Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask for tampons?

40 replies

HotCrossPun · 01/06/2013 18:30

I was doing some shopping in Tesco today.

Needed to buy some tampons and couldn't find them anywhere.

I went over to a shop assistant and said ''excuse me, can you tell me where the tampons are, please?''

She said excuse me? And looked at me like I was an alien. I repeated the question and she started marching towards a different aisle. I followed and she led me to them. As she was walking away there was an audible 'tsk' and she was shaking her head.

Is asking where the tampons are some kind of breach of supermarket etiquette? Should I have said 'feminine hygiene products?'

Or was the assistant just a bit strange?

OP posts:
CloudsAndTrees · 01/06/2013 18:31

Assistant was strange, and uptight.

Fairydogmother · 01/06/2013 18:33

How odd! An assistant shouldn't have been offended by that!

Did she maybe think you hadn't bothered to look or something?

DawnOfTheDee · 01/06/2013 18:33

Maybe you should have sidled up to her and whispered out of the corner of your mouth if she would see fit to direct you to where the cotton donkeys might be.......

Saying tampons is soooooo uncouth.

ouryve · 01/06/2013 18:33

What a strange way to react. Unless you're 7' and very hairy and she thought you were having her on.

McBalls · 01/06/2013 18:35

Doubt it was about tampons, probably just being huffy at having to show you where something (anything) was.

Bobyan · 01/06/2013 18:35

Pmsl at cotton donkeys!

WorraLiberty · 01/06/2013 18:35

She probably had the hump about something else and took it out on you

I can't see it being about tampons

MinnieBar · 01/06/2013 18:36

YABU - you should have asked where the Mooncups were Wink

Original poster
HotCrossPun · 01/06/2013 18:41

It was the way she said excuse me like, exuuuuuuuuse me?

Cotton Donkeys Grin

I just thought I'd check in case it was one of those things that people thought it was rude to say like ''I'm going to the toilet'.'

I dip my bread in soup and only found out on here that it was terribly bad manners. Still do it though Grin

OP posts:
livinginwonderland · 01/06/2013 18:45

LOL at cotton donkeys!

ControlGeek · 01/06/2013 19:41

Are you definitely certain that she was an assistant at that store? I have been known to ask anyone in a shop uniform because I have a short attention span and easily forget which shop I am in . Odd how Wilko staff don't know where Morrisons keep some of their more weird and wonderful produce!

LRDtheFeministDragon · 01/06/2013 19:50
Shock

I can't believe you didn't lower your voice to a maidenly whisper and enquire after the feminine hygiene products!

(Which always pisses me off, as tampax are, naturally, more phallic than feminine.)

weisswusrt · 01/06/2013 20:03

This has annoyed me. I hate the 'shame' we are expected to feel about periods! I'd report her. And shove a tampon up her snooty nose next time i saw her!!

Original poster
HotCrossPun · 01/06/2013 20:06

ControlGeek It's funny you should say that. It's a long-standing bug bear of mine that for some reason people always approach me in shops thinking I'm a member of staff! Grin She definitely was though, she had a badge and everything.

OP posts:
Original poster
HotCrossPun · 01/06/2013 20:07

Maybe I should have asked for ''the box that must not be named.''

OP posts:
HormonalHousewife · 01/06/2013 20:09

Are you a man ???

this is the only reason I can think she was being weird.

NicknameIncomplete · 01/06/2013 20:18

If someone asked me where the feminine hygiene products were i probably would have taken them to the deodrant or shaving/waxing products.

Id have shouted tampons at her. Grin

Original poster
HotCrossPun · 01/06/2013 20:20

Nope, a 23 year old woman. I was with my DP, he though she was acting really strangely as well.

Is it wrong that I want to find an excuse to use the phrase ' cotton donkey' out loud? Grin

OP posts:
phantomnamechanger · 01/06/2013 20:23

I remember hearing of a woman who went in wilkinsons in December and asked a young male assistant if they sold "feather lights" ie fairy lights with feathery bits attached. without flinching he said, er, yes madam, this way - and took her straight to the condoms. She did not know whether to laugh out loud or be flattered.

Back to the OP - YANBU assistant clearly has issues about those sorts of womens troubles not being discussed.

EuroShaggleton · 01/06/2013 20:25

Try "snatchmouse" next time. That might be more acceptable.

ShadowStorm · 01/06/2013 20:34

YANBU.

Shop assistant was being odd.

And I've never heard of cotton donkeys, BTW. If I wasn't on a thread about tampons, I'd think that cotton donkeys were some kind of stuffed toy animal. (And be directing customers to the toy section, if I were a Tesco shop assistant....)

WafflyVersatile · 01/06/2013 21:21

When I can't find something I tend to ask where are they hiding them especially if they've had a reshuffle of where stuff is ie

'Where do you hide the eggs?' 'Where have you hidden your pizzas?' sometimes they'll look at me odd and say 'we don't hide them madam'

the thought of sidling up and asking an assistant 'where do you hide your tampons?' is amusing me greatly right now.

Try that next time.

McNewPants2013 · 01/06/2013 21:26

That remind me when DH once went out for sanitary pads. ( early in our relationship)

The women who showed them where they was and basically give him a short corse on them lol.

This person should of just shown you without all the negativity

FreyaSnow · 01/06/2013 21:27

I'm like HotCrossPun. I refuse to go in Gap because people always come up to me assuming I work there and ask for help. I own no adult clothes from Gap, so I have no idea why.

Original poster
HotCrossPun · 01/06/2013 21:47

Loving that suggestion Waffly, her eyes would have probably popped out of her head!

OP posts: