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I'm telling you the ending first (Yes, I AM M. Night Shmalyan!): She buys $348 worth of groceries.
Anyway, closing shift tonight (surprise) just about 11 PM, the night cashier is told to go out on the lot and bring in stray carts, so there I am at self check, no other registers available.
And I'm suddenly whallopped with customers with massively overflowing carts! And everyone's pissy because the only registers open are self check. At 11 PM! Shock!
Anyway, I manage to clear out about half the line, only to get a mother and her two daughters at a self check, and Mom's pissier than anyone else around. So, obviously, I offer to scan her groceries for her. "No, no, they love to do that..." generally indicating her daughters. So I go off gallomphing, to assist other customers, and every time I hear a system alert on my hip scanner... thing... it's that lady and her daughters, and if I don't clear the errors immediately, they start bitching and moaning about the register not working, and why aren't there any open full service cashiers, and bitch bitch bitch moan... I offer again to scan their goods for them. "No, no, it's okay."
Round about this time, the night manager comes up front, summoned by an associate who had used my self checks and overheard the moaning. Manager asks me if the other cashier is available? "Not really... he was sent out to get carts, and I can't leave the area when there are customers afoot." Can you run a real register? "Not really... hardly ever used one, plus, I'm signed on to four registers already, and I had to have a manager's key to sign on to anymore than the first." In other words, really, my hands are tied currently, I can't do anything besides offer to assist...
Until I see the cashier in the vestibule outside my door, so I wander out briefly and ask him to come help clear the line at least, and mean while, I offer my scanning services to the hag a third time. Still, "No..."
It is at this point that I'm tired of dealing with her, so I just position my thumb over the error button on the hand scanner, with her register pulled up, and hit the thing every time the scanner beeps at me. "Screw it," says I. "I just want her out of my hair."
Finally, she asks for my assistance, to key in some veggies. No biggie, it is done, and I move aside as she hits pay now. All told, her damage is $385, or thereabouts. She pays $200 in cash, and the rest on credit. Is it over? Not by a long shot.
She has still been bitching as she pays, and asks me, basically, "So, your store is saying, 'It's okay to spend three hours shopping, but, when you get up front to check out, you have to do it yourself'?"
This time of night? Yes, it's not always going to happen, we usually have a cashier around until midnight, but I hear he was sick and stayed home, next latest is 11:30 to go home, and the last cashiering manager to leave told him to go out and collect carts at 11 PM. So, collect carts he did.
"You can tell them I won't be back."
See you next Tuesday. Try not being here when we're getting close to close. Late night cashiering is ALWAYS minimal! Anywhere you go, I think you'll find.
As she and her daughters are on their way out, the youngest tries to push the full shopping cart with their load of groceries. Can't see over the handle... can't manage to get any force on the cart, and starts whining to Mom about that. Mom tells older daughter to take over instead. Older daughter wants to push the miniature cart with nothing in it. Argument ensues, with Older Daughter basically screeching at Mommy Dearest that she always takes Sisters side. Mom screeches back, "She's not big enough to see over the cart, and she can't push it!" Daughter screeches something else, but by that time, they've passed beyond my range of hearing, and I can hear dogs howling in pain in the near distance. I wait for the sliding doors to shut and turn to the only customers still at my self check, and apologize for the harpy getting loose.
Later, as the clock rolled around to 1 AM, I am helping the last two customers on the self checks before I have to go (have to, not supposed to stay beyond 1:07, sue to the way the time clock rounds our hours.) they are nearly done, so I shut down the other three self checks, just to have that out of the way. As I'm reaching to shut down the last station, someone walks in.
"Sir," say I, a bit forcefully, perhaps, but I needed to get my message across, "We're closed."
"I just need a *garbled, sounds like a pound of hamburger*..."
He dashes off into the store, and I, dumbfounded, can only think to call the night manager and let him know that there is a customer loose in the store, and I'm supposed to have left already. Night manager shows me how to turn off the sliding doors (which I should've been told the first closing shift I did, don't you think?) and tells me to page the store, saying it's 1:15, and we're closed. I do so, and guy comes back up in a few minutes, his arms laden with assorted things, none of which is hamburger. Luckily, nothing difficult to scan... so he finishes quickly, I shut down the last register, and skedaddle up to my locker as fast as I can... and on my way out, the night manager actually takes the time to stop me and ask my name... probably since I know him on sight, he feels it necessary to reciprocate... I like him...
Anyway, closing shift tonight (surprise) just about 11 PM, the night cashier is told to go out on the lot and bring in stray carts, so there I am at self check, no other registers available.
And I'm suddenly whallopped with customers with massively overflowing carts! And everyone's pissy because the only registers open are self check. At 11 PM! Shock!
Anyway, I manage to clear out about half the line, only to get a mother and her two daughters at a self check, and Mom's pissier than anyone else around. So, obviously, I offer to scan her groceries for her. "No, no, they love to do that..." generally indicating her daughters. So I go off gallomphing, to assist other customers, and every time I hear a system alert on my hip scanner... thing... it's that lady and her daughters, and if I don't clear the errors immediately, they start bitching and moaning about the register not working, and why aren't there any open full service cashiers, and bitch bitch bitch moan... I offer again to scan their goods for them. "No, no, it's okay."
Round about this time, the night manager comes up front, summoned by an associate who had used my self checks and overheard the moaning. Manager asks me if the other cashier is available? "Not really... he was sent out to get carts, and I can't leave the area when there are customers afoot." Can you run a real register? "Not really... hardly ever used one, plus, I'm signed on to four registers already, and I had to have a manager's key to sign on to anymore than the first." In other words, really, my hands are tied currently, I can't do anything besides offer to assist...
Until I see the cashier in the vestibule outside my door, so I wander out briefly and ask him to come help clear the line at least, and mean while, I offer my scanning services to the hag a third time. Still, "No..."
It is at this point that I'm tired of dealing with her, so I just position my thumb over the error button on the hand scanner, with her register pulled up, and hit the thing every time the scanner beeps at me. "Screw it," says I. "I just want her out of my hair."
Finally, she asks for my assistance, to key in some veggies. No biggie, it is done, and I move aside as she hits pay now. All told, her damage is $385, or thereabouts. She pays $200 in cash, and the rest on credit. Is it over? Not by a long shot.
She has still been bitching as she pays, and asks me, basically, "So, your store is saying, 'It's okay to spend three hours shopping, but, when you get up front to check out, you have to do it yourself'?"
This time of night? Yes, it's not always going to happen, we usually have a cashier around until midnight, but I hear he was sick and stayed home, next latest is 11:30 to go home, and the last cashiering manager to leave told him to go out and collect carts at 11 PM. So, collect carts he did.
"You can tell them I won't be back."
See you next Tuesday. Try not being here when we're getting close to close. Late night cashiering is ALWAYS minimal! Anywhere you go, I think you'll find.
As she and her daughters are on their way out, the youngest tries to push the full shopping cart with their load of groceries. Can't see over the handle... can't manage to get any force on the cart, and starts whining to Mom about that. Mom tells older daughter to take over instead. Older daughter wants to push the miniature cart with nothing in it. Argument ensues, with Older Daughter basically screeching at Mommy Dearest that she always takes Sisters side. Mom screeches back, "She's not big enough to see over the cart, and she can't push it!" Daughter screeches something else, but by that time, they've passed beyond my range of hearing, and I can hear dogs howling in pain in the near distance. I wait for the sliding doors to shut and turn to the only customers still at my self check, and apologize for the harpy getting loose.
Later, as the clock rolled around to 1 AM, I am helping the last two customers on the self checks before I have to go (have to, not supposed to stay beyond 1:07, sue to the way the time clock rounds our hours.) they are nearly done, so I shut down the other three self checks, just to have that out of the way. As I'm reaching to shut down the last station, someone walks in.
"Sir," say I, a bit forcefully, perhaps, but I needed to get my message across, "We're closed."
"I just need a *garbled, sounds like a pound of hamburger*..."
He dashes off into the store, and I, dumbfounded, can only think to call the night manager and let him know that there is a customer loose in the store, and I'm supposed to have left already. Night manager shows me how to turn off the sliding doors (which I should've been told the first closing shift I did, don't you think?) and tells me to page the store, saying it's 1:15, and we're closed. I do so, and guy comes back up in a few minutes, his arms laden with assorted things, none of which is hamburger. Luckily, nothing difficult to scan... so he finishes quickly, I shut down the last register, and skedaddle up to my locker as fast as I can... and on my way out, the night manager actually takes the time to stop me and ask my name... probably since I know him on sight, he feels it necessary to reciprocate... I like him...
No win.
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