Open letter number skijillion

[fireheart]

I seem to write better in this format.

Dear Regular Entitled Asswipe,

We thank you for your patronage. However, since you decided to call me "brain dead" because I didn't pack your meat to your OCD ways (and you never let me know in advance), from now on, I am refusing service to you. If you line up at my lane, I will not serve you. I will call my manager over and tell her why I am refusing service to you. If you are not satisfied, nobody is forcing you to shop at our store. And if you start telling my coworkers that I am brain dead, I will get really pissed and you will know about it.

No love,
FH.

Basically, this guy's way of packing meat is chickens on the bottom, meat trays on top. I go the opposite way. And I have never had a customer complaint either. He is the only one who grumbles about it. Every single other customer has never complained and they can SEE how I pack them too.

In short, this guy gave me 2 breakdowns and I had to finish my shift early. There goes any chance of a promotion and I am now seriously considering quitting. Not because of this, but there have been a few other changes lately which causes me anxiety everytime someone attempts to use EFTPOS.

[r2cagle]

If management uses this as an excuse to not promote, then fie on them. Handling extremely rude people is tough. Don't let this customer keep you down, hon. You're good at your job, remember that, and remind your management of that. Imagine if how apopletic the customer would have gotten if he'd had a cashier not care how they did their job?

[Exaspera]

I am so sorry.

What's EFTPOS?

[fireheart]

I am so sorry.

What's EFTPOS?

EFTPOS=Electronics Funds Transaction at Point Of Sale. Basically, utilising credit or debit in place of cash

And management won't use it as an excuse to promote me. Just my reactions afterwards might be considered. I did have a chat with the EO board to cover my bases (I have depression and anxiety and at the moment, it's really flared out of control) and they've stated that there are three things that the company can refuse the right to promote on in terms of disability/illness:

1. Because of their disability, the person is not able to perform adequately (without endangering themselves or others) the work genuinely and reasonably required of their position; or
2. Because of their disability, the person is not able to respond to situations of emergency that are reasonably anticipated; or
3. Because of their disability, the person requires special assistance or equipment to do the job, and it is unreasonable for the employer to provide that special assistance or equipment.

In my case, No. 1 and possibly 2 could apply, but they need to provide evidence of me being incapable.

[ZumZum]

Honestly? Raw chicken should go on the bottom, in case it leaks.
That way it's less of a chance to cross contaminate.
In our restaurant we lose major inspection points if raw chicken is not on the bottom shelf.

But, if he is so anal, he can pack his own bags. Just sayin....

[chainedbarista]

i agree with zum zum; the cross contamination is an issue, but the guy was a complete asswipe about it and i love your open letter to him.

maybe bag the poultry separately in the future? who knows with some people?

[Magpie]

But he only brought a limited number of bags! How DARE she use them up too quickly !!!!!eleventy!!! (Actually some places do do that... I had one place where there was a bagger, and she put the dish soap in a bag by itself. Fine, do that, I can see why. But shouldn't you use a mini bag, not a regular one?)

[tollbaby]

But he only brought a limited number of bags! How DARE she use them up too quickly !!!!!eleventy!!! (Actually some places do do that... I had one place where there was a bagger, and she put the dish soap in a bag by itself. Fine, do that, I can see why. But shouldn't you use a mini bag, not a regular one?)

When I was a cashier, each cash had a roll of produce bags at their cash to bag items such as shampoo, liquid soaps, deodorants, etc. Of course, the profit margins weren't high enough, so that practice seems to have gone the way of the dodo.

[Cookie]

Chiming in here on the cross-contamination thing. I had to learn that to get ServSafe certified. Poultry requires a higher cooking temp to kill the bacteria specific to it vs meats, which you may cook normally with chicken "juices" on it and find yourself sick.

But for crying out loud, BE NICE ABOUT IT PEOPLE! If somebody doesn't bag my meat and chicken the way I like, I usually just adjust it myself after I get out of line. I don't want to go off on somebody like a jerk or randomly start educating everybody in the grocery store like a know-it-all. What I will do is grab those plastic bags in the meat department to put my raw meat purchases into before going through the checkout to prevent the contamination in the first place. Oh look! This situation has already been thought of and provided for, people!

[fireheart]

Most customers will wrap their chickens before they get in line and they are bagged up pretty tightly. If I do get chicken in the trays, I'll pack those first, but I want the bag to be able to stand up.

[RetailWorkhorse]

Cross-Contam:
I was going to ask what looney buys a package of chicken and doesn't put it in one of the meat bags available at the case.

If I'm bagging my own (I tend to at SCOs) then the trays go on the bottom and the doubled-wrapped chicken on top.

Unless it's frozen. At which point it gets chucked into the bag in any ol' way.