Grocery Etiquette #107

Oh how people have changed when it comes to helping others without expectation of anything in return. To aid without anything other than kindness so as to not to watch a person struggle.

You must be wondering what has my ire up. And I will tell you, believe me I will. (If you saw me with head cocked to the side eyebrow raised as I said that you win for accurate imaginings)

Yesterday I was running my order to the back.

The area of the store where my section is located (hidden) is in the back corner by the bakery. That is to the right of the doors. To the left, is the milk cooler. With a bank of 8-10 doors. (I cannot quite envision in my head how many doors there are) Total shelf height is probably 6′ or a little more.

As I came up, there was a lady (I got ‘yelled’ at yesterday when telling this story to co-workers because I called her a little old lady-she was short, and maybe 65-70 years old) and she came up maybe to just about my shoulders, maybe a tad shy of that. Behind her stood a youngish man wearing his fancy shoes and suit pants, hounds tooth checked overcoat.

I am watching her practically crawling into the cooler, standing on tip toes plucking at the milk on the top shelf. Poking at bottom, trying to tilt it. All the while Mr. I am Too Important stood there watching her. WATCHING HER STRUGGLE TO GET THE MILK CARTON DOWN.

“Excuse me ma’am, would you like me to get that down for you?”

Just as I was asking my question the milk carton popped up and she grabbed it.

Turning to smile triumphantly at me she said:

I got it thank you. My exercise for the day!

I laughed as I walked around to the doors to the back. I cut eyed the ignorant jerk standing behind her. Had I not been in uniform I might have said something to him, or an under my breath aside that he could catch just on the periphery of his hearing.

I was telling this to a group of co-workers (containing the co-worker who ‘yelled’ at me while laughing) and one of them looked at me sharply. Which I thought was a little weird until she said:

Jay, I thought you said had you not been in uniform that you might have socked him.

Now that is a thought isn’t it?

Grocery Etiquette #106

Do not lie to me.

It is as easy as that.

And most especially do not lie to me about being told you could bring the receipt back be refunded your $26.00 so you can then use gift cards. On a receipt from three weeks ago.

My hackles were already up.

The minute I saw her I knew why she was there. Looking to return something for her ‘dad’. Always purchasing the wrong items. Now though she needs a new system to return them because her dad has been coming in to shop as well.

She told me the cashier told her it would be no problem to come back. That we easily could just call it up and correct it.

First you cannot call up anything on our tills. And most especially not a damn thing that has to do with orders that are paid for three weeks ago. People really do not have a clue how registers work.

As an aside a woman came running up to me asking me for my scanner so I could check something for her. I looked at her with cocked eyebrow and explained that I do not have a scanner, our systems do not work like that and I could go and check in the back for her. Although I already knew that there was nothing back there.

Another aside, our back area is not a magical cavernous space where we have billions of extra product just waiting to be brought out for a customer. That is not how stock and inventory works. Despite what people believe.

Another aside, had a customer annoyed because we no longer carry colored Kraft marshmallows. We have our name brand, but that was not good enough. Have to be Kraft-this despite the fact that the marshmallows are the same-but hey if you want to pay double for the name by all means…..

And another aside. I ruined her dessert. Customer was very annoyed with me when I told her that Christie no longer made the chocolate wafers she used as a base for one layer of her dessert. It was like I personally shut them down as she put the whipped topping back and said that she could no longer make her dessert. What was she suppose to do? Not sure why I apologized, but I did.

Back to the reason for my story. So she and I argued back and forth about this. I told her that I required all the items as I had to refund them all then re-ring them back in to be paid with the gift card. She held my line up up for 5 minutes while she argued back and forth with me.

Jay’s hard ass voice came out when I told her that going forward she was to record the name of the person that she spoke with regarding returns or actions such as these. As I needed to talk to the cashier that told her that. But it was not the cashier that was on her receipt. LIAR!!!!!

After all of that, she than says to me ‘oh I have another return to make.’

My dead eyed stare made her ‘kindly’ turn to the customer behind her and say well you can help her first. Than she tried to go to the self checkouts to do her other return. Forced back to me I took down her name and phone number again and after she left wrote on the receipt that if they had questions to come and see me.

Whether or not she truly believes that I am an idiot I do not know. But when we have problem returnerers, we make notes on them. And when you work 40 hours a week and have dealt with this woman more than once, you remember her.

Could I have been nicer? I could have. I could have modulated my tone. I could have tried better to school my bitch face. I could have…..

I could have but with her, I won’t.