I work at Tesco – the customers we hate and the items we can’t stand when people buy
A TESCO employee has revealed what it’s really like to work for the popular supermarket chain.
From the regular type of customer that employees hate, to the popular items that they can’t stand when people bring them to the checkout.
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Not only this, but the anonymous Tesco employee also revealed the annoying things their team leaders do, as well as the customers they describe as ‘saints’.
The Tesco employee shared all about working in the supermarket on social media, leaving many with their mouths open.
Writing on Reddit, on the r/tesco thread under the username @YYFiberYY, the user titled his post ‘You know what really Grinds My Gears? (Checkout Operator Edition)’.
The employee then confirmed: “Checkouts are hands down the most mind-numbing, annoying and downright worst place to be.
“Sometimes it really feels like you’re in purgatory, like you’re being punished for something you’ve done.”
Nevertheless, the employee recognizes: “Although I have the feeling that it depends on WHO you work with and who your team leader is.”
The Tesco worker then revealed 10 things that “seriously freak me out while working the checkout”.
First of all, the employee claimed that the carrot stick bags, which you can eat as a snack with a meal deal, are very annoying to the employees.
They explained: “You know the one I’m talking about, the one where the barcode is always messed up so you have to type in the product number every time.
“It’s not so bad until you have five people on your leash who gradually lose patience as you fumble over these carrot sticks and get the code wrong every time.”
Additionally, the employee claimed that they couldn’t stand “rich, entitled, middle-aged women,” as they simply wrote, “Enough said.”
Not only this, but they also shared their frustration with team leaders when they “disappear when you have a problem.”
As a result, they shared, “So you have to sit in awkward silence until they come back and then act like nothing happened.
“The same goes again when it’s busy and you have a broken bag of Monster Munch that needs to be replaced and it takes four minutes for them to come back out.”
Insider tip from a Tesco employee
A Tesco employee has revealed a surprising secret about the self-scanning carts.
According to the employee, the random checks on customers using these carts are not entirely random.
The controls are actually triggered by a specific customer habit.
If you regularly pick up and put down items without scanning them, you are more likely to be selected for an audit.
This is because the system detects suspicious behavior, which may indicate possible theft.
To avoid delays, it is best to scan the items immediately after placing them in your shopping cart.
But if you shop at Tesco, be prepared for an attack, as the employee was candid about ‘impatient customers’, claiming: ‘They’re a different breed of people, they can’t stand waiting, and if they have to they’ll go to the battle.
“I’m quite fast at scanning, in that I was once referred to as an ‘Aldi employee’, but there’s not much I can do when The Jetsons have decided to do their annual shop with three trolleys full of stuff.”
In addition to impatient customers, the employee shared his frustration with “people putting all their multipack boxes of Pepsi or Coke on the belt.”
They continued: “I usually politely tell the customer that they only need to put one on and I can change the value on the screen, but many ignore that and do it anyway.”
Much of my work involves me sitting in my chair, my face in my palms, regretting my life decisions and wishing I had applied for a job at Subway instead
Tesco employee
And if you’re ever at a self-checkout looking for shopping bags, don’t worry. You are not alone, because this employee cannot tolerate it when this happens.
They wrote: “Bags, there are never any bags. And when I get replacements, I somehow move through them faster.
But if that wasn’t annoying enough, the employee also revealed that they hate “people who bring in expired coupons/vouchers and ask to speak to the manager/TL even though I’ve explained they’re expired.”
Not only this, but the employee then also revealed the inconvenience when people bring loose fruit and vegetables to the cash register when they do not have a barcode.
But while they find this frustrating, they shared an “honorable mention” for “people who bring in loose fruit/vegetables that have already been weighed”, describing such customers as “saints”.
When will supermarkets release bargains with yellow stickers?
The time that supermarkets shorten their products varies per store.
Here’s a rough guide by supermarket:
Aldi
Aldi uses a red sticker to display discounts on fresh products such as bread, meat, fruit and vegetables.
This is when they have reached the last day of shelf life.
Items with red stickers are most commonly found during opening and closing times.
MADAM
Discount times may vary from store to store, but will most likely occur around closing time.
Asda
Asda told Which one? that yellow stickers are applied twice a day – in the morning and in the evening.
Cooperative
Co-op told The Sun that the reduced prices are generally applied around four hours before the store closes.
Lidl
Lidl has a similar procedure to Asda and Aldi, with twice-daily discounts.
However, individual stores may choose to reduce prices during the day.
Morrisons
Online shoppers say Morrisons has the best bargains early in the morning.
However, the store told Which? that there are no specific times for yellow sticker price reductions.
Sainsbury’s
Sainsbury’s told The Sun that it is up to the store manager to offer discounts.
However, shoppers have reported that the best deals are in the evenings from 6pm.
Tesco
Tesco has said there is no specific time for reduction, but again most people found prices were reduced from 6pm.
Guard rose
As with most other stores, Waitrose shoppers have said the best discounts are found before closing.
However, the store stated that there is no specific time when yellow stickers must be applied.
As if food without a label wasn’t annoying enough, the employee also revealed the usual items they can’t handle when people bring them to the checkout – and that’s clothing with tags.
While they acknowledged that virtually all F&F clothing has safety tags, they added: “They are horrible to find and a pain to take off. If you’ve worked at the cash register, you know a product like this and hate to see it on your belt.
Finally, they shared their irritation with their managers, simply concluding: “Managers. Why?”
While the Tesco employee claimed that they “enjoy the checkout to a certain extent in a strange way”, they also acknowledged: “A lot of my work though involves me sitting in my chair, with my face in the palms, regret my life decisions and wish I had signed up for Subway instead.”
TESCO EMPLOYEES REACT
Many other Tesco employees sympathized with the user’s complaints and flocked to the comments to give their views on the things they too find irritating about working for the chain.
My biggest pet peeve is people who come in with a set amount of cash and no basic record of how much they spend
Reddit user
One person said: “Don’t forget the customers who shove their Clubcard in your face to scan while you’re still with the previous customer printing their receipt or collecting their change.”
Another added: “I’m surprised you mentioned clothing tags but not the autopegs (the yellow ones), they can be a nightmare sometimes.”
A third commented: “My biggest pet peeve is people who come in with a lump sum of cash and no basic tracking of how much they spend…
“When a lady came in with a cart with about $200 worth of groceries, many frozen/chilled, she asked me when it was $50 to stop because that’s all she had with her, and she no worries about all those groceries. the things in her cart that she can’t buy.”
Meanwhile, someone else said: “The pizza barcodes are making me so angry.”
