would you be offended?

[Connonym]

My mom had a cashier tell her "next time you come in wear a smile" I thought it was completely rude and that she should complain. Which would probably reinforce the sentiment that she needs to smile but still...

[KitchenWitch]

1. Cashier was out of line

I would complain to management.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

2. i wouldnt complain but I HATE anyone telling me that i need to smile

[Rising Phoenix]

54. me too!

people are always stopping me in the street and saying stupid things like "It can't be that bad" or "I bet you have a beautiful smile, try it out" my whole life people have said this to me.

A. Its none of their damn business
B. yeah, sometimes things are that bad
C. I don't need a smile to be pretty

people suck

[Lil Missy]

3. It was rude. Very rude.

[unpossibles]

4. yes

your mom should have told the cashier that she'll smile more if the cashier learns to mind their own f'ing business.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

5. I'd offer as a response to the cashier-

"please mind your own business"

[AlCzervik]

6. i think i'd be more pissed than offended. I imagine it would go something like this

"Maybe someone close to me just died, maybe something bad happened to me today, maybe i have a condition that makes smiling impossible, maybe you should mind your own business" "next time i come in you better not be here"

[ohiosmith]

7. I'd say "Not to worry, I won't come in here again".

[Connonym]

8. That would have been a perfect retort

n/t

[ohiosmith]

12. Followed by: "May I see your boss, I'd like for them to know why I will not be shopping here in

the future."

[Left Is Write]

53. Perfect.

[BarenakedLady]

9. Oh god I hate that.

I can't tell you how many times strangers have just come out and told me to smile. Annoys the fuck out of me.

[youthere]

10. Your mom should have told her "THIS TIME you need to kiss my ass"

I would indeed have been offended...but I wouldn't do anything about it.

[Rabrrrrrr]

11. "Next time your mom dies, I want to see you with a great big fucking grin and a belly laugh."

or

"Next time you feel the need to comment on a customer, shut your fucking mouth"

Very rude.

Asshole "smiley" people piss me off. Sometimes people have very legitimate reasons for not smiling. It's such an asshole thing to tell someone they should smile. Totally discounts every emotion and feeling they're going through at the moment.

It is to say "You are not legitimate".

[reyd reid reed]

13. I'd have been offended...

and probably made a suggestion to the effect that the cashier could give me something to smile about. If she _________.

[MAGICBULLET]

14. same thing happened to me this morning at the diner ordering takeout

and I'm just not a morning person, and this assbag over the counter told me I need to smile. I said shut up and give me my change. She was left insulted, however, I always think of something so much better to say after I leave. Had I read this thread before damn I could've set it off on her.

[Blue Diadem]

15. Yes, I'd be offended.

I've spent most of my life being told I need to smile more. Not only is it irritating, it's offensive. I have a fake smile I flash, then I ask if that's better.

edited because not only do I not smile often, I also can't spell.

[ThomCat]

16. Hell yes, I'd be offended.

There's a huge difference between telling someone that you hope they have a nice day, and ordering them to be happy. x(

[LostinVA]

17. I would have counseled the cashier and maybe written them up

When I managed a bookstore, that is.

[mark414]

18. christ, everybody so quick to jump to conclusions

who knows how the cashier said it and in all honestly said cashier probably meant it in a nice way, as in "hope you're feeling better next time you're in here," or something like that.

i work at a butcher shop and deal with a lot of customers and if they look unhappy i try to get them to not look like that. i don't think i've ever told someone that they had to show me a smile but nonetheless, jesus.

complain to the manager? and make her shitty job even worse cause she has to deal with getting talked to because some spoiled customer who thinks they need to get everything and their ass wiped had to go complain because their pretty little head was so hurt?

did you get what you needed? was the product of a quality you are happy with? did they overcharge you? no! you got what you wanted/needed so what's the big deal...be content you took care of business and go home.

none of this rant is directed towards anyone, and this probably seems a little out of place and a bit of a disproportional response...but why does everybody get outraged or offended by every little stupid thing? get some thicker skin, get some perspective, and get over it!

[Connonym]

20. meh, I've experienced too many rude cashiers

customer service is practically nonexistant. I've worked with the public, the way to get someone to smile is to smile at them. Telling them to smile is rude.

[Phillycat]

38. "if they look unhappy i try to get them to not look like that."

Why? How do you know why they're unhappy, or whether their reasons are valid? What if their spouse, or child, or parent just died? I'm sorry, but it's really none of your business whether your customers look or are happy. And it's rude and presumptuous of you to try to change their mood while you're waiting on them. They are entitled to be in any mood they want to be in - they came to you for meat, not therapy.

[mark414]

40. it's part of my job

and as some other poster noted my overseers take note and evaluate me based on how friendly, etc. i am to customers...i don't ask people what their problems are, i don't try to offer therapy - i smile and make jokes and try to talk to them genuinely. true i don't know what's going on in their life and either way it doesn't matter because it's not my business. i just try to get people to laugh or smile and to feel appreciated or important a. because it makes me feel good to see it and like i said b. it's part of my job.

next time someone comes in with a frown, i will not smile at them, or talk nice to them or tell them to have a good day - apparently doing that makes me a jerk :shrug:

[Phillycat]

42. No, that's not the same thing.

YOU being friendly is part of your job. I mis-read your statement "try to get THEM to be happy" as meaning you tell them to smile or something like that. I think what you do is fine.

[mark414]

43. well then right on

B-) here's to forgetting this little misunderstanding :hi:

[Starbucks Anarchist]

19. Maybe a little rude, but harmless, IMO.

I actually have had the reverse happen to me.

I was recently speaking with my boss and he told me (jokingly), "Stop smiling."

I retorted, "Yeah, it's creepy, isn't it?"

:rofl:

[Bunny]

21. Out of curiousity, is the cashier also a woman?

[Connonym]

22. It was a man -- service dept at the car dealer

[Bunny]

25. Why am I not surprised? A lot of men think they have the freedom to

instruct women on how they should be comporting themselves. I've been told by men, countless times in my life, to "smile" - but never once by a woman. :eyes:

[treestar]

55. I think you are onto something there

I can think of other contexts where men have expressed disdain for my not reacting the way they believe I should.

[SarahB]

23. Never try to make someone smile.

You never know what's going on someone else's life. It's a lot ruder to do what the cashier did than it is to not have some fake grin on your face if you feel like crap.

[Chan790]

24. Yes...

and yet I'm encouraged to say dumb shit like that because somebody in Seattle, WA who works in a big, pretty office for my corporate overlords feels that this would brighten and fill your mom's day with surprise and delight.

Don't take it out on the cashier...we're usually forced to say hokey shit...and evaluated on "friendliness" by the number of times we say that hokey shit.

[Arugula Latte]

26. When I was in my 20s I constantly had men order me to smile.

I would be lost in my own thoughts, minding my own business, not morose or anything, when out of the blue, some dude would command me to "Smile!" It happened frequently...I thought it was so rude.

I never get that anymore, though. I don't know if it's because I'm older or I live in a different state or what. Weird.

[Mad_Dem_X]

27. I hate that!

Especially when it's a guy telling you to smile. BLA!

[Connonym]

29. Me too

I was thinking the same thing actually. When I was young and cute I heard the smile thing all the time -- from men of course. Not so much any more.

[Arugula Latte]

31. I'm still cute ... just older.

:D

[hfojvt]

45. was it an order, or a request?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mT8jqRZHUW8

[treestar]

56. I remember that, too.

In fact, it tended to be the older men.

[Oeditpus Rex]

28. Y'know that old saying

"It takes 39 muscles to frown and only 23 to smile" or whatever?

I came up with a comeback for that: "Yeah, and it takes only 12 to punch your face out."

:grr:

[Critters2]

30. I'd have groaned annoyedly, but that's about it.

I'm way passive.

[uppityperson]

32. I have been told this and find it offensive.

I am supposed to change how I look to make you happy? Give them the "my _____ just died, why should I be smiling?"

[WillParkinson]

33. It depends...

Did this person know your mom? Had she cashiered for her before and, perhaps, thought maybe your mom might have recognized her?

[Deep13]

34. BE HAPPY GODDAMMIT! nt

[Evoman]

35. Piercing palm strike, right to the throat. Hell yeah...If I'm not smiling, nobody else will either.

And yes, I'm completely nuts :crazy:

[cwydro]

36. No.

[av8rdave]

37. I wouldn't be offended, but my reply might be a bit offensive

Next time I'm here, if you're not, you've got a deal!"

[Redbear]

39. I would take it as a compliment.

I like the quote attributed to Mother Teresa:

Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.

I try to remind myself to smile at people more often.

[JitterbugPerfume]

41. yes I would!

that cashier should be reported to her superviser

[hfojvt]

44. Bad English does not bother me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ugTPZeo3Lps

[bigwillq]

46. Wouldn't be offended

but I would be pissed. Cashier has no right saying that to a customer, imo.

[ruiner4u]

47. offended? naaah... mildly annoyed? sure...

I wouldn't say the cashier was rude. Possibly a little condescending but some people have that bubbly perky personality and say crap like that...

[jberryhill]

48. Gee, it's hard to smile

when you come.

[Mojambo]

49. That cashier would have gotten a hearty "Eat shit and die" from me.

It's beyond rude.

[Nicole]

50. No, I'm not easily offended.

I think the cashier was out of line but not bad enough to complain to their boss about it.

[treestar]

51. What's it to the cashier?

It's like you have to be in a good mood in case it'll bother somebody you spend .5 minutes with, or less?

Some people just can't get over themselves. The world revolves around this lady, see, and as a cashier she believes she is entitled to every customer being in exactly the mood she believes they should be in.

[Left Is Write]

52. Yes, I would be offended.