I'm in the service industry myself (and have been for 20 years) and I've dealt with MORE than my share of guest comments/issues b/c some server or associate was trying to be banter or be friendly and it was done without tact or awkwardly.
MOST of the time, it really is just an honest mistake and the reason they felt free to say something that could be taken so wrong, is that they honestly weren't thinking anything along those lines. If she HAD of been thinking negative thoughts in relation to your weight, then she would have had the foresight not to say anything that could have been taken wrong and gotten her in trouble.
Having said that, it even catches me off guard at times too. We were in a restaurant a couple of days ago and the server absolutely got on my nerves so bad. He played that smart aleck thing and would only talk to me at the table and was mildly combative over every request.
I was so mad and annoyed I couldn't see straight and was ready to complain to management. When I was getting good and sick of it, someone at the table made a comment to try and settle my boyfriend down because 'the server kept flirting with his girlfriend'
I was totally shocked and disagreed. But, by the end of the evening I realized they were right. It was embarrassingly apparent when I cooled down a bit and realized it.
So, here the guy thought he was flirting with me and I was so mad I was ready to report him to management. LOL
Well I think restaurants are a bit different and they should let you know that you might be over ordering. There could've been a better way to say it but I've had various experiences where I was out with others and we were given a heads up about potentially over ordering and the restaurant was always right.
This would be true if we were ordering an appetizer and the server informed us that it was especially large and meant for more than 2 people. I went to chilis once and wanted to order this hot fudge volcanoes thing but the sever told me that was meant for sharing. That's fine. However this was a sushi restaurant and even had we never been there before rolls are pretty standard everywhere. And this was a lunch special, 3 rolls with soup and salad. And if the dish was meant for more than one person he should have said that, not "wow, that's a lot of food" which is just a comment, judgmental at best.
Life's too short to sweat comments made by strangers. Just take everything in the best possible spirit, assume no motives, and move on with your day. You'll be the happiest for it.
Thank you newleaf123 for providing the link to the previous topic. I read through some of the posts. Not all of them because it is lengthy. I figure the TJ cashier just has poor bantering skills.
TJ employees confuse me. There have been times when I can't tell if the male employees are being super nice or being flirty.
I, too, vote for poor bantering skills. However, a comment like "What makes you think all this is my lunch?" might have served 2 purposes - you get to make a witty comeback, and - hopefully - the cashier learns that she / he made a stupid remark.
I've worked in a coffee shop for a long time and before that worked several jobs in retail/food. My jobs really stressed making small talk with the customers. I know that for me, sometimes when I was working my brain would go numb from the tedious day, and my mouth would go on autopilot. I never said anything rude, but I'd sometimes hear myself and think "What the **** is coming out of my mouth? I've never even had these thoughts before yet here I am saying them??" Really banal things that I wasn't even truly thinking, just filling the air.
So imo, the cashier was just trying to grab at something to say for your order and grabbed something really dumb. She may never have even realized how it sounded. I don't think a TJ cashier would be the snarky type.
Life's too short to sweat comments made by strangers. Just take everything in the best possible spirit, assume no motives, and move on with your day. You'll be the happiest for it.
This is really true. I need to try to remember that all the time. Definitely less stress!
Yes, poor bantering skills. From what I've heard, TJs cashiers are supposed to comment on what you are buying or they get in trouble. I guess maybe she couldn't think what to say or was trying to joke around and did a poor job at it.
I am starting to think the same thing for Target employees
I would assume they meant no harm in all situations. . . . There is just no way to tell for sure what their intentions were.
I agree. I have noticed that T.J.'s cashiers are chatty, and as others here have noted, they're probably told to be that way. Your particular cashier was just not that skilled at casual banter.
I vote awkward customer service banter as well. Sometimes they try to jazz chit-chat up and vary it so they don't feel as though their job is on repeat, resulting some cringeworthy results.
I have worked in retail part time for years now. My two favorite personal guff-ups include the time when the phone rang and I answered the hand-held price scanner, like, as in put it all the way up to my ear. I have to say my line of customers all busted out laughing so it did lighten the mood at my own expense.
My #1 banter guff up of all time was the time I was helping a gentleman do an exchange on dress pants. I had the most unfortunate word mash up on record when I asked for clarification on whether he desired a short or long length. I asked him, "Do you like sh-longs?" We both froze and acted like it did not happen, lolol, just carrying on with the conversation. I was mortified. I am very professional at work in speech and manner so I hope he realized I died a little inside, amg!!!
I asked him, "Do you like sh-longs?" We both froze and acted like it did not happen, lolol, just carrying on with the conversation. I was mortified. I am very professional at work in speech and manner so I hope he realized I died a little inside, amg!!!
That's a classic!
Reminds me of one of my screw ups. I work in a coffee shop and was applying the whip cream to a man's drink. It was the holidays, so a huge crowd was gathered near me, waiting for their drinks.
As I put on the whip cream, the man said, "Mmmm."
In my head, I thought "mmm" would be a better sound to replace the "pfffffff" sound that the can makes when being used.
I didn't explain my line of reasoning though, so right after he said, "Mmm," I said, "That's the perfect sound for when it squirts out." The crowd all laughed and I probably blushed fire haha.
