9 Pet Peeves as a Front End Associate

[Thar]

I was actually going to name this "Top Ten Pet Peeves as a Front End Associate", but I recounted the list on my notepad, and it was 9, and I couldn't come up with any more. Plus the term "Top Ten" would of probably been more like "Only Ten".

But yeah, working at a grocery store is cool and all (the typical college white guy's job), but it has its downsides. Being a customer-based business like all if not most businesses out there, they only want the best of what they came for, which I think is total bullsh*t.

So here is a list of things that really put me on edge while I'm on the job:

[size=6][b]#9: Not flushing the toilet[/b][/size]

Pretty straight-forward reason why this pisses me off (no pun intended) - It's gross. I mean, how hard can it be to just press a f*cking lever down? Unless you somehow have a bad finger that'll fall off if you apply a little amount of pressure to it, I don't see why people don't do this. Plus time isn't much of an issue either, cause it takes a few seconds at the most to do it. I bet the a**hole didn't even wash his hands afterwards.

But what makes this appear at the bottom of the list is that, while it's so simple for someone to get rid of, it's simple for me to get rid of all the same. Sure, it's gross, and it's rude not to mention it narrows down the amount of stalls to use (and someone else to do the same in another stall). But it's hard to complain without knowing that it is, in fact, my responsibility to clean the bathrooms anyway, despite such acts of rudeness.

[b][size=6]#8: Carts stationed several hundred feet from the store[/size][/b]

An issue based more on location than reason, but it's still a bunch of crap. The issue here is that, where my store is located, there is a bus stop stationed at the end of a narrow, one-way road leading into the parking lot, where at the other end is the highway. An irrelevant thing to state about the stop is that there is no bench or anything, so how are people supposed to wait for hours at a time for a bus to make a stop at the edge of a f*cking highway?

Getting straight to the point: Having several reports of carts sitting alongside that highway is getting very repetitive and is appearing as more a routine, because it happens every...f*cking...day. It seems I can't turn into that one-way without seeing one, if not more, carts sitting at the end just waiting to be brought back. The reason why I think people do this is because the early risers that need to be at work usually stop by the store for a snack or something, but the small amount of people that get a whole cart full of sh*t don't want to carry all that sh*t all the way down that one-way, so they take the easy way out and wheel the cart down there. Then when the bus comes, they can't miss it, so the cart only made a one way trip.

To top it off, the return trip is a b*tch. The thing about that narrow one-way is that, well, it's f*cking one way, and it is quite often that a car will speed down to get to the store while I'm busting my ass trying to get out of their way while they're blowing their f*cking horn at me like a d*ck. "I want my Cheese Puffs, damn it!" they would yell, "Get out of the way of deliciousness, b*tch!"

With that out of the question, pushing carts on the side is just as annoying as the one-way. It's a sandy area that's supposed to be grass, and pushing even ONE cart across there is like pushing a bookshelf without wheels across a grassy area. What's worse is that the climate here in the south is a reason on its own to complain. Put them both together, and you have yourself a sh*tty start to your shift. Awesome.

[size=6][b]#7 & 6: Impatient/stubborn customers[/b][/size]

The reason why I combined these two pet peeves together is that, while they are both individually a reason to b*tch, it usually happens at the same time and in the same general area. This happens the most often when people are waiting to be assisted at the service desk, especially when we get slammed. When I first started to experience such business in one hour of the day, it was hard to keep a steady pace without the line building up further, and whenever I tried to speed things along, I usually make a mistake that ends up making it worse. It's time like those that make me wish I could just pass out at the register and hope that all the customers in my line leave from feeling bad for doing this to me.

That's never gonna happen, but regardless, I'm used to such business now that I got more practice. However, it still irks me to see people's expressions while they are waiting at the back of the line, especially at the service desk. To me I think they're just being selfish, because that's what people are these days. But I'm afraid that if I put myself in their shoes, I would be frustrated for waiting such a long time to get out of the store with what I need and make it to something important like a business meeting or a dying relative. I got into this habit after hearing someone tell me that she needed to get someone to the hospital, and I was stuck on a register error with a line of people. It was Hell, but it made me think twice about people's reasons to expect the best service.

Moving onto stubborn costumers, this is usually referring to baggers and how they bag stuff. I'm sure if I went up to a bagger that works at a busy store, they'd have at least one story about some old person nagging him about how food should be bagged the right way. I'm not the kind of person to b*tch about their stubbornness, but it's very hard to watch someone else experience the same thing and see their stressed out expression. Moreover, having someone expect so much from an associate at a grocery store is stretching the line a bit, especially when they report it to a manager, putting their job on the line. It just makes me sad.

[b][size=6]#5: D*ck drivers[/size][/b]

This applies to the whole country, especially in the south (drunk drivers are EVERYWHERE!), but this is only narrowing it down to the parking lot. Yes, a wide chunk of road with a pile of cars, set with a 10-mile-an-hour speed limit, is still filled with risky driving. I only see this while I'm out retrieving carts, but it's a base point that branches out into several things on this list. I see drivers that speed by just inches away from edges of vehicles. I see parking jobs that would signify someone as blind, mentally retarded, or just plain ignorant and stupid. I even see cars parked on the emergency lane adjacent to the store front, which makes me just wanna dump a tank of gas all over it and light it on fire, letting the government pay for the damages cause they suck.

I don't have much to write to follow up this pet peeve, mainly because it all just carries a more dense frustration within it. But what stands out from the rest is when I'm lining up a bunch of carts to haul in, and just as the lane I'm in is pretty much obstructed, some blind, retarded a**hole turns into the same lane and skids just a foot away from the carts, honking his horn. Every single f*cking time, this happens, and it is the punch line to why this pet peeve marks the half way point on this list.

[size=6][b]#4: Perishable misplaced items[/b][/size]

For those of you who are unfamiliar with terms that associates are trained to know: A misplaced item is an item that you find on a shelf that doesn't belong there, and a perishable item is an item that is supposed to be either refrigerated or frozen. So what happens when you find an item on a shelf that's supposed to be in the refrigerated/frozen section? How long has it been sitting there? Well, why don't you feel it/smell it and find out? Yep, you nailed it. It's been sitting there for quite a while, and now not only does it smell like sh*t, but it has to be thrown away and cause the store a loss in sales.

It makes me wanna puke with the idea that people actually do this. C'mon, people! Just because you don't want something, doesn't mean you can't go the extra mile to put it back in the right section, especially when said section will keep it from turning bad and becoming a f*cking waste for the business!

[size=6][b]#3: Cart blockage[/b][/size]

Carts, carts, carts. I tell ya, they're just a rolling pile of obstruction in a store with such thin walkways. Whenever I go around the store either putting unwanted stuff back or looking for misplaced items, there always tends to be a cart or two just sitting there and blocking the way, turning the aisles into a maze that can't be solved. This is an even bigger issue when I get the giant rolling floor cleaner out, which I do after I clear the area of litter and any form of blockage that would make operating the machine more difficult. Sure enough, some douchebag decides to give up on his/her shopping and just leave the cart there, leaving me no choice but to abandon the machine and wheel that sonuvab*tch all the way back by the door.

Another situation is at the door where the carts are stacked up for people to grab. When I'm retrieving carts (you see why this task is the base for most of my pet peeves), I'm all set to just wheel them all through the door and into the stack, but then what do I see? A cart is pointed perpendicular to how all the other ones are, and it's blocking my way! Now I have to go out of my way and move it while pervasively apologizing to customers for blocking their way. This pet peeve stacks up with others very easily, hence its high place on the list.

[size=6][b]#2: Disorganized cart racks[/b][/size]

If I was just talking about being a bagger, this would be number one. I tell ya, if there was a more infuriating sight than a rack filled with carts of different kinds alternating in a pattern one-by-one, writing my feelings about it would cost me a keyboard...and possibly the job. But writing all this follow-up to each pet peeve is tiring my hands and my brain out, so I might just get lazy and say that people are so f*cking rude. It's understandable that people are in a rush to go home, but would it hurt to put the cart in the lane that, well you know, has the same kind of carts in it so that it makes the bagger's job easier? Hell, it'd be more productive to just leave the cart sitting loose, cause at least it doesn't require taking carts out one by one and putting them back in to look uniform, then taking the whole stack out again. That's just wasted effort, and it just doesn't make the job worth it in the end, because I'm sure that 20 minutes later, it will happen again.

I have no other words for this, cause word's cannot describe the crap that people leave for me while I'm on the job.

[b][size=6]#1: People on their cell phones at checkout[/size][/b]

I'm pretty sure this is the most common complaint for ANY cashier, period. I cannot tell you how much I want to punch a customer in the face for waltzing through my lane, throwing their sh*t on the conveyor, while holding a phone to their ear with their shoulder. I might be exaggerating there for the most part, but it's still incredibly rude because, for one thing, you need BOTH ears to hear the cashier asking you questions like "Do you have your discount card?" or "Is that debit or credit?" - questions that are intentionally asked in a matter that doesn't sound like yelling when you don't have another f*cking voice speaking directly into your ear.

What makes it worse is that when I ask those questions and they don't hear me, I raise my voice just enough so they can, and they look at me sternly and say "Do you mind? I'm on the phone."

[spoiler=How I respond to the above statement]
"I'm sorry. I'll let you talk."
[img]http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QfIKUZJIbPM/TmgsFyGU5oI/AAAAAAAACVo/WXedUlZ6jSA/s1600/cashier-3-g.jpg[/img][/spoiler]
[spoiler=What I am actually thinking]
"I...WILL...BREAK...YOUR...FACE."
[img]http://simplyzesty.com/wp-content/uploads//2010/08/Be-angry.jpg[/img]
[/spoiler]

Again, words cannot describe the frustration I am left with after such d*ckwads get the best of f*cking standard practices. It if weren't for standard practices, I'd bring iron knuckles to work with me in case someone like this comes through my line. That way I can shatter their face and burn their expensive suit.

[hr]
What everyone makes of these pet peeves, whether they are too harsh, not harsh enough, or all the profanity is unnecessary, is up to them. I am just expressing my opinion that has been building up from only 6 months of working there. But either way, unless I don't need the money, I have no choice but to struggle through it all.

In any case, this thread can also be used to post your own pet peeves while on the job. ^^

[Zimiri of the Muse]

Well, I clean... buisness's and my school. The buisness isnt that bad but at a high school.
-pushing stuff dwn hallway with broom.-
-teens walking other way drops a gatorade botle on the ground behind me and leave it there-
its worse with gum

but I swear the funniest thing happened, because one day I was sheduled for abthrooms with my friend instead of cleaning hallways and classrooms. So we are cleaning the girls bathroom and he comes out of the stall with a mortified look on his face. He had suddenly stopped talking while he was in there. It takes me a second to realize what had happened. It was that time of the month for the school and as he was talking, he accidently knocked the toilet lid down, splattering his face with blood from those specifical regions.. I died of laughter