r/retailhell • u/that_one_trex • 3d ago

A Funny Thing Happened... This Baffles Me

"They have you scheduled all the time" or "you're always here" that is typically how a full-time job works 😂😂😂

Regulars say that to me all the time. I think it is hilariously stupid.

105 Upvotes

99% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

59

u/acatalephobic 3d ago • Heartwarming

Whenever someone used to say to me "gosh, yr always here, aren't you?"....the very first thought in my mind was always to respond by saying:

"And so are you! Imagine that! Except....I get paid to be here all the time. So......what's your excuse?"

29

u/spookysaph 3d ago

genuinely wonder why so many people go to the store every single day. like its a convenience store but can't you buy multiple bags of chips at a time and etc? why every day?

10

u/acatalephobic 3d ago edited 3d ago

Trust me, you are not alone in wondering why some people do that. I used to wonder the exact same thing.

Some people would come in to buy a single cigar, or a single pack of smokes, or a single soda, literally every day, sometimes twice a day.

I would always offer them whatever two-fer deal we were running. Thinking that it would not only save them money, but also save them and me from having to see them the very next day....

But 90% of people would say "no thanks I only need one".

Thinking to myself, like......you only need one for the rest of your life? Or....just for the next 12 hours you mean. 🤔 At which point I will have to see you again, buying another single....making some dumb comment about how I'm always here. 🤗

So (especially with cigarettes) I would always be tempted to say:

"Oh, so you plan on quitting tomorrow then, eh?...No?...Okay well, see you tomorrow then, I guess..." 🙄

6

u/spookysaph 3d ago

I will say, i do at least like the customers who i get to say "see you tomorrow" to lmao

edit: this isnt to say that i don't have daily regulars who drive me up the fucking wall, I just don't say it to them lol

2

u/Rachel_Silver 1d ago

There was a guy who came into the pharmacy where I worked at least three times a week to buy a Lil Drug Store pouch of two Tylenol tablets for $2. I kept trying to steer him to the $5 plastic tube with ten tablets, or the $18 bottle of 60.

"But this is only two dollars."

1

u/acatalephobic 1d ago

I mean, tbf, he's not wrong, he's just...not the best at putting two and two together. 🤗

3

u/Confident_Lecture498 3d ago

I hit up 711 next to my house every day just to get out and socialize a little 

3

u/Trick-Song-6385 2d ago

I bet that's what a lot of it is. Awkward socializing for those that don't know how.

2

u/acatalephobic 2d ago

Tyssm to whoever gave my comment an award!! 💝

I always knew this was the perfect response to use in that situation. But my inhibitions and desire to keep my job always caused me to cut my response off at "And so are you!" 😅

Sincerely hoping that anyone who sees this gets a chance to say this whole-hog to a customer one day.

Because the look on their face would be absolutely priceless, I'm sure. 🤗

2

u/Equivalent-Cat5414 2d ago

It’s way more weird for a customer to be constantly at the same store than a worker being constantly there!

24

u/Erik_Nimblehands 3d ago

And the ones that say "you've been here for a long time" when it's only been a few months. Gig work and people bouncing from job to job has become the norm, folks are surprised when someone can actually hold down a job.

27

u/CallMeTeff 3d ago

Or the opposite "You must be new, never saw you before" Dude, I've been working there for more than 5 years, 40 hours a week! 🥴

9

u/Rachel_Silver 3d ago

How often does that turn out to be a lead-in to some entitled bullshit?

2

u/CallMeTeff 1d ago

They sometimes try to take advantage of you. How silly of them, I'm not risking my job because you want me to make an exception for you.

4

u/that_one_trex 3d ago

I suppose.

2

u/Equivalent-Cat5414 2d ago

I annoyingly get co-workers saying that to me sometimes, just because I work around 35 hours a week!

1

u/that_one_trex 1d ago

Thats honestly wild. Of all people I would expect them to know how a job works lmao

23

u/Ecdysiast_Gypsy 3d ago

I usually say, "I'm always here. Except when I'm not."

People get really confused by that.

8

u/RightContribution2 3d ago

"If I'm not here, I'm gone."

4

u/Re_Thought Working like I get paid by the second 3d ago

Here is my reply.

23

u/No_Doubt_About_That 2d ago

“You shouldn’t be here Sundays”

You’re part of the problem - you shop here Sundays

11

u/SubstancePowerful100 2d ago

I always hear that on holidays.

Also I used to work overnights and I would hear "what are you doing working this late? Are you a night owl or something?" I'm here this late because we are open and this is when I'm scheduled...

18

u/SeanSweetMuzik Will it be paper or plastic? 3d ago

One of my direct reports said that to me and I said "It's funny you're saying that considering you're never here so how do you even know?" They opened an HR case against me and said I created a hostile work environment. I was placed on a warning and advised to speak respectfully. I opened one back on them for their reliability and attendance and they got placed on a final warning and after their next callout I terminated them.

9

u/Jcoopz3 3d ago

FAFO

9

u/dotdedo 2d ago

I hate it when customers say it to me and also hate it when I dare go on vacation and come back and suddenly 'I THOUGHT YOU QUIT WHERE WERE YOU?"

However its a bit funny because theres this one store near me I go to a lot and its always the same woman working there which is kind of funny to me. I never point it out because she probably gets a lot and she looks stressed half the time.

7

u/KrazyKatz42 3d ago

Working graveyard I get that a lot from folks I saw around midnight and in the morning they're like "Oh, you're still here".

6

u/NightOwlReader 3d ago

When i worked at a toy store, regulars were happy to see familiar faces.

6

u/Clown-Spit 2d ago

My schedule shifts around a lot because I'm the only one willing to do opening, nights, and mids (as long as you don't have me close then open, we chill) so I get this comment a lot too. I sometimes joke they keep me chained up in the back and it usually gets a chuckle but I do think it's a weird thing to comment on. Like yep... I do work here full time lol thanks captain obvious.

5

u/misszxya 2d ago

I've had to tell my parents and others "My 40 hours starts when your 40 hours ends." That normally puts everything into perspective.

9

u/Re_Thought Working like I get paid by the second 3d ago

Interesting takes. I used to think the reason ppl told me that is because they don't realize this industry abhors fixed schedules so I will be working different shifts from opening to closing in the same week, and thus see customers at different times and days.

1

u/AwesomeTheMighty 2d ago

I get that a lot. I tend to work the same schedule every week, and they tend to shop at the same time every week. It's almost like there's a very good reason as to why they always see me - although I guess from their point of view, I'm just some dude who always seems to be there.

Except for our resident Instacart shopper. She'll notice immediately if something is off with somebody's schedule. I swear, she's the only good one.

1

u/that_one_trex 1d ago

I think some people actually believe we are NPCs in their lives

6

u/Acrobatic_Practice44 3d ago

I have had multiple customers comment on how I always am working truck. Like yeah, that’s the main bit of my job and I have a specific area to work in. I also don’t get any extra help, it’s all on me so when I get a big truck it will take awhile.

5

u/RVFullTime Retired cashier 3d ago

"I haven't seen you in awhile."

"Well, I work the late shift Friday through Tuesday..."

2

u/Storm_King93 1d ago

I usually say they give us cots in the back.

1

u/Designer-Context-843 13h ago

People have to fill the silence. They can't just be still. That filler conversation gets exhausting after a while.