Priorities and other stuff.

[d962831]

First off I'll start by saying thank you to the old blind lady who came through my line the other day. She was awesome and was the highlight of my week!

Now, I've already posted some stuff about the Club and the people who shop there, so I'll try to refrain from repeating anything. Let's start with one today.

Priorities

I had a group of people come through my line with two full carts of groceries. No big deal, right? It wasn't really, but I couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with these people when I overheard their conversation.

Apparently they have a relative in the hospital, in critical condition. The hospital is in a city that takes 45 minutes to get to. They decided that rather than go straight to the hospital they would stop by the Club and shop for a few hours before going. I don't know how their priorities got so screwed up, but I was utterly shocked by it.

You are parents, correct? Yes? Then try doing some parenting.

I'm fast getting tired of these parents who come into the store with their kids and make a big scene. For some of them, the kid starts screaming for some reason or another, and instead of trying to calm the child down, they completely ignore it. Yesterday a kid was yelling so loudly and for so long, I could hear the screaming after going through some very heavy security doors to where the money is handled. That should not be possible.

Then there are the parents who yell at their kids. Whether it's cursing or just threatening, it happens way too much. Then there are also the parents who let their kids run around doing whatever. We have cup dispensers at our registers. I've had to scramble to catch them after kids decide to push the cups back up into it and forcing it out of its holdings, three times in the past two weeks.

No, you may not just bring it around the register.

We have a rule that we have to transfer everything from one cart to another(unless of course it would be impossible to do alone.) It's not just a rule though, it's enforced like a law, and we get in a lot of trouble if we don't do it. Now, I don't like it anymore than anyone else, but don't get pissed at me because you have to lift something off the bottom of the cart and put it on the belt. Really, we wouldn't have to do this is it weren't for the fact that people like to steal dvds and cds by hiding them under those big things and trying to bring them around the register. Yes we have the handheld scanners. They are meant only for the very large items that can't be put on the belt.

I DON"T KNOW

No, I do not know what it is you are looking for because you have failed to give me any useful description of it. You have even failed at remembering what sort of item it is. Could it be cereal...or maybe detergent...or possibly even a stereo? And yes, colors would help...if you could remember more than one of them.

Also, yes we do have cards that work like credit cards. That's what we get for partnering with a credit company. However, simply because you have a card that works as both a member card and credit card, that does not mean I know how you want to pay, so don't just stand there staring blankly at the little card terminal, waiting for the transaction to be processed. You need to tell me how you want to pay. If you want to pay using your special card, then TELL ME. I cannot read your mind, and even if I could, I doubt I'd be able to glean much of anything from it. use the words you learned a looong time ago when you were a youngster, and tell me how you want to pay for your crap, otherwise we'll just keep standing here until it sinks in to your thick skull that you have to tell me.

No, I can not check the back for more. Believe it or not, we don't store anything in the back. Everything we have is on the shelves, and if the floor level is out of something we go get a forklift and get down the other wrapped pallets above it with the item. And get down. Trying to climb up the shelves to get to something that isn't on the floor where you want it to be will only lead to disaster. BTW, thank you for destroying that pallet and all those jars of pickles. Unfortunately, it seems that you didn't fall on your head and remove your stupidity from the gene pool, so please, don't try to procreate. There's enough stupid as is.

Finally, no, I will not let you check out, I don't care who nicely you ask or how much you beg and plead. My shift is over, my register has multiple closed signs displayed on it now, and I'm done working for today and I will not stay longer just for you. That's right. You are not special. Deal with it.

[Aisling]

As a big fan of the warehouse club to which I belong, I can sympathize with a lot of these. Especially the kids.

But the delicious baked goods make it all worthwhile (usually).

[Mr Hero]

Rule #1. You do not talk about the Club.

[CaptainThrifty]

Priorities

I had a group of people come through my line with two full carts of groceries. No big deal, right? It wasn't really, but I couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with these people when I overheard their conversation.

Apparently they have a relative in the hospital, in critical condition. The hospital is in a city that takes 45 minutes to get to. They decided that rather than go straight to the hospital they would stop by the Club and shop for a few hours before going. I don't know how their priorities got so screwed up, but I was utterly shocked by it.

As I was reading this to my wife, we thought that maybe they weren't immediate relatives and were instead getting a bunch of supplies so that they could go and handle things for the family of their relative. The further out you are to your relation the less impact it probably has on you and so you are in the prime spot to help your relatives out by taking care of the mundane while they deal with the sick person.

Just a thought.

[Aisling]

Rule #1. You do not talk about the Club.

But they have cookies!

[BookstoreEscapee]

Someone climbed a shelf and sent several jars of pickles crashing to the floor, I'm guessing? I'll bet that smelled just lovely! (And that's coming from someone whose mother nicknamed her "Picklepuss" as a child. )

[d962831]

As I was reading this to my wife, we thought that maybe they weren't immediate relatives and were instead getting a bunch of supplies so that they could go and handle things for the family of their relative. The further out you are to your relation the less impact it probably has on you and so you are in the prime spot to help your relatives out by taking care of the mundane while they deal with the sick person.

Just a thought.

I wish that were so. Actually, it may have been true for two of the people, but seeing as there were six of them and one was talking about "going to see dad at the hospital, yeah we'll be there in a couple hours," I really don't think that's what they were up to.

Someone climbed a shelf and sent several jars of pickles crashing to the floor, I'm guessing? I'll bet that smelled just lovely! (And that's coming from someone whose mother nicknamed her "Picklepuss" as a child. )

Yes, though to say it was only several would be an understatement. This particular genius ripped all the wrapping off of the front of this pallet, and then proceeded to try and acquire his from the closest, and therefore bottom, of the stacked ones on the pallet. So, we now are without 20 something jars that could have been sold. And, since it is the Club, these were very big jars.


And I have to agree that the baked goods are delicious. In fact, I am currently eating some.

[Chanlin]

I wish that were so. Actually, it may have been true for two of the people, but seeing as there were six of them and one was talking about "going to see dad at the hospital, yeah we'll be there in a couple hours," I really don't think that's what they were up to.

When my dad has a stroke when my sister and I were around the ages of 9 and 12 we were carted off to my Aunt and Uncle's for a few days so my mom could deal with the hospital and not have to worry about taking care of us. So it is still likely that they were not all immediate family. Or, if they were, it was not their immediate problem and may have been grocery shopping for the mom in the situation.

[d962831]

When my dad has a stroke when my sister and I were around the ages of 9 and 12 we were carted off to my Aunt and Uncle's for a few days so my mom could deal with the hospital and not have to worry about taking care of us. So it is still likely that they were not all immediate family. Or, if they were, it was not their immediate problem and may have been grocery shopping for the mom in the situation.

I just realized that I failed to mention, there were no little kids in this group of people. they were all middle aged men and women. So I'm guessing that "dad" in this situation is an old timer.

[AnaKhouri]

When people get pissed about various policies we have in place that are meant to prevent theft, I straight up tell them, "You have to check out CDs in the Music section because a lot of people try to take them into the main store and steal them." or "Yes, I'm afraid you have to fill out that WHOLE (five-line ) form because we are dealing with lots of return fraud lately."

They always act SHOCKED that people actually steal things.

[d962831]

Lol. I love the ones who are always shocked by it.

What, you didn't think people would ever do something wrong here and that this location was somehow miraculously immune to theft?

I also laugh at the ones who go, "Well we don't do that sort of thing." Meaning that they don't think it should apply to them. So sorry, but just because you aren't a thief, it doesn't mean I can break company policy. I've already been given several warnings.

[Jester]

I agreed with most of your reaction to your idiot customers. However, there were a couple of things that bothered me.

I couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with these people when I overheard their conversation.

Apparently they have a relative in the hospital, in critical condition. The hospital is in a city that takes 45 minutes to get to. They decided that rather than go straight to the hospital they would stop by the Club and shop for a few hours before going. I don't know how their priorities got so screwed up, but I was utterly shocked by it.

This one bothered me the most. And I mean a lot. Because all you know is that 1. their dad is in the hospital, 2. he is in critical condition, and 3. they are shopping for groceries. You do not, however, know any of the other details in their situation. For all you know, Dad has been in the hospital awhile, and/or has been in critical condition for awhile, and/or is a complete and utter bastard, and/or any other number of possibilities.

Nurse Betty's stepfather just died, and he was in the hospital for several weeks, sometimes in more critical condition than others. He finally went home under hospice care to die with his wife and loved ones by his side. But while he was in the hospital, even while he was at home, his family, including Nurse Betty, continued going on with their lives. They were there for him as much as they could, but they still had other parts of their lives to contend with. In Nurse Betty's case, this included, among other things, her two children, her job, and her trip here, which had been planned and booked before her stepdad got sick. Now, don't get me wrong, he was showing promise and improvement before she got on the plane to come here, and had he not, had he continued to deteriorate, she would have just canceled the trip and taken the loss of the money for the ticket if that was what she had to do.

From my own experience, my father was in the hospital for several months before he died, sometimes in severely critical condition. He was actually in two hospitals, both over 30 minutes from where we lived at the time. My mother not only had to deal with that, but also with her three children (aged 14, 10, and 9 at the time), the finances, and everything else that life threw her way. While she went to the hospital as often as she could (as the did the three of us), it was not feasible for her to go every day or spend every minute there. Life has a way of throwing stuff at you all the time, especially when things are bad, and like it or not, we still have to deal with it. And frankly, your attitude towards these people, when you did not have more than a few of the facts at your disposal, actually rather offended me.

People are often in hospitals, even in critical condition, for long periods of time, and their loved ones still have to deal with the rest of life. You may think they were being shitty in their attitudes and actions--and hell, for all I know, maybe they were--but it is not fair to make such judgments with such limited information. Look, I know you didn't mean to offend anyone, and you were merely reacting to what you saw and heard, or what you thought you saw and heard, but situations like that are ones that really do require more information before you can cast aspersion on the people in question.

Keep that in mind in the future.

tell me how you want to pay for your crap, otherwise we'll just keep standing here until it sinks in to your thick skull that you have to tell me.

Well, perhaps if you said to them, "How would you like to pay for this?" rather than just standing there looking at them, that would be more helpful, don't you think? Just a thought.

This particular genius ripped all the wrapping off of the front of this pallet, and then proceeded to try and acquire his from the closest, and therefore bottom, of the stacked ones on the pallet. So, we now are without 20 something jars that could have been sold. And, since it is the Club, these were very big jars.

As a pickle lover, I weep for the fate of those brined beauties.

[EricKei]

I also laugh at the ones who go, "Well we don't do that sort of thing." Meaning that they don't think it should apply to them.

If someone told me that, I would have to bite my tongue to avoid replying with "Well, that's exactly the sort of thing a thief would say, to try and keep from getting his cart inspected..."

[GuardingYourLife]

A lot of the parents letting their children scream ARE parenting.
No matter how good a parent you are, children WILL occasionally throw a tantrum. Especially in a store where there are toys they really really REALLY want and Mommy or Daddy says no.
Thanks to the kind of people who think it's always the worst kind of child abuse to spank, or heaven forbid, even raise your voice at a child (which you also mentioned as being terrible) the only thing you can do that is socially acceptable these days is "Sweetie, be quiet in the store, please."
Now, because that obviously doesn't work, the only other option is to give in and give Junior whatever he or she wants, which just reinforces the tantrum so that EVERY time Junior hears "no" the tantrum is the first resort.
If parents stick to their guns and refuse to give in, yes, they, and the rest of the store, have to suffer through the screaming, but after a time or two, Junior realizes that tantrums DON'T work, and surprise, surprise, stops throwing them.
Which works out well in the long run for everyone, as those children that get whatever they want by throwing tantrums are tomorrow's SC's!

**EDIT: Of course, that doesn't apply to kids who are running around a store playing tag or something and screaming at the top of their lungs because no one has taught them the difference between a park and a store...those ones do desperately need parenting.

[wagegoth]

I wouldn't stay in the store if my kids were throwing a tantrum. First, my kids never threw tantrums, as they learned quickly that it didn't phase me. My younger guy occasionally still does the big pout, but he's learning that not only doesn't it work, but it ends up costing him. Second, whatever I needed at the store was probably not absolutely life or death, which meant if my kids didn't behave, even after I said we were leaving, we left. It took me doing that one time each; now, all I have to do is threaten. And I don't spank, either.


As to the family shopping, if they were on their way to their parents' house, it's very probable that their mother did not have a lot in the way of groceries. Stopping at the store to pick up supplies to reduce the burden on their mother makes a lot of sense to me.