Tuesday 9 September 2014

Embarassed at the till

How do you think you would feel at the till if the cashier passed comment on the amount you had spent?

The YFG and I were in Lidl's on Sunday afternoon, standing at the till, a couple of people behind a lady and her husband who were putting their shopping through and packing it as the cashier checked it off.  They did have a trolley full of goods, and I was idly wondering how much it would come to, but even I was a bit shocked when the cashier asked her for just over £170.  I couldn't see all their shopping, and I would guess that for a trolley of shopping to have reached that value in Lidl, they probably bought quite a bit of meat, perhaps.

However, I wasn't prepared for the cashier to pass a comment on the shopping - along the lines of that was the most he had ever put through a till, and what a lot they had spent.....I don't think any hole would have been big enough to swallow me if someone had said that to me!

The lady was very dignified, and replied, "Oh, this is just a standard...." and I thought she was going to say "monthly" but she said "weekly shop for us" and then I was a little surprised.  She went on to explain that this was for her and her husband and three children.

My thoughts on the cashier's comments are that he had no right to discuss that family's purchases like that, and to embarrass the lady, making her feel that she had to justify her shopping.  Yes, she had bought a lot of food, but if he hadn't drawn attention to it, the rest of the queue wouldn't have thought much about it, and I certainly would just have thought that she was doing a big monthly shop.  If families can afford to spend that much each week, good luck to them - I will stick to my budget and think about what to say to a cheeky cashier!

6 comments:

SusanM said...

I had a comment from an Aldi cashier two weeks ago but it was about the coupons from the newspaper. He asked me where I got them from as they hardly ever see them! That drew attention from the rest of the queue - everyone wanting to know how to get hold of the £5 off coupons! So I saved a few people some money. The cashier in Lidl shouldn't have commented on how much the lady had spent.

Angela said...

I am sure that staff are discouraged from making that sort of comment.

We did have an assistant in Asda comment on our shop in August [300 burger buns and hot dog rolls plus just one pack of 8 veggie burgers] but in a joking way [what will the other rolls have in them?] I explained that we got the burgers and sausages in the cash and carry, but they dont do [a] cheap rolls [b] vegetarian bits. Then I went on to explain it was all for our holiday club bbq and gave her an invite. She never came tho!

I worry about those smartly dressed elderly gentlemen in the queue who just buy a large bottle of whiskey and two tins of cat food!!

ciao said...

If I spend over £40 in Aldi I feel a scatter cash. Just heard yesterday Aldi is opening a new shop in walking distance from us so that will be a great help.
Love to you all xx

cochranegirl said...

The cashier probably didn't mean to be cheeky, but maybe was genuinely surprised that so much had been spent. I shop in Aldi with my husband and our normal spend is around £20 for both of us. Wouldn't bother me if any one commented on it - cashiers are only human and have to put up with a lot from the public!

Lesley H in Livingston

Unknown said...

I had a comment from the assistant in Lidl's saying that ours was the healthiest trolley she had seen that day:)
But I do feel the assistant should not have mentioned how much she had spent.

Hughes ap Williams said...

It wouldn't have bothered me at all, just a comment passing the time during work. Why would someone be embarrassed by how much or how little they spent?

Of course, here in the USA as the cashier scans your purchases it appears on a screen facing you that you can check and at least the person behind you can see it.