She Misheard “I’m Here to Help Scan Big Items” as “I’m Watching You Steal”—Then Demanded the Attendant Be Fired for Defamation
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Self-checkout attendants are apparently expected to prevent problems without ever explaining what problems they prevent.
One irritated shopper questioned why an employee was supervising the machines after her own bag confused the scale.
When theft prevention appeared in the perfectly ordinary job description, she instantly decided she had been personally accused.
Read on for the full frustrating story.
No, I’m not accusing you of stealing
It was a really busy afternoon at Schmesco, and I was manning the 10 self-service tills.
I clocked a middle-aged couple looking at the masses of queues for normal checkouts and begrudgingly making their way to self-service.
They got off to a false start because their own bag was made of thick canvas, which the machine mistook for an unscanned item, so I went over to reset the scales.
She wouldn’t be quiet long enough for him to explain.
“Eugh, these are supposed to be SELF-Service tills, what’s the point of YOU being here?” She asks me, rhetorically
I’m slightly taken aback as I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that before.
So, I say, “Oh, well, I help customers when the machines are messing up, and can teach them how to have a better experience, approve age-restricted products, and prevent folks from stealing.”
She whipped around at me and said, “Did you just say I’m STEALING!?”
His manager made sure to have a “word” with him.
Before I could say anything else, she threw her hands in the air and said, “That’s IT! We’re going to a normal checkout! I can’t believe you accuse me of stealing. I’m putting in a complaint to your manager!”
All the while I’m trying to explain that she took it the wrong way, but it didn’t get anywhere as she talked over me the whole time, and wasn’t that bothered as I had other customers to attend to.
Sure enough, come evening time, my manager comes down and says, “I just had a complaint from a customer who wanted me to’ have a word with you’ – so this is the word with you. You did nothing wrong, but if she comes back I have had a word with you.”
Yikes! She sounds like an absolute nightmare.
Let’s see what Reddit readers have to say about customers like this.
According to this reader, customers only hear about 50% of what you say.
This is actually great advice.
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Here’s someone who blames the register to avoid problems.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a bank employee who immediately resigns after being denied a bonus.
For this reader, the industry is different, but the problem is the same.
This self-checkout attendant explained the role accurately, but the customer isolated one word, rejected every clarification, and stormed away.
The manager later delivered the required “word” by confirming the employee had done absolutely nothing wrong.
Management completed the disciplinary procedure with all the severity of a receipt check.
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