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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Odd check out behaviour

131 replies

wowfudge · 22/01/2015 14:17

I'm beginning to think I must attract 'em at the check out after this lunchtime.

I put my few items of shopping on the conveyor behind the shopping of the woman in front and the 'next customer' sign she had already placed there. After a couple of minutes while the actually person at the till faffs over packing and paying, the woman before me in the queue takes a 'next customer' sign leans over my shopping and puts the sign behind my stuff. There is nobody behind me. Why would someone feel the need to do this? I think she might be the kind of person who thinks her younger neighbours need to open their curtains.

A few weeks ago the person behind me in a check out queue picked up my sushi from the conveyor, turned it over to read what was in it and asked the lad on the till where in the shop the sushi was on the shelves. She didn't ask me about it, or in fact say anything to me; just picked it up and turned it over!

OP posts:
Bumbiscuits · 23/01/2015 00:23

When I was single I went food shopping with a friend with a family. We agreed we'd just use the one trolley and I'd put my things in the sectioned off bit at the end.

When we checked out my fruit and veggies were missing...I reckon I'd dumped them in the wrong trolley. Someone will have had a healthy week that week!

sugar21 · 23/01/2015 00:45

I was in Tesco's (huge) today perusing the 50 shades of grey undies cooo naughty me, anyway felt someone brush my shoulder, turned round and a 40 something man was holding up a teeny weeny thong up against himself. I sniggered and he asked do you think this will fit me. Made a quick exit due to uncontrollable laughter.

JustAnotherControlFreak · 23/01/2015 01:20

Seems my local supermarket is fairly boring by comparison, though I do feel like I may be the token fruitcake when I'm frantically trying to stuff a chicken, big milk and fruit juice cartons into the basket under the buggy whilst crouched down out of sight in time to catch up with the packing of bags for the lighter bits and pieces. Every single week I feel the need to explaIn that we don't have a car and I need to be able to carry it all home.

YourMaNoBraBackOfMyCar · 23/01/2015 01:43

I was waiting at the checkout for dh who was looking for a particular magazine. My trolley was packed and dd 5 months old at the time was sat in the baby seat babbling away contentedly. ( my trolley was near the wall, not in the way) A lady came along with a crutch under one arm and basket on the other. I saw she was struggling so offered to help her unload and pack. She wasn't particularly friendly but accepted my offer. Dh had come back by this point and was stood making faces at dd. Dd was still babbling away which had caught the attention of the young checkout operator. She comments on how sweet and beautiful she is, how old is she etc etc. The woman I was helping then remarks out of the blue " ...that noise would have me smothering the little fucker if it was mine. Jesus." Me and the checkout girl stared at each other unbelievingly. Just as I was about to say something the girl looked her up and down and said "ugh, you look like you smother yourself in chip fat and gin. You Nobhead" I put her stuff down, gathered the trolley and dh (who was oblivious to what had happened) and said "Well, I don't really have anything to add to that. Bye then." I had to laugh that nasty woman was having to be served by someone who said she looked smothered in chip fat. :o

Ohwhatfuckeryisthis · 23/01/2015 07:27

Got a miserable cunt at the checkout story. Dd was about 18 m and I was at our local sm (where everyone knew and chatted to her)Particularly sour faced bat serving. Dd babbling away to all and sundry,but not loud. She just looked over and said "can your child not be quiet, I can't hear myself think" I stood Shock and she said to dd "you need to learn to be quiet some times" and frowned and wagged a finger at her.

MrsTawdry · 23/01/2015 08:16

I was in our local Sainsbury's...small one. Standing and looking at something on a shelf which was head height. A woman comes along and points to something on the lower shelf by my feet and says "Can you get me one of those?"

I looked...she was about my age...early 40s....no physical disability...I wasn't in the way...so I said "No...you can get it"

She was for some reason expecting me to bend down and get her item! I wasn't wearing anything which might make me seem like a shop assistant plus I have a bad back and knees. So odd.

SistersOfPercy · 23/01/2015 08:30

A few years ago I was ID'd for Jack Daniels BBQ Sauce! I'd bought two bottles (they were on offer) and the till pinged for an age check. Cashier was helpless.
DH and I worked out that to get slightly tipsy on the stuff you'd have to drink about 20 bottles of BBQ Sauce.

ChocolateOranges · 23/01/2015 08:42

The woman on the kiosk in Asda last night interrogated OH as to why he needed lighter fluid.

(He's 61) He had just asked for his cigars and had his refillable lighter in his hand.

Maybe he looks dodgy. Hmm

Idontseeanysontarans · 23/01/2015 08:51

DH one Christmas Eve stopped off at Asda for something like deodorant and spent the entire time on the phone to me:
"Bloody hell Idont there's 2 women fighting over a tub of cream, they're screaming at each other! Hang on a second" and hung up. He phoned me back 10 minutes later and explained that a bloke had got a member of staff by the collar because they didn't have some essential Christmas thing left. He and the store manager had to pull this bloke off and restrain him.
Trying internet shopping was his idea, I don't think he's ever quite got over that trip Grin

LeonardWentToTheOffice · 23/01/2015 09:34

I had a right breakdown in our local Lidl many years ago. It was dead quiet - after ds's Beavers so late and had him with me. Only wanted a pack of weetabix (well their version) There was noone on the tills so I put my purchase down on the belt and went to look for cashier. By the time she arrived another customer had arrived and put their shopping down in front of mine. With that I kind of lost it, said I wasn't buying mine, cue wailing from ds who wanted the weetabix, me then having a right go at the cashier for serving the pusher inner when it was my turn, saying "It's your fault" for ds's outburst. Ended up sobbing noisily on the shoulder of the kindly lady behind me who'd by now joined the ever growing and watching on queue.

Think I'd had a bad day, was having a hard time and this was the final straw. I still feel cringy about this incident though it happened about 7 years agi Sad

Original poster
wowfudge · 23/01/2015 09:35

Not at the checkout but the Christmas tale reminded me - one Christmas Eve when I had a Saturday job a bloke did a spectacular Indiana Jones roll under the closing security shutter clutching bags of Christmas shopping. He wanted a 'to my wife at Christmas' card. Despite his heroics we couldn't help as all the relation cards had sold out hours earlier.

OP posts:
foreverton · 23/01/2015 09:55

In my local tesco there is a cashier who always picks up your magazine, opens it, flicks through and starts commenting on the content" oh I didn't realise such and such was pregnant or him and her have split up" seriously.
Avoid her like the plague now:)
And the one who asked to try one of my Cadburys chocolate doughnuts!

BringMeTea · 23/01/2015 10:51

I feel Sartre had it right: 'Hell is other people'.

Jill2015 · 23/01/2015 11:03

Was at the top of the queue in a bookshop, one day, two cashiers, one queue. A guy approached from my right, and said which one are you waiting for? I said whichever cashier comes free next.
One of the cashiers was free just at that moment. He said, ok I will go to this one so, and proceeded to go ahead of me. All I could do was laugh.

MrsFrisbyMouse · 23/01/2015 11:16

thank you Mumsnetters - I am crying with laughter.

Ain't nowt so queer as folk

nocontacthelp · 23/01/2015 11:36

foreverton Cadburys make chocolate donuts??? Shock how did I not know this? Are they nice?

CocktailSausage · 23/01/2015 12:02

I was once berated by a man who'd left his basket and box of nappies by the conveyer belt and on the floor. The cashier was free, so I looked around and there was no one there - assuming someone has just dumped their shopping. I start to unload my basket on to the conveyer. All of a sudden a man appears telling me can't I see that there is shopping waiting to be unloaded. I tell him that there is no reservation system and his shopping was left and he starts ranting at me - telling me should unload my shopping but he's going to let me go as I have a baby. Confused

BreconBeBuggered · 23/01/2015 12:31

I bought some Cadburys chocolate doughnuts for DS the other day. Reduced to 9p, but DS had no trouble scoffing the pair of them before bedtime. Apparently they were very nice. The odd thing was that when he took off the Cadburys cardboard sleeve, the plastic tub housing the doughnuts was from the supermarket's own salad bar.

I'm refusing to think too deeply about that one, but I was glad I didn't get to sample the goods.

bigbluestars · 23/01/2015 12:41

Not quite the checkout but there was a guy caught weighing his genitals on the scales in the fruit section at a supermarket near me. He was seen by the assistant.

news.stv.tv/scotland/172179-man-cleared-of-weighing-genitals-at-food-and-veg-counter/

RegTheMonkey1 · 23/01/2015 13:05

I had bought the Saturday edition of The Guardian which as you know comes with a magazine and at least 3 supplements, all of which are put inside the fold of the main newspaper. The guy at the checkout till started to pull them all out and tried to check them out separately. I think he thought I was trying to smuggle stolen newspapers by hiding them inside the Guardian. So I said 'it's all the one paper' and he gave me a kind of 'yeah, right!' look. At that moment another member of staff was passing and told him the same thing. Cue him embarrassedly trying to stuff it all back together again.

Trickydecision · 23/01/2015 15:32

Donkey's years ago I wanted items for making floppy toys for the DSs. The chap behind me in the queue asked what I did with pearl barley.
"I want to stuff a frog"
"My God, you must be hard up!"

SilentBob · 23/01/2015 16:16

It was Christmas Eve...

We had 1 trolley full of booze.

Lady in front had approximately 30 loaves of Warburtons toastie bread on the conveyor. Then she had placed a next customer bar after said bread. (As an aside, yes, I did wonder why she didn't just put 1 loaf on and say how many she had and yes, I am also still wondering why she needed said loaves.) bloke and I unpack our trolley onto the conveyor, behind said placed next customer bar.

The cashier, another member of staff and purchaser all packed the bread and the purchaser duly paid. Our shopping travelled ever closer to the imminent departure of the hell that is Tesco at Christmas.

However, at the precise moment when lady should have moved on, she gestured to a trolley just to the side of her. Full of shopping.

What happened next? I hear you cry. Well, it's obvious.

Helper lady pushed all our shopping back up the conveyor, leaving next customer bar at the end to stop the conveyor. 'Seriously?' I asked, incredulous, 'seriously???!'

It gets worse- cashier moved the fucking next customer bar and the conveyor and our shopping hurtled forward once again. What happened next? I hear you cry. Well, it's obvious. Helper lady started the whole "shove the booze" game again. Purchaser of said loaves (and possibly fishes) was hugely apologetic, and offered to go behind us before the whole debacle began but staff were having none of it. I swear helper lady actually said "well you shouldn't have unloaded your shopping yet." Luckily the bloke did not hear this else there would have been fisticuffs.

Reader, There was no-one behind us. We would have been 5 minutes max. I was apoplectic.

Unfortunately, we were nigh on being very late for a family Christmas meal out and had to leg it without so much as a stern word with the manager but a strongly worded email was flung Tesco-wise after a fair few festive sherries I can tell you.

Actually, I have had no reply as yet. My complaint is probably being shoved to the back of the complaints conveyor belt indefinitely...

Original poster
wowfudge · 23/01/2015 17:11

I'm just girding my loins - ready to do supermarket battle as the weekend begins.... Wish me luck!

OP posts:
helpmekeepstrong · 24/01/2015 15:25

My local Spar had a rogues gallery of CCTV stills of suspected shoplifters pinned behind the till!
Ex-h loudly 'Careful help, hold that clearly where the CCTV can see you're not going to put it up your jumper!'
Manager 'If you're going to be an arsehole you can fuck off.
Ex-h 'Miserable Cunt'
Manager 'You're banned'.
A fine example of customer relations.
I laughed like a loon!
Ex-h Featured in the rogues gallery tooty-sweet..... which was also hilarious for other reasons.

Ohwhatfuckeryisthis · 24/01/2015 16:19

Just been in local morries. Unbeknownst to rest of queue a bloke had cut himself a bit, and there was blood on the belt, on the bagging area, not lots, but enough. Check out bloke had done a half arsed swipe of it. But woman in front-justifiably- said this needs cleaning up. Bloke says-yeah well it's all over me too.(that makes it better, not) Woman-suspected MNetter-said no, get the supervisor, close the checkout, wash your hands and clean up. And I need all the stuff that has blood on it replacing. He was all, yeah I will in a bit. She went and got supervisor. He was "well it was on me too. It was only a BIT of blood.Some people EH?" I went yeah-she's right, it's blood ffs.
Tool.