People who knock things on the floor and leave them. RAGE.

[Kanalah]

Back before the bordello burned down, I'd have to spend a good 3 hours of a 5 hour day cleaning.

And this is a store that if it wasn't Christmas, you'd be lucky to get 5 people in a day. Because a lot of the other workers didn't want to/didn't feel like cleaning.

One time I was working, we had a family come in to do some shopping. One of the kids ran ahead and bumped a display of tiny personalized coffee cups. I picked up the display, but didn't want to get in the way of the family shopping (we had narrow aisles and for some people, they'd just turn around and walk out). As the family walked by the mess, they purposely stomped on and broke some of the tiny cups. The mom made a comment about how the store is a pigsty. I snapped back something about people not picking up after themselves. Mom got upset, stomped back through the cups and left.

I hated those stupid cups.

[XCashier]

One time I was working, we had a family come in to do some shopping. One of the kids ran ahead and bumped a display of tiny personalized coffee cups....As the family walked by the mess, they purposely stomped on and broke some of the tiny cups. The mom made a comment about how the store is a pigsty. I snapped back something about people not picking up after themselves. Mom got upset, stomped back through the cups and left.

So, kiddo knocks over a shelf full of merchandise and instead of doing the right thing and cleaning it up, Mommie Dearest deliberately smashes up the mess and makes it worse. Then she has the gall to say the store is a pigsty?! Good for you for telling her off! She knew you were talking about her and didn't like it, but I don't think it'll make her change her nasty ways.

Some people are past the stage where will do any good. Only one thing left for them:

[Lovecats]

I can't tell you the number of times that I've found refrigerated or frozen things on the shelves in dry grocery. People don't understand (or care) that we have to throw that stuff out. We've also been told that if frozen items are put back in the a different freezer section than where they belong we still have to damage them out. The thinking is that we don't know how long they walked around before deciding they didn't want whatever it was. Then there was the time that we found a Halloween Barbie in the ice cream freezers. Poor thing had ice cycles hanging from her nose.

[ADeMartino]

I *HAVE* been in retail too long.

If I knock something over, or off a shelf or hook, I will always at least make an attempt to put it right.

When I pick a box or can or whatever off a shelf, I've been known to pull product behind it forward. Not always, but since I shop mostly at night these days, I often find myself in a freshly-faced aisle and I'll take an extra few seconds to leave it the way I found it.

While transporting my nieces home from a soccer game, we stopped at a convenience store where I thought I'd treat them to a snack and something to drink. The younger niece accidentally dropped her Icee and, naturally, the store was at that moment just SLAMMED with business. And only one cashier working, so I asked where the mop and bucket were so I could clean the mess up myself.

I HATE making a mess, and having worked a great deal of retail in my life, I have considerable empathy for the ones on the front lines. I'm convinced I'd make a poor manager, because I'd have to ignore what I learned as a wage-slave.

[Despina83]

Honestly, if I were shopping at another store and found a gallon of milk or something on the shelf and it was still cold I would walk it across the store and put it back. Why not?

Yesterday a little two year old kid walks down one of my aisles with her parents while she knocks items off the pegs for fun and the parents see but totally ignore it. And I was right there watching them, for Pete's sake! I pick them up right in front of them. Ignore. Then they go down the next aisle and the kid knocks three items onto the floor and parents do nothing. They were foreign, so I don't know if they would have understood "control your f#$&@!% kid!!!". I would have liked to flip them off. Everyone understands THAT.

[Monterey Jack]

Honestly, if I were shopping at another store and found a gallon of milk or something on the shelf and it was still cold I would walk it across the store and put it back. Why not?

Yesterday a little two year old kid walks down one of my aisles with her parents while she knocks items off the pegs for fun and the parents see but totally ignore it. And I was right there watching them, for Pete's sake! I pick them up right in front of them. Ignore. Then they go down the next aisle and the kid knocks three items onto the floor and parents do nothing. They were foreign, so I don't know if they would have understood "control your f#$&@!% kid!!!". I would have liked to flip them off. Everyone understands THAT.

If I were shopping in a store other than my own, and witnessed such behavior, I would give these parents a piece of my mind...it's not like I could get fired, right?

[XCashier]

If I were shopping in a store other than my own, and witnessed such behavior, I would give these parents a piece of my mind...it's not like I could get fired, right?

As long as you're not wearing your company uniform, sure.

[Bloodsoul]

Instant telltale that I've worked in retail, even though it's been years: I pick stuff up and straighten it out on reflex.

I almost did this at the local Best Buy Monday night, as I was picking up a pack of rechargeable batteries and noticed that two rows of slightly different kinds were mixed all around on each others pegs (as I've grown quite accustomed to reading a UPC).

[ShinyGreenApple]

Couple weeks ago, I had a lady slam her cart into a cardboard barrel display full of packets of eyeglass cleaning wipes. On purpose, because the pharmacist wouldn't let her pick up her pain meds and leave the antibiotic behind. Irony of the situation is, I had ANOTHER CUSTOMER point this out to me and they were apologetic that their joints hurt too badly to get on the floor and help me clean it up.

[gerund]

I work on the sales floor at a large store and I see customers ALL the time who knock something on the floor and proceed to walk away and leave it for me to pick up.

I've been watching this thread for a while, and while I agree with you that there are some very ignorant people shopping there is another thing to think about...

I have osteoarthritis in my lower back. If I bend over too much, the next morning I can't get out of bed. Now I have found that bending to put on my sandals is OK, and bending if I drop $50 on the floor doesn't kill me, but if I am asked to bend very much more than that I will have days of agony.

As well, my local supermarket seems to have this idea that everything on the shelves has to be jammed tight (can't waste a little space here and there - someone might not buy that extra can of baked beans)

So frequently when I am shopping, something will drop to the floor as I try to grab my item. I don't pick it up. I just put the item I have in my cart and walk away.

Now to look at me, I look quite normal (a little overweight perhaps) and people who don't know me think I am about mid 30s. In fact I am 59 years old and before I was diagnosed with the osteoarthritis, I would have about 4 or 5 bad days every month. By bad days I mean - an hour to get out of bed, can't walk up the stairs at home. I can only sit in a chair and if I lie down in bed again I can take up to an hour to get up again. I can't drive my car, most definitely can't go shopping or stand at a kitchen bench to cook a meal.

So every second or third week I go shopping I drop something on the floor, and when I do I leave it there. So far no one has said anything to me about it, but I am sure I will cause some sort of fuss at some stage.

Even people I know quite well who understand my problem, forget all the time - especially when I drop something on the floor at home and don't pick it up, so I don't know how I'm going to get on with the store manager if he sees me.