So... a meltdown at Kroger today.

[demmiblue]

Today is the first day that we are allowed recycle cans and bottles here in Michigan. Predictably, there was quite a long line when I went to Kroger (I was only there to shop). When I walked in, some older man was literally screaming at one of the young employees that tends the recycling area. He stormed off, and I told the young man that I was sorry that he had to deal with that kind of abuse.

After walking through the second set of doors, and going down an aisle or two, I could hear his screaming at the other end of the store near the self-checkout. Rant, rant, rant... "go ahead, call security." Everyone was pretty much gobsmacked at the behavior. One person was capturing the event on his cell phone.

So, what set this dude off per the cashier (who, as an aside, is a wonderful person)... he couldn't redeem more than $25 worth of bottle returns. He threatened to throw the extras he was carrying in a bag into the Customer Service area. Anyone who has ever recycled their bottles knows the limit due to the signage in the recycling area. And then, he went into some rant about not respecting the police.

JFC.

[ret5hd]

1. Maybe the covid affects the logic centers of the brain.

Just sayin'.

[pwb]

2. A normal Fox news viewer?

They have a hard time reading big words.

[RKP5637]

3. Did he have his MAGA hat on? n/t

[Voltaire2]

4. This guy is a total Karen.

[Sherman A1]

5. Having worked Retail Grocery for 43 years

this is hardly a surprise. We used to call it the "kick the dog" syndrome. Someone is angry about something and goes to the grocery store to "kick the dog (retail employee)" as they cannot respond without risking their job.

Been on the receiving end of rants like this many times through the years.

[demmiblue]

6. Yeah. Apparently this person has been an issue for quite some time.

As a customer, I feel like I need to step up and confront the assholes in order to say things the employee can't say. The couple of times I did this, though, the situation only escalated. I do make sure to commiserate in this type of situation (several of us did).

:sigh:

[Sherman A1]

7. While saying something

to the employees afterwards is appreciated, I would recommend not confronting the Boneheads directly.

As you mentioned it can often lead to an escalation of the situation and that just makes it last longer (which is not desired) and can lead to an already difficult time getting even worse (when the Bonehead kicks it up a few notches, starts swinging or produces a weapon). The very best thing is to get them and their cute little tirade the hell out of there as fast as physically possible so everyone can return to regular programming.

[demmiblue]

9. Yeah, I learned that awhile ago.

I still want to go Tawanda on their asses, though!

Also, never underestimate the value of a kind word or action. Sometimes the smallest of gestures can be bigger than what we can imagine.

[greenjar_01]

8. When I was a teenager I used to work the recycling machine in a supermarket

It's the most disgusting job in the entire supermarket game, and I also cleaned the bathrooms.

Also, you get stung by bees a lot doing that. Total shitshow.

[redstatebluegirl]

10. There are so many angry people out there right now.

I notice faces. I was at the doctors office last week and almost every person who came in was older than I was (65), and looked totally pissed off. I know assumptions are bad, but I would bet you they were all Trump voters. One of the was giving the lady at the desk a hard time about having to wear a mask and gloves to come in.

[COLGATE4]

11. Not defending the fellow's ranting

but it occurs to me that some older people deeply rely on the small amount of money available by returning bottles. Perhaps he was upset because he was planning on doing his food shopping with the $40 or $50 dollars he had managed to collect.

[RhodeIslandOne]

12. Even on the best days the bottle return is a shit show

Between machines constantly jamming and grumpy dickheads not waiting their turn.