The All-Mouth Family

[adarhysenthe]

One day, they enter my store. A large family, three female adults (two young, one obviously the grandma) pushing two strollers (Oh heavens no they've spawned). I always get nervous with large families because I know the children or parent will steal candy and then scream at me for having to pay for it. It never fails.

One of the young women gets some candy and I start to relax just a tad as the rest hover near the door, holding their spawn--children!--away from the bins. Then they all troup up to pay and as so often happens, there's an argument. Not with the price, however. With who PAYS.

AM1: Nicer, quieter one
AM2: Medusa returned and one spawn short of housing the Three Gorgons
AMG: Grandma, the source!!
Spawn: GIT--Gorgons-in-training, innocent to their parents brainlessness
CW: Coworker
Me: Suffering silently

AM1: Here's my card.
Me: *move to take it*
AM2: No, I'm paying! *shoves her card at me from the side*
ME: *I pause since I hate it when this happens...whose are you supposed to take in those situations???*
AM1: ------ you don't have to do that--
AM2: Take it, I said! *to me, in the most rude and obnoxious tone I've ever heard*
Me: *takes her card, makes her show ID (I was hoping she'd have a wrong one but no such luck), run it and just as I hand it back....*
AMG: *pops some candy straight from the bin into her mouth*
Me: *to AM2* She needs to pay for that.
AM2: *eyeroll* Fine... *hands me a dollar and then one of the spawn does the same thing*
Me: Please keep your "children's" hands out of the bins.
AM2: Just charge me for those, and add one extra, I'm gonna take one of those over there.
Me: *deliberately overcharge to cover the contaminated candy I'd have to pick out when they leave and shoo them out--courteously*

*Two days later*

They come BACK just before closing. I see them coming and grab a low bin to fill in the back, leaving my innocent CW to deal with them. Cowardly, yes, but I would have overcharged them purposely just for being rude, not to mention what candies they would have eaten and contaminated in the process, so it's kinder to them (whether or not they deserve it). Here's my CW's tale:

They grab candy. As in don't grab a bag and ignore the scoops and tongs, and then bring it up to the register IN THEIR HAND.

CW: Um, we need to weigh that.
AM2: Is that clean? *snobbish face, looking at the freshly wiped scale*
CW: Well, see, most people know to use a bag. *gets them one and watches the AMG and Spawn eating from bins and then adding to the price*
AM2: *pays, delivering waspish comments all the while, and as they leave she starts picking bits of french fry from the baby's face and flicking it onto our freshly swept and mopped floor, as well as into the path of passers-by*
Me: *I finally come out* Have. A GOOD. Night! *teeth clenched*
AMFamily: *take the hint and leave*
CW: OMG, they were so RUDE!
Me: *longsuffering sigh* I know.

[katie kaboom]

I hate it when they do that. You wanna bicker about who's gonna pay, fine. But make a decision before you come to the register. Not only is it awkward for the cashier, but it holds up the line while dumb and dumber argue about who pays.

[Monica]

I get that sometimes too. It's hard to know whose card or money to take when they both want to pay you,a nd hold out the payment at the same time.

[Food Lady]

That doesn't bother me nearly as much as the hands in the candy bin. *shudder*

[Sliceanddice]

EWWW EWWW EWWW

USE THE BAG USE THE BAG!!!

the fact you said you toss anything they might have touched fills me with comfort. Nasty nasty women.

*huddles in the cornor, rocking back and forth, whimpering about never being clean again*

[justZu]

AM2: Is that clean? *snobbish face, looking at the freshly wiped scale*

Gah! That scale is probably a million times cleaner than their grubby hands.

[Boozy]

I wish people would realize how rude it is to engage an employee (and complete stranger) in their arguments over the check; it's very awkward. They think they're being all kind and generous, but its really very hostile, especially when they're literally shoving money at you. I never knew what to do in those situations at the cafe. I suspect it happens more frequently in restaurants than anywhere else.

[coldcupofjoe]

When I get two or more people arguing over who's gonna pay I just take the money from whoever gets it to me first.

[Broomjockey]

I had this situation happen a lot at my first theatre. I never did have a set method of handling it. Some days I'd take it from whoever got it to me first, sometimes, whoever put in the most effort. Sometimes from the girl, sometimes from the guy. I really had no rhyme nor reason to it. Rarely did anyone question why I took whoever's money though.

The one time that the guy questioned why I took his g/f's money, I replied "I'm more scared of her." And she went "Ha!" and slugged him in the arm. Thus proving my point.

[Becks]

Someone should teach them how to act in public.

[BookstoreEscapee]

This is why I like the bins with the little chute in front and the little hoe that you use to pull the candy down into the chute, and then you hold the bag under it while you open the bottom of the chute. I don't have to worry about who's been sticking their grubby hands in the things. ick

[Shironu-Akaineko]

Me it's the gumball machines. Cleaner and much harder to swipe "free samples" out of.

[Andara Bledin]

Gah. While my boyfriend and I might not always know who's paying when we get to the register, we sort it out between us and whoever ends up handling it is the one that interacts with the cashier.

If I were to be hit with that situation, I'd probably tell them that when they had everything sorted, I'd be happy to finish the transaction.

Of course, with people sticking their hands in the candy bins, I'd be thinking quite strongly of banning them from the shop. There is no way they could buy enough to cover how much they end up destroying and how many people would avoid the place with them in it.

^-.-^

[Banrion]

They payment argument happened to me alot at the movie theatre. Usually, if it was an obvious date situation, I would take the money from the guy, unless the girl spoke up and said something like "It's his birthday, I'm paying!" Never had anyone get upset one way or the other, usually the other would end up buying snacks anyway.

[air914]

See this is why you shouldn't eat out of those candy dishes or nut dishes in public places.... you don't know WHOSE hands have been in those......