Nothing has changed the pace of modern shopping quite like the infamous self-checkout lane.

One routine errand to a gas station quickly turned into a recipe for frustration when a power-tripping employee clashed with one of the store’s regular customers.

Read on for the full story!

“You Must Use The Self Checkout” Yes Sir But it’s Not Going To Work

I was at a local gas station and it has a self-checkout system. It also takes food stamps.

The rule is you have to go to the register, not the self-checkout, to use the food stamp card.

I was there today with a food stamp card, getting myself some lunch, and the guy was manning the self-checkout.

It came to my turn and the following conversation happened.

It became clear this cashier wasn’t aware of the rule about food stamps.

Cashier: Come on up.

Me: Oh, I’ve got to use the register. I’ve got…

Cashier: No, you can use the self-checkout. Now come up—you’re wasting time.

The customer tries to explain, but the cashier isn’t listening.

Me: Sir, I have a foo…

Cashier: You must use the self-checkout. Come up now or leave.

Me: Yes, sir.

So finally, the customer decides to just do as the cashier says.

But sure enough, the transaction failed.

I walked up, scanned my items, and tried to use my food stamp card.

And, like I knew it would, it did not work.

Cashier: What the heck is going on with this dumb thing?

Finally, the customer gets through to the cashier.

Me (showing him my card): Sir, I was trying to tell you I have a food stamp card. I have to use the regular register.

Cashier: Come over here and let’s get this over with. Next customer can use this one.

I walked over, paid for my items, and left.

All I could do was walk out the door and laugh.

If this cashier had only listened to this customer in the first place, this whole interaction could have been avoided!

What did Reddit have to say?

This commenter remarks on how far food stamp accessibility has come.

Some regular customers seem to know the systems better than the actual employees.

Sometimes self checkouts are anything but convenient.

It makes sense that some cashiers would become desensitized from so much human interaction.

He was forced to walk out shaking his head, knowing he’d tried to avoid the mess.

Sometimes the customer really does know best!

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.