No, please! Allow me!!

[Teefies2]

<bg> I work in a drugstore (we don't sell a lot of dog food, as you might imagine), have just turned 55, and some of my parts/joints/etc don't work as well as they used to, but hey! I'm all about customer service! <end bg>

Oh it's okay, I get that you're a girly girl about all of 25 or so. And so you can't *possibly* lift up that second 20 lb. bag of dog food, even though you had no trouble lifting the first one. And yes, it's admirable that you're buying extra dog food because you're going on vacation and don't want the people who will be watching your dogs to run out of food.

But where is it written that, now that I've taken that second 20 lb. bag of dog food to the register for you, that you can deadpan look at me and state "You're taking that out to my car for me right?" Of course, I agree (because yanno, I'm all about customer service). And where is it okay for you to look pointedly at the 2nd 20 lb. bag of dog food after I shoulder the first one?

So I pick up BOTH 20 lb. bags of dog food (40 lbs, if you're not keeping track) and we head out the door. Why yes, it's admirable that you parked as far away from the door as possible because you're "trying to get more exercise". I completely agree! And no, no thanks are necessary, just grunt at me to put them "THERE!"

Had to ice my shoulder when I got home that night.

[emax4]

Ugh, you went WAY too far for her. It's commendable, but you know the saying, "give 'em an inch, and they'll take a mile". Next time she comes in you should make sure she's prepared to carry it out on her own. If she asks you, tell her it was a one-and-only-one time courtesy, and that if she can't lift them then she best purchase smaller, easier to carry bags.

[veniteangeli]

In my house, we have a rule. If you can't lift it, you can't buy it.

[LillFilly]

She was just lazy.

I admit, I can't lift too much, but my rabbit food only comes in 50lb bags. I can tip it into the shopping cart, but I can't lift it back out, so I have to ask at the register for someone to help to lift it into my car.

[raudf]

She was just lazy.

I admit, I can't lift too much, but my rabbit food only comes in 50lb bags. I can tip it into the shopping cart, but I can't lift it back out, so I have to ask at the register for someone to help to lift it into my car.

That's different. That's asking for help, not assuming. That's being polite and not being a grunting primate.

I admit, I couldn't lift the 20lbs at the moment, but then I don't go shopping alone right now either. Hubs does the lifting until I can do it for myself again. If he's not along, I have to try to vainly convince my 10 year old son that he doesn't need to lift it either.. only to watch the kid heft it and get it into the house. He took after his daddy, that's for sure.

Yesterday, we went to a grocery store that had baggers who actually brought the items out to the car. Poor hubby, he felt like he lost man points for allowing someone else to haul the groceries out to the car! And no, he wasn't sucky about it. He thanked the guy and everything. It's just I usually drag him to the Mart of Wal, so he's not used to having the hand out.

[retailworker7]

I am so lucky that I do not get asked to do carry-outs. I have one customer that I will help out if she needs help. She is one of my regulars and has medical issues that can cause her a lot of pain. She does not expect me to do this. If I am on the main register and she needs help she will let me know and I will page someone to help her. I have helped this particular customer with her shopping when I am in COS or working floor. This customer is very polite and acknowledges people when they help her out. There are times when I am on the main register and other regular customers waiting in line have offered to take items out to her car. I make sure that person does not lose their place in line. This customer bought someone's kid a candy bar for helping her out.

I will also page a co-worker to ring up this particular customer if I have a long line. No one has ever given me a hard time for doing this. In fact most of my regular customers are more than willing to let this lady go ahead of them in line so she can leave faster.

If someone is asking me to help them lift something that is too heavy for me to lift safely I am expected to page someone else to take care of it. Our managers do not want anyone to get hurt lifting stuff that is not safe.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

At the swamp, since we're all about exemplary customer service or something, the cashier would've just paged somebody to carry out the dogfood for the gal in the OP.

Two or three times with nobody responding, and then just paged me by name.

[Draper Mel]

Isn't that what shopping carts are for? I can't lift a whole lot either, but I can lift a 20 lb jug of cat litter long enough to put it into a cart and into my car.

Good customer service is nice, but I don't expect people to hurt themselves in order to help me.

[XCashier]

I admit, I can't lift too much, but my rabbit food only comes in 50lb bags. I can tip it into the shopping cart, but I can't lift it back out, so I have to ask at the register for someone to help to lift it into my car.

That's different. That's asking for help, not assuming. That's being polite and not being a grunting primate.

That, and you have a shopping cart, so the associate only has to take it out of the cart and put it in your car, not physically carry it him/herself out to your car!

Seriously, why didn't the SC use a cart? That would've made things so much easier for the OP!

[Seshat]

That was not customer service, that was you surrendering yourself to abuse.

Don't ever, ever do it again. No amount of 'customer service' warrants predictable injury.

I accept that the unpredictable can occur. But the injury in this case was predictable, and worse injury was quite, quite possible. Just not worth it.

As I've said before, and will no doubt say again, at the rehab hospital where I went for pain management training, anything even remotely heavy went into some sort of cart. I rarely saw anyone carrying anything heavier than a patient history or a single tray of food.