Uhm...okay.

[Nick]

I work at Wal-Mart, and I work a lot, being only 17 and I want lots of cash.

I work almost 34hrs a week (most they will give me -- big deal right )

In a busy store and all, I really do pay attention to my customers, most of the time it is for my own sanity, than anything. Well, I get a lot of regulars, whom prefer my line because I'm "friendly, nice and fast." Anyways, I always get this 1 dude once a week, so comes up and says "How ya doing today, Nick?" I'm like "Great and yourself." We don't exchange words throughout the order because he is too busy writing things down. It always happens -- When I start loading his cart and he writes the check, he asks me if I like to read. I say, kinda...mostly during school though. He asks me if I like to read the bible? I'm like "No...not really."
As he starts to leave, he always sets down this short-story type book, and 3 pamphlets.

I AM LUTHERAN not wtfever kind of new neo-catholic crap you are telling me. (No offense to Catholics or any religions out there, I am fine with my current...trust me, it is some type of reformed cathlic religion...not the original)

Arg...don't you hate it when customers give you stuff? Like those stupid little pamphlets?

[Rine]

I live in the Bible belt, so I am very used to this. (My county holds record for # of churches per square mile in the world, supposedly.) People tend to leave behind a lot of pamphlets behind and talk with me. I politely thank them for talking with me and for the pamphlets , but the pamphlets usually end up in the trash or in one of the cash wrap drawers. (We are building quite a collection of the stuff too!) Sometimes, I have to ask customers to stop talking with me about religion because lines tend to form. I think the longest I was stuck talking with a customer about religion was ten minutes and I couldn't tell him to go because I had no customers. Ugh, it was awful.

Being Catholic, I am not interested in what the pamphlets say since most of the people down here are Protestant and decidedly anti-Catholic. (Not all of them, but the lot of them, I've come to realize.)

The way I see it, most of these people mean no harm so I *try* to politely listen to what they have to say, thank them, and send them on their way. It irritates me, but oh well. It's just the way people are down here.

[Nick]

The way I see it, most of these people mean no harm so I *try* to politely listen to what they have to say, thank them, and send them on their way. It irritates me, but oh well. It's just the way people are down here.

I am not the only person!!

I have the upmost respect for all religions, beleifs, etc. but when they take it too far, as to bother me while I am working, just annoys me. I don't go into their place of business and ask if they would like a gift receipt with that?

One time a lady asked me what religion I was I politley told her "Lutheran" and she goes "What a shame."

*EDIT- Excessive quoting. Please edit non-relevant material when quoting.
http://www.customerssuck.com/board/s...ead.php?t=1386

[Rine]

One time a lady asked me what religion I was I politley told her "Lutheran" and she goes "What a shame."

Yes, when people ask me that, I proudly say, "Catholic." Good god, I love watching some people's reactions to that. They look at me like I'm satan's spawn and I find it decidedly amusing. Doesn't take much for me, see?

I've had to deal with a lot of bashing because of my religion, both in school and now at my job. It's become easier for me if I find humor in it, you know?

[Kusanagi]

Oh man, aren't people that push themselves like that wonderful? I'm religious myself but that doesn't mean you take everything so serious as to stop people when they work.

I had one woman when I worked retail a few years ago that would come in twice a week and if I was a register, she bugged me. She was going on and passed me enough literature on the Mormon church to make a few trees. I politely asked her to stop as I wasn't a mormon and she never did. She gave me literature about twice a month and I politely declined it, but she just left it on the register on her way out.

I asked a manager who was a buddy of mine what to do about it, as I was scared to get REAL management involved. I was just a cashier and we had a really high turnover rate, and a trained monkey could do my job. If I complained about it more vehemently to the woman, she might claim I was "persecuting" her - she loved to claim how people persecuted her about her religion - to the cashiers in line, no less. So I came up with an idea.

I had a gothic friend of mine that had some rather interesting jewelry. She had a pentagram ring that fit my finger that I borrowed - I had always worn a ring there and one day at work I wore the pentagram ring backwards, with the pentagram in my palm. She passed me the same pamplet she did before and I said "No thanks" with a little smile. I held up my hand so she could see it, and I swear she turned six shades of white when she noticed what it was. She took her purchases, got her change without another word, and when she opened her purse to put her billfold in there - I saw no less than a dozen of the same pamplets she had handed me a few times a month for nearly four.

I didn't get away scott free with it though. She went to a manager and complained that they had hired a Satanist. The manager was the friend I talked to about it, as we had five or six and he was the only cool one about it (he was the one I could speak openly with without him worrying about tattling on what I said or how I acted). My manager basically said "Well, we're an equal opportunity employer, and if he's a Satanist, that's his choice."

"HE WAS WEARING A PENTAGRAM!"

"We have a few employees here that wear crosses and Stars of David. We can't legally tell them not to wear them because they are symbols of their religions. If he wants to wear a pentagram, it's his choice. Just like it's your choice to come in here and hand out religious literature a few times a month."

She got the hint and I never saw her again at my register. I never wore the pentagram again (I made my point) but every time I did see her I gave a big smile and waved.

I left the job two months later for a much better one. As far as wearing a pentagram for a day and for some laughs? I figure God has to have a good sense of humor :-)

[Canarr]

Yes, when people ask me that, I proudly say, "Catholic." Good god, I love watching some people's reactions to that. They look at me like I'm satan's spawn and I find it decidedly amusing. Doesn't take much for me, see?

Good lord... and I thought that Simpsons episode about doing an intervention when Bart was involved in a Catholic school was over the top...

Gotta admit... I don't get it. In Germany, being Protestant or Catholic is hardly a big deal - there's not that much difference, anyway (IMO; not looking to start something here). I'm curious: what exactly is the problem people in your area have with Catholics, Rine?

[icia]

i just love throwing the "i'm non-denominational" at them with a big grin

[Legal Eagle]

over here in England (note i didn't say UK) various christian denominations get along very well and regularly share events and services.

[Barefootgirl]

That would be an ecumenical matter..

*stops doing very bad Father Ted impression*

The church I attend is part of the Local Ecumenical Project, which involves the Anglicans, the Baptists, the Methodists, the Evangelicals and the Catholics (sometimes) doing things like services and preaching rotas together. The Methodists and the Anglicans shared the Anglican church building for over ten years, since the Methodists did not have their own church, and it worked fine. We've left now, we found some more Methodists to play with so we've left the Anglicans to it

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I find telling them I'm Episcopalean just sort of makes their eyes roll back in their heads. I guess they figure there's not hope for me.

[chantal]

For me, it's all about the oak trees

I always like to say that I'm the last practicing Druid It really freaks 'em out. I just have such a problem with strangers asking me that! I'm fine where I am, I don't need to be converted. Of course, sometimes I'll throw in different religions just for fun. I've been Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jesuit, Obeah and Vodou. However, I've found that Druid produces the most negative reaction. Strange eh?

[MacPrince]

My opinion on these drive-by preachers is this:
If I wanted your religion, I'd ask for it.

On the matter of the pamphlets, I defer to one of the great minds:

"Whenever I walk, people try to hand me out flyers. And when someone tries to hand me out a flyer, it's kinda like they're saying, "Here, YOU throw this away." --Mitch Hedberg

[Becks]

I've been stalked by Jehovah's Witnesses on my way to work before. THAT always started my work day off right.

[Knightmare]

over here in England (note i didn't say UK) various christian denominations get along very well and regularly share events and services.

Wouldn't that be wonderful? If all denominations got along? *sigh*

Personally, I don't belong to any organized religion. I like my religion disorganized. I don't go to a church. The world is my church. I don't have to be in a building to be with God.

When I get these people that have to shove their religion in my face, and they ask "What religion are you?" I reply by saying I am either Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Taoist, or whatever else comes to mind. Then they ask "Don't you believe in God?" Most definitely I do. I just don't discuss my beliefs at work.

[LostMyMind]

over here in England (note i didn't say UK) various christian denominations get along very well and regularly share events and services.

That not that unusual. We got those even in the Bible belt.

A preface: I'm a Christian. Think fundamentalist gone bad. I have a strong distaste for folks who push "custom/tradition" as scripture, regardless of specific religious type.

But my favorite thing that happen to me was (I was a older teen at the time). JWs came often to my street. Since my family are fundamentalist, it really was a bad choice by the JWs. But give them credit, they kept trying.

One day I was out in the street teaching their "trainee", the finer points of Biblical debate. (Basically asking them questions they couldn't answer because they weren't told about those finer points ).

Well, I have to interrupt this story. See at the time we had several squirrels living in our trees. My parents came back from a trip to GA and brought back too many pecans. Well, one squirrel really loves pecans. Soo much that he'll even run up to you and sit on your hands to get some. (even eat it while sitting in your hands.)

Well, back to the story. While in the middle of the debate, I saw out of the corner of my eye. OOOOOhhhhh that squirrel must have sense something was wrong because it made a dash like you wouldn't believe up the back of this JW's leg. She was making some new dance moves. Of course I busted out laughing. Every JW on the street came running to see what was going on. After a bit, I told them it's just a squirrel. He's tamed, he likes to run up on people.

Long story short, we had a very nice long break from JWs that year.