"That's not mine" Megathread

[HALFHUMANHALFZOMBIE]

This thread is dedicated for the cashiers out there who had or is working in retail. Have you ever scanned items that are not the customer you're serving now because he moved the divider before you announced the total to the last customer? Or someone else in line wants you to scan something when it's not even his turn to be served? Or maybe someone freaks out when there are items left in front of the belt that is not theirs. All these situation leads to the dreaded three, clueless, unhelpful words they can say to you, and those three words is... That's not mine. Well help me out and tell me who this stuff belongs too or at least tell me which stuff is yours. I've had about three situation where these buttholes have said the dreaded three letters that I hate hearing the most.

#1. A Sales Associate is telling me about the furnature set that was put aside for a customer. She points out the customer who wants to buy the furnature and I recoznize the face and everything is in place. The next customer in line says Thats not mine, I'm thinking what the hell is she talking about? I got a little annnoyed and asked her "Well what is yours then? and she says in a loud voice "that stuff that's on the belt next to you" and I said "OK I knew that".

#2: I'm scanning this person's stuff as the next customer in line is chit-chatting with someone else in line. I think I'm finished the order and the lady pays for her stuff and leaves. I proceed to the next customer and sure enough she says those godawful, unhelpful, annoying, clueless the letter words..... That's not mine. I could reach the customer who left and I ended up putting the items aside. Well you could at least tell me I'm not done with the order even when I stopped and told the Lady to pay. I'm pissed off more at the next lady in line then I was with the last lady.

#3: I ring one guy's stuff through and another guy. After they both pay for the items they just noticed some of the stuff I rang through is not theirs. That's not mine of course they both exclaimed. We'll I told them to go to Courtesy to settle it through. This happened quite a while ago so I don't know the situation in detail but all I know is that One guy had his stuff and the other guy's stuff all on the same receipt.

[powerboy]

I have done that once. And that people involved was cool about it. They told me about they do that just about everyday, because of the customers moving the bar.

[Broomjockey]

I thought it was funny during a trip to the grocery store, I made it to the check out, and there weren't any dividers that I remember. So I put my groceries on the belt, far back of the person ahead of me's. However, since the belt moves all the way up on its own when there's a gap, the cashier started to grab a couple of my items and I had to break in with "Um, sorry, but those are mine." Poor cashier was so apologetic I felt bad. But I really wanted my groceries...

[Imogene]

I did something similar once.
At a grocery store, buying the last few ingredients for spaghetti. I had a tube of sausage on the conveyor, plus, I think, some salad dressing mix. Sausage rolls forward and into person in front of me's order. Checker looks at sausage, question PIFOM, and I pipe up. "That's MY sausage." (dirty?)
Got home, told the family, it has become a catchphrase between my brother and I.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I get that all the time, however I once had an entire group of SCs, none of which used a divider to separate their shopping and they all used the dreaded words. After the third such exchange, I then got extremely pissy and, picking up a divider, said, "That's what these things are for, to separate your shopping from the person in front of and behind you. I'm not a flipping mindreader." Then they all got a clue and used them. I was lucky no-one whinged about me, tho I wasn't being rude. I have a recurring fantasy where I stand all the idiots who don't use dividers up and hit them with said dividers... yeah, I know I can't do that in real life, but thinking about it isn't harmful! Right?

[Becks]

What about when you leave plenty of space between orders AND use a divider and the cashier STILL tries to ring your stuff up on the person in front of you's order?

[draftermatt]

What about when you leave plenty of space between orders AND use a divider and the cashier STILL tries to ring your stuff up on the person in front of you's order?

Then that cashier is either a) an idiot b) not paying attention c) having a bad day.

I've only said it in such cases because I always use a divider or leave a big space. Or if something gets in my order. I've heard of people picking up the divider and saying "not mine"

[Lace Neil Singer]

I personally don't like people using huge spaces instead of dividers; it looks messy and really irritates me enough to slam a divider down in the space in the hope that the customer will get a clue... cuz most people who do that are doing that in spite of the huge pile of dividers next to the belt! My "use a divider, dammit!" thing is due to my Aspergers; I do try and suppress it, but it's just one of the things, along with a clean belt and tidy till, that I need to stop myself going crazy at work.

[trunks2k]

Way back in the day when I was a cashier, I had a few people in line. The lady I was checking out had a whole bunch of items. You know the type, have to stop mid way through to bag so you can clear some space and the person STILL isn't finished unloading. As I got towards the end, something fell off and I bent over to pick it up, and continued scan the stuff. I get a good 20 more items in when she finally says "umm... all that stuff there isn't mine". Turns out that when I bent over to pick up the thing that had fallen on the floor, she removed the divider between her order and the next person's. I hadn't noticed the divider at all and didn't notice it having been moved. So she stood there and watched me continue scanning items that didn't belong to her.

Do you know how much of a pain it is to void off 20+ items, half of which are weighed produce?

[BookstoreEscapee]

Do you know how much of a pain it is to void off 20+ items, half of which are weighed produce?

How the heck do you scan that many things before the customer notices?!

That's one good thing about the bookstore's cashwrap...there's only enough room at the register for one customer at a time, so it is nearly impossible to accidentally scan something that isn't the customer's (though it can happen, sometimes things get left on the counters...).

I have had that happen while shopping myself but I usually notice if the cashier is reaching for my stuff while ringing up the person in front of me (cuz I pay attention, ya know?). I usually use a divider, and if there isn't one I'll try to put something flat (like a cereal box or something) in the front and I'll put my store discount card and any coupons on top of it to signal it's the first thing in my order. And most stores near me I bag my own stuff, but when I notice they're almost at the end of my stuff I'll go around to the credit card machine and get ready to pay, so I'll see if they are starting to grab things from the next order.

[Andara Bledin]

I'm like that, too.

I don't have the time to waste watching the cashier add and then void stuff that isn't mine (or that isn't the person's in front of me). I'm so anal about it that I'll go to another stand to get a divider if there aren't any (not too few, but none at all) where I am.

^-.-^

[Sliceanddice]

At one of the stores i go to seomone stole their dividers so most of the time i leave so much space between m,y order and the next really far appart. But once i used a divider, and had space, and the cashier still tried to ring my ice cream and magizine with someone elses food.

[jackiemich]

Another thing that annoys me is when I am working on the express lane and have only a very small counter instead of a conveyor belt to work with. Of course it is to small to have dividers. Every day I work express I have people who will pile their stuff right up next to the person's stuff that is in front of them. No space left at all between the orders. Is it so hard to wait until the counter is empty before you place your items on the counter or to tell me that your stuff starts here? I have the joy of going back to work after having two weeks off for a strained neck and pinched nerve. You can tell I am REALLY looking forwad to that.

[Noelegy]

Speaking strictly as a customer, I've noticed that Mal-Wart NEVER has enough of those dividers. They seem cheap enough to manufacture, yet if you're lucky, there'll be ONE at the register. What are people doing with these things? Are customers hoarding them? Do I even want to know?

[simplyanother]

Another thing that annoys me is when I am working on the express lane and have only a very small counter instead of a conveyor belt to work with. .

We don't have conveyors either, just the counter. And per corporate there is always extra crap on my itty bitty counter, that I always forget is there and will pick up at least twice a shift, before I remember it's the crap that's been there all week.

I hate it when the customer gets mad at me for asking "is this all yours" or "is all of this [cart completely full of crap] together", because it never fails, whenever I don't ask, they flip out and get that "i'm doing this seperately" totally bitchy tone..."that's NOT MINE!"

Gah, they are the same customers who bitch to me about how much stuff costs. Grrr.