WIC: A Checker’s Perspective 27
Photo by Walmart Stores
“WIC: A Checker’s Perspective” is a guest post submitted to me via e-mail. If you would like to contribute a post to WIC woes, feel free to contact me about guest posting. I certainly welcome differing viewpoints :)
For the last several years, I’ve worked at my local grocery store and encounter all types of people. Despite my area’s relative affluence, there seems to be a high number of people who come through my line who pay with a WIC check, EBT, or some combination thereof.
I know most of the cashiers in my store are generally thoughtful, kind, and considerate people. However, our store has an aggressive “security” team that carefully monitors all transactions that take place in each and every check stand. Every little detail is scrutinized and whenever we accept any form of payment, we have to make sure that everything is up to par. When a customer comes through my line and I see them take out a WIC book, I know that the transaction is going to take a while. This isn’t necessarily the fault of the customer, but when I see that you have an iPhone and drive a new Mercedes-Benz (as seems to be a very common occurrence among WIC users), I do tend to judge you subconsciously because of the fact that you feel that you are entitled to hold up my line to avoid paying $3.21 for your groceries.
Although I am very polite to you, I do tell the customer behind you that this transaction may take a little while longer than anticipated and offer to call for a backup checker to help out the other people who do not and should not wait for you to finish up your transaction. Don’t get all hissy with me when I do this; it is a simple courtesy to other customers.
After scanning the first few items, I look up on my screen and see that some of your items are not eligible for your WIC check. Although WIC is extremely anal, it is your responsibility to get the right items. After I politely point this out to you, you go ballistic, want to speak to my manager and demand that I process the WIC check even though my employer will not be reimbursed for doing so and I could possibly lose my job if I did. Eventually, as my line grows and grows, you reluctantly agree to get the right items and the first “order” is finally tendered. I ask you if you have a store rewards card, and suddenly, despite yelling at me earlier you act as if you don’t know what I am talking about. Reluctantly, I process your check at the full, non-discounted price and this process is repeated for each of the seventeen WIC checks you brought with you today.
After bagging up most of your groceries in plastic, you inform me that you actually wanted me to put your groceries in paper-inside-of-plastic-inside-of-paper-inside-of-plastic, you wanted them packed “ultra-light” and stand there idly as I rebag you’re entire order.
Of course, WIC doesn’t pay for your entire order, and your vodka, saffron, wine, cigarettes, and caviar had to be paid for separately. Not to worry, because even though you held up my line for what seemed like an eternity to myself and to the other customers, you promptly whip out your platinum rewards card and charge the remainder.
Now, for those of you who do not fit the aforementioned typical WIC customer I discussed above, I sincerely thank you. For those of you who do not come in late when there is one checker and the lines are ridiculously long and then hold up the line and inconvenience everyone else as I explain to you that half the items you got are not “WIC eligible”, I thank you. For those of you who opt for the simpler EBT (which doesn’t inconvenience my customers behind you), I thank you.
Basically, as a checker I have a few suggestions for all of you people.
- Do not come in after 10 P.M. if you intend on using a WIC check.
- Oftentimes, after 10 P.M. the available help declines drastically. Since WIC inevitably takes longer than the traditional methods of payment, you can help by opting for traditional methods of payment afterwards or in times which we are particularly busy.
- Understand that when you use WIC and get the wrong item, it’s not the cashier’s fault.
- Cashiers have very little say as to what they can and cannot accept as tender in their check stands. If you attempt to buy the wrong item, please do not throw a fit when we kindly explain that the aforementioned item cannot be purchased. Trust me, we are no more happy about that situation when it occurs than you are. WIC is very, very specific and the guidelines must be followed.
- If you bring in old WIC checks, they will not work.
- Expiration dates on the checks are final. Our store cannot receive any reimbursement for a WIC check after it has already expired.
- Be polite, treat the cashier the way you would want them to treat you!
- When I greet my customers, I do it with sincerity. Even though I have to as part of the customer service regimen, when I ask how your day was I genuinely mean it. Don’t ignore me, or my sentences will become noticeably more forced and completely faux. Be polite, and that alone will likely get you a more pleasant transaction.
- If you are paying with WIC, have your rewards card and a pen handy, your checks signed, and your items separated out according to their respective WIC check.
- Do not wait until the end of the order to announce your intention to pay with WIC and then have the cashier void off more than half your order. Take out your WIC book early on, and bag your own order if there is no baggers available to do so. The cashier will appreciate this greatly! In addition, some cashiers may be a bit more fiscally conservative and oppose the idea of handouts in general, so please offer your rewards (Vons Club, etc) card with each and every WIC check you have.
- Do your homework. Know what you can and cannot buy!
- Try not to use more than two or three WIC checks per order.
- This may not be possible, but if you can try not to use too many WIC checks at one time, especially if the store is busy. It makes our jobs considerably easier!
If you can do the above, I guarantee you that I will like you, and many of my fellow cashiers will too. If you do all of the above and you are still treated poorly, then the cashier is just being a jerk to you! However, I suspect that in 90% of cases if you follow my advice you will be treated with the respect you deserve.
I have yet to to see anyone on WIC buy saffron and caviar, so I seriously doubt this represents more than 1% of WIC users.
I do believe the iPhone & Mercedes part though, because I work for a wireless company, and despite my minimum wage that allows me to legitimately qualify for WIC, I do get a company smartphone (my only phone number and email access). AND I lost my home, so myself and my children are staying with a friend, sleeping on the sofas in her basement in a fairly affluent area. So I drive my host’s BMW to the grocery store. It looks bad to a cashier, but technically I’m homeless, have no car, and a negative balance in my checking account. So don’t be too quick to judge based on appearances.
And the only time I have trouble checking out with WIC is when the store tags a bread as ‘WIC eligible’ but then I get to the checkout and they tell me it’s not allowed. Grrrr!!!!
Wow! We seem to be damned if we do and damned if we don’t. Anonymous cashier(I’ll call you AC for short), you say we shouldn’t come in after 10 pm but I’ve also heard not to come in during the busiest times either. When do you propose I come in to use my wic checks? In the early mornng? I just got off work after an eight hour shift at the local factory busting my butt to make a wage that is ok but still low enough to fit wic income guidelines. I’d like to get my six hours of sleep before I have to get up with my kids so my husband can go to his job.
You say to have my checks signed but we are told at the wic office and on our wic envelopes not to sign them until our orders are rang up. Are you asking me to break the rules for your convenience?
You say it is common for wic users to be driving Mercedes and having iphones. Sorry to disappoint you but I do not have a Mercedes and I do not even have a data plan for my cell phone. I get a discount on my cell phone through my work and we do not have a home phone. Are you forgetting that some states allow a proxy to buy wic items if the recipient is unable to go themselves. Maybe that is the case in the few instances where you saw someone pay with wic checks while talking on their iphone before getting in their Mercedes.
Your post just rubbed me the wrong way Ms. or Mr. AC.
Dulcey, you’re not alone. This post rubbed me the wrong way, too.
Let me start out by saying that when the perspective of the post is “you,” it makes readers defensive. By the time I reach the suggestions, I’m upset at being wrongly accused of rudeness, thoughtlessness, lying, stealing, and cheating. This is not exactly the position that makes me receptive! I’m not on WIC but was for a year, and I know a number of people who have used WIC. We’re not rude shoppers. We’re not feeling “entitled,” and in fact, we’re often embarrassed about needing assistance in the first place. We’re just trying to feed our children.
Rudeness isn’t acceptable from shoppers, but it is certainly not limited to those using WIC or EBT. There are rude people getting assistance, just as there are rude shoppers paying cash, credit, and check. There are a lot of annoyances as a cashier.
That goes with the job. But AC, that judgement you’re posting about? It’s not subconscious.
And the way you’re describing WIC customers, lumping all bad behavior into one person and perpetuating the myth that most everyone getting assistance acts the way you decribe? It’s RUDE.
Thank you for sharing your perspective. I think it’s important to understand that there are MANY MANY difference variables to the whole WIC experience. I do appriciate the comment about having to borrow your friend’s BMW and using a company phone. It opens our eyes and hearts to know that what we see is not always as things are.
I am sure this was a general extreme example of what really frustrates Mr./Mrs. AC. I am thankful for his/her thoughts as it reminds me to be more aware of how I act with store employees. So thank you for having the courage to share something that can be difficult to share. I bet it feels good to get it off your chest and out there for others to learn and grow from.
I have to admit that I used to think the worst of people when I was behind someone paying with WIC. I would be angry when I saw someone loading grocery’s I saw them pay for with food stamps into an expensive car. All of that changed the day my husband lost his job. I felt the humiliation of needing help from others. I stood in the checkout line with my WIC check just praying that I got all the right items so that I would not slow the line down. I loaded my grocery’s into a car that we no longer had the ability to pay for. In those moments I learned the most valuable lesson of my life. You NEVER know the circumstances of someones life. I am grateful for that time in my life I was able to learn the value of compassion. Yes there are some that abuse the system however just as many are in a hard spot and need a little help.
You are so ingnorant! I agree with everything these other people have said. I can’t even think of words to say to explain, how stupid this entire post is!
Wow.
I guess I understand your sentiment about WIC users being rude but the way this is written is fairly scathing.
In fact, I worked as a cashier while I was in high school and I never found WIC transactions to be all that horrible. Sure there were a few rude customers that used WIC but there were also a few rude costumers who didn’t. Maybe I was just more sympathetic to their plight than you are. I would never had told the customers behind them that this transaction was going to take a while. I also would never tell someone with WIC checks when to come into the store. That is ridiculous! Furthermore, I would refrain in classifying a whole group as “you people”. It really shows how judgmental you are.
Part of my job as a cashier was to check out people with WIC checks. Not judge them or dread their arrival in my lane. You never know all the circumstances. I wish you would take this opportunity to show someone in need kindness instead of your unwarranted attitude.
I think the post rubbed some of us the wrong way; however, I think the gist of it is to be courteous to the cashier. Show her your WIC card promptly, spend time ensuring you have the correct items, organize them to help the cashier, and be polite to her if she’s polite to you. She mentioned being in an affluent area, so I wonder if her WIC customers are on edge and stressed that people will be judging her. I offer to this cashier that perhaps the customers are oftentimes criticized publicly, and that’s why they don’t like the public announcement that the line might take some time. I think the customers can plainly see the separated items and can decide to wait or try a different line. There’s no need to embarrass a customer by loudly saying “this transaction might take longer than others.” Also, why mention that you judge people? Do it quietly to yourself, unless you make faces or something. The WIC process is a stressful one for the customer as well as the other shoppers. The cashier could be patient considering she’s already working hourly. Why should she care that it’s a lengthy process unless she’s near a lunchbreak or the end of her shift? I submit it has a lot to do with the scrutiny and criticisms of the onlookers, otherwise she wouldn’t feel it necessary to announce the lengthy WIC process to the customers who should be able to see it is taking longer than usual.
Some cashiers may be fiscally conservative and not agree with “handouts”? Are you kidding me? Your JOB, as a cashier, is to ring items from the store with your computer and accept the payment that the customer hands to you because that funds the store which pays your paycheck.
How would you feel if you were trying to buy a Glenn Beck book at Barnes and Noble and the cashier was reluctant to ring it in and called you an idiot because they didn’t agree with your politics? You’d probably be pretty angry and you don’t even NEED that book to feed your children.
The ignorance in the world is astounding to me at times.
I have friends that use WIC so I’m not against it but nothing pisses me off more that when the chic using it has acrylic nails and Uggs. You can excuse away the BMW and the iphone as a work discount but unless you work as a salon AND a shoe store those items aren’t cheap.
Or perhaps her sister is a cosmetology student practicing on her, or she trades babysitting for acrylic nails, or she was taken out as a birthday present…
Or maybe the UGGS were a gift, or purchased before her situation changed and she needed assistance, or she saved every penny for months to buy one nice thing for herself, or they’re knock offs, or she found them at a fantastic deal at the Goodwill…
You just never know how someone got the things they got, or what their financial situation is, just by looking. I have a friend who has a $150 Petunia Picklebottom diaper bag – found at the thrift store for $15. Should she not carry her diaper bag because of someone else’s assumptions?
Thanks for this.
I’m on WIC and I wear shoes that cost well over a hundred dollars a pair, but I have only three pairs of shoes to my name and each one typically lasts for several years; one of those pairs was a gift and all of them are over three years old, but look newer because I take good care of them. My diaper bag is also expensive but I got it at a thrift store for very cheap and it’s the only bag I own; I don’t even own a purse. I drive my mother’s car to the grocery store because I don’t have my own (in fact, I take public transit everywhere else except when I have to drag home groceries) and my nails look like they’re acrylic (lots of people think they are), but they are my actual real nails that I happen to take very good care of and keep polished with the same two bottles of polish I’ve had for years; I even do my own french manicures when I can make the time. I don’t smoke or drink, but sometimes I offer to pick up a few things for a handicapped friend who does, if I will see her later in the day. And sometimes my mom can only watch my son late at night because she has other things to do during the day. I wonder if AC would rather I come through her line with a screaming baby as long as it wasn’t at 10pm and ask for help to load my groceries into the car because I have said baby in my arms or in the carrier on my chest… and youngmom had a good point: when you’re being paid by a store that accepts WIC checks, you have no business letting your opinion of it’s validity affect your service.
When I use my WIC checks I try not to use more than one at a time and try to do so at non-peak times, etc… because I KNOW that it will be easier on me. When I have to do otherwise I am usually visibly agitated because I KNOW how I will be treated. I adjust my behavior significantly to avoid being embarrassed by a cashier who shouts across the loudspeaker that they need help with a WIC transaction. It’s bad enough that I get nasty looks from the customers behind me, but when the cashier does it I remember them and try to avoid them. There are two cashiers who have treated me nicely at my store… out of twenty. If they aren’t there when i shop, I usually pocket my checks and try again. Sometimes this means going without certain foods until I can get a babysitter and get back to the store using a borrowed car. This is not easy. Why don’t cashiers get that they are paid to check me out pleasantly instead of taking a personal affront to my poverty?
I am pretty sure that you have heard of the words “a gift”?
I live in a poorer, rural area, so I know lots of people on WIC & foodstamps, and have been on both before. And I have seen a woman in the store who bought both formula and baby food, complain that she doesn’t get enough formula, and then buy a 24-case of beer.
And I have also gone to the store, bought myself milk, eggs, string cheese for my 4 y/o, bannans, apples, oranges, and carrots, bread, and juice. And been so amazingly thankful because for another week, we will have fresh food in the house. And all I had to scrounge money together for, is yogurt. My DH & I could eat top ramen, but my daughter would at least have plenty of healthy food for the week.
I’ve been behind a register and I’ve also been on WIC, and I have to say that I find many of the things mentioned in this article to be nothing less than ridiculous. It’s normal to hope that customers will be polite and pleasant, but to say that they should shop at certain times? Or only use a certain amount of checks? They are the CUSTOMER and you are the employee…it is not their job to do things in a way that is convenient to you. You are being paid to process their checks, do separate orders, and bag their groceries. Why should they bag their own food? They aren’t the ones getting paid! It’s not the customers’ job to care about the time of day, size of your line, your political affiliation, or whether or not you feel like running 3 WIC checks. It’s your damn JOB…stop expecting people to cater to you and your preferences.
well said!
I have a very expensive bag and I am on WIC,, that bag was given to me by my mom as a gift when I recently graduated from a nursing school…We are not originally from the US and she is not even aware I’m on WIC.. certain circumstances made our big family eligible from assistance..the point is,, you don’t judge people who are on WIC based on what they have at the moment they shop..
You said try to come in before 10 am? Believe me,, we don’t want to come at the busiest hour of the store and hold up a line,, but sometimes after 10 is the only time we have specially if you have a small kid ..Do we owe the store something or you for that matter if we come in after 10?
And how do you propose we bag our own items if we have a child in tow? which is fairly common among WIC customers..do we stash them on the check out shelf for a while or bag them as well so that we may be able to help you make your life easier?
and yes,, i do take offense when a cashier will address a person behind me and tell him that I apologize because a transaction will take longer than usual..that is because you won’t tell that to the person behind me if im paying on my own even if I have a cart overflowing with groceries..
I take it alot of you have never worked, or for that matter, worked in the public sector. I tolerate WIC customers on a daily basis. They always want stuff they can’t have, they love to make scenes in the grocery store, they can’t speak an ounce of English to save there life in the country they LIVE IN! They are RUDE! Yes RUDE! Suck it up and follow the guidelines and rules to your free crap! Please, it’s enough I stand for 8 hours tolerating life of all forms, but when it comes to WIC, these people are unappreciative. Respect your cashier and follow the rules, and maybe you wouldn’t feel so damn embarrassed. Have you ever thought about that?
WIC is not the easiest program to use. There are lots of rules, and it’s hard to figure out exactly which foods qualify. Add to that, some grocery stores don’t follow the rules appropriately. For example, I have been told by the WIC nutritionist that low-sodium canned beans can be purchased with my checks. The regular grocery store I shop at has let me purchase them several times, but once I went to Wal-Mart and the cashier and manager made a big deal about them not being accepted. I tried to show them in my book, but they didn’t even listen to me. I was polite, but they were extremely rude. It’s like they assumed that I was just trying to break the rules. Do you think people want to be embarrassed? Any time I’ve brought up the wrong item it’s been a mistake on my part, despite reading and re-reading my booklet, and I hate when that happens. Have some compassion, or get another job. No one is forcing you to work there.
A Stephanie: Yes, we have thought about that a lot harder than you have to treat ALL customers with respect and dignity. Tsk, Tsk! It is not OUR responsibility to “respect” YOU as a cashier! Be courteous and nice, yes. Try our best as a customer to get the WIC order right, O.K. But what do you do if a WIC consumer makes an honest mistake? Woe be to them??
And wow! How gracious of you to “tolerate” WIC customers!! Not all WIC customers are “unappreciative”, as you so put it! Did you ever stop to think that if all of the WIC customers are short or have an attitude to you, that maybe it has something to do with you?
And Stephanie, your very first sentence within your comment makes me bristle up! Many people that get WIC benefits DO work, but have a low income which still necessitates them to get this subsidy to help feed their children. Their are others that have had other difficult circumstances, also, where it is needed for them to utilize WIC.
Your whole post, especially the first sentence, smacks of judgement and scorn for those who need to use this program and others like it.
I used wic for the first time tonight. I’m always very polite to people anywhere I go because I know the stuff they have to put up with on a daily basis. I’ve also been a cashier so I know that WIC can be an ‘annoyance’ to the cashier due to it taking longer than a normal transaction which makes customers who have to wait irritable. The rules are also very strict. Anyway when I first approached the cashier tonight she was friendly and I said I would be paying for 3 items with WIC, her whole demeanor changed, I was still polite and said thank you, have a nice night etc to which I got no response. I was automatically treated second rate just because of the fact I had wic. Oh and stephanie its their not there. It amazes me that someone could criticize the way someone else speaks but can’t use the proper spelling of a word.
They should just create a distribution center and send all the WIC people there at least this way you don’t have to worry about having the right items because it will be properly stocked.
But if mainstreaming WIC users into grocery stores is a must for cheap gov’ts afraid of losing AND coupon users who feel the need to haggle for prices just to save a few dollars.
Its not the WIC in and of itself that we have a problem with, its the process. If food stamps can be transferred onto a car that looks close to a US Bank card, why not do the same for WIC?
((Tears))
Single mom of 8yr old with new baby on the way. Working hard all day with the developmentally disabiled excited because its pay day bills are due car needs to be serviced and I’ve been garnished ((student loans)) omg after the panic settles I have to figure out what I’m going do I’m big and pregnant hungry baby not as active anymore I need to eat a little more kaiser tells me about wic….its unfair to judge ppl who need wic or foodstamps or unemployment supplements to help their housholds function “my circumstances do not define who I am” I thank god for Prime Time (wic only store) there employees don’t judge you and due to their wages often fall into the bracket to qualify.
Ppl need to be a little more open minded to the thought of individuals who get assistance of any kind are able to buy, get b.day and christmas gift like anyone else. Use tax return money to buy a new but
used car for the family. Now not working due to unbelivable daycare cost, I have no car and usually take a cab home when grocery shopping and ppl still give me looks while waiting ouside the store with my children. Until a persons circumstances take a 360 degree turn from they’re normal world they will never understand and continue to judge. I love my little family
My Husband is a manager of a grocery store, and we qualify for wic but are not currently on it. Anyways I read him this letter from a cashier and he was floored! He said he would fire a cashier on the spot if they ever said any of this to a wic customer. He wanted me to point out that the cashier is paid to be friendly, the customer is not. While it is nice when people are friendly to each other the cashier has to be friendly no matter what – it is their job because the customer has a choice on where to shop and nobody wants to shop at a store where you are looked down on. He also wants to point out that it is NOT the cashiers job to judge anyone no matter what kind of car keys or cell phone they have – it is simply not the cashiers concern. The cashier is getting paid to ring up orders and collect payment (no matter what the form). My husband was very angry about the fact that this cashier had the “nerve” to tell clients what time they should shop. He said of everything in this letter this got him the most upset. A client is a client no matter what the time! And the store gets paid for accepting Wic vouchers. If the store did not accept wic there would be less cashiers because there would be less clients shopping so that cashier should think of this next time he gets up on his high horse. My husband wanted to state that in general this cashiers veiw point is not common. If you don’t believe me – ask a store manager their views~ they will be the first to tell you that you are welcome ANYTIME and that you need to be respected just like everyone else.
Well said!
Very judgmental. Guess what, you get paid to do a job. If your store decides to take WIC its your job. Plain and simple. Your on the clock so do the job. It shouldn’t matter who comes through the line. WIC, cash, credit, your job is to take care of the customer next in line. If the line backs up its not the customers fault what so ever. The store needs to have a back up cashier. I hate when people complain about having to do their job.