I cough, so this asshole tries to get me into trouble

[Sapphire Silk]

Which is probably why you didn't get in trouble; a guy cries "wolf" too often, nobody's going to listen to him.

Quoted for truth.

Yeah, the customer was absolutely sucky.

Let's assume for the sake of argument the OP was actually still sick and did indeed cough in his hand. The CORRECT way to handle it would have been:

Customer: Can I please exchange out the items you touched with your hand after you coughed?

See the difference? One is polite. The other is not.

[HawaiianShirts]

Yes it sucks that you are sick, but working with his groceries whilst sick means he is a high risk of being ill himself, just like all the other customers.

Not necessarily. If the OP had gotten over the cold weeks previously, he'd be well past the incubation and contagion period. Risk of illness in this case would be minimal. And unless the SC was buying fresh produce, any existing germs would wind up on the product's package, not the product itself.

I'll bet he's never even bothered to think how many hands have to touch the product before it even gets on store shelves, let alone how many people do their shopping while sick. For all he knows, this recovering cashier could have been the healthiest person to handle his groceries.

I'm iffy on the germophobe call, but he definitely overreacted.

Assholes like this need a reality check... So many people are shocked to find out that there are jobs without sick days.

My first job was pizza delivery. Then I did hotel housekeeping, followed by a part-time academic support job at university and four years of full-time retail. When I got my first "desk" job, I was surprised to find that I DID have sick days and that I didn't have to call all my co-workers to find someone to cover for me if I wasn't going to make it into work.

I remember thinking, "You mean I can just call in, say I'm sick, stay home, and GET PAID for it?! Sweet!"

Yeah, I don't take sick days for granted.

[Jester]

I did cough away from his food and turned my head, although I probably shouldn't have used that hand after. My sup did advise me to cough into my elbow, which I did. And I do use hand sanitizer for those interested, but I can't apply some to my hands every single time I cough.

Which is why, when you handle food for a living, you should never, ever, EVER cough into your hand. Elbow, arm, shoulder, something else. Not your hand. Not if you are going to be using that hand to handle someone's food or drink. I work behind a bar, and so can't always excuse myself from my post to go cough. I always, always, always cough into my shoulder, arm, or elbow, making sure that my hands are nowhere near my mouth at the time.

Is it a huge deal, realistically? I doubt it.

Is it a huge deal, perception-wise? Absofreakinglutely. Perception is reality, as they say, so if someone sees you cough into their hand and then handle their food, whether or not there is much of a chance of you infecting them with whatever it is you have that is making you cough, they still THINK that there is. Perception is reality. You alter their perception (by coughing into a part of your body that doesn't touch their food items), you alter their reality. Very simple, really.

If the OP had gotten over the cold weeks previously, he'd be well past the incubation and contagion period. Risk of illness in this case would be minimal.

This doesn't matter for two reasons.

1. The customer has no idea when the employee got over their illness. The only thing they have to go by is when the employee says they got over the illness. And when it comes to health, I don't blame someone for not taking someone else's word. Sort of like when people want me to take their word that they are of legal drinking age. Thanks, but not good enough. Frankly, the employee themselves may have no idea why they are coughing....even if they have gotten over their previous sickness, the cough may be a symptom of a new illness.

2. Perception is reality. See above.

And unless the SC was buying fresh produce, any existing germs would wind up on the product's package, not the product itself.

The package which the customer is going to handle at some point to get to the product itself. Thus potentially exposing the customer to whatever illness was infecting the employee. I know, I know...you're thinking "big hairy deal." But would you be okay with an employee spitting or slobbering on a package you are taking home and will handle at some point? No? Of course not. The only difference between a cough and a slobber is the amount of saliva that ends up on the package, and the delivery system used to get it there.

I'll bet he's never even bothered to think how many hands have to touch the product before it even gets on store shelves, let alone how many people do their shopping while sick. For all he knows, this recovering cashier could have been the healthiest person to handle his groceries.

True...and again, beside the point. I hate to repeat myself, but perception is reality. The customer, while he may KNOW that others have touched the item, hasn't actually SEEN any of them do so, whereas he SAW the employee touch the item with the hand into which he coughed. In this case, the customer's perception of reality is far more significant to him than his knowledge of reality.

Look, let me make it clear here....the customer definitely overreacted, and was a major fuck nut, and I have zero sympathy for him, due to his over the top asinine behavior. That being said, it can't be reiterated enough that food handlers should never cough into their hands and then touch any food products, packages or otherwise. Would you be okay with a waitress coughing into her hand and then bring you your food, even though she is only touching the plate, and not the food itself? I am pretty immune to the whole germophobe thing, but I have to admit, that would skeeve me out.

I remember thinking, "You mean I can just call in, say I'm sick, stay home, and GET PAID for it?! Sweet!"

Way off topic: The first time I ever had paid sick days, I used my very first one for something other than being home sick. I had hooked up with a girl from the bar that I knew, and we had had...much fun. And in the morning, when I was scheduled to work, I called off. And then, in my head, I did some quick math, and realized that THAT MORNING was the first day I was eligible for paid sick days, rather than just missing work. And the girl and I both laughed about the fact that, in essence, I got paid to get laid. The rest of the day was very amusing.

[Andara Bledin]

I don't work with food, but I've never coughed into my hand. I don't care about anyone else, I just don't want to have to touch things and leave a phlegmy residue for myself. Usually, I'll cough against the back of my hand. If I'm in the middle of a phone call, I'll cough against my shoulder to stifle the sound.

As for hand sanitizer, it's fine in the short term, but if you use it, you should wash your hands properly fairly soon after as it leaves a slightly damp environment that's a bacterial breeding ground, thus becoming worse than the problem it was used to fix.

^-.-^

[HawaiianShirts]

Jester: Good points on all counts. No argument from me.
And some of what you said further iterates the overreaction of the SC.

I once worked in a lab where Biological Safety Level 3 organisms were present (highly controlled and isolated, but present nevertheless). Colds don't scare me anymore.

[DeltaSierra]

Good comments all around and I really can't add much to it - but I do want to say there are creams you can put on your hands that will protect them from the "drying factor" of hand sanitizers. We use them in the hospital where I'm interning.

[Little Retail Rabbit]

I tend to cough into the back of my wrist, I think.

The guy may have had a right to be concerned, but he didn't have to be a complete arsehole about it.

I had 2 days off sick for a terrible ear infection earlier this year, but before that I hadn't had time off for illness in over 3 years. Oh I've been ill, I've had colds and such, but I just can't afford to take time off for sickness. Having said that, I think the vast majority of the colds I've had are easy to work through. A cold is nothing to me and easy to treat- eat well, keep hydrated, sleep more. If I do take time off for sickness, then you know I'm probably in some serious pain.

If I have a cold and I'm coughing and sneezing, I keep a stack of tissues and a bottle of sanitising gel right on my till. Oh btw, the gels designed for children tend to be nice and gentle on the hands!

Another reason why I don't like to call in sick is despite the fact I've had colleagues throw sickies over the most lame things, is that I tend to get little sympathy. My old manager used to act like I had done it deliberately to piss her off or something. I tell you though, if I do go to work and I'm really suffering, everyone treats me like crap- colleagues and customers like. Maybe its because to all of them I am so kind of robot and robots don't feel pain! I once went into work with these horrendous muscular pains- a side affect caused by a gastric reflux medication I was on at the time- and even though I had my head down on the counter at one point actually crying, nobody asked if I was ok, or if something was wrong. Nobody seemed to notice at all, and when I did try to tell colleagues something was up, they all ignored me! That was a while back, but recently it happened again when I had to go to work almost immediately after having a rather unpleasant filling at the dentist. For the first half of my shift, my face was plain numb and that was bad enough- people looking at you oddly when you talk like a stroke victim is embarrassing. But then as it wore off the pain kicked in- as my dentist had cleaned the cavity out, it lay right on top of a nerve and that got scraped a lot, so it was VERY sore (its been sensitive ever since). I was in quite a lot of pain and even told my colleagues as such, but I was just ignored and the customers just sneered at me if I tried to explain why my speech was slurred. Bastards.

[chainedbarista]

something tells me that this particular fart would have complained no matter what bowser did; we all know that there are people out there that are itching to complain about something...ANYTHING just to get heard (attention whore much? i thought so).

[Little Retail Rabbit]

^Muchly agreed.

A customer of ours (who is, I'm ashamed to say, also a distant relative) once came in our shop and complained about how CHEAP our products were! O_o

[NorthernZel]

Good comments all around and I really can't add much to it - but I do want to say there are creams you can put on your hands that will protect them from the "drying factor" of hand sanitizers. We use them in the hospital where I'm interning.

At my place of work (a hospital) there are hand sanitizer dispensers anywhere, even in the break room - and all employees are encouraged to sanitize their hands as often as possible. The sanitizer has added glycerin to it, to prevent drying of the skin.

Even at home we have a bottle of sanitizer with added glycerin.

Still, that doesn't make the SC a lesser jerk for behaving that way he did.

[Mystic]

I'm a bit of a germaphobe myself simply because I spent most of my life being sick and fighting things like sinus infections, so I try to avoid anything that can cause them because of that. It could be a similar situation with that guy as well, though he could have handled it better.

Luckily, I seem to be growing out of it. I've been feeling much better for the past year since I started doing Tai Chi/Qi Gong.

[BlaqueKatt]

I once worked in a lab where Biological Safety Level 3 organisms were present (highly controlled and isolated, but present nevertheless). Colds don't scare me anymore.

I got to actually handle level II pathogens/contaminated waste-the waste I handled without gloves-washed my hands after, never got sick.

[greensinestro]

Geez, what happens whenever someone sneezes with this guy?

[Jester]

Well, if someone in a food handling capacity sneezes, I would hope they would so appropriately (into some kind of tissue or paper towel) if possible, or at worst into their hand or sleeve, and then immediately wash their hands. When handling food, this is not negotiable.

If someone sneezed while serving me or handling my groceries, and either did not cover up their sneeze or did not deal with it an appropriate manner, then I myself would be very, very put out. As I imagine most people would be.

[telecom_goddess]

Yes it sucks that you are sick, but working with his groceries whilst sick means he is a high risk of being ill himself, just like all the other customers.

But they said they weren't sick anymore, it was a left over cough, basically an irritation, and therefore no actual germs to spread. There really isn't anything to get upset about.