Tweet
Wow, I actually have a sighting to post that doesn't involve the Roadkill forum. 
Child#2 and I went to do our big bi-weekly grocery run around noon while Child#1 was in school, so I would only have to corral one kid. After a good hour or so of filling up our cart with food items, we hit up the checkout lanes so we could pay. The store was pretty busy, surprisingly, despite it being midday on a weekday, but I figured a lot of people were there picking things up on their lunch breaks. I found a reasonably short line with only two people (with full carts, of course) waiting in it, and got in line.
Not long after I got in line, I noticed that the register light had begun blinking. Glancing ahead, I saw the cashier looking at some sort of booklet with food pictures and instructions in it, and the mom of that small family holding what looked to be oversized checks, and realized what was up: they were using WIC checks, and needed CSM approval for some part of it. No biggie, I've waited this long so I can wait longer. After all, the cashier looked pretty on top of things, and just needed an approval before continuing.
The lady in front of me, however, apparently decided it was a personal insult to her, having to wait longer. She started huffing and sighing, even after the cashier explained why exactly they were waiting for a CSM. The lady in front of me then started glancing at me, sighing loudly and dramatically, and muttering quite loudly "I can't believe this!" over and over again. Meanwhile, the CSM showed up and gave approval, and the cashier proceeded to process those WIC checks (about four of them) as fast as physically possible with the register setup. That still wasn't enough for Impatient Lady, who started complaining to me about how she was on some sort of break and didn't have time to be spending all day in a checkout line and why wasn't this going faster? (Try not going shopping for a cartful of stuff during a busy midday hour, lady.)
Two more customers got in line behind me at this point. Shortly after that, the next register over opened up, and Impatient Lady starts complaining even louder because it was just "OMG SO UNFAIR" (not her exact words) that the line opened up while she was stuck with the "slow cashier." The people behind me went to the new line, but I opted to wait because it wasn't going to be much faster to move.
Finally, Impatient Lady semi-gruffly asks me to move so she can change lines (seeming put-out that I wasn't agreeing with her gripes), and she goes off to the neighboring lane. I move up, and the cashier has started the small family's remaining non-WIC items, so I can start unloading. I get up to the front of the line and sympathize with the cashier, who's understandably shaken by Impatient Lady's little tantrum.
And then about halfway through ringing up my items, the cashier lost a few sympathy points. It started with Impatient Lady, one lane over, dropping her receipt as she stormed out. My cashier picked it up and, at the other cashier's request, ran it out to her. Apparently Impatient Lady snatched it out of his hand with a very insincere "thank you" and continued storming away. (She ended up leaving onions behind at the register, too. Go figure.) My cashier was grumbling unflattering things about her on his way back to the register where I was waiting, and was pulled aside by a manager for the audible complaints. I'll have to agree with the manager on this one, little as I want to, since it's best to be as professional as possible on the job no matter how frustrating some of your customers can be. But that wasn't where the cashier really lost points.
No, it was the part where he was 3/4 the way through my items and decided to turn around and complain out loud to the cashier behind him instead of finishing ringing me up. It was at that point that I was thinking, "Dude, I know you're frustrated and ticked off at her, but would you mind at least ringing me up while you vent?"
And my husband wonders why I generally dislike doing the food shopping.
Child#2 and I went to do our big bi-weekly grocery run around noon while Child#1 was in school, so I would only have to corral one kid. After a good hour or so of filling up our cart with food items, we hit up the checkout lanes so we could pay. The store was pretty busy, surprisingly, despite it being midday on a weekday, but I figured a lot of people were there picking things up on their lunch breaks. I found a reasonably short line with only two people (with full carts, of course) waiting in it, and got in line.
Not long after I got in line, I noticed that the register light had begun blinking. Glancing ahead, I saw the cashier looking at some sort of booklet with food pictures and instructions in it, and the mom of that small family holding what looked to be oversized checks, and realized what was up: they were using WIC checks, and needed CSM approval for some part of it. No biggie, I've waited this long so I can wait longer. After all, the cashier looked pretty on top of things, and just needed an approval before continuing.
The lady in front of me, however, apparently decided it was a personal insult to her, having to wait longer. She started huffing and sighing, even after the cashier explained why exactly they were waiting for a CSM. The lady in front of me then started glancing at me, sighing loudly and dramatically, and muttering quite loudly "I can't believe this!" over and over again. Meanwhile, the CSM showed up and gave approval, and the cashier proceeded to process those WIC checks (about four of them) as fast as physically possible with the register setup. That still wasn't enough for Impatient Lady, who started complaining to me about how she was on some sort of break and didn't have time to be spending all day in a checkout line and why wasn't this going faster? (Try not going shopping for a cartful of stuff during a busy midday hour, lady.)
Two more customers got in line behind me at this point. Shortly after that, the next register over opened up, and Impatient Lady starts complaining even louder because it was just "OMG SO UNFAIR" (not her exact words) that the line opened up while she was stuck with the "slow cashier." The people behind me went to the new line, but I opted to wait because it wasn't going to be much faster to move.
Finally, Impatient Lady semi-gruffly asks me to move so she can change lines (seeming put-out that I wasn't agreeing with her gripes), and she goes off to the neighboring lane. I move up, and the cashier has started the small family's remaining non-WIC items, so I can start unloading. I get up to the front of the line and sympathize with the cashier, who's understandably shaken by Impatient Lady's little tantrum.
And then about halfway through ringing up my items, the cashier lost a few sympathy points. It started with Impatient Lady, one lane over, dropping her receipt as she stormed out. My cashier picked it up and, at the other cashier's request, ran it out to her. Apparently Impatient Lady snatched it out of his hand with a very insincere "thank you" and continued storming away. (She ended up leaving onions behind at the register, too. Go figure.) My cashier was grumbling unflattering things about her on his way back to the register where I was waiting, and was pulled aside by a manager for the audible complaints. I'll have to agree with the manager on this one, little as I want to, since it's best to be as professional as possible on the job no matter how frustrating some of your customers can be. But that wasn't where the cashier really lost points.
No, it was the part where he was 3/4 the way through my items and decided to turn around and complain out loud to the cashier behind him instead of finishing ringing me up. It was at that point that I was thinking, "Dude, I know you're frustrated and ticked off at her, but would you mind at least ringing me up while you vent?"
And my husband wonders why I generally dislike doing the food shopping.
. Both he and impatient lady should have had a time out, maybe.
Comment