Banned from my local supermarket after an argument with a member of staff- my language was bad though.

[Alderedge1]

So today I’ve been banned from my local supermarket, I’m not proud of what happened but I think that the member of staff was also in the wrong.

i was in the fruit and veg aisle looking to get some pre- chopped melon. The ones that come in sealed plastic pots. They were stacked quite tightly and some of the dates were quite soon, so I decided to go towards the back, in doing this I accidentally knocked 5 or 6 pots off the shelf. Immediately a female member of staff was on me- telling me “ you’re supposed to take the ones from the front”. I apologised for knocking some of them from the shelf but explained that it was my choice to choose the date that I wanted. By this point I had reassembled the display, so no harm done. She carried on chuntering so I said something like “ it’s really not a big deal, let’s move on”. As I went to walk away she said, “ it’s just not on”. I’m afraid this is where I let myself down. She was a small pointy woman of about 60 with short dyed red hair. I asked her what her problem was and she said “ customers like you thinking they own the place” to which I replied ( I know this is bad) “fuck off and shut your cunt up you fucking crackhead Anne Robinson lookalike”. It’s not often I take such a low blow but I had a rough upbringing and when I’m really pushed it emerges. The lady stormed off.

as I was leaving a manager asked me if I could step into an office for a chat, I said no thank you. She then said well I’m afraid that you won’t be able to shop here moving forwards.

so that’s that. Not proud of my mouth but she was a fucking horrible twat.

If I was shopping near you I would have been upset just hearing that.
Then again I am hyper sensitive to people using vile language and unpleasant words as my adult son is unable to speak at all.
I have a view that if we have been blessed with the ability to speak (not all of us have sadly) then we should think carefully about how we use and choose our words.
Maybe I am being over dramatic but I'm having a down day and your post triggered something in me.

Well there’s no point me posting in here and lying! I’ve genuinely never had an issue before,

You were much nastier and more rude, you really couldn’t just let it drop?

I think you are quite lucky they didn’t call the police tbh. If you spoke to a member of my staff like that I would.

I would either walk away or find the manager. I’m old and naggy most of the time, so I tend to avoid confrontation but I know shop staff cop it in the neck from customers a lot recently so avoidance is best. Glad to see you’re trying to put it right.

I’m sorry if I’ve upset you

You were in the right until the verbal abuse. If you're truly sorry then go back in person, with chocolates or flowers (from another shop 😆) and say sorry.

And consider anger management therapy.

Alone

You messed up the display and went into a tirade of abuse in the earshot of members of the public, including children.

Good on that supermarket for banning you. I would have escorted you out of the premises.

If you'd come out with something that vitriolic and unhinged to me, I would genuinely have believed I was in danger of being physically attacked by you.

I grew up on a notoriously rough west London council estate next to the then very rough Chelsea football club (1970s) and I would NEVER speak to someone like that. That's absolutely no excuse.

PS the worker was also wrong but in a different way.

It’s up to you ( and others) how they respond to my post. A lot of people do know who Anne Robinson is??

Your “2008 called” bit is a little embarrassing too

Yes I do- I have two grown up kids

Are you shocked that they banned you?
I’m not!

Sounds like you might benefit from some professional help.

I had thought of that actually

It does sound like she was making a bit of a fuss, but you totally lost the moral highground by speaking to her in such a nasty, abusive way. I'm really glad her manager had her back and banned you - I used to work in retail and had 2 similar occasions where customers were degrading and rude, and had no such support from management.

Op by all means send in apology but don’t go as far as to send in flowers etc. The staff member still spoke to you like shit and tbh I would still highlight that. Lots of people are looking for work right now.

I worked for years in customer-facing roles and if I had seen someone accidentally knock over something, I would offer to help them pick it up again. Not have a go at them.