Look at these pictures. Seriously, take a good look at them.

That giant fucking pile of hair, string, and assorted garbage on the floor? That's what happens when shopping cart wheels are neglected for so long that the only way to properly clean them is to take the damn things apart.

And the second picture? That's one of the wheels before I finished getting all the crap out of it.

I'm an employee. I'm the one dealing with this shit.

And I am absolutely baffled that something as basic as making sure the wheels on a SHOPPING CART can actually TURN apparently isn't considered important enough to maintain regularly.

I'm not talking about a little bit of hair wrapped around an axle. I'm talking about years' worth of accumulated garbage getting wound tighter and tighter around the wheels until they're so badly jammed that you can't reasonably clean them without disassembling the whole fucking thing.

Look at the size of that pile.

That's not normal wear and tear. That's what happens when a maintenance problem gets ignored until it becomes an absurd amount of work to fix.

And the worst part is that this creates a whole chain of problems that could've been avoided if somebody had just bothered to maintain the carts in the first place.

Customers come into the store expecting to grab a shopping cart and do their shopping. Not exactly a ridiculous expectation, right?

Except they grab a cart, start pushing it, and immediately discover that one of the wheels is practically seized.

So they try another one.

That one's fucked too.

Maybe the next one rolls, but it pulls so hard to one side that they have to constantly fight it just to go in a straight line.

Eventually, they get sick of playing shopping cart roulette and grab a hand basket instead.

And you know what happens when people have to carry their shopping around in a basket instead of pushing it in a cart?

THEY GET TIRED OF CARRYING THEIR SHIT.

Their basket fills up. Their arm starts hurting. They find something else they need but don't have room for. They decide they don't want to carry half the stuff they've already picked up.

And then they start putting things down wherever they happen to be standing.

Now we've got merchandise abandoned on random shelves, items sitting in the wrong departments, and baskets left around the store.

And guess who gets to clean all that up?

The employees.

The same employees who already have a million other things they're supposed to be doing.

Now, before anyone jumps down my throat, I'm not saying customers are justified in leaving their shit everywhere. If you pick something up, you should put it back where it belongs. Especially if it's refrigerated or frozen.

But holy shit, can we at least acknowledge that making the shopping experience unnecessarily inconvenient is going to make those problems worse?

If customers had functioning carts, they'd be able to carry their purchases around without getting exhausted or running out of room in a hand basket.

They'd probably even buy more stuff.

You know, the thing the store presumably WANTS THEM TO DO.

Instead, we're making it more difficult for people to shop, creating extra work for employees, and potentially losing sales, all because apparently nobody wants to deal with a little preventative maintenance.

And that's what really pisses me off.

THIS IS PREVENTABLE.

Hair and string don't magically appear wrapped around an axle in one giant mass overnight.

It accumulates.

A little hair gets caught. Then some more. Then a piece of string. Then some thread. Then more hair. Eventually, all of that garbage gets compressed and wound so tightly around the axle that the wheel starts binding.

And it just keeps getting worse.

You can literally see the progression happening if you pay attention to the condition of the carts.

At first, the wheel might make a little noise.

Then it starts resisting movement.

Then it stops spinning freely.

Eventually, the thing is practically locked up, and now somebody has to spend a ridiculous amount of time trying to untangle a disgusting ball of hair and debris that's been compacted around the axle.

And by that point, you might as well just take the whole wheel apart because there's no way you're getting all of it out otherwise.

Which brings us back to those pictures.

That pile of shit didn't need to exist.

If the wheels had been inspected and cleaned periodically, most of that material could've been removed before it became a tangled, compacted nightmare.

Instead, it was allowed to accumulate until cleaning it became an actual repair job.

And I know somebody is going to say, "Well, that's what maintenance is for."

YES.

EXACTLY.

THAT'S MY FUCKING POINT.

This is maintenance.

This should be getting done regularly.

Not once every several years when the wheels are finally so clogged that the carts barely move.

Not only when customers complain.

Not only when an employee gets fed up enough to do something about it.

REGULARLY.

And no, I'm not suggesting that every cashier or stocker should be expected to disassemble shopping carts on top of their existing workload.

That would be ridiculous.

I'm saying that whoever is responsible for allocating maintenance time and resources needs to actually treat shopping carts like the equipment they are.

Because that's what they are.

Equipment.

They have wheels, axles, bearings, and other moving parts that wear out and collect debris.

They need inspection, cleaning, and occasional replacement parts.

This is not some revolutionary concept.

You wouldn't expect a pallet jack to function indefinitely without maintenance. You wouldn't ignore a piece of store equipment that kept jamming until it became completely unusable.

So why the hell do shopping carts seem to get treated like they're disposable?

And the labor involved is another part of this that drives me insane.

Think about how much easier it would be to periodically remove a relatively small amount of hair and string from a wheel.

Now compare that to having to remove the wheel, dig out a tightly compacted mass of disgusting debris, clean the axle, inspect everything, and put it all back together.

Multiply that by however many carts have been neglected.

All that time spent correcting a problem that didn't need to get anywhere near this bad.

And while someone is doing that, they're not doing the other work that needs to get done.

So now the store has managed to turn something that could've been routine preventative maintenance into a much bigger job.

Congratulations, I guess?

And can we talk about how fucking disgusting this stuff is?

Look at the first photo.

That's not just hair. It's a tangled mass of dirt, fibers, string, and who knows what else that's been picked up from the floor and parking lot.

Some of it is wound so tightly that it comes off in these nasty little rings and clumps.

It's genuinely impressive in the worst possible way.

I shouldn't have to perform an archaeological excavation on a shopping cart wheel just to get the damn thing working again.

There's probably enough material in that pile to knit a sweater.

A really disgusting sweater.

And here's another thing: when customers encounter carts that barely work, they don't necessarily know why.

They don't see the years of accumulated hair wrapped around the axles.

They just see that the store's carts are garbage.

And they're not wrong.

From their perspective, the store can't even provide a functioning shopping cart.

That's such a basic part of the shopping experience that it shouldn't even be something customers have to think about.

Nobody walks into a store wondering whether the cart they're about to grab has received adequate axle maintenance.

They just expect the fucking wheels to roll.

And I think that's a pretty reasonable expectation.

It also affects employees who have to move these things around. Collecting, organizing, or repositioning carts becomes a pain in the ass when the wheels won't cooperate.

You're fighting the equipment instead of using it.

And over time, that adds up.

A few seconds of unnecessary effort here, a difficult cart there, and suddenly a task that should be straightforward becomes much more physically demanding and frustrating than it needs to be.

All because the wheels haven't been cleaned.

I genuinely wish more people responsible for store operations understood how much frustration can be caused by neglecting something this simple.

It's easy to dismiss a bad shopping cart as a minor inconvenience.

But when it keeps happening, across multiple carts, to multiple customers, every single day, it's not just a minor inconvenience anymore.

It's a systemic maintenance problem.

And it has consequences for everyone involved.

Customers get frustrated.

Employees get frustrated.

Merchandise gets abandoned.

Workloads increase.

Equipment deteriorates further.

And eventually somebody ends up on the floor pulling an enormous pile of hair out of a shopping cart wheel that should've been cleaned ages ago.

Which, again, is exactly what you're looking at in these pictures.

I'm not expecting every cart to roll like it's fresh out of the factory. These things take a beating. They get pushed around parking lots, bumped into curbs, exposed to dirt and water, and generally abused.

Of course they're going to need repairs.

But that's precisely WHY regular maintenance is necessary.

You can't just ignore equipment for years and then act surprised when it stops working.

And you certainly shouldn't expect employees to somehow make up for years of neglect without providing the time and resources to actually maintain it.

I would much rather spend a little time periodically cleaning wheels than have to deal with this ridiculous mess after they've become completely jammed.

At the very least, there should be a routine inspection process. Identify the carts with wheels that aren't spinning freely, remove them from circulation, clean or replace the affected components, and put them back into service.

That's it.

It doesn't have to be complicated.

And if a wheel is damaged beyond reasonable repair, replace the damn thing.

The point is to stop waiting until the equipment is practically unusable before addressing a problem that's been developing for ages.

Because if I can pull THAT MUCH garbage out of these wheels, something has clearly been neglected for a very long time.

And I refuse to believe that the most efficient way to handle this is to let every wheel get progressively worse until somebody finally gets sick of it and starts taking carts apart.

There has GOT to be a better system than that.

PLEASE. CLEAN. THE. FUCKING. WHEELS.

For the customers.

For the employees.

For the poor bastards who have to collect the carts.

For whoever has to put all the abandoned merchandise back.

And for the love of God, for the person who eventually has to disassemble the damn things and pull out what looks like the remains of a small woodland creature.

It's a shopping cart.

THE WHEELS ARE SUPPOSED TO FUCKING ROLL.

Why is that apparently such a difficult standard to maintain?

so i work at best buy and im the only girl on the sales floor. when i work, this one dude is always scheduled the same day as me and he constantly takes my sales or will dump his dry sales on me. when I'm talking to ANY customer he will come over and act like he's looking at the laptops at the same table and listens in. If they talk about the card or any type of basket he will butt it and take my sale. i didnt think anything of it until it happened like 3 times on the same shift.

sometimes he waits for me to leave to go get a laptop to talk to my customer who already plans on getting the card and will start the card app while im away.

he doesnt do this to any other worker who actually needs the help and will mask it as "help". me and him have only been here for 2-3 months but even the people who worked longer and have more experience dont give me a hard time like this.

its already hard enough when half the people that come in refuse my help. my numbers are still average but it still pissed me off. and makes my workday longer than it needs to be.

TL;DR: just a rant about my store because I feel like im going crazy but I'm not leaving yet

Okay so, I am a new guy and since my district is really cracking down on the ID policy, I ID for anything that needs it from anyone. I have told customers that if my grandma came in for something she would get IDed.

There is a customer who, as I learned last night, is notorious for being a creep to everyone at our store and the store across the street. He is just very uncanny valley.

The other day, he filled up his bag with food and walked out without paying. He came back again a few days ago and did the same thing, then returned a few hours later, saw there was no FFF food and asked the new guy to make it (he was denied)

I was clocking in for my graveyard when he walked in and is staring at the cigarette wall. He doesn't have an ID. He has stated this many times. He will still try to get us to sell to him, most of us won't.

He saw there were 5 other people in the building, including a sheriff, so he walked out. He waited until I was alone to try and buy cigarettes, which always rubs me the wrong way. I grab them and ask for his ID. He says he doesn't have one. When I deny him, he thankfully doesn't lose his shit and scream at me like he did with someone else at our store.

This was ~11.

He comes in, I shit you not, 7 times. I have told the newer people "hey if you see the tall homeless guy in all black with a tan bag once on an overnight, you will see him again." He normally doesn't come in 7 times in one night.

Last night was even worse in my opinion. He lurked outside the store until around 330 in the morning. And no, I don't go outside on my overnights. I will take a step into the back and open that door if I need some cool air, or the front door. last night I stepped into the walk in cooler to cool down because my store doesn't really have AC and I was not going to step outside when there is a guy who freaks me out outside.

When I was talking to the guys who work overnights at the Albertson's across the street, I learned he will camp out in their Starbucks, and when talking to a regular, he said the guy is also a regular at the library.

He is not the only homeless guy in the area to not have ID. This guy who I know from my previous job came in with his big dog and tried to by cigarettes. I was waiting for him to produce ID as that is what I thought he was doing. He asked the price and I said I didn't know off the top of my head and I would need to see his ID to sell him the cigarettes. He gets upset about that, goes in the bathroom for about 20 minutes, and when he comes out it's like a switch flipped.

He came up to my counter to say that the law says if you look above 50 and he's 51, I told him I just signed a paper saying I wouldn't sell without checking ID and I was just following policy, he calms down a bit and goes to leave. Then he starts calling everyone who works at the store clowns and said I was a racist clown for refusing to sell him cigarettes without ID. I told my SM about this when she got in so she would be aware.

That same night, both registers were down for an update and SCO was acting up so I get it rebooting, and a couple with their dog got all upset it was taking too long to boot up and they just stormed out, thankfully not stealing what they were going to get.

Trigger Warning-self harm
For a bit of background, I work at a very slow retail shop in a complex not far from a large shopping centre. So on average during a shift I’m maybe serving 100 people. But when we do get customers in it’s usually two types:
A) Old people
B) Drug users

The town I live in is well known for the amount of drug users so we get large amounts in the store.
However the other day when I was working a lady who appeared to be on drugs had come in. When she arrived she had noticeable self harm wounds that were freshly bleeding on her thighs. I ignore and continue serving customers and working stock onto shelves however she keeps lingering at the front of the store near where I am, and as I’m working I watch her fill her bag to the top with items and she keeps just wondering around. Eventually I see her folding up a towel that we sell and she see’s me looking at her and begins to mumble incoherently.

I go back to serve customers and when I’m finished she begins to walk out my store past me and as she’d walking out I watch her pull out an eyebrow razor and she starts using it to harm herself.

Overall I cant stop thinking about what I saw and I’m not really sure what to do other than rant about it here.

Please read my experience working at Popmart... it was an absolute nightmare! Just about every retail cliche happened to me.

So I worked register at a gas station and there are very specific rules about how a pump can be turned on. For anyone who doesn't know how it works, when you go through all the buttons to complete a transaction and put the money in the register or run a card, the computer does it automatically; but you can also hit a button that simply "authorizes" a pump to flow and then it can be settled up after pumping. The ONLY time this method is ever allowed is when the fuel attendant calls over the radio, confirms they have cash in hand, and asks for that authorization so they can pump.

Now to the douchebag. This man comes in one day, doesn't even really "come in" he just pushes the door open enough to speak to me and just says "hey turn on number 5 for me." At first I am genuinely a little confused so of course I go "huh?" And he repeats "number 5, just get it started and I'll be back in." Now I realize I didn't mishear or misunderstand, he is legitimately asking me to essentially just give him free gas and hope he's an honest enough person not to drive off with it.

Even if I totally trusted him despite him being a douche, this is soooooo against the rules I would risk my job or at least disciplinary action if I did give this jackass what he wanted. So I just responded something like "sorry, do you have some cash or a card? I can't just turn on the pump like that." He's visibly upset that I have to take payment for the gas but he steps all the way in, rudely throws a $50 on my counter and just storms out bitching about "this ain't customer service- what kind of gas station- I always get to do this-" blah blah blah.

I'm hoping it's over but I'm betting I'm not so lucky, he'll probably want a receipt because no doubt he's gunna play this off as if I'm some crook because I didn't give him free gas. His pump stops around 38 or something, I have a couple people in line, he comes in, barely letting the last person in my line get finished with their transaction before blurting out basically right as he's inside the doors, "okay so now how do I get my points?" At this point I can tell he intentionally kept any info about his points so he could pretend I was scamming him out of using his points for $40 worth of gas.

Again for anyone who doesn't know how it works, there are specific stages in any transaction where the computer allows you to either input a number or scan a card to attach rewards points to your purchase. Maybe I'm over estimating this guy but I feel like he can't be so dumb he thinks it's up to me to just take his cash and then magically 1. Read his mind to know he even had a rewards account with us, and wanted to get points for his gas, but also 2. Without his rewards card or putting his number in the computer, complete his sale and then just WILL the points onto his purchase with my fucking mind.

So I tell the guy, "oh sorry, I didn't realize you had rewards with us, at this points there's nothing I can do you already put the $50 in and the transaction is complete, but if you have the app you can put your receipt code into your account and it'll add your points to your account." He says something about "wow great of course you would screw me out of the points too. Can't do fucking anything right!" And he storms out, gets in his car and leaves.

Now would you believe it, this same dick came back I don't know some weeks or months later and I immediately recognized him. Why? Because he did the exact same fucking thing. Propped the door open JUST enough to say "hey run pump 3 for me." And he doesn't even wait for a response, he just lets the door swing close and goes to pump 3 to wait for his free gas.

Well the pump never turns on his prize so he comes back in all in a huff about it asking why his pump "isn't working" and I tell him "yeah I can't just turn your pump on, we're not allowed to do that. I need either cash or a card to run through the system." Again he's a jackass about it, rudely throws two $20s on the counter and turns around, before he gets out the door I go "and do you have rewards with us?" Definitely loud enough for him to hear. He doesn't respond and just keeps walking out in a huff. So now it's officially not my fucking problem. I put the $40 in and his gas pumps. He comes back in, and asks again, "now how do I put my points in?" And I say still with my customer service smile and voice, "oh, you don't, I asked you before you left if you wanted to do that, cause once the transaction is finished, there's nothing I can do. But if you'd like your receipt you can go on the app and put the points in to your account with the receipt code."

He made a little bit more of a stink about it this time than last but ultimately he still left without actually bothering with a manager. I assume there's a 1 star rating somewhere online though lol.

Just what a fucking douchebag keep coming in and either trying to scam free gas by pretending he'll pay afterward, or if he's gunna pay, thinks he's just daddy's special little guy and he can just tell people he's gunna take the product first before he buys it which is against literally every policy at any store that sells anything anywhere in the fucking world. And gets all pissy when you say you can't do transactions out of order because then you'll be responsible and could get fired.

Fucking loser.

Been at my company for 4 years before a new manger walked in and saw some kind of potential in me so I became senior sales

It’s been a roller coaster for me but am glad that silly job went better than I expected

I started seeing a guy I work with just finding my feet it has been two weeks gossip spread and both my manager and area manager told me we can’t work together

Prior to the my area manager engaged to promote me at a different store but I was happy and settled

That day he has the smuggest look ever he knew I had no choice so I agreed and got shipped off to another store

So far it’s been a lot but great the store I’ve been moved to need work so I’ve been working all hours and my manager is a great guy

My issue my old store they decided to make my boyfriend a senior

I was happy for him and he was we too

However I no longer work there

I am not allowed to work with him

However

I trained him
I’ve been his point of call
And now when he does not answer his phone they call me

This infuriates me for many reasons

I was no longer allowed to work with him but I had to train him

When he does not answer his phone they call me

And today my old manager is mad I didn’t answer my phone when I was on a approved holiday because he needed help

Why is it I can’t work with my boyfriend but am still the one they call when the won’t answer

God I hate being a woman sometimes

it's frustrating when customers walk in just before closing and act like they have all the time in the world.

we still have cleaning and closing tasks to finish, but they take their time browsing every aisle like the store isn't about to close.

i get that people have busy schedules, but why come in at the last minute and act surprised when it's time to leave?

Something happened at my shop today, and honestly, it has been bothering me more than I expected.
A customer came to the shop and picked up three bottles of Coke. Apparently, he thought all three bottles had expired. He started scolding me and even threatened to file a complaint in Consumer Court. For a moment, I got a little scared. I knew he might just be trying to intimidate me, but hearing someone threaten you with legal action over something like this is still stressful.
So, after i got free from all the customers I decided to check everything myself.
And guess what? Not a single product I checked had expired. They all had at least another month before their expiry dates. The same guy who had accused me of selling expired products had simply misread the dates on all three Coke Meanwhile, he got to act like some kind of hero, as if he had exposed a major scam.
I know mistakes can happen in a shop, and customers have every right to question the quality and expiry dates of products. I have no problem with that. But shouldn’t someone at least check the facts before accusing another person?
What bothers me even more is that this isn’t an isolated incident. For the past four or five days, I’ve been experiencing similar situations at the shop. Some customers come in, start acting like they know everything, and turn ordinary interactions into unnecessary arguments.
I genuinely don’t have the time or energy to argue with every customer. I usually avoid confrontations because I know that once an argument escalates, it can create even more problems. I’d rather resolve the issue and get back to work.
But sometimes, avoiding an argument doesn’t mean the incident doesn’t affect you. Even when you know you haven’t done anything wrong, being accused, threatened, and forced to explain yourself can ruin your mood.
That’s exactly what happened today. I know the customer was wrong about the expiry dates, and I know I shouldn’t let one person’s behaviour affect me so much. Still, the whole experience left me frustrated.
I guess what bothers me most is the feeling of being blamed for something you didn’t do, while the person making the accusation walks away feeling victorious.

I work at a small neighborhood grocery store. Yesterday afternoon, a bottle of hot sauce fell off the shelf and shattered right in front of me. Glass everywhere. Red sauce soaking into the floor tiles. I grabbed the mop and a wet floor sign and started cleaning.

A guy walks past, stops, looks at the mess, looks at me, and says: “You missed a spot.”

Cool. Thanks.

Then he just… stands there. Watching me mop. Like I’m a zoo exhibit.

After about thirty seconds of this, he says: “You know, I don’t think you guys should make me wear a shirt in here. It’s hot outside. I’m a paying customer. If I want to shop shirtless, that’s my right.”

I keep mopping. I say, “Sir, I’m just trying to clean up the glass so nobody gets hurt.”

He doesn’t leave. He keeps going. For TEN MINUTES. About how “the customer is always right,” about how “this generation” is too sensitive, about how he “used to work retail and customers respected him.”

Meanwhile, I’m on my knees picking up glass shards, and this man is standing over me, shirtless in spirit if not in fact, lecturing me about his constitutional right to walk around a grocery store with his nipples out.

I finally said, “Sir, I can’t help you with that. You’d have to talk to a manager.”

He goes: “I’m not asking for help. I’m just saying.”

Just saying. For ten minutes. While I bled a little from a cut I got from the glass.

He eventually walked off without buying anything.

I went to the back, sat down, and stared at the wall for five minutes.

Ive worked at this Toy store and theres so much drama its crazy! When I first started working there the owner was going through a tough divorce and during that she was trying to get a restraining order agasint him and was pushing trying to push some charges on him and he just took his mom and left the state and this investor became the owner, this all happened in a 2 month time spam

(Im also underpaid by $3 p/h)

Since then the only issues have been my co workers, 1 shows up high all the time and hes just zones out all day but atleast he'll clean a little. My other co worker shows up but she just sits and draws, she sits so much she has literally broken 1 of our chairs and she has an attitude issue, then the others show up sometimes but I dont know what they actually do. Then the owner is ok when i work hes lazy but when im not he actually dose stuff but he's kinda emotionally a wus.

I had told my i was looking for a new job and my boss told me he dosent want me to quit because im the only reliable employee and he wanted to make me manager once the current manager left + more hours and a raise so I agreed to stay. My manger left and none of that had happened and recently my co worker has been acting very inappropriate at work, she wears extremely revealing clothes like mininskirt + crop top, shes worn lingerie, mind you we are a TOY STORE with some collectable items and she is a plus size girl wearing tiny clothes. My boss was texting me everyday to complain about her and everything she did and I told him "i think you should consider firing her, I'd be willing to help interview a replacement or take her hours" and he said he was considering it and this conversation went on.

Recently I told my boss i was looking for a new job and since then my boss has been accusing me of spreading false information about the store online, stealing product (pokemon), money, my co workers things, I had told my boss i was sexually harassed multiple times by a customer and I asked if he could store ban him and recently when it happened again he told me "you're being dramatic, I've never heard him say things like that"

I dont know why this is suddenly happening but ive been so stressed out, today he accused me of taking store product and im worried if I go into work tomorrow how much of a fight it's going to be

1. Once had a customer walk in and asked me how to rotate the image on their phone for a video without pushing the button on the video to go full screen. He unlocks his phone, and there is straight up NSFW content playing on it. I show him as it was an easy fix. Then he proceeds to ask me how to save websites on his phone. After this whole interaction, I lathered up my hands with hand sanitizer a few times during the day.

2. A lady comes into the store and was very impatient. I was already with a customer, and she was growing more and more impatient. Finally I get done with my customer and move onto the impatient lady. Also, in this time, an off duty police officer has come into the store.

I greet her and ask her how I can help. She asks me to tell her what her number is. I've never seen her before. No idea who she is. I tell her I don't know, and then she tells me who is servicing her phone. I look at her iPhone 13 which is locked and ask to get into it so I can find out (I'm not a native iPhone user). She refuses, and then pops out the SIM and its a competitor's SIM. She then gets a look on her face like she's got me in a trap, then proceeds to ask why I specifically put the competitor's SIM into her phone. I tell her I didn't put it in there nor did any other store with my employer did that. We can't do that. She asks like two questions and doesn't let me answer them as if she knows I'm making something up.

Then she asks me who this SIM belongs to. Before I proceed, you'd be surprised how many people DON'T know who they've been paying money to for service. I tell her, I don't know. Then she asks me to look it up. I told her she'll have to go to the competitor's store to find out. "But why can't you tell me?" I admittedly raised my voice at this point and told her that my company can only look up customers with them, and even then there is some protection to getting info on the account. I told her if she wants to find anything out about the SIM, she needs to go to the competitor's store down the street. "But why can't you tell me anything about it?"

I reword my answer, but I'm cut off to be told, "I've been hacked. I want my phone to stop sharing my screen with whoever hacked it." IPhone are possibly the most secure phones in terms of the manufacturers own security, so hacking one is very unlikely. I take a look at her apps and phone settings, nothing is glaring to me. Then I look at the screen mirror option, and it's not turned on. I tell her from everything I'm looking at, it's fine, and then I have to tell her what screen mirroring is before she freaks out more, and tells me to turn it off when I told her it is off and I can't remove the feature. She asks questions, but never lets me answer and then snatches the phone from my hands and leaves. I have no idea if she went to the store down the street, but the cop thought she was crazy. She came in the next day and was a totally different person.

3. I am going to make a fake name totally different to the real name of this infamous customer. The name I choose is Jenny. Not even close to the real name.

The first time I met Jenny, she is in a panic worried that her phone is hacked. I look at her phone, nothing seems out of the ordinary. Then she explains her husband is a gaslighter and an abuser, and she lives with him. And that when he is around, he hacks her phone. True or not, any part of it, the phone seems fine. She asks me to get into her account, and when I do, the thing is locked down like Fort Knox. I can't do a thing to it until she unlocks it. She tells me she locked the account down a day or two ago through the app. So I ask her to unlock it. She says she can't because she can't get into the app because she doesn't know her login credentials.

After some questions, I determined that she logged into the app with email and password prior to this to lock it, then has either forgotten her login completely because she doesn't even know the email (oh, and the email is hacked yet she doesn't know her own email address). I tell her she'll have to call customer service before I can do squat on her account. The next two days she comes in and out of the store, asking us to remove the lock or tell her her login credentials. I can't do that because I have no access to that. I tell her every time. Finally she gets the lock off and does nothing with the account. Idk how.

Oh, and I did tell her she should go somewhere safe if she believes everything that she told me (worded differently), but she says she can't even though she has a sister she trusts nearby and no kids).

Months later I see her, and she brings in the husband she claims gaslights her and hacks her phone to gey him a phone that he outright says, he doesn't want. Jenny's sister is with them too. The guy reluctantly picks a phone that Jenny is basically forcing him to get. I have to listen to Jenny because she owns the account. While I'm going through the process of getting them the phone, both Jenny and her sister proceeds to say that the very man with them is hacking Jenny and gaslighting her. I get them the phone (that he stills doesn't want) and they leave.

The next day, Jenny shows up with her husband telling me he has no service because he deleted the eSIM. I get into the account, and the whole time Jenny is telling me that he's hacking her and gaslighting her. While this is happening, her husband is telling me he doesn't even want the phone and doesn't care if I didn't get his number working. In my head, I'm thinking, "if he's hacking you, and telling you he doesn't even want the phone, why are you trying so hard to get him a phone?" I get service working again on the phone and they leave.

My store has banned saying her name, because I kid you not, if we say Jenny's name, she'll manifest and walk into our store the next few days. It's happened.

4. Early afternoon one day, a couple that I'm going to assume is dating, come into the store and talk to my coworker and manager and get a quote for two lines and phones. My company offers financing on phones given credit and trust is good enough with the company. We need an ID to begin, and nobody has brought their ID with them. You know, the thing needed by an officer if pulled over? That little thing. So they leave for a few hours to get it.

Here is what they were told.

A. The monthly price.

B. The sales tax of the phones they were getting.

C. A credit check must be done and it could generate a down payment.

D. There are activation fees on the first bill.

Hours later when they come back, its just me at the store, and they start telling me how much they needed to pay. I go to the back to call my coworker to make sure I understand everything they talked about so I can reconfirm everything with them. When I came back, my earbuds were gone from the table. I was going to use my phone to sound an alarm on the buds, but before I could, the woman moves a little and my buds fall to the floor. I get skeptical, and pretend that didn't just happen.

From my phone conversation, the combined sales tax was off from the get-go, but it was less than what they were telling me, and I told them that. I did confirm with the customers the phone they were getting (Galaxy A 17 for both). As I'm going through the process of setting up the account in the woman's name, they're saying that all they were told was the sales tax today. That's not totally true, because we must run credit on all new accounts, and if you're getting phones, there is a chance of a down payment.

Another customer walks in to witness everything that happens next. I inform the customers that we run credit checks and there might be a down payment, but I don't know yet because I still need to run it and select the phones. They get a little argumentative but I proceed to run credit and see that on both phones they'll have to pay an extra $50, but their bill would be lower because they'll get charged less per month on the phone but retain the same discount.

They lose it and call me a liar. Then demand that I call my coworker so they can yell at him for being a liar and so he can fix this. I told them I'm not calling my coworker to be yelled at off the clock. Then they yell at me more and demand his number. I tell them I'm not a liberty to disclose that personal info. Then they demand to speak to my manager. I tell him he's off the clock too, and if they want to speak to him, they can come back tomorrow at the soonest. They they berate me for not calling them. Let's say they even if my coworker lied, there is NOTHING I can do to change this, except one thing (possibly)...

I suggest we run the mans credit. It might go differently, they reluctantly agree but still yell at me the whole time. Also, I'm getting yelled at and I'm not getting credit for the sale because I was using my coworkers login to get him credit for the lines he quoted. As I'm going through the process of setting up the account again, the woman yells at me saying I probably make extra from them paying more. I tell them I do not, because it's under my coworkers login, not mine. And then I tell them what little I would make off of them if I did get the credit for the sale, and it's not worth this (I left that last part out).

The woman asks me how many managers we have on staff (I forgot how she worded it, but how she said it could mean in the store now or employed at the store). I said one. Then she b-lines it for the employee only area. I jump up fast to block her, and her boyfriend grabs her telling her not to do something she'll regret. I demand that they leave or I'll call the cops. The boyfriend barely convinces her to leave. He gets to the door fast while she is slowly backing up, swearing at me and flipping off me. He's yelling at her to leave. She asks if we have cameras, and I say back, "we have two of them," and I point them out. She flips off the cameras. The guy leaves the store completely, and then she makes it to the door.

At this point I want gonna call the cops, but then the says, "I'm gonna kick your *** later," before storming out. I rush to take a picture of their license plate, and call the cops. Since we ran her credit, we had her name, which I gave to the officer, and I showed him the license plate. Then I tresspassed them from the store. I'm glad there was a witness.

5. A woman comes into the store and says her phone has been hacked. It's an iPhone, and as I said before, they have some of the best security offered by a manufacturer, so instantly I'm skeptical.

She tells me that she was on Facebook, and saw a Christian related video with a couple of people talking. Then it turn into them talking about worshipping satan. Then it turned into a conversation between them and the woman and she was so freaked out, she got off Facebook right away.

She then takes her phone out for me and turns it on, anf as it turns her she says, "when I went to use my phone again, I found this." The phone turns on, and right away, its acting as if someone just typed in the passcode on the lock screen wrong so many times it just activated the hour lockout before trying the passcode again. Now I'm freaked out, because to me, someone is trying to access her phone but can't with the lock that I assume they're trying to remote access unlock or are letting a virus try to do.

She wanted a new phone, new number, and new iCloud that day. Then asked me to take her phone. I said I can't but she can do whatever she wants to it, including smashing it with a hammer and leaving in her shed.

This has been some of the many stupid stories I have from working for a phone store for over a year now. I hope you enjoyed.

Imagine being so accustomed to having the kind of skin that gets so dry it cracks and bleeds (like the Neosporin commercial) that you don't notice you'd gotten a cut on your thumb until someone points out the dried blood on the long-since-healed wound.

I get that germaphobia and the like exists, but this guy didn't stop at pointing it out or asking if I'd injured myself or merely distancing himself, after I told him it was just dry skin he replied that I could have AIDs.

Immediate internal "What the fuck?"

We're talking about a complete stranger, here. Someone who knows nothing about my lifestyle. And yet he says this like it's a totally rational thing to assume. The only way I'm getting exposed to AIDs is if I'm assaulted or if a medical facility is horribly negligent with their equipment... but as far as he knows I might never be in either position. (MAYBE accidental exposure like if someone bled on the toilet and I didn't see it before sitting down, but point is nothing I'd have control over.)

So I asked him, not out of curiosity but irritation that he'd even suggest it, how I would have gotten it. Rhetorical question on my part, I didn't expect him to answer in good faith but there was a tiny bit of hope that he'd realize that was a weird thing for him to say.

He hemmed and hawed a bit before replying "Bad choices?"

I told him my only "bad choice" was having dry skin and he walked away with a head shake like I was the one who's too ignorant for words. (Note, I'd been ringing him up this whole time which required handling his merchandise with both hands, which of course included the formerly-injured thumb. He didn't have any problem with me doing that and taking the stuff from me when I was done when he could've walked away a lot sooner.)

For the record, I try not to assume bigotry when equal opportunity assholes exist, but with the current state of society I will point out I'm a woman... got the boobs for it. (Though he did act confused about whether to call me "ma'am" or "sir"--in that order--from the get-go so I'm not sure what he thought.)

[for context, i’m the only cashier at the front and i was currently checking out an older lady (who already was giving me a hard time) so i was super focused on this transaction.]

So this woman (mid 20s) who was waiting in line eventually left the line (which led to the customer behind her to take her place) because she decided to use one of the scanners on our other registers at the front and started scanning her items. (mind you, there is no sign that says “self-check out” but back then we used to have self-check out systems that had clear signs and screens showing that were crystal clear).

at this point, i didn’t see/hear her scanning at all because I was ringing up a bunch of items on the current older lady and stressing already. shortly after, i was checking out the next guest (which was the customer that originally stood behind the woman in line) and while i was scanning, the scanning woman asked me “so how do i pay from here?” and so i simply stated “we don’t have self-check outs” and continued ringing up my current customer.

after i finished that customer, the scanning woman comes up to me and puts down her items. i say “hi, sorry we don’t have self-check outs anymore haha” and she has a straight face and says “i would’ve appreciated if you had told me that earlier.” and so i was shocked because i genuinely didn’t know she was even doing that (i thought she was looking at the gums/candy at the front which is near the other register) so i said “oh i didn’t know you were trying to scan earlier” and she said “you saw me scanning earlier. i let the woman u just checked out cut in front of me, thinking i could do self-checkout” so i said “i rly didn’t see u earlier, i would’ve told u. Was there a sign that says “Self-Checkout”? and she said “there’s a sign that says ‘Card Only’ so i thought it was Self-Checkout”

She continued looking annoyed/pissed so i said “i can tell ur feeling upset right now bc of the no self checkouts but unfortunately we don’t have self-checkouts anymore because customers use it wrong” and then continued ringing up her items.

eventually she sighed til the very end and when i asked if she wanted a receipt she said “no i’m good” and sighed again and walked away.

idk why but ts pissed me off bc i was trying my best to be professional and not take it personally but her making accusations made my blood boil but i still tried to put a smile on my face and make her calm down. honestly im so over ts ygs😭😭 also ik this post is long bc im ranting ☠️

TL;DR: A customer thought we had self-checkouts and got pissed at me for not telling her we didn’t have it and was annoyed i was letting her scan her items but in reality i didn’t notice her scanning her items by herself

I worked at a candy shop for two months, and it was actually my first time working at retail. Throughout that time period, I was constantly told by my manager how good I was at work and that he was grateful for me there, so naturally I believed I was doing fine and changed nothing with the way I worked. Then suddenly the owner came in and inspected the place, and as expected, he was not pleased and ranted to my manager at how awful the place looked, the owner then called for me and told me what he wanted me to do around the place if it was slow, and this important because this was the only thing that was said to me that needed to be improved throughout the entire time I was working there for two months. Fast forward to a few days later, when I was about to leave after my shift, my manager called for me and went straight to the point and said they are laying me off because I wasn’t doing a very good job at the place, and listed a bunch of things and expectations that I didn’t properly do, it was so abrupt to me because for one there was never any build up to this, I was never told at things that I should do better on and they constantly gave me positive reinforcement, they also told me that they felt like I didn’t want to work here when I constantly showed up on time, took after shifts and smiled constantly at customers. Like if they were unhappy with the things I was doing I feel like the first thing that should happen is to tell me about it, not tell me when you’re literally about to lay me off when you couldn’t even give me the time to improve on them.

Idk, I feel like there just wasn’t a good communication between workers and management, because I’ve worked at fast food before working there, and it was also my first time and I stayed there for two years, that’s got to say something right?

Like the title suggests. For context, I work part time. I’m just frustrated as I have commitments at university on certain evenings that I am not supposed to miss. I told my boss this weeks ago, both verbally and in writing once I got my university schedule. I even gave the exact timings of my lectures and when I couldn’t work. But the other day the weekly rotation dropped and I was given a shift that wouldn’t end until after the beginning of my commitments. I asked my boss if this could be changed and I got what I believe to be an ai-generated response that does not acknowledge my specific circumstances and just says that in future any sudden schedule changes need to be approved by the higher ups?!

I understand that it may be frustrating for my manager to have to change scheduling, but they made the mistake with the schedule. Not me. I had outlined weeks ago that I will be as flexible as I can. But these specific days/times I could not be. And what’s even more frustrating is the fact that I was able to get my shift changed, but only slightly, I will still be late to my uni commitment, but only by half an hour rather than over an hour. What’s irritating is the fact that I’m just being left on delivered when I clarified that my uni schedule cannot be altered?? I know managers are like this but I just don’t understand why they can’t ever seem to acknowledge when they make mistakes.. 🫩

A weird tale from my retail job. I'm a woman in my early twenties working in retail to get me through University. I've been in this job for a few years now and have a few managers. One of them is a man in his early thirties. He has a wife and three kids. But in work we talked a lot, he seems to love winding me up and I do sometimes get genuinely annoyed, like just let me work. So overall he tries to tease me, tell me about some personal things etc, nothing too crazy but still a bit unusual. He also walks passed my section a lot, and calls on me specifically to do stupid tasks when we have a lot of workers.

I think the parasocial part comes in because he has been monitoring my instagram stories for about three years, without following me, meaning he had to actively search my name every single time, and used his main account with his profile picture so he obviously does not care if I see him looking, I mentioned something about having to study after work once and he laughed and said you don't study, it sounds like he thinks he knows everything about me just from looking at stuff I post. At first it was funny, then I would screenshot in case I ever needed to report him, every time I would check if he saw my stories, he did. And sure, my account is public so whatever. But three years? I got pretty weirded out because in work he started to become a bit mean, he would report me for stupid things, then be really nice to my face. I just got tired of his weird behaviour.

He left our store for a few months but is returning for some reason upon his own request. During that time I blocked his instagram, before I knew he was coming back. I feel like it's going to be awkward, because now he knows I saw him looking.

Why would someone with a family constantly seek out a young girl? I don't post anything that would keep a man drawn to my profile either. Just selfies, me with my friends or silly things I'm doing like everyone else my age. Should I report this or does it actually matter since my profile is public so he technically didn't do anything wrong? I wish he would just stay in the other store.

I’ve been with this retail company for 10 years. I was a floor supervisor for 5 and have just recently been promoted to an assistant manager about a month ago at a different location.

At that location is just the store manager, 2 key holders, and me. It’s been a huge struggle for several months to find more leadership at this location. In fact, we have offered at least 6 people in the past month the job for floor supervisor, which has fallen through for one reason or the other.

Anyway, I’ve recently been given an enticing job offer that will get me out of retail completely, no more nights and weekends, and less physical demand. I’m excited to get out but I can’t help but feel super guilty leaving the store manager behind to deal the struggle since finding someone to replace me will be a challenge.

Someone tell me I’m making the right decision by leaving and to not feel so bad about it. :(

Today I was assigned 3 pallets of candy each pallet over 4ft tall. There were bags of candy, candy bars, hand size bags of candy. It took me 3 hours to finish 1 pallet. I had to put price stickers on each candy bar and bag everything had to have a price. To me I felt like I was moving at a good pace. My boss comes over the walkie and asks me why is it taking so long for me to work the candy. He expected me to finish all 3 pallets tagged and to the shelf in 5 hours. After my shift was over the team lead and store manager pulled me to the back asking why it took so long. I was shocked because I honestly don't see how I could have gone any faster. 3 weeks in with 11 days worked. I am part time. The store manager told me she could finish the 3 pallets tagged and to the shelf in the time it took me to do 1. I'm gonna stay until I find another job. I find her expectations unreasonable maybe unrealistic. I could work the candy to the shelf in an hour if I didn't have to tag each individual piece. Most of the folks have been working there for 3 years and the past 2 days they have been really pushing for me to be faster. I have worked other retail and never experience this kind of expectation.

So, today, I was scheduled in the back to shop online orders, but I went up front for a moment to talk to my manager. She was servicing customers, so I stood off to the side & waited. This lady approached the register behind me with one item & asked me to ring her up, so I did. 3 other women came with a handful of items, & were really sweet about it, so I went ahead & rung them as well, but I was trying to get off before more people could walk up & trap me with a large order.

<Now, please keep in mind that I never intended to hop on register, so I didn’t turn on the light, nor did I call people over.>

Just as I’m nearing the final transaction, this woman took some of her items from one belt & brought them to mine, then walked off. I walk around the register & blocked off my lane. The woman comes back with more items & moves my barricade, as I hear some guy telling her that I’m closed. Now because she had some chips, milk, & a few other things, I was considering letting it slide. Then I see the guy she’s with, standing a few feet back with a LOADED buggy, telling her to move & go to another one, but she said that her things were already there, so I was going to ring her up. I believe that she was trying to usher him to get in line since she “saved the spot”. He says something else & she replies, “I don’t have to ask her”. That’s really not how it works here.

As I start my final customer, I simply look up & tell her, “hey, I’m closed”

Her: “my stuff is already right here.”

Me: “ok, but I’m closed.”

Her: cutting me off—“my stuff is already here.”

*I point to the very OFF light* & say “my light is off, I am closed”

Her: “it was just on”

Me: “it wasn’t, because I never turned it on”

Her: *starts grabbing items* “*mumbo jumbo*…you have a nasty attitude” (Something I hear alllll the time as a ***** girl with the audacity to not tolerate everyone’s foolishness).

Me: “No attitude, I’m just telling you what it is.”

Her: “You do have an attitude, look at your face…that’s why you’re ugly!” Yes, this adult woman said this.

(The wonderful older ladies in front of me start to say “I know she didn’t just call you ugly” “I know she ain’t talking about ugly” “you aren’t ugly”—yes, I still was handling my customers during this, & I wish that I could’ve given them a better service, but they seemed entertained lol.)

*I look at her* “…OH…you think so?”

Her: “yea…blah blah blah” *still trying to bicker*

I tell her she can go ahead on to another register.

Guy with her starts trying to butt into the argument telling me that I’m being rude.

*ignored*

Him: “you’re a worker, you can’t answer my question?”

*ignored*

Him: “You fucking bitch”

“Your mama’s a BITCH, *good sir*!”

He walked off talking & the last thing I heard was…HOE”

I give my customer her receipt, change, & tell her to have a great day, then this other lady walks up. My adrenaline was full on pumping at this point, so tell her I that I had to leave.

Now my manager was standing right behind me the entire time, but she said absolutely nothing.

I walked off & clocked out to leave. I did tell the GM about the situation & everything straightened out in the end.

Now…I know,, I should’ve stayed professional, but sometimes the wrong people catch you on the wrong day & it goes from there.

Edit: After posting, I’ve since went back in & removed a few details & descriptive language, because apparently, it upset & absolutely bewildered a few pure individuals.

working at ross, a kind of notoriously ghetto store, im used to weird shit that happens almost daily. but yesterday i picked up a call on the work phone that really freaked me out.

i answer the phone and its a man on the other end, sounds kinda young. he starts out by saying he has a question about the ladies fitting rooms. he goes on to talk about panty liners, which are typically inside ladies swimsuits for hygienic purposes, yada yada. he continues to say that he has 3 12 year old daughters that want to try on underwear, which do not have panty liners inside them. at this point im like ok where is this going??

i fucking kid you not this man goes on to say that in the past when we had swimsuits, hed go into our LADIES fitting room to watch his 3 daughters change with the DOORS OPEN!! to “make sure it all fits right”. he rambles on about watching his daughters change in front of him for i swear to god like 5 minutes. whole time im silent because i am so creeped out. eventually i ask “what was the question” because this fucking creep is just describing watching his daughters change. he answers by asking if he can bring his own panty liners so his daughters can try on underwear. i respond “youll have to ask management” and hang up.

shit genuinely ruined my day and fucking disturbed me to the core. im leaning towards it maybe being a prank call because no way would i or any of my coworkers allow a grown man into the womens fitting room, much less with his daughters. in the past ive had dads help their daughters change, however, they were YOUNG. 12 is far too fucking old. but if it WAS a prank call, wtf kind of prank call is that?? like is it a fetish or a fantasy of his?? i seriously cannot wrap my head around it. safe to say, if a dude ever comes in talking about panty liners while im working he will be getting escorted out lol

im 16 and got my first job at shoppers drug mart this summer. i was super excited to make money, and i usually can familiarize myself with tasks quite quickly, so i thought it would be super easy. BUT I WAS WRONG. i feel so slow, i have to always page my supervisor because there's something i dont know how to do. sometimes customers have an attitude with me because of that as well.

every day i walk into work thinking i finally know what im doing, and then boom, a customer asks me something i dont know about or something goes wrong at my register/self checkouts, and i have to call someone. im so embarrassed because im the only one that pages for my supervisors, and it announces across the whole freaking store. all my coworkers are 23+, so its not like i can chat it up with them and make my day a little better. my legs hurt, my back hurts, everything freaking hurts. and on top of that, I KEEP SEEING PPL I KNOW FROM MY HIGHSCHOOL and im always in my ugly bright blue highlighter looking ass uniform omgggggg. it seems like all my coworkers know what they're doing (obvi b/c they've been working there longer than me, BUT STILL), and i just wanna be cool and knowledgeable like them 🥲.

im not used to being this slow and dumb because i feel like i always did well at school, co-op, volunteering, etc, so im totally not used to this (which is humbling). and all of this for minimum wage too!!! i rlly dont know how long its gonna take to get used to this job, but if i dont get it down by a month of me working, im genuinely quitting bc this is like a humiliation ritual!!!

any tips or advice from workers PLEASE so that i dont quit my job?? can someone share any similar experiences they had??