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Hi All! I'm new to this forum and, though I have added my two cents boldly and often, this is my very first thread. Huzzah!
I'd like to start off saying that I am perhaps seeing evil in whichever corner it may lurk, simply because I am looking for it. Or perhaps I've just been in a poor non-holidayesque mood. Nevertheless, I seem to be getting more suckiness than usual and I'm not sure this bodes well for the upcoming year. So, without further ado, I'd like to present some excepts of my past week.
Getting Dent (ed)
The players:
Me: Howdy
SC: Paranoid lady with bruising/denting issues
SCF: Friend of SC
I am checking out SC and SCF and the conversation (more or less) goes as follows:
SC: Now, take care when handling my bananas. I don't want them bruised.
Me: Mm, okay.
SC: Last time I came through, the cashier wasn't gentle and they were all bruised by the time I got home.
Me: ...okay
SC: I wish more cashiers would treat produce with respect. It was all bruised and I had to throw it away right after I got home.
Me: (taking extra care weighing the bananas.)
SC: Yeah, thank you. Just like that. And here, put them on top of the bread (which made me pause, since the weight of bananas generally crushes bread, but hey, it wasn't my bread)
Now as an aside, asking to be extra gentle with produce isn't that uncommon. I myself have never had issues with mysterious bruising appearing right after purchase, but I'm not that particular, either. It's just that this customer kept going on and on about how everytime she comes to *my store*, her produce gets bruised. Does it end here? Am I posting on this forum? Yeah, you know the answer.
SC: Oh, make sure to double bag my fruit.
Me:
(she already grabbed the bananas). Oh, you mean the cans of fruit? Okay, no problem. (Continues scanning and bagging cans, then double-bagging, and turning the spinny bag-turner so SC can grab her bags)
SC: Gasp! You dented my cans!
Me: Pardon?
SC: (Pulls out a severely dented can of mandarin oranges) You dented my can!
Me: I'm very sorry, but I didn't (I inwardly kicked myself after saying this. Calling a SC on their folly never proves a wise move)
SC: You did SO dent my can. I checked every can before putting it in my cart and you dented my can because you weren't being careful. You should be more considerate when handling someone's merchandise.
Me: (Trying to think of a way to get out of this as quickly and painlessly as possible). I'm very sorry. Would you like me to call someone and get another one for you?
SC: Look, I know you didn't mean it, but you need to be more careful. I've bought this already and now I have to take a dented can. You should treat customers' items with respect. You just threw those cans in the bag and now it's dented.
Me: Again, I am very sorry. If you want, I can have someone get another one for you.
SC: (snaps) There were no others! I saw you just throwing those cans into the bag. You just be more careful in the future. (Add about two more minutes of dented cans rant)
Just so you understand, it's not easy for a human to dent a can the way this one was dented. I lack the upper body strength it would take to THROW the can hard enough to cause such a dent. I have dropped, accidentally launched, and otherwise caused to plummet to earth, many a can in my time and I assure you, the dent was not caused by me. Especially if I am dropping the cans right-side up into the bag a mere 2 inches from the bag's bottom and then double-bagging. I'm sure cans were no longer straight up and down after the double-bagging, but cans are not tissue paper and do not dent under that kind of minimal force.
SCF had stayed quiet the whole time. As they are walking away, SC asks SCF if they should "ask someone for help" and motions to the 4 gigantic bags of kitty litter in their cart. SCF nods agreement. They didn't ask me to call someone and I, feeling a little put off from getting chewed out, didn't take it upon myself to offer. So SC and SCF walk over to coworker P at the self-checkouts. SCF apparantly made a comment to the affect of "Isn't someone going to help us with these?!" And P responded by saying, "Um, sure. Let me call someone for you". So to wrap things up, not only are our cashiers inconsiderate to canned goods, but we are also not physic. Shame on us.
Every line should be a Cigarette Line
I'm working the express lane and we are mad crazy busy, since it's not only the 1st of the month, but it's also Saturday and Holiday Frenzy Shopping Season. The lines are stretching 6-8 people deep.
SC: Can I buy cigarettes here?
Me: No, I'm sorry. All cigarette purchases must be made at register 15.
SC: (cue higher octave) You mean I can't purchase them here? Why not?
Me: Register 15 is the only lane that sells cigarettes. We are not permitted to sell them at any other register.
SC: You mean I have to wait in line AGAIN (cue angry tone)
Me: I'm sorry, but we can only sell cigarettes at register 15.
SC: That's damn stupid if you ask me (Really, I hadn't). I'm not going to wait in line again. (And I most certainly won't suggest it)
Me: Sorry about that.
Two more people in the next 30 minutes asked the same thing. Oh well.
Customer's mistakes are OUR fault
This didn't happen to me, but to two of my coworkers R and K. Woman comes in, frantic because she loaded up her car and left with some of her bags still underneath the shopping cart. She wants someone to find them for her. So R, bless her jaded, CS-oriented heart, goes out into the 40-degree rain and searches for 10 minutes. No luck. R returns and tells SC she can't find the bags and SC begins yelling at R that R is at fault for not finding the bags and it's R's fault they got left behind.
A bit later I see K come tromping in soaked through and through (no coat, btw) carrying SC's bags. He presents SC with her bags, she takes them and leaves. No thank you, no apology. Just leaves. In the 40-degree pouring rain that two associates just spent the last half hour in, searching for bags that idiot SC left behind and couldn't be bothered to take personal responsibility for.
Free bags
Two little old ladies are buying a few items and one of them "accidentally" grabs a couple fistfulls of extra bags and stuffs them into the cart as if I might not notice. Well, I wanna tell you I'm going to charge you for the bags as any good cashier would, but it has been a long, tiring day and I really don't give a damn by this point. I'm not really looking forward to the argument we would undoubtedly have and maybe I'll catch you next time you pull that stunt. Here's to hoping.
Get the move on
I check out a couple who are buying groceries along with a couple boxed lamps. I scan the boxes and let them stay on the conveyor belt, so the customer can grab them. They are not light and they are bulky, thus I try to avoid the struggle/twist/wrench motion it would take to move them over to the bag spinner, so as not to put undue strain on my back or wrist. Woman picks up the lamps and has to walk one whole foot to put it in her cart. She mutters, "don't you think you could have put them over THERE for us". I try to politely explain my reasoning, but she just walks away mid-sentence. Jerk.
My address, USA
Woman comes through with a full cart of groceries. She writes out the check and I go to process. Uh oh, it doesn't have an address on it. Or rather, she hand-wrote it in. I apologize and tell her I can't take the check, because it is considered a starter check. She says she has them all printed this way, because she is sometimes in different locations and the bank never told her there would be a problem, etc. Truth is, it did have her NAME printed, so I am unsure if it would actually be considered a starter check, but I chose to err on the side of caution. She had no other form of payment, told me how nice it was she just wasted an hour of her time and spat "Have fun reshopping these!" before she stormed off. I would have fun, actually, but sadly I am still chained to the register and must help other customers who may, or may not, have entitlement issues.
And to round things off, just a few final tidbits from tonight:
Express lane mathmeticians: Can't count. Don't wanna. Can easily pretend evil glares from other line-holders don't exist. After all, the world does revolve around them.
Express lane showdown: Customer 2 and 3 coming to express lane from different angles at slightly different times. Customer 1 telling Customer 3 that Customer 2 was first. Glaring ensues. Customer 2 finally, meekly, gaining her true place in line while Customer 3 looks on enviously.
But it's the right number: Customer keys in wrong pin number for debit. Multiple times. Eventually she gets locked out and we can't process her purchase. Ends with, "How can that be, it was the right number!"
SO of the Express Lane Mathmetician: On what they hoped was a $100.0 transaction, overspends by $40.00. Puts back eggs, yogurt, anything else that is perishable. But keeps the snacks.
Snap, Crackle, Crack: Whoops, customer just dropped a glass bowl in her cart. Doesn't offer to pay for it, act sheepish, anything. No biggie. I bag and put under the register so no one gets hurt. Customer then turns around and puts the remaining 3 glass bowls on the shelving units behind her. Um, hello. Employee right here!
Sometimes I am amazed at my fake, CS-oriented persona. It covers the angry thoughts really well. Thanks all!
I'd like to start off saying that I am perhaps seeing evil in whichever corner it may lurk, simply because I am looking for it. Or perhaps I've just been in a poor non-holidayesque mood. Nevertheless, I seem to be getting more suckiness than usual and I'm not sure this bodes well for the upcoming year. So, without further ado, I'd like to present some excepts of my past week.
Getting Dent (ed)
The players:
Me: Howdy
SC: Paranoid lady with bruising/denting issues
SCF: Friend of SC
I am checking out SC and SCF and the conversation (more or less) goes as follows:
SC: Now, take care when handling my bananas. I don't want them bruised.
Me: Mm, okay.
SC: Last time I came through, the cashier wasn't gentle and they were all bruised by the time I got home.
Me: ...okay
SC: I wish more cashiers would treat produce with respect. It was all bruised and I had to throw it away right after I got home.
Me: (taking extra care weighing the bananas.)
SC: Yeah, thank you. Just like that. And here, put them on top of the bread (which made me pause, since the weight of bananas generally crushes bread, but hey, it wasn't my bread)
Now as an aside, asking to be extra gentle with produce isn't that uncommon. I myself have never had issues with mysterious bruising appearing right after purchase, but I'm not that particular, either. It's just that this customer kept going on and on about how everytime she comes to *my store*, her produce gets bruised. Does it end here? Am I posting on this forum? Yeah, you know the answer.
SC: Oh, make sure to double bag my fruit.
Me:
(she already grabbed the bananas). Oh, you mean the cans of fruit? Okay, no problem. (Continues scanning and bagging cans, then double-bagging, and turning the spinny bag-turner so SC can grab her bags)SC: Gasp! You dented my cans!
Me: Pardon?
SC: (Pulls out a severely dented can of mandarin oranges) You dented my can!
Me: I'm very sorry, but I didn't (I inwardly kicked myself after saying this. Calling a SC on their folly never proves a wise move)
SC: You did SO dent my can. I checked every can before putting it in my cart and you dented my can because you weren't being careful. You should be more considerate when handling someone's merchandise.
Me: (Trying to think of a way to get out of this as quickly and painlessly as possible). I'm very sorry. Would you like me to call someone and get another one for you?
SC: Look, I know you didn't mean it, but you need to be more careful. I've bought this already and now I have to take a dented can. You should treat customers' items with respect. You just threw those cans in the bag and now it's dented.
Me: Again, I am very sorry. If you want, I can have someone get another one for you.
SC: (snaps) There were no others! I saw you just throwing those cans into the bag. You just be more careful in the future. (Add about two more minutes of dented cans rant)
Just so you understand, it's not easy for a human to dent a can the way this one was dented. I lack the upper body strength it would take to THROW the can hard enough to cause such a dent. I have dropped, accidentally launched, and otherwise caused to plummet to earth, many a can in my time and I assure you, the dent was not caused by me. Especially if I am dropping the cans right-side up into the bag a mere 2 inches from the bag's bottom and then double-bagging. I'm sure cans were no longer straight up and down after the double-bagging, but cans are not tissue paper and do not dent under that kind of minimal force.
SCF had stayed quiet the whole time. As they are walking away, SC asks SCF if they should "ask someone for help" and motions to the 4 gigantic bags of kitty litter in their cart. SCF nods agreement. They didn't ask me to call someone and I, feeling a little put off from getting chewed out, didn't take it upon myself to offer. So SC and SCF walk over to coworker P at the self-checkouts. SCF apparantly made a comment to the affect of "Isn't someone going to help us with these?!" And P responded by saying, "Um, sure. Let me call someone for you". So to wrap things up, not only are our cashiers inconsiderate to canned goods, but we are also not physic. Shame on us.
Every line should be a Cigarette Line
I'm working the express lane and we are mad crazy busy, since it's not only the 1st of the month, but it's also Saturday and Holiday Frenzy Shopping Season. The lines are stretching 6-8 people deep.
SC: Can I buy cigarettes here?
Me: No, I'm sorry. All cigarette purchases must be made at register 15.
SC: (cue higher octave) You mean I can't purchase them here? Why not?
Me: Register 15 is the only lane that sells cigarettes. We are not permitted to sell them at any other register.
SC: You mean I have to wait in line AGAIN (cue angry tone)
Me: I'm sorry, but we can only sell cigarettes at register 15.
SC: That's damn stupid if you ask me (Really, I hadn't). I'm not going to wait in line again. (And I most certainly won't suggest it)
Me: Sorry about that.
Two more people in the next 30 minutes asked the same thing. Oh well.
Customer's mistakes are OUR fault
This didn't happen to me, but to two of my coworkers R and K. Woman comes in, frantic because she loaded up her car and left with some of her bags still underneath the shopping cart. She wants someone to find them for her. So R, bless her jaded, CS-oriented heart, goes out into the 40-degree rain and searches for 10 minutes. No luck. R returns and tells SC she can't find the bags and SC begins yelling at R that R is at fault for not finding the bags and it's R's fault they got left behind.
A bit later I see K come tromping in soaked through and through (no coat, btw) carrying SC's bags. He presents SC with her bags, she takes them and leaves. No thank you, no apology. Just leaves. In the 40-degree pouring rain that two associates just spent the last half hour in, searching for bags that idiot SC left behind and couldn't be bothered to take personal responsibility for.Free bags
Two little old ladies are buying a few items and one of them "accidentally" grabs a couple fistfulls of extra bags and stuffs them into the cart as if I might not notice. Well, I wanna tell you I'm going to charge you for the bags as any good cashier would, but it has been a long, tiring day and I really don't give a damn by this point. I'm not really looking forward to the argument we would undoubtedly have and maybe I'll catch you next time you pull that stunt. Here's to hoping.
Get the move on
I check out a couple who are buying groceries along with a couple boxed lamps. I scan the boxes and let them stay on the conveyor belt, so the customer can grab them. They are not light and they are bulky, thus I try to avoid the struggle/twist/wrench motion it would take to move them over to the bag spinner, so as not to put undue strain on my back or wrist. Woman picks up the lamps and has to walk one whole foot to put it in her cart. She mutters, "don't you think you could have put them over THERE for us". I try to politely explain my reasoning, but she just walks away mid-sentence. Jerk.
My address, USA
Woman comes through with a full cart of groceries. She writes out the check and I go to process. Uh oh, it doesn't have an address on it. Or rather, she hand-wrote it in. I apologize and tell her I can't take the check, because it is considered a starter check. She says she has them all printed this way, because she is sometimes in different locations and the bank never told her there would be a problem, etc. Truth is, it did have her NAME printed, so I am unsure if it would actually be considered a starter check, but I chose to err on the side of caution. She had no other form of payment, told me how nice it was she just wasted an hour of her time and spat "Have fun reshopping these!" before she stormed off. I would have fun, actually, but sadly I am still chained to the register and must help other customers who may, or may not, have entitlement issues.
And to round things off, just a few final tidbits from tonight:
Express lane mathmeticians: Can't count. Don't wanna. Can easily pretend evil glares from other line-holders don't exist. After all, the world does revolve around them.
Express lane showdown: Customer 2 and 3 coming to express lane from different angles at slightly different times. Customer 1 telling Customer 3 that Customer 2 was first. Glaring ensues. Customer 2 finally, meekly, gaining her true place in line while Customer 3 looks on enviously.
But it's the right number: Customer keys in wrong pin number for debit. Multiple times. Eventually she gets locked out and we can't process her purchase. Ends with, "How can that be, it was the right number!"
SO of the Express Lane Mathmetician: On what they hoped was a $100.0 transaction, overspends by $40.00. Puts back eggs, yogurt, anything else that is perishable. But keeps the snacks.
Snap, Crackle, Crack: Whoops, customer just dropped a glass bowl in her cart. Doesn't offer to pay for it, act sheepish, anything. No biggie. I bag and put under the register so no one gets hurt. Customer then turns around and puts the remaining 3 glass bowls on the shelving units behind her. Um, hello. Employee right here!
Sometimes I am amazed at my fake, CS-oriented persona. It covers the angry thoughts really well. Thanks all!