‘The audacity’ – Woolworths deli worker’s rant about 'annoying' customers
- Replies 24
Working in the customer service industry can be a difficult and thankless task – especially in supermarkets, where employees deal with customers rushing to buy bargains during sales and sudden price drops.
While staff members usually keep quiet about their own experience, one deli worker has had enough. In a series of now-deleted controversial videos uploaded on TikTok, a Woolworths deli worker revealed all the various ways supermarket customers ‘annoy’ her.
The team member from South Australia listed nine things that bother her while operating the deli counter.
Two separate videos were uploaded, which detailed the worker’s experience in dealing with customers on a wide range of topics, including how they order ham, place orders just before closing time and speaking on the phone while ordering at the deli counter.
The worker also took aim at parents who allowed their kids to order at the counter and the kids who asked for food.
‘I have worked in the deli for almost six years now. And these are just a few things that customers do that grind my gears,’ she said in the first video.
She listed nine points explaining her reasons and noted that some of her confessions might be ‘controversial’:
#1: When customers get their kids to speak for them
The staff member said: ‘Now, this annoys me for many reasons because not only are you making your kid uncomfortable, you’re making me uncomfortable.’
She said it’s because she typically has a hard time hearing the words a child would say over the counter. ‘The kid does not want to speak to me. It’s just all around annoying,’ she explained.
#2: Ordering before the store closes
The worker also slammed customers who ordered right before the deli counter closed.
‘The audacity of some customers. They come in five minutes before we close and say, “Can I have 500g of this? And there’s only 100g in the bowl, and they’re like, “Can you do me up some more?”’ The woman said while letting out a frustrated groan.
#3: Speaking on the phone while ordering
Another pet peeve she shared is catering to customers on a call while ordering at the counter.
‘Speaking on the phone when they come up to the deli, and they shush you when you ask them if they’re ready or when you greet them,’ she said.
She continued: ‘Or even worse when they answer the phone halfway through ordering and then when you ask, “Anything else?” They’ll shush you even though they answered the phone halfway through ordering. I can’t.’
#4: Ignoring the greetings
According to the worker, ignoring someone who greets you is rude.
She explained: ‘So, you’re like “Hey, how are you?” And they just…either they start ordering straight away, no hello back, no “how are you”, or they just straight up ignore you and keep looking.’
The worker said she’s mostly left standing there waiting or asking the customer if they’re just looking around, but usually, the customer walks off without even acknowledging her.
#5: When customers yell
The worker explained: ‘When they walk up, and they’ve been there for 0.2 seconds, and they’re like “Hello?” And yell out to you? Oh, don’t even try me.’
#6: Asking for freshly sliced ham
The Woolies staff member started the second half of her rant by saying that this request ‘irks’ her.
She shared: ‘So, you’ve just sliced some ham up, and you’ve put it in the cabinet, [the] customer comes up and asks, “Can I have 500g of that ham?” Then, they go: “But can you slice it fresh for me?” I tell them I just did it five minutes ago.’
The woman continued: ‘And they say, “Yeah, but I like it sliced fresh.” I cannot tell you how much that irks me. Or when they go, “Can you give me that ham, but can you cut it for me thicker or thinner?”’
She then said she wished they’d ‘stop’ asking for this.
#7: Picky customers
The Woolies staff member also complained about picky customers.
‘I get it if you go 100g or 200g over. But when it’s 5g to 10g over, they say, “Hmm, a little less,” and you have to break the ham. If you take one slice of ham out, it’s too much. So, you have to break a piece off,’ she stated before adding that it’s ‘only an extra 5 cents’.
#8: When kids yell
‘Now this one gets me because, as a non-kid person ... I really don’t like kids. I’m not a kid person at all,’ the woman declared in the video.
She added that this happens when the child is asking for a piece of smiley fritz.
‘Can I have a piece of smiley fritz? I just want to say, “No. No, you can’t’, and their parents just yell at you, and I mean yell, and you just think, “What’s going on here?”’ She said.
#9: When customers can’t choose
Last but not least, the Woolies worker took aim at shoppers who couldn’t choose their meat.
‘This one really gets me. When they order, and they go, ‘Can I have $2 of whichever ham,” and I say that there’s a whole variety here…and they go, “Yeah, whichever one you think.” I really hate that because I don’t know what you like,’ the worker explained.
She said she didn’t want to pick the ham for the customers anymore.
‘It happens way too often,’ she concluded.
The staff member’s videos prompted a strong reaction from fellow deli workers – most of them were sympathetic and shared their experiences.
‘This. And when they start yelling at you about the prices of something in a completely different department. Does it look like I did that?’ One said.
Another added that they have the same experiences despite working at Coles. ‘Also, me and my co-workers are constantly laughing at the fact that there are two types of customers.’
‘OMG, the customers who yell at you when you have no ham left! Once got reported to the store manager for “being rude”,’ a third replied.
A Woolworths spokesperson commented on the video and told reporters it was ‘disappointing’ to see this behaviour from one of their team members.
‘This is a little disappointing to see, and we'll be following up with the team member,’ they said.
This confession comes after reports that Woolworths’ installation of body cameras in select stores received a bit of backlash online, with many claiming that it was invading customers' privacy. However, Woolworths quickly denied this claim and stated that their decision to implement body cameras was to protect their staff from abuse and mistreatment. You can read more about this report here.
How do you feel about this, members? Have you encountered a customer yelling at a supermarket staff worker or seen something similar? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
While staff members usually keep quiet about their own experience, one deli worker has had enough. In a series of now-deleted controversial videos uploaded on TikTok, a Woolworths deli worker revealed all the various ways supermarket customers ‘annoy’ her.
The team member from South Australia listed nine things that bother her while operating the deli counter.
Two separate videos were uploaded, which detailed the worker’s experience in dealing with customers on a wide range of topics, including how they order ham, place orders just before closing time and speaking on the phone while ordering at the deli counter.
The worker also took aim at parents who allowed their kids to order at the counter and the kids who asked for food.
‘I have worked in the deli for almost six years now. And these are just a few things that customers do that grind my gears,’ she said in the first video.
The worker took aim at Woolworths shoppers. Credit: Pixabay/Pexels
#1: When customers get their kids to speak for them
The staff member said: ‘Now, this annoys me for many reasons because not only are you making your kid uncomfortable, you’re making me uncomfortable.’
She said it’s because she typically has a hard time hearing the words a child would say over the counter. ‘The kid does not want to speak to me. It’s just all around annoying,’ she explained.
#2: Ordering before the store closes
The worker also slammed customers who ordered right before the deli counter closed.
‘The audacity of some customers. They come in five minutes before we close and say, “Can I have 500g of this? And there’s only 100g in the bowl, and they’re like, “Can you do me up some more?”’ The woman said while letting out a frustrated groan.
#3: Speaking on the phone while ordering
Another pet peeve she shared is catering to customers on a call while ordering at the counter.
‘Speaking on the phone when they come up to the deli, and they shush you when you ask them if they’re ready or when you greet them,’ she said.
She continued: ‘Or even worse when they answer the phone halfway through ordering and then when you ask, “Anything else?” They’ll shush you even though they answered the phone halfway through ordering. I can’t.’
#4: Ignoring the greetings
According to the worker, ignoring someone who greets you is rude.
She explained: ‘So, you’re like “Hey, how are you?” And they just…either they start ordering straight away, no hello back, no “how are you”, or they just straight up ignore you and keep looking.’
The worker said she’s mostly left standing there waiting or asking the customer if they’re just looking around, but usually, the customer walks off without even acknowledging her.
The deli worker shared her frustrations online. Credit: Federico Arnaboldi/Pexels
The worker explained: ‘When they walk up, and they’ve been there for 0.2 seconds, and they’re like “Hello?” And yell out to you? Oh, don’t even try me.’
#6: Asking for freshly sliced ham
The Woolies staff member started the second half of her rant by saying that this request ‘irks’ her.
She shared: ‘So, you’ve just sliced some ham up, and you’ve put it in the cabinet, [the] customer comes up and asks, “Can I have 500g of that ham?” Then, they go: “But can you slice it fresh for me?” I tell them I just did it five minutes ago.’
The woman continued: ‘And they say, “Yeah, but I like it sliced fresh.” I cannot tell you how much that irks me. Or when they go, “Can you give me that ham, but can you cut it for me thicker or thinner?”’
She then said she wished they’d ‘stop’ asking for this.
#7: Picky customers
The Woolies staff member also complained about picky customers.
‘I get it if you go 100g or 200g over. But when it’s 5g to 10g over, they say, “Hmm, a little less,” and you have to break the ham. If you take one slice of ham out, it’s too much. So, you have to break a piece off,’ she stated before adding that it’s ‘only an extra 5 cents’.
#8: When kids yell
‘Now this one gets me because, as a non-kid person ... I really don’t like kids. I’m not a kid person at all,’ the woman declared in the video.
She added that this happens when the child is asking for a piece of smiley fritz.
‘Can I have a piece of smiley fritz? I just want to say, “No. No, you can’t’, and their parents just yell at you, and I mean yell, and you just think, “What’s going on here?”’ She said.
#9: When customers can’t choose
Last but not least, the Woolies worker took aim at shoppers who couldn’t choose their meat.
‘This one really gets me. When they order, and they go, ‘Can I have $2 of whichever ham,” and I say that there’s a whole variety here…and they go, “Yeah, whichever one you think.” I really hate that because I don’t know what you like,’ the worker explained.
She said she didn’t want to pick the ham for the customers anymore.
‘It happens way too often,’ she concluded.
The staff member’s videos prompted a strong reaction from fellow deli workers – most of them were sympathetic and shared their experiences.
‘This. And when they start yelling at you about the prices of something in a completely different department. Does it look like I did that?’ One said.
Another added that they have the same experiences despite working at Coles. ‘Also, me and my co-workers are constantly laughing at the fact that there are two types of customers.’
‘OMG, the customers who yell at you when you have no ham left! Once got reported to the store manager for “being rude”,’ a third replied.
A Woolworths spokesperson commented on the video and told reporters it was ‘disappointing’ to see this behaviour from one of their team members.
‘This is a little disappointing to see, and we'll be following up with the team member,’ they said.
This confession comes after reports that Woolworths’ installation of body cameras in select stores received a bit of backlash online, with many claiming that it was invading customers' privacy. However, Woolworths quickly denied this claim and stated that their decision to implement body cameras was to protect their staff from abuse and mistreatment. You can read more about this report here.
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