In article >, cwells21
@NOSPAMhotmail.com says...
> 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", no matter what the size of your order. I've had them ask me
> that when all I bought was a half gallon of milk, or a single bag of
> potato chips.
>
> Apparently it's store policy that they =have= to ask that question, no
> matter what the size of the customer's order. 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 - ask the question if there's a =large= order, or the
> customer is elderly and might need the help. Let the employee assess
> the situation. Its not rocket science. I've complained several times
> and have been told "it's company policy".
>
> 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. 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". They don't know me from Adam, they are forced to do
> this, and the whole thing is so phony it makes me crazy. Again, I find
> it insulting, and I'm sure there are other people who genuinely don't
> want the checker announcing their name to everyone within earshot.
> Just imagine the reaction if you heard "Thank you, Ms. Longoria" or
> "Thank you, Mr, Laurie".
>
> None of the other markets I shop at do this. Anyone else have this
> kind of experience? (I think it's a policy for all Safeway stores).
>
> 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.
>
> And yes, I =could= stop shopping there, but they carry things the
> other markets don't, and they occasionally have great sales on meat
> and poultry. Plus, they're they only market near me that carries milk
> in half-gallon wax paper containers, instead of the plastic jugs
> everyone else seems to have gone to. I find that my milk spoils a
> whole lot sooner in the plastic jugs.

A shame it isn't better than the blank stares I get when I go to local
Shaw's or Stop & Shop's. But that's just poor management - hiring kids
at minimum wage and not even trying to train them.

I'd find the name thing very annoying. Some people can pronounce my last
name correctly, but most try Peh Lick ee oo. It's peh lee chee oo
The 'cc' in Italian throws off most people.