Do you or have you worked at a grocery store and how do you deal with all the bitchy people who come in?

Answer 1

Ive had to work at a similar job & all you can do with the bitchy people is smile and deal with it in a positive manner unless you want to lose your job. If you can't deal with it it is best to find a job where your not dealing with the public so much.

Answer 2

I used to work in a grocery store. This was back in the days before bar codes and scanners and cash registers that printed the item description on the receipt the customer got.

One of the other checkers was unfailingly polite and good-tempered to all customers that came through her line. I asked her how she dealt with the people who were mean, sour, crabby or rude to her.

She told me that if they had bought any produce by the pound, she just tacked on a quarter to the price that the scale showed they were supposed to pay. The customer couldn't see this price, so they didn't know.

She charged people who were "average" rude an extra quarter; but if they were really rude, she'd charge them 50 cents.

Personally, the way I dealt with the rude, crabby, nasty people who came in: they motivated me to finish school so I could get a better job. I now work in a nice office, people are polite to me, and I make a lot more money than I made checking groceries.

...And I am always polite to the checkers and baggers at the supermarket, because I know what those jobs are like!

Answer 3

It is all a mind game. If you let your self become negged out and start snapping at people, you'll lose your job.

Do what you have to do to keep your self in a good mood. Smile. Get to know the nice customers. Have fun with fellow employees. Make small talk with customers. If you are in a good mood - the customers will be. If you are in a bad mood, the customers will tear you apart. It might sound silly to you - but you really do have a lot to do with controlling people in your humble job.

Never take anything personally. If you get someone who is that bad, get the manager. Don't fight a battle with a customer - because if you win you lose your job.

Ask your self why you are there? Because you need money. Just do your job to the best of your ability.

If dealing with the public just is not for you then get another job. Maybe you could transfer in Walmart to shipping? Or maybe another type of job?

Answer 4

I'll answer for all the bitchy people: "We sorry! It's very difficult that when something is going wrong in our lives, not to show it".
I understand your feeling because I worked for almost four years as a accountant and our clients, man oh man, they where impossible. Of course a little bit different situations but dealing every day with the same problems, really made me quite the job. Good luck to you!

Answer 5

In todays world some people have so much built up stress that they take it out on the firdt person that they come in contact with and somtimes everyone.I know its stressfull but you just have to remember not to take it personally.Now if someone is just plain flat-out mean and you cant control them get your manager.I worked in retail and have been a dog groomer there were mean coustmers in both jobs.I had one lady scream at me because i was a penny short on her change.My district manager was there that day so i was forced to open the register and have points taken againt me for giving the wrong change.Once i gave the lady her penny she told me that i deserved what ever punishment i got.So its not just in grocery stores its every where.Oh wanna get um back?lol be nice as possible really overly nice-it will annoy the heck out of um!Good Luck.

Answer 6

Just know that whenever you are working with the public, you will always be dealing with some crabby people. When I worked at a grocery store (I worked at one for 6 years in various capacities - carry-out, deli-clerk, cashier, head cashier) I just tried to always keep a smile on my face. It also helps to remember that people have different priorities, so things that you might not see as important might be to others.

Answer 7

I worked at a grocery store and my boss loved me so if I got a complaint she always took my side. Plus the people were more then ignorant and im not just saying this to justify myself. If a customer was rude to me, I would be rude right back to them. One lady threw an orange at me and called me ugly because my boss told me to charge her for it as she was eating it..so as she came through my till to pay for her fruits/veggies i rang them through then threw some of them on the floor by my till when she wasnt looking ...I know it was passive aggerssive but people get what they deserve when they act that way. My co-worker would poke her fingers into their tomatoes and lettuce when they were rude to her.

But I find the best way to deal with jerks is act like you completely agree with them while calling for the manager, say crap like "yeah I know those should be cheaper, mabye the manager can help you out with that,or if there is no manager give them something free to shut them the hell up and get them out of the store..that is if you work at a job where being rude will get ya fired.

Answer 8

I worked at a Wal-Mart supercenter for almost a year, and couldn't stand it. Some people were nice, but it seemed after the 1st and 15th, everybody in this small town came there to shop. I just tried to smile, ask the manager for help, and try to manage. Some people wouldn't accept my answer, so it helped if a manager explained it to them (like why you couldn't pay for candy with food stamps.) But I always looked for the regular customers, learned their names, and was happy to see them. The others I brushed off.

Answer 9

Any type of retail sucks dealing with the public. Not all of them are bad. However, there are those who really work your last nerve. Just learn to ignore them to keep your job.
When theres a Full Moon it seems as if all the weirdo`s come out from under their rocks...
Guess thats why i dont do retail anymore..

Answer 10

It doesn't matter what kind of a store you work in. A lot of customers are down right rude and mean. What's the world coming to?