The grocery store is one of those necessary places we all have to go. You would think that there would be nothing negative at the grocery store, but I guess now adays it depends on the help. Last week I went to the grocery store and needed some fresh vegatables and some fish.
I spent about 20 minutes selecting the best apples. You have to be sure that they do not have bruises so you do have to look at each one. I then went to the tomato section. I picked some great roma tomatoes out. Then on to the yellow squash. You do have to check those as well. The whole beets had leaves that looked a little wilted so I left those. After making my way to the meat counter I picked out some fish and made my way to the counter to check out.
I got in the express line as I had 10 or less items . There were five other people ahead of me. One lady, of course, had more than 10 items. The cashiers never make that person over the limit get out of line. Why is that?! The sign is as clear as day as to the number of items. That rule is never enforced at this particular store where I shop. So I just shook my head and waited.
It seems that most of the cashiers now are students. Students who are more interested in talking about their weekends with their fellow employees as they check you out. This cashier was talking to the bag boy about dates and what makes a person interesting to them. Time sure have changed. Here is a recap of the conversation. It starts off with the cashier and alternates with the teller.
"I saw you at the club saturday night."
"Yeah, I was there."
"Who was the girl with that grill on all her teeth?"
"That was Shauna. I just love a girl with a grill."
"On girls, it looks better with just one section of the teeth done, either the lower or the upper"
"I am a sucker for a girl with a grill. Do you know how many girls with grills I have gone through?"
Aw Lawd! I just looked at them. First of all, they are checking people out. That conversation does not need to go on in front of customers. Second, I in all my life have never seen or heard of a girl wearing grills on their teeth. I thought that was reserved for male gangster rappers only. What woman has anyone ever seen wearing a grill? Maybe I am not hip, but a girl in a grill? No! Big fat No! Third and the most horrible thing of all was the way the girl was handling the groceries.
It was clear that she was not paying attention to what she was doing. She was too busy talking. As she scanned items she just shoved them all the way down to the end of the shute where the bagger was. He just picked those items up and literally dropped them into plastic bags with not a care as to bruising the fruits or vegetables that people selected. It did not matter if you picked unbruised produce, it was going to be bruised by the time they got done with it.
The bagger got called to another counter where there was a family with a cart full of groceries. The line had moved up and there was one person ahead of me. Maybe with him gone and her attention not being distracted, my produce would be intact. We can only hope right? Again I was wrong. Now she had to bag the groceries and as she scanned she just dropped things into the bottom of the bag, even glass items. She did not care at all.
Well, I had decided that I would have to say something to her as I was next. She began to scan my items and as she dropped the first item in the bag I told that I had spent the time to select the things I selected and that they were not bruised. I did not want her to bruise them up as she dropped them in the bag. Needless to say that fell on deaf ears. She seemed to not drop the next item , but them dropped all the others. Ignorance is not bliss, but in her case it was.
When I shop at the organic food stores, the service in entirely different. The cashiers do not drop your food in the bags like garbage. They rally do take the time to put things in the bags the right way. Consistenly this is the case. The food at the organic stores is a little bit more expensive, but it seems to be worth it in what they deliver in customer service.
I spent about 20 minutes selecting the best apples. You have to be sure that they do not have bruises so you do have to look at each one. I then went to the tomato section. I picked some great roma tomatoes out. Then on to the yellow squash. You do have to check those as well. The whole beets had leaves that looked a little wilted so I left those. After making my way to the meat counter I picked out some fish and made my way to the counter to check out.
I got in the express line as I had 10 or less items . There were five other people ahead of me. One lady, of course, had more than 10 items. The cashiers never make that person over the limit get out of line. Why is that?! The sign is as clear as day as to the number of items. That rule is never enforced at this particular store where I shop. So I just shook my head and waited.
It seems that most of the cashiers now are students. Students who are more interested in talking about their weekends with their fellow employees as they check you out. This cashier was talking to the bag boy about dates and what makes a person interesting to them. Time sure have changed. Here is a recap of the conversation. It starts off with the cashier and alternates with the teller.
"I saw you at the club saturday night."
"Yeah, I was there."
"Who was the girl with that grill on all her teeth?"
"That was Shauna. I just love a girl with a grill."
"On girls, it looks better with just one section of the teeth done, either the lower or the upper"
"I am a sucker for a girl with a grill. Do you know how many girls with grills I have gone through?"
Aw Lawd! I just looked at them. First of all, they are checking people out. That conversation does not need to go on in front of customers. Second, I in all my life have never seen or heard of a girl wearing grills on their teeth. I thought that was reserved for male gangster rappers only. What woman has anyone ever seen wearing a grill? Maybe I am not hip, but a girl in a grill? No! Big fat No! Third and the most horrible thing of all was the way the girl was handling the groceries.
It was clear that she was not paying attention to what she was doing. She was too busy talking. As she scanned items she just shoved them all the way down to the end of the shute where the bagger was. He just picked those items up and literally dropped them into plastic bags with not a care as to bruising the fruits or vegetables that people selected. It did not matter if you picked unbruised produce, it was going to be bruised by the time they got done with it.
The bagger got called to another counter where there was a family with a cart full of groceries. The line had moved up and there was one person ahead of me. Maybe with him gone and her attention not being distracted, my produce would be intact. We can only hope right? Again I was wrong. Now she had to bag the groceries and as she scanned she just dropped things into the bottom of the bag, even glass items. She did not care at all.
Well, I had decided that I would have to say something to her as I was next. She began to scan my items and as she dropped the first item in the bag I told that I had spent the time to select the things I selected and that they were not bruised. I did not want her to bruise them up as she dropped them in the bag. Needless to say that fell on deaf ears. She seemed to not drop the next item , but them dropped all the others. Ignorance is not bliss, but in her case it was.
When I shop at the organic food stores, the service in entirely different. The cashiers do not drop your food in the bags like garbage. They rally do take the time to put things in the bags the right way. Consistenly this is the case. The food at the organic stores is a little bit more expensive, but it seems to be worth it in what they deliver in customer service.
What I do is kick them in the pants with a diamond buckled shoe!
~~Aileen Mehle~~
