10 things supermarket customers find really annoying about checkout staff
Supermarket customers can be pretty irritating with their strange remarks. We previously wrote about what supermarket checkout staff really find extremely irritating about customers. But hold on, you said in the comments under our article on Facebook: supermarket employees and checkout staff can be just as bad themselves.
You all went wild talking about the misery known as grocery shopping. What a jungle after those gates!
Look beyond the end of your nose
In the article about things supermarket customers say that are just really strange, we wrote about customers who insist on getting something from the stockroom. Noel is incredibly annoyed by the employee who is too lazy to make any effort to look for something in the stockroom. She experiences it all too often herself. ‘Looking a little further than the end of your nose really can’t hurt.’
Would you treat your own things like that?
According to Shanice, today’s checkout staff are not like the checkout ladies of the past. They can no longer manage a smile, and they routinely throw the receipt in with the groceries, which are then given one last good shove with that divider stick. Shanice: ‘You wouldn’t treat your own things like that either, would you?’ Fortunately for Shanice, self-checkouts exist nowadays.
Blah blah blah
Julia is absolutely fed up with checkout staff who spend 10 minutes chatting with the other employee behind the checkout… ‘HELLO, I’d like to pay… it gets so tiring. And then they don’t pay attention to what goes wrong or wish you a nice weekend either.’
Party tonight?
Supermarket customers make old-fashioned remarks (‘No, I don’t need a receipt, you can stick it in your scrapbook’), but checkout staff can be just as bad. Marja: ‘There you are with 6 bags of crisps and bottles of drinks, and then they always come out with that stupid remark: “Oh, are you having a party tonight?” No, these are my everyday groceries, alright. What a comment, mind your own business…. pfff.’
Saving for discount stamps
Checkout staff, pay attention now. The question ‘Are you saving FOR the discount/promotional stamps too?’ is asked often enough. Janita always has to bite her tongue at this remark, because you can’t save up for them; you either collect them or you don’t. So from now on, simply ask ‘Do you collect the discount/promotional stamps?’ Thanks to Janita.
Abacus
Yasmin often buys gift cards, which she always stacks on top of one another. But the checkout worker asks how many there are without looking at the cards… Yasmin: ‘Because counting is apparently incredibly difficult and perhaps just a little too much to ask. Maybe bring an abacus next time?’
From here to Tokyo
This is what really annoys Yvonne: ‘There are only 2 f*cking checkouts open when the line stretches from here to Tokyo. And guess what, there are 3—I repeat, THREE—employees standing at the service desk talking and laughing. Hello… help out for a moment, and do it on your own time… but they have no shame.’
Big lemon…
Imagine putting a grapefruit on the conveyor belt like Kim did, only to hear the checkout worker say: ‘Wow, that’s a big lemon!’ Kim: speechless.
Mental arithmetic
Kim thinks mental arithmetic is rather difficult for many checkout workers. She had to pay €5.10, handed over a tenner and thought she was being helpful by asking whether the checkout worker wanted an extra 10 cents. Kim: ‘And then getting the answer: “No, then I won’t know how much change to give you”.’
Celery WHAT?
Kim has a particularly high irritation threshold when grocery shopping, because she still isn’t finished. Recently, Kim asked a supermarket employee whether they had any bunches of celery left. Kim: ‘The employee said: “Uh no, we don’t sell that.” But then why is it on the sign by the shelf? And why can I see it in your crate to restock the shelf?’ No, Kim has had enough. Perhaps take a little ‘vegetables and herbs’ course?
Positive vibes only
Fortunately, things can be different too, as Sanda’s experience proves: ‘Today I was at the checkout at AH with my little daughter, buying treats for her birthday. The checkout worker asked whether it was her birthday and then started singing a birthday song for her. So sweet. And the first time I’d ever experienced anything like that 
‘
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