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  • Open mouth, insert foot

    This wasn't sucky, but a rather mind numbing from the sheer velocity of the woman's speech. I tend to be a bit hyperactive to the point that things that are normal speed seem slow, but she left me in the dust.

    I have to take prenatal vitamins because of my tendency for iron deficiency anemia. I've had it multiple times and it takes forever to get over it. Much better to prevent it. However, considering I'm NOT pregnant, I get a bit sheepish going through the checkout line with it. This incident happened about 3 years ago when my husband and I were dating.

    We did, and still do, about everything together. We started our clothes washing at the apartment laundry room and took off to the drug store to pick up my vitamins. It's an odd feeling to be standing there looking and pill bottles with silhouettes of pregnant bellies, but oh well. I grabbed one and headed to the checkout hoping to not make a big deal out of it. It was not to be.

    The lady at the checkout picked up the bottle, gasped, and declared "I KNEW IT! I knew it the minute you walked in the door. You two are such a cute couple and...."

    There was no stopping the onslaught of mortifying words. It took three tries to finally cut in and at that point, it came out as a very non-eloquent "I'M NOT PREGNANT!"

    She was utterly baffled. "Then why are you taking these?"

    I explained the anemia, which I was battling at the time, and the lightbulb came on, with some embarrassment. The barrage of verbage began again.

    "OH! That's a great idea. You know these are great for your hair and nails, too. You know, I should start taking these again..."

    After we finally escaped, it took much assurance from my husband, then bf, that I don't look pregnant to make me stop worrying about it.

    BONUS: We went back to the laundry room to switch the clothes to the dryers. I then heard a sheepish voice: "Ma'am? Are these yours?" I turned to find a hot pink pair of panties on the floor and an embarrassed, but helpful, man pointing them out. It definitely felt like time to crawl into a hole and die.
    The original Cookie in a multitude of cookies.

  • #2
    My gyno was telling me to take those too and I'm not preggo. Though I have been asked multiple times. But she said that sometimes they can make you sick and told me to buy flinstone vitamins. But again, the cashier shouldn't have said anything for all she knew you were buying them for someone else but it didn't seem like she meant it in a mean way but regardless how its said, whenever it is said to me I get upset.

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    • #3
      I tried taking pre-natal vitamins once, but they made me sick to my stomach. I wasn't pregnant at the time either.

      They're actually fine for non-pregnant use. Most people don't need to take vitamins if they are eating a healthy diet (iron deficiency anemia is another story).
      They say that God only gives us what we can handle. Apparently, God thinks I'm a bad ass.

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      • #4
        It wasn't YOU who got their foot stuck in their mouth -it was the chatterbox on the till! If she'd asked subtly if you were pregnant (still none of her business, but old ladies like asking that question) you could have said no with no embarrassment to either of you. As it was, she clearly realised she'd made a twit of herself and embarrassed you, and tried to cover it up, making things even worse.

        The panties thing, however, can't help you there.
        A person who is nice to you, but not nice to the waiter is not a nice person
        - Dave Barry

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        • #5
          Hehe, right. I didn't stick my foot in my mouth, but the cashier sure did! It wouldn't have even bothered me so much except for the "I knew it the minute you walked in the door!" part of things.

          Since they don't make me sick, I prefer them over the funky aftertaste of flintstone vitamins. I'd much rather not take vitamins at all considering I have a pretty healthy diet overall and know what all the iron rich foods are and work them in regularly. :sigh:
          The original Cookie in a multitude of cookies.

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          • #6
            Maybe I'm a bit antisocial, but I always believed that it doesn't matter what I'm buying, unless there's a safety recall I didn't know about the cashiers should *not* be commenting on my purchases. I don't care if it's a particularly kinky sex toy or a pack of tooth-rotting candy for my kid, it's my purchase, not theirs.

            This was never more true the one day (long ago, before I married the Evil Overlord) I was buying a pregnancy test. See, the women in my family get pregnant at the drop of a pair of pants, even with birth control, so I was hoping very hard that I was not pregnant. The lady at the register started going on and on about how wonderful it would be if I was pregnant. She didn't know me from Eve, so who was she to say if me being pregnant was a good thing?

            On the other hand, a different cashier on a different date gave me a smile and a heart-felt "Good luck!" Now I thought that one was okay, since she supporting whichever outcome I was hoping for, rather than her own agenda. Still, if they can't keep the conversation to neutral pleasantries, silence is the best option.
            Sorry, my cow died so I don't need your bull

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            • #7
              Quoth EvilEmpryss View Post
              Maybe I'm a bit antisocial, but I always believed that it doesn't matter what I'm buying, unless there's a safety recall I didn't know about the cashiers should *not* be commenting on my purchases. I don't care if it's a particularly kinky sex toy or a pack of tooth-rotting candy for my kid, it's my purchase, not theirs.
              I agree. Its just a business transaction, it is not a personal interaction. I don't know the person at the register and don't care. I'm pretty sure they don't know me and don't care about me. They ring things through the register, I pay the bill, I go on my way.

              Commenting on a purchase is something that should not be done unless the person buying the item(s) starts up a conversation, at which point then the person at the register can respond without being rude or making assumptions.

              If the person at the register starts making assumptions about the items you're buying then they are walking right into a minefield. It almost always ends badly.

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              • #8
                Quoth Hyndis View Post
                I agree. Its just a business transaction, it is not a personal interaction. I don't know the person at the register and don't care. I'm pretty sure they don't know me and don't care about me. They ring things through the register, I pay the bill, I go on my way.

                Commenting on a purchase is something that should not be done unless the person buying the item(s) starts up a conversation, at which point then the person at the register can respond without being rude or making assumptions.

                If the person at the register starts making assumptions about the items you're buying then they are walking right into a minefield. It almost always ends badly.

                I totally agree. Many people are embarrased to buy certain items, simply because of worrying about comments at the register. Why I buy certain vitamins, what I need various over the counter meds for, are simply my personal business and if I want ti discuss them with a total stranger I will bring it up - til then, just check me out and keep questions to yourself.

                I don't mind the odd "oh, that shampoo works great for me" or "cute socks" or so forth, but anything more personal, please keep comments/questions/advice to yourself. They aren't small talk, they're invasions of privacy.
                Last edited by Merriweather; 01-16-2011, 08:21 PM. Reason: can't type for sh*t today

                Madness takes it's toll....
                Please have exact change ready.

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                • #9
                  If you need iron, I recommend Solgar's Vegetarian Iron supplement. The regular iron supplements made me miserably sick; Solgar's didn't upset my stomach or make me constipated. Great stuff.
                  Labor boards have info on local laws for free
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                  Document everything
                  CS proves Dunning-Kruger effect

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                  • #10
                    Quoth wagegoth View Post
                    If you need iron, I recommend Solgar's Vegetarian Iron supplement. The regular iron supplements made me miserably sick; Solgar's didn't upset my stomach or make me constipated. Great stuff.
                    Oooh! Good to know! Thanks for the head's up. The supplements have been a great preventative, but if I go downhill again, I may need something stronger and I'll look for Solgar's if I do.

                    Yes, yes, and yes to everyone who said that people don't need to comment on your purchases. There are things I dread buying because I don't want people to say anything. The other thing is, sometimes dead silence is worse. I've had cashiers go dead quiet on me after talking and being so nice with everyone else in line because apparently my purchase made them uncomfortable. It just makes it more awkward. Even when I tried starting the small talk myself, it just gets shut down. Talking about the weather or whatever actually draws less attention to it. I'll take that over comments on my purchases, though, so I guess I shouldn't complain there.
                    The original Cookie in a multitude of cookies.

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                    • #11
                      I think the only time I'll ever say anything about a customer's purchase is if it's something I use and they ask me about it, or if they're buying dog treats I'll ask what kind of dog they have, and I've found most people like to talk about their dogs. But I'd never comment on something as personal as prenatals or pregnancy tests, etc! You could be buying them for someone else, after all. That's the only reason I don't take prenatals for my hair and nails, I don't want people to think I'm pregnant.
                      The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.

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                      • #12
                        Quoth EvilEmpryss View Post
                        Maybe I'm a bit antisocial, but I always believed that it doesn't matter what I'm buying, unless there's a safety recall I didn't know about the cashiers should *not* be commenting on my purchases. I don't care if it's a particularly kinky sex toy or a pack of tooth-rotting candy for my kid, it's my purchase, not theirs.
                        Quoth Hyndis View Post
                        I agree. Its just a business transaction, it is not a personal interaction.
                        But yet, all the corporate suits, who make so much more money than we do and thus are so much more valuable to the company than we are () keep insisting that cashiers make the transactions "more personal" and instruct them to "get the story" about your purchases, because they think it leads to repeat business or something.
                        Knowledge is power. Power corrupts. Study hard. Be evil.

                        "I never said I wasn't a horrible person."--Me, almost daily

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                        • #13
                          this is why nearly all of my girlfriends don't like buying condoms, because of the awkward interaction at the register.


                          clarification: i meant girlfriends as in covering a period of time not a harem

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                          • #14
                            If it makes anyone feel better, I'm still weirded out at buying pads/tampons and refuse to buy condoms. I bought KY a while back and hid it under everything in my cart until I checked out.

                            I started The Pill a couple of weeks ago and knowing there's a chance for breakthrough bleeding, bought some light pantyliners, and was still embarrassed about it. Even though a nice older lady was the cashier. I still felt weird.
                            You really need to see a neurologist. - Wagegoth

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                            • #15
                              In a lot of places there are the self check outs you could use. When you are your own cashier those awkward situations shouldn't come up.

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