If you work at Bi-lo, or any store for that matter, you might understand quite a few of these. From the annoying couponers to the sweet regulars, being employed in the retail business is a hard job with many perks and chaotic events. If you have never worked in a grocery store, here are some wonderful examples of chaos that The Office puts into perspective.
1. When you walk into your shift to numerous call-outs
There is nothing worse then walking in the door to see two people on a register and one of them being a manager because for some reason EVERYONE is "sick". I am sure we all know that one person who is perfectly fine because they just posted a video of them at the lake on SnapChat.
2. Listening to explanations
Customers usually come in to return or exchange something and we will gladly do it for them, but before they let us they usually want to give us some crazy exaggerated description of what happened or why they did not like the product. Normally, we just sit there and listen with excitement to make them feel better, then quickly hand them their money and wish them well.
3. Then the couponers arrive
There are these women who come in with industrial binders loaded with coupons. They will walk around for hours and then stroll up to the register with three buggies. In an attempt to cheat the system they separate all of their items into 6 or 7 different orders that cause the line to back up for what feels like hours. Although these couponers are really nice, you might have a hard time being patient.
4. "Will you check and see if there is any more in the back?"
We only say yes because doing so means we can walk away for a few minutes and take a quick break. To be honest, if it is not on the shelf, we are out of the product. We rarely more of things in the back.
5. When you have to call the manager
Sometimes there is an issue at the register and the customers asks to speak to a manager. You explain to your customer that you can fix said issue and even tell them how, yet they still insist that the manager can do a better job.
6. When they tell the customer exactly what you just told them
When the manager arrives, you explain the situation in its entirety, and the manager looks at you confused because you should know how to handle this on your own. He tells the customer verbatim what he can do to help and now the customer stands there, faced flushed, embarrassed for wasting everyone else's time.
7. 5 Minutes until close
If you walk in five minutes until the store closes for "one" item, we kind of hate you until you leave. Nothing against you; we are just really tired because even though we only work a part-time job most of work really hard.
So, if you ever want to work at a grocery store just know that there is a lot you are getting into. It is not all bad. In fact, a lot of the job can be fun (if you're scheduled with the right people). Just know that we do try really hard to please customers even if it doesn't seem like it.
"Have a great day and thank you for shopping at Bi-Lo!"
