Why Customers Suck (A Rant and a Guide)

[Veruliyam]

Could be worse...

I've had customers come in and buy fish in the morning, go home, let it sit out, then come back in the afternoon and say the fish was bad.

Do you people not see that we have a date on the sticker we print out for the register to scan?!?

Do you not know we are there for 8 and a half hours?!?! We recognize what we sell earlier that day!!

Do you really think you're clever?

The store wisely dropped it's double your money back policy for bad meats real quick.

I wonder why...?

[Dhalin]

Could be worse...

I've had customers come in and buy fish in the morning, go home, let it sit out, then come back in the afternoon and say the fish was bad.

Do you people not see that we have a date on the sticker we print out for the register to scan?!?

Do you not know we are there for 8 and a half hours?!?! We recognize what we sell earlier that day!!

Do you really think you're clever?

The store wisely dropped it's double your money back policy for bad meats real quick.

I wonder why...?

We've had people try this. Not with Fish, but with other meats. One time, someone bought a small ham from our meat department, and then later on that day, brought it back in (complete with register receipt) and claimed that the ham was old and no good.

There's a small problem with that, though...

We just got a shipment of hams in just the previous day as that particular type of ham JUST went on sale the day before, and we didn't have any of those hams before that delivery.

Also, there was a factory-printed date on the ham's packaging, dated for at least two weeks in advance. lol.

There's no way those went bad in one day; we checked others that came in on the same day and they were all fine.

The guy must have let the stupid thing set out all day or something (it was during the summer). I don't know if the guy did this intentionally, or accidentally forgot it in the car and wanted to get his money back recover from _his_ mistake, or what... but we wound up laughing him off for the reasons I stated above.

[Dhalin]

Or, there's another thing customers do:

Complain about "No Public Restrooms".

This is a whole mini-rant of my own (thus, posting it as a new message instead of adding onto the one I just posted).

Wanna know why the great majority of shops/stores/etc have "No Public Restrooms"?

The answer is simple:

Because people before you abused that privilege and wound up angering the store owners. I remember when the restrooms at the store I work at, were open to the public. I can't count how many times a customer would do simply ludicrous stuff in those restrooms (including fouling up half of the floor, the undersides of the toilet bowl AND the sink!).

So, Customers in general only have themselves to thank, when they can't find anywhere to go to the bathroom. Very few places are willing to put up with complete slobs who mess the bathrooms up, costing the business large amounts of time and money to clean up after them.

Seriously, those of you who do things like this in public restrooms, do you do that crap in your own bathroom at home? I highly doubt it -- you have to clean it after you mess it up. So *why* do you do it in a public restroom? Now because of people like you (again, I'm only referring to those people who do that kind of thing), nobody can use bathrooms at many businesses.

And please, DON'T ask us to make a special exception for you. If we tell you that we are not permitted to do it.... we are not permitted to do it. Your urgency isn't going to change a thing; you'll just have to find somewhere else to go. I'm sorry, but rules are rules, I am NOT going to get fired because you came unprepared.

[Frith-Rae]

It probably takes what, 2+ minutes to do all of this (not counting the time it takes to ring their stuff up), per customer? I'd be that customer 5-10 people back going "Come ON already....jeez"

Maybe baggers in the South are more efficient - none of this is done standing around. All the talk happens while they are ringing stuff up...lol. It really doesn't add any time at all, and its standard (not just walmart just using that as a common example since I do most of my grocery shopping there lol).

[quote]
I am also from the North and here we do not like to waste time or breath. (my theory is that because of our cold weather where you want to be outside as little as possible you learn to make your conversations quick) When our professor from down south tried to ask questions of my college class she was frustrated that in the south she got people yelling out the answers but up here we just stared daggers at her waiting silently. We were waiting for her to answer her own question and continue with the "Lecture" because that is how that relationship was supposed to go. She "Lectured" us and we tried to learn from it lol. That always made her very uncomfortable.[quote]

Actually, study after study has shown that interactive teaching is the better way. I would be so bored if a teacher never talked with their students and just stood lecturing for an hour or two. I'd also think they were a crappy teacher. Students learn more through question/answer and discussion than lecture.

And from my own polls, northerner after northerner actually is in favor of Southern "manners" and "interactions" once they get use to them; when they return home they notice how rude people are - lol. (this from displaced northerners I know lol). Several displaced northerns have also now committed to teaching their children manners in the form of "Yes/no sir/mam" and "Please/thank you" because they made the realization that it really does make a difference in interactions and such.

I'm of the opinion that society suffers when "politeness" gets thrown out the window as "outdated" .

Now, I certainly wouldn't even mind or really notice a checkout person who didn't say much and just did their job. But never have I ever noticed a checkout person who was friendly NOT doing their job .

[Shinkuu]

There's a flipside to this, too.

I hate it when customers tell me how to bag their stuff. You see, some of us cashiers who have been working that job for multiple years, have a lot of experience bagging things. We do it all day long, every day we work, for years. There is a _reason_ I bag things the way I do.

What I particularly dislike, are people who insist I cram everything into as little bags as possible. So you have 2 extra bags, wow. You know what? You can slip your arm into even more bags, and you won't have to make any extra trips... that's the beauty of plastic shopping bags. The problem with cramming stuff into bags:

1). Sometimes bags rip/break if too much weight is placed in them. Bag breaks, item falls to the floor and breaks, suddenly we're expected to replace that. Yeah, nice. Because _you_ insisted we cram it as full as possible, now _we_ have to pay for that.

2). Sometimes things get smashed. No, I do NOT want to pack your bread/eggs/etc with your meat/cans/whatever heavy items. I know, you'll get out the door, to your car, and you'll be "OMG my bread is smashed! I need a replacement!" or later on, call and complain to management that I smashed your bread. Um, no I didn't. You did.

3). Soap/Laundry Detergent/Dryer Sheets/Other Odorous Product + Deli/Meat/Produce = Nasty. I don't care what the customer says, I refuse to pack these two together. Last thing I need is yet again, someone gets home, then calls the store and complains that their deli meat or produce "tastes funny" and is probably "bad". Now, the customer is going to want a refund or replacement. Um, no thanks. If I see you switching the bags after I packed it, I will be sure to write down a note and give it to the manager.

Some stores like to save on bags, and others give you the "million bags" for extra precaution, but there are also other reasons, like those I mentioned above, as to why we pack what we do, in the way that we do. Some customers are too stupid (what the heck, re-tar-ded is filtered!?!?) to realize that some of the above scenarios are not only bad for the customer, but also bad for the store too.

Otherwise, I couldn't care less how stuff is packed. I'll do my best to pack things logically together, and fill the bags reasonably full, and I test the weight of each and every bag that looks questionable before allowing the customer to walk off with it. I have a pretty good feel for what a bag can take and what a bag can't.

Oh trust me...I am an EXPERT bagger...I can do it blind folded...I also understand WHY we bag things the way we do as I said...But I honestly do not like the way we HAVE to bag things. I know exactly how much a bag will hold before it breaks and what things actually leak and what do not. I do not go to the Cashiers and ask them to bag things my way because it is against store policy and I firmly believe that the Self-Checkout is THERE, in part, for you to bag your own order the way you want. So that is why I always go to them if I have the choice.

[Shinkuu]

Actually, study after study has shown that interactive teaching is the better way. I would be so bored if a teacher never talked with their students and just stood lecturing for an hour or two. I'd also think they were a crappy teacher. Students learn more through question/answer and discussion than lecture.

And from my own polls, northerner after northerner actually is in favor of Southern "manners" and "interactions" once they get use to them; when they return home they notice how rude people are - lol. (this from displaced northerners I know lol). Several displaced northerns have also now committed to teaching their children manners in the form of "Yes/no sir/mam" and "Please/thank you" because they made the realization that it really does make a difference in interactions and such.

I'm of the opinion that society suffers when "politeness" gets thrown out the window as "outdated" .

Now, I certainly wouldn't even mind or really notice a checkout person who didn't say much and just did their job. But never have I ever noticed a checkout person who was friendly NOT doing their job .

The interactive teaching being more effective thought I would agree with. It makes sense because of the WAY humans tend to learn. Which does make it unfortunate that we do not generally like it that way around here. I am just illustrating the serious difference between how we up here expect things to be Vs. the way things in the South tend to be. We expect professionalism and for people to do EXACTLY what they are supposed to do as efficiently as possible. We do not WANT to know about their feelings or get to know them or have a Human experience. We want them to do what we PAID them to do and get out of our lives as quickly as possible. (and trust me...People around here are VERY quick to anger about standing in line...Whew...I have been many places where folks did not mind a wait but here if they waited a minute it is the end of the world...)

I am not sure if I would like Southern hospitality or not TBVH...I have been to the South before but I did not really come away liking it all that much...Of course for me there is a language barrier...No offense but the Southern Drawl makes me want to hurt someone(Mostly because I cannot stand to wait for people to talk...I can barely bare people speaking at a fairly fast pace because I can generally tell what they will say before they get a quarter of the way done with their sentence...)...I also cannot stand being called pet names by complete strangers...Someone calls me Darling or Sugar they are asking to find out just how hard a lady can punch them in the face. You EARN the right to call me a pet name you do not just have the right from the first second you see me.



As for Politeness getting outdated that is a very interesting way of putting it but honestly perhaps a very accurate way of stating the condition. Because we live in a world where everything must be NOW and FASTER the extra little things such as Politeness are starting to get out dated. They take too long and are irrelevant to the task at hand and so are just inefficiencies. Time is money and every company looks to squeeze as much work out of their labor for as little money as they can. However...I think I have to agree that in the end the eradication of some of these inefficiencies that make Humans what they are will destroy our Value of Life to an extent as to make it not worth living. Heck it already has begun doing that for anyone who cares to really take a look.

However, that being said and it being the case that I would love to see Humanity return to a state of strong brother/sisterhood in which we all looked out for one another and treated each other as close friends instead of potential enemies...I still do not like being asked "How are you?" at my register. Even the question itself bugs me...It is like "How am I?...Well...See...My mom and my dad got together...and then they...etc...and then Poof there I was. Is that sufficient?...No? Looking for a deeper explanation? Well we could get into a lot of Religions and Philosophies and try to figure out the most likely scenario as to How I Am but that seems like a HUGE study that is likely to go unresolved before your order is done..."

If they really want to know how I am feeling that is no better...Because they do not..."How am I? I am pretty much wretched...I am slightly sleep deprived and I have to put up with hundreds of customers 5% of which will be complete morons or purposefully trouble makers. I have to stand on concrete for 8.5 Hours which really hurts my feet taking short breaks every 2 hours or so which mostly mean I get to go to the bathroom. I have little to no freedom to do anything during this time and have to do everything the customer tells me within policy and reason. All this for a pathetic wage that for all intents and purposes barely covers the basics I need to continue to perform the function I am performing. So in other words I am literally performing Slave Labor and no I do not enjoy it. Is that what you wanted to know?"

So it is really just a dumb question that comes off as seeming either way too philosophical to be answered or almost insulting to be asked. Thus why I prefer if they just stick to "Hello" as an acknowledgment that they know they are about to be serviced. Or tell me how they want things bagged if they have a special plan, hopefully before I begin bagging.

I also get asked "How do you pronounce your name?" a lot...(No my name is not Shinkuu IRL but it is a strange name nonetheless) My general answer to that is "I don't." LOL. After all, why would I pronounce my name? I rarely tell anyone my name verbally and it is written on my tag so I do not have to say it. Mostly I do not want to give them the impression that because they can say my name they know me or we are suddenly friends. I am the machine that sorts your items into bags, receives your money, and delivers your change. That is the proper relationship that I should have to them.

[Dhalin]

If they really want to know how I am feeling that is no better...Because they do not..."How am I? I am pretty much wretched...I am slightly sleep deprived and I have to put up with hundreds of customers 5% of which will be complete morons or purposefully trouble makers. I have to stand on concrete for 8.5 Hours which really hurts my feet taking short breaks every 2 hours or so which mostly mean I get to go to the bathroom. I have little to no freedom to do anything during this time and have to do everything the customer tells me within policy and reason. All this for a pathetic wage that for all intents and purposes barely covers the basics I need to continue to perform the function I am performing. So in other words I am literally performing Slave Labor and no I do not enjoy it. Is that what you wanted to know?"

OMG YES!

lol.

That sums it up pretty nicely... well, okay, you used a lot more words than I would have, but it pretty much gets the point across.

"Hey, maybe you (the customer) are having fun buying stuff, but I've been standing behind that wretched counter for the last umpteen hours, how the *beeeeep* do you _think_ I feel!?" Is what I'm thinking whenever someone says 'how are you?'.

Honestly.

Do they think this job is _fun_ or something? *rolls eyes* Oh, and Shinkuu.... you forgot about the wailing brats. The people who insist in bringing their devilspawn into the store, you know, the ones with the bottomless pits for lungs that will wail and wail and wail and wail, they sound like their parents are torturing them to death, all over a stupid lollipop or candy bar... Oi.

Oh, and small short story:

Today, I was working a stock shift, delivery day. The big rig that pulls up to our building, unloads several skids worth of crap, that we have to handle, and get everything out on the shelves? Yup, restock day. Anyways, I'm walking across the front-end of the store (near the registers) with, oh, I dunno, a 12-15lb box in my hands, and this older lady looks at me, and she says.... in exact words:

"Ant Spray."

I look at her, with this ".....huh?" look for a couple seconds, and then I'm "OH! you're looking for Ant Spray?" She merely nods and says something like 'yeah' and I point over to the other register, the wall right beside it, with all kinds of bee, fly, hornet, ant traps/poison/etc.... not more than 5 feet away from her.

Anyways, she didn't say "Could you tell me where I could find...." or "Could you help me find ____ please?" ... no, she walks right up to me (getting in my way while I'm working) and just says "Ant Spray." ... like I'm supposed to know what she meant by that.... heh.

[Sigi]

Anyways, I'm walking across the front-end of the store (near the registers) with, oh, I dunno, a 12-15lb box in my hands, and this older lady looks at me, and she says.... in exact words:

"Ant Spray."

Now, that's really efficient. Without the boring and time consuming how are you today blah blah.

[Dragonboy]

Reason 2 is that I want to bag things MY way. I say *beep* company policy. When I am the customer I will put my raw meat in with whatever I *bleep*ing want and fill the bags as full as I want. I will put my non-edibles and my edibles together if I so desire. I understand why we bag things the way we do but personally I do not want 10,000 bags when I could have 1~10.

Whenever I read your stories about the cashier packing my bags it makes me feel like the movie "Employee of the month"... Funny movie btw...
I don't mind packing my own bags while grocery shopping with my wife so let me...
My wife and I have a perfect system when there is no self service counter... I pack... she pays... Perfect system and we finish at exactly the same time.

Letting someone else pack my bags somehow seems being lazy to me and gives some customers the potential of getting a certain feeling of misguided arogance towards the employees...

Good thing the store we go to uses handy handscanners so you can pack your bags exactly the way you want it while you shop. Long live technology !!

[Dhalin]

Now, that's really efficient. Without the boring and time consuming how are you today blah blah.

LoL.

Do I detect sarcasm there? *grins* One kinda has to say at least enough that I know what they mean... they could say "Where's the Ant Spray?" and that would have been better.

Letting someone else pack my bags somehow seems being lazy to me and gives some customers the potential of getting a certain feeling of misguided arogance towards the employees...

Our store does not allow people to pack their own bags. Sometimes people get away with it, if we are *really* busy, or the cashier is busy handling a credit card/debit card/foodstamp card/etc, but normally we do not allow a customer to pack their own groceries.

The reason, the boss explains, is simple. If a bag rips/breaks or if an item gets smashed, and the cashier packed the bag, then the store is at fault, and we will replace the item (assuming this happened before it reached their vehicle). If the customer packed it, then we cannot replace the item, as it was the customer's fault. This only causes more headaches/confrontations/arguments, and causes the customer to be unhappy.

And some people.... oi. Some people know _nothing_ about how to properly bag groceries. You'd think that bagging groceries is the furthest thing from Rocket Science possible, but after seeing some people try (especially new employees), you come to realize that it is NOT as easy as it looks/sounds. It takes practice.

[Arietna]

been enjoying reading this

our local supermarket has a policy of asking whether we would like help packing our bags.. I've found that the policy *usually* works like this.

I'm one of those people who usually has 2 bouncy, but fairly well behaved, small children in tow. I want to get my bags packed asap.

If I DON'T have the kids, the cashier will usually ask if I would like help. Nope, I'm fine, don't have my hands full, I can do it myself, but thankyou for asking.

If I DO have the kids, both of which are now bored after being dragged around the shops.. (I'd leave them at home, but they are only 4 and 6, and it's illegal. My hubby works shifts so he's at work, and we've run out of something vital usually)... cashier looks anywhere except directly at me. Coos over the kids a little, and sits back and waits while I juggle an overfull trolley, try to pack the bags, and deal with the kids who are pestering about playing on the wii that afternoon, what they did at school, etc..

When I would LIKE help packing, it's never asked. Oh, the other time they actually DO ask, it's when my husband is with us, so one of us deals with the kids, the other with packing the bags.

And I'm lucky with my kids. They don't yell and throw tantrums. They are just very interested in everything that is going on, and ask questions all the time. Occasionally get cross because I won't buy every toy in the store, but generally ok. My 6 year old has even said that if we are short on money, we can have some from his piggybank, bless him

[Dhalin]

And I'm lucky with my kids. They don't yell and throw tantrums. They are just very interested in everything that is going on, and ask questions all the time. Occasionally get cross because I won't buy every toy in the store, but generally ok. My 6 year old has even said that if we are short on money, we can have some from his piggybank, bless him

It all comes down to good (or lack thereof) parenting.

Kids like yours behave the way they do because they were raised properly. The devil-children that I spoke of earlier, were not in many (most?) cases.

I've seen several different scenarios to this, whether it is the super-skinny mother who isn't physically capable of restraining her multiple kids (and they KNOW this), or the father who plain doesn't care what the children do (leaving the mother with the majority of the burden, the kids know they can just run to dad and he doesn't care what they do), or the mothers who don't even care what the kids do...

Its nice to hear there's at least a few good parents out there.

[Sigi]

LoL.

Do I detect sarcasm there? *grins* One kinda has to say at least enough that I know what they mean... they could say "Where's the Ant Spray?" and that would have been better.

And some people.... oi. Some people know _nothing_ about how to properly bag groceries. You'd think that bagging groceries is the furthest thing from Rocket Science possible, but after seeing some people try (especially new employees), you come to realize that it is NOT as easy as it looks/sounds. It takes practice.

lol yes. My boyfriend too is someone who packs the bread on the botom

[SinOfSuns]

I think it's really a global complaint in an hospitality related setting, to be honest. I've worked as a chef, and you get the same ignorant, selfish people who don't respect the time and energy that goes into making things convenient for them, and believe that because they are paying money for things they have the right to be horrible and nasty.

Truth is, if those people spent even one day doing what the people they frustrate are doing, they would immediately change their tune. I think people just make far too many assumptions, and should pay more attention to how others feel as well. This whole "I'm the only important person in the world" thing has gotta stop. Where's the compassion and understanding gone?

[Shinkuu]

Do they think this job is _fun_ or something? *rolls eyes* Oh, and Shinkuu.... you forgot about the wailing brats. The people who insist in bringing their devilspawn into the store, you know, the ones with the bottomless pits for lungs that will wail and wail and wail and wail, they sound like their parents are torturing them to death, all over a stupid lollipop or candy bar... Oi.

LOL...My common theory is that if it was "Fun" I would not be getting PAID to do it...

However, I LOVE Devilspawn children. You are probably thinking I am nuts but check out my reasoning...

As an employee I am not permitted to do anything with these children. I cannot and will not talk to them or touch them. Therefore they are 100% the problem of their parents. Even more fun they get to go home with said parents. So while they are around they get to Punish their Parents and the other Customers with their obnoxious behavior (the latter putting more pressure on the prior). What can I say? Misery loves company...If I have to suffer it is always a small joy knowing I am not alone.

As for older ladies...LOL...Some of them can be the best of customers and then there is the lady who ran into the load of shopping carts one of our cart boys was brining in with her car. She basically side swiped him out of the blue and broke her mirror. She was going to Sue US for her mirror to get fixed...We gently sort of let her know that she could have KILLED our Cart Boy and that as the Driver the accident was her fault (and this boy wears some Dayglow Orange that can be seen from the Moon) so maybe she better head on home before SHE was on the wrong end of a law suit...*shakes head and rolls eyes* The nerve of some people.

[Dhalin]

LOL...My common theory is that if it was "Fun" I would not be getting PAID to do it...

However, I LOVE Devilspawn children. You are probably thinking I am nuts but check out my reasoning...

As an employee I am not permitted to do anything with these children. I cannot and will not talk to them or touch them. Therefore they are 100% the problem of their parents. Even more fun they get to go home with said parents. So while they are around they get to Punish their Parents and the other Customers with their obnoxious behavior (the latter putting more pressure on the prior). What can I say? Misery loves company...If I have to suffer it is always a small joy knowing I am not alone.

We don't have quite that bad of a restriction about saying something about somebody's kid -- if they are about to do something that is hazardous to themselves (like climbing on the rails at the register counter), or costly to us (like the brats who like to try to play with the other register, or the brats who run up and down the aisles and risk knocking stuff off the shelves), we're allowed to ask them to stop doing it.

Believe me, a young kid being asked by a stranger not to do something will usually shut them up pretty fast, AND it has a bonus of embarrassing the customer too. Most customers will grab their kid by the arm and scold them in such a way, you _know_ they will get spanked as soon as they are out of the public eye.

That bit of sweet revenge can be nice indeed.

The thing about brats that I hate, though, is that I have sensitive ears. 3-4 years ago (I forget exactly) I went to an audiologist (ear doctor) to get my ears checked, due to another condition that I am convinced I have (he failed to check for it). On the regular hearing exam, he pointed to a chart, with a line. He said that line is average, and all of my dots were well above the line, he said he hadn't seen someone with that good of hearing for quite awhile.

This is a boon and a curse -- nice when I was out hunting in the woods and I could hear leaves crackling under footsteps when my dad couldn't hear a thing, but a curse when I got some kid 3 feet away from me wailing at the top of his lungs. Some pitches and volumes are actually physically painful to me.

As for older ladies...LOL...Some of them can be the best of customers and then there is the lady who ran into the load of shopping carts one of our cart boys was brining in with her car. She basically side swiped him out of the blue and broke her mirror. She was going to Sue US for her mirror to get fixed...We gently sort of let her know that she could have KILLED our Cart Boy and that as the Driver the accident was her fault (and this boy wears some Dayglow Orange that can be seen from the Moon) so maybe she better head on home before SHE was on the wrong end of a law suit...*shakes head and rolls eyes* The nerve of some people.

Everyone knows that most (old, or otherwise) people can't drive worth *beeep*. And yes, since a vehicle was involved, that becomes a matter for the driver's insurance, especially if you, like any decent-sized store, had parking lot security cameras, and witnesses who can verify that he was indeed wearing bright clothing. Not only bright clothing, but a HUGE line of shopping carts that is pretty dang hard to miss.

Edit: Bah, we got Bold, Italics, Underline, but no strikeout?

[Shinkuu]

We don't have quite that bad of a restriction about saying something about somebody's kid -- if they are about to do something that is hazardous to themselves (like climbing on the rails at the register counter), or costly to us (like the brats who like to try to play with the other register, or the brats who run up and down the aisles and risk knocking stuff off the shelves), we're allowed to ask them to stop doing it.

The thing about brats that I hate, though, is that I have sensitive ears. 3-4 years ago (I forget exactly) I went to an audiologist (ear doctor) to get my ears checked, due to another condition that I am convinced I have (he failed to check for it). On the regular hearing exam, he pointed to a chart, with a line. He said that line is average, and all of my dots were well above the line, he said he hadn't seen someone with that good of hearing for quite awhile.

This is a boon and a curse -- nice when I was out hunting in the woods and I could hear leaves crackling under footsteps when my dad couldn't hear a thing, but a curse when I got some kid 3 feet away from me wailing at the top of his lungs. Some pitches and volumes are actually physically painful to me.

Everyone knows that most (old, or otherwise) people can't drive worth *beeep*. And yes, since a vehicle was involved, that becomes a matter for the driver's insurance, especially if you, like any decent-sized store, had parking lot security cameras, and witnesses who can verify that he was indeed wearing bright clothing. Not only bright clothing, but a HUGE line of shopping carts that is pretty dang hard to miss.

Edit: Bah, we got Bold, Italics, Underline, but no strikeout?

LOL...Yep we are more strict. If he is going to do something to hurt himself that is his problem. We will call the Ambulance for him and we may alert his parent if they are anywhere to be found but we do NOT touch Children and we do NOT tell them what to do. If they break any laws their parents get to pay for their misbehavior. Call it harsh but we are not interested in counter law suits of any sort saying We did anything wrong.

The ears thing I can understand and you would HATE it when some of our alarms go off lol...They are obnoxiously loud.


Yes, we have both cameras and a lot of eye-witnesses. The carts I can somewhat understand in the dark because they are a dark blue but this boy wears a fire fighter style suit of Day Glow Orange...I mean it goes way beyond a vest...If you cannot see him you REALLY need to not be driving.

[Dhalin]

Okay, just pulled another yucky Saturday 11:30-9 shift... I hate that shift to be honest, but.. it pays decent.

Anyways, here's another annoyance of mine. We, being a smaller store, are _not_ 24/7. We have a closing time, 9PM every day except Sunday (6PM). Well, wouldn't you know it, there's the pricks who wait until the very last minute to hurry up and slip through the doors before the manager locks them.

Hey, I understand if you really _must_ have some vital supplies that you will run out of... but honestly, if you're going to be a last minute customer...

1). Last-minute customers who buy stupid crap like candy bars, a pack of gum, etc annoy me. If you're here last-minute, I understand necessities, like toilet paper, etc. But a pack of gum? Give me a break. There's a gas station right down the road, about a quarter-mile that is open to 11PM if I recall.

2). If you're a last-minute shopper, try to respect the fact I've been here all *beeep*ing day, and I wanna go home. Don't hold me up. Today, a customer bought $2.98 worth of stuff. He opens his wallet, he has 3 $1 bills, among other bills. Wouldn't you know it, he gives me two of them and then pulls out a handfull of pennies, a quarter, and a dime or two... I knew he didn't have enough, but he wasted nearly 2 minutes figuring out that he couldn't make .98 in change and *then* handed me the third $1 bill. Arrrrgh. Thanks for wasting my time there. I was already 5 minutes over, I don't get paid for that, you know.

3). Some smaller grocery stores still do movie rentals. Our store is one such store. Don't slip into the door 5 minutes before closing and then stand at the movies, and take 10 minutes plus trying to figure out what you want to rent. Either come earlier, or come with an idea of what you want and alternatives if we don't happen to have that particular title. OR, better yet, come back next morning. Get some sleep, and come in at 9AM when we open. You got all freaking day to watch that movie.

4). Repeat/Frequent Customers: You know us, we know you. You know we close at 9PM, and you know, especially on Saturday, that the closing cashier has been there since 4PM. Yes, we know you were already in the store three times since 4PM. Some people actually do this -- they'll visit the store 3, 4, 5 times in one night, they'll get one item here, one item there.... and then they'll sometimes barely slip in the door just before the manager locks up. Of course, some of these people hold us up (see #2 or sometimes #3, and especially #1). Come on people, you know we close at 9. How about coming a little earlier? Or better yet, before coming to the store the _first_ time, sit down and write a list out... check your cupboards, fridges, and freezers and think for a minute to make sure you know everything you need. Write it down. You'll save yourself and us a lot of time and frustration.