to NOT want to know about the check out girl's period pain?

[Oliveoil]

went shopping with dh and the check out girl was rubbing her stomach and inner thighs

I thought she was pregnant at first

she called a supervisor over and moaned that it was hurting and she wanted to go for a walk

he said, er no, and gestured to the rammed shop

then she said loudly "do you know, if men had period pains they would know about it"

dh was just gobsmacked and carried on packing the shopping

I do feel a bit sorry for her tbh, we can only assume it was genuine. I have never worked in a large shop with checkouts. I wonder what the policy is for leaving the checkout if, for example you need to leave (temporarily) to go to loo urgently, or deal with period related business, or take painkillers or whatever?

Surely there should be some way the worker could alert the supervisor in these instances. - ideally more discreetly but perhaps she had no other option. I only say discreetly not because there is anything awful about periods, just that the person may not want to explain to the entire "rammed shop"

Hmmm I get agonising period pains (puking, shaking, sweating, fainting etc) so I'm inclined to feel some sympathy to her. Mind you, I'm in no fit state to walk when it's really bad, so I guess she can't have been in that much pain.

She was quite right though (re: men and periods).

but what has it got to do with me? (stop being so reasonable )

she was loudly calling over the supervisor and then informing me of her bad period pain whilst scanning my spuds!

larry sorry to hear you feel so dreadful when you have a period.

Perhaps this woman had started a period (unexpectedly?) at the start of her shift and may have been at work several hours. The pain can (for some people) start suddenly and dramatically and she may not have had much warning.

Oliveoil yes you are right from that point of view, BUT some people are happy to tell everyone all kinds of stuff and sometimes you can feel a bit . Perhaps you were buying Tampax and this cruelly reminded her of her painful predicament.

For example there have been threads when people are buying pg tests and the checkout person (trying to be friendly one assumes) makes all kinds of "interested" comments such as "oh will it be good news!?"

yikes

YABU

If she had been having a headache and complained loudly about that, would it have bothered you?

It's not like periods are a big mystery - a substantial proportion of the population have them!

well as it happens my very own painters had arrived that morning (5 days early and ruining my planned weekend sans sprogs and plans of marital shenanigan-- "quality time" )

but I didn't tell her that

I just don't think she should waffle on to customers about her feckin period

I DON'T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT ANYONE ELSES PERIODS

or headache for that matter

scan my shopping and shut the feck up

Well I do kind of agree with you. But then I'm a self-confessed repressed prude stalwart when it comes to periods and would rather discreetly faint than broadcast my cramps to all and sundry.

In fact, I snigger at myself when I remember the ILs coming to pick up DD when I was in labour. MIL (a "sharer") asked me if I was having a contraction. I smiled chirpily and said 'Oh no no...' while inwardly chewing my tongue off and trying not to howl out loud.

I think fair play to the checkout girl - periods aren't dirty or shameful

I get bad period pains and need to walk around. Her supervisor sounds like a twat.

Message withdrawn

I'm with you Olive, as a customer i don't want to know such personal detail. She should have had a v. quiet word with the super and he should have got a replacement.

Yes but, you know, if you have pain, take a pain killer, it is yours to deal with. We all get period pains, and we deal with them, we dont need special treatment, fgs!

She is in work, she should work, not get princess treatment and take strolls around the shop floor!

We get period pains to different extents though. I don't think having allowances made for the fact that you're in pain is the same as "princess treatment". My mum never had very serious period pain and refused to believe how bad mine was when I was younger.

Sounds like having a quiet word with her supervisor wouldn't have got her anywhere either. I really don't understand what's so offensive about hearing the word "period" though? Would it have been just as offensive if she was complaining about a bad back?

She was working. That's the prob. Customers want job done, not intimate details.

Ah

this reminds me of our lovely local shop girl.

I once bought a couple of cartons of Cranberry juice as I thought dd had a UTI.
When she put them through the till she asked at the top of her voice

"Is that to make you piss" followed by "have you got problems down there" with gesturing.

I always time when I go to the till now if theres 2 checkout people on and shes one of them.

(NBG, now that reminds me of my lovely local GP, who I was waiting to see in his packed waiting room, as I had made an apt to speak about contraceptive pill at tender age 18, when he came out and boomed at the top of his voice "Quint! How lovely to see you, contraception, huh, so now you are in love, fantastic!)

YANBU.

TMI!

Just look at this board, people have no sense of discretion at all anymore.

lol Quint
Just what you need at 18.

Yuck! I agree with OP.