July 30, 2025 at 11:15 am

Customer Assumes They Are Able To Buy Whatever They Want, But One Cashier Explains That Not Everything Is For Sale

by Laura Ornella

woman standing in the garden section of a store

Reddit/Pexels

Some people are so clueless when it comes to service jobs. For example, if a cashier buys something at a store, is the cashier a customer or an employee? Both, right?

Apparently, it’s not that easy for everyone to understand.

See how one Redditor patiently handles a customer who just assumes they can buy whatever they want, even private property.

Read the story below for more information.

I’m not the store, you can’t buy things I own.

This story happened a few months ago (late May), and I work at a pretty popular garden center.

I don’t really know why, but this garden center had a heck of a time trying to keep strawberry plants in stock.

We would always sell out within 48 hours of any shipments.

But, one particular day, this worker struck gold.

One day, we got like 80 six-pack strawberry plants, and they were 4.99. Which is crazy cheap, and we’d never had them before and, of course, we literally sold out in hours, but not before I grabbed three of them, bought them, and stashed them behind my register.

It was later that same day, and a customer was buying some single plant strawberry plants from the same shipment, which were 3.99 each but much bigger than each little plant in the six-pack.

She started complaining about how expensive these were per plant and points to the six-packs on a shelf behind me. She asks if we have any left.

So, the cashier answered honestly.

“No, we sold out of those.”

“Well, are those for another customer?”

“Yes, I bought them.” (Probably a mistake to say, but I wasn’t expecting crazy.)

“YOU bought them?”

“Yes.”

The customer had the strangest assumption.

“So I can still buy them!”

“No…”

“Why not? If you’re the one who bought them, you work here, I can still buy them, it’s not like another customer bought them.”

So, the Redditor had to explain why this wasn’t a possibility.

“Ma’am, I am an employee but I’m also a paying customer of this store. Things I buy from here are my property, and you could buy them from me, but I’m not selling them.”

“I don’t understand. You’re a part of this store. Please, just give them to me, don’t be difficult.”

Now, this is where things really get wild.

“They’re my property.”

“But you work for this store, so the store still owns them.”

“Look, I’m not giving them to you. I’m sorry.”

“I’ll be sending in a complaint. You can’t lie about things being out of stock!”

Thankfully, the woman was all talk — but the boss found it all very funny.

She, luckily, didn’t ask to speak to my manager, but my manager later thought this was hilarious.

I don’t know what she was thinking, that the store literally owns me or I literally own the store, so the money goes right back in my pocket?

It just doesn’t make sense.

Does Reddit think this customer’s logic makes sense? Let’s read the comments below to see what everyone is saying.

Redditors were unanimously on the side of the OP.

Screenshot 2025 06 30 at 11.15.07 AM Customer Assumes They Are Able To Buy Whatever They Want, But One Cashier Explains That Not Everything Is For Sale

They even dug into the ridiculousness of this customer’s mindset.

Screenshot 2025 06 30 at 11.15.13 AM Customer Assumes They Are Able To Buy Whatever They Want, But One Cashier Explains That Not Everything Is For Sale

And some reminded the OP that no information is the best policy.

Screenshot 2025 06 30 at 11.14.57 AM Customer Assumes They Are Able To Buy Whatever They Want, But One Cashier Explains That Not Everything Is For Sale

Finally, one reader recommended the cashier sell the plants — for a hefty price.

Screenshot 2025 06 30 at 11.14.49 AM Customer Assumes They Are Able To Buy Whatever They Want, But One Cashier Explains That Not Everything Is For Sale

This customer needs to get a grip.

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.