I'm a grocery checkout worker. People say the customer is always right, but we say 'buyers are liars.'
- A grocery-checkout worker told Insider their job has gotten progressively worse over the past 18 months.
- They said customers went from being understanding early in the pandemic to treating workers like robots.
A grocery-checkout worker told Insider their job - and treatment by customers - has gotten progressively worse over the past 18 months. Their employment has been verified by Insider. This is their story, as told to freelance writer Elle Hardy.
I'm a checkout manager for a Texas grocery store.
When the pandemic began, people were very nice. They were saying, "We appreciate y'all; y'all are so great." Toward the middle of the pandemic, they started cussing us out for no reason. Now, everyone is treating us like we're robots.
So, it's gotten a lot worse over the last 18 months - and lately it's been pretty terrible.
I've been trying to work out why people have changed. It might be that the company I work for is very good at catering toward our customers. We pride ourselves on our customer service, and we spoil our customers.
I feel like that's made things more difficult - sometimes I don't know if I need to follow customers into the bathroom and help them there!
The idea that the customer is always right is a problem, but there's more to it. The motto doesn't mean what they think it does. We say among ourselves that buyers are liars. They're definitely feeling more entitled, even for the silliest things.
Take bagging groceries. We have someone at the end of the checkout who will bag them and put them in their basket, and people will freak out for the silliest things. They expect us to read their mind for how they want them bagged. Something that one person thinks is OK is not at all okay to another person. It's completely irrational.
I think my company might help condition people to act like this. We cater to people if they complain, giving them gift cards. But sometimes they're not right; sometimes the retail worker is right. For lack of a better word, maybe sometimes it would be better if we stopped kissing their ass.
The thing is, they're going to return, even if they're angry. They'll say they'll never shop here again, but they will.
There are customers who are really cool when they're coming through, and I wish they could hold seminars for other customers on how to be nice. Just because we work service doesn't mean we're servants.
I wish I could leave retail, but I only have an associate degree, and that really isn't worth anything anymore. Working in retail is a vicious cycle. I feel like I'm stuck. I used to love people - now I feel like I'm kind of mean.
Customers should be nice to us because we're humans. Relax: it's just a grocery store! We're not going to rip you off. I'm here to help you.