July 16, 2026 at 7:55 am

A Cashier Ignored His Friendly Greeting. On His Next Visit, He Gave Her a Taste of Her Own Medicine.

by Heather Hall

Man and his daughter walking toward the food court

Pexels/Reddit

Providing good customer service shouldn’t be that complicated.

After all, most customers aren’t asking for much. A simple hello and a little basic courtesy usually go a long way.

That’s what this customer expected when he stopped at a food court for a quick meal. Instead, the cashier acted like he wasn’t even standing there. So, he let it go and figured maybe she was just having a bad day.

But then he came back the following week and found himself standing in front of the same cashier again.

This time, he decided to handle the interaction a little differently.

Read on to see just what he did.

Oh I’m sorry cashier girl, did I inconvenience with my “hey, how’s it going”? Well then I’ll be sure not to bother you with another syllable during our next exchange.

I was at a food court about a year ago and brought my food up to the college-aged girl behind the register. I smiled and gave a friendly, “Hey, how’s it going?”

I got nothing in return. No “Good.” No “Hi.” No smile. Not even eye contact or a nod. She just started ringing up my food as if I had said nothing. It wasn’t busy. It wasn’t loud.

The only thing she said to me was the amount I owed her, again while looking off into the distance. She didn’t look nervous or anything. She looked annoyed (or just extremely bored?) by my patronage.

When he came back a second time, he tried something different.

I said, “Thank you.” This time it was more as an experiment, just to see if she really wouldn’t respond. As expected, I got nothing.

Well, about a week later, I was at the same food court around the same (not busy) time. The same girl was working.

I got my food and walked up to the register. This time, I did not utter a single word.

I put on the most stoic, dead, robotic expression I could muster, looked her dead in the eye, and placed my food on the counter.

She, of course, once again did not greet me. It was complete silence. Complete, awkward, weird silence.

He paid and went on his way.

She finally had to tell me the amount I owed, and I then reached into my pocket, grabbed my wallet, and retrieved my credit card. All of my movements were exaggeratedly deliberate, robotic, and slow. I wanted to stretch it out as long and as painfully uncomfortable as possible.

I handed her the card.

She swiped it, and while she was doing so, I held my hand out for her to place it back in after she was finished. She did, and I collected my things, gave her one final expressionless stare, and went on my way.

Well, okay then. That was a pretty uneventful story though.

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Let’s see if the readers over at Reddit have anything to say about it.

Maybe.

Bad Service 3 A Cashier Ignored His Friendly Greeting. On His Next Visit, He Gave Her a Taste of Her Own Medicine.

That’s not okay.

Bad Service 2 A Cashier Ignored His Friendly Greeting. On His Next Visit, He Gave Her a Taste of Her Own Medicine.

This could be true.

Bad Service 1 A Cashier Ignored His Friendly Greeting. On His Next Visit, He Gave Her a Taste of Her Own Medicine.

That’s probably true.

Bad Service A Cashier Ignored His Friendly Greeting. On His Next Visit, He Gave Her a Taste of Her Own Medicine.

In a way, he gave her exactly what she wanted.

She acted like she didn’t want to exchange a single word with her customers, so he made sure she didn’t have to. It was awkward, but it also proved a point.

That said, reporting her to management probably would’ve been the better way to handle it.

If she treats every customer like that, someone needs to address it before more people have the same experience.

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Heather Hall | Contributing Writer, Life & Drama

Heather Hall is a contributing writer for TwistedSifter specializing in internet culture, workplace conflict, and viral customer service stories. With over a decade of editorial experience in digital publishing, Heather excels at curating trending online discussions and providing insightful commentary on the daily dramas that capture the internet's attention.

Since beginning her career in 2011, she has developed deep expertise in SEO-driven digital content, having written for a wide array of publications covering lifestyle, business, and travel. At TwistedSifter, Heather focuses on synthesizing complex social media threads into engaging, highly readable narratives that highlight the human element of viral news.

When she isn’t analyzing the latest internet discourse, Heather is a dedicated mother of three sons who takes family gaming nights entirely too seriously—whether she is dominating in Mario Kart, exploring The Legend of Zelda, or jumping into Roblox.

Connect with Heather on Facebook and LinkedIn.