Sometimes, there are people in life with whom you do not mesh. They are perfectly nice people, but you are not simpatico with them. Not only would you not nod a greeting to them as you passed, but you might run into them and knock heads. Get your chocolate in their peanut butter. Or round a corner, collide with them, and stab yourself in stomach with your own #2 Ticonderoga. [That really happened to me!]
I encountered such a person at the Country Mart checkout on Wednesday.
Don't get me wrong. She was polite and personable. Doing her job. But something about her rubbed me the wrong way. It started with a critique of my butter selection.
"KerryGold?"
"Yes. My son loves it. He swore how good it was. Once I tried it, I agreed."
"Huh. It's really pricey."
"I'm getting it for our Christmas dinner."
Here's the thing. Since when is it the cashier's business what product you buy, and how much you spend! I didn't owe her an explanation. I don't set the prices! Maybe I should have told her, "You're right. I don't want it. That's outrageous! Put it back on the shelf." Small talk is fine, as long as you're not passing judgment on a customer's selections.
Also, as I was preoccupied with putting my PIN into the card scanner, she said, "I'll put all this in one bag."
Do I look like the kind of gal who wants everything crammed into one bag, so it's heavy and awkward and spilling out? I don't think so! I didn't realize until I got home and retrieved that bag from T-Hoe's rear that she had piled everything on top of my BANANAS! Surely everyone else in the world knows that once a banana has pressure on it, a bruise starts to form!
Here's what my poor bananas had piled on top of them: 2 blocks of KerryGold butter, 1 bag of pecan halves (10 oz), 1 box of Hidden Valley Ranch seasoning packets, 1 bottle of Peppercorn Ranch Dressing, 1 bottle of Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing, 1 box of Glad Cling Wrap, 2 boxes of bandaids.
I'm pretty sure bananas were not meant to support that much.
"it's really Pricey"
ReplyDeleteYes, but Christmas is special.
"I'll put all this in one bag" is when my head pops up and says "Don't put the (bananas, bread, eggs) on the bottom, they'll get crushed" also "could you spread the weight between two bags please?"
I know you don't like to offend people or make a fuss, but you are entitled to have your goods packed properly.
River,
ReplyDeleteShe didn't say that until the last few items were piled on top. When I looked up from the card scanner, she was jabbing the long box of cling wrap in. I had totally forgotten about my bananas, since they were not even visible at the bottom. I was annoyed at the time, but figured it would take longer to unpack part of it for another bag. There were people waiting in line behind me.
She's the one who works in a store with overpriced items. Maybe she should patrol the aisle on her break, telling people not to buy stuff! Rather than judge them at the register.