Temporary Manager Decides To Make Some Big Changes At The Local Grocery Store, So The Best Cashier At The Store Decides To Quit

Jayne Elliott

7 minutes ago

Source: Reddit/Malicious Compliance/Shutterstock

What are you supposed to do if you’re thirsty and can’t keep a water bottle nearby when you’re at work? It only makes sense that you would need to take a short break once in awhile to grab some water.

That’s what happens in today’s story, and the store manager and the employee are both frustrated with each other.

Let’s see how the story plays out…

Can’t have water at the register, expect longer wait times.

This is a story from when I was a little younger so details maybe foggy.

I worked at a grocery store called Winn-Dixie (yes the very same one from the book. It’s a well known grocery store from the south) I was about 19 and I was a cashier.

Usually the two types of people working the registers were extremely young or old. I was obviously young and because of that management had their eyes on me from the beginning.

In the eyes of corporate America, young workers tend to be irresponsible and are more seasonal workers than permanent ones.

I however am the exception.

OP was the best cashier at the store.

Don’t know if this happened to anyone else, but as a cashier I was assessed for my scan time (how fast I can scan items) ,my percentage of error ( having to remove items off of orders), my wait time ( how long it takes to ring a customer up and cash them out), and customer satisfaction (customers got to leave comments about the work staff either online or in store).

I don’t know if they still do those now but these were my stats.

I was the fastest, accurate, friendliest cashier in the store.

It seemed like a good idea to keep drinks within reach.

We tend to have a bunch or regulars considering we were right in the middle of a retirement community and we were down the road from the local college.

Now anyone who has worked as a cashier, you know you can’t leave your register and if no one is in your line then you are to clean up the end caps, straighten up the candy, make everything look good.

Most of us enjoyed talking with the customers, and after so much talking you get thirsty. So we would keep drinks under our register. Spill proof containers, hidden from customers eyes.

Que the Malicious compliance.

The new temp manager apparently hasn’t hear the saying if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

So our manager, we will call her Kelly, was away on medical leave. So in her place we had one of the managers in training from the cooperate office come and run the store in her absence.

My stats are the best and I’m shining at my register.

She introduced herself and we will call her Corporate Witch.

Within a week of being there she changes everything.

This is a big schedule change.

First she messed up the schedule.

While I was part time cause of college she switched me to a full time schedule with overtime.

I was working 12 hr shifts.

I was on break so at first it was okay.

The manager doesn’t sound very understanding.

I did advise her that I go to a community college and I have classes starting in a month or so.

CB: “well can’t you just take them online?”

Me: “I can’t some of my classes but not all. My sciences I have to be on site for labs and when I take my tests I have to be in the classroom.”

She scoffed a whatever and I thought that was it.

I can picture OP counting down the days until Kelly’s return.

Nope she cut my hrs to like 2 days a week, 6 hr shifts.

I was furious.

I didn’t say anything cause I knew once Kelly got back everything would go back to normal.

The day started out just fine.

One day I come into work straight off of the city bus. I still have on my normal clothes with my uniform in my backpack.

I run to the back and change in the bathrooms. I lock my stuff in my locker and take a swig if water from the water fountain before making my way to the front.

I buy a bottle of water and tape my receipt around the bottle so they know I wasn’t stealing, clock in, get my till and make my way towards my register.

Once I cut my light on the line forms and I get all of my customers checked out in a decent amount of time.

Maybe there was a rule OP didn’t know about.

Once it’s clear I take my bottle and drink some water. CW walks up:

CW: “what are you doing?”

Me: “drinking water.”

CW: “you are not supposed to be drinking at your register.”

Me figuring maybe it was rude if the customers saw me drinking and not wanting disobey a manager I nod and say “Yes ma’am” and put my bottle away.

This time, she tried drinking water away from the register.

The next day it’s busy, I knock out most of the rush and my line is empty for a moment.

I take my bottle and run to the front door. I chill where the carts are and I take a swig of my water.

I run back to my register and put the water back under it.

CW sees me running back and walks over.

CW: “what was that?”

Me: “I was thirsty just drinking some water.”

CW: “I said you cannot drink at your register.”

Me: “I didn’t I ran to the door and drunk in the cart coral.”

CW: “you can’t drink there either.”

Me: “okay.”

I think OP and CW are both frustrated at this point.

The next day, I’m thirsty. I take my drink and drink it near my friends register.

No customers at all, no one saw me.

Or so I thought.

CW over the intercom: “Commotion please pick up the red line.”

Me: picks up the phone “hello?”

CW: “what were you doing?”

Me: “taking a drink.”

CW: “I told you…”

Me fed up at this point: “you told me I can’t drink at MY register, I can’t drink in the cart coral.”

CW says nothing and hangs up.

Finally, she’s told where she can drink water.

Fifteen minutes she is at the front with a write up in hand. Apparently I was being insubordinate. I signed it even though I didn’t agree.

Me: “so if I’m thirsty where can I get a drink?”

CW: “the water fountain in the back near the restrooms.”

Me: “Okay”

I had the next two days off.

Kelly was on OP’s side.

I get a call from Kelly. She tells me that CW called her and told her I received a write up and how I’m rude and disrespectful.

I tell Kelly what happens and she is furious.

Mind you I was already looking for another job cause I wanted something closer to home. I had found one and I decided since CW was there ruining my life I wasn’t going to put in my two weeks.

The very next work day was my last day.

Time to walk to the water fountain.

She scheduled me for a 12 hr shift on the most busy day of the month, the 1st.

I come in ready.

I start ringing customers up. Luckily they are my regulars.

I ask them to excuse me for a moment and walked to the back taking my time. Take a sip of water from the fountain and then make my way back.

We’re talking a lot of trips to the water fountain.

20 mins later. I do it again.

50 mins later I do it again.

At this point I left my register with customers there at least 2 times an hr.

This caused my line to back up and forced CW to come and hop on the register.

Time to quit.

When I came back she starts.

CW: “What are you doing.”

Me: “I was thirsty and I was told that I need to go to the back and drink from the fountain.”

CW is livid but does nothing cause she was the one who gave me those directions.

Once I clock out I hand her my letter of resignation and my name tag. I wave and walk away.

Corporate wondered what was going on.

A week or so later cooperate calls me and asks why I resigned.

I tell them everything.

I found out that Kelly snitched when she read my letter of resignation. She was so insistent on corporate paying the store a visit, and that they did.

They asked my co workers what was going on and they told them.

Several things changed at the store.

I still shopped at that store from time to time and I found out that the cashiers were allowed to have drinks at the register again.

I also saw CW there.

She followed me around and gave me the mean mug while I shopped.

Apparently she was demoted to cashier. It felt so good to have her ring up my items and bag them for me.

CW: “Have a great day.”

Me with a devilish grin: “I will.”

I think she should’ve quit before working the busy 12 hour shift and leave the manager short staffed.

Let’s see how Reddit reacted to this story…

Managers can definitely be petty.