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Cashiers Commenting on What I Purchase (1 Viewer)

Josh_Hill

Screenwriter
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Jan 6, 2002
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I have yet to meet a dimwit cashier who just couldnt stop talking. I know many cashiers and I have conversations sometimes cause we usually have the same interests.
 

Julie K

Screenwriter
Joined
Dec 1, 2000
Messages
1,962
Before I begin, I'd just like to point out that the bacon incident wasn't just a gentle question of interest about the ability to freeze bacon. It's hard to get across someone's tone on the internet, but believe me her tone when she asked the question would have been better suited to someone buying a dozen packages of latex gloves, a gallon of KY lube, a large dog collar, and some small vegetables. Or something like that.
The guy goes to the register with a whole bunch of very suspicious stuff - a big knife, a shovel, some rope, a tarp, laundry detergent, etcetera. I think he may have even held up the detergent and asked "Does this take out blood?"
You don't know how much I want to do this...
 

Janna S

Second Unit
Joined
Feb 17, 2001
Messages
287
Imagine what it's like to buy things in a store when it's the only store in town, when it's the only store within a hundred miles, and when the only way you can get to another store is to fly. That's what it's like for people in many communities in Alaska.

It is literally impossible to make an anonymous purchase in a community store when every person in the community knows you personally and is almost certainly related to you by blood, marriage, or cultural adoption. Mail ordering is possible, but that's not helpful if you need something "now" or is you are a sixteen year old who can't manage a remote purchase.

I was really impressed when I was in a hotel in a small remote fishing village a few years ago, (which was a pretty upscale community, given that it HAD a hotel - but small enough that you wouldn't try to go to the hotel for an anonymous quickie with someone), and I saw that they sold condoms in the vending machines. I asked if any of the conservative religious folks in town had objected - and the woman said no, they'd had no complaints. She said she just thought there ought to be a place in town where kids could get condoms without having to face their neighbor at the check-out.
 

Eve T

Supporting Actor
Joined
Jan 16, 2002
Messages
616
I remember going to the drug store one evening to purchase condoms. The clerk at the counter looked at me as if I were the town whore and gave me a little wink.(I'm married by the way) My husband and I don't want children. I can't stand when people look at you like you are irresponsible or some kind of freak just because you buy condoms. If anything they should look at you as the exact opposite of that. (responsible)
Anywayz, I have found now that I'm getting older that I have become quite cranky in the check out line myself. I used to roll my eyes at my father when I was younger and wonder why he would get so annoyed while standing in line. Well I now know why he got so annoyed.
As far as the bacon purchase you made and the clerks comments towards you...I would have had some fun with her. Sometimes you need to be rude to people to get a point across. Myself if I were in that situation would have replied to her question in the most kinky of fashions. I would have said to her "well, since you asked, I plan on getting naked and putting these raw bacon strips all over my body while watching silence of the lambs on my big screen TV. I'll be alone tonight...speaking of which what time do you get off work?" I'm sure that she would have bagged your groceries in record time without making eye contact with you, much less speaking to you anymore.
Like I said sometimes you just have to be rude, and shock value helps too. :D
 

ace peterson

Second Unit
Joined
Jun 4, 2001
Messages
340
It definately goes 2 ways. Working in retail, I know how many people come up to me and talk to me about stupid things that I don't give a rat's ass about. I usually will politely listen while they ramble, but it does get tiring. It is a nice turn of events to ask people questions once in a while. Sometimes a person might buy a grocery item that I haven't tried before and I will ask them, "Is that stuff any good?" Of course it must be good for them to be buying it, but it is fun to hear what people will say anyways.
 

Artur Meinild

Screenwriter
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Aug 10, 2000
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1,294
I would have said to her "well, since you asked, I plan on getting naked and putting these raw bacon strips all over my body while watching silence of the lambs on my big screen TV. I'll be alone tonight...speaking of which what time do you get off work?"
:laugh: This is definitely the way to go. Saying "Shut the fuck up moron!" just isn't enough fun, everyone can do that. Eve is getting at something here, play along in the initial tone.
Not so many years ago, I was pretty shy and quiet, but now if people are acting stupid I'll not hesitate to point it out to them in a pretty graphic manner! :)
As the old saying goes:
"My freedom of speech implies your freedom to be offended!" :)
 

Max Leung

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Sep 6, 2000
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(And as for commentary from pretty young clerks, what if she had held up the movie you bought and announced to the world that her dad and all his old loser friends loved the movie )
Then I'd ask her out, based on this silly scientific study:Women prefer men who smell like Dad. Of course, it is possible that the videotape was rented by her unwashed dad earlier, and the smell is subsconsciously affecting her behavior, but hey, doesn't hurt to try! And maybe it'll shut her up the next time. See, nothing to lose, everything to gain!
Odd, that article is going to be published in the prestigious and peer-reviewed Nature Genetics magazine. Cool!
(Has visions of men purposely visiting a would-be fiance's father in an attempt to steal unwashed undershirts and socks in an attempt to brew a nasty aphrodesiac concoction.)
 

Max Leung

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Sep 6, 2000
Messages
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Eve, that would be funny! Hmm, it might certainly turn on the men in line behind you too. Bacon...sultry babe...yep, that'll get most guys hot and bothered! :laugh:
Definitely would be a liability in a small town, as Janna mentioned, yep.
I think the worst cashiers on earth are the Electronics Boutique "salespersons". Oh god, they will flap your ears off with the worst tripe you've ever heard. The guys in the videogame forums can attest to this...sheesh, you pick up a PS/2, and you get an earful from the Xbox fanatic...get an Xbox, you get scornful looks from the PS2 shift-workers. And of course the silly "I heard from my dog's neighbor's aunt's son that MS/Sony/Nintendo will/will not discontinue/upgrade/price hike/price slash their game console. Grrrrrr.
 

Philip_G

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Nov 13, 2000
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I really don't pay clerks much attention, especially up here where they tend to be extra chit-chatty.
I think you have to also consider the wide variety of customers, they can't all be sized up at a glance, we all have different preferences.
myself, I'm happy with a quick "hello" ring my shit up, give me the total, have a nice day and I'm gone with a "you too" as I'm bolting for the door to get there before the lady with eleventeen unruley kids to dress up for the cold and 3 shopping carts which invariably get parked directly in my path. Some people would find that rude, just as I am annoyed by over-bubbly and chatty clerks. So.. I guess I'm saying "whatever" seriously if that makes you this mad you should relax :)
 

Jon_Are

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Jun 25, 2001
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One recent incident that comes to my mind is when I bought, among several other items, a stack of Lean Cuisines and a couple of doughnuts (for the ride home :). The cashier shouts at me: "So how do the doughnuts fit into the diet?". I just laughed it off, but later realized that she was being terribly ignorant.
Here's one time I did respond...I was in the supermarket's express line, with the correct number of items. I counted. Immediately behind me were two 50-ish women, one of whom repeatedly made comments to her friend, such as, "some people don't know how to count". She must have said a version of this 5 or 6 times. Finally - and totally out of character for me - I turned to her and said, "If you say that one more time I'm going to spit in your face." She shut up, but I felt badly afterwards.
To clarify the frozen bacon issue, there is no need to separate the slices upon freezing. When you're ready to fry up the hog, slice off a hunk and throw it in the frying pan whole. As it warms up it will separate, with a little prodding.
BLT's with fresh summer tomatoes.....:D :D :D :D
Jon
 

Luis Esp

Supporting Actor
Joined
May 25, 2001
Messages
583
Just recently I picked "A Place In The Sun" on dvd and the cashier asked with disgust "You actually watch this?! It's Black & White!"

I would have responded, but he was too stupid to talk to.

Dude, if I wanted your opinion, I would have given it to you.
 

Shawn C

Screenwriter
Joined
May 15, 2001
Messages
1,429
Vons(Safeway for you easterners) is a supermarket in Vegas. I believe they are called Vons in other towns too. They have those stupid club cards that you give the cashier to get your so-called discounts on your so-called 'Vons Card' purchases.
Anyways. My wife has a card and I don't, so I don't get the privelege of using the card when I go shopping.
"Do you have a Vons card?"
"No."
"Do you want to sign up?"
"No."
"You can save some money."
"NO."
"Oh, sorry..."
"Excuse me, sir (to the guy behind me), do you have a Vons card this gentleman could borrow?"
"Sure."
"Uh, Thanks."
I don't want your Vons card. Maybe if you weren't the most expensive store in town, I wouldn't NEED a Vons card. I don't want you tracking my purchases anyways.
I hate it when the people at Lowe's want your phone number, too.
"Can I have your phone number?"
"Why?"
"So we can send you special offers, blah blah blah.."
"No."
"I don't blame you.."
:)
 

MickeS

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Jul 24, 2000
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These cashiers stand there all day, bored out of their minds, looking at all sorts of mundane things. I know they SHOULDN'T make comments about purchases, but hey, if they do, I can understand it. If I don't appreciate it, I just don't say anything (unless for some unknown reason something very witty comes to mind), that normally shuts them up.
These people are probably the same that talk duing movies, making comments like "He's dead" when a dead guy is shown... :)
/Mike
 

Jeff Braddock

Second Unit
Joined
Jan 26, 2002
Messages
306
Having worked in retail for a while in the past, I understand what these cashiers are going through. It really sucks just standing there checking stupid people out all day or answering the most moronic questions while being polite and smiling. This is especially bad around the holidays. If someone makes a comment, loosen your sphincter a little and laugh about it. In my opinion (which doesn't mean much), some kind of reply in a joking way is ok, but criticizing the way they are making their money is unneaded because most likely they are just trying to make a buck to pay the bills just like the rest of us.
 

Jack Briggs

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Jun 3, 1999
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You know: I don't want to think about bacon at the moment, or KY lube, or anything along those lines. What we do in our private lives is our business, no matter how much bacon it takes.

But remember when I posted about outragious pricing at B&Ms last week? Well, the visit to Wherehouse that inspired that post also included an enounter with a little movie-critic clerk. I was looking at a copy of The Pledge, reading the copy on the back of the case. I wasn't interested in the film so much as I was about the transfer--which The Perfect Vision magazine extolled to no end. (I often buy DVDs solely because of the transfer.)

As I was trying to read, the clerk--about age 20 or so--felt it his public-service duty to warn me against the film. He went into total Roger Ebert mode as he "analyzed" the film's flaws for lil' ol' me. He went on and on with all this ludicrous sophistry, thinking he sounded like some high-fallutin', latter-day Pauline Kael.

I maintained a bland but obligatory smile as he prattled on, when all I could think was, will you shut the hell up?

The episode reaffirmed for me once again why I like shopping online so much.

Julie, two words: DVD Empire. (Or is that "Julie, one abbreviation and one word: DVD Empire"?)
 

Julie K

Screenwriter
Joined
Dec 1, 2000
Messages
1,962
There's just something about putting my grubby paws on DVDs in a store that I enjoy. I'm really looking forward to the tactile joys of picking out my very own Book of the Dead edition of Evil Dead tomorrow, for instance. How's that for the joys of anticipation? ;)
(BTW, I used DVD empire in the past and was not very impressed by the shipping. Have things improved? I enjoyed the old DVD Express and haven't found anyone who can get the discs as quickly as they used to do.)
 

Jack Briggs

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Jun 3, 1999
Messages
16,805
Julie: I have experience one-day turnarounds with DVD Empire. As for the old DVD Express--before the company started nosediving, I liked its service, but not the fact that California residents must pay a sales tax. Another thing--you're getting Book of the Dead tomorrow, whereas had you pre-ordered from DVD Empire, it would be in your mailbox tonight. And you get that same tactile thrill when pulling the keepcase out of the shipping box. Too, the "new-DVD" smell is much more pronounced than when picking one up at a B&M. Two words (or one abbreviation and one word)--DVD Empire. Tonight, I shall have A.I. in my hands, and will at last be able to see this movie--several here have been putting the pressure on me to see it. JB
 

Edwin-S

Premium
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. I would have said to her "well, since you asked, I plan on getting naked and putting these raw bacon strips all over my body while watching silence of the lambs on my big screen TV. I'll be alone tonight...speaking of which what time do you get off work?"
------------------------------------------------------------
You probably would have had the luck to get the only "Bi" cashier in the store and have her say:
5 o'clock, what's your address and....I'll bring the maple syrup because...."I'm makin' WAFFLES!". :)
 

Joseph Young

Screenwriter
Joined
Oct 30, 2001
Messages
1,352
When I lived in Maine, my partner and I would recycle our cans and bottles once every couple of months. We had this leaning tower of booze next to the fridge which I would pack into my car and haul to the local supermarket recycling center.

The various bottles of wine, gin, vodka, coffee flavored brandy (Maine favorite, doncha know?), and Shipyard beer along with the ocassional cans of soda filled two full sized shopping carts... mind you much of this was over a long period of time, but it looked bad either way.

And I would (by my lonesome, she never elected to come with me) grunt my way through the store, the stink of stale booze trailing in front of and behind me, past the judgemental stares of all in the store. Standing in line was always fun.

"Boy, that must have been some party!"

"You must sure like to party!"

"Have one helluva pagh-tee last night, ayuh?"


I fielded these comments defensively at first ("No, it's for two months of drinking! It's not just mine!") but after a while just went along with it. I suppose there isn't any clear justification for so much booze at once, whatever the circumstances.

Reminds me of that scene in PJA's Magnolia, when Julianne Moore's character gets derisive and judgemental (albeit obliviously innocent) comments from the pharmecutical worker while buying her husband's pain medication. And she totally loses it there in the store. I suppose that if someone caught me at a bad time...

Actually, once I rushed to our local Safeway to get some emergency treatment for a family member and actually got held up in line over not having a Safeway club card... i had a family member suffering at home, waiting for me to get back, and I was getting these smarmy, innapropriate and just plain evil comments about my purchase from these two clerks at the store. I came so close to losing it right then and there.

I know that a lot of these store clerks (especially the ones that work the night shift) are pretty lonely, and the peppier ones try to make conversation. Sometimes it comes off as friendly, other times just creepy and invasive.. depends on the situation.

Joseph
 

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