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Last night was a really not-fun night on the tills (I had the closing shift). It didn't help that I didn't get to spend enough time with my husband earlier in the day, and would be away till 11pm or so. 
It seems that all the world's twits decided to crawl out of the woodwork during my shift and come to my register. ::grumble::
We're Not a Small Convenience Shop!
This foreign-sounding lady (thick accent, odd grammar) came up to my register with five grass feed bags piled in the seat of her shopping cart. I give her my usual greeting, and she responds by telling me that she had five of the feed bags and three Almond Joy bars at 3/$1.00. Did she actually hand the items to me so that I could ring them up? Heck no. She just pointed to them and then looked at me as if she expected me to ring them up like that.
Now, Wal-Mart has a computerized inventory system that keeps track of items by their UPC codes, which is why everything needs to be scanned or the UPC hand-keyed in. So I politely ask the lady to hand me the items. She repeats how many she has. I ask if she'd like them bagged (sometimes this convinces these customers to hand me the items), and she shakes her head. So I tell her I need at least one of each item to scan. She hands me a bag of grass feed and I scan it (and hit enter for the other four to repeat the scan in the inventory system).
Then I ask her for the Almond Joy bars. She repeats that they're 3/$1. I nod and explain that I still need to scan them. She repeats the price again. I admit now that I probably sounded a bit sharp when I explained that I understood but I couldn't ring them up without scanning them, though I at least tried to keep my words civil. She finally relented and handed me a candy bar, which I used to ring up all three.
She then goes to pay. The bill was something like $11.67, so she gets out a $10 and sets it on the counter, then immediately pulls out a handful of change and starts counting it. She sets a quarter on the counter. She then counts out four more quarters and piles them on the $10. Then she sets a dime next to the quarter. Then she starts counting out $.67 and pushes the whole pile to me. I try to explain that she gave me too much and attempt to recount it for her. She tries to give me more change, apparently thinking I'm telling her she didn't pay enough. I manage to stop her and quickly count out the change, then practically snatch it up before she can try to recount it again (I saw her reaching out to) and push the rest back to her. I got her out of there as quickly as I could before I actually lost my cool for once in front of a customer.
But I'm the One Buying Them!
Immediately following Foreign Lady was a pair of women with a large cart. I began ringing the first one up, and she told me the two of them were together and it was all on one receipt. Fair enough. After about five items, the first lady asked me for a specific pack of cigarettes. So I go grab them (I was working the much-hated cig aisle again), and ask for her ID because I'm a horrible judge of ages and she looked like she could have been young enough. She looks surprised, pulls out a huge purse, and starts fishing through it.
The second lady notices, and asks what's up. I explain that I need to see ID to sell the cigs, and first lady explains that she doesn't know if she has hers with her. Second lady says that she (#2) is the one buying them. I explain that's fine, but I still need to see #1's ID. #2 rattles off some birthdate, and I explain I still need to see #1's ID (not only is it store policy, but my personal policy is that if I've already asked you for ID, I'm not backing down on the request no matter what). #2 pulls out her own ID and hands it to me, rattling off a different birthday, which turns out to be hers. I check the age (plenty old enough, but I could tell that from looks) and explain that I still need to see #1's ID. #2 rattles off the first birthday (#1's) again, and I explain tiredly that it doesn't matter, I need to see the ID.
This is when #2 starts protesting that she's the one buying, so I don't need to see #1's, and they've never had this happen before. I try to explain that it's store policy that if one of them looks young enough, I need to see that person's ID no matter who's buying, and that I could be fined or fired for not doing so. They both start griping that it must be a new policy (not!), because they've never heard that before.
Finally #1 finds her ID, turns out to be a good 20 years old enough, and I get them out of there as fast as I can.
The Nicotine Twins
Immediately following the previous two ladies were the Nicotine Twins (can you see where my night was headed?)
The first lady came up with her items and I rang her up, and she asked for a specific brand of cigarettes. I got them and IDed her, because she looked almost too young. She pulls out her ID, no problem, old enough by about four years or so, and I finish her out. She waits there, talking to her friend, as I start ringing up the friend.
Who asks me for cigarettes as well (same brand, hence the monniker). I start to step away from the till to go get the cigs, and the girl says to me:
"Now, I know you're going to ask me for ID like you did her (nodding to first girl), and I'm going to tell you right now that I don't have it on me."
I immediately stop and explain that I can't sell cigarettes to her without ID (especially not since she admitted it to me right then and there, and yes, I was going to card her because she also looked young enough). She looks annoyed. Then she looks at her friend.
"I'll just have you buy them for me then."
And that just lost her any chance she had of convincing me. I explained sternly (but politely and calmly) that I couldn't allow her friend to buy cigarettes for her either. She grumbled but more or less let it go, though I did hear her mutter just loud enough for me to hear:
"Why would I be in here buying cigarettes if I wasn't old enough?"
Um, because lots of kids try to do that anyway? I'm not getting fired or fined because you need to chug on a cancer stick, lady.
Put On a Shirt!
This one's actually from Friday.
I was manning the self-checkouts when I noticed a rather well-endowed and well-rounded (as in apple-shaped instead of hourglass-shaped) woman going through one of the self-check registers. Wearing a virtually see-through white shirt with a dark blue bra, and such a large V-neck in front that I could easily tell that it was a bra and not some sort of bikini or halter top. The lady was literally hanging out, prancing around in little more than her underwear from the waist up.
I mentioned this to my husband, who speculated that some of these people wear clothing they think is sexy so they can feel sexy no matter how they actually look (like the two old wrinkly ladies from my supercenter days who had sagging chests and wore tube-tops). I still can't understand why people don't dress to flatter their varying figures rather than exposing them like this. It's not attractive. My younger sister is somewhat overweight and she actually knows how to dress so that she looks attractive rather than like she just came in from a trailer park or a streetcorner.
---
And while I'm at it, I've lost track of the number of customers I've had who've swiped their cards at the pinpad, then attempt to press the touch screen buttons with the corner of the card. It's electronics, people, not physical buttons. It only responds to the attached electronic pen and your fingertips! At least most of them figure out very quickly that the corner of the card won't activate the buttons.
It seems that all the world's twits decided to crawl out of the woodwork during my shift and come to my register. ::grumble::
We're Not a Small Convenience Shop!
This foreign-sounding lady (thick accent, odd grammar) came up to my register with five grass feed bags piled in the seat of her shopping cart. I give her my usual greeting, and she responds by telling me that she had five of the feed bags and three Almond Joy bars at 3/$1.00. Did she actually hand the items to me so that I could ring them up? Heck no. She just pointed to them and then looked at me as if she expected me to ring them up like that.
Now, Wal-Mart has a computerized inventory system that keeps track of items by their UPC codes, which is why everything needs to be scanned or the UPC hand-keyed in. So I politely ask the lady to hand me the items. She repeats how many she has. I ask if she'd like them bagged (sometimes this convinces these customers to hand me the items), and she shakes her head. So I tell her I need at least one of each item to scan. She hands me a bag of grass feed and I scan it (and hit enter for the other four to repeat the scan in the inventory system).
Then I ask her for the Almond Joy bars. She repeats that they're 3/$1. I nod and explain that I still need to scan them. She repeats the price again. I admit now that I probably sounded a bit sharp when I explained that I understood but I couldn't ring them up without scanning them, though I at least tried to keep my words civil. She finally relented and handed me a candy bar, which I used to ring up all three.
She then goes to pay. The bill was something like $11.67, so she gets out a $10 and sets it on the counter, then immediately pulls out a handful of change and starts counting it. She sets a quarter on the counter. She then counts out four more quarters and piles them on the $10. Then she sets a dime next to the quarter. Then she starts counting out $.67 and pushes the whole pile to me. I try to explain that she gave me too much and attempt to recount it for her. She tries to give me more change, apparently thinking I'm telling her she didn't pay enough. I manage to stop her and quickly count out the change, then practically snatch it up before she can try to recount it again (I saw her reaching out to) and push the rest back to her. I got her out of there as quickly as I could before I actually lost my cool for once in front of a customer.
But I'm the One Buying Them!
Immediately following Foreign Lady was a pair of women with a large cart. I began ringing the first one up, and she told me the two of them were together and it was all on one receipt. Fair enough. After about five items, the first lady asked me for a specific pack of cigarettes. So I go grab them (I was working the much-hated cig aisle again), and ask for her ID because I'm a horrible judge of ages and she looked like she could have been young enough. She looks surprised, pulls out a huge purse, and starts fishing through it.
The second lady notices, and asks what's up. I explain that I need to see ID to sell the cigs, and first lady explains that she doesn't know if she has hers with her. Second lady says that she (#2) is the one buying them. I explain that's fine, but I still need to see #1's ID. #2 rattles off some birthdate, and I explain I still need to see #1's ID (not only is it store policy, but my personal policy is that if I've already asked you for ID, I'm not backing down on the request no matter what). #2 pulls out her own ID and hands it to me, rattling off a different birthday, which turns out to be hers. I check the age (plenty old enough, but I could tell that from looks) and explain that I still need to see #1's ID. #2 rattles off the first birthday (#1's) again, and I explain tiredly that it doesn't matter, I need to see the ID.
This is when #2 starts protesting that she's the one buying, so I don't need to see #1's, and they've never had this happen before. I try to explain that it's store policy that if one of them looks young enough, I need to see that person's ID no matter who's buying, and that I could be fined or fired for not doing so. They both start griping that it must be a new policy (not!), because they've never heard that before.
Finally #1 finds her ID, turns out to be a good 20 years old enough, and I get them out of there as fast as I can.
The Nicotine Twins
Immediately following the previous two ladies were the Nicotine Twins (can you see where my night was headed?)
The first lady came up with her items and I rang her up, and she asked for a specific brand of cigarettes. I got them and IDed her, because she looked almost too young. She pulls out her ID, no problem, old enough by about four years or so, and I finish her out. She waits there, talking to her friend, as I start ringing up the friend.
Who asks me for cigarettes as well (same brand, hence the monniker). I start to step away from the till to go get the cigs, and the girl says to me:
"Now, I know you're going to ask me for ID like you did her (nodding to first girl), and I'm going to tell you right now that I don't have it on me."
I immediately stop and explain that I can't sell cigarettes to her without ID (especially not since she admitted it to me right then and there, and yes, I was going to card her because she also looked young enough). She looks annoyed. Then she looks at her friend.
"I'll just have you buy them for me then."
And that just lost her any chance she had of convincing me. I explained sternly (but politely and calmly) that I couldn't allow her friend to buy cigarettes for her either. She grumbled but more or less let it go, though I did hear her mutter just loud enough for me to hear:
"Why would I be in here buying cigarettes if I wasn't old enough?"
Um, because lots of kids try to do that anyway? I'm not getting fired or fined because you need to chug on a cancer stick, lady.
Put On a Shirt!
This one's actually from Friday.
I was manning the self-checkouts when I noticed a rather well-endowed and well-rounded (as in apple-shaped instead of hourglass-shaped) woman going through one of the self-check registers. Wearing a virtually see-through white shirt with a dark blue bra, and such a large V-neck in front that I could easily tell that it was a bra and not some sort of bikini or halter top. The lady was literally hanging out, prancing around in little more than her underwear from the waist up.
I mentioned this to my husband, who speculated that some of these people wear clothing they think is sexy so they can feel sexy no matter how they actually look (like the two old wrinkly ladies from my supercenter days who had sagging chests and wore tube-tops). I still can't understand why people don't dress to flatter their varying figures rather than exposing them like this. It's not attractive. My younger sister is somewhat overweight and she actually knows how to dress so that she looks attractive rather than like she just came in from a trailer park or a streetcorner.
---
And while I'm at it, I've lost track of the number of customers I've had who've swiped their cards at the pinpad, then attempt to press the touch screen buttons with the corner of the card. It's electronics, people, not physical buttons. It only responds to the attached electronic pen and your fingertips! At least most of them figure out very quickly that the corner of the card won't activate the buttons.
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