I went to the Vons supermarket down by the beach because Goldie and I were walking down there.
Bagboy: Did you find everything ok?
Me: Um, no, I couldn't find any regular popcorn, the non-microwave kind.
Bagboy: All right, you have a good night.
Why did he ask, then?
*******
10 minutes later, at the Vons by my house, I go in to buy one item - guess what? - popcorn.
Me, to the bag girl: I don't need a bag.
Bag girl: Okay.
Two seconds later, she shoves my bag of popcorn in a bag.
Me: I don't need a bag.
Bag girl: (gives me a dirty look as she removes my 1 item from the bag).
I guess listening to the customer is not an option.
What did I say? I can't hear me!
Haha, this happened to me yesterday. I told the girl at the quick-e-mart when she asked if I wanted a receipt that I didn't need a receipt for my six-pack of Smirnoff ice and the next thing she did was hand me a receipt. Maybe it was the fact that she was like, 18 years old and quite clearly on some emo planet?
ReplyDeletethe kids, yes, I'm old now, at my store don't even pretend to talk to me, they chat with each other and avoid all eye-contact
ReplyDeleteThey have "lines" they are required to say. They really really don't care how your day is or if you found everything. I think it's got something to do with the fact they make $3.00 hr or something. LOL
ReplyDeleteThey're weird about the bag thing a lot, aren't they? I refuse to bring plastic bags home with me and sometimes get weird looks from the check-out crew.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in CA, VONS was never known for their customer service, and I'm picky, so that's saying a lot.
ReplyDeleteI fight the bag fight all the time. I am capable of carrying my one book or my one item all by myself, without a bag that i will just throw away in 10 minutes, but from the reaction of most clerks, i am the only one.
ReplyDeleteI have to watch their hands and when they go for the bag, i repeat "No Bag" dipshit. The dipshit part is in my head.
I go through the self-checkout whenever possible, because I hate getting the stinkeye about my canvas tote.
ReplyDeleteDon't ya just love that? (And by "love" I mean, "want to bang your head up against a wall out of frustration?)
ReplyDeleteat my raley's, they listen. and they ask, "so, you have any plans for the weekend, the evening, your life, whatever..." This forces me to gurgle my way up from whatever really interesting private thoughts I was having and come up with some inane response.
ReplyDeletesueb0b, are we becoming curmudgeons?????
That is too, too funny. They are obviously on autopilot!
ReplyDeleteOh man, do I feel your pain! The exact same thing has been happening to me lately, and it's usually at Target, which is one of my favorite stores. I do feel your pain. I think most cashiers are on autopilot.
ReplyDeleteI often wonder if it's just me. I THOUGHT I was talking, but no one around me seems to have heard the sound coming out of my mouth.
ReplyDeleteThere are days around the house when I think, "not even the dog listens to me!: :)
I tell all my students if their dogs aren't paying attention to them when they're called, the owner should tap them on the forehead. Think that works for teenagers?
ReplyDeleteI like Mrs. Chicky's idea of tapping them on their foreheads. Better yet, flick them. Hard.
ReplyDeleteDid I find everything? No - the jumbo size plastic bags I like to clean up after I kill inattentive cashiers seem to be missing...Can you help me find them?
ReplyDeleteMan, auto-pilot is sometimes the only thing that gets you through a shift. I feel bad, on occasion, when some genuinely nice person gets automated responses. But Sturdy Girl is right - a lot of it has to do with the fact that we're paid almost nothing and work an irritating, (mostly) thankless job.
ReplyDeleteManagement, I think, gets what they pay for (not that they'd ever see it that way).
Frisky - I was a Kmart cashier for 6 whole months and I could never switch off and go on auto-pilot. I suppose that's why I only lasted 6 months.
ReplyDelete