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Many grocery stores today have self-checkout machines, which some people love, and others hate.

What would you do if your manager had you assigned to work the self-checkout one day and a customer came up to complain about it because she felt that you were stealing your job?

That is what happened to the young lady in this story, and when she explained to the customer that she actually likes the self-checkouts, the customer got even more upset about it until she finally stormed off.

Personally, I think that she handled the situation very well, and the customer needs to let it go. Check out the full story and see if you agree.

I’m mad because this is stealing YOUR job

I work in a pretty popular grocery store, in a pretty small town, and recently we installed self checkouts.

Some people love self-checkouts. Others hate them.

Personally, I love working the self checkout, and in reality only one position has lost their job because of it.

Yesterday, as I was standing over the self checkout area making sure everyone was doing it correctly when one customer comes up to me to complain:

There are checkout options with real people still.

Customer: I hate these self checkouts, robots are completely stealing your job and I am against that.

Me: I’m sorry you don’t like self check out, but we have a whole row of regular check outs that you have the option to use!

It is funny when people get upset on behalf of others who are not upset.

Customer: but it’s STEALING your job!

Me: Actually, I am still here and I have more hours than I have this whole year because I’m the only person running it, so it’s not bothering me or stealing me job at all, so no worries!

What a weird interaction.

Customer: YOU ARE BEING REPLACED

This went on for a few more minutes until eventually the customer stormed off.

It is weird how the customer is much more upset about the self-checkout machines than the employees. And yet, she still used them.

Check out what the people in the comments have to say about this odd situation.

This commenter thinks that lots of people will eventually lose their jobs from things like this.

New jobs are also created with advancements in technology.

Grocery stores have other jobs for people to do.

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If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a helicopter inspector who grounds a flight after the pilot is rude to him.

Clearly, she hasn’t lost her job yet.

This commenter loves the self-checkout machines.

That customer has every right to her opinion, but getting upset with the worker is out of line. She is angry at the worker for what she thinks will cause the worker to lose her job? How does that make sense?

Some people just want to hear themselves complain.

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Author

Michael Levanduski

Senior Contributing Editor, Workplace & Community

Michael Levanduski is a veteran journalist and digital culture specialist with over 15 years of professional writing and research experience. While his background spans emerging technology and complex technical subjects, Michael specializes in analyzing workplace ethics, property disputes, and viral interpersonal dynamics across modern digital forums.

Since joining TwistedSifter in 2024, Michael has authored some of the publication’s most widely read coverage on corporate policy, malicious compliance, and neighborhood relations. Rather than simply aggregating online debates, he brings rigorous research, organizational context, and an empathetic editorial voice to everyday human dilemmas—transforming raw forum discussions into insightful, highly engaging narratives.

When he isn’t covering internet culture, Michael enjoys traveling, keeping up with tech trends, and spending time with his family. Connect with Michael on LinkedIn and Facebook.