One of my first shifts as a grocery store cashier was a beautiful mid-spring Saturday morning. The sun was shining without a cloud in the sky, the air was warm, and the store was filled with the delectable aroma of freshly-baked croissants. Up to that point, every single customer that I had dealt with was pleasant and kind. As my trainer had said, it does really help to wear the “I’m New Here” badge.
Several hours into my shift, an elderly woman entered my line. I still remember her purchase: just a small package of roast beef. I greeted her, asked her for a points card, and told her the total. It couldn’t have been more than $2. However, instead of bringing out a payment method, she just sneered at me.
“Okay, ma’am, would you like to pay with cash or card?”
“Cash. Are you forgetting something? You’d better give me a bag as well.”
“For your one item? Sure. With the plastic bag fee, it’s $2.05.”
“That’s ridiculous. You expect me to pay for a bag? I come here all the time and it has always been a common courtesy!”
Despite being a new hire, I knew for a fact that she was wrong. You see, our tills have little tags that say “effective March 2017, plastic bags will be $0.05 and paper bags will be $0.10.” This event occurred in May 2018.
I said to her, “I’m sorry that you feel that way, ma’am, but this policy has been in effect for over a year. If you would really like a free bag, you can take one from the produce section.” More than anything, I was confused. She carried a Prada handbag yet wanted to dispute a common-sense courtesy charge?
“That’s absurd. And stop defending the company like a corporate puppet, they don’t pay you enough to do that.”
At this point, the quiet gentleman behind her, to whom I had paid no notice, stepped in. He tapped the woman on the shoulder and said, “they don’t pay him enough to deal with people like you, either.”
Without another word, she threw $2 onto the counter, picked up her roast beef, and walked away in a storm. Fortunately, I haven’t seen her since, but I always made sure to give that gentleman bonus points when he came through my line.