I work at a drug store, and this is friendly message to all of you asshole customers out there who come up to the cash register, drop your FULL basket of crap onto the counter and then stand there with your mouth open like a complete tool, not thinking that it would be easier AND FASTER if you EMPTIED the basket so I can just ring your stuff in and you can be on your way. Also, would it kill you to walk 2 feet and put the now empty basket in its rightful place? It’s so sad to think of how lazy some people can be.
—kindly cashier
This article appears in Feb 26 – Mar 4, 2009.
FWIW, poster, when I first immigrated here from the states, the “empty your own basket” thing was something of a surprise— in the states, the cashiers do it, as a rule.
On the other hand, down there, coffee shop patrons are generally expected to bus their own tables, while here it’s left to the staff.
There’s no particular reason for either way– simply very, very tiny cultural differences– but some people may not immediately understand what’s the norm in either place.
Like I said, FWIW.
How much harder is it to take stuff from a basket as from the counter? Really? Because I can’t remember it being that much harder. Ogod your arm has to raise higher into the air. It’s not like you’re trying to nosedive into a shopping cart.
And if the basket is full, much easier than dealing with them in a big heap sans basket.
A lot of stores in the states also empty your shopping cart. They design the checkouts so you push the cart up to the cashier, who takes it from there. Haven’t seen that here, that I recall, anyway.
It is a small annoyance when people are too lazy to empty their baskets. Most grocery stores have a space at the front of the belt to put the baskets, even, so no extra walking. When you put the basket on the belt for the cashier to empty in a grocery store the cashiers have no where to put it and I tripped a few times over random baskets because I couldn’t just go all the way around the put it where it was supposed to go when I had people in line.
One girl I worked with asked people to empty the basket. So I started doing the same while I was waiting on someone in front of them. Most were happy to oblige.
I dont find it annoying enough to bitch about, but I know personally at the drug store I work at we have tiny, tiny, tiny, counters at the cash. On top of that my boss loves countertop displays – amounting to even less space.
Therefore when a customer just sets their basket on the counter, if theres more than one or two items in there, I end up holding the bag off the counter with one hand, and filling it, then ringing in the items with the other hand.
Like I said, it doesnt bug me enough to bitch about it – but it can definitley be a hassle.
Those are pretty much my thoughts, Gabrielle. I wouldn’t make a bitch about it, but it’s annoying (moreso because if you’re that fucking lazy to empty your basket onto the belt…).
Most of us are just shopping and don’t really care what makes your job easier or faster. Do you care about making my job easier or faster? No? Probably because it’s my job and not yours. If lifting your arm or taking 5 steps is part of your job then just do it. They won’t pay you any less for doing it well.
The point of my bitch was not to complain about “lifting my arm” at all. The point is that there are people behind you in the line up who are waiting impatiently, and by the time I’ve emptied out all of your crap and rang it in, they’re going to be just as rude to me as you were. And as a matter of fact, I usually DO try to make other people’s jobs easier for them when I come into their workplace, because I know what it’s like to deal with lazy assholes who don’t care about anyone but themselves. I’m pretty sure if I were truly lazy I would ask you to do it yourself, but I don’t.
On several occasions, I’ve asked cashiers (such as at Shoppers or Lawtons etc.) whether or not I should empty the basket. Often the counters are so cluttered that I’m not sure what’s best — so I ask. Every single time, the cashier has told me to just leave everything in the basket. Moreover, usually the person infront of you doesn’t leave any room for you to empty your stuff – you have to balance the basket on your hip and empty it out with your other hand. Seems to me it IS easier to leave everything in the basket rather than cramming it into a heap, and since that’s always the response I get, I don’t bother asking anymore.
It’s called common courtesy…. This day and age people are Fucking lazy and expect everyone else to empty their baskets for them. I don’t work in the retail business but I give respect where it’s deserved when I’m out shopping. Think about this you Imbeciles, the next time you are waiting behind someone when you have a shitload of groceries in your cart or basket and you have your weekly frozen food that’s defrosting because the person in front of you is either chatting the ass off the cashier or is too bone idle to empty it themselves, you may think twice about just standing there like a twat next time and actually do something about it. CASHIERS are just like everyone else, they are people and are out there earning a living whatever way they can….SOOOOOO pull ya fucking fingers outta which ever orifice they are in and do your bit to help out.
It’s called common courtesy…. This day and age people are Fucking lazy and expect everyone else to empty their baskets for them. I don’t work in the retail business but I give respect where it’s deserved when I’m out shopping. Think about this you Imbeciles, the next time you are waiting behind someone when you have a shitload of groceries in your cart or basket and you have your weekly frozen food that’s defrosting because the person in front of you is either chatting the ass off the cashier or is too bone idle to empty it themselves, you may think twice about just standing there like a twat next time and actually do something about it. CASHIERS are just like everyone else, they are people and are out there earning a living whatever way they can….SOOOOOO pull ya fucking fingers outta which ever orifice they are in and do your bit to help out.
Sounds like a real friendly message, there Kindly! It seems like maybe you should concentrate on doing your job faster and more efficiently instead of being pissy with the customers. If I want to put my basket on the counter and stand there, as you put it, “like a complete tool”, that’s my prerogative as a customer… I’m not the person who is being paid to wait on customers. Holy frig, do your own job, I have other things to do, and you won’t be coming into my workplace anytime soon to help me…
You said:”The point is that there are people behind you in the line up who are waiting impatiently, and by the time I’ve emptied out all of your crap and rang it in, they’re going to be just as rude to me as you were.” Maybe they are “being rude” to you because you still have a snarl on your face from the last customer encounter… Try a smile. 🙂
I don’t get why it’s any quicker to put the items on the counter and then scan them, as opposed to simply taking them out of the basket and scanning them without putting them on the counter first.
It is easier to scan items that are laid out on the belt, Tim. And for those of us who have been cashiers who give a fuck about how they pack your groceries, it makes it harder to pack your groceries properly….unless you want your shampoo in with your meat 😛
Seriously though, it’s annoying because it’s just LAZY to put your basket up and not take them out of the basket. It doesn’t really take that much effort to put your shit on the belt.
And whenever I asked someone to do that (because I had no room for the basket around my cash, especially if my cash is filled with repacks) they were all very nice about it, so it really isn’t something *I* would put a bitch up about, but it is still annoying.
But if you’re talking about a basket, as opposed to a cart, you’re talking about what? six items? So we’re back to the time added by lifting your hand six inches, six times. What’s that, two seconds? That’s two seconds I could be spending looking at the skinny women on the magazines.
Like Lightkeeper, I have been halfway through emptying my basket when the cashier has told me that I could have left everything in there and it would have been easier for them. So really you should just let people know which you prefer as a cashier when they’re standing there. I always empty mine anyways because I like to make sure I have everything, and stack it nicely on the belt (OCD) but when I get people telling me not to, then I don’t know which is easier.
Generally dollarstores prefer you leave it in the basket I think, and its easier for them to count as they put it in the bag, so that’s probably messing people up.
that drove me CRAZY when I worked at Shoppers..HELLO, you empty out your basket at the grocery store, have the damn freakin’ courtesy here!! I think it’s just another sign of people thinking they are better than you and want you to wait on them as much as possible….hisssssss
Sometimes it’s just not convenient or desirable for me, the customer, to adhere to the cashiers whims, whatever they may be in each particular circumstance… If people not taking stuff out of their baskets makes you so angry, find a different shit job.
I’m not thinking I’m better than anyone, I’ve worked my share of shitty service industry jobs for fucking sure, but if it’s your job, don’t expect the customer to do it.
Actually, Tim, when people plop their baskets up on the cash, they’re almost always full to the brim with several small items, such as the loads of candy those overweight lazy people are buying to eat in front of the TV alone on a Friday night.
Actually, xxxxxxxxxxx is right. I used to get those stupid green bins filled so high I couldn’t even pick them up. They wouldn’t empty them so I had to figure out where to put the stuff while I was emptying it because I couldn’t use bags and I had to put them back in the green bin. People just don’t think sometimes.
*xxxxxxx is right about the full baskets. I wouldn’t say he/she’s right about it being filled with candy and other “fat people food”….skinny people can be just as “lazy” as fat people.
Tim: I found it quicker out of the basket. And I didn’t have a belt at Crappy Tire, just a small chunk of counter. Much easier to have everything in a convenient container for me to pluck at will.
And hold the bag wtf? Pretty much everywhere has bags on pegs, except for the big ones.
Some smaller stores don’t have the bags on pegs, SwampDonkey. The grocery store in this little bumfuck town in the valley I visited a few times didn’t have bags on pegs. It looked like a major pain.
I always empty my basket in the grocery store whether I’m in a hurry or not. I think it’s just because I rarely see anyone just plunking their basket down on the belt, so it’s not behavior I’d tend to emulate. Also, I know the cashiers have to pack the bags in a certain way, and it just seems like if I have a basket stuffed to the gills, then they can’t see what they’re dealing with. I hate carts so I always take a basket, half the time I end up filling it so full I can barely lift it (I’m smart like that).
So if you all empty your baskets at the grocery stores, why don’t you bus your tables at the coffee shops?
Theres a difference between grocery stores with a belt and small stores with small counters. Most drug stores/small retail outlets dont have bags on pegs – ours hang on one peg, you pull it off the peg and try to set peoples stuff on it. Its a pain in my ass anyday – but even more so when you have a basket full of junky houseware to contend with. 🙂 Hope that makes more sense now.
And I think Ive got two more things to add, yup two should do it.
One. No disrespect meant, but it sounds like its been a long time since any of you have worked in retail – if ever.
Two. Everyone on here bitches – thats the point of a bitch forum, right? And IMO ninety percent on these bitches on here are about inconsiderate, disrespectful, jerks. So why is it, that people can jump all over the antagonist at times – and at other times condone the behaviour of the person who, even if theyre not being out right rude, are being inconveniencing (sp?). I just dont understand how trivial stuff can be allright sometimes, and the end of the world at others…
Thats really convuluted, sorry. The moral of the story – why cant we all just be nice? And god forbid, go out of our ways to mkae life easier, or more entertaining, or happier, or whatever. Meh, maybe its just me, but I like being cheerful.
Shit, does that count as three things?
PS. Tim, sometimes I do bring my dishes up to the counters when Im done, and I almost always wipe the table with a napkin :P. Just FYI!
I bus my own table at coffee shops… sometimes I have to bus other’s crap as well just to get a table.
I don’t think you should bus your own table. But I see it as analogous to emptying your own basket.
I bus my own table sometimes, if it seems like it won’t inconvenience the workers (like if it’s really busy they probably don’t want me putting dirty dishes on the counter). I can’t really explain why I do this, except that it’s a small courtesy, and I’ve worked plenty of customer service jobs and know how difficult and draining they can be.
If the staff’s service is bitchy I don’t bother though 😛