8 things customers find super annoying about supermarket employees
Supermarket employees deserve a medal, a statue and a Song for the King (oh no, better not) for all their efforts to keep the store clean, tidy and running efficiently. Because wow, as the article in which they shared their annoyances made clear, that is an impossible task. But still, those employees aren’t saints either, as hundreds of reactions to that same article revealed.
A flood of reactions came in on Facebook from supermarket employees who recognized the annoyances – and wanted to add a few of their own. But concerned citizens also weighed in, saying they occasionally get immensely annoyed by… supermarket employees. So what exactly is so irritating? We’ve listed the main complaints.
A little contact, please
Herma would like to have a little contact while checking out. Her biggest annoyance? ‘Two cashiers discussing their entire weekend while checking you out. Or already chatting with the next customer while they still have to scan your groceries.’
It’s too fast for Patrick, too
Patrick struggles with the pace: ‘Cashiers who start scanning at 90 miles an hour while you’re still putting your things on the conveyor belt. Then I automatically put on the brakes; I don’t want to be rushed.’
Super-fast
Daily also thinks things go far too fast at the checkout. ‘Cashiers immediately start scanning the groceries when I have a full cart and have only just put two items on the belt. Then they build a fortress of your scanned groceries on the other side.’
Folded three times
Is it too fast at the checkout? Rather too slow, if you ask Mandy. ‘Cashiers who ask whether you want the receipt and then leisurely fold it up three times…’
Then you’ll have crumbs
The groceries need to go into the bag in a specific order. Checkout employees don’t take that into account, which is what annoys Wars. ‘Everything gets piled up, and after scanning, a little bottle ended up on top of a bag of chips, for example.’ Eveline recognizes this: ‘Putting your cartons of milk on the soft bread rolls and the eggs? Hellooo, I’m doing €150 worth of shopping, and if I don’t pack it properly, it simply won’t fit.’
Nails sorted, check
Checkout girls can be quite something too, says Kim. ‘Recently, I had one who was happily picking at the gel on her nails. And she was also kind enough to make me wait until she had removed that one annoying bit. Disgusting, disgusting…’ For your information: “checkout girls” is the term Kim herself uses, and no, according to her it is absolutely not derogatory.
Math is difficult
The register calculates exactly how much change needs to be given. So yes, mental arithmetic is no longer required of cashiers. Jelle doesn’t think that’s OK. ‘They can’t do math. If something costs €25.10, I give them €30 and then ask whether I should add 10 cents, that isn’t necessary. Only to then have to lug around a bulging purse containing a million pieces of loose change!’
And that stockroom? It’s simply full!
One annoyance for supermarket employees was that customers expect the stockroom to be infinitely large and to contain all the products they can’t find. Sorry guys, it doesn’t. Or does it? Melissa, who used to work as a shelf-stacker herself, knows that sometimes there really is all sorts of stuff in that stockroom. ‘Customers regularly asked me or colleagues whether we had something in the stockroom. Colleagues said we didn’t have it in the back either, while there was still plenty in the containers. So you can’t simply assume they don’t have it when they say they don’t.’
A little encouragement
Some people are surprised by the mutual annoyances. Is it because of COVID? ‘I’m gradually getting the impression that COVID kills the brain rather than the lungs,’ says Machteld. And Linda is happy to encourage those hard-working cashiers. ‘Recently, I was standing with a cashier who looked as though she’d had enough of all the comments above in the article. When I said that I also worked in a store and knew exactly what she was going through, she started laughing. I wished her strength, and she replied that I had made her day better by showing understanding.’ And that is appreciated, according to Linda. ‘Those girls/boys already get all the complaints thrown at them. So people, just smile at them and wish them strength with all the hassle during these times. You’ll see that a smile pays off.’
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