No Shirt, No Shoes, NO SERVICE

[Namrepus221]

I had one of those moments where people look like they are gonna flip out yesterday.

Two little boys come into the store wearing bathing suits. Me and the woman who was working with me at the counter tell them they have to leave because we don't allow people to come into the store if they aren't wearing a shirt.

They go out to the car and tell their mother.

This woman looks like she is about to kill us from the pump if she could. Luckily my manager is out on teh floor doing stock and we tell her to be ready incase something happens.

Woman comes in, and pays for her gas. Amazingly she's cordial. Pays and doesn't say anything.

While she's walking out she says "My boys are 8 and 10!"

First words out of my mouth are "It's store policy ma'am, I'm sorry" and she walks out in a huff.

I've dealt with guys coming in without a shirt on my later shift a few times, Most are ok about it, but the fact they have to walk back to their car for a shirt does piss a few off. Especially those that think that wearing the shirt arround their neck, not pulling it down over their arms, is enough to be classified as "wearing" the shirt.

anyone else ever have problems like this?

[Demonoid Phenomenon]

Never had this issue specifically, but I do recall my Dollar Tree days when we had this couple come in quite often.
Both of them were very nice, though a bit trashy (but that's home!).
He always ALWAYS wore 'half shirts'.
By that I mean T-shirts cut off just above the belly so that his sizable gut could dangle in all its glory.
This was his normal attire even in the dead of winter.
Couldn't say anything because he WAS wearing a shirt...such as it was.

Oh, to be that unself-conscious.

[hotelnpa]

I think it's tacky and lacking in class not to wear shirts or shoes in places of business, even if it's in the middle of summer. My local Sheetz (a gas station based out of Pennsylvania) had to put signs up (NO Shoes NO shirt NO Service)because people were coming in quite frequently with no shoes and/or shirts.

[greensinestro]

At Publix we used to have this problem quite often. Very often, in the summertime, the boys would come in barefoot with no shirt on, only a bathing suit. The signs were everywhere that people needed to be dressed more appropriately, but many did what they wanted anyway. One time, in a safety meeting, I recall one of the old-timer baggers asking, "Is there anything the store plans to do about customers that come in half naked all the time, including children?" The manager's reply was, "Well, this is a place of business, and if we actually lay down the law on wearing proper attire, we can lose those customers." So, in other words, the signs were there for show, and it was all right to break the rules as long as they were spending money there. Sometimes customers that you wanted to see with a shirt and/or shoes on were the worst. I used to get disgusted at people who would bring their children in, and it looked like they had not bathed in days.

On an even more gross note, I recall the man who came in with what must have been a size 58 waist, no shirt, and it was obvious this man had not seen his manhood in decades. It was the nastiest thing any of us had ever seen. Yuck.

[Jadedcarguy]

He always ALWAYS wore 'half shirts'.
By that I mean T-shirts cut off just above the belly so that his sizable gut could dangle in all its glory.

Better now......

[Demonoid Phenomenon]

Jadedcarguy, you only have the image manufactured by your imagination.
I have the reality etched into my brain...forever!

...got any of that bleach left?

[Jester]

Something along these lines happened to me just the other night.

It was near the end of the night, and a small group of people started putting a couple tables together. Apparently they were a party of six, but only four of them were there...they were waiting on the other two. Pretty much standard fare. Or so I thought.

A moment later, my manager politely approached said group and told them that she could not let one of their party into the bar as he was not wearing shoes.

The group decided to leave rather than abandon their friend, but as they were going, one of the women started to bitch a bit. "We were just at a wedding on the beach!"

Okay, lady, fine. You went to a wedding on the beach. And as such, you can dress as you want.

That being said, when you come to a food establishment that has to comply with Health Department codes and regulations, you have to be properly attired. The Health Department does not have those rules in place for everyone EXCEPT people who have just attended some event where shirtlessness or shoelessness is appropriiate. They have them in place for EVERYONE. That includes you and your friends, beach wedding notwithstanding.

It is amazing to me how many otherwise intelligent people seem to leave their brains at home when they come on vacation to my tropical island paradise.

Tourists.....can't live with them, can't kill them and bury them at sea without questions being asked.

[Max]

Oh, to be that unself-conscious.

I am DEEPLY self-conscious, and actually feel guilty for making people look at me when I have a zit or feel ugly for whatever reason. (Um, yeah...I know that's pretty stupid. I wish I could kick it.)

When I see utterly shameless people out in public (giant guts on display, aggressively anti-hygiene, what have you) sure, there is that instinct of embarrassment for them, but then I just feel wonder and even envy. Imagine going through your life that indifferent about what other people think? The sheer freedom...glorious!

(The resultant under-employment, lack of friends, etc...not so glorious. But life's about trade-offs, right?)

[Silvercat]

That being said, when you come to a food establishment that has to comply with Health Department codes and regulations, you have to be properly attired. The Health Department does not have those rules in place for everyone EXCEPT people who have just attended some event where shirtlessness or shoelessness is appropriiate. They have them in place for EVERYONE.

Actually the Health Department doesn't regulate customers, just workers. (cite: http://barefooters.org/health-dept/ ) Of course, stores are can have any policy they want, and if a customer has a problem with it, they can go SOMEWHERE ELSE.

[Jadedcarguy]

Jadedcarguy, you only have the image manufactured by your imagination.
I have the reality etched into my brain...forever!

...got any of that bleach left?

Why, yes.....

[Ill_Used_Heroine]

OMG that happens ALL the time here at the library (in Hawaii). No shirt, or no shoes, or no shirt or shoes. We have a security guard, but ... uh, yeah ... like they do anything while they're here. I've yet to see one stop a patron without shirt, shoes, or while they're using their cell phone. So, the staff always has to tell them that they have to leave. The worst part is when parents let their kids run around without any shoes or slippers. I mean, who knows WHAT'S on our floor/rug. There could be loose staples or paper clips, and we have centipedes and scorpions lurking about. *shiver*

Lately, we've also been getting young, very pregnant women wearing bikini tops and sarongs with their bellies hanging out. Man, that's gotta hurt somehow. Then again, we get young girls that aren't pregnant that dress like that. I mean, I'm fat, and there's no way I'd ever have walked around with my belly hanging out like that ... not at ANY age!

[aurelemsrealm]

You know, it's rather odd, though, that usually the ones who are least self-conscious are the ones you wish would cover it up. The ones most self-conscious are ones you may not admiring so much.

I know of some really attractive women who are bashful about flaunting what they got. I can understand that they don't want to be ogled, and have a bunch of sleazes drooling at them. However, I know some women who want to flaunt it, but no one wants to see it.

I guess similar standards apply with men, too, but I don't have the same interest in men. When I worked at the c-store, the assistant manager used to practically burst into flames because she was hot for this one guy. Yeah, she has a boyfriend, so she would never act on it. She just admired him secretly. She made the mistake of telling me one day, so I just shot her that knowing grin every time he walked through the door. It was funny because she'd shoot me that warning glare, and mouth some vague threat of vengeance in my direction. It was especially hilarious a couple of weeks ago when he was shirtless in the parking lot, and she started drooling as she watched him out the window. She had to go to the office because she was so flustered by the time he made it to the door.

[Jester]

When I see utterly shameless people out in public (giant guts on display, aggressively anti-hygiene, what have you) sure, there is that instinct of embarrassment for them, but then I just feel wonder and even envy. Imagine going through your life that indifferent about what other people think? The sheer freedom...glorious!

That is what a lot of people don't get when they complain about the, how shall we say, less attractive people who frequent (and take advantage of) the clothing optional establishments. They bitch and moan about them, but me, I love them. Why? Because, frankly, (a) they have guts, and (b) they flat out don't give two shits what other people think of them. My girlfriend is a hottie, and she will not be seen anywhere in less than a bikini (even in this bohemian Key West society), but she DOES respect those who will do just that, whatever they may look like.

Actually the Health Department doesn't regulate customers, just workers. (cite: http://barefooters.org/health-dept/ ) Of course, stores are can have any policy they want, and if a customer has a problem with it, they can go SOMEWHERE ELSE.

Okay, so I stand corrected. The Health Department is not making us do that. But most Health Department employees don't know this (I have had more than one comment on this very thing) and very few restaurant staff know this either. More to the point, just about everyone in America by now knows that restaurants are not going to allow you in if you are not wearing footwear. Obviously there are exceptions (beachfront and clothing optional establishments, both of which exist down here), but overall, most won't let you do that.

So the people in my earlier post that were asked to leave the bar for lack of shoes should not have been surprised. Unlike some smoking ordinances, this is not a new thing here or anywhere in the States.

But for these people, who seem to blind themselves to normal standards of behavior, in this case footwear, I decided we needed a song. As some of you may remember, I am rather adept at carving lyrics for such things. So, sit back, relax, and enjoy The Who singing a newer version of one of their classics: "We Won't Wear Shoes Again*," sung to the tune of We Won't Get Fooled Again:

We'll be drinking in the Keys
On the beaches by the seas
And the normal rules that we know will be gone
And our friends who spurred us on
Tell us they won’t be that long
As they veg out in the sand dunes smoking bongs

I'll tip beer to the new constitution
Take a shot for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the drunks all around
Pick up my cocktail today
Just say what the hey
Then I'll get on my knees and say
We won't wear shoes again!

To Key West we had to come
For a wedding in the sun
We were liberated and acting all like fools
The party it just rocked
But man we were all shocked
When the bar manager said that there were rules

I'll tip beer to the new constitution
Take a shot for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the drunks all around
Pick up my cocktail today
Just say what the hey
Then I'll get on my knees and say
We won't wear shoes again!
No, no!

I’ll get myself and my friends all a ride
In a cab if we’re left half alive
We’ll all get drunk and smile at the sky
For you know that the drunk and hypnotized never lie

Do ya?

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

There’s no rules in the street
Don’t say any different to me
And our norms they are replaced, by-the-bye
And the drinkers on the left
Is now the drinkers on the right
And the beers have all grown colder overnight

I'll tip beer to the new constitution
Take a shot for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the drunks all around
Pick up my cocktail today
Just say what the hey
Then I'll get on my knees and say
We won't wear shoes again!
No, no!

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Toast with your new booze
After you drink your old booze


(*copyright 2007, Laughing Jester Productions)