Baggers at the grocery store who don’t acknowledge that I’m even there after I say Thank you to them. I used to bag groceries and I would always smile and say something like “See you next week.” “Thank you.” “Have a good day.” or “Do you need any help with that?” I was there to do a service and part of the service was greeting, acknowleging and thanking our customers.
Customers that throw money onto the counter instead of handing it to the cashier.
People that stand so far back in line (from the checkout counter) at the grocery store, that you think they are just milling around or still shopping and not actually in line, and so when you try to get into that line, they yell at you. I’m talking about a space where 3 or 4 other people with carts could easily fit into that space.
And the opposite of the above situation, where you are at a takeout place and there’s a person (or a group of people) standing at the register (even leaning on the counter) and you come up behind them, thinking that you are getting in line. After 5 minutes or so, someone from behind the counter hands them their bagged order. Turns out that they were NOT in line to order (they already ordered), but even though they (the customer and the cashier) saw you walk in the door, neither one bothers to tell you that you can step in front of them (or to the side? Where?) to place your order.
Or to try to avoid the above situation, you ask the people standing at the counter, who don’t seem to be in the process of ordering (so you’re not sure what they’re doing) you ask them, “Have you already ordered? Is this the end of the line?” they give you a dirty look and say NO! The restaurants should have clear line delineations and signs at the counter that say Order Here and Pick Up Here. That would end all of this foolishness.
When you go to a place like Subway (which is never, now that I’ve discovered Jersey Mikes) and they ask you what you want. You say, “I’d like the veggie on whole wheat with lettuce, pickles, onions and avocado.” Then they start moving your bun down the line, and they proceed to ask you at each container, “Do you want lettuce? Do you want pickles? Do you want onions? Do you want avocado?” Then they tell you that avocado will cost you extra!!! Even though you did not get any meat on your sandwich, they make you pay extra for what should naturally come with a veggie sandwich.
And last, but not least, whenever you go to a takeout restaurant and say, “I’d like a bean burrito and a small drink and that will be to go.” They will ask (not a milisecond later) if you want that order to go. I’m afraid I’ve resorted to saying, “Yes, I’d like that to go, just like I told you.” And that makes me bad, because then I was rude too. I don’t like other people to respond with rudeness, and I’m afraid I’ve been guilty of it, in this particular situation, so now I will try harder not to do it anymore. It just makes the whole transaction much uglier than it needs to be. And I realize that most takeout clerks are working from a script and they just can’t help it, and in this particular case, they weren’t even being rude, just oblivious, but I was actually being rude for presenting my retort. I don’t like myself when I do that.
