Former Grocery Store Worker Tells Crazy Customer Tales That Happened During The Holidays
Interview With AuthorWith the second wave of the pandemic sweeping across the globe, we all know that staying home is the safest option. But the holidays are just around the corner, and the shopping frenzy is likely coming with. Alarmingly, a study by Engine Insights showed that 85% of respondents are planning to buy holiday gifts in physical stores. Get these two together—shopping amid the pandemic, and you get a lethal cocktail with even worse Covid-19 spikes than we have now.
And one former grocery store employee named Dylan Morrison shared the insanity that goes on between the aisles of poultry and roasts, tree decorations, mulled wine, and whatnot in a bid to make people stay home in a viral Twitter thread.
From cheerful Christmas music that sparks aggression in customers, to a furious customer calling corporate because his prepped raw turkey was a disaster (only to tell them he put it in the oven with the whole plastic bag), it’s one heck of a read. So, why not just stick to our all-time favorite festive family drama to raise the stress levels? Because grocery store insanity may just be too much.
This former grocery store worker revealed what it’s like to work there during the festive season in this viral thread
Image credits: dylan_thyme
Image credits: dylan_thyme
Image credits: dylan_thyme
Bored Panda reached out to Dylan Morrison, the former grocery store worker and the author of this viral Twitter post. Dylan told us that even before the Covid pandemic, working in a grocery store during the holidays was like “getting up and running an obstacle course every day.”
In fact, “Customers are stressed, and the stakes are higher on holiday meals than they are pretty much any other meal of the year, so often grocery employees are in the unfortunate position of acting as lightning rods: customers take out their stress on us.”
And here are some insane customer stories he shared
Image credits: dylan_thyme
Image credits: dylan_thyme
Image credits: dylan_thyme
On top of that, Dylan said that traffic is hugely higher during the holidays than during the rest of the year, and everyone is shopping for more or less the same ingredients. “This means there are inevitably times when you have to tell a customer they can’t have what they want, which never goes well,” he said.
The worst moment of working during the holiday season was always Thanksgiving Day, said Dylan. “That’s when you get the customers who didn’t make a plan in advance coming in and demanding items that have been sold out for a week, or screaming at you because they think they ordered something that they didn’t.” Moreover, it’s super hard to be at work while the rest of your family is together.
Image credits: dylan_thyme
Image credits: dylan_thyme
Image credits: dylan_thyme
Having said that, Dylan added that there were always great things about working the holidays. The best moments would be happy customers who came in to say thank you. “It really made me feel like I’d played a part, however small, in helping folks make wonderful memories, and it was one of the most fulfilling parts of my work.”
Image credits: dylan_thyme
Image credits: dylan_thyme
Image credits: dylan_thyme
Dylan urges shoppers to avoid coming into the stores for holiday shopping as much as possible. “Obviously I am not a doctor or an epidemiologist, but we know that coronavirus spreads best in crowded indoor spaces, which grocery stores certainly are during the holiday season.”
The danger this poses to grocery workers is what keeps Dylan up at night: “a shopper can get in and out quickly, but the workers are stuck inside for their whole shift, at hugely increased exposure risk.”
It turns out, frequent customer meltdowns were a real thing
Image credits: dylan_thyme
Image credits: dylan_thyme
But there were some really nice customers too!
Image credits: dylan_thyme
When asked about possible shopping alternatives during the coming holidays, Dylan said it’s rather tricky because while curbside pickup and ordering online are much safer, the employees doing the shopping and delivering are still at risk.
“One thing my husband and I have been doing since the pandemic started is routing as much of our shopping as possible through a local farm. This isn’t something that’s available everywhere, but a lot of small farmers are really struggling right now—their biggest clients are often restaurants, and restaurant sales are down, which means their suppliers’ sales are down, too.”
The thread author concluded that holidays spark some sort of ugliness in people
Image credits: dylan_thyme
Image credits: dylan_thyme
So it’s best to cancel your “usual” holiday regimen and stay home
Image credits: dylan_thyme
He also recommended visiting your local farmers if you live near farmland. “Our local farmers offer safe, weekly outdoor pickups; the food is cheap and fresher than anything we ever got at the grocery store, and it’s a great chance to put money back into the pocket of our community.”
Image credits: dylan_thyme
Image credits: dylan_thyme
Image credits: dylan_thyme
Image credits: dylan_thyme
Image credits: dylan_thyme
More people joined the thread to comment and share their own experiences of working during the holiday season
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The people who didn't pick things up might not be okay. When we were in contracting, we had a customer who just disappeared on us after okaying the bid and signing the contract. We could not reach him by phone and he didn't answer his door. Several months later we learned he had had a stroke and was in the hospital then convalescent home all that time :-(
Yeah, people die unexpectedly. Probably some of those customers above didn't pick up because they couldn't.
Load More Replies...I always read the customer stories from the US with high interest. And I wrote this comment a couple of times already, I think:"No wonder there are so many shitty customers in the US, as they usually are allowed to behave obnoxiously without any consequences. Retail and restaurants and all the other businesses should star sanctioning bad customer behaviour, and all of that would be significantly reduced!" Have a temper tantrum? No Service for you! Rude behaviour, foul language? Get out! Wann speak to the manager? No, you're spekaing to me right now! (and please, never ever give into their s**t and give them store credit, or any other incentive!)
There are also some in France, don't worry. And elsewhere ... bullshit has no borders/// y'en a aussi en France t'inquiètes, et ailleurs, la connerie n'a pas de frontières 🤷♀️
Load More Replies...I try not to go to the store on Thanksgiving and x-mas as I don't condone them making their employees work on those days, but I had to a few years back. I called the store frantic asking them if they were open because a bear had eaten the pie I had put on my deck to cool. At least I made the employee laugh at that visual. I apologized for being a customer that day when I came in. Only time in 50 years I've done gone in on TG. And fwiw, not everyone will have another holiday. Saying there will always be another holiday is very glib and cavalier. My father passed away last month and this will be the first holiday without him. He didn't get another holiday and neither will a lot of other people. Cherish the holidays with your families, you may not get another. But also be considerate to store employees. Buy your ingredients ahead of time or place your orders in a sane manner. Don't be *that* customer.
I avoid stores on holidays for the same reason. I hate that things have become so much about corporations making$ and less about the people. I don't think working on holidays for most employees is monetarily worth it.
Load More Replies...I distinctly remember a few year back when a customer yelled at me for working on Easter Sunday. I wanted to look him in the eyes and ask why he was there then.
I had a lady tell me once that " if one more person said Merry Xmas she was gonna lose her s**t" , I just thought if that is where you are at (and I ran a store that you couldn't reeeaally say could be gifts i.e medicines) JUST DON'T DO XMAS.....FFS!!!!!
Not really that simple, unless you cut off interactions with nearly all other human beings for the last two weeks of December. I have had Jews and Muslims wish me Merry Xmas. They dont "do" Xmas, but they consider it polite to acknowledge that I might.
Load More Replies...I have a million food issues, and have to be super careful what is in what I eat or I suffer miserable consequences. So I might be the person calling (only once, though) to confirm that the turkey does NOT have "natural flavorings" added (could be garlic, which will make me sick as hell), that it really IS just turkey, salt and water. That said, I would also be fine with an emailed list of ingredients. No need to call every single day. But I might not buy it if I'm not sure it's okay for me. Also -- there are a lot of people in this world who have sensory issues, are hypersensitive to noise, bright lights, etc., and busy grocery stores are hell. If someone is melting down because they're being a spoiled brat, sure, feel free to judge. But maybe they're doing their best and it's been a horrid day and they're having to run these errands because no one else can and the whole thing just cascades into an epic mind-blowing freakout and they can't hold it back until they get to the car.
"maybe they're doing their best and it's been a horrid day and they're having to run these errands because no one else can and the whole thing just cascades into an epic mind-blowing freakout and they can't hold it back until they get to the car." Yep, I have been this person. Not yelling at the employees, but having a nervous breakdown right in the store and having to just leave. It's horrible.
Load More Replies...It's unfortunate that so many of us can't be with family (I haven't seen my brother since May. He lives about 8 miles away). So, Thanksgiving is just my husband & I. I'm in sweats and am totally not stressed out from making sure the house is spotless. I'll do the full on meal & we'll have leftovers for days. Tomorrow, I'll start decorating the tree. JUST. THE. TREE. It usually takes me a full 3 weeks to get the house prepared for Christmas, greens and garlands and little white lights on anything that stands still, the furniture gets moved around and artwork switched out. I go nuts. This year I decided to give my self a break (and save the $250 or so I usually spend on the family meal). Not one bit sorry.
US thanksgiving was taken in by the commercialism of it all. Why bother to be grateful for what you have when what the shops want you to do is try pointlessly to impress anyone that you can? It's a bloody joke. No one here knows what's about anyway. Children still learn that it had to do with the so called pilgrims coming to America and "breaking bread" with natives. Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation and Sarah Josepha Hale sort of pushed it into a national holiday.
Load More Replies...I can confirm Holidays are the worst days in a year to work retail. My conclusion after working holidays in retail is that holidays are furthest from joyful and cheerful time of the year.
About people who don't pick up pre-paid stuff, here's my (limited) experience: one dead, on serious nervous breakdown. Patient hospitalized, totally indifferent when contacted at home post ordeal.... Be compassionate, folks.
He did say he hoped they were okay. I didn't take it that he was criticizing, just that he was astonished.
Load More Replies...What's the answer to the guy that ordered the $120 precooked prime rib that wanted to heat it in his microwave. If it's precooked, does he still have to heat it in the oven? As someone that's never ordered $120 precooked meat from a store, I really don't know, but I've heated other precooked meats in the microwave.
How big is your microwave? It's a big joint of meat, with rib bones sticking out. Also, I'd say it's so big it wouldn't cook well in there, even if you did fit it in. You'd have spots that were boiling hot, and some cold. I'd bet the instructions were quite specific
Load More Replies...A man I knew for several years worked at Whole Foods, and could he tell stories! I kept telling him that he should write a book. Sadly I've lost touch with him, or I'd send him the URL for this.
I think this is downvoted because a lot of people here don't understand sarcasm :-)... or trump supporters, who really shouldn't be here anyway
Load More Replies...I worked rx retail for 27 years and small grocer prior to that. The more money some people spent on others the crankier they became until said holiday when they either exploded or got roaring drunk.
I use to work at a Sandwich Shop. Everyday I hoped I would get just one nice customer and I'd be alright. Most customers were not nice. Some days I didn't even get one nice customer. Once at a buffet restaurant, I was carving meat. A man wanted a real thin slice of turkey. I kept my knives very sharp so that was not an issue. I cut him a very thin slice of turkey. At thin as it could be without making a hole. He said it wasn't thin enough. Went to the manager and complained. Came back and threw a slice at me. My manager told me , "You need to learn to duck."
And I feel horrible for buying five things thirty minutes before a store closes... I know some horrible customers too but luckily I never had stuff like this. Holy hell.
I’m that 1/3 that cnn reported who will still see my family for thanksgiving. We are going to be precautious, but they only live 40 minutes away and I miss them.
I think it’s somewhat reasonable if your family isn’t big, but still consider wearing a mask or keeping some space anyway.
Load More Replies...We don't celebrate Thanksgiving in my country (not USA obv) but we tend to celebrate New Year more than Christmas so it's like a repeat of Christmas but for grown-ups lol! We still do the meal but it's accompanied by an all-night drink binge and fireworks. Probably more relaxed than Thanksgiving and we get to let off some steam..
I'm surprised some of those large orders that weren't picked up didn't require a deposit.
Scyth, I appreciate your concern for my welfare! That’s so sweet. Unfortunately, without insurance and with Trump as president, I would be unable to afford help, so I’m regrettably fixated on kicking his fat ass out of office.
Load More Replies...Sometimes, sometimes, you are so tired of peanut butter, rice, and hot dogs that you decide to spend and get a sushi tray (certainly not $250 worth, maybe $18). Sometimes, your child has a birthday and you buy them a cake and a nice bit of meat to cook. Sometimes you cannot give your child anything but can give them a candy bar or bag of chips since they helped you at the laundromat all day. Being on food stamps is really, really hard. And we have to reapply and interview every 6 months or if anything changes. Sometimes making $8 more a week will be enough for them to cut off $200 in benefits. It is really hard being poor.
Load More Replies...The people who didn't pick things up might not be okay. When we were in contracting, we had a customer who just disappeared on us after okaying the bid and signing the contract. We could not reach him by phone and he didn't answer his door. Several months later we learned he had had a stroke and was in the hospital then convalescent home all that time :-(
Yeah, people die unexpectedly. Probably some of those customers above didn't pick up because they couldn't.
Load More Replies...I always read the customer stories from the US with high interest. And I wrote this comment a couple of times already, I think:"No wonder there are so many shitty customers in the US, as they usually are allowed to behave obnoxiously without any consequences. Retail and restaurants and all the other businesses should star sanctioning bad customer behaviour, and all of that would be significantly reduced!" Have a temper tantrum? No Service for you! Rude behaviour, foul language? Get out! Wann speak to the manager? No, you're spekaing to me right now! (and please, never ever give into their s**t and give them store credit, or any other incentive!)
There are also some in France, don't worry. And elsewhere ... bullshit has no borders/// y'en a aussi en France t'inquiètes, et ailleurs, la connerie n'a pas de frontières 🤷♀️
Load More Replies...I try not to go to the store on Thanksgiving and x-mas as I don't condone them making their employees work on those days, but I had to a few years back. I called the store frantic asking them if they were open because a bear had eaten the pie I had put on my deck to cool. At least I made the employee laugh at that visual. I apologized for being a customer that day when I came in. Only time in 50 years I've done gone in on TG. And fwiw, not everyone will have another holiday. Saying there will always be another holiday is very glib and cavalier. My father passed away last month and this will be the first holiday without him. He didn't get another holiday and neither will a lot of other people. Cherish the holidays with your families, you may not get another. But also be considerate to store employees. Buy your ingredients ahead of time or place your orders in a sane manner. Don't be *that* customer.
I avoid stores on holidays for the same reason. I hate that things have become so much about corporations making$ and less about the people. I don't think working on holidays for most employees is monetarily worth it.
Load More Replies...I distinctly remember a few year back when a customer yelled at me for working on Easter Sunday. I wanted to look him in the eyes and ask why he was there then.
I had a lady tell me once that " if one more person said Merry Xmas she was gonna lose her s**t" , I just thought if that is where you are at (and I ran a store that you couldn't reeeaally say could be gifts i.e medicines) JUST DON'T DO XMAS.....FFS!!!!!
Not really that simple, unless you cut off interactions with nearly all other human beings for the last two weeks of December. I have had Jews and Muslims wish me Merry Xmas. They dont "do" Xmas, but they consider it polite to acknowledge that I might.
Load More Replies...I have a million food issues, and have to be super careful what is in what I eat or I suffer miserable consequences. So I might be the person calling (only once, though) to confirm that the turkey does NOT have "natural flavorings" added (could be garlic, which will make me sick as hell), that it really IS just turkey, salt and water. That said, I would also be fine with an emailed list of ingredients. No need to call every single day. But I might not buy it if I'm not sure it's okay for me. Also -- there are a lot of people in this world who have sensory issues, are hypersensitive to noise, bright lights, etc., and busy grocery stores are hell. If someone is melting down because they're being a spoiled brat, sure, feel free to judge. But maybe they're doing their best and it's been a horrid day and they're having to run these errands because no one else can and the whole thing just cascades into an epic mind-blowing freakout and they can't hold it back until they get to the car.
"maybe they're doing their best and it's been a horrid day and they're having to run these errands because no one else can and the whole thing just cascades into an epic mind-blowing freakout and they can't hold it back until they get to the car." Yep, I have been this person. Not yelling at the employees, but having a nervous breakdown right in the store and having to just leave. It's horrible.
Load More Replies...It's unfortunate that so many of us can't be with family (I haven't seen my brother since May. He lives about 8 miles away). So, Thanksgiving is just my husband & I. I'm in sweats and am totally not stressed out from making sure the house is spotless. I'll do the full on meal & we'll have leftovers for days. Tomorrow, I'll start decorating the tree. JUST. THE. TREE. It usually takes me a full 3 weeks to get the house prepared for Christmas, greens and garlands and little white lights on anything that stands still, the furniture gets moved around and artwork switched out. I go nuts. This year I decided to give my self a break (and save the $250 or so I usually spend on the family meal). Not one bit sorry.
US thanksgiving was taken in by the commercialism of it all. Why bother to be grateful for what you have when what the shops want you to do is try pointlessly to impress anyone that you can? It's a bloody joke. No one here knows what's about anyway. Children still learn that it had to do with the so called pilgrims coming to America and "breaking bread" with natives. Abraham Lincoln issued a proclamation and Sarah Josepha Hale sort of pushed it into a national holiday.
Load More Replies...I can confirm Holidays are the worst days in a year to work retail. My conclusion after working holidays in retail is that holidays are furthest from joyful and cheerful time of the year.
About people who don't pick up pre-paid stuff, here's my (limited) experience: one dead, on serious nervous breakdown. Patient hospitalized, totally indifferent when contacted at home post ordeal.... Be compassionate, folks.
He did say he hoped they were okay. I didn't take it that he was criticizing, just that he was astonished.
Load More Replies...What's the answer to the guy that ordered the $120 precooked prime rib that wanted to heat it in his microwave. If it's precooked, does he still have to heat it in the oven? As someone that's never ordered $120 precooked meat from a store, I really don't know, but I've heated other precooked meats in the microwave.
How big is your microwave? It's a big joint of meat, with rib bones sticking out. Also, I'd say it's so big it wouldn't cook well in there, even if you did fit it in. You'd have spots that were boiling hot, and some cold. I'd bet the instructions were quite specific
Load More Replies...A man I knew for several years worked at Whole Foods, and could he tell stories! I kept telling him that he should write a book. Sadly I've lost touch with him, or I'd send him the URL for this.
I think this is downvoted because a lot of people here don't understand sarcasm :-)... or trump supporters, who really shouldn't be here anyway
Load More Replies...I worked rx retail for 27 years and small grocer prior to that. The more money some people spent on others the crankier they became until said holiday when they either exploded or got roaring drunk.
I use to work at a Sandwich Shop. Everyday I hoped I would get just one nice customer and I'd be alright. Most customers were not nice. Some days I didn't even get one nice customer. Once at a buffet restaurant, I was carving meat. A man wanted a real thin slice of turkey. I kept my knives very sharp so that was not an issue. I cut him a very thin slice of turkey. At thin as it could be without making a hole. He said it wasn't thin enough. Went to the manager and complained. Came back and threw a slice at me. My manager told me , "You need to learn to duck."
And I feel horrible for buying five things thirty minutes before a store closes... I know some horrible customers too but luckily I never had stuff like this. Holy hell.
I’m that 1/3 that cnn reported who will still see my family for thanksgiving. We are going to be precautious, but they only live 40 minutes away and I miss them.
I think it’s somewhat reasonable if your family isn’t big, but still consider wearing a mask or keeping some space anyway.
Load More Replies...We don't celebrate Thanksgiving in my country (not USA obv) but we tend to celebrate New Year more than Christmas so it's like a repeat of Christmas but for grown-ups lol! We still do the meal but it's accompanied by an all-night drink binge and fireworks. Probably more relaxed than Thanksgiving and we get to let off some steam..
I'm surprised some of those large orders that weren't picked up didn't require a deposit.
Scyth, I appreciate your concern for my welfare! That’s so sweet. Unfortunately, without insurance and with Trump as president, I would be unable to afford help, so I’m regrettably fixated on kicking his fat ass out of office.
Load More Replies...Sometimes, sometimes, you are so tired of peanut butter, rice, and hot dogs that you decide to spend and get a sushi tray (certainly not $250 worth, maybe $18). Sometimes, your child has a birthday and you buy them a cake and a nice bit of meat to cook. Sometimes you cannot give your child anything but can give them a candy bar or bag of chips since they helped you at the laundromat all day. Being on food stamps is really, really hard. And we have to reapply and interview every 6 months or if anything changes. Sometimes making $8 more a week will be enough for them to cut off $200 in benefits. It is really hard being poor.
Load More Replies...
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