Sucky Supermarket Customers

[tom8907]

Here is a list of customers I can't stand which I have to deal with working at a supermarket:

1. The person who realizing or thinking there's a mistake on their receipt comes back and cuts the que

2. The person who never says anything when you say "hi how are you today?"

3. The person who makes a sarcastic remark when you ask them for a bag.

4. The person who's a micromanager, tells you to ring the buzzer,etc as if they think they know more than you or know the situation.

5. The person who acts as if a general problem with the store is your fault even though you're just a cashier.

6. The person who acts awkward about a problem as stated above but when they get the manager they're all civil, give the manager the earache they get paid more than me to deal with your rubbish!

7. The person who complains to managers about staff, you're risking someone's career progression just because of a fraction of your life, oh sorry wait an hour get a life!

8. The person who que cuts in general

9. The person who reminds you that the weather is nice outside...

10. The person who gives you awkward packing demands, unless you're disabled and make such requests pack yourself!

11. The person who talks to you like rubbish in general!

[Kittish]

9. The person who reminds you that the weather is nice outside...

I have to admit that I'm guilty of this one, but it's never intended maliciously. More along that lines of "Shame you have to be stuck here, hope you get done in time to enjoy it."

[Evannah]

I used to get all of those at Poundland!

[tom8907]

Oh don't forget the idiots that get abusive when you ask for id, the people that have to run off and get something mid-transaction, etc

[RealUnimportant]

9. The person who reminds you that the weather is nice outside...

I always try to avoid discussing the weather unless it's brought up by the other party in conversation; different people like different stuff, I personally can't stand it warm & sunny, it makes it tough to breathe & I'd probably get sunburn if I switched my home lighting to 100W bulbs - I have a photo of me with a sunburned face/neck, while wearing a parka jacket, on a totally overcast day in March!

If I'm the customer, I also think it's best to steer clear of "at least you're not out in that [whatever foulness abounds that day]" as I fear it might diminish the joy of quitting time.

Other than that, I'm glad to see I don't do anything else on the list!

[bainsidhe]

10. The person who gives you awkward packing demands,

This never bothered me much, so long as the customer was polite about it. I may think the customer is odd or a bit picky, but being courteous means I'll bend over backwards to help. I did try to avoid moving bulky/heavy things, however, because I have carpal tunnel and it's honestly too easy to pull your back while cashiering.

[fireheart]

1. The person who realizing or thinking there's a mistake on their receipt comes back and cuts the que

I had this SO MANY TIMES. Every time it was a "If you go to the service desk, they can help you" from me.

5. The person who acts as if a general problem with the store is your fault even though you're just a cashier.

Been there, done that. I just shrugged and started talking to them about my studies. Shut them up fairly quick.

7. The person who complains to managers about staff, you're risking someone's career progression just because of a fraction of your life, oh sorry wait an hour get a life!

A little bit of column A, a little bit of column B here. Legitimate complaint if the staff member is being a douche, otherwise NO.

10. The person who gives you awkward packing demands, unless you're disabled and make such requests pack yourself!

I went by 3 simple rules with packing: don't mix chemicals with food, bread and light items on top, cold stuff separately. The weirdest request I had re packing period was from a lady who wanted our plastic bags because they matched her kitchen decor ()

11. The person who talks to you like rubbish in general!

That's when I mentioned my studies.


So so so glad now that my current job a) requires all staff to at LEAST have a TAFE qualification (I'm uni qualified for teaching), b) only involves parents on a small level and c) does not require me to be bogged down with admin!

[aulocksmith]

9. The person who reminds you that the weather is nice outside...

Guilty! In my defence though, it's usually the cashier who brings it up, as they're right next to big-ass windows through which they can see what they're missing out on. For that, I blame senior management.

[MoonCat]

As far as complaining about staff, I only do that if someone is incredibly rude to me. The ones that seem cold or snippy or impatient, eh, I figure they're having a bad day, I don't let it bother me much. Heck, I didn't even make a complaint about the deli guy who zoned out in the middle of taking my order...he wandered off and never came back.. I just got someone else's attention and went on with my day.

[bbbr]

10. The person who gives you awkward packing demands, unless you're disabled and make such requests pack yourself!

There was a customer in my old store who would hand us her order one item at time and require that each individual item be bagged seperately. Sometimes in a plastic bag, sometimes in a paper bag and occasionally the ever popular "paper in plastic with an extra paper bag on the outside" since her table-talk single serve pies weighed more than a freezer bag could ever handle...

On the flip side, I loved the customers who told me "to make the bags as heavy as possible". Always viewed that as a challenge and would routinely get a $100+ order into under 4 bags (excluding the chemicals, meats and other items that don't mix).

[Monterey Jack]

10. The person who gives you awkward packing demands

I'm also annoyed by customers who will go through their bags right in front of you and start re-packing to their own specifications, especially if they don't tell you ahead of time that they need items bagged in a certain way. It's incredibly insulting. Hey, I only do this EVERY SINGLE DAY, I think I know how not to squash your bread or eggs and not to put the bleach next to the baby formula.

[fireheart]

One I can remember from my days working as a supermarket cashier:

-When you go to the smokeshop, KNOW WHAT YOU WANT! One guy told me he wanted "Alpine Menthol" but didn't specify which strength (because Australian law prohibits "Light" "Low Tar" etc. on the labels and we also no longer put the strength amounts on them, cigarettes have labels such as "Filter","Smooth", "Fresh" etc.). ALL ALPINE CIGARETTES ARE MENTHOL!

[Teefies2]

One I can remember from my days working as a supermarket cashier:

-When you go to the smokeshop, KNOW WHAT YOU WANT! One guy told me he wanted "Alpine Menthol" but didn't specify which strength (because Australian law prohibits "Light" "Low Tar" etc. on the labels and we also no longer put the strength amounts on them, cigarettes have labels such as "Filter","Smooth", "Fresh" etc.). ALL ALPINE CIGARETTES ARE MENTHOL!

I don't work in a smoke shop, but I get this on a regular basis. Guy/girl/whatever they are comes up to the counter and says "Marlboro". That's it. I'm supposed to know WHICH of the 37 types of Marlboro we carry that they want.

I don't even flinch anymore, I just make a half turn towards the cigarettes, wave my hand towards ALL the Marlboros, and stare at them. Amazingly, they finally figure it out.

[fireheart]

I don't work in a smoke shop, but I get this on a regular basis. Guy/girl/whatever they are comes up to the counter and says "Marlboro". That's it. I'm supposed to know WHICH of the 37 types of Marlboro we carry that they want.

I don't even flinch anymore, I just make a half turn towards the cigarettes, wave my hand towards ALL the Marlboros, and stare at them. Amazingly, they finally figure it out.

Occasionally I'd have customers say "Green Pall Malls" or "Red Superkings" or something along those lines.

The worst customers were the roll-your-owns, as they would never tell me if they wanted 30 or 50g packs. On top of that, the roll-your-own cupboard absolutely REEKED every single time I went to open it. I didn't spend too long in there if I could help it.

[otakuneko]

So so so glad now that my current job a) requires all staff to at LEAST have a TAFE qualification

I read that as TAFFER qualification...