I never, ever swear at work... except today

[Applerod]

OK, so in the 10 years I've been working various customer service/cashiering-type jobs I've never sworn out loud around customers (for obvious reasons.) I'm always polite, neutral, or quiet. Today I was really stressed out at my current job cashiering in a grocery store and was helping bag a customer's items. The bagger and I hit a little snag trying to fit an already-filled paper bag inside of another, and in a kind of lighthearted mock frustration directed at the bag I exclaimed: "Come on, you fucking bastard!" I felt fairly comfortable saying it because I was familiar with the customer and knew he wouldn't take serious offense at the comment. If only I'd turned my head slightly...
...I would've noticed the next customer was a woman with her two young children. Of course. Nevermind this was after 8 PM and 1 out of every 900 customers has children at that hour. She didn't say anything (lucky me) but I was so embarrassed. If I had more time to think about it I would've apologized to her. Oh well...

Anyone else ever have something similar happen?

[edible_hat]

I once had an amateur lipreader tell me off for something I didn't say.

SC: (rings night bell)
Me: (approaches counter, is about to unlock door)
SC: (rings bell, bangs on door)
me: (as I press button to unlock door) yeah, that will make me go faster!
SC: "Don't you tell me to fuck off!"


Just lately I've been trying to train myself to say "swearing" instead of actually swearing. Most of the time it goes "Fuck! I mean... Swearing!"

[AnaKhouri]

For this reason I have adopted the fake swear word 'frack' (used on the TV show "Battlestar Galactica" to use while in public. Though I try not to use it either, but it's helpful if I can't stop myself.

[hopie144]

Well with me being a mom, I've tried my best to not swear at all....don't want my kids to have foul mouths, so I teach by example. Well, they taught me to use 'crud muffins' in place of any bad word.... Yep. they're my kids...hey, at least we don't swear.
Oh but my bf loves using the "F" word...he'll use it 2,345,905,928 times a day..seriously. As a noun, pronoun, adjective, verb, adverb...any way he can think of. So now I'm trying to not swear again. You pick up other people's habits....

[MadMike]

I've always had something of a foul mouth, especially when I was younger. But even back then, I had sense enough to keep it under control when I was anywhere that customers could hear me. But there was this one time, although it was not exactly intentional...

I was in the back room, just behind the double doors, trying to assemble one of those stupid cardboard displays, and not having much luck at it. I'd get the one side together, but as soon as I tried to put the other side together, the first side would come apart again. After this happened one too many times, my frustration got the better of me, and I screamed "FUCK YOU!!!!!" at the thing, at the top of my lungs.

Unfortunately, at that exact moment, one of my coworkers came thru the double doors. With the door opened, my profanity echoed throughout the store.

I vanished way back in the back room for a while after that. Thankfully, I never heard anything about it.

[going gaga]

Generally I try not to swear , but sometimes it does happen, best or worst one I had I wandered into our holding cupboard for a customers heavy item thats been sitting there for a while awaiting pick up.
It's underneath what was one rail high up with large amounts of stock hanging from it disguising the new bar placed lower down.
I bend down pick item up quickly and bang my head off the new bar
hard.
I curse like a sailor , you can probably guess some of what I said in a loud surprised voice .
Rubbing my head I'm glad that the customers generally wait at the till (where I leave them) for me to come back with their stuff, and thank my lucky stars that no one will have heard me

Unfortunately for me this one did , he was outside the door having seen where I was heading and deciding to follow.