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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/suminorieh77 on 2025-05-30 13:07:12+00:00.
i was cashiering in the lawn and garden center at my store. when i was “trained” as a cashier, there was no training on the products throughout the store, just how to scan the product and the basics of customer service. therefore, i really don’t know anything about the plants and trees and flowers; that’s the associate’s job. they stock them, so they know where they are located. the store phones will often not be useful in the location, due to getting multiple lawn and garden trucks during the week and the associates moving things around to make room for new products. but ultimately, i don’t know boo about whether this plant or that flower will thrive in full sun or if the ferns are still outside or if they moved them again. as a cashier, you are not allowed to leave your register to roam around or help the customer find something. my job is to ring you up, and that’s it.
the clientele in lawn and garden is mostly pleasant people looking to build their gardens or buy a lovely hydrangea for their mother. but often, at least in every shift, there is one person who feels slighted because you have no knowledge.
older lady comes up, has a buggy full of plants and flowers. she began putting the plants one by one on the counter and asking questions about them, to which i would answer, “I don’t know” and “I’m not sure”. i offered to find an associate for her, but she just waved her hand like it was no big deal. by about the 5th plant, after i had said yet again that i didn’t know, she pulls her sunglasses off, looks me in the eye, clearly exasperated, and says, “How can you work out here and know nothing about the plants?!”
i told her that i was rotated throughout the store like the other cashiers and that we are not trained to know the products we are selling, and that because we are are not allowed to leave the register, i can’t really familiarize myself with the plants and flowers. i asked again if she’d like me to find an associate, who does know the products. she said she didn’t have time to wait for someone. i plucked the plastic label from one of her plants out of the soil and showed her the that it tells a bit about the care of the plant, and also there is a QR code that you can scan with your phone that will help, too. i was sincerely trying to be helpful, but she took that as being snarky (i could tell by the way she gave me a long stare).
as she finished paying, she put her glasses back on and said nonchalantly, “Do you have a break coming up?” odd question, but i checked the clock and said, “Yes, m’am, I have a break in about 30 minutes.” she said, “Well, perhaps on your break you can walk around out here and learn something.”
i wished her a good day. i took my break 30 minutes later, sat in my car, listened to Primus, ate a Slim Jim, and took a nap (like normal). perhaps when she got home that day, she looked up the plants she bought and learned something.