cathy wrote:
> I suppose this is a pretty minor pet peeve, but it still ticks me off.
>
> I shop at Vons in the Los Angeles area (owned and run by Safeway).
> They have two store policies that I find irritating and hypocritical.
> The first is, the checker always asks you "do you need help out to
> your car",

and no matter what your apparent age or infirmity.
>
> Apparently it's store policy that they =have= to ask that question, no
> matter what the size of the customer's order.

Clearly.

> Aside from the
> ludicrousness of the question, I feel it's an insult to me - do I look
> so decrepit that they genuinely think I =need= help? And it's an
> insult to the checker - why can't the store trust their employees to
> use common sense - [snip]

Good point. They pay checkers a good wage but they don't trust their
judgment.

> The second thing that Vons does that ticks me off is this: when you
> pay by debit or credit card, the checker is required to call you by
> name when they hand you the receipt.

Even when you use their mandatory "club card" to avoid being
overcharged.

So you have to wait while they
> stare at the receipt, and try and figure out how to pronounce your
> name. I find this fake "personalization" worse than just a generic
> "ma'am" or "sir".

Yes. I can abide the rest of it but I hate this fake familiarity.

> None of the other markets I shop at do this.

TJ, Ralphs, the Mexican market, the Asian markets -- all let me be
anonymous and able to carry my own bags.

> Like I said, I know in the greater scheme of things it's pretty minor,
> but I just can't help being irritated nearly every time I shop there.

But minor things like this pile up. They are also the worst as far as
missing price tags on produce and on the shelves.
>
> And yes, I =could= stop shopping there,

And I nearly have. They are the closest to my house but I regularly
choose to go farther. Most of that is for better meat and wider
variety of things I'm looking for, but some of it is precisely because
of these minor annoyances. The question is, how do you get them to
wise up? -aem