General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMy daughter: "I went full "Karen" at Walmart." ... then her 5 year old ---
She's in line at check out with a full carriage and 3 kids in tow. ONE cashier is on duty. Just as she gets to put her stuff on the belt, the light goes off. "Sorry, I'm going on break and this register is closed."
R: "I've been waiting in line for over 15 minutes."
Manager comes over. "You can take it to the self checkout."
R: "I don't work here or get paid to check out. So you either open a register or put this shit back on the shelves, yourselves."
Manager: "Sorry ma'am, the cashier is on break."
Daughter leaves the cart and starts walking out the door.
5 Year old shouts out: "Fuck this place!" (He gets that from his father, but I approve the sentiment.)
End of story.
leftieNanner
(15,056 posts)would have been mine BEFORE I walked in the door.
But that's not exactly the best customer service. A woman with three small children and a full cart getting shunted over to the self service line? I don't think so!
Funny/Sad story. Thanks for sharing.
LakeArenal
(28,790 posts)lunatica
(53,410 posts)She should call the headquarters and complain.
50 Shades Of Blue
(9,915 posts)Should have picked up the slack.
If I'd heard a 5-year-old yell that word, I wouldn't have been favorably impressed.
Times are stressful for all. Imagine working retail during a pandemic.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)and then not allow anyone else to get in the line - to avoid just this kind of situation. Not sure why they didn't do that.
But these workers are under incredible stress. We all need to be more thoughtful.
I agree about the child's behavior. Not something I'd brag about ...
yaesu
(8,020 posts)Mr.Bill
(24,226 posts)I've seen it done, and in my younger years done it many times myself.
TheFarseer
(9,317 posts)Making someone wait in one line and when they get to the front, telling them they need to go to the back of a different line is BS. Thats the kind of crap that happens at the DMV in a sitcom.
theneworiginal
(302 posts)The woman deserves her break. SOP is to politely tell customers at the back of the line that she is closing her register so that she does not have to stick it to whoever has waited.
The real bottom line for me is that she works in a punitive atmosphere where her company sticks it to her every chance they get and she's just acting out on the wrong person. Walmart is evil. They treat their workers disrespectfully and the mood in those stores is palpable.
I will not patronize that store under any circumstance. Ever.
Fla Dem
(23,562 posts)Unless Walmart doesn't care about the customer.
If there is no process, the cashier could still have told her when she got in line that she was closing.
Mariana
(14,854 posts)However, leaving the light on and letting people stand in line, knowing break time is coming up and you won't be able to serve all of them is a really shitty thing to do.
liberalhistorian
(20,814 posts)have responded that I wasn't getting paid enough to deal with that kind of shit treatment. And a five-year-old speaking like that in public is not at all cute or impressive.
Mariana
(14,854 posts)Nothing in the OP suggests that the customer was rude to the cashier in any way.
cstanleytech
(26,213 posts)I would have been fine with having to use the self checkout if they told me beforehand.
After all they need to eat lunch or if it was due to her time being up as Walmart like most retailers do not want to pay overtime.
That aside it was still extremely rude of her not to at least let me know rather than keeping me waiting.
uponit7771
(90,301 posts)judesedit
(4,437 posts)WhiskeyGrinder
(22,304 posts)cwydro
(51,308 posts)And proud of a child screaming obscenities. Smh.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)smh
cwydro
(51,308 posts)One thing we can always count on lol.
localroger
(3,619 posts)...is for the cashier to turn out the light early enough that she can clear the people who are already in line before leaving. Additional customers who try to get in line are told the line is closed, but those who are there when the light goes out get served.
wnylib
(21,299 posts)send people to, except the self checkout, which is harder to handle when you have a full cart and 3 kids.
The manager should have taken over the register with the light off, to check out her daughter. I've seen mangers do that in grocery stores, drug stores, convenience stores. It's part of a manager's responsibilities to keep things running smoothly and courteously.
The 5 year old's profanity was nothing to brag about and most likely gave the staff an excuse to chalk up the whole experience to "What can you expect from people like that?"
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)Not cool at all.
Poiuyt
(18,111 posts)Salviati
(6,008 posts)The Cashier should have shut down the line properly. Failing that, the manager should have done it, and picked up the slack to clear the line. The customer should have shown a bit of grace to provide a better example for their daughter. I mean everyone is under a lot of stress these days, but that just means it's more important to be a bit kinder out there to everyone, especially if it's hard, because you really don't know how terribly their day is going.
TheBlackAdder
(28,159 posts)Historic NY
(37,449 posts)It has to be monitored from all the damn screw ups. This store apparently doesn't employ enough persons and the manager is a moron, who could have done the check-out. Three kids at a self-checkout!!!!!!!!! I would have blown up the place if I was behind them.
Freedomofspeech
(4,221 posts)They came into our area about 20 years ago. Shut down most of the other stores in our rural area and never paid a dime in taxes for over five years. I probably would have been high fiving your grandson if I had been there.
luvtheGWN
(1,336 posts)In fact, only time I was ever in the store was to use the bathroom.
I've boycotted Walmart even before I learned that (in the U.S., not Canada) they paid their workers such low wages that many of them were eligible for food stamps. Not to mention the fact that Walmart has destroyed so darn many family-owned small businesses in towns throughout North America.
I know their prices are generally lower but I prefer to shop Canadian -- so there!
As for the little girl's potty mouth -- criticize her Dad, not her!
Butterflylady
(3,537 posts)The child more then likely doesn't even know what she said was wrong. She probably heard a grown-up say that when they got mad so naturally she said it when she knew her parent was mad. Criticize the parent.
As far as the clerk closing the lane down while customers are in line was rude. The clerk needed to issue a warning that the lane was going down for the clerks brake after the next customer.
Ilsa
(61,688 posts)No checkers are available and someone had diarrhea at the self-check.
The manager should have checked her out since they forgot to close the checkout aisle.
BusyBeingBest
(8,052 posts)of ringing up the sale. Or manager should have handled it. The situation I often find myself in is waiting in a long line to ring up, and just as I get close (within one or two customers), the manager or cashier opens up a lane and everyone behind me who hasn't been waiting as long (or at all) will rush to it and get rung up before me. That makes me near-homicidal
JCMach1
(27,553 posts)If you have ever worked retail you know whereof I speak...
For decades after I left retail, whenever I was in a store and somebody started bitching at the clerk I just wanted to rip their face off. Oddly, when I was IN retail, I wasn't all that bothered by the constant rudeness. The minute I left though...
Celerity
(43,055 posts)who try to enter it after their sign goes up.
They should have finished off all the people already in line OR the manager should have.
Plus, fuck Walmart.
Never have, never will step foot inside one (there are none here in Sweden and the rest of the EU anyway as they refuse to follow our labour laws and I never shopped as Asda in the UK, which they are now selling).
Mariana
(14,854 posts)But if that's true, the cashier would have known she wouldn't be able to serve all the people in line, and should have turned the light off and sent them to the self-checkout.
sinkingfeeling
(51,434 posts)snowybirdie
(5,219 posts)She was rightously pissed about bad customer service. Karen's just get pissed about stupid stuff. Hope she can shop elsewhere.
whathehell
(29,025 posts)The cashier deserved a break, but that's not the customer's problem -- The manager should have checked her out.
robbob
(3,522 posts)We have to stop throwing the K word around every time some woman stands up for herself. As a matter of fact, that was one of the big issues when Karen first became a thing. Men using it as a general put down to any assertive woman. Yes, Karen... accompanied by an eye roll every time a woman voices an opinion in the workplace.
KT2000
(20,567 posts)going home late one night I stopped too get some chips. Got to the front and there was one checker and a line of about 10 people, some with carts full. The manager was watching so I asked if there could be another checker and she said no. I handed her my chips and walked out. This was before self check out. Cannot stand WalMart.
csziggy
(34,131 posts)Spent all night walking a colicky horse. About 8 AM got someone to relieve me since I could no longer feel my arms. My husband took me to a walk in clinic and they gave me some muscle relaxants. We wanted a quick breakfast and McDonald's was the faster one around so we went in and got in line at about 10:40 AM. By the time we got to the register to order it was just before 11 AM. The cashier would not take a breakfast order since "It is too late for breakfast." Their sign said "Breakfast served until 11 AM." My husband drove me home, I popped the pills from the doctor, and fell asleep for twelve hours. Woke up starving.
I've only been to McD's twice since, neither time by my choice.
JI7
(89,237 posts)Those who got in the line while the light was on should be checked out. And if anyone else gets in the line let them know it's now closed so they aren't waiting.
I understand the employees need their break so they should get someone else to finish checking out the line.
USALiberal
(10,877 posts)3Hotdogs
(12,319 posts)cwydro
(51,308 posts)LakeArenal
(28,790 posts)In Walmart if you miss your break you get no break.
If manager had stepped in, kid would not have shouted anything.
electric_blue68
(14,807 posts)Shoot. Is this only at Walmart?
😄 Laughs at self!
Srkdqltr
(6,218 posts)Since when does a manager only have one cashier in Wallmart? Or any other store? If this story is true as told, it is on the management. Somehow I think something was left out.
Srkdqltr
(6,218 posts)Ever.
50 Shades Of Blue
(9,915 posts)They are hard-pressed to keep any staff at all these days. My relative's store is constantly losing employees, thanks to Covid and Covid fears.
tblue37
(65,211 posts)Dorian Gray
(13,479 posts)and I'm sure your daughter and that cashier have both suffered for it. So with that in mind, I'm going to say that neither behaved wonderfully, and we should look at things through the eyes of the other person and try to have compassion.
Sugarcoated
(7,716 posts)Twice. Their employee attitude sucks, at least at the Walmart by me
Sugarcoated
(7,716 posts)I got a heart...DU'ers are the best
Sugarcoated
(7,716 posts)In line, left food in my cart and walked out due to poor service. No f-bombs, at least not verbally
Mr.Bill
(24,226 posts)California has a law that alcoholic beverages are not allowed in self checkout, and I pretty much don't shop without buying alcohol.
jaxexpat
(6,790 posts)Daughter, granddaughter. All this is way out of line and you shouldn't bring it to this forum. We're a civilization, not every place is daycare. Grow up.
Jon King
(1,910 posts)The 5 year old needs to have her mouth washed out with soap. Then both mother and daughter need to have it explained to them that life does not always work out the way they want and to stop acting like prima donnas. The father sounds like a dip for using that language in front of kids. That would result in several male family members taking him out back for a 'talking to'.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)Yeah, I said it. She would have torn me up. She believed in corporal punishment. And not the "wait til we get home" kind but the "I will take my shoe off right here in the store and wear your ass out in front of everybody and not care if you're embarrassed and I dare anybody to accuse me of child abuse because I'll whup their butts, next" kind.
BlueStater
(7,596 posts)In fact, the latter is actually worse.
obamanut2012
(26,034 posts)I was a bit taken aback the OP posted this as a GOTCHA about a front-line essential worker.
At Wal-Mart, if you do not take your break when you are told, then guess what? You don't get your break. Your break from a low-paying job with no benefits, where you are exposed to Covid constantly.
The Manager should have taken over, but maybe they were the only manager on duty and couldn't.
It sucks, but the thinking this punching down story is a GOOD THING is bad, bragging about someone being a KAREN is a bad thing. And, no one should take to essential workers like the child did, either. It isn't cute or funny or RIGHT ON!. It's... ugh.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)cwydro
(51,308 posts)This story is sad.
Bigredhunk
(1,347 posts)It's ridiculous how few "normal" lanes are open when you go there. Often times there are none open, only self-checkout. I'm not self-checking'out $300 worth of sh*t. You always have to get a mgr to run them through the damn thing for you. It should be a law that "X" # of "normal" lanes have to be open in any store at all times (do it by square footage maybe, IDK).
Target (and most other stores) are bad in this regard too, but not as bad as Mal-Wart. The problem is that Mal-Wart carries EVERYTHING and other stores like Target don't.
I wish people would refuse to use self-checkout. I get that it's a time saver if you have chips and a soda. But the stores have taken it way too far.
jalan48
(13,836 posts)BlueStater
(7,596 posts)My time there did not end well. I was fired and I cant say I left on friendly terms with them.
A couple of days before my firing, the two other cart pushers who were scheduled for that day both called out. I ended up working the entire eight hour shift by myself. In Florida. In mid-July. When I couldnt keep up and they inevitably received customer complaints about the lack of shopping carts in the store, they held me responsible for it and I received a strike. I argued that it was their responsibility to keep track of when their employees call out and that they should have sent someone out there to help me a lot soon, but it feel on deaf ears.
Thats not why I was fired, however. The next day, I was shaken by what happened previously and ended up accidentally scratching a car with the cart pushing machine. While I feel they were justified in firing me based on that, the manner in which they did it rubbed me the wrong the way. They made me return my vest and name tag (which the way too full-of-herself manager referred to as a badge 🙄 ) in a way reminiscent of a cop being kicked of the force and then didnt even thank me for the months of hard work I put in for them.
I still feel bitterness when I think about it to this day.
MurrayDelph
(5,291 posts)1. Yes, the cashier has a right to a break.
2. Yes, the cashier should have warned R before she waited in line
3. Yes, R, or any customer, has a right to expect reasonable service
4. Yes, the manager should have stepped in on the side of providing said service either by
a. Telling the cashier to service those in line before taking the break, or
b. Ringing up the sale while the cashier went on break
5. Yes, a five-year-old should not use that type of language (saying this as a retired kindergarten teacher)
6. Yes, it was totally appropriate in this case (also saying this as a retired kindergarten teacher).
The moral of this story is:
Yes, Wal-Mart sucks. Fuck it.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)Wow.
MurrayDelph
(5,291 posts)In this case, yes. Also as I said.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)obamanut2012
(26,034 posts)At WM, if you don't take your break when told, you miss the break.
I guess essential retail workers deserve to be cussed out by a child. Good lord.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)and that was really inconvenient, so what else could a kindergartener do besides cuss everyone out?
obamanut2012
(26,034 posts)Luciferous
(6,077 posts)cwydro
(51,308 posts)Smh.
womanofthehills
(8,654 posts)I woke up from a sound sleep to hear my 6 yr old grandson running through the yard yelling -" Fuck Donald Trump," "Fuck Donald Trump" over and over. Actually, it was an amusing way to wake up. Lighten up folks. Kids are not just going to imitate their parents - they will pick it up from friends, older siblings, school, movies, etc.
lpbk2713
(42,735 posts)How many employees are let go after a store installs self serve checkouts?
One day I was in Lowe's and all they had open were the self serve lanes.
I left my cart where it was and walked out the door.
LisaL
(44,967 posts)NT
obamanut2012
(26,034 posts)Punching down on essential workers who don't want their break to disappear.
MicaelS
(8,747 posts)I dont have a car. It costs me $25 for a Lyft based round trip to Walmart.
For $9.95 I get my groceries delivered to my front door, plus they now take SNAP for delivery.
Many Progressives forget many people are poor and they have to shop there.
GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)But hey, its a free country.
I do share a distaste for self checkout. If Im going to do you work then pay me.
MustLoveBeagles
(11,578 posts)The cashier should've turned off her light if she knew her break was coming up. That way customers could've gone to another lane to get checked out. Or the manager could've rung up your daughters groceries while the cashier took a break. Either of those things would've avoided a lot of hassle for everyone involved. However I do agree with other posters that the 5 year old's outburst wasn't a good thing and shouldn't be encouraged.
Shaddox
(384 posts)Ive been watching this shitshow unfold all day. I love to watch this community of high falutin individuals descend on a member like a pack of ravening hyenas when they take umbrage with a story on a board. Well done. While you are licking the spittle off your outraged mouth about a story you read in the internet, I can offer you Q and anything else you would like to assuage your anger. Ffs, Get your head in the game.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)behavior on a public discussion board. Having chosen to put the kid's behavior in those people's faces, they shouldn't be surprised if those people tell them they don't find that behavior as cute or charming as they did.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)This is pretty mild actually.
Never mind the fact that the OP chose to post this and chose to brag about the grandchilds behavior.
moriah
(8,311 posts)... on breastfeeding at Olive Garden threads.
As in, "bless your heart, you really think this is us being a pack of raving hyenas when we take umbrage over something non-political?"
But seriously, this kind of OP and the responses it generates are why I generally stay in LBN. Also, there are fun "block" features if specific posters bother you, and "trash thread" features when specific threads bother you, to enhance your DU experience. I hope you check out all the functionality built in, because some have even figured out ways to hide threads by keyword from what I understand!
Take care and be safe!
Blecht
(3,803 posts)live love laugh
(13,069 posts)Daughter wasted X-amount of time and money.
Daughter will spend additional time and money probably elsewhere.
Walmart. Doesnt. Care. Their subsidized wages insulate them.
Luciferous
(6,077 posts)shopped much at Walmart over the last year, but when I did I actually preferred using their self checkouts because they have the long conveyor belts, and I bring my own bags so it's quicker for me to just do it myself.
I can see why she was upset with the manager, but it's not the cashier's fault. As for the 5 year old's behavior, sounds like he needs some better role models because that is just obnoxious.
Chakaconcarne
(2,429 posts)The store just breeds bad behavior all the way around.
StarfishSaver
(18,486 posts)The younguns in my family could spend all day every day in a Walmart and they would never behave like this.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)Huh?
Ive been to a Walmart, and as far as I remember I behaved exactly as I always do in a public place. Politely.
MineralMan
(146,243 posts)A good manager would have simply stepped in and checked that customer through the line. That one was a bad manager. No doubt he also treats employees poorly.
3Hotdogs
(12,319 posts)By support of my daughter is a reaction against the corporation. Not about an individual cashier. Although, yes. Walmart does have a system for making known that a register was going to close. It was not followed in this instance.
Now, about my grandson. Lets go back to the '70's when her and her sister were pre-school. Cursing was used in our house. Not often, but still, used. Daughters were taught that they could use "F'", "S" and so forth in the house. They were then taught that here is also "Grandma, aunt an uncle' language that does not include f and s and such other polite company words.
--- interesting that neither daughter uses fuck and shit or such in their language. Sometimes, yes. Not frequently.
S.i.L does curse . That is as far as his ill mannered behavior goes. Corporal punishment is not used with any of the three kids.
No, I do not feel dumped on, reading the reactions to my o.p.
As a final addition to this post, I recall a post back in September that consisted of people in Scotland expressing their opinions about Donald Trump. "He's a ball bag." --- and so on.
One of the opinions came from a girl, probably 6 or 7. "He's a c..t"
It is interesting that there were no negative D.U. responses about that.
And yes, I do feel badly for people stuck in sad work places like Walmart, Amazon and such.
Carry on.
Blecht
(3,803 posts)But she did not handle her frustration very well.
I like the kid.
I dislike the manager.
I feel bad for the cashier.
cwydro
(51,308 posts)Really not comparable to a five year old saying what your grandchild did, and of which you appear to be so proud.
nini
(16,672 posts)That is nothing to brag about.. especially the child's response.
disgusting.
demmiblue
(36,810 posts)Shit happens... move on.
Captain Stern
(2,199 posts)I'd be ashamed if my daughter had acted that way, and I'd be mortified if my grandchild had acted that way.
I sure as hell wouldn't be posting it, like they'd done something good.
Beringia
(4,316 posts)I always loved this scene with Jodie Foster. I can't believe so many people are getting the vapors because of your son.
My Mother once yelled out "Christmas RipOff" because of the store doing something, I forget what, and it was a favorite story of my Dad's.
Mosby
(16,250 posts)Because of health dept. regs.
I know that stores like self checkout because it reduces labor costs, but it doesn't reduce them as much as people think. Grocery stores and others like WM/target are running mini warehouses, every bit of backstock is accounted for. That takes time. And they do that so other employees can shop for cuatomers and put together the online order and deliver it curbside or for delivery. In any given Target right now, there could be 5-6 employees building orders for pickup. Thats a lot of labor.