Everyone has a story that revolves around weird people at the grocery store, so, as a cashier at a grocery store, I've witnessed a fair amount of crazy things happen. Here's a top 10 list:
1. The man who asked me if I knew where the local nude beach is.
One regular Tuesday shift, a middle-aged man came in and bought a regular amount of items. He then asked me where the nearest Target is, and I gave him directions. Apparently, he thought I was very knowledgeable on the area surrounding the store, and asked where the nearest nude beach is. I told him that I didn't know of any nearby, and he looked me dead in the eyes and said, "oh, I'm sure a cute girl like you knows where one is!"
2. The woman with the reusable bags.
A woman came in one day and purchased roughly $250 in produce and grocery items. I bagged all of her groceries in plastic bags, and right after I had given her the receipt, she looked at me and yelled, "why didn't you put my groceries in my reusable bags?" I explained to her that she didn't give me any bags, and she then pulled bags out from her purse. I spent the next five minutes rebagging her groceries with a huge line forming behind her.
3. The man who screamed at me in Chinese.
A man walked through my line asking if I spoke English, and when I replied yes, he began to scream at me in Chinese, flip me off, and storm out. The world may never know what he was trying to say to me.
4. The man who needed "help out."
It is a requirement for me to ask every customer if they need help out, so when a man in his late twenties came through and old bought one item, I asked him if he needed help out. He winked and said, "I'm down if you're down." I then called a male courtesy clerk over to help him out.
5. The divorce.
As I was checking out a couple, I asked them how their day was going and if they had any fun plans for the weekend, as I normally do. With a straight face, the woman told me she and her husband were going to divorce court in a few hours. Too much information.
6. The vegetarian.
A young woman once came in and bought a lot of produce, and as I was finishing her order, she asked if we sold any vegetarian chicken. I wasn't sure if she was joking, and I still may never know.
7. Can I have my coupons back?
As I was finishing up a large order for a small elderly woman, she handed me a large stack of coupons, which is normal for such a large order. After I handed her the receipt, she asked me if she could have her coupons back, and when I told her no, she asked to speak to my manager and proceeded to yell at her about how our competitor store gave her coupons back.
8. Soup Kitchen scammer.
After I finished scanning all of her items, the woman I was ringing up told me she had a return, so I called a manager over to complete it. When my manager saw the customer, his face dropped and told the woman she would have to leave. Confused, I asked why he had her leave. He told me that he volunteers at the local soup kitchen, and this woman had come in before trying to return food from the soup kitchen for cash.
9. Expired coupons.
For some reason, at the grocery store, people are much more protective of their coupons. One day, a woman came in looking upset. She showed me her receipt and asked if I could give her credit for her coupons that she forgot to use during that transaction. I told her that it should not be a problem, and I called a manager over to help her out. Turns out she had been in before trying to do the same thing. Her coupons were expired, and my manager explained that the expired coupons would not even scan on the register, but she did not understand why we would not accept her coupons. Needless to say, I haven't seen her back in the store.
10. Do you sell gluten?
The grocery store that I work at is known for being very gluten-free friendly, so one day an elderly man came to my register and asked me if we sold any plain gluten. Confused, I asked him to clarify. He explained that because we had so many gluten free items, he wanted to buy extra gluten to "stick it to the hippies."
