Okay, I have never worked in a supermarket, or for that much even in retail. My customer service work has been a vast majority of food service, with some entertainment (wedding DJ and magician) and call center (hotel) thrown in. But I read the supermarket-related comments in here with some amusement, as I read the others, but while I believe it happens intellectually, I didn't really believe it was as bad as some claim it to me, at least not REALLY believe it, though I didn't doubt the words of the members posting about it. (I have no doubt that some people who have never worked in food service might doubt some of MY stories as well!)
Part of my problem is I do about 95% of my grocery shopping late at night. So I see the store when the self-checkouts are closed, the place is mostly clean, the place is mostly empty, the delis and butchers are shut down, and the stockers are in, stocking the place--which means I also get to navigate around boxes and pallets of merchandise. But I don't see the supermarket the way most people do, due to my late night hours.
Last night, while doing my standard 1:00 am shopping, I became a true believer. Wandering down one aisle, I found a mostly consumed bottle of frappucino that some asshat customer had simply left sitting there. I brought it up to my friend B the cashier, and told him about it, and handed it to him to deal with. He thanked me, but rolled his eyes....obviously not a new experience for him. Later in my sojourn through the groceries, I came upon one aisle that had a lot of black stuff smeared on the floor. At first I wasn't sure what it was, and was thinking the worst, but it turned out to be chocolate cake. (I looked closely, I did NOT touch it or taste it, thank you very much!) And finally, when I wheeled my purchases out to the Jestermobile, I looked around the parking lot, and saw literally dozens of carts everywhere BUT the cart corral....in a parking lot that had maybe eight cars! What the hell is wrong with people? MY cart went right where it always does...in the corral. And it looked very very lonely there, I might add. (I briefly thought about putting the carts in the corral, and would have if it were a few, but there were a BUNCH, I was tired, and sorry, but it really ISN'T my job.)
So to all my brethren in the supermarkets and grocery stores, my apologies for not quite believing all the shit you put up with on a daily basis. I had to be shown the light. (It was in aisle 4, by the chocolate cake, actually.)
Part of my problem is I do about 95% of my grocery shopping late at night. So I see the store when the self-checkouts are closed, the place is mostly clean, the place is mostly empty, the delis and butchers are shut down, and the stockers are in, stocking the place--which means I also get to navigate around boxes and pallets of merchandise. But I don't see the supermarket the way most people do, due to my late night hours.
Last night, while doing my standard 1:00 am shopping, I became a true believer. Wandering down one aisle, I found a mostly consumed bottle of frappucino that some asshat customer had simply left sitting there. I brought it up to my friend B the cashier, and told him about it, and handed it to him to deal with. He thanked me, but rolled his eyes....obviously not a new experience for him. Later in my sojourn through the groceries, I came upon one aisle that had a lot of black stuff smeared on the floor. At first I wasn't sure what it was, and was thinking the worst, but it turned out to be chocolate cake. (I looked closely, I did NOT touch it or taste it, thank you very much!) And finally, when I wheeled my purchases out to the Jestermobile, I looked around the parking lot, and saw literally dozens of carts everywhere BUT the cart corral....in a parking lot that had maybe eight cars! What the hell is wrong with people? MY cart went right where it always does...in the corral. And it looked very very lonely there, I might add. (I briefly thought about putting the carts in the corral, and would have if it were a few, but there were a BUNCH, I was tired, and sorry, but it really ISN'T my job.)
So to all my brethren in the supermarkets and grocery stores, my apologies for not quite believing all the shit you put up with on a daily basis. I had to be shown the light. (It was in aisle 4, by the chocolate cake, actually.)
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