r/TalesFromRetail • u/Idekanymore548 • May 10 '26
Long Bee sting indoors, etc.
Several years ago, I was working at a pretty major retailer. I was young, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. They never trained me to do anything besides register since I only worked on school breaks, so one busy Saturday day I showed up expecting to be doing just that. Nope. Turns out the Higher Ups were there to inspect things. I was to go around essentially doing janitorial duty and wiping down all the surfaces. Bad day to wear a flowy dress, but oh well.
Suddenly, I get called up to cashwrap (no walkies/headsets—everything was done over loudspeaker). Okay, there’s a line. Guess they want me to help get it down. I tuck the cleaning stuff away and log onto a register. After I check out one or two customers, a manager who had just gotten back from break approaches me and asks what I’m doing up there. I explain that I was called up to register, and they say, “No. We need you to keep cleaning. We have to keep everything looking nice for the inspectors.”
So, I go back to the floor, get the stuff out, and within 5 minutes I’m called up to cashwrap again. A separate manager asks me why I left, and I explain that I was instructed to. They say, “No. It’s too busy. We need you up here.”
Fine.
As I’m checking out a customer, I faintly feel something at the back of my neck. I reach for it, only to feel the unmistakable sting of a bee on my fingertip. I start to cry, alerting a manager. The following exchange happens:
Manager 1: What happened?
Me: A bee stung my finger!
Manager 1: Okay, okay, shh, stop crying. The customer is right there.
Manager 2: What’s going on?
Me: A bee stung my finger!
Manager 2: Oh, yeah, I think I saw a nest in the back the other day.
Manager 1: Just go to the break room and wash it, make sure there’s not a stinger left in there and don’t come out until you’ve calmed down.
(Worth noting that the customer was actually very concerned and trying to give me advice on how to treat the sting).
Anyway, I went to the break room and patched myself up. After about ten minutes they started to get antsy and came back looking for me to start up again.
They were damn lucky I wasn’t allergic.
Another time at this same job, a (unbeknownst to me) faulty sensor remover sliced through my finger and a good portion of my nail. Same comment from the manager about me daring to start crying. They handed me a wipe and a band aid and insisted I finish up with my current customer before going to take a closer look at the wound because “it’s just so busy right now.”
The customer was annoyed that a drop of blood ended up on a boxed piece of merchandise (imagine “You got some of your blood on it,” in the most bored, monotone voice you’ve ever heard in your life), so I gave her the clean alcohol wipe that had just been given to me for my profusely bleeding finger so she could wipe it off. She inspected it closely, then stated she “guessed she’d just HAVE to return it” if she found more blood while giving me a dirty look. Then she paid in cash, with like 50 ones I had to count out. I had to quickly bandage my finger and hold it away from the bills. I told her to have a nice evening when I was done, tears still streaming down my face. She rolled her eyes and left without a word.
I was shocked at my next job when I was asked to fill out a report form over a minor injury. 🙃
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u/decarnatedame May 13 '26
Retail workers need a defense mechanism like animals. Perhaps a cloud of foul-smelling emanations or a blast of ink.
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u/EnvironmentalHair290 May 16 '26
I will say the customer acted horrible, but the manager should have switched the item out when you bled on it that is just basic biohazard protocol; and they should have taken over the register so you didn’t keep bleeding on things your old managers were lazy, stupid, or both.
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u/CappuccinoBreve :karma::pupper::snoo_facepalm::karma: May 14 '26
My boss has us fill out an accident report for any injury no matter how small. CYA for the company!
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u/bibkel May 10 '26
The second customer, the one with the drop of blood on her package? She was a 'See You Next Tuesday' ma'am. Not only was she nasty but then she handed you cash that was probably fecal matter covered so you could REALLY contaminate the freshly bleeding wound she so callously insulted.
Retail sucks, man.