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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

to think checkout operator should mind his own business and not comment on alcohol purchase!

54 replies

indiechick · 09/09/2008 17:34

Half bottles of wine are on sale, four for £5, half bottles are perfect for two of my chicken recipes so I thought I'd stock up. Till operator tells me it's wrong for me to be buying alcohol, it's not good for the baby (5 month old dd in trolley), for god's sake I'm not giving it to her, or even drinking it and breast-feeding, it's going in a chicken casserole, but honestly what business is it of his?!

OP posts:

asicsgirl · 09/09/2008 18:21

pmsl at sobernow

mummydoit, i think i had that checkout operator. i was buying veg, fruit etc and she said 'ooh very healthy!' i wondered at the time whether she said 'ooh, not very slimming!' to people with cakes etc. now i know...

emj23 · 09/09/2008 18:51

It is very difficult not to comment on people's purchases sometimes. I used to work in a shop and a man used to come in quite often and buy a porn mag and a tin of catfood. I really hope the two weren't connected in any way.

However. The point is, although shop assistants may think certain things about customers purchases, they shouldn't voice them. Part of the job is being polite and the man mentioned in the OP certainly wasn't.

asicsgirl · 09/09/2008 18:52

lol emj

SoupDragon · 09/09/2008 18:53

"it's not good for the baby"

Sobernow · 09/09/2008 19:42

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

LittleBella · 09/09/2008 19:54

ROFL at the telly broken thing.

They all sound like the Fast Show cashier.

mayorquimby · 10/09/2008 09:56

was he being a hostile judgmental twat?
or was it a bad attempt at a joke? i.e. he was making a lame joke by implying you were buying it for the baby?

solidgoldbrass · 10/09/2008 10:02

Supermarket cashiers are frequently threatened with dismissal and beaten with sticks if they don't make 'friendly conversation' with customers. This is one reason why this kind of thing can happen: the cashier thinks that he/she is being 'friendly' or engaging in lighthearted banter (particularly if the cashier is not one of those people with the ability to witter on about nothing indefinitely).
Mind you, the thing about alcohol and visibly pregnant women is part of a more worrying generalised misogyny: pregnant women are not universal property and it is not anyone else's business if they are drinking alcohol or not.

AuraofDora · 10/09/2008 10:11

sobernow that was sweet of her

bgd lol like it dont like it

i got accused of 'having a party'! with alcohol offers

i dont think some can help it and tbh it must break up a dull day

PinkTulips · 10/09/2008 10:18

think that's bad..... think what looks i get when dp asks me to pick up fags for him in the shop when i'm preganant

i sometimes felt like lighting one up and blowing smoke in their faces just to point out that it's none of their farking business.

saltire · 10/09/2008 10:22

He was maybe just trying tobe friendly and went about it the wrong way.

Not like me, who chats to every cusotmer I serve, even if they don't reply to me. mind you, I never comment on their purchases, occasionally will say "oh is that nay good" about something like shampoo or body lotion, but otherwise don't. Not even when the man came in and bought 19 packs of condoms and 6 tubes of KY jelly. I wanted to say something though

ParCark · 10/09/2008 10:25

Message withdrawn

Original poster

indiechick · 10/09/2008 10:29

It definately wasn't a joke, he was being judgemental. I assumed initially he was muslim (due to appearance) and that he didn't approve of alcohol at all, but then he said, it's not good for the baby, it's not good to be drinking when you have a baby. I'm going to complain, it's none of his business what I buy. Wish I'd said, it helps her sleep, but to be honest I was a bit taken aback.

OP posts:

titchy · 10/09/2008 10:29

We went away with some friends for a weekend ages ago. They arrived way before we did and did the food shopping, so when we arrived I went to nearest large supermarket on my own with ds (then 2.5).

The only items on the conveyor belt were 24 bottles of wine, 2 crates of Stella and one pack of nappies for ds (still in them at night) . Spent the weekend waiting for SS to turn up....

kitbit · 10/09/2008 11:15

I still smile about the time the restaurant I worked for ran out of crumpets and I was sent to the supermarket. I was in my own clothes so not obviously working, and picked up a few things for myself while I was at it. So on the belt were 20 packets of crumpets, some catfood, shampoo I think and possibly a newspaper. The assistant practically exploded through the sheer effort of not saying anything, she couldn't sit still and kept chewing her lip As I left I said straight faced "thank you. I like crumpets."

heh heh

PinkTulips · 10/09/2008 12:07

pmsl kitbit

DaphneMoon · 10/09/2008 12:18

These are so funny. But I agree he was very rude.

littlebella: That was Caroline Aherne wasn't it. It was so funny, she was really common and would say things like "Oh tampax - Oh dear are the painters in love" or she would hold up a pack of something embarrasing like condoms and as for the price of them. It used to make me laugh so much!

solidgoldbrass · 10/09/2008 12:32

INdiechick, yes in this case yo shold complain because officious twats like him need a good slapping by their employers every time they try to bully a customer.

AnnVan · 10/09/2008 13:54

Complain about him! Hate the way people think they can dive in and criticise/tell you how to live your life just because you're pregnant. It's none of anyone's business.
Although it did help me the other day. i hate being asked to buy alcohol or cigarettes for underage kids, and I don't do it on principle, but always feel a little scared when I say no, because I'm really small and feel intimidated by hulking teenagers the other day a girl asked me to buy her cigarettes, and I just pointed to my enormous bump and said 'I'd look a bit bad buying cigarettes at the moment' worked a treat! TBH if DP asked me to go buy some for him, I wouldn't have a problem doing it, but it was a great get out.

cupsoftea · 10/09/2008 13:56

Perhaps he got told off for not commenting on 48 bottles of jack daniels

SquiffyHock · 10/09/2008 14:02

When we were getting married Tesco had some great offers on wine and champagne so we had it delivered to my parent's house in three seperate deliveries.
Mum said it was the same driver each time and on the last trip he said "When are you people going to buy some food???" He was obviously joking though

FfreckleFface · 10/09/2008 17:01

I think that the OP should definitely complain, but this thread has made me giggle about what happened to me just before Christmas.

I went to the supermarket to stock up on beer for a party we were throwing while Bloke walked the dogs. It was going to be a big party, and our friends are all fond of a drop or two. So, when I pushed my heaving trolley to the checkout, I had to ask the assistant to help getting the boxes of beer out of the trolley, as my 8 month pregnant belly wouldn't allow me to bend over that far

He looked a little shocked, especially when I didn't offer an explanation!

ninja · 10/09/2008 17:05

Could he have been trying to make a joke??

pmsl at some of the other commenst, and sobernow that was quite a caring comment!

NorkyButNice · 10/09/2008 17:06

A Starbucks worker told me off for ordering a latte whilst pregnant.

I was NOT amused and made my feeling known to the manager (and I'm really not the complaining type!)

Tinkerisdead · 10/09/2008 17:11

Def complain! My friend relayed a story to me on valentines day. She went to supermarket and a man was buying a bunch of flowers but the smallest bunch in the display. Shop assistant called out "oh mate dont be tight, get her the bigger bunch, you know she deserves it!" he replied curtly, "i think these are just fine for a grave!" and walked out.

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