Please Don’t…(extra post)

I mentioned earlier in this series that the list of things customers do that annoy employees seems to keep expanding, so here are a few more…and then I (promise I) will stop with this topic (at least until some really bizarre ones pop up…but I just could not resist adding these before moving on from this series.

1. Allowing kids to stand in carts or run around

I can understand why this would annoy employees (and other customers!) for a few reasons. First, it is dangerous. Kids may fall out of the carts, fall within the cart, or hit things with their arms (or worse, their heads) as they are pushed around. Second, although I really like (most) kids, it is irritating when they are “out of control” in stores (e.g., running around; crashing into people; knocking things over). I certainly understand that parents/caretakers cannot control everything/all children…however, we all know that a lot of the time, the kids could and should be much better behaved.

 2.Being unhygienic

Credit cards in their mouths? I guess people may put them in their mouths while they zip their bags…That is pretty gross though. If I were the cashier, to make a point, I would make a show of putting on a glove or using something else to take the card to indicate my disgust (yes I know that people do gross things all the time–and much worse than putting a credit card in their mouths–but ignorance is bliss…if I don’t see it, I don’t care as much). Alternatively, the store could have signs…imagine how much fun that could be…(e.g., “please keep your cards out of your undergarments”). I am sure that as customers get grosser and more creative, these signs would get weirder and weirder.

3. Relying on Mom and Dad to pay for everything

This one is just funny to me. But you know what? I think that parents often get pleasure out of buying things for their (even adult) children. I have been at stores with my mom and Grandma and my Grandma absolutely insists on paying for everything, And of course, it can go the other way too–with kids wanting to buy things for their parents. I can see that they might think some of the children seemed “entitled,” I am surprised that this complaint made the list. bothers people.

4. Misbehaving while getting a free sample

Ah, lovely. My favorite line from this complaint was “blocking and grabbing the sample food like they have never eaten before.” I think this one is funny too. Sampling can have so many funny scenarios (What kind of “sampler” are you?). I especially like when people act as though they have never seen/tasted a certain product before (e.g., “what are those? Cheerios? Hmmm…I guess here is my chance to try them!”). It is similar to when people are at a party and are asked “who wants cake?” Inevitably, multiple people say, “I guess I’ll try a piece”…right, like you have never had a piece of cake before!

5. Failing to strategize when it comes to filling cart

This would just be annoying if customers were reckless and then expected to get new products (e..g, if they piled things on eggs and then would not pay for the broken eggs and made employees go back to the section to get a new carton for them).

6. Forgetting to think through larger purchases

Makes sense…although in all fairness to those of us (I am terrible!) with poor spatial abilities, it can be hard to know what will fit in the car…and sometimes people can get out of control with purchases and may forget that everything has to fit in!

Okay, done with series for now! New topic coming next week!