How to Handle a Rude Cashier 112
I got the following email a few months back. I gave her my response (which I may share in a few days), but I’m curious what you all might suggest.
Do you have any advice on how to handle a situation where a cashier is so rude to you when you’re using your WIC voucher that you want to cry? Here is what happened to me.
I had 2 gallons of milk listed on my voucher, but I knew we would only use the one, so I only took one [to the check out]. At the check out, [the cashier] told me I had to take two because it was on the voucher. I explained that I did not HAVE to take two. She smacked her gum at me, rolled her eyes and yelled to another cashier, “This WIC mom is trying to tell me I don’t know [how] to read her voucher, can you come help me?”
Her fellow cashier came over and tried to tell me I HAD to take two because my voucher said so. The line behind me was growing and people were moaning and sighing. I left the line to get another gallon of milk that I knew would just be wasted. I came back with my two gallons ready to check out, and again [the cashier] rolled her eyes and said, “If you’re going to use WIC at least know how to read the voucher!” At that comment I told her to just stop ringing me up and that I was leaving.
I went to find a store manager and filed a complaint but the manager seemed really indifferent. I am so upset and hurt by the way I was treated and I do not know what I can do. Any advice?
I’m angry that she called me “this WIC mom” really loudly, and I am angry that the manager just said “ok thank you for letting me know, bye now.” The manager didn’t even apologize. All of this took place in front of my son which broke my heart that he had to watch his mom get treated with such dis-respect by strangers. Do I just drop it or what should I do?
Heh, I’m really beligerent and combative with people as it is and would have started yelling. Becoming a mother has actually made that part of me worse because it’s not just me they’re trying to walk all over and disrespect, but they’re also getting in the way of my child’s wellbeing. Oregon WIC requires everyone to take an introductory class to explain how they work and all the little details. Grocery store clerks are not. In fact, on more than one occasion I had to explain to a checker how to do it. I’ve also filed complaints about two stores with both the WIC office and the actual stores. I haven’t taken my WIC checks back there and made sure they knew that.
Also, don’t forget that times are terrible for pretty much everyone and you’re going to run into a lot more apathy and discontentment pretty much everywhere. It might not have been that the store manager didn’t care about the checker being disrespectful, but that he just didn’t care about anything, period. Considering how many people with PhDs are now getting minimum wage jobs, there are a lot of people incredibly unhappy with their lives and not giving a crap about the work they do.
I’ve encountered my share of rude cashiers an other rude people. Someone once gave me some excellent advice for handling such situations: “Just consider the source”. My advice: Take out a contract on them (just kidding).
Oooooh, I would hate that. It’s really tough when the manager doesn’t even care. Fortunately I’ve rarely run into rude cashiers. Maybe annoyed, but not rude. However, I am pretty confident that if you called corporate, they would be more than happy to take your complaint.
Things ARE tough. And stores are (or should be) competing for your business. And when you hand over your WIC voucher, it’s the same as cash, to the store. They get reimbursed for every penny, plus a small handling fee. So whether you’re paying with cash, credit, EBT, WIC, or a stack of coupons, it shouldn’t matter one bit to the stores.
And I’ve been swayed in my shopping experience, to go to differant stores. Right now, I’ve switched because Safeway is actually a little out of the way for me, and Save Mart is doing a similar gas reward program, plus running a “Collect & Win” Game. So when I use my 2 formula vouchers, and both my baby food vouchers, that gave me like 8 game pieces and a $.15 per gallon, gas reward. :-)
Sadly, there are rude and disrespectful people everywhere in the world. It still shocks me when it happens, but it shouldn’t. All you can do is continue to be a good role model for your child and explain to him that THAT is not the way that a civilized person behaves. Also, responding back to an ignorant person will only reinforce (in their minds) that they were justified to be rude and insensitive to you. Trying to take the high road is the hardest lesson for most of America.
Tracey, that is the kind of good practical advice my momma would give me! Excellent words. I do think that it is appropriate in addition to trying to take the high road to as politely as possible report the problem you encountered to the next level up in the store and possibly the local WIC office depending on the reaction you get from the store. Not to try and get someone in trouble or get revenge but just so that it is less likely to happen again to the next person.
I’m so sorry this happened to you. I’m a cashier at a Walmart that just upgraded to a supercenter. Therefore, we started doing WIC. I would never treat someone like this. I know how it is to fall on hard times and feeding your child is more important than anything else. I don’t allow rudeness to WIC customers around me. I have stood up for mothers on WIC to other customers. Really, I don’t have anything more to say than how sorry I am. I hate that some rude, hateful people make all of us look bad.
I work at a Walmart in an impoverished neighborhood. I just started there 2 weeks ago. I have experienced MULTIPLE men and women bringing their WIC checks in at the busiest time and screaming about how they are aloud to get another item, brand or increment. Then call me stupid because I HAVE to follow the rules given us by the company. The customer wants to fight over $.50! They know what they can get and what they can’t yet they still try to act stupid. I have had a customer hold up the line for 30 minutes because she had to keep going back and get different items. What customers don’t understand is we get in trouble if we take to long in each transaction. I am tired of WIC checks. In 2012 there has to be a better system for this program.
They do–or at least they will. All WIC programs are required to convert to the WIC EBT/Card system by 2014, much like the LINK system has. If you plan to be in the cashiering business very long (though I doubt any of us ‘plan’ being there) you’ll see the change.
RE: people being ‘studpid,’ don’t take it personally. Some people will just be fools no matter what side of the register they’re on.
I feel so bad for this mom! I’ve never had something that bad happen. What’s so wrong with doing everything you can to feed your children? All the advice before me is spot on, I would add only to not go to that store/cashier again!
Okay so you’re upset that someone called you what you are? You are a mom on Wic, hence, you are a Wic Mom.
If I was holding up the line to buy cat food, I’d probably get called “Cat food girl” because, guess what! The cashier doesn’t know your name. I can’t believe you are even complaining at all; you receive a handout from the government as it is. I’m sorry that shopping free of charge is STILL so awful for you.
Figures – some idiot just wanting to belittle another person who has fallen on hard times. Sure, there is some abuse in welfare and government programs. However, you have not right, nor does that piece of crap from WALmart, who probably has no real skills or abilitites, to belittle a woman who is actually trying to save the tax payer money by not buying something she will not use. I am a disabled veteran with numerous years of service and ten deplaoyments to IRaq with several to Afghanistan as well. I served in Special Ops. I sacrificed for this country and this moron’s rights and freedom of speech. I had to go get QIC from my daughter because Uncle Sam is screwing me around on my benefits – I was supposed to be medically retired but because our “accident” occurred over the worng line of a map they have shifted our paperwork putting us in a backlog and then not providing what they promised. They left me high and dry. Now, these injuries have led to signficant problems internally which no threaten my life and will force my daughters to go on without their Dad. My suggestion is you shut your damn trap unless you know what you are talking about. This lady did not deserve that treatment nor does any other WIC recipient. Funny thing is these jerks that typicaly whine and cry about all people getting some help from WIC are the same ones that do n ot pay, evade, or cheat on their taxes.
Hello, “wicatwalmartistheworst”, do you know how incredibly uneducated you sound? You do understand that WIC isn’t welfare, correct? Although it is government funded it is in no way a form of welfare, you pathetic moron. How about you consider a college education for yourself, and a real job. It’s funny how a person with a low paying job is so quick to judge a mother on WIC. I’m only 20 years old with a BA and currently pursuing my Masters and I am on WIC, beacause my parents have worked and I have a right to be on it. If scum of the earth can abuse the system why can’t those of us who actually deserve it be on it? People in this world need to focus on the big picture. Life isn’t forever, eternity is. I’ll let God sort people like you out.
Agreed. It’s part of the learning process. Don’t have kids that you can’t pay for.
Then keep your legs closed yeah right because you can never afford kids unless of course your part of the elite. At least not in the USA where there are so many rules and regulations that we cant even wipe our butt with out being (taxed) for doing it the wrong way. We cant find a way to support our familys with out government twisting or preverting any idea we may have.
And what of people who have kids and can afford them and then suddenly fall on hard times? People who work as many hours as they can but cannot get a job in their previous field because there are no longer positions available to them so they take what they can get and work as hard and long as possible and still have to choose between things like electricity and food or diapers and gas to get to work and you say that they don’t deserve a little help until they can improve their situation. That their kids deserve to go hungry because it might make your wait at a store a few minutes longer? Things change for everyone over the course of their lives. Maybe one day things will change for you and you’ll find yourself in her shoes. Would you feel like you should be disrespected for trying to feed your kids?
Wow, really? It’s called a little thing like respect which clearly you were never taught ;).
Didn’t your mama ever teach you manners? Treat people the way you would liked to be treated!
I’ve never read such an offensive, insensitive, and inconsiderate response to someone’s plea for help. Mark my words, humbleness is coming your way.
no, you would not get called cat food girl. . . just like I don’t hear cashiers yelling out- pepsi fanatic, fat lady, black man, old man, purple shirt lady, skinny dude, or any other unneeded descriptive term. The polite thing to call the customer when you don’t know there name is CUSTOMER.
Of course judging from your other comments on here social skills aren’t something you excel at so I’m not surprised you didn’t realize that was rude of the cashier.
I would have not argued with the cashier and just got the 2nd milk. These vouchers seem to have strict rules. When the goverment is involved, they are “making your choices.” I am sure I could have found someone to give the milk to. A friend, neighbor, etc.
Lindsay, actually yes you can find someone to give the milk to but according to the government that is actually illegal to give away or sell your WIC food. Getting it and giving it to someone else may be playing by the supermarkets rules (because it gets them more money) but it is not playing by the governments rules and since they pay for it we should be playing by their rules.
It must be diffrent from state to state. Where I live you HAVE to get every thing on the voucher. How ever even the people who work at the wic office will tell you to give it to a food pantry if you cant use it.
You should try looking at things from the cashiers point of view. If a WIC voucher is not followed precisely then the transaction is void and the store loses money. This can and will result in the cashier being fired. Would you want to be fired over someone who’s getting their items for free? No you wouldn’t. Also when I was a cashier the rudest customers I ever had were all women using WIC. They would get so angry at me for reading over their voucher to make sure the dates, items, and the weight of their fruits matched. Apparently I was wasting their time which made me angry because if I was getting something for free I’d keep my mouth shut and just deal with it. This is the problem in todays society. People feel so entitled to government benefits because they have children they can’t afford. If your getting more items than you need inform the WIC office so they can adjust the items you’re getting.
BS Tina. Most of these cashiers today have no respect for the customer. They give you all sorts of problems using the dang WIC checks. No program forces you to buy all of the items – it just limits the items the program will pay for and the brands. And by the way these are very basic staples like milk, cheese, formula, whole grains, eggs, fruit, and beans. There is no luxury and most states make you buy the el cheapo brands. Not all, but there are many cashiers that are rude and condescending if you use SNAP or WIC. Just because someone has fallen on hard times does not make them a bum, user, trash, or deserving of this treatment. I respect this woman for trying to not waste the taxpayers money on something she knew they could not use. It is the indiviudals right to leave an item off. Heck, several times the store may be out of an item and the family might need the rest of the items. Think people.
Tina you might enjoy reading my post about the cashiers point of view (http://wicwoes.com/2011/cashiers-shoes). I can’t tell you how many times I’ve apologized to my cashier for having a pain in the butt order when I was checking out with WIC. I knew it was going to be more work and stressful for many of the cashiers and I felt bad for being the customer that had to go through the line and cause the stress.
It also isn’t fun to know that many times when the cashiers saw my WIC items I reminded them of their “rudest customers.” Talk about making me feel even worse. I am sure you are right- it just hurts to know that cashiers saw me and dreaded that I was going to be one of those rude customers.
I think it would help a lot of the WIC clinic and the grocery stores were on the same page but unfortunately they aren’t. You think that a mom can simply go the WIC office and ask them to adjust the voucher to eliminate unneeded items. I know for a fact from when I worked for WIC they cannot just give a mom 2 less gallons of milk on the voucher. They tell the mom’s don’t get the milk you don’t need so it saves money for the program. But they can’t take the milk off the vouchers they are for set amounts. Some stores then go and tell the cashiers that the customers HAVE to get ALL the items. Unfortunately those supervisors have trained the cashiers wrong and the cashier is stuck in a bad spot. They have a supervisor that doesn’t understand or is not following WIC policy training them wrong and a customer that doesn’t want to waste tax dollars on milk they know will go bad in their fridge.
No doubt its a tough spot for a cashier to be in. I recommend any cashier who is being told that customers have to buy ALL the items on their voucher give a call or email to their local WIC office and let them know that is what the supervisors are telling them to do at their store.
Wic Checks are a loaded gun that is given to the supermarket manager in order to try to get rid of an employee they don’t like. Please do not shop during the dinner rush, and please do not use your wic checks in the fast lane.
Mary Kay, I think most WIC participants do try to shop during the none busy times. Most are well aware that WIC checkout is stressful and frustrating for cashiers just like it is for them. Unfortunately sometimes between work schedules and picking kids up from school or getting them at the bus stop the only time a WIC participant has to shop happens to be the only time a bunch of other people seem to have to shop and so they have to check out during the busy time. I assure you though MOST of them dread checking out with a WIC voucher during these busy times just like you dread it and if they can they avoid it!
My advise is simple, if you can’t feed them, don’t breed them! Giving a cashier a wic check is like pointing a loaded gun in their face.
Yet another comment from a judgmental individual.
I concur.
What an idiot sentiment. Anyone can run into hard times. Watch what you say…you may get a lesson you don’t like.
GOD! I #&*@& hate WIC so much i swear if you cant afford to feed your $(*&@$ dont BREED! And it pisses me off to no end when customers come up with the WRONG @#$! and than get an attitude when i explain that they picked up ex amount ounce package and the right one which is written ON THE VOUCHER is ex amount of oz’s
#$@#% WIC!
Victoria, I left your comment up with much of it edited. I believe the intent of what you wanted to express is still there but some of the specific words you used were just too much for me to want to be sitting on this site. I wish you all the best in finding a different job where you can work without feeling so much anger and resentment. You make me feel all the more thankful for the friendly cashiers that are at my local grocery store!
Sounds like Victoria is a little unstable. People can have decent jobs when they “breed” and loose them to no fault of their own. They may not qualify for food stamps but are able to get on WIC to help them get by. Not everyone is on the program long term. Yes, there are abusers but there are some people who are truly down on their luck and I for one would rather a child having something to eat than go to bed hungry.
The Bottom Line is that the retailer sees it as a Money Maker and to a Checker the wic check is a loaded gun.
Managers also use it as a tool to get rid of people they don’t like, and yes they let their favorites get away with mistakes.
You obviously did not read the article. She wanted only 1 instead of 2 gallons of milk and didnt want to waste the milk and taxpayer dollars by getting 2. By having a pregnant woman and 2 toddlers on the program, we qualify for 12 1/2 gallons of milk a month. We only drink 4-6 of them so I skip them. If my voucher includes whole grain, cereal, or peanut butter that we will use, I buy those and dont get the milk sometimes. I dont agree with all of the nutritional guidelines for wic and dont think my children (both over 2) need that much milk, so we dont get it. I could easily get the extra and pass them on to a friend, but that is dishonest and federal fraud. I worked for 9 1/2 years in a professional capacity and would never dream of treating my clients the way that cashier treated that customer (aka client). Its rude and unprofessional.
lynn, I agree. As a former cashier at a W/M supercenter, I never felt that the customer was REQUIRED to buy all the items on a WIC voucher, nor did I insist or ask why they didn’t. All those items were certainly appreciated by the customer, but alot of the items weren’t ones they preferred, or could not use. So I always felt that if they did NOT buy all allowed on the voucher, they were in fact saving money for the program by not buying items they knew would go to waste. Yes, WIC vouchers were difficult at times, but for the most part, I was lucky to have an understanding WIC customer, especially when I gave them the careful and respectful attention they deserved. Kudos for including Victoria’s comments. She might need to find a different line of work, preferably not in customer service.
Hi all! I had my first child when I was still in college, and although my fiance had a stable, well-paying job, since we weren’t married and I was unemployed, I was put on Medicaid and WIC. I knew that Medicaid was government funded, but I had no idea that WIC was for people with a certain income. So I strutted up to the grocery stores and got my cereal and milk without thinking twice about what anybody thought. I think it was because I acted so empowered and not like I was “using” government assistance that I rarely noticed any scowling, and the cashiers were actually very helpful in letting me know if I didn’t have the right items. I just went about my business with a smile and I think it made all the difference!
Due to unforseen circumstances, my children are now on Medicaid and WIC. I never in my life thought I would have to need assistance… NEVER SAY NEVER. Needless to say, the very first day I received my vouchers (after sitting in the WIC office for 3 hours past my appt. time), I went to the store. The WIC office was very clear about not signing the vouchers until all the items had been totaled and the cashier wrote the amount on the voucher. However, my cashier wanted it signed before anything was totaled. Being new to this whole thing, I politely told her that I was told not to sign it until after the transaction. If looks could kill, I would have been dead. Then, of course, she spoke to someone else about it, and proceeded to bang the keys of the computer and never said another word to me… I explained that I was new to this program and was just doing what I had been told. This was my first experience and I really felt bad for anyone else who has to use WIC, because I do think people tend to treat you differently. Also, my Target store doesn’t accept WIC.. just found this out today after selecting all of my items… UGH… Guess I’ll stick to Harris Teeter because they are very nice all the time and their cashiers are trained about how to use the vouchers.
I read your comments… I am sorry that you were treated badly. I am in fact a grocery checker who takes MANY WIC vouchers. Again, I apologize for the rudness of some checkers… but please… you need to be in my shoes! I think that WIC is a wonderful program. I always try to treat others as I would like to be treated, but SOME of the WIC customers are just awful!!! We suffer too, but there is no recourse for us for the abuse we must take. So, remember… it isn’t always roses for us either. I hope for all of you good shopping. Sorry about the rude checkers.
Also accurate.
Wow. Interesting comments. I’m a pedi nurse (LVN) and have been for 7 years. I’ve never had to work at a grocery store and don’t know how it feels to check people out all day, but I imagine some of all customers are rude whether they are on WIC or not. I also didn’t realize it was a “low income” program. I thought women qualified for it based on being pregnant, income, and/or certain health issues of their children. I’ve had plenty of patients who were on WIC and their parents weren’t on any other government assistance, were educated and usually 2 parent working households. Those patients parents didn’t seem disadvantaged or more rude than others. I didn’t know there was this cashier vs. wic customer beef going on but I’ll make sure to tell my patients’ parents that the cashiers at their local stores are sometimes offended at their use of WIC instead of foodstamps, cash, or credit and feel people using WIC are ruder. Lol, since when is it the cashier’s business to make personal or ethical judgements about a customer based on how they pay?
They need to meet all the requirements. Income is at 185% of the poverty level which allows many to receive wic while receiving no other public assistance. The only other public assistance I receive is called BCMH (Bureau for Children with Medical Handicaps) for 1 son who was born with a craniofacial birth defect. WIC for us will turn out to be temporary because my husband found a part-time job and once that starts our income will be over the threshold. I doubt WIC is a way of life for most people, but with the income guidelines a lot of military families receive it along with some young professionals just starting their careers.
Actually, most of the people on WIC that I’ve waited on have been perfectly lovely people…it’s only once in a while that we get someone who’s really rude or demanding. Generally, if you complain a certain number of times (I’m not sure of the number) to the WIC office, the store will lose their WIC accreditation.
Thats great to hear. I am new to wic and guess what everyone makes mistakes. I picked up pb with honey (a no no) and the cashier corrected me. I found out the store oj in the 1/2 gallon jug wouldnt scan right, but the cardboard container will. I picked up the wrong applesauce last night (knew it was supposed to be all natural, which I prefer anyway, and picked up the regular by mistake). I always try to be apologetic and the cashiers are always understanding. I will say, I appreciate when the cashier mentions that my order will take longer, but I have never had them say its due to wic. Unfortunately, I usually have 4 or 5 separate orders to separate all the wic vouchers and my final order is always with coupons so it takes longer too.
A few years ago we were foster parents (I work and my husband was SAH parent to the babies we cared for) and of course all of the babies were formula fed and WIC-eligible. My family was very poor when I was growing up, led by single mom (we had several stints on welfare, food stamps, subsidized housing, etc.), and I had this real aversion to EVER taking any kind of subsidy. I can still recall the mean kid in 4th grade who said my parents were lazy bums because I received free lunch. So anyway, going to the grocery store with these vouchers was really tough because as an adult I have never received any public assistance. I completely agree with the existence of a strong social safety net, however, and I know that so many people are struggling these days despite making good choices. As an RN, I also am very aware of how important good nutrition is to healthy child development. Anyway, long story short, I had LOTS of bad experiences with WIC in the past few years. I even changed the grocery store I frequented because I was so humiliated a few times. I learned to always carry that WIC book with me (so I could “prove” to the cashier that the store brand organic baby foods were allowed, etc.) I also made sure before they walked 30 feet away to the cabinet where the formula was kept (and the 10 people in line behind me collectively groaned) that they knew that it was “X-type’ formula, not the regular kind, etc. We have stopped fostering and we ultimately adopted our last foster daughter so we are hopefully done with WIC forever!
I am not a cashier but my daughter “was” until she went to check the schedule last night and she was no longer on it. She asked why and the answer was because she did something wrong on 2 WIC vouchers. She scanned the wrong juice on one and allowed the person to purchase lactose free milk on another (different customers, at different times) her boss did not let her look at her mistakes but just read to her what was wrong. As any mother thinks, I have a wonderful caring daughter (she was a WIC baby) she would try her best to be kind to everyone that checked out in her lane…but she said the WIC customers were not very nice. I can understand feeling uneasy and thinking everyone thinks you are using the government when you have WIC or Food Stamps because I have been there myself. BUT when I purchased my WIC I made sure I had what was on my voucher and never tried to get by with purchasing the wrong item. She told me that some people get mad because she would tell them that they couldn’t get something and respond by saying that they were NOT going back to get the right thing , so she would do it, (yes that was her job) But like some of the other posts, IF YOU ARE GETTING SOMETHING FREE take the time to double check and if the cashier is a sweet little high school girl (like my daughter :) help them out and go back and get the correct item. Kinda sad when you think that my “WIC baby” was just trying to do her job and help her family with some bills and she gets fired because of a program that she herself is helping to support by working and paying her taxes hmmm. Oh and you know I think I need to look into that ” not allowing lactose free milk” deal because I am almost possitive the WIC program allows Lactose free kids to drink milk too lol.
as a cashier i have made mistakes and that manager was in the wrong should have let her see the mistake and u can get lactose free milk he should say iam sorry but they never do
People get assistance because their jobs don’t pay them enough to actually work. So, these companies lobby congress to increase handouts for people so they can continue to pay less. Ironically, 80% of all Wal-Mart employees have some sort of government assistance. Most store workers do, because you can’t afford to put just one child in daycare and actually drive to work to give 40-60 hours of your time to a company who buys cheap goods overseas so that it can make a profit off of your life. That store manager probably forced cashiers not to let people get away without getting everything on the voucher because it made money off the government.
Ah, how our good old media has filled the heart of the half-hearted with hatred for low-income people when the people who get the actual money, as in, not cheap milk and cheese, are the ones who become billionaires off the government money! I don’t blame them, either.
The issue of “handouts” is funny when people get so puffed up, full of judgment and hatred over people who get a $10 worth of food when the company gets $40 from the actual government for the “retail value.” The low-income people never get the actual cash!
It’s too complicated to understand that other people have different lives with different challenges and different dreams. It’s easier to put ourselves on a throne, pat ourselves on the back while belittling others while being ignorant of the real agenda.
well said!
I think so many people here have missed the point. Everyone is getting into a “wic” discussion. (Yes, I know this is a wicwoes site.) The person who originally posted was looking for empathy for being treated rudely, when she was 1) doing the right thing for her family 2) doing the right thing by not wasting public assistance money and was behaving respectfully herself. I really feel for her, because more and more people seem to think that because they can “get away’ with it, they take out their anger on the innocent and for some reason seem to get their kicks out of it. I’m not on WIC, don’t care who is or isn’t on it. I don’t care if one or most WIC customers are rude. Each person deserves to be treated with respect by a clerk and/or by anyone, unless they are being a bitch or intentional aggravator, which this lady was certainly not. There is NO excuse for a clerk to treat this lady or anyone badly. I don’t give a **** if that clerk had a bad day, a bad year or has a bad corn on her foot that hurts. She has no business talking down to this lady; she knew she was being sarcastic and insulting her. I think she was a pathetic, mean bitch who has so little power in her life, that she takes what little power she has a clerk, holds it over the tired, the weak and the poor, the beautiful or whoever she can, just because she can. Why do I say that? Because the manager’s response confirmed it. That clerk knew the manager wouldn’t do jack, if she took her hostilities out on this nice lady.
Shit rolls downhill, people. Usually when the clerks are bitches, it is because the manager is one. The reason the manager is a bitch/prick can be varied, I’ve found. Often, though, it is because the store owner is a greedy person . Just like someone else here cited, the store makes more money if she is forced to follow intentionally mis-interpreted rules that says she MUST take two gallons, even if it is wasting the public’s money.
Why is it that many people posting here are making up b.s. reasons to defend rudeness? Anyone that defends bullying a mother trying to do the right thing is part of the whole problem today. Excepting one or two people who suggested reporting this incident higher up, the rest of you are also part of the bigger problem. You all have left this person to feel even weaker and more helpless at being insulted publicly, treated like a street urchin looking for a handout, instead of the decent, economic person they are.
The answer to this problem is very straightforward. You have been wronged in a very harmful way to your dignity as a human being. There can be no excuse for this. It will take some energy and time, but if you have been left feeling ab-used by this clerk and the useless manager, you need to go further up the line, until you find someone who will act. Realizing how long it would take to call each of these people, I would write a letter and send it to each person each step of the way over the manager. Send it to the store owner, send it to WIC program coordinator, and soforth. Being unfamiliar with the WIC program, I believe that some of the people on this site would be better able to assist you with the names of other government officials over this program and who could influence removing the store from this program.
Just like with children, these narcissistic individuals need to be put in their place. Swift and just, they need to be slammed down from the top. When you let the top dogs know that their clerks are biting into their bottom line, and that you have been sharing this information with everyone on Facebook, on every review site like Yelp.com, etc. (and make sure you do report on those sites as well), that is the only way to evoke change.
If everyone keeps saying, yehhhh, oh well, there will always be rude people. Well, yehhhhhh, with lame apathetic behavior like that, of course the rude people will continue to be rude, until the door shuts on the money coming in to their wallets.
To the original poster, I am so sorry you were treated this way. The fact that it upset you so much to post here, tells me you are probably hurt very deeply. You are a kind person who doesn’t think of ways to get back when insulted; you were quite shocked and didn’t even know what to say when faced with such crude unhelpful self-centered witches. Although it won’t take away the smarting of the experience, I do encourage you that in order for you to feel better about yourself, you need to do something about this situation to show the respect for yourself that you deserve. Good luck and many warm hugs for you.
People these days need to learn how to struggle and take care of themselves and their children. That is the frustration with seeing people get free food when some work for what they have and have their priorities right. I see many young people with a Starbucks drink in their hands, the latest cell phone and newest clothing and car, yet get this middle class welfare. It’s about priorites. When my kids were little I went without so I could feed them. I didn’t have luxuries. I fed them well and didn’t ask anyone to help me. It doesn’t cost that much to feed a little body. And take a look at Craigslist and see how much baby forumula is being sold. It’s free government food people aren’t even actually giving their kids. They are selling it for profit. It’s rather disgusting if you ask me.
Lindsay, I am here to tell you that many people that struggle to feed their children DO work, and DO have their priorities straight! There is NOT one thing wrong with asking for help to feed our children! Many people that use this and other government subsidies, legitimately need them. Many of us do work hard at our employment, but yet do not make enough of a basic wage to pay all necessary bills and feed children adequately. Many on government assistance work hard at lower income jobs, or are having some other hardship that necessitates them to get assistance. To assume that everyone that receives help to feed their children doesn’t have their priorities right, according to you, is way off base.
I have a sick child with lung problem. She is always coming down with something. So she is sick almost all of the time. My boyfriend is deployed and wven with him being in the service, we were accepted for wic. I hate going to the store and using it. I just keep telling myself, this is for her and I love her. I remind myself of that, when people are giving me dirty looks or getting mad how long it takes in line. Today at the store they didn’t have any signs up saying wic approved. I was so confused, then the cashier told me some of my items were not right. I knew they were because I went by the wic book, that says what items to get and what you can’t. There was only two check outs open, and my cashier yelled sorry this is taking so long, I have wic here. I told my boyfriend about it and he wants me to stop using wic. He pays taxes to he said, and I can’t work because our daughter is a sick child. Just so some of you haters out here know. Not all of us on wic, is a lazy pos… some of us really need the help. My daughter cost us a ton of money. Thank God for wic.
Lindsay I agree with you to a point. I know people who lost their good paying jobs. Once their unemployment ran out they were screwed. Sometimes that’s why you see someone in a nice car or clothes. Because at one tim they had a good job when they purchased those things. Now they are in a fight to keep bills paid, not lose their car and home.
To all you low life people who hate customers why dont you quit! Obviously you were made for flipping burgers or grunt work, its not even that hard you ignorant freaks i work in customer service at Harris Teeter and i put up with a lot of crap and apologize for things i didnt do or that arent my fault im also responsible for 20 sixteen year old cashiers wic checks are nothing they are to easy so stop treating customers like crap they pay your salary!!!
Linny, You are obviously a manager that gets a bonus by treating your cashiers like crap. You think they are easy? Yes they are if you are not the one who has that loaded gun called a wic check in your face at the check out line. It is simple I see this lady who has 8 kids, Every year she is pregnant, alot of us think she keeps getting pregnant so she can mooch another wic check.
She comes into our line and is DEMANDING. She does not even want to work. She says it is God’s will that she has all those kids. If I am not mistaken, the Bible says that “He who will not work, will not eat” The Bible doesn’t say “Thou shalt have more kids than thou can afford so thou receives thy wic check”
I went to King Soopers in Colorado. I presented my WIC Checks and I saw the checker begin to shed a tear which she was trying to hide. I asked her what was wrong and she said that Store Managers are using WIC Checks to fire people. I looked over and saw that a Manager who was wearing a Black Vest and a red name tag was grinning in her direction. He was polite to me and said that my wic checks help to get rid of trouble makers who complain about Managers. I walked out of that store and went to Walmart Instead, I heard that Manager bragging that he got rid of a Cashier who made a mistake on a WIC Check. Wic is supposed to help us in hard times, I had no idea that WIC was a tool used by retailers to put people out of work that they don’t like. Shame on King Soopers and Walmart.
Next time wear a condom if you can’t afford to feed your kids yourself!
JP, Child Birth is a known fact of life. Of Course we both know what creates Child Birth. If you are in the heat of the passion, and then pregnancy occurs as a result and the need for wic arises, I will remember what you said. Better yet, how about saying that unless you have beaucoup bucks then don’t have sex. Are you willing to abstain from sex just because you don’t have money?
“JP” is an advocate of thought and reason. Your reply, however, is based upon throwing caution to the wind.
Don’t have children that you can’t afford.
I worked a professional job as a single woman for many years. To get better benefits, I switched to a job when I was married. I worked there for a year, and they laid me off. A week later I found out I was pregnant! I BEGAN DESPERATELY SEARCHING FOR A JOB AND NO ONE WAS HIRING. I then began wic. WIC costs relatively little for the good it does for struggling women and babies. I wish there was a faster way to get the food. How can anyone judge a mother who is getting food for her children? I have had very sweet cashiers and I have had absolutely cruel cashiers. People feel like they can be rude to someone because they are poor. I always say a little prayer that my cashier will not be rude to me. I try to get in lines where people have to wait for other reasons (usually a full cart…my cart will have ten wic items) so that it equals to the same amount of time. I think rudeness in general is wrong.
@ humanbeing, May God bless you and your child. Babies are beautiful.
I worked at walmart in the mens department and randomly would get called to the cashiers during the rush times. I told every wic customer who came in my line that I have never been fully trained on the register and that I was sorry, but I would have to get someone to help me. Most were extremely nice and said to take my time. A few could even walk me through it. Every now and then You got that one customer that was rude and told me to get off the register if I didnt know how to work it. ( now if I wasn’t working I would have told the lady off) Since I didn’t want to be checking any more then she wanted me to be, I told her if you want to tell my manager I suck at the register and get me off of it I will gladly go back to my department. She found it funny and calmed down after that and was perfectly pleasant afterwards. I no it is wrong to pass blame, but if it calms someone down and makes them laugh at the same time go for it. lol. Basically I am just saying no reason to be rude just do what your trained and get a manager and maybe make a joke to lighten the mood.
Can’t they just be nice?
Take the receipt you received to your wic office and tell them about it. This has the store and cashier information needed for them to handle the situation. Everybody in this program needs respect.
I’m a cashier, and ringing up WIC isn’t a problem for me because I’m pretty good at checking out customers quickly. It can be frustrating when the customer gets many things wrong on the check. I understand we make mistakes, and I’m not going to risk my job being an asshole/bitch to a WIC customer. If I ever made comments like that to a customer telling them to read the voucher and calling them a “WIC mom” disrespectfully, I would probably be scrutinized by my manager, possibly suspended/fired. Luckily, we have a WIC display near the check lanes so cashiers/baggers don’t have to run all the way back to the end of the store to get the right items.
By the way, I’m pretty sure you don’t HAVE to get two gallons of milk contrary to what those dumb bitches were telling you. I get a lot of people who leave items out because they have too many of that item and don’t want to waste it.
To anyone who is tired of waiting in line behind a WIC situation: My understanding is that Walmart is not allowed to have separate lines for WIC because it is considered discrimination (a manager told me that).
So perhaps one practical solution for non-WIC purchases is to use the self-serve checkout whenever practical, since most likely those using WIC will not be using it in the self-serve.
Wishing everyone the best and better times for all in the future. However….one question for those on WIC. How did you vote last time? Did you vote the socialist, er, that is, democratic ticket? If so, my opinion is that you shouldn’t be complaining. (not trying to say repubs are perfect by any means, but considering the alternative….. I mean, honestly, barrack hussein obama? nancy pelosi? harry reid? where’s your conscience for your children’s future? and for everyone else’s?
In my experence as a front end manager most people with wic are rude and cannot not read what it says if it says no whole milk they try, it pisses.me off, if the govt is going to feed you, you need to follow the govt rules
Funny I should read this post this morning. I had a fairly rude cashier just last night. I’m still a newbie to WIC, and had all the right items, but had signed my checks before I got up there, as I’ve been told to TWICE by cashiers at the same store. I even said to these cashiers, “But I’ve been told not to sign my checks until you guys see them.” and they’d argued that I need to do so before. So I did. Well, this lady lit me up about it and called the manager over to okay that I could still make the transaction with my envelope, ID, matching the signatures. Ultimately, I got everything I needed, and was very nice to the cashier and the manager, because that’s how I am, and I understand their frustration. I just get so irritated with the inconsistencies. Two separate cashiers insisted I need to sign my checks before. Two. Sometimes I swear both WIC and the workers at the stores are trying to make it more difficult to deter people from using the program. Do they really think I WANT to be in this program? I already feel like poo for needing assistance.
I’ve learned that most cashiers think they know what they’re talking about when it comes to WIC, so I just try to roll with it and have a good attitude about it. :) It can be so incredibly frustrating, though, when different cashiers handle and expect opposite things. You never know what the checkout experience will be like until the whole process is over. But you don’t need to feel like poo for needing assistance in this area. Our whole country gets government assistance in one way or another (public school, stimulus checks, first-time homeowner’s credits, etc.), it’s just that nutritional assistance programs have gotten a bad stigma from certain people. But they’re the ones who should feel bad for judging others. :)
A little background: In 2010 I moved away from home and got a job as a hostess in a local restaurant. Within six months, I was the assistant manager, performing gm duties and making about 48k. I started dating someone in early 2011, he said he loved me and we had a sexual relationship, we used condoms and were cautious, because he didn’t want kids. In September that year, I found out I was pregnant, about five weeks along. I was scared, but I knew I was making enough money to get by. When I told my boyfriend, he said he wasn’t ready for a baby and would prefer that I took the ru486 and aborted. I thought about it, saw a doctor at planned parenthood and decided against it. I’m not religious by any means, I just found myself surprisingly at peace with the notion of continuing the pregnancy. So, I planned. I began setting aside money in a savings account, and made arrangements with a midwife center to have prenatal visits and a natural birth for about $2000 total. Then on October 31st the owner of the restaurant called and said he was locking the doors for good. He wanted to focus on his other restaurant’s success. He could offer me a job there…. But only if I wasn’t pregnant. I was shocked at the implication that I would terminate my pregnancy for a job. Suddenly I found myself alone and pregnant with low funds and lots of bills. I had never lost a job before, and didn’t know how I would support my family. I visited the unemployment office for the first time in my life and applied for benefits. I qualified… But at the wages I had received as a hostess; minimum wage. I found a job within a week but could not pay rent and bills as well as save money, they had me working part time to avoid paying for insurance. So I visited a social worker to apply for Medicaid. She suggested I also apply for food stamps and WIC. I declined. My dad divorced my mom when I was four and she was pregnant with my sister. Out of pride, she did not apply for any government aid. Consequently we sometimes did not eat, but more often than not it was her skipping meals for me. People began anonymously leaving food on her doorstep. This embarrassed her even more. At six months pregnant, I caved. I applied for WIC.
My first time shopping, I went to Winco at ten pm to avoid the rush. I chose precisely the foods on the checks and double checked myself. I separated them by check for the cashier and gave the cashier my checks in the order I had lined up the food. She sighed loudly when she got my checks and furiously typed in the wic codes. When she reached the food behind mine, belonging to the people behind me in line, she asked if it too was mine. I said no, and she turned to the other people and said “so you’re the ones with money!” And began ringing them up without another look in my direction. My son is eight months old and I do not use wic anymore even though we could definitely use it. I met my husband at eight months pregnant and we married when my son was three months old. We are living very tight right now, we are both full time students and he is a furloughed worker until the spring. I wish people would quit stigmatizing government aid and those who receive it. Our stories are all different and no one enjoys not being able to provide adequately for their family. A little compassion goes a long way.
Sorry, but it kind of was her fault. Cashiers have rules to follow by the system. If the system says you have to ring up TWO gallons to cash out a coupon then TWO gallons it has to be. The cashier has no power over these rules.
Now, the cashier was rude. She could have respectfully explained that rules are not allowed to bent and if the customer still persisted in checking out one item, I’d ask her to see my manager.
There is no reason why a cashier should disrespect a customer and feel self-entitled because they’re having a bad day, but customers have to also see why cashiers restrict things, because those are the rules they are to follow.
So, she was partially at fault for not understanding that, but the cashier and the manager should have no acted like that either.
King Soopers uses WIC checks as a tool to get rid of people they don’t like. They just installed a new touch screen cashier system. The Old System rejected non wic items if accidentally scanned during a wic order, the new system eliminated that process. This is why we hate wic orders every time we see them.
I remember when I was working in school at walmart. I hated getting WIC orders. They are just a pain in the butt to ring up and some of the WIC customers were not very nice. But I was never rude to them.. I forced smiles and acted like it was all peachy. I was never rude back to any customer, because I did not want to lose my job.
I’m a cashier and I have to admit, I hate WIC orders. I very rarely get nice WIC people and usually even if they’re nice they are not organized which causes my managers and I grief. I usually am very calm but I do get snippy in the following situations:
A) you come in at rush hour with more than two WIC orders, kids in tow, with nothing organized and them running helter skelter all over.
B) you yell at me because you bought the wrong size, wrong product, or wrong item and it is not on WIC. I am trained in WIC. I have a book I have to read on what items are acceptable. I know what quantities are acceptable and I will recommend a product that is similar but don’t yell at me because you made a mistake! I don’t care if you want to tell me you got it for whatever at the other store I am telling you here and now you can’t my computer won’t let me.
C) you get mad because I am not going fast enough because you did not organize your items and I am digging them out of your cart, or I miss an item because I am digging it out of your cart. For the love of God, please organize your items before getting to the check out. I don’t want to have to dig for your WIC order items under a thousand bag of frozen peas.
D) you coming to rush hour with more than two WIC orders and be snippy with me because I have a line building. The reason I have a line building is because you came in at rush hour with orders that take a while to run through my computer. We have to have you pre-sign them, that is policy when we are in rush. Don’t get mad at my people because they are sighing in line behind you- It’s YOUR orders that are taking a long time or you went through our Express line with WIC.
These have all happened to me, and honestly I had no problem with people on assistance before. I understand the socioeconomic downturn has us all needing help, but most WIC people I see make me want to scream and rip up those orders to smithereens
I always separate my WIC checks on the conveyer belt and almost always even have them in order, so that the cashier looks at the first item on the check and sees that it is the first item on the conveyer belt. I want to be helpful, I don’t know why some people can’t get that life goes a lot smoother if you try to be helpful. Sometimes it is really difficult to figure out what is allowed and not allowed, especially when it is one of my first times at a store, as things are not always labeled or explained correctly. It is very nerve wracking for me and I breathe a sigh of relief whenever my check is ringed up without any bings going off. The last two cashiers I had were really slow… they kinda acted like they were either on drugs or experiencing the effects of insomnia. Bless their hearts.
You CANNOT require that they sign their checks until the transaction is COMPLETE. That is WIC POLICY and if store policy is going against the rules of WIC.. then perhaps said store should lose their WIC vendor license.
“We do ask for convenience of other shoppers that you confirm and sign your WIC checks while I punch in the dates and get our system ready. Do you mind?”
That’s how I phrase it.
But thank you for your insight.
End of this comment removed by administrator due to being able to be construed as a personal attack.
While it may be your practice to have people sign the checks in advance, Stephanie is right, it’s against wic policy.
I would say it is defiantly against WIC policy, but could also be illegal as well. If that store gets reported, they could lose their WIC vendors license. I worked as a cashier in high school and part of college. I got a lot of rude customers including WIC ones, but I smiled and rang their order. Because there business is what enabled me to earn a paycheck.
When I got WIC I was told to NEVER sign the check until the order was rung up.
“”Be sure that the “Pay Exactly” amount is entered BEFORE signing the check [boxes below "Not to Exceed"] You must sign the check [the line after the X at the bottom right of the check] and show your WIC I.D. at the checkout at the time of purchase.”
From our WIC office.
As long as the customer has approved we are fine. If they refuse I can do it check by check, but the more stream lined process is nice for all consumers involved. In our state, pre signing is a concern if they have done it before coming to the store as checks can be stolen, not as I am ringing them.
From the wic shopping guide, p. 1 “at the check-out counter”: ” Make sure the cashier fills in the correct dollar amount on each voucher. Sign each voucher in front of the cashier after price is entered.” You can’t fill in the dollar amount until after you ring up the goods. We’re supposed to wait till that happens. If I sign the voucher before you put in a dollar amount, you could potentially put in a higher price and steal the money. That’s probably why the rule exists.
How would I “steal” the money? I don’t even open my drawer with WIC transactions. If you check pay exact you will pay the exact, no exceptions. Even CVVs have a pay exact, and if you hit over you can pay the remaining.
Maybe it is different for you, but we have our directions, I have my pamphlet FROM the WIC office, and it’s easy for everyone involved. Why y’all are so worried about it, especially about our WIC cert that we won’t lose ( we are the only grocer in miles ) is beyond me, and I honestly doubt any of you know this from the cashier’s side of the spectrum.
Only my fruit and vegetable vouchers have an exact amount already typed in, not to exceed. If your store owner or manager was stealing and told you to write in a higher dollar amount regularly, when he gets paid for the wic vouchers, he could pay you for your part in the dirty deed…couldn’t he? Wouldn’t that be possible?
I could not reply to your below question, but no he could not. All of our WIC money goes directly to the main Schmos at HQ, and that all has to be processed by our cash office at the store we took it from, then the HQ office, then the WIC office, and then bounced back to HQ.
First of all, I’m actually in customer service and have received many great customer rewards over my 40 years of work experience. I went into work yesterday already not feeling well and on meds. I went in because we are already short-handed at work and we get points against us for calling off even with a dr. excuse. I was called out from my regular dept. to help cashier because of other minor cashier’s overdue 15 minute breaks, their overdue hour lunch breaks, and no one to ring alcohol there that wasn’t a minor. I still hadn’t had my end of day 15 minute break but had to do other’s breaks first according to the coordinator. She made me run back and forth 4 times for cashiering from service dept. in the matter of an hour. Another boss asked me to stay an additional hour in service because that backed up to which I agreed. A WIC customer comes into my line, then another customer behind her. I seen the next customers eyes burning a hole in me and tell her as I put up a closed sign that I am in the process of doing a WIC order and that she does not have to get out of line but that it may take a little more time to complete it. She agrees and thanks me for letting her know. Meanwhile, the WIC customer proceeds (after she leaves) to call the coordinator to say I embarassed her by letting the other customer know that she was using WIC and just the look on my face etc. Oh my – it was 5:00 PM rush hour in grocery – if you want to hide the fact that you are using WIC coupons, then why would you come to shop at that time? Secondly, I was trying to protect her from the next customer getting rude and irate because she was taking more time that usual to check out. Please note that I’ve seen customers get in actual fist fights at the register over issues. Lastly, I treated the WIC customer nicely and fairly, worked as quickly as possible, and even wished her a nice day. If I had any look on my face at all, it was because I was in severe pain and not feeling well. Most days I work from 7 to 8 hours and only get two 15 minutes breaks with no lunch. Some days I work 3 depts. I had to use WIC in the past and EBT so I know exactly how that feels. It is pretty obvious when you are using WIC coupons with all that is involved in the transaction anyway. My intent was not ever meant to embarass anyone, but to keep someone from waiting in line unnecessarily while I did a long transaction for you in what was rush hour grocery traffic anyway. WIC transactions are not always easy, customers get wrong product, do not have their signature card or they do not bother to produce their WIC info until after the sale is rung up (oh my). You do not have to buy all of the product on the voucher, just the kind that the voucher states. Most stores have signs posted beneath products as to what is acceptable to WIC. WIC gives brochures to users that show what is acceptable product. People who use WIC know when stores are busy and when it would be more convenient to check out with less onlookers if they are embarassed. I do not think it is fair to take out your unwarranted oversensitive embarassment for using WIC on an already overworked cashier who knows exactly how it feels to have to use WIC and EBT. Furthermore, the coordinator should have redirected the lines behind this customer to another line without the necessity of me having to tell the next customer who was cashing out that she might have to wait. Next time you will find out what REAL embarassment is when 20 people waiting in line behind you get angry in ways you cannot imagine.
Accurate.
Court with your attitude perhaps you should get out of a job that requires you to work with the public. Are you also aware that many who get WIC are in the military? Are foster parents? I dont agree with people abusing the system or having more kids while getting help to feed the ones they got. But at the end of the day if you dont like what your job entails then you are free to work elsewhere. Nobody is forcing you to work this job. A grocery store is not required to accept WIC or EBT. But if they do you are expected to treat them as any other customers.
Im sorry but where do you people come off telling people at what times they can come into the store to shop? As long as the store is open, then people can and should be able to come in and do their shopping anytime they please!! Regardless of payment method. You are there to work and earn a paycheck… it is not the customers job to make it more comfortable or convenient for you to come in only during “designated ” hours if they have WIC. You are there to serve the customer, not for them to serve you.
I do work to please my customers, but because you come in with that “entitlement” attitude most of us will try to take other customers at rush because you put our paycheck in jeopardy. We are timed on items scanned per minute, and it starts the moment the front screen goes down. If you come in at rush and have nothing organized and ruin my times, I get in trouble. This is not only inconsiderate as well, but frankly, disheartening.
I try my hardest to make sure all my customers are happy, and when rush hour comes and you are taking up a line, that’s when customers themselves may get snippy with you. I have seen ladies yell, scream, and threaten people in long lines.
Yes, this job helps pay my bills, but I am not going to sit here and tell you you’re a special snowflake.
I currently do not get WIC, but I have also worked as a cashier in the past. I had more than my share of rude customers regardless of how they pay. A customer is a customer, regardless of how they pay. They can come in and shop ANYTIME they want too during regular operating hours. Most cashiers are paid so little that they qualify for WIC too. So get off your high horse and do your job. If you do not want to deal with WIC then go find another job,
Your attitude and demeanor make it clear you were nwver a cashier, but thank you for trying. I have no high horse to jump on, just actual experience in a grocery.
Good try !! I worked at a walmart supercenter for two years. Perhaps I realized that I had to treat to people the same regardless. I had more than my share of rude customers. Some were WIC, some paid cash. I am assuming you are a teenager or young college student. Well your a cashier.. so your nobody special. If it wasnt for customers.. regardless of payment method you would not have a job. I personally use the self automated check out because I like to bag my groceries a certain way..with the reusable bags. Ive had too many roll their eyes when I stop them from getting the plastic bags. Now quit being a troll.. you dont like WIC customers than get another job.
Ahhh, Wal-Mart. This is where your lack of training comes from.
I work at a relatively small Mom and Pop chain of stores that are famous for their training and service. However, unlike Wal-Mart, we don’t have the funds to give whiny customers that want to get coupons that are expired, tore, or otherwise that deal. We also have the right to refuse service to rude customers until a manager is present. Our store is small, and so is our staff although we serve a greater rural area. As a grad student working on becoming a youth case worker, and working part time as an employee of a home for wards of state, I am patient for the most part. In fact, most of the cashiers at our store are retired teachers and they move a little slow with a little more attitude. So at rush with three lanes open, two slow cashiers, and a 7 layer WIC order, usually I get it and get the write-up to keep the older crew secure.
You however, have never had this experience, the training, or the difference in management, because you worked at a mega chain. You will never know that WIC is a loaded gun, or how frustrating it is when your job is on the line because a snarky customer at rush is yelling at you for doing your job wrong and your times are in the up and up while they fix their mistakes. Or how it looks to your customers when you have 3 lanes open and one isn’t moving due to a person doing 7 unorganized orders, then pausing and unloading or yelling at a cashier, or, my favorite, their kids screaming and toppling a goldfish display.
Wal-Mart is a different world, and I am not surprised at your indifference, just as I said disheartened. You have no clue.
Supermarket customers are notorious for whining and complaining, Wic Customers are the worst. Perhaps there should be seperate lines just for wic customers. The only problem with that is that Management would put cashiers they want to get rid of in those check stands.
Another REAL cashier! Bless you fellow retail grunt, and welcome to the crazy where we’re the ones abusing, and the ones that have no clue what we’re talking about.
I think you found a way to tell me exactly what you wanted to, thanks dude.
Court I do not know what state you are in.. perhaps you would care to tell me. However,if I was your employer and knew you had this contempt for my any of my customers and think that you should have a right to dictate when they could not shop etc. I would fire you on the spot. If you live in a right to work state an employer does not need a reason to fire you outside of the protected classes by law. Frankly, your attitude is more repulsive than the WIC customers. Next time you see a man in uniform with his family.. you can bet he most likely qualifies for WIC and food stamps. Yet most likely he fought for the right for you to spew your opinion. I think you need to quit or be fired if you dont like or cant do the job you are paid to do with a smile and positive attitude.
Boo! Your speech is contemptuous! How do you work in service related fields with no empathy or respect for the other? All you see is you. If you try to gaze mercifully on the people you serve, especially those you find difficult, you may find your job gets a whole lot easier and your load…lighter. If you stop being so bound up in your personal sense of injury, you won’t feel so “disheartened”, and you may begin to see other people’s difficulties.
I wasn’t going to reply, because you cannot spell and have no reading comprehension, but I actually was awarded a service award today.
I think it is amusing you cannot read my comments to the point you think I have contempt of people- when I work for wards of the state. I even stated we have used assistance, and that I have no issue with people who use it, just the attitude problem and lack of acknowledgment WIC customers have towards cashiers.
If you have an extra ticket to lala land send one my way please, my officer boyfriend and I would love to live in your delusion.
Officer boyfriend?Court I assumed with name like that you were male :) Well maybe you are as I do not judge people on sexual persuasion. It does not matter either way. Perhaps you need training on how to properly conduct WIC transactions? Do you realize that when you give that customer the receipt it has all the information needed to report you to WIC? Enough complaints your employer could lose their certification. You really need to find another job sweetheart, clearly you are not equipped to work with the public. If you were, you would learn real fast that you have to leave all your personal views at the door.
As I said, you have no reading comprehension, but that’s okay. I will continue doing a great job, and well, y’all will continue getting people fired for being inconsiderate and rude. Because you’re absolutely right, it is the cashier’s fault that they get fired for your laziness, rudeness, and whining not yours. It’s our fault you aren’t organized and our computer times us and we get written up. You have obviously dealt with this type of management and are experts, and anyone saying you as the rude customer could be at fault is contemptuous. I will just continue to work well and do my job, maybe I will see you in my line and have the pleasure of having management tell you that we reserve the right to not serve unruly patrons.
Unruly patrons? Dealt with plenty of those in my day. Most paid with cash money too. Yep, with that attitude you need to find another a job Court. You have no business working with the public. Forgive me…yes I am uneducated and stupid. I only got to 6th grade before I had to quite school.
And you have no business being a judge of my character having not met me and being as poorly educated in cashiering and laws regarding customer service.
Edited by Lynn: The remainder of this comment has been deleted due to violating this blog’s comment policy. Please refrain from personal attacks or name-calling. Thanks!
And you have no business judging my intellect or work experience. Because you do not know what I have dealt with nor my education level.
As I said, you have no reading comprehension, but that’s okay. I will continue doing a great job, and well, y’all will continue getting people fired for being inconsiderate and rude.
Because you’re absolutely right, it is the cashier’s fault that they get fired for your laziness, rudeness, and whining not yours. It’s our fault you aren’t organized and our computer times us and we get written up. You have obviously dealt with this type of management and are experts, and anyone saying you as the rude customer could be at fault is contemptuous.
I will just continue to work well and do my job, maybe I will see you in my line and have the pleasure of having management tell you that we reserve the right to not serve unruly patrons.
I can comprehend just fine, thank you very much. Forgive my poor typing as I am doing this from my mobile. I can comprehend from your comments that you dislike dealing with WIC customers. That you think you have a right to dictate when they can shop at the store you work at. That you insist on them pre signing their checks, even though WIC regulations prohibit it. That you can treat them as second class citizens because of their payment method. The timing to scan and process a transaction is something you need to take up with your employer. If you have issues with that practice. I have never heard of other places having such issues with it. One regional grocery chain in my area, requires the cashier call a manager to come complete a WIC transaction. I used to despise the practice, but after reading many comments from disgruntled cashiers.. it’s a wise practice. It makes sure the transaction is processed correctly and does not place the cashier in jeopardy of losing their job. Perhaps, your employer should consider this practice to process WIC.
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If you treat your cashiers badly you are just the same as people who look down on you for using WIC. When I used WIC I came in later, organized my items, and would let people go ahead between transactions. I treated my cashier’s kindly, respectfully, and empathized with them. … You chose to read my comments as I look down on people who use assistance, when I made it clear I have a problem with people that are rude to cashiers and use WIC as a weapon. …
You are not a government worker to my knowledge, or a WIC employee, so your little knowledge regarding the program compared to our training isn’t a surprise. Now please stop trolling and preaching that it’s okay to abuse a cashier because they are ‘nobody special’ and ‘ are there to serve’ which in your eyes means losing their paycheck for not letting you treat them like dirt.
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Edited by Lynn: I respect your perspective, Court, but please refrain from personal attacks, which are against this blog’s comment policy. Thanks!
Trolling? I have been on this blog for about 2 years now. I never said it was ok to abuse a cashier.. if a customer gets combative, threatening or belligerent then call store security or the police. So once again you are twisting my words, but yes the customer is a customer. It is your job to serve them, otherwise do not do a service related job. You are confusing a customer being assertive with rudeness or threatening behavior. But a customer is a customer and a WIC customer has a right to shop ANYTIME during store hours. It maybe annoying when they come in during peak hours, but they have a right to shop even then.
Wow, Stephanie,
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If you think people should lose their jobs, because customers are being difficult and can’t understand the rules and take it out on service people. Clearly, even though you claim to have work for the general public, it doesn’t seem believable.
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Edited by Lynn: Portion of this comment have been deleted due to violating this blog’s comment policy. Feel free to share your own opinions without demeaning others in the process. Thanks!