Ranting Robins

I've never understood how some behave when it comes to the Express Lane. They are there for those purchases that are under a certain amount, usually anywhere between 8-15 items. Yet, some can't fathom that concept at all.

If you have to count the items you have, do yourself a favor and just go to a bigger lane. Not only are you blocking those who only have about one or two things, you look foolish thinking you can pass through express.

Just because the bigger lanes are a little busy, doesn't mean I'll take you. Chances are, you come through with more than the allowed amount when there are others needing the express lane, but have to wait because YOU decided to go through with your 20 items in the 10 or Less lane.

Depending on the lane setup, most cashiers will ask to just put the basket on the counter and they will empty out the contents, since, in some cases, the basket well is behind the register and it's easier to take the basket. Please, give yourself a break and listen to them. It'll be way easier in the long run. Don't think you're helping by emptying the basket, then dumping it on the floor in a way where someone can trip over it. Just give it to the cashier. Plus, look at the counter when you put your stuff down. If there is no conveyor belt, help the cashier out by putting the items closer to them. Not everyone has long arms and a long reach to grab your stuff. Help out a bit, would ya?

I mean, let's say you're register 4 out of ten registers. About maybe 6 are open, including yours. You have about two people in line, but the other registers have one or none. Yet, that one customer has to get in YOUR line? Or you're just getting to the register and they set their stuff and, even though it's going to take a few minutes to open and all the other registers are free, they choose to stand there and wait for you? It doesn't matter what register you are at or how many people you have, THEY HAVE TO GO TO YOU!

If it's a regular I actually like, OK. But, if you're there every day and see other registers open, go there! I'm not the only cashier on duty!

"You look lonely."

"You look bored."

"Oh, were you waiting for me?"

"You look like you need something to do."

"Oh, I'll give you something to do."

"Too bad you're not outside enjoying this gorgeous day."

"Are you open?"

"I was trying to make it easy for you."

"Nobody is coming to you."

"Can I buy this here?"

And, my all time favorite:

I feel like it was the right thing to tell your manager about it. A manager shouldn't be saying anything like that about an employee and she needs to know that she should not be saying things like that to other employees.

So this guy comes to my store and says "I need to return these pants it didn't fit my son."

I asked if he had a receipted and ofcourse gives me the receipt as I also checked the pants tags. All say clearance...

"Sir I'm sorry but these are clearance.."

"Excuse me? What kind of BS policy is that?"

"well anything that ends in 94 cents is clearance and it's final sale and our sign here says so."

Father of the years stares at the policy looking for the final sale items and then he tries to remark the sign "I don't see anything about clearance on this." 

Me points literally at the AND CLEARANCE ITEMS.

Then this fuck wanted to talk to my manager. I said she went home a few hours ago.

"What kind of fucking business is this! I come here to return these, all because they didn't fit my son! I will never shop here again if you don't return these or call your manager!"

Here I am standing deer in head lights contemplating on calling my manager via her house or start crying in front of the douche bag of an adult. But I end up calling my manager when she was at home... and asked if I should return the items which she said just do so.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble this caused we'll get this all fixed. and just so you know for next time clearance is final sale." WITH THAT SWEET SMILE I CAN ONLY GIVE TO AN ARSE HOLE.

First off, I adore my job. I left a truly soul-sucking, life-draining, no hope job after many years, finding a new job in a grocery store where it's much cozier, healthier, and most of all, happier.

However, the company that sends us handle bags is having issues and we've been extremely short on them for a long time. This week, we totally ran out of them. We have bags without handles, the same size as our handle bags, but again, NO HANDLES.

Here's where the problem arises: we have told customers for months about the shortage. We've had signs on the door, at the registers, and we have explained numerous times how we can't double bag or give bags away. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!

So, what do we hear every day?

"You're out of handle bags? Can't I get a handle bag? No more handle bags?"

WE'VE BEEN SAYING THAT DAILY EVERY WEEK! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!

Plus, (showing my age) there was a time where bags *gasp* never had handles! Remember those days?!

Ugh!

The joke among the cashiers is that Weird Al song, "First World Problems" when it comes to them complaining about the bag issues. 

And, as an added bonus, we've had customers leave their groceries because we didn't have handle bags.

I work on a clothing store and for some reason we were opened on January the 1st. I had to be there at 10 a.m. When we are sick, instead of calling them saying that we are sick, we have to go there in the beginning of our shift, even if we enter at 5 a.m. and prove that we are really sick. The management team said that they accepted no excuses and with was mandatory we showed up for January the 1st. There was this colleague that looked really sick and entered the store with her mom. She could barely talk. Her mom start talking with one of the managers saying her daughter was incapable of working. Instead of seeing how bad she really was, the manager just looked at her, said she only had to work 4 hours and it would pass quickly. As if that wasn't enough, she said she could work by the door, where she wouldn't have to talk. Problem is they sent her to the  tills, which requires talking obviously.  

 The girl could barely talk and by the end of her shift she even a bigger mess that when she entered. And she had to work the next day as well. 

 How can this be possible in 2017 ?! Why is there so much greed to the point of being the only retail store opened on January the 1st ?!

So, if you have a $5 item and you forgot your receipt, we'll get you a gift card. If you have a phone that's just barely past 2 weeks and you need a replacement, we'll probably do that for you. On the other hand, if you've had an item for more than a year, you're shit out of luck, because we don't guarantee our items for life because we need to make money so we can keep our prices low. If you don't have your receipt for your $120 phone, you're not getting cash back, because we can't just hand out $100 to everyone with a busted phone, because giving away money is counterproductive to making money. If you bought an item that blatantly says on it "This item is non-refundable," and you get buyer's remorse, you're fucked because we can't return it either, and we can't eat that loss because we have to make money.

I have never understood why people get so mad about this. We have the most lenient return policy imaginable - hell, we'll return things even if you can't prove you bought them from us! And yet, people will try to turn the inch we give into a mile, and will get mad at us for not being generous enough! We have to have limits, otherwise the very generous terms we offer you will not be tenable in the long run.

As an aside, all threatening my job, safety, sanity, or life does is make me less likely to assist you. I have been spat on, had things thrown at me, been threatened with death for this job; unless you literally draw a weapon you cannot intimidate me. Also, when you finally get mad and inform us you'll never shop here again, all we think is "See you next week, shitbird."

They're right there at the entrance plain as day when you come in. Carts. Baskets. We have many available. They are there for your convenience, and also, MY SANITY.

If you come up and dump your shit at my register, I'm going to start scanning it, because my literal entire job is to promptly scan your shit and put it in a bag for you. And if you walk off without a word and continue to shop while I'm scanning, my line is now held up, and I have to call a manager to void the transaction if I want to help the next person. And even if I do that, YOUR SHIT IS STILL ON MY COUNTER, getting mixed up with other people's shit.

I know this is a very difficult concept to grasp, but there are many people on this earth besides you and the rest of us were not put here to serve your needs specifically. If I weren't obligated to be nice to you in order to keep my job, I wouldn't continue enabling your shit behavior by smiling and saying "that's fine" when you come back with your arms full of more shit and apologize for making me wait. Why? You knew. You KNEW it was shitty and you still did it.

I'm about to quit my stupid retail job and finally return to college happy days. Of course now is the time I realize I'm the only person who's nice to the manager. Seriously, she's annoying at times and all but my coworkers just bitch about her all the time WHEN SHE CAN HEAR THEM like excuse?? She's a new manager who hasn't quite figured out how to manager at the store and messes up schedule a lot but when you talk to her she's a lovely human being who is just under pressure from corporate.

i need to leave said retail job soon because school is getting intense and i have to focus on my career path but for fucks sake, who's going to protect these kids when i'm gone? they wouldn't have known they're being abused. they wouldn't have even known that they're not allowed to be treated like this. and when i leave they're going to keep treating them like this. 

i don't want to talk to the labor board about it because i'm so busy with said two minimum wage jobs and full time enrollment in university and i don't want my good managers punished for being stuck in a shitty position where the higher-ups are the ones who're wrong but are protected because my lower managers are just following orders, and that doesn't make it right, but they're either the breadwinner for their family or just more young kids my age trying to make it and i'm just. so conflicted every time i go into work about this. every time they break another labor law i try and figure out what the hell i'm supposed to do, who i should protect, if i even CAN protect them, or if i need to put myself first and just leave this bad situation before it explodes 

No, seriously-- show me your fucking ID. If you're buying cigarettes or alcohol or age-restricted medications, and you look like you're under 40, I have to card you. It's not an insult, it's policy. Show me your ID! Don't roll your eyes, don't sigh or groan at me, don't argue with me, don't complain about how you've never been carded for cough syrup before. Get out your ID. All the way out. Hand it to me. Don't show it to me in the fucking wallet pocket that obscures a bunch of it. "Do I look like I'm under 18?" No, but you act like you're twelve, and also there's a sign that says "we card under 40" about 2 feet from your fucking eyeballs. "I don't have time!" Cool, guess what wastes a lot of time? Both of us standing here while you piss and moan about having to take 20 extra seconds to show me your ID. You don't have it on you? Too bad, not my problem you didn't think ahead.