Monday, August 01, 2005

A Penny For None of Your Thoughts

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To all cashiers at retail stores: Ring up my purchases and keep your comments about what I am buying to yourself. I know your job sucks, believe me I've been there, but please show a little respect and not talk to me about what I'm buying. I like to think my cashier is an impartial facilitator of purchases.

Most of the time its really not a big deal. A positive comment like, "Oh, I have one of these and I really like it." doesn't bug me so much even though I really am not interested in the cashiers opinion of my new item. Something positive comments like that can be even be reinforcing ("Well, I certainly made a good selection.") but I still don't like it.

Then there are times the cashier gets close to crossing a line. For example, at a grocery store a clerk might pick up an item say something like, "Is this stuff good?". Ummmm, no, I only buy crap that isn't any good, dumbass. In this case, their intentions weren't bad they just really needed to keep their mouth shut. I don't want to explain my purchases!

Finally, there is a totally unacceptable level of commentary: criticism of my purchase. This doesn't happen often but it did happen to Mrs. TEH recently. Which is funny because she's always telling me I'm too sensitive to comments concerning my purchases.

Anyway, she's at Toys 'R' Us getting some items for our two year old to entertain himself with on the way down to New Orleans. One item is a Teletubbies product. (My two year old is a huge Tubbies-head and is La La's biggest fan.) Well, while checking out the cashier sees the Teletubbie item and says, "Ewwww, Teletubbies. Well, to each his own ."

Mrs. TEH nearly went over the counter. Not only is it none of the cashier's business to be verbally judging the purchase, it's also bad for business. Who wants to be sneered at for buying something at a store -and from an employee no less. In the end Mrs. TEH did nothing choosing to pick her battles. But a complaint to the manager certainly would have been in order.

Bottom line: It's not the place of the cashier to be commenting one way or another on purchases being made. And, yes, I love the new self-service checkouts at the grocery stores.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I would have slammed down the Tubbies and said there are other stores that will appreciate my money. Then go talk to the manager and tell him what happened.

Just in a store tonight and the person ahead of me was making small talk about a certain recipe. I proceeded to take my 6 items off the belt and went to another line.

I am with you, say hello and thank you and keep the line moving.

Also can the stores have special lines for the link card carrying people? Makes me sick to see chips, soda, candy, icee pops, ice cream, donuts in a damn cart and no veggies, milk, but...oh wait they did have some prime rib!!!!

BlogFreeSpringfield said...

My wife and I were checking out at the grocery store when the checker picked up a bag of dry potpourri we were buying and took a whiff. I guess he liked the smell because he kept it pressed under his nose as he continued to scan the rest of our items. It was pretty disturbing in that he seemed oblivious to what he was doing. I'm surprised he didn't inhale all of the fragrance right out of it.