Yesterday I read a post over at Anali's Blog Anali's First Amendment about Nutella. I had debated several times in the past if I wanted to try it. I'm a big fan of apple butter but I thought Nutella might make a nice change of pace.Never heard of Nutella? Well Wikipedia describes it this way; "Nutella is the brand name of a hazelnut-based sweet spread created by the Italian company Ferrero."
Anyway after reading Anali's post I decided to stop and get some on the way home from work. I stopped at the market picked up a jar of Nutella and a package of whole wheat English muffins. I headed to the check out and waited in line.
Just as the grocery checker finished with the person in front of me, she sneezed, right into her hands. And without missing a beat she then grabbed my package of English muffins, scanned them, then did the same with my jar of Nutella.
I stood there for a moment kind of shocked that someone could be so clueless then I turned and walked away. I went back through the grocery aisles and got another pack of English muffins and another jar of Nutella. Then I waited in a different line, paid for my things and left.
As I passed the checkout of the sneezer she had the nerve give me a crazy look. I just kept going.
I'll admit I'm a germaphobe but even if I wasn't sneezing into your hands and then handling someone's food is totally unacceptable.
Should I have said something to her other than giving her the side eyes?
What would you have done?
What would you have done?
26 comments:
I'm no germaphobe but thats gross as hell. It isn't even right. Disgusting ...
Bleccch! I don't know what I would have done. Once, on one of the road trips I was telling you about, we stopped in this little steak restaurant in Arizona where everyone was given our little group of black women the stink eye. First the waitress brought us drinks with no straws. Then, when my friend asked for straws, the woman brought out a bunch of unwrapped straws, in her HAND, and laid them on the table. Ugh!
Okay, totally not as bad as your story, but do people think at ALL?
Mes Deux Cents, if she was a young person maybe you should have checked her. She may not have known better but then, I don't no you might have did the safe thing.
Not to offend anyone, but was the cashier an immigrant? They seem to be lax about these type things.
I never see black Americans do things like that?
Ok that's gross, but what's amazing is how clueless she was that what she did was gross. I'm a germaphobe too, and knowing how difficult it is for me to be quiet sometimes, I probably would have said something to her. :-)
I think your actions spoke louder than any words would have.
I would have probably concluded that it wouldn't hurt anything. Isn't that just bad? Now I know better.
Thanks.
I'm so glad you got the Nutella, but sorry that you had to get grossed out in the process. I get the same way and I don't say anything either. I just cringe all the way home and hope my immune system will save me. If it's a restaurant, I don't go back. That happened this weekend with a new pizza place. Yuck! I won't go back there again.
I'm not a germaphobe but that was just gross. think i wold have quietly asked her if i could exchange the items for fresh ones. I'm sure she would have been ok with it and quietly. She may not have realized what she did. I would have also suggested having a small bottle of that hand purifier stuff at the register. The key is be gentle, not mad. But you did the safe thing.
I ain't a germaphobe but am becoming one -- a little bit. I woulda given her prolly not the icey glare but the other one that said, "bich; don't you know you spose to have some wipes back there and that you suppposed to wipe your hands??! You are a socially dysfunctionoal imbecile. Poor thing. Poor unrefined, unsophisticated thing."
Tee hee hee
Two or three weeks ago me and a friend (and someone else's dog) went to the coffee joint. The lady came from behind the counter to admire and pet the dog. Then she proceeded to make the coffee. My friend and I noted she never washed her hands or used gloves. SMH.
Yucky. They be foul.
LOL
By the way, we didn't make an issue of it, about the dog -- cuz it was our stepdog and we knew she was clean.
Er, maybe that makes us as nasty as she was. LMAO.
Ooops.
One mo gin
To answer the Q:
You -- and I -- prolly shoulda said something.
Maybe we will commit to doing this next time.
I'm normally too timid to do anything but shrug my shoulders and silently criticise, but that sounds so disgusting I think I would have said something, and like you got some replacements. She should have apologised and offered to get replacements herself.
eeeeewwwwww... I'm pretty outspoken so I would have said, "Sweetheart, I KNOW you didn't just wipe your sneeze-juice all over my english muffins! I'll be back, I'm going to get some more". I would have said it with a smile, but she would have gotten the point.
When I lived in the financial district, there was a lady with really dirty fingernails handling the food once. I didn't say anything that time though, I just pretended that I forgot my wallet and and went home.
say whats is respectful and makes u feel better, but rember it was a public place and one of man problems is that he/she thinks they can controll all
ew gross! I am a germaphobe so these kinds of things I can't help but notice.
OK, I'm clearly the lone gross person here - because this wouldn't have bothered me in the least.
Do you have any idea how many people probably put all kinds of nasty germs on those items before they ever made it to the cashier? The world is full of germs - and most of the time we don't see them coming because we don't see the person who just sneezed or coughed and then touched the thing we're going to put our hands on in a minute or two.
I think if I worried about germs I would have a nervous breakdown within a day. I mean just riding the subway or visiting my daughters school exposes me to so many germs I'd rather not even think about it.
A little sneeze in the hand that touches my groceries is nothing compared to seeing a little kid with green slime oozing out of his nose go face first down the slide in the playground. But just as I wouldn't leave the playground because of slimey kid, I probably wouldn't have bothered to go get new packages of food. The germs were on the package - not the food after all.
In my daughter's school they started teaching kids to sneeze or cough into the crook of their arm rather than into their hands so that they do not pass on the germs on their hands.
I think many people really don't consider that they're doing anything wrong by sneezing in their hand and then touching something. They merely think of covering their mouth as they sneeze or cough as the polite thing to do without knowing the implications and so don't really know that they are spreading germs when touching things afterwards.
I think it would, certainly, have been more helpful to the cashier - and her future customers - to say something to her. She certainly wasn't trying to be gross and probably didn't even think about what she was doing.
Uh, yeah, that was nasty. I probably would've said something like. . ."let me get another one of those, I'm just getting over a cold, and you sneezing all on my stuff" - you know the laughing, sista girl, type reaction. . . Laughing with my mouth, but my eyes serious as he**.
That ish is gross as hell! I probabkly would've left the damn store and bought my apple-butter and muffins from a different grocer.
Dis-gus-ting!! I think you did the right thing. I would have spoken to her a told her to get some disinfectant and wipe her hands. Then I would have asked for the manager and told him/her about what happened. I agree with the others that the poor child probbably didn't even give a though to what she was doing.
I would have probably said something. I'm not sure what but I would have. That's SO gross.
How'd you like the Nutella though?
i'm no germaphobe but sociophobe, so i probably would have acted exactly the same as you did...
...and this is exactly the reason why i don't like going into restaurants (you never now what the chef is doing to your food) and i hate shopping!
but i truly wanna know if you liked that nutella, because in germany this is as common as peanut butter in the u.s.
I would have said something; she probably didn't realize what she'd done. Sometimes sneezing, rubbing at our noses, digging in our ears, etc, can be like little ticks and we don't even notice doing them. I once had to tell a coworker that it bothered me when he picked his teeth and then went to use my pen. He hadn't realized what he'd done. Since he likes to stop at my desk often, I started offering him my GermX as a joke...now he actually replaces it when he sees the bottle getting low.
wow, that was nasty, ugh!
sorry, I would have had to find a manager and said something to them about it.
We have the buying power and don't have to settle for any old thing!
I don't blame you AT ALL. I would have done the exact same thing. And I'm a germaphobe!
http://newblackwoman.blogspot.com
I have many "phobes", if you will and I would have said something AND picked up new packages as well. I do think it is important to educate people, in a nice way, but none-the-less do so. As many have said, she may not have realized what she had done. The products were put back on the shelf and the next purchaser will never know. Off a little help to help yourself and someone else. We can't end germs but we can try to do what we can. Nothing beats a failure but a try, right? (I just sneezed on my laptop - accidentally - ooops. Oh, I'm it's only user, for now :p)
I was watching an guy cook my food and he did something in his eyebrow area with his bare hand. And he went back to preparing my food. Since he was behind the counter, I rolled out. I should have said something because he probably sold that sub or gave it away as an extra. I am very vocal when it comes to people dealing with my food if I see it. I know I can't see everything and I never will. I do try to control what I can see when I see it no doubt. I need to know how the Nutella is too. I think kayoz was eating some in one of her pm's to me once.
Jose,
Yep! Very.
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Tami,
Yuk, I would have got up and left the restaurant.
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JJ B,
She looked to be in her mid to late 20's, so she was no 'spring' chicken'.
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Anon,
She didn't say anything, so there was really no way for me to tell if she was an immigrant.
Not that that would make a difference.
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Exquisitely Black,
I'm a shy person, if I wasn't I might have said something.
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Don,
I hope so, but the look on her face as I left didn't read that she understood.
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Anali,
Thanks for the post on the Nutella!
I remember going to a deli a few weeks ago. While I waited in line I saw the the cashier was handling money and handling food.
I just walked out.
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Jackie,
Lol, but if she exchanged the items she would have gotten her cold germs all over the replacements too! :)
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Baby Please,
Lol@stepdog.
Well I needed to have you with me. It takes a lot for me to be confrontational. :)
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Baby Please,
Okay, I'll try to say something next time.
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Nick,
I don't think she even understood what the problem was.
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SheCodes,
Lol, I need to learn the art of saying things with a smile.
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Torrance,
I don't want to control anyone, I just don’t want them sneezing on my stuff! :)
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Miriam,
I bet a lot of people wouldn't even have noticed.
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FL,
Well I'm happy for you that germs don't concern you, however they concern me.
As a germaphobe I have considered all that you say. For instance before I put packaged goods in my fridge I clean them off with a clean wipe.
So if a dozen people have touched it, that should take care of it.
I try not to touch surfaces on the bus and if I do as soon as I get off the bus I clean my hands.
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Lisa,
See like I just said to SheCodes, I need to learn how to speak to people like that. If I tried to it would come out wrong. Lol
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Afrodite,
I thought about it but I was tired and the nearest store was pretty far away.
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Mr Shadow,
You're right I don't think she got it.
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Liz,
Oh my, it is sooo good. I had some last night and again for lunch today. I hope I'm not hooked! For some reason I kept thinking it would be good in a milk shake.
Have you ever tried it?
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Kayoz,
Lol, check my 'About Me', I'm a social phobic too!
I love the Nutella! I had it on raisin toast for lunch. It was great!
How do you eat it?
I read on Wikipedia that it's very popular in Europe. I also read that they make it differently for different places; sometimes less sweet or sweeter.
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Nicole,
Lol, that was very nice of you. It sounds like you have a good co-worker. At least he uses the sanitizer.
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Regina,
You are right about the buying power. I guess in retrospect it might have been a good idea to talk to the manager.
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NBW,
Well you know how it is then. I think it's hard for non-germaphobes to understand.
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