Supermarket Workers Reveal 40 Things They Absolutely Hate That Customers Do
You know how you enter the store to get some milk, only to see the shelf full of pinot grigio right in the way, staring at you with no place to hide? This moment of pure impromptu is basically the essence of the “decisions were made here” meme that shows the lonely product (one intended to buy) standing in the midst of the indulgence section, whether it’s beer or ice cream.
But no matter how funny it may be in the joke format, the reality is a tiny bit different. It turns out, it’s one of the most annoying things customers do while shopping, according to supermarket employees—not even mentioning taking a thing out of its package and leaving it lying out somewhere.
Below is the list of seriously annoying stuff we should all quit immediately if we ever want good shopping karma.
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When People Stop In The Middle Of An Aisle And Act Like They're The Only Ones In The Store
"If You Let Your Kids Do This, [screw] You."
!["If You Let Your Kids Do This, [screw] You."](https://static.boredpanda.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/5f92a01806dc0_YOx7EgQ__700.jpg "\"If You Let Your Kids Do This, [screw] You.\"")
Back in the 1950s and '60s, the vibe at supermarkets was totally different. According to author Blake Morgan, “brands treated customers like they didn’t have brain cells and used loud and obnoxious voices and obviously exaggerated print.”
It all changed with Ogilvy, the father of advertising who said that you gotta treat customers like you treat your family members. Because, essentially, they’re potential clients.
Then, the now-famous phrase “the customer is always right” was pioneered by successful retailers named Harry Gordon Selfridge, John Wanamaker, and Marshall Field. This approach stuck with us for many years to come, and it’s still in use today. But critics claim it doesn’t work in the current times.
If You Really Love Your Heros, Consider This
Yes, calling people 'heroes' for doing their jobs is a good way to pat them on the back, congratulate them and avoid thinking about work conditions and salaries.
In the times of consumerism, customers are no longer the perfect beings worthy of praise. According to the author Alexander Kjerulf, sticking to the “customer is always right” mantra has multiple adverse effects.
It makes employees unhappy, it gives abrasive customers an unfair advantage, it results in worse customer service, and it ignores the fact that some customers are just plain wrong.
Even if being customer-centric is part of the customer experience, that doesn’t mean brands and companies have to follow it blindly. They should rather seek a smart balance in making both customers and their workers equally happy.
"Working In Retail Is A Special Type Of Hell"
When I was a kid, customers had to pay for stuff they dropped and destoyed. Doesn't seem a thing anymore.
Customers Who Don't Say Hi
All The Employees Have To Do Is Put Stuff Away...right?
"If you do this, f**k you."
The worst part is the abandoned basket of clothes... *shivers* reminds me of my mum.
When Customers Leave Stuff From Other Aisles In Places They Shouldn't Be
ESPECIALLY cold stuff like meat and icecream. It is an absolute waste, the shops can’t sell those things anymore.
When They Tell Employees Their Whole Life Story
Yup, I have heard about a women having a colonoscopy, a woman being a prostitute and that the fella with her was her pimp and bf, a guy with a big bandage telling me about his infection that was literally oozing pus etc. Some things we just don’t need or want to know.
When Guests Forget The Entire Reason Employees Are In The Store
When They Walk In Just Before Closing
"Black Friday As A Wal-Mart Employee."
Customers Are Relentless
Even Though Zebra Says 1 But Not Binned In Anywhere
Things-Supermarket-Employees-Hate
And yet I did get charged twice at a bookstore once when this happened. Took forever to get my money back. I realize that's an exception, not the rule, but I am wary now.
When Customers Disappear After Employees Go Into The Back To Get Something For Them
Reminds me the scene with Rowan Atkinson and Alan Rickman in the movie "Love Actually"
Cough Cough
I feel awful for my son. He spits when he talks because of a few reasons. He has a lateral lisp which causes excess saliva and he has low muscle tone in his mouth which causes him to still dribble and not have as much control as most people do. I worry how that will impact him as he gets older.
When People Take Something Out Of Its Package And Just Leave It There
I admit: I did that once or twice. The packaging had no information about the fabric on it, but I need that info for my decision. Afterwards I really really tried getting the stuff back in the packaging, but gave up after 5 to 10 minutes. If the damn manufacturer is not able to print the f*****g type of fabric on the packaging and I have no chance getting the stuff back in the packaging because it was packed under a vacuum... sorry. And yes. I asked staff about the type of fabric, and mostly the answer is a blank stare and an „I don’t know...“
When They Beckon An Employee Over Like They're A Trained Animal
Who Just Decided "No" On The TV?
When They Don't Recognize The Difference Between In-Store And Online
"98% Of Customers Are Illiterate"
Sometimes this discount applies only to certain items and it isn't always clear which one
People Who Shop At The Absolute Last Minute
Here in South Africa, the opposite happens. The supermarket could be overwhelmingly busy, but the cashier will just put the "closed" sign on the counter, does not matter if there were still people in that particular queue. So you now have to go stand in another queue, making each queue take even longer, obviously.
Note: this post originally had 53 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
Everyone should have to work in a service industry job for a month (at least). I'm pretty sure it would cut down on a lot of this sort of thing happening.
I wish I could up vote you 1000 times.
And Americans should have to work for tips at some point. Anyone who has tips incredibly high (except when service is incredibly bad, but even then, I tip!)
I’m American and I tip well because I’ve never had to work for tips and I get paid even on bad days, so I think tipped workers should also. I’ve known people who tip terribly because they used to work tipped jobs and they insist that they worked harder when they relied on tips. 🙄
Most of us do work for them believe me. However there are some dumb f*****g idiots who do nothing and expect this big tip, but when they get none they are baby's about it
so true!!
Agreed! I have never felt so bad for retail workers who have to deal with children as I did after a year working in a candy store.
NASTY, VIOLENT, DESPICABLE, SELF-ENTITLED jackasses should be FORCED by law to work retail from November to January!!
Working some type of service job for a year should be part of the normal high school curiculum.
U should run for president, ideas like that are the ones that change the world.
I do not think this reflects normal customer behaviour. One respectless will outweighs 99 considerate ones. And most of the things shown here are likewise annoying to other customers than to staff.
It doesn't, 95% of people don't do any of this. But you don't hear about the boring normal customers.
Says someone thats NEVER had to work in retail, OBVIOUSLY.
Sorry to say but bad customers outweigh the good. It’s quite sad, we get so much abuse, entitlement and disrespect you would think it’s a joke but afraid not.
Yes. Unfortunately they do. And the really WEIRD thing is..........I've worked stores in the poorest sections of town, and even with having an old store, the customers were friendly and considerate. Working in the high end stores, especially "exclusive" stores, the customers were vile, contemptuous, rude, nasty, full of hatred, degrading to employees AND management, and had absolutely NO consideration for ANYBODY!!! And they are the proverbial "pigs"!!!
It depends on the type of retail store it is, and how big it is. Smaller stores tend to stay clean and not have nasty customers, because if a scene is made, the entire store stops and focuses all of their attention on whats going on at the register. Larger stores have more areas to "hide" or dump stuff out of your cart you decided you didn't want. Plus, the only people that you are going to draw attention from in a large store are the ones within a few feet of whats going on.
mmmmmmmmm, you don't work in a grocery store do you?
Now that is the funniest thing I have read all day. Just about everything here I see EVERY DAY. FYI, customers are NOT "always right", they are almost always wrong. They come into my store and don't know what they drive, rarely know what they want and always complain about the price.
Frankly, if I see people do that, I feel bad. In fact, I have put things that were carelessly put into the wrong places into the right ones, simply becaue it felt so wrong that someone did that.
Dave In MD ?
Make your own listicle that’s just boring posts about customers shopping at normal hours and not making a fuss.
Perhaps you don't live in the US but this is entirely normal behavior in stores here. It's disgusting.
Perhaps. My shopping experience in the US indeed is somewhat different, as there is much more staff and people seem to be comfortable with having people who fold clothes after they tried them on and in having their groceries packed. I always got stares when I started to pack the groceries myself, yet I only meant it courteous...
I think I could never work on retail. If I'd see any of the crap people pull I'd lose all filters and go off on them. I was taught to be respectful to other people and things I do not own. Clearly there are people that just don't have the mental capacity to understand that.
Those they don't need to work in retail. I will make sure my kids both have summer jobs in retail dealing with customers. It teaches patients and how to deal with uncomfortable situations.
Why would you need to have them work summer retail jobs when they work at your burger restaurant?
It teaches whose patients to do what?
Azziza love
Also will teach them respect and kindness later on when they are the shoppers.
For sure! I had a supermarket job when I was still at high school, and my sister did fruitpicking and worked in a library. It gave us not only a start on our CV, but a reality check on how to be in customer service/whether it's the right fit for you (ie how high is your tolerance for inane questions lol)
Falcon Good response!
I've worked retail, both as a worker and a manager. Some customers are idiots and very entitled behaving. However, some retail workers are lazy, rude and disinterested in helping anyone. They can be rude, nasty and dishonest. So, yeah...nasty people on both sides. Saying this, there is NEVER any excuse for being rude, nasty, entitled or demeaning toward anyone, including someone who is this way toward you. If you are a customer and an employee is less than professional, find the manager and complain, but be honest, be polite and try not labeling someone for one bad day.
Carney Good response!
Carney Good response!
One thing to add to the HATE list: Instore Radio. If I hear "More Than Words" one more time or one more Maddona tune I'd like to take a hammer to the loudspeakers.!
Sirt TenTea follower
Yeah,yeah I get it. All customers are assholes and retailers are poor downtrodden saints. In the interest of fairness how about posting things that retailers do that customers hate?
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Make your own listicle.
These were true & funny. I can laugh, I worked retail. Not anymore.
I’d like to see a list of things that decent, polite customers hate about rude, oblivious clerks.
I hate shopping
Billy the kid like
This is something that annoys me not as a worker, but as a shopper. You're going for the next item on your shopping list and someone is standing in the exact spot where the item is located just staring at the shelves. You wait a few minutes before deciding to grab a few other items and come back later. You come back ten or fifteen minutes later and Mr. I Smoked Five Joints Before Coming To The Store is still standing there staring.
Reading this gave me an anyurism, because I am going to work in half an hour and I work in a grocery store
For everyone complaining about working in retail...don't work in retail.
Anyone who has to deal with any aspect of customer service should get an additional week of vacation every year. You are screamed at, talked down to and treated like a piece of s**t.
I really enjoy it - thanks!!!
Wanda Kieft-Flood haha
Wanda Kieft-Flood like
I worked retail for a few years, and I swore I would never do it again. Examples like these only make my conviction stronger.
Forgot what I was reading, will get back to yous.
Stephen David lol
weswsketch -
Ahh even though I can relate to most of the these I still loved my job I spent 6 years work at a I guess u would call it a high end clothing store. I love the people I worked with and most of the customers. There were entitled rude ones but the good ones made up for it. And the pay and bonuses were really good.
Why can't people just respect others?
They forgot the biggest pet peeve (at least for places with them): putting the carts in the corrals!!
Asking how much something is at The Dollar Store. It's the dollar store, not somewhere that it could be .50 or 2.50 or $5. It's the dollar store.
War may be hell, but retail is double plus hell.
Rule 1. “The customer is always right so serve the stupid bugger right”
Some countries have mandatory military service for a year. The US should have mandatory retail service for a year.
So many of these have the words "old people" when in my experience as an "old" person who has worked in retail, it seems to me that the younger people who seem to feel entitled are a bigger problem.
Krazy Kat easy
I like how the comments are oblivious
So many comments about putting the money on the counter instead of in someone's hand. In large parts of the world it's common to put the money on the counter and it would be considered rude to hold out a hand for change. Hey BP, the world consists of more than just the US of Absurd you know? America might think it's great and the best at everything, but the rest of us really don't
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My personal favorite is when they see you behind the counter NOT on a register or obviously doing something other than ringing people up and ask you "Are you Open?". So want to tell them, "No I'm Dave, and you are?"
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ON THE FLIP SIDE.......... I worked part time at a collectible/greeting card type shop for a while. I made a LOT of free money, because I was the closer and had to vacuum every night. I would find wadded up bundles of dollar bills on the floor, I would find two or three envelopes laying on shelves that were full of cash, I would find wallets with money in them that had no ID's of any kind...... I figure I averaged about 20-40 dollars every weekend just from that. Sometimes, dealing with stupid people DOES pay off!!!
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Now I know what not to do!
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They forgot the rich, white teenage girls in their brand new Porsche that pull up to the drive through at Culver’s (for those of you who don’t know, a burger place popular in the American Midwest) and ask for a Big Mac, then drive off giggling.
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Some of these posts are just unfair to customers and tells me they don’t really want to work in retail.
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Things retail workers do that annoys customers: 1) Throw customers out because it’s 5 minutes til closing time and they’re tired and rude and impatient. 2) Block an entire aisle to restock during rush hour so nobody can get anything from that aisle. 3) Stand and talk, 4-5 staff together, ignoring customers. 4) Leave customers waiting at the self checkout when the monitor is blinking red (which at my place means as something’s wrong and the red light is meant to announce the staff to come over) even though the staff has made eye contact and is clearly just sitting there doing nothing. 5) Stalking a customer because they think they look “suspicious”. 6) Asking a customer if they need help and continue standing right next to them even though they said no thank you. 7) Acting like you don’t exist when you’ve been circulating the store 20 times looking for something, and when you ask they just point instead of going with you to help you find the item. 8) Looking at their phone not saying hi
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Why are my comments being deleted?
Peter Kelly -
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Some of those a**hole customers make excellent arguments for birth control - maybe even for eugenics.
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Here's a list of things that functioning adults hate that retail workers do: #1 think that we feel bad for them working in a grocery store into their 30's. #2 thinking that we care that they don't like our actions. They work in a grocery store.
It’s the service industry, not the servant industry.
That is the best and most concise way of putting it I’ve ever heard.
Everyone should have to work in a service industry job for a month (at least). I'm pretty sure it would cut down on a lot of this sort of thing happening.
I wish I could up vote you 1000 times.
And Americans should have to work for tips at some point. Anyone who has tips incredibly high (except when service is incredibly bad, but even then, I tip!)
I’m American and I tip well because I’ve never had to work for tips and I get paid even on bad days, so I think tipped workers should also. I’ve known people who tip terribly because they used to work tipped jobs and they insist that they worked harder when they relied on tips. 🙄
Most of us do work for them believe me. However there are some dumb f*****g idiots who do nothing and expect this big tip, but when they get none they are baby's about it
so true!!
Agreed! I have never felt so bad for retail workers who have to deal with children as I did after a year working in a candy store.
NASTY, VIOLENT, DESPICABLE, SELF-ENTITLED jackasses should be FORCED by law to work retail from November to January!!
Working some type of service job for a year should be part of the normal high school curiculum.
U should run for president, ideas like that are the ones that change the world.
I do not think this reflects normal customer behaviour. One respectless will outweighs 99 considerate ones. And most of the things shown here are likewise annoying to other customers than to staff.
It doesn't, 95% of people don't do any of this. But you don't hear about the boring normal customers.
Says someone thats NEVER had to work in retail, OBVIOUSLY.
Sorry to say but bad customers outweigh the good. It’s quite sad, we get so much abuse, entitlement and disrespect you would think it’s a joke but afraid not.
Yes. Unfortunately they do. And the really WEIRD thing is..........I've worked stores in the poorest sections of town, and even with having an old store, the customers were friendly and considerate. Working in the high end stores, especially "exclusive" stores, the customers were vile, contemptuous, rude, nasty, full of hatred, degrading to employees AND management, and had absolutely NO consideration for ANYBODY!!! And they are the proverbial "pigs"!!!
It depends on the type of retail store it is, and how big it is. Smaller stores tend to stay clean and not have nasty customers, because if a scene is made, the entire store stops and focuses all of their attention on whats going on at the register. Larger stores have more areas to "hide" or dump stuff out of your cart you decided you didn't want. Plus, the only people that you are going to draw attention from in a large store are the ones within a few feet of whats going on.
mmmmmmmmm, you don't work in a grocery store do you?
Now that is the funniest thing I have read all day. Just about everything here I see EVERY DAY. FYI, customers are NOT "always right", they are almost always wrong. They come into my store and don't know what they drive, rarely know what they want and always complain about the price.
Frankly, if I see people do that, I feel bad. In fact, I have put things that were carelessly put into the wrong places into the right ones, simply becaue it felt so wrong that someone did that.
Dave In MD ?
Make your own listicle that’s just boring posts about customers shopping at normal hours and not making a fuss.
Perhaps you don't live in the US but this is entirely normal behavior in stores here. It's disgusting.
Perhaps. My shopping experience in the US indeed is somewhat different, as there is much more staff and people seem to be comfortable with having people who fold clothes after they tried them on and in having their groceries packed. I always got stares when I started to pack the groceries myself, yet I only meant it courteous...
I think I could never work on retail. If I'd see any of the crap people pull I'd lose all filters and go off on them. I was taught to be respectful to other people and things I do not own. Clearly there are people that just don't have the mental capacity to understand that.
Those they don't need to work in retail. I will make sure my kids both have summer jobs in retail dealing with customers. It teaches patients and how to deal with uncomfortable situations.
Why would you need to have them work summer retail jobs when they work at your burger restaurant?
It teaches whose patients to do what?
Azziza love
Also will teach them respect and kindness later on when they are the shoppers.
For sure! I had a supermarket job when I was still at high school, and my sister did fruitpicking and worked in a library. It gave us not only a start on our CV, but a reality check on how to be in customer service/whether it's the right fit for you (ie how high is your tolerance for inane questions lol)
Falcon Good response!
I've worked retail, both as a worker and a manager. Some customers are idiots and very entitled behaving. However, some retail workers are lazy, rude and disinterested in helping anyone. They can be rude, nasty and dishonest. So, yeah...nasty people on both sides. Saying this, there is NEVER any excuse for being rude, nasty, entitled or demeaning toward anyone, including someone who is this way toward you. If you are a customer and an employee is less than professional, find the manager and complain, but be honest, be polite and try not labeling someone for one bad day.
Carney Good response!
Carney Good response!
One thing to add to the HATE list: Instore Radio. If I hear "More Than Words" one more time or one more Maddona tune I'd like to take a hammer to the loudspeakers.!
Sirt TenTea follower
Yeah,yeah I get it. All customers are assholes and retailers are poor downtrodden saints. In the interest of fairness how about posting things that retailers do that customers hate?
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
Make your own listicle.
These were true & funny. I can laugh, I worked retail. Not anymore.
I’d like to see a list of things that decent, polite customers hate about rude, oblivious clerks.
I hate shopping
Billy the kid like
This is something that annoys me not as a worker, but as a shopper. You're going for the next item on your shopping list and someone is standing in the exact spot where the item is located just staring at the shelves. You wait a few minutes before deciding to grab a few other items and come back later. You come back ten or fifteen minutes later and Mr. I Smoked Five Joints Before Coming To The Store is still standing there staring.
Reading this gave me an anyurism, because I am going to work in half an hour and I work in a grocery store
For everyone complaining about working in retail...don't work in retail.
Anyone who has to deal with any aspect of customer service should get an additional week of vacation every year. You are screamed at, talked down to and treated like a piece of s**t.
I really enjoy it - thanks!!!
Wanda Kieft-Flood haha
Wanda Kieft-Flood like
I worked retail for a few years, and I swore I would never do it again. Examples like these only make my conviction stronger.
Forgot what I was reading, will get back to yous.