I was at the local snooty mall, at Short Hills. They'll give you a look if you aren't dressed properly. I wore jeans once, the horror!

(BF used to shop there, with long hair & tattoos. He & ExWife would go places like Betsy Johnson & Guess. And he'd get followed around the store. We're buying your crap, step off.)

Anyway
I was buying a shirt, a jacket & a pair of pants. 2 ladies in front of me had a heap each. They were standing together at the counter, talking & looking at other things. I thought they were together. One was being rung up, and the other had flopped her stuff up on the counter too.

When the next lane opens, I moved up. And 2nd lady gives me the look, like *I* was next. ... NO, you were on that line, with your friend.

But I guess the joke was on me, my register ran out of tape & I had to stand there near them for longer than I'd hoped to.

Posted by: MeganNJ at August 31, 2010 3:21 PM

Nothing outrageously rude, but I hate it when I'm done paying, waiting for my change and receipt, and the person in back of me keeps pushing my behind with their cart...bump,bump,bump...it isn't going to make the cashier any faster. It's Japan so if I raise an eyebrow they'll suddenly look abashed and apologize :-D Well then don't do it in the first place, if you don't want the Eyebrow of Death from that gaijin in front of you :-D

We have a new '10 items or less' self-check out, a new concept here in the Kobe area (can't speak for all of Japan...) . I'd said to the store for years that we needed an express lane, I was tired of coming in for a block of tofu or some coffee cream on a weekend and being stuck behind lines of shoppers doing a week's worth of shopping, with lines that went to the back of the store. Well we finally got it, but now we have mommies letting their 4 and 5-year-olds ring up their orders at a snail's pace, and people who don't see the '10 items or less' and hog the register with a cartload while some poor construction worker on a lunch break waits in line with his lunch and tea in hand. For the ones with the loaded carts I very slowly read the sign (haha)...gaijin taking time to read Japanese is a common sight, makes 'em look to see what I'm having so much trouble reading, they see the item limit and shove off most of the time. Pains in the arse. The little kids ringing up the orders...I don't know what to do about them yet. Japanese mums make everything an educational experience, they start teaching their kids to buy train tickets and things like that at about 4 or so, just wish they didn't do it at the busiest times of day, I guess!

Posted by: crella at September 1, 2010 1:22 AM

I was at Target in a line of people at the customer no service counter and a lady walks right up past everyone in line and begins speaking to the customer no servie rep.

My wife always gets embarrassed because I speak up but I can't help it as my blood just boils at this type of arrogance and rudeness. People like this aren't accustomed to being confronted.

So I immediatly tell her "Excuse me but there is a line here." I have done this numerous times. Sometimes the rude party just huffs & puffs and walks away. Sometimes they try to ignore me or they might stand up to me and dare me to continue confronting them. I then make a scene out of it demand to see the manager as I will not allow this type of behavior to go on in my presence.

Posted by: Brett at September 1, 2010 9:14 AM

I also hate it when I make the effort to drive down to a store and while I'm there at the counter trying to buy something or return something some other customer takes 10 seconds to call in on the telephone and the store employee spends several minutes with on the phone instead of with me who was there first and spent 1/2 hour driving down to the store in person.

I really appreciate it when the store representative tells the caller they will be with them in a moment, puts them on hold, and attends to me first since I was there first and took the time to physically come in to the store.

Posted by: Brett at September 1, 2010 9:18 AM

Another customer service problem which is common is that when there is a long line at a grocery store the checker might open a new line and let the people behind me run over and get first in line even though I have been waiting much longer.

I like it when the checker comes to the person farthest along in line, who has been waiting the longest, and invites that person to come over and be first to be checked out in the newly opened checking lane. That shows superior customer service and acknowledges that the person waiting longest in line should be served next.

Posted by: Brett at September 1, 2010 9:22 AM

What about the Coupon Ladies from Hell? I was trying to check out at a very busy time at Walmart, and my line was held up by a lady with (I'm not kidding) an inch thick stack of coupons that she was handing, one by one, to the clerk to be booped and registered. Argh!

Posted by: broncochar at September 1, 2010 6:13 PM

I can't stand it when the cashiers at the grocery/mega store chat with each other about when they get off, what time their break is, how much they hate their jobs, etc. Target is the absolute WORST for this. They even have the managers coming up to the cashiers talking to them about their schedule while I'm checking out. Frequently the cashiers don't ever say a word to me or make eye contact and this is Alabama for goodness sake! I want them to look me in the eye, say "Hi, thanks for shopping here. Is there anything else you need?" then when I'm done say "Thank you have a nice day." and in between DON'T talk to anyone else - it's taking your focus off me, your customer. I do their online survey every time I get a chance and put this in, nothing changes.

Also Target is bad about allowing their employees on break to sit IN FRONT of the store smoking. So not only do they look lazy and sloppy sitting on the ground smoking, but I also have to walk through their smoke to get in the store. There's a perfectly good truck ramp in the back of the store - go there.

Saturday I went to the plumbing store to buy a new shower door and fixtures - not a small purchase, and the lady helping me was totally distracted by another couple who came in after me to buy some cabinet knobs, but they were obviously building a house and so made frequent trips there. She kept interrupting what she was doing for me to go get them sample boards or look up prices. I came so close to saying something, can't believe I didn't, but I vaguely know the couple and didn't want to look snippy to them. Don't help other people, don't answer the phone, don't do nothing but help me, please!

Posted by: Lesley at September 2, 2010 6:18 PM

ps. I'm a coupon lady from hell. But, I try to shop at off-times and always say to the people behind me "I have a lot of coupons if you want to move." I'm sorry you don't like it, but I have the right to do it, and I do my best to be organized and correct. Usually any delays or problems are because the cashiers aren't properly trained.

But since I do usually get about $75 worth of products for free, and donate them to the food bank every week, I just take the huffing and puffing and ugly looks in stride and silently pat myself on the back for a good act.

Oooh, also I can't stand it when someone gets in the 10 items or less lane with 25 items. Just because they are all the SAME thing doesn't cut it. Just because you got 20 cans of peas and 5 boxes of bacon doesn't mean you only have 2 items. If they have to be scanned, they are an item.

Posted by: Lesley at September 2, 2010 6:22 PM

Oooh, I'm so enjoying this venting.

People who don't bother to even START writing out their check until the total is complete. Sorry little old ladies (lol), but you are the worst at this. Frequently lol doesn't even reach into her purse until the total is given, then she finds her checkbook, opens to the right check, slowly and neatly and carefully writes the full date, asks for the store name again, asks for the amount again, writes it out, then signs it. Then carefully tears it out, then flips to the register and writes the whole thing out again.

AAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH.

Posted by: Lesley at September 2, 2010 6:24 PM

One of my biggest pet peeves while at the grocery store: the single folks who go to Trader Joe's when the store is at its peak, thoughtlessly grab a shopping cart, put a single loaf of bread in said shopping cart, and mindlessly leave it blocking the whole canned goods aisle while they go leer at the free food samples.

I try to avoid the grocery store at peak hours because it irritates me to no end to be in a jam packed store full of people trying to steer mostly-empty shopping carts around other half-empty shopping carts.

If you're a single person and you need just a few items from the grocery store, grab a damn basket! You can just as easily set it down in an inconspicuous spot if it gets too heavy.

Posted by: Jen Wading at September 2, 2010 6:27 PM

"Just because you got 20 cans of peas and 5 boxes of bacon doesn't mean you only have 2 items. "

Ha,ha,ha,ha,that's too much!

Posted by: crella at September 3, 2010 2:41 AM

My sister and I go to the grocery store almost every day, and there's one checker, Jo, who likes to chat with us while she's scanning our items. (She likes us because we don't talk on our cell phones while she's helping us, and we make her laugh.) We usually enjoy talking to her.

There's also another checker at the store who is a chatterbox. She like's to talk to her colleagues all the time. Even when they're with customers. She was hovering next to Jo when we walked up and she continued to natter on as if we weren't there. Jo tried to ignore her and say hello to us, but the woman rode right over our reply. Finally, Jo gave her a "please, leave" look and she walked away with a huff.

I've never seen this woman talk to her customers, but more than once I've noticed her loitering around her colleagues and gossiping while they're trying to work. After we were all checked out and we were leaving the store, I promised myself that I was going to report her the next time I saw her doing this.

Posted by: Lillian at September 3, 2010 8:23 AM

I don't think this is rude ...

People who don't bother to even START writing out their check until the total is complete. Sorry little old ladies

But this is ...

coupon lady ... I'm sorry you don't like it, but I have the right to do it, and I do my best to be organized and correct.

They are just trying to be organized & correct also.

Posted by: MeganNJ at September 3, 2010 4:34 PM

I love the older females who will search their bloody purses for the nickel's worth of change while we all wait.

I was waiting at the counter for help from a clerk at the local Home Depot. It was my turn and the phone rang...he started answering the question from the caller. I calmly placed my finger and pushed the phone button down disconnecting the call. "You will take care of me first, I've been waiting, they can call back".

Posted by: Greg at September 4, 2010 1:44 AM

Worst time in the store:

I had maybe twenty bucks worth of stuff on the checkout belt. I was behind this . . . woman . . . who was going on and on and on and on and ON with the checker about her grandchildren, her operation, taxes, the weather, etc. for what I swear was about five minutes, and THEN she starts looking for her cash or a check or a pound of flesh, gold bars, whatever she was going to use to pay for her stuff. And all the while that mouth is running.

The checker was just smiling and nodding and going along with it. Which I guess was what she thought she was supposed to be doing, but I was becoming less and less patient. Thought she should have suggested to grandma that other people were trying to pay and leave, and maybe they could call each other after work? Or something.

I left my items on the belt and walked out.

Posted by: Steve Daniels at September 4, 2010 6:23 PM

People who squeeze the green avocados drive me crazy! If they're green, they're not ripe!

Posted by: Liza at September 6, 2010 4:56 PM

I was doing some shopping in a certian part of Phx, was heading home from an extended familly dinner.

I had a bunch of coupons cliped out and a shopping cart full of groceries.

I'm the kind of anal retentive shopper who organises my shopping on the cashiers tread mill in the way I want it bagged, I hate it when the bag people put raw chicken in with deli meat, or the small box or rat posin in the same bag as my candy bars.

Any way I had some 80 yr old lady giving me the stink eye for not just dumping everything to let the cashier sort out as they saw fit. But she started bitching to her freinds when I pulled out the cupons.

Didnt take that long to scan them, but it was apparently too long for her. As I was loading my grocieres she asked my if saving a few cents was worth wasting her time what with her being so close to death and all.

I turned around, pointed to the recipt and said "Sure it was, I saved over $50 dollars - That enough for me to stop and get a blow job from one of those transvestite hookers in the parking lot"

Fo a momment I thought I might have acctually given the poor woman a stroke.

Familly dinners dont make me the most paitent of people, I was pretty rude my self, but truth be told I really dont feel that badly about it

Posted by: lujlp at September 7, 2010 2:10 AM

People using the self-checkout lanes when it doesn't make sense.

I was in a local Ralphs the other day and had only a few items in a basket. 3 of the 4 self-checkout lanes had people with huge carts full of stuff. Granted, they're not marked as only up to some set of items, but most of the people were taking FAR longer then they would've waited in one of the open full service lanes. The worst one was a woman who had a ton of produce. Every item had to be rung up slowly doing a lookup, no number to enter so search.. type out the first few letters, select the item category, select the item, weigh it, etc. Easily 10-15 seconds per item.

I waited for 3 or 4 people on the 4th station (there were still fairly long lines on the full service lanes), then still checked out and left long before any of the 3 cart loads were done.

Posted by: MIguelito at September 8, 2010 1:09 AM

Sorry, but this whole category has been annoying. People have gotten confused between what is rude and what is simply causing you a minor inconvience. The "coupon lady from hell" was the worst example. It's her goddamn right to use those coupons, and if you don't like it, tough shit. If she was digging around for them, that's one thing, but if it is an organized pile handed right to the checker, well that's what coupons are for, ok? As for self check out lanes - nobody uses those unless there are huge lines on the regular lanes. Again, if they are not breaking the rules there is nothing rude about it just because YOU don't like it. So what is rude? Leaving frozen food discarded on the bread isle so it has to be thrown away. Leaving any sort of mess without even so much as telling a worker. Eating food and not paying for it. Things that actually cost other people in time and money (and not just an extra 30 seconds at the checkout).

Posted by: KarenW at September 8, 2010 1:31 AM

By the way, I don't even count blocking the aisle as necessarily being rude. 99.9% of the time, people will get out of the way if you say excuse me.

Posted by: KarenW at September 8, 2010 2:03 AM

I have a 16 year old son. He is a responsible, intelligent, and hard-working.

He busts his butt for about a month each the summer moving hay for people. He moves tons and tons and tons of hay in 50# bales during the hottest part of summer. It earns him spending money for the rest of the year.

The rest of the year he plays sports and works hard at school.

So my boy wanted to buy himself a new set of earphones for his mp3 player dealie. He earned the money and I had no objection. He checked pricing and found a good deal. So I drove him to the store and waited in the car (our dog went along for the ride) while he went in to transact his business.

After the expected interval, he appeared at the door with his purchase in the bag. He moved to the side of the walkway, near the trashcan and used his small pocketknife to open the earbuds package. It was one of those otherwise impossible to open, hermetically sealed plastic, safe through nuclear winter type packaging. He opened it, folded his pocketknife up and put it away, threw his trash away in the can and then turned towards me to return to the car.

At this point some man verbally attacked my son for being an armed menace, useless wastrel, parasite on society. I was parked nearby and my car windows were half open and I heard every word.

My poor lad just froze, not sure if the person was talking to him. Several other people either ignored the situation or gave my son stink eye. Since he was young, he must have done something wrong, right? One other lady said my son should be ashamed of himself. For doing what, I am not exactly certain.

These people were not in the store with him, they simply saw him opening his package and throwing his trash away.

It is a scary world out there.

Posted by: LauraGr at September 8, 2010 3:08 PM

I'm with KarenW, a lot of these things aren't rude. They may be annoying to you while you're waiting, but that's your problem, not the lady with the coupons. I always use self check out. My super market has those scanners that you can pick up and scan your order as you go, so I don't take long in the lane, but I DO use my coupons. It doesn't take long unless the sensor in the coupon bin is jammed, which is usually due to people throwing their trash in there. THAT is rude. I am not...even though I need to call an employee over to help at times. It must be nice to have to worry so little about finances that you can afford to skip over $20+ in savings. I do not have that luxury.

I do have a rude story, though. I was in one of those discount stores that are so jammed full that sometimes even one cart can't squeeze down an aisle, let alone two. I was coming to the end of a very narrow aisle when a little old lady decided to enter that end. Obviously, we weren't both going to fit, but she kept pushing forward. The wheels of our carts locked together and she looked at me and exclaimed: "Well, I can't move over any more!!" I replied (calmly) with: "I can't either." and proceeded to lift my full cart up enough to get our wheels untangled. ALL this woman had to do is back up about two steps with her cart and let me out of the aisle. What was I supposed to do? Back my cart down 15 feet of cramped aisle just to let her through? Who wants to bet that she would have stopped in said aisle and I would have had to go all the way around her? That's what I consider rude. It's the simple rule of whomever can move easier should do so.

Oh...one more...It was Christmas time at Walmart, so there was a big crowd walking through the ENTRANCE doors. I was all the way to the right of said crowd. All of a sudden a spot this bitch in a huff trying to go out the doors. She was coming straight at me glaring. I guess she was hoping I would move. Unfortunately for her, I was in a mood, too. This was going to turn into a game of chicken, I could tell. I held my ground. She got to within 2 feet of me and stopped short, looked at me, gave a dramatic sigh and went around me. Score one for me. There was nowhere for me to go anyway, unless I wanted to climb on top of the display of Christmas t-shirts. Why the hell did she have to get out the entrance doors in such a hurry? The exit doors are RIGHT next to them. And am I the only one that always keeps right in situations like this? Even in the super market, I keep to the right of the aisle. Rules of the road, people.

Posted by: Kimmy at September 8, 2010 5:08 PM

Ha ha lujlp! I'll save that one to use one day!

And yes, MeganNJ, it is completely rude to stand there doing nothing while the teller scans your entire basket of groceries, when all the while you could be filling out your check, leaving only the amount to be filled in once the total is known.

Posted by: Lesley at September 8, 2010 7:24 PM

The Coupon Lady From Hell isn't the one with a well ordered stack of coupons ready to hand to the checker. The CLFH is the one that will stand there and argue with the checker about why the coupon in question is not supported by the items she picked up, gets the manager involved, all the while holding up the rest of the line.

Dear CLFH, just skip the fifty cents savings this time, get the right thing next time, and get on with life. Saving money is great, but your time has value as well. Why spend it arguing over a couple of quarters?

/

Posted by: Steve Daniels at September 8, 2010 11:20 PM

I grocery shop at a bag-your-own store which also has two conveyor belt tables side by side so one checker can take care of two shoppers at a time, each side has its own bags,etc. While I was throwing all my groceries onto the belt, two 30-something black women behind me, talking loudly to each other, ignoring my presence the entire time, began throwing their groceries onto my table while I was still unloading my cart onto this same table, which then made me have to constantly shove their stuff back next to them so their stuff wouldn't mix with mine. One of them stopped talking and said loudly, "Did that woman take our stuff off of the counter?" 2nd woman said, "Yeah, she did!!" I tried to explain to them that I had to, since their stuff was getting in the way of my stuff. 1st woman said, "Well, ok", in a tone that said I had better not try it again. I was bagging my groceries when 1st woman comes up behind me, reaches around my legs, and grabs a shopping bag out of the cubbie right in front of me. She begins to bag her stuff from my side, leaning over me and my stuff to get at her groceries. I told her that there are bags on HER table and it would be easier for her to walk 6 steps and use those bags on HER side. She said, "Oh. Yeah." Then, as her friend is paying, she begins to sing a Christmas carol at the top of her lungs. She gets the words wrong and her friend yells to her the correct words, still oblivious to my standing two inches away from her yelling maw. They finally leave, singing the song together as they walk out the door. It was interesting.

Posted by: Bev at September 11, 2010 4:23 AM

RUDE is when the guest is on the cell and blocks the lane
RUDE is when the guest leaves the empty shopping basket blocking the uscan
RUDE is when you yell at the cashier for doing their job
RUDE is having the cashier type in your EBT (bridge card/foodstamp) card 3 or more times by hand for clocolate bars or pop bottles. it delays the people behind you
RUDE is when you have +20 items in the 12 or under and its really busy (you get to hear about it for the next 5 orders)also applies for uscan
RUDE is bitting your cashier's head off for no reason (this also applies for yelling racism for cupon issues)

ANNOYING
1 checks
2 deli (long wait)
3 pharmacy (long wait)
4 coupons
5 long lines (sat and sun)
6 cashier changing register/coupon tape; getting change etc
7 being asked "Hi, did you find everything you were looking for? Do you have any coupons, bottle returns, or (store) card? Thank you for shopping at X"
WE ARE SORRY. PLEASE BE PATIENT.

Posted by: rai at November 18, 2010 7:10 PM

I went to RadioShack on New Years Day 2007. I needed a cord and so walk the few blocks or so down there. I was still a teenager at the time and had been through several rough patches that year. I was hoping for a better upcoming year. I walked in and there were two men in their 30s. Immediately, the atmosphere felt icy cold. Usually sales clerks are so nice and helpful, but these guys were simply awful. I have never felt smaller in my life. I can't even explain how, but attitude, tone, etc. Everything said, "We would rather be anywhere else than helping you and you are worthless to us." I was embarrassed, but I asked for the cord, they handed me one and they were very dodgy with my questions when I asked if it would work for what I had. I checked some other items and it seemed to be the best match. I wanted to get out of there as soon as possible with them being so rude. So I bought the cord and went home to discover it was the wrong cord. I was very reluctant to go back, so much so that my father actually came in with me. They were still pretty awful, and pretty snarky about how it could be the wrong cord, but they did actually let us return it. When I left the store and was in the comfort of my home, I was actually in tears. I cry very rarely so that's just how horrible these guys were to me. I wish I could remember what they had said so you guys could know how they were able to have that impact on me; it wasn't just angsty teen years, I swear. That had been the worst year of my life and it was still one of the few occasions I actually shed tears (not much, but I just felt humiliated). They weren't helpful at all and I know I made a mistake, but they could at least have done something to let me know I was making the wrong choice or have helped me more with questions. Instead they seemed bent on making me feel horrible, as if I had done a great evil by walking into their store. NO customer should ever feel that way, especially when they are being perfectly polite to the sales clerk. And whether or not they were having a bad day doesn't count for an excuse. How could people think it's acceptable to make others feel like dirt?

Posted by: wdream at November 21, 2010 8:24 AM

2 adventures at Walmart, maybe slightly rude, but amusing to me, the last one happened less than 2 hours ago.

1) I was buying some stuff, when arriving at the cashier, the vanilla yogurt was nowhere to be found in my cart.

2) I picked up a cart that had a slow running wheel, but did not care, at some point in order to just take yogurt (again), i left it at an alley intersection, when I came back my stuff was on an aisle and not cart in view!

Posted by: nico@hou at July 18, 2011 6:47 AM

Until pretty recently, I worked in Saudi Arabia. I was standing in line at a grocery store when I noticed a western woman standing in the line next to me. I say western, because her hair wasn't covered, and she was blonde. A Saudi man with a woman in tow (who was completely covered) approached her from behind and shoved her vigorously, knocking her out of line and sending her sprawling into a candy counter. He figured he could do that because, as I mentioned, she was just a westerner, and because she seemed to be alone.

Without thinking about it, I grabbed the man by the back of the neck and shook him until his teeth rattled. "You apologize to my wife," I demanded.

Amazingly, the woman with him said, "He doesn't need to apologize to her for anything." That surprised me, because I would have expected some sympathy from her for another woman. (I've since revised my expectations.)

I figured I was in too deep to back down at this point, so I raised my voice and spoke in Arabic so that everyone around would understand. I said, "Be quiet, girl. Your father's shame is great enough without being defended by his daughter." Everything was silent around us, and then people started snickering. The father was mortified. He grabbed his daughter by the arm and dragged her away.

The poor blonde woman - I don't know what was worse for her, being shoved, or my referring to her as my wife.

Posted by: Steven at August 23, 2011 2:22 PM

Steven, you rock.

Posted by: Amy Alkon at August 23, 2011 2:31 PM

I used to work at a grocery store bagging the groceries for the customers. It was one night before closing and only one till was open when a lady came to the till with a cart full of groceries. Since it wasn't the express lane it didn't bother the cashier but you could certainly feel some slight anger at the customers behind her who only had a few objects. It got worse when she picked up a large container of blueberries which promptly got spilled as she attempted to put them on the scale. The lady yelled at the cashier over the poor quality of the containers. The cashier raised her own eyebrows but told the lady to push them to the side while I would run down to produce and pick up a fresh basket. I got back to the tills in time to meet the lady snapping at the cashier over coupons that wouldn't go through and then snapped at me for taking so long. Finally after the customer left the building, the cashier confided in me that she could have reimbursed the lady for the coupons (one of the store policies) but that the customer was such a bitch she decided not to.

This episode proved a point to me that being polite certainly made the atmosphere nicer, but also that being polite could save you money in areas that you wouldn't know otherwise.

More recently I read a book that states that people often avoid eye contact with anyone who is not related. Later on during that day there was a girl who was particularly loud in the cafe I was at. The previous statement was then proven true as I made eye contact,and the girl instantly looked away and as if aware of how loud she had been, quieted down.

Posted by: Danielle at September 13, 2011 7:33 PM

I hate it when shoppers behind me clip at my heels with their shopping cart.

I hate it when shoppers let their children scream bloody murder the entire time they're shopping.

I hate it when the shopper's cell call is apparently more important than communicating with the cashier, who is trying vainly to obtain payment while the rest of us stand on our weary feet waiting to check out and get home.

I hate it when the shopper and cashier are buddy buddy and continue their conversation for minutes after the transaction is complete. Meanwhile I'm waiting to have my transaction rung up so I can pay and go home.

Posted by: Meloni at September 16, 2011 12:00 AM

I agree with many of these comments. I get annoyed, too. But sometimes the situation can be made worse by commenting or taking aggressive actions. Sometimes being patient or smiling can turn a situation around. And I am not the most patient person in the world.

A note about LOL (that's Little Old Ladies) and their checkbooks: they are a different generation. They don't trust debit cards and it may not be safe for them to use them because of health problems like demetia. I know this because I shop with my mother all the time because I have to. She has vascular dementia, which means it is a blood flow problem to her brain. She has a great deal of difficulty with numbers. She also believes she has to watch the checker scan her items and read the scanner as the price comes up. So no, she may not have her checkbook at the ready. I try to remind her to get it out but sometimes it isn't possible. My mom is lucky that she always has someone to go with her to the store. I have seen lots of old people in the store who have problems hearing, or seeing, or simply don't understand what is going on and what the cashier is trying to explain to them. So lighten up people. One of these days you're going to be old. And you're going to be hard of hearing and have arthritis and not going to be the quickest person in the line to get your stuff on the belt or your bags in the cart. It always makes me sad to see old people getting a hard time in public because they are having problems simply because they are OLD. Yes, old people can be cranky and difficult but think how you might feel if suddenly you couldn't remember where your checkbook was or even how to get out of the store. Anger sometimes is a mask for fear. I see it every day.

So take a breath and see if you can be a part of the solution instead of part of the problem.

Posted by: Margot at December 31, 2011 3:51 AM

I thought I wrote this here, but maybe that was the day my internet had issues...

Anyway, a Looong time ago, when I was maybe 10 or 11 or so, I rode my bike to "town" (it was suburbia of about 1990, so this was a couple of strip malls across from each other with grocery stores, a few odd businesses, Walgreens, a hardware store, and a V&S Variety store... or, as I mentally thought of it, a place you got "stuff" that didn't fall neatly into any other category).

Kids would shop at V&S all the time. Legos, jigsaw puzzles, candy (mostly candy), school supplies, toys of different varieties, etc. So, I rode my bike there, as many did, and got a Coke or candy bar or something on my way to a friend's house. It was probably middayish on a weekday during summer, so there was one cashier. There was a line maybe 5 people long (unusually long).

I waited patiently (ok, I probably fidgeted a lot, but I was a kid and I know I didn't talk or complain since I was alone). By the time it was my turn, there were multiple people behind me. The person in front moved out of the way and I stepped forward to the "paying spot" with my tiny purchase (and cash in hand). This ginormous fat woman behind me pushes me forward with her gut (nearly knocking me over) and proceeds to hand the cashier her stuff.

While I was scraping my jaw off the floor in shock (grownups don't act that way!), the cashier, who was maybe 17, looked at me for a moment and, when I didn't object, rang the lady up, who was glaring at me in an I-dare-you way.

The only reason I didn't argue was shock at the behavior and at being unexpectedly sent flying toward the tile floor.

After she shoved past me (squishing me into the counter) the NEXT person came up to be checked out. The woman who had bowled me over was so overweight (ok, I was tiny too) that the next person hadn't seen what had happened.

Fortunately, when I stumbled back toward the "paying client" spot and started with an "excuse me..." the cashier jumped in and gave a brief explanation (Poor kid - waiting so nicely and that lady just bowled her over . Let's let her get her candy bar now?).

The new person looked confused but let me pay without incident (the whole 30 seconds it took to ring up my purchase and hand the cashier my exact change already counted out).

I was really cheesed at the cashier at the time, but have since realized that this rude person put us both in a bad place... and that the cashier was also "just a kid."

Posted by: Shannon M. Howell at April 19, 2012 9:00 PM

I am so glad I found this. Rude people are the bane of my existence. So here goes.

I was at the grocery store today. The lines were long. They had four self checkouts and two regular checkouts open. Of the two regular, one was express. I was in the non-express lane. The line was long, I think there were three or four people in front and one behind me. The express checkout turned off their "express" light and invited me and the lady behind me over. I let the lady behind me go first - she was elderly and had fewer items. Plus, I wasn't in any real hurry. So, I'm starting to put my stuff on the belt and this lady comes up with, I assume, her very elderly mother (from this point aka alleged mom). She starts complaining about how full all of the lines are and how much stuff everyone has. At this point, there are no lines in the self checkouts. I turned around and asked her (very nicely, I was not trying to be rude) if she had ever tried the self checkouts. She replied that they were too difficult for her and that she'd have to have someone help her. I let that go.

The self checkouts at this store really are meant for smaller checkouts because they don't really have a lot of room to put your stuff once you scan it. I try to use them when possible, but I was buying a lot, so I couldn't.

So, I had purchased something that was BOGO, and I hadn't realized it. The cashier asked if I wanted another. This lady immediately starts huffing. I replied that I didn't want to hold up the line. The cashier said she could just ring up two, I could complete the purchase, move my cart, then go get another item. I agreed to that. The lady then says, "So, we're going to have to be waiting here even longer?"

At this point, the cashier re-explains our agreement to her. When my order is finished, I turn to the lady behind me and wish her a nice day - she looked like she was having a rough day, and I was trying to be nice. She looks at me and says,"Please don't talk to me anymore." I was shocked. I probably looked like a gaping fish. I know the cashier lady did.

So, I moved my cart, went to get my other BOGO item, and came back. The lady and her alleged mom were still checking out. The lady grabs all of the bags out of her cart, and RUNS to the exit. On her way, she bumped into a mom with a toddler and kept going with not a word to them. She runs to her SUV, quickly puts the bags in the car, then drives to the front of the store to wait on the alleged mother. Needless to say, she parked IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD. The alleged mother came out, and she helped her in the car. I don't know what happened after this, I was already on my way out of the parking lot.

I was really shocked by this lady's behavior. Whatever happened to the golden rule? Maybe she was put off from the very beginning by the self checkout talk, but they are really very easy to use and she didn't have any produce or donuts or anything. All she had to say was thank you or even ok when I wished her a nice day. I wasn't looking for anything in return.

Honestly, I see rude people on a daily basis, and I don't really get it. Why can't people be considerate of others? Maybe the world would be a better place if they were.

Thanks for letting me get this out there.

Posted by: Melissa at July 17, 2012 1:43 AM

I used to work retail for years, and I can tell you tons of stories of rudeness that I have seen over the years. I remember my manners everytime I go out, I tell the cashier to have a nice day, tell the greeters hello and goodbye when I leave, and I even have my money and coupons prepared as I make my purchase.

Last week, I was in the Sears Outlet, which is right next door to my place of employment. I work as a knitting instructor, and I'm considered an outside contractor with the store. I was searching for a pair of jeans, and couldn't find the jeans. I scored a sweater, and I had one coupon that was good for a free item. As I got in line with my free item, I had my wallet prepared, the coupon prepared, the membership card out, and the people in line in front of me kept getting in the line, and going out of the line to look at items that they wanted that were on the racks. They were obviously foreign, and they kept talking in broken English and their native tongue. After about 30 minutes of this, when the line was halfway to the cash registers, I finally managed to slip in front of them when they finally got out of line for about the 20th time. I got out before them. Oh, and they were trying to get all of their items for free!

Posted by: Eva at October 3, 2012 9:34 PM

I was in Target a few weeks ago, picking up a few of my basic needs. I was about to leave and make my purchase, so I went into one of the check out lanes that had a light on. I pull my SUV sized cart (I'm a little above 5'2", so the giant carts come up to my chest exactly), and I start to unload the cart. THe cashier was standing at her station, finding one of the weekly tabloids more compelling than performing customer service, and told me in her accented English "I'm in training". A) You had your light on, and B) you are not getting paid to stand there, reading Star magazine, which should be done on a designated break period, and C) your light was on.
Annoyed that I now have to go to the lane that has a long line. I finally managed to unload my items, realizing that I had forgotten my shower gel,and exited the store.

Posted by: Eva at October 5, 2012 4:29 PM

My mom and I were at a local mall, where we live only a few minutes away from. I have already posted the Sears story.
Like I said, my mom has MS, and is wheelchair bound. Whenever we want to go to the malls upper level, we are forced to use the malls one elevator that is located right in the middle of the mall, near a Macys. Yesterday, we wanted to go the malls upper level, where Lenscrafters is located because my mom needed her new glasses adjusted. When the elevator came down, seven people get off. In that 7 was a group of girls, who were probably in their late teens to early 20's. One of the girls didn't bother holding the door open so that we would be able to get on. She just went on her merry way. But, geez! I was jsut about ready to say something, but the group had left before I could. The elderly lady waiting with us was even shocked at that type of behavior. We waited for the next elevator. The lady notonly held the door open for us so that we could get on, she did the same thing so that we could get off.
The above just isn't a rare occurance. We are used to rude stares, people immediately closing elevatorsand doors, etc. You're not going to catch MS. It's not contagious. It's an auto-immune disorder that some people have. Also, mothers who have babies and toddlers in strollers tend to be a little more sympathetic.

Posted by: Eva at October 24, 2012 8:24 PM

Once while in the check out lane at Hannford's the woman in front of me realized that her carton of milk was leaking. She turned around and took MY milk out of my cart and told the cashier that I was going to need another milk. Then she smiled at me and said this way we don't have to hold up the line. I was shocked that she had just reached in my cart and took it without asking. Then I had to wait when it was my turn to cash out for someone to bring ME another milk. What a jerk.

Posted by: Betty Marie at December 7, 2012 9:20 PM

@ Betty Marie
I would have punched her in the face!

Seriously though, I would have at least snatched it back from her, and embarrassed the spoiled twit.

Posted by: Sue at December 20, 2012 5:30 AM