Passenger tries to hand me dirty tissue

[Mr Hero]

I wonder if it would be appropriate in these situations to pull the "Swine Flu" card or whatever is currently in the news.

Even if you did handle a used tissue for the sake of customer service' I'm sure someone else will bitch that you handled a used tissue and are serving food.

[zara1269]

Some people have no souls.

When I used to the drive through person at my old job in fast food many times people would try to hand me their crap. Usually it was gross libsticked slobbered soda cans, or used napkins. It is either law or just store policy that we, the food servers, are not allowed to take refuse from the drive through window. People would get all put out about it but seriously...who does that crap?

[EricKei]

It is either law or just store policy that we, the food servers, are not allowed to take refuse from the drive through window. People would get all put out about it but seriously...who does that crap?

I figured that that was why the fast food joints almost always seem to have trash cans IN THE DRIVE THRU LINE with big huge extensions on them ... so people can dispose of their OWN trash...

[Calie]

Me: Health Regs do not allow me to touch your used tissue with my bare hands.

Fixed for you. I've found that pushing the "blame" onto government/company regs gets me out of some of that mess. Instead of saying "I don't want to" (which gets a response of "I don't care" or "It's your job"), if you say "Such and such LAW says I can't" you at least prevent some of the SCs.

I do it at work, except it's more of "Only my boss can allow [insert annoying request], I will have to meet with him" (since my customers are on the phone, thankfully, not in person). It's much easier to say the boss is in a meeting when they can't see him in his office chatting about golf with a coworker...

Of course, it won't stop the most determined (and therefore most annoying SCs), but it cuts down on some. And as another poster said, even if you were to take the used tissue, another SC would surely complain that you might then touch food (eww).

[crazylegs]

If you took Clinical Waste Guidlines to their extreme, then a used tissue could be considered clinical waste, and unless you have the appropriate facicilites to deal with them (i.e. the yellow/orange bags, and a contract to dispose of them correctly) then you cannot accept it, indeed you cannot even transport it!

[LadyAndreca]

Explains why so many cashiers are surprised when I ask how their day is going and actually mean it. It's really not hard to treat people as people, seriously.

A bit off topic, but I was at the grocery store yesterday and one of my bags fell over when the cashier put it in the cart. She apologized so quickly when she went to fix it than I just had to strike an overdramatic pose and joke "Oh no! The cookies fell over! It's the end of the world!" She gave me a tired laugh and told me "You'd be surprised." I felt a little foolish, because...no, I wouldn't. After the time I've spent in retail and at these boards, and my exposure to the summer tourists and the snobby my-husband-is-rich-so-I-can-do-anything-I-want women we get...I could perfectly believe someone would scream at her for setting down a plastic bag wrong.

Back on topic, when I have to use a tissue at restaraunts, I usually shove it in my purse to throw away rather than leave it on the table. If I don't have a purse with me, I at least wrap it in another napkin so no one has to touch my snot. I think I'm too embarassed for the busser to know there's even snot in there!