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34submissions
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Hey Pandas, What Is The Wildest Thing That Has Ever Happened To You In A Grocery Store?
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#1
I was checking out at the grocery store. As the cashier was scanning my things, the lady behind me in line put the plastic divider down and started unloading her cart. She grabbed a 2-liter of diet coke and somehow managed to drop it on the floor so that it landed vertically on its cap. It promptly exploded, arching over my head spraying soda as it went. It landed by the customer service desk; easily 20 feet from where she dropped it. I wasn't even mad, just dripping and impressed. She couldn't stop apologising. She dried off my purse and the floor while I dried my hair, face, and glasses with the paper towels the cashier gave us. It was 100% an accident so I forgave her, paid for my stuff, and went home to do laundry and shower.
Final score:
19points
Rika 4 months ago
It happened to me with a beer, the cashier claimed it was a sign I was drunk. I apologized a dozen times because I was so embarrassed, I said I was obviously paying for that beer because it was my fault if I dropped it, but no, they kept accusing me of being drunk and refused to let me buy alcohol. I ended up going to another store where cashiers are smart enough to understand that disabilities exist. I would be so happy if I only dropped things when I'm drunk. Unfortunately, it's my life 24/7.
JK 4 months ago
Yikes. I went to take out a dozen eggs and they just flipped out of my hand (user error) but I did go find someone to notify them so they could do a clean up. I felt so bad since I have worked intermittently at grocery stores for many years. I have that respect that most people do not.
RELATED:
#2
Out of place guy alone walking around store not shopping but scoping it out. My 4 -year-old was laying in the bottom of the cart, but you couldn't see her. My handbag was in front of me. I pushed the cart towards checkout and this dude runs towards my cart and tries to grab the handles of my handbag. At that very moment, my daughter popped up and yelled "Hi!" This guy must have jumped three feet in the air and he ran out of the store without my handbag. Customer with overly friendly toddler 1, s*****g 0.
Final score:
17points
#3
I went in with a shopping list for ingredients for three dishes that I was planning to make for a dinner for friends. Every. Single. Item. was in stock.
Final score:
13points
Heffalump (Submission author) 4 months ago
Honestly. Never happened again obviously, but weird, right?
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Joanne Hudson 4 months ago
Oh I'm sorry that isn't the norm for you. Maybe you need to shop a larger store.
#4
About 15 years ago, I was in a local grocery and walked by a younger woman with a little boy sitting in the cart; this child was absolutely cute as heck. Also in the same aisle was a man with a few items in his cart. The woman with her child and I were in the same aisles several times and each time the man with the same few items in his cart was right them - looking at and watching the woman and her child. I guess I then became the stalker and followed the woman from aisle watching from a distance. No matter where she went even if she shopped the same aisle multiple times, the man was there looking, staring, and watching. It was creepy as heck. When the woman entered a check out line, the man abandoned his cart and left the store. Still keeping an eye on the woman and her child, I checked out my few items and left the store maybe 20 paces behind her. She walks to her car and there was the guy, sitting in a truck about 40 feet away watching every move the woman made. It felt awkward as heck but I approached and told her, she and her child had been followed and watched the entire time they were in the store. I told her the man was watching her at that moment. Rightly so, she was very concerned so together we went back into the store where she called 911 (the US emergency #). It's a small town and the local police were there within a few minutes. I told them want I had observed but by the time we were done, the man in the truck had left. The police followed her home making sure no one else followed her. Who knows what the man was doing but to this day, I believe he was up to no good. Folks, keep and eye on your surrounding!
Final score:
11points
Glen Ellyn 4 months ago
Very unnerving! Glad you were alert to the situation and came forward. 👍🏻
MalayDragon 4 months ago (edited)
Not all heroes wear capes. Well done sir. EDIT: or Ma'am sorry.
#5
Ten years ago, I'm in a California grocery store aisle and a guy is walking towards me with this HUGE, majestic wolf on a leash. I tell the guy "you need to explain, because none of my friends are going to believe this." He told me he's a trainer and only one of three people in California who has a license to bring his wolf into a store. Also told me that most of the wolfs in the movie "Dances With Wolfs" were his. Then said no, it would not be a good idea to pet his wolf. Fine by me. I'll just stay right here behind all of the toilet paper rolls. Yes, I took a picture.
Final score:
9points
LakotaWolf (she/her) 4 months ago
You don't need a "license" to "bring a wolf into a store" in California. You need a special license to OWN a wolf or high-content wolf-dog in Cali, yes, but you don't need a separate license to bring them into stores. Also, it's "wolves".
Crystalwitch60 4 months ago
Omg ❤️wow I’d love to have seen that , wolves are my fav animal , I send money to Lockwood,a USA wolf rescue , I wonder if he was one of those 🤔
#6
This happened maybe five years ago. I was in an aisle in the grocery store, looking at mustard or something. There was a woman a few feet away, looking at something else. Her daughter, about six years old, comes around the corner carrying a very large package of toilet paper. Mom looks up, sees it, and says, "No, no, no. Put that back. Maybe for your birthday."
Final score:
8points
Benjamin Brogan 3 months ago
What? Cats and dogs play with toilet paper, why can't little kids?
#7
In my poorer days i was in a store with my daughter and she loved looking at all the toys even though she knew we could not afford any. A lovely old lady was asking me about her and when it was time to leave she gave me money and said "buy your daughter a Barbie"
Final score:
8points
#8
I was walking down the aisle and this guy I had never seen before came up to me and said " I knew you were going to be here" I thought, oh he must have me confused with someone else and went on with my day. After that for 2 months everytime I went to that store he was there, he would smile and say hello and I would go about my business, then all of a sudden after a couple of months I never saw him again, ever.
Final score:
6points
Bored Sailor 4 months ago
Did he maybe work there and just got a job somewhere else. A lot of grocery stores do not have uniforms so may not have stood out as an employee. I am not good at it but know people who remember regulars very good.
#9
Bf and I had to clean and bandage a cut up hobos wounds. Bro just walked in to get more beer after a broken beer bottle fight with some other hobo. He didn't wanna go see a doctor, just get more beer. Priorities I guess.
Final score:
6points
#10
Love this one and I have many. I was a cashier at a "farmer store" in the US where you can self-serve from the bins. A kid comes through the line with $5 and $16 in jelly beans. I ask "where is your mom?" while I'm thinking I have to void this, hold up the line and disappoint a kid who doesn't understand volume, weight and price. Obviously unsupervised.
Turns out the person behind the kid is an ex-boyfriend of the mother so he just pays for it. Kid moves on and I told the guy that it was one of the best experiences I've had as a cashier. Thank you.
Final score:
6points
KatSaidWhat 4 months ago
Ha, bet he paid for it knowing his ex was going to have to deal with that sugar rush.
MalayDragon 4 months ago
Unsure why you got downvoted - here's some uppies LOL. Also yes, thats 100% why he bought it, and i'll bet he was smiling the whole time and on the drive home to LOL
Load More Replies... #11
I was grocery shopping with my 3 year daughter and a very nice, quite elderly lady stopped to say how cute my daughter was. And out of the mouth of my babe came..."Daddy this lady has no teeth!"
Final score:
6points
Glen Ellyn 4 months ago
Reminds me of a video I saw earlier today. Police officers have handcuffed the male suspect, and then get an unexpected request from him. He asks the officer to take his teeth out of his back pocket and put them in his mouth. The officer complied with the "ew" request. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
#12
A family - mum, dad, three daughters - in the frozen dessert section. The youngest girl started making a fuss because she wanted a very expensive tub of ice cream and her parents told her 'no'. She continued nagging her parents, getting angrier and angrier until it escalated to a full-on tantrum. She threw herself to the floor, arms and legs flailing, shouting and screaming at full volume. Suddenly her dad joined her, copying everything she did. Within seconds the tantrum was over and dad and daughter stood up laughing. Mum and the other two girls were half-mortified, half-amused.
Did I mention that I was that dad? And that none of my daughters ever threw a tantrum again? At least, not in public.
Final score:
6points
UKGrandad (Submission author) 3 months ago (edited)
Mr. A. and I sound frighteningly similar. Snappy dressers, good parenting styles, intelligent and charming wives, inveterate flatterers....
Load More Replies... #13
The wildest thing that happened to me at a grocery store? I got a job there. During the pandemic.
I worked in the vitamins/supplements section. Every DAY was wild XD
I think *one* of the two craziest things was Milk Woman - a very obese, older white lady who came in on the regular to purchase literally 12+ gallons of WHOLE MILK at a time. She claimed she was "allergic" to water, so she could "only" drink milk. Nothing else. Only milk. She was bafflingly hostile to all of us employees (who never questioned her nor were anything but unfailingly Customer Service Polite to her.) She would buy the kind of milk that came in a glass bottle, and if you brought the empty bottle back to the store and turned it in, you got $1 off your next purchase. She always smelled... weird. Not dirty or unclean, not B.O., just... honestly, like curdled/spoiled milk. I guess that's not that surprising :/
The other wild incident happened one night around 9pm (I always got closing shifts, for some reason.) A very clearly high af man came in and started harassing the cashier and saying weird things. Our manager John (who was a pretty cool dude) walked over and tried to gently defuse the situation. The high af man started getting very agitated and started saying even weirder things. He then jumped onto one of the produce displays at the front of the store, did a weird little dance, and hopped off. He looked over at me (standing there like a moron and recording the whole thing just in case) and said "Your manager over there? He's DEAD. I KNOW WHERE HE LIVES." ::pause:: "HUNTINGTON BEACH!!!" (not that much of a stretch since that's the city the store was in, lol.) The man continued, "He's DEAD. But not you, honey. I like *you*. Let's get it on." Uh, no thanks XD
The bro then walks out of the store yelling "YOU BETTER WATCH OUT!!" over his shoulder. We all feel relief because it's over. NOPE, IT'S NOT! The man walks back in, now SHIRTLESS XD He starts yelling "COME ON! COME ON! BRING IT ON!!!" (to no one in particular) and he starts kicking stuff on the floor, picking up the plastic shopping handbaskets, and throwing them around. Finally, our very tall and large produce-department manager, Gil, walks over from his department and sort of looms nearby just in case.
The man looks at him and says "YOU were the one, huh? WEREN'T YOU?"
Gil replies "I wasn't even here!"
High af man: "You better not have!"
He then screams "COME ON!" a few more times, picks up another handbasket, and throws it AT Gil. He didn't hit Gil with it, but it came close. Luckily, at that point, the police showed up, as John had called them when the man had first started yelling. High af man got arrested, still shirtless.
I have most of this on video. Alas, I didn't catch high af man's little dance on the produce display, but I got most of his incoherent, paranoid ranting.
Don't do drúgs, kids XD
Final score:
5points
UKGrandad 3 months ago
Maybe she wasn't white originally but regularly drinking 96 pints of milk had an unexpected side effect? I mean, overdoing it on carrots can turn the skin orange, so you never know.
Load More Replies... UKGrandad 3 months ago
🎶 She said 'I'd like to bathe in milk' / he said 'Alright sweetheart'. / So when he finished work that night / he loaded up the cart. / He said 'Would you like it pasteurise? / 'cos pasteurise is best'. / She said 'Ernie, I'd be 'appy / if it comes up to me chest'. 🎶 (Ernie, The Fastest Milkman in the West - Benny Hill)
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AnnaB 4 months ago
Yes, you can. https://allergyasthmanetwork.org/chronic-urticaria/aquagenic-urticaria/
Load More Replies... #14
I was in a market on Cape Cod back in the 90s and while in the checkout line a barefoot kid about 12 was nearby holding a large glass bottle of soda, which suddenly exploded, bits of glass everywhere. So, he's trapped in the glass zone. I and another guy, with shoes on, went over and helicoptered him to safety. I'm glad they don't sell soda in those glass bottles anymore.
Final score:
5points
#15
Not wild, but sweet. Shopping with my new-ish boyfriend. He was off in another aisle when an older man started s**t with me, blocking my cart, making comments, etc. I gave it right back and BF comes around the corner in defend-and-protect mode. Which impressed the hell out of the guy in question, who was my bestie's dad and whom I have had a "give-s**t-to" relationship for almost 30 years. Dad said BF was a keeper.
Final score:
5points
#16
I went shopping once, and Santa Claus was there ringing a bell for the Salvation Army! My wife was sure that it was a guy dressed like Santa Claus, but he smelled like cinnamon and peppermint, so I know it was the real guy.
Final score:
5points
#17
I was at the grocery store and a man who looked to be about my age (mid 60's) walked up to me and asked "Do you know what you call a nervous cow?" I said I didn't, and he replied "Beef jerky!" and seemed proud of himself for telling the joke. I said something like that's funny and went on about my business.
A few months later I was at the same store and the same guy walked up to me and told me the same joke. I hope he has family or friends taking care of him. I'm afraid he might be dealing with some type of early onset dementia.
Final score:
4points
Hope Cook 4 months ago
I went into home Depot looking for one of those triangular hoes for getting into crevices in my flower beds. Employee saw me looking and ask me if he could help me. I chuckled and said. I'm looking for a Crack H*e. Without hesitation he said, "oh she don't come in till 11." I'm still laughing.
Auntriarch 3 months ago
To be fair, crevice tool doesn't sound much better
Load More Replies... #18
Not in the store, but the parking lot. Back in my 20s I drove stick shift and knew I needed to put the parking break on when parked. For some reason, I completely forgot that part when I parked in the lot. I was almost into the store when a man stopped me with - hey is that your car? All I could do was stand there and watch my car roll through the lot. Fortunately, I had parked farther back where there were not many other cars. It didn't hit anyone and finally rocked to a stop in a depression.
Final score:
4points
#19
Worked as a cashier in a discount grocery store n , l for a few years and these are just a few things I had witnessed...(1)a woman threw books at me and a coworker because she believed that we had a certain product (we did Not)
(2) A woman with a very young toddler needing Uta diaper change comes in. I offer her a diaper, she thanks me and proceeds out to the parking lot. Later on, I find the dirty diaper outside. Thanks lady
(3) A man streaked thru the store, naked.
Final score:
4points
Auntriarch 3 months ago (edited)
You really didn't need to say that. Partly because it's simply rude, and partly because it's not even true. The world is unpleasant enough.
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#20
A naked couple well beyond their prime asked me for directions in order to purchase shampoo. May not be the craziest thing, but the craziest that only needs one line of writing, sure is.
Final score:
4points
#21
About a year ago I went through self-check out with like thirty items and didn't need customer assistance once.
High fived the manager
Final score:
4points
#22
My (now ex-) husband did a one-armed pushup in the middle of the baking aisle to impress me. Not wild, really, kinda sweet. The sweetness didn't last.
Final score:
3points
#23
I found tomatoes ,wine,and a melon for under £8
Final score:
3points
#24
I followed an older couple into the store, they appeared to be in their mid 70's. It was a busy store and I had a hard time getting around them, so I just followed quietly trying to get to the cheese section.
The man stops in the middle of the produce aisle, tells his wife, "Stay here," then walked over to the produce bags. He took all the twist ties, then took a toothpick out of an apple sample. I chuckled and just kept following.
Finally, we get to the end of the aisle where the gourmet cheeses are. They were standing in front of the case for a while when I excuse myself while reaching in beside the wife to get some parmesan. The man looked at disgustedly, with toothpick in mouth, and said, "I've never seen such a pushy poopwhacker in all my life!"
And that is the day I learned I was a poopwhacker.
Final score:
3points
Rick Murray 4 months ago
Google says "pudwhacker". Either way, it's certainly not a compliment.
#25
Just a few weeks ago. I was walking around the supermarket in my usual attire (sunglasses, noise cancelling headphones) when this weird guy comes up, stands next to me, stares right at me. He looked pretty harmless so I just stopped and stared right back. After a few seconds he cocked his head, then a few seconds later smiled, wished me a good afternoon, then walked away. I haven't seen him again in the times I've been there since.
So, uh, two autistic brains performing an out of band information transfer, or something? 🤷🏻♀️
Final score:
3points
#26
This was 2016, in a grocery store in Los Angeles that I had gone to regularly for years. I came around a corner, saw some people standing at an end cap, and someone from the group blurts out, "Heyhowareyou" -- really fast, all jumbled together. I couldn't tell who it was, or who they were speaking to, so I just rounded another corner and kept shopping.
Same thing, next aisle over, "Heyhowareyou" fast and all together. Weird, still couldn't tell who it was, kept shopping, thought no more about it.
Then, I turned a corner and it was just me and one other person, a young guy, on one aisle, both at opposite ends. He's walking my way, I note the movement, think nothing of it as I get groceries. He then says, "Heybigboy"... deliberately misgendering me. For the record, I'm female, AFAB, present as female, there's no question.
Thinking on my feet, I said, in LOUD teacher voice, "HEY BIG GIRL". Really now, you're going to misgender me? Then I'm going to misgender you AND do so where lots of other people in the store can hear. Let's up that ante, shall we?
Idiot Boy zoomed around the corner, and said, "Whatdidyousay" still all fast and jumbled. Again, loud, booming teacher voice, "YOU HEARD ME". And then nothing.
By far, THE weirdest encounter I've ever had out in public. I reported the encounter to the manager, described the guy as best I could, and fortunately never saw or heard from him again. Just still makes me shake my head. Some people? Who knows.
Final score:
2points
MalayDragon 4 months ago
Could be, but to be honest it sounds like another "Prank" video for social media.
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#27
Another one. I was closing up shop and a guy in a wheel chair was in, so I asked if I could help. He said he wanted to make balsamic reduction and had a bag of sugar in his hands. I said no, tried and it doesn't work. Went around to the next aisle and got him the bottle of premade. Super nice guy. Also got ice cream off the top shelf and made sure he got to his car.
Final score:
2points
#28
I saw a mouse running across an aisle.
I've seen a bird in an aisle, and some birds flying in the rafters.
A random woman started talking to me about vegetables that helped her hemorrhoids and some other very personal health issues she had. (What makes people come to me about this stuff?)
I've seen a lot of rage shoppers. (I will not go to SuperStore, as that is the worst grocery store for that. My daughter almost got crushed between the checkout counter and some dude's cart because he didn't want to wait for her to move out of the way. Then we had to move out of the way for someone else, and someone else demanded we move out of the way for them as we were waiting for the other person to move out of the way, resulting in me having an a panic attack. This is why I really REALLY hate impatient people.)
There was a guy who went on a racist tirade to some Ukrainian immigrant staff at the deli. Security had to intervene and he started going off on the East Indian security guard, too.
Final score:
2points
#29
This happened twice, but not in several years. While shopping I look in “my” cart and noticed some items that I know weren’t mine. I panicked, feeling like a doof and went to find my cart and transferred my items from the strangers cart to my cart. I always wondered if they eventually found their cart.
Final score:
2points
#30
For the two year anniversary of my local grocery store, they had a random cake draw. Every so often they would call one of the numbers that had been placed on the floor throughout the store. I happened to be on the number they called. I won a full size sheet cake.
Final score:
2points
#31
I saw a bottle of Pedro Ximenes sherry, not their usual brand, with no price on it. I took it to checkout and they couldn't find a price for it, in fact they couldn't find any reference to it on their records at all. So they gave it to me for nothing. It was very nice.
Final score:
2points
#32
Not really wild, per se, but I was in the grocery store once when a test of the emergency alert system went off. Everybody's phone was screeching at the same time!
Final score:
2points
#33
I was in line behind I think a grandmother and her grand daughter (4-5) and the child was playing with the conveyor belt with her hand At on point her hand travelled to the end of the belt and got stuck under the metal guard and the belt kept grinding on her hand. The checkout out person fled , the grandmother was clueless and the kid was screaming. There was no shut off anywhere so I forcibly pulled her hand out to prevent further injury, threw a bag of frozen peas from my cart on her hand and told the grandmother to get her checked out. I think there were just abrasions and no fractures, but I don't have x-rays eyes.
Final score:
1point
#34
My husband and I had just left our jobs at an inpatient psychiatric hospital and ran by Walmart on the way home. Two ladies who looked to be in their 70's were right in front of us as we walked into the store. One of them suddenly rammed their shopping cart into the other lady's cart who responded by calling the first lady a b***h very loudly and in front of what appeared to be their tweenish grandchildren. They began yelling and cursing at each other. I said, "I just left "hospital name," I am off the clock!" We managed to get around and away as the Karens continued to square off. We saw managers running to the front of the store moments later, so I'm sure it got more interesting. I had no more energy for anymore maladaptive behaviors.
Walmart story 2- didn't witness myself, but a lady got arrested at a different Walmart in my town for driving one of the carts around the parking lot while drinking wine out of a Pringles can. You can Google it.
Final score:
0points
What do you think ?
Sarah 3 months ago
Not wild but as a child the most exciting, local supermarket ( Dublin Ireland) in 1985/86 had promotion. When we got to the register all the kids were given a balloon which the checkout lady popped. Inside was a gift.. free chocolate bar/ bag of crisps. Etc. I won going behind the bakery counter and ‘helping’ the baker with whatever he was doing.. it was best fun ever at a super market. And im 45 now
Sarah 3 months ago
Not wild but as a child the most exciting, local supermarket ( Dublin Ireland) in 1985/86 had promotion. When we got to the register all the kids were given a balloon which the checkout lady popped. Inside was a gift.. free chocolate bar/ bag of crisps. Etc. I won going behind the bakery counter and ‘helping’ the baker with whatever he was doing.. it was best fun ever at a super market. And im 45 now
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