I work in grocery retail, and have been for about 2 years now. We usually have a couple items out of stock everyday, no big deal.

Well when a customer comes up to me and asks for a certain product, and I say it's out of stock they, well I don't really know how to put it. You could say that they throw a fit.

Grown adults curse and yell in the store when we don't have an item their looking for. I know it's a minor inconvenience, but seriously? It happens to me nearly everyday. I get yelled at by average people, just for not having any more pepperoni pizza pockets. Of course not everyone does this. The majority do though.

It got me to thinking though. All these things in the world are going down, the future of the US of A is not looking that bright. We are most likely going to see some very hard times up ahead.

I realized that if there is another depression, things are not going to be like they were back in the 30s. This time around people will be not so nice about it. People are going to be killing each other if they can't get what they want.

They freak out about some hot pockets, imagine when they can't afford to buy bread? To me the outlook for humanity, atleast here in the US is very dire. I highly doubt that we will bond together and make it through these hard times. This time around we will act like savages. Most allready do when their inconvenienced at the grocery store.

I have lost hope for humanity. I am truly scared to see what people will do when the times get really rough.

What do you guys think? Will we help each other out? Or will we act like we do at the grocery store?


Of course there are still lots of good people out there, but i'm talking about the majority.

Wow, that's crazy...
Although, I have been the culprit of yelling at customer service when I forgot an ingredient for a recipe and had been to 5 other stores, with no hope, because "candied cherries" are a "seasonal product only."

I think we are more greedy and demanding.
It will be pretty bad.

I am one of the ones you are talking about. Let me put it this way, if the person is nice about it, I say thank you and that I will check back later. However, some people are just so rude in their response with one of those I don't care attitude that I just see it as my job to put them in their place. At that point the product really don't matter. It is the attitude I can't handle. I have known some to go out of their way to see if they find what I need and I appreciate those folks a lot. I usually leave them a tip and a good word with their boss.

I'm sorry for yelling at you.
Hot pockets are my fav!

JK, lol.
I HATE to see such rude people at stores. I mean there's a difference between being
assertive and abusive.

People are lazy ... that's what is wrong.

Although Hot Pockets are awesome... No need to go crazy over it.. try a lean pocket = )

Ohh hey, since you work in a supermarket and we're kind of talking about the economy:
I've recently noticed SO MANY parents telling their children "No honey we can't have that" or "Just pick one" or "We can't afford it this week" in the supermarket.

I've never ever ever heard that before the past few months.

Yeah i worked a long time for food stores in my teens and early twenties while i was in University and it really does amaze me the way people expect to be treated better than everybody else, and how the store is suppose to carry EVERYTHING they need all the time.

I wouln't worry about it too much, these people probably treat everybody the same way they treat you.

I would suggest the next time it happens to pass on your corporate complaint/help number and advised them to file a complaint as that is all the information you have been given in regards to shipments of products and general customer inquiries etc...

For the coming depression and how people will act, well yes the majority of people will probably all freak out in the first little bit,but only until they realize that the people they are freaking out at, are in the same boat they are, and then there will be unity.

Unity against the people who have put us in this dire situation. It always gets better before it gets worst!

Cheers!

TC

[edit on 1/12/2009 by tothetenthpower]

This attitude is one reason that I believe that in a true disaster, there will be many who perish early on. They have no ability to prioritize, no ability for patience, and those two characteristics alone in a state of shortages, will not facilitate survival.

On two occasions, I've been without water for three consecutive days. On the third morning, it was everything I could do just to stand. During this period, I only ate one "meal" every three days.

You learn to make do, to appreciate everything you have, even when it is very little. But more important, you learn to rely on yourself, not having provided what you prefer.

Dude, I was up all night hitting the bong and I NEEDED those hot pockets.

I had to drive all the way across the street to get them.

I was on a mission from GOD OK?

Originally posted by bismarcksea
Dude, I was up all night hitting the bong and I NEEDED those hot pockets.

I had to drive all the way across the street to get them.

I was on a mission from GOD OK?

Could you not have settled for POP tarts and peanut butter? haha

People come in to my work all the time and act rude or disrespectful over things just like that.. stupid little things that don't even matter. To be honest, most the time i get pissed off back! I'm the type of person that was stated by someone (i dont remember who) in a comment above: if you come in with a kind attitude, i will go out of my way and do everything in my power to help you out! but when someone comes in with a crappy attitude, i'll make them wait, keep putting them off, give rude one word answer, basically treat them how they treat me. I'm not trying to toot my own horn, but i can be the kindest person you know untill the favor isnt returned, and after that, i can be the biggest a**hole you've ever seen!

I dont know, maybe i'm one of the rude one's you are talking about, but in general, i'd say society is spinning down the crapper.

I think the reason people yell at people in service jobs is because they are angry and frustrated by other things in their life. They are in a powerless position in most areas of their life, so when they are disappointed by something in a restaurant or store or any other place where they are in a position of "power" (as the customer who is always right) they vent all their frustration on the poor service worker.

For the most part, it is displaced aggression, and the pizza pocket isnt the cause, it is merely the trigger.

Just my observation.

I still think that in a major crisis people would perform better, not worse, than average. Why? Because I also observe that real tragedy brings out the best in most, and the worst in a small few.

Come up with some kind of witty reply for the next time they flip.

If your boss is good humored anyway. Other than that, just give them an alternative to the product they want or ask them why they're flipping out or something.

And I know what you mean...I worked on tech support for awhile for a web hosting company. People shouldn't get as PO'd over a 5 minute downtime as they do.

Originally posted by Son Of Liberty
Come up with some kind of witty reply for the next time they flip.

What worked best for me was not reacting to their upset-ness with my own upset, but rather realizing that they were just upset and "I" just happened to be the person in their way. I dont take it personal. What seems to actually calm them down is to listen, apologize, and agree with them that it sucks, while letting them know there really isnt anything you can do. If this is done sincerely, (not sarcastically) it works virtually every time.


Also, you never really know why the person is flipping on you, they could have just had the worst day of their life.

The one time that sticks out in my memory of me flipping out on an innocent person was on some airport dude who was asking if my mother had drugs in a box she was checking when she was flying home to identify my brothers body.

The question, and his tone, just set me off. Normally it wouldnt have been anything at all. But, it was the worst day of my life, and while not that guys fault, he got caught in the crossfire. I think thats what we need to remember. It isnt all about us. Sometimes you are just in the wrong place at the wrong time, and sometimes the rude jerk isnt really a jerk, they are just having a really screwed up day. Doesnt make it right to yell at you, but compassion is a two way street.

When I look at any male American under 35, I ask myself, how many simulated murders has this guy committed?

When the dollar tanks and all the trucks grind to a halt and even generic items aren't available, it'll quickly go WAY beyond yelling.

If everyone would just tighten their belt, cooperate and pick up the pieces, we would get through whatever comes. But instead, it'll be "You ate the last Hot Pocket! Die!

The cops who were supposed to round up all the undesirables and put them in FEMA camps will go home to protect there own.

Hope you're not in a big metropolitan area when TSHTF

Well, look at what happens when the crap does hit the fan, like in Katrina. Most people did what they could for each other, and a minority acted like morons.

It isnt like we really have to speculate on this, we have historical examples to provide insight.