’m one of those fatter people that don’t fit the stereotype!
CBM:

I walk home, without incident after that. And in a roundabout way, again I’m told I’m fat. Woot. Go me!!

[chainedbarista]

wow, and a second generation learns to be rude, insensitive and callous; just great.

as for the bagger and the checker, i think a complaint is in order. they were nasty over bags...bags for chicken burgers sake; who in the F cares? my bags are from several different stores, and most people love my big orange home store ones which could almost fit a body in them.

[blas]

Whew, at least that creepo gave up. As you said and I can fully concur, most creeps don't.

[chainedbarista]

yes, good job on shutting him down. creepers *shudders*

[BookstoreEscapee]

I've had cashiers ignore and/or forget that I had bags, but I've never had anyone actually get annoyed over it...

[Android Kaeli]

On the reusable bag thing: while it doesn't excuse the cashier's behavior, I HATE, and I mean with a deadly passion, reusable bags. I know it's better for the enviroment and all, but I'd say almost all [ maybe about 98% and, no, I'm not joking ] of the customers I have with said reusable bags don't tell me they have reusable bags until I'm already done with the transaction and there's four plastic bags full of stuff. Or I get half way done bagging things and they are all like, "I have a bag to put them in already!".

And this is coming from someone who does, in fact, own reusable bags. I don't like to burden the cashiers with them everytime I go food shopping, I know how annoying it is to put things into reusable bags.

[lupo pazzesco]

See, that's why I always put my bags in front of my groceries. I thought I was helping. Apparently not.

[MaggieTheCat]

Man, my husband and I use reusable bags and they're always the first thing we give to the cashier or bagger. We love them...saves us from making three trips to unload all of our groceries (we only go shopping once a week or once every 10 days so we usually get a lot of stuff in one trip, and reusable bags hold enough that we can usually haul it all in the house in one trip.) I've never had a cashier or bagger get annoyed by the fact that we have them. I didn't know it was so much hassle.

[MoonCat]

Hell, I have a collection of bags from probably four or five different stores, and I use them wherever. Never had a cashier snark at me for it. And if I forget to hand over the bags at first, I just apologive, give them the bags and ask them to put the rest of my stuff in the bags. I can always recycle any plastic ones they give me.

And the chocolate lady: Good for you, Lupo! I hate people who make assumptions like that!

[Pagan]

On the reusable bag thing: while it doesn't excuse the cashier's behavior, I HATE, and I mean with a deadly passion, reusable bags. I know it's better for the enviroment and all, but I'd say almost all [ maybe about 98% and, no, I'm not joking ] of the customers I have with said reusable bags don't tell me they have reusable bags until I'm already done with the transaction and there's four plastic bags full of stuff. Or I get half way done bagging things and they are all like, "I have a bag to put them in already!".

And this is coming from someone who does, in fact, own reusable bags. I don't like to burden the cashiers with them everytime I go food shopping, I know how annoying it is to put things into reusable bags.

See, that's why I always put my bags in front of my groceries. I thought I was helping. Apparently not.

That's exactly what I do. Not to mention that you can fit more in them and they're much stronger. They also don't cut your hands when you're carrying them and you can usually sling them over your shoulder.

I've been walking more to the store and back, when it's warm enough. Mainly because the driving has gotten insane around here since Thanksgiving.

[ExRetailDrone]

I admit, I used to hate when people gave me reusable bags when I worked at The Bullseye, but only because with the layout of the registers they were way more difficult to load than the plastic bags. But I was always polite and never let my annoyance show through -- I was not annoyed with the customer for using reusable bags, I was annoyed at the way the lanes were laid out.

I have a feeling that the bitch cashier and bagger are the type of people who hassle customer service workers while throwing around the fact that they work in retail so they understand what it's like, thinking that gives them permission to act like assholes

[Cookie]

My husband and I always always take our re-usable bags. Before the cashier starts ringing things up, though, I tell him/her I've got my own bags and then position myself so I can just bag them myself as they come off the register and get slid down to the bagging area. I always leave the bags of groceries up there until I've paid, though, so it doesn't look like I'm pulling something. Very rarely are there any baggers at the stores I go to (don't know why) so the burden of scanning, bagging, and ringing up is always entirely on the cashier. Nobody's ever minded, or shown that they minded, my bags or my jumping in.

In general, though, I prefer to use the SCO. I used to be a grocery store cashier myself, and those are easier than the system I used to have at work, so no bumbling around because bananas don't have barcodes.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I admit, I used to hate when people gave me reusable bags when I worked at The Bullseye, but only because with the layout of the registers they were way more difficult to load than the plastic bags.

I always feel that way when I go to Target; I can see how awkward it is with the way the registers are set up. I usually don't bring them in there anyway, and I actually like their bags for my little trash cans at home.

I always put my bags on top of my stuff, too. Of the two grocery stores I go to most often, one is set up so the customer can bag, and usually the cashier only helps after they finish scanning everything. The other one is where all my bags came from; they aren't set up for the customer to bag but they can hardly complain when I'm using their own bags . (Also, their bags are sized to fit on the racks that hold the plastic bags.)

And on the subject of canvas bags, may I present, Tim Minchin (sfw).

[Gawdzillers]

Was that cashier a big, bloated, ugly girl with short black hair that gave off an aura of "I hate everything"?

I may have worked with her long ago. She wouldn't scan and place the groceries on the other side of the counter, she would scan and SHOVE THE GROCERIES AT MACH 3 TOWARDS MY FINGERS. Especially cans and other heavy goods.

[pitmonkey]

The only problem with the reusable bags is that people don't wash them!!