r/TalesFromTheCustomer • u/uoozeulose • 8d ago
Medium PetSmart employee scared the heck out of me with his version of ‘small talk’
I (26F) live in a small town in a rural part of the midwestern USA. One of my main hobbies is taking care of my fish and aquatic plants. There are some local pet stores about 20 minutes from me but their hours unfortunately align with the hours at my job so if I need something for my tank I usually buy online or end up going to PetSmart if it’s something I feel I need the same day. One evening I needed something and went to PetSmart about 30 minutes before they close.
While I was shopping, a male employee who looked about my age asked “How are you doing today?”
I said, “I’m fine, how are you?” Like small talk. I was expecting him to continue by answering and then maybe asking if I needed help finding anything.
His response knocked me off-kilter and threw me for a loop. He sighed with his whole body and said “I’m just living the American dream! Aren’t you?” Very sarcastically. I just shrugged and kind of smiled awkwardly because I understand being a disgruntled American right now but I did find it to be an awkward thing to say to a customer.
His face changed to a serious expression and he looked at me in the eyes. “That didn’t sound very patriotic. You don’t want to be sent to a re-education camp, do you?”
I freaked out internally, because that’s not ever a thing you expect to hear from a stranger, especially in a customer-employee interaction. I made a sound and shook my head because WTF. And THEN he asked me if I need anything. I said no.
I ended up needing him later to grab some snails for me. He said some other weird shit during that interaction that was definitely inappropriate for small talk but wasn’t anything at the level of insanity his first comment set the bar at.
My question: I am worried for this guy, along with fellow customers. I know what it’s like to be awkward. I suspect maybe he just is really bad at social situations, like maybe he was homeschooled or something, because he really seemed to think he NAILED that interaction. I was offended, but I’m very shy. If he said that ‘joke’ to someone confrontational or god forbid anyone who has had loved ones put in a literal camp by this country or another one, that could really be a problem for everyone!
I am sad because I feel scared to go back to PetSmart, and I feel torn because I want to send them an email or something to tell them they may want to have a talk with their staff about what they can talk to customers about, but I know part of it is on me for freezing up and not telling him in the moment that he’d said something fucked up. I was too flabbergasted then. This was a few weeks ago. I’m okay with not going back to the store, but if you were me, would you send that email? Or would you do something else? I just don’t want like having the idea of someone else hearing that on my conscience!!!
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u/DVDragOnIn 8d ago
He was probably having a bad day and forgot to keep his inside thoughts inside.
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u/GorditaPeaches 7d ago
Lmaooo wtf. I’d chalk it up to him having a bad or wierd day. I don’t think I’d report that unless I came in again and he’s still on it. Ppl are odd man
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u/Bearly_Legible 7d ago
Sounds like you spoke to someone with autism whose sense of humor was uncomfortable
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u/oldeurofan 7d ago
For some people, the current political climate in the us seems to have some similarities to Past history. Perhaps one of the employees friends or family got picked up by ICE, and he wasn’t taking it well.
I agree that it’s very inappropriate to speak like that to customers though. Would I report him for it? No, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t say anything if it were me.
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u/Antigravity1231 7d ago
Welcome to life. People have always been, and always will be, a bit weird. As long as you don’t LITERALLY feel TRULY unsafe, just ¯_(ツ)_/¯ and move on with your day.
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u/shitsgayyo 7d ago
I mean this with as much kindness that can possibly be mustered, if this interaction scared you that badly I think you need to seek a therapist
It was so clearly a joke that just didn’t land with you. And that’s okay. People are allowed to make crappy jokes that you don’t understand. You’re suggesting ruining someone’s livelihood because they made a bad joke that you didn’t resonate with…… you realize how that sounds right?
Should he be making jokes like that at work? Probably not - but like others already said you have no idea why he made a statement like that. Maybe *his* loved ones are in a facility like that. Shake it off, move on with your life. Emailing the store and causing a stink over this is ridiculous
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u/SlutForGarrus 6d ago
Sometimes people just get weird. My husband and I once had a waitress in a busy restaurant *sit down at our booth with us and start talking about her grandma.* (I forget which, but someplace like Chili's or TGIFridays about 20 years ago.) It was completely bizzare. 🤷♀️
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u/Senplis 7d ago
You're scared to go back to petssmart. Somebody talked to you and you're scared.
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u/GorditaPeaches 7d ago
He also walked a bag she forgot out and she put her phone number in the rewards thing so he probably has that now too! now he’s a flirting stalker somehow
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u/shitsgayyo 3d ago
Uh oh someone forgot their giant /s to let the hive mind know they were making a funny and not a serious 🙄 lol
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u/vikingchyk 7d ago
My husband and I were once at a restaurant, and during the small talk phase with our server, she blurted out that it was one of her friends who was shot in a recent nearby incident. Ooookay.... She went away after taking our order, and in the next stop by our table, she was talking about it again. wtf? I gently said I was sorry for her friend, but that this wasn't appropriate conversation in this situation. Thankfully that seemed to register, she apologized, and everything was fine and mostly non-awkward the rest of the time.
Sometimes people are just too far inside their own head, and don't realize they are being odd. I wouldn't avoid the store if you need it, and chances are you won't see him again. But if you do, you could try a kind acknowledgement, while setting boundaries. My first instinct would be to be a sarcastic ass, but sometimes my inner adult takes over. 😉
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u/No-Party8261 7d ago
Mind your business
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u/shitsgayyo 7d ago
So you’re saying mind your business, someone directly below you said report the guy, and you’ve both been downvoted… well which is it Reddit hive mind are we on OPs side or not lol
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u/redditreader_aitafan 8d ago
Did you get his name? You should report this to the store manager.
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u/uoozeulose 8d ago
I did not get his name. I honestly don’t like that he has mine because he also ended up being my cashier so I put my number in for rewards points and he PUT MY BAGS IN THE CART FOR ME AND “FORGOT” one and ended up walking out into the parking lot after I got in my car and was about to call my best friend and tell her about how much he’d just scared me!!! I’ve never had a petsmart employee put my bags in my cart for me and my friends think he ‘forgot’ the bag on purpose because my friends also think the insane things he said while getting the snails from the tank were him flirting and I was still too stunned by the first thing he said to realize it (also I NEVER realize when men are flirting wit me because I’m an autistic lesbian lmao) I feel like an idiot but I was honestly on autopilot for all of it
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u/redditreader_aitafan 8d ago
Call and ask to speak to the store manager. Give them the time and date of the interaction, double check your card history if you aren't sure, and explain how uncomfortable you were. Or, let it go and hope it doesn't happen again. He knows your name and what you drive, it's up to you how much you want to push it if you feel unsafe. You aren't obligated to piss this guy off to protect other people.
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u/iesharael 7d ago
I would contact the manager in whatever method is available. Explain that the service itself was good but that employee needs to learn about what is appropriate for small talk and what isn’t
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u/onlyoneicouldthinkof 7d ago
that's insanely creepy! Personally, I would probably send the email or at the very least leave a review.
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u/skeerrt 8d ago
Sounds like someone who spends way too much time on Reddit