Archived guests that cough in your face

[iVibe]

As titled, do you have guests that cough in your face and not in their hand? What do you do or say in this situation?

 

[NitroKing2110]

I will be VERY obvious that I'm not happy with what they just did. Some things I do:

• "Excuse me a second." (very obvious but very convincing fake cough, in elbow) "You were saying?" - This demonstrates to the guest the proper way to do it, and may incite an "oh shit, I screwed up" feeling even if they don't say it.
• Take a large, obvious, exaggerated step backwards.
• Take my hand and put it under my eyes, and exaggerate wiping "spit" off my face.
• If they do it repeatedly (ie it is no longer an accident) I say "I'm sorry, sir/ma'am, I'm going to ask that for my safety you cough away from my direction." If they don't comply, call LOD. The person could be sick and shouldn't spread that carelessly.

These may seem small or simple, but if you exaggerate it enough and change your facial expression, it gets the point across to most guests.

 

[dannyy315]

No, but I've had a guest sneeze in my direction before, arguably worse.

 

[Jill of All Trades]

I requisitioned hand sanitizer for every register. Once or twice, it's been face sanitizer.

 

[masterofalltrades]

I keep clorox wipes at my electronics counter, in case they've been touching stuff.

 

[redeye58]

Had a mom come up to my SB counter with a toddler in her cart coughing loudly who coughed all over a stack of cups. While she tsk-tsked over her coughing child, I pulled up the stack of cups with paper towels & took them over to the trash can. While she looked at me questioningly, I said "I can't serve guests with contaminated cups."
Yeh, I was spoken to after she huffed off but I wasn't backing down; not with all the cold/flu epidemics we've experienced around here.

 

[iVibe]

Thanks for the responses guys. I get people coughing in my face quite a bit, even kids, and I've gotten sick several times because of them. I'm glad you stood up to that mother redeye. Seriously it's disgusting that people think it's ok to cough in the face just because I provide them a service.

 

[oath2order]

My example conversation:

Guest: Where is the [item] at?
Guest coughs.
Me: Other corner of the store ALL THE WAY OVER THERE. FAR AWAY FROM ME YOU NASTY

 

[buliSBI]

I believe retail and schools are the main source of bacterial and viral transference. Kids chewing and snotting on everything. Yet, after leaving retail, I believe I have built a wide range immunity. KNOCK ON WOOD

 

[dannyy315]

There's a lot of viruses going around in my county. Almost everyone seems sick. I've gotten sick 3 times this winter, perhaps because I'm mostly working near the healthcare section.

 

[mrknownothing]

I believe retail and schools are the main source of bacterial and viral transference. Kids chewing and snotting on everything. Yet, after leaving retail, I believe I have built a wide range immunity. KNOCK ON WOOD

This. When I first started, I would get colds and whatnot all the time. But my time as a cashier taught me one of the most important lessons I've learned: ALWAYS sanitize.

 

[commiecorvus]

I believe retail and schools are the main source of bacterial and viral transference. Kids chewing and snotting on everything. Yet, after leaving retail, I believe I have built a wide range immunity. KNOCK ON WOOD

Oh you should try working in schools or daycare.
My wife would come down with nasty somethings every year because parents couldn't afford to keep their kids home (she kept a huge bottle of hand sanitizer by her desk) and when I ran the daycare we all had daycare cough (even the well off parent would send their sick kids in).

What's really fun is having something non-communicable like a sinus infection and taking all the socially appropriate actions (Bela Lugosi cough) only to have people give you hate stares because you have dared to come out in public.
I'm a human being not an animal.

 

[AdItemOnly]

"Let me just go grab my equipment from the back" and dont return for about 10 minutes

 

[3LetterDevil]

Welcome to pharmacy, where guests don't believe in covering coughs, sneezes, NOT picking their noses then grabbing the pens for the signature pads, handing us Rxs that have godknowswhatonthem, and every other disgusting thing you can imagine. There's a reason why we have multiple types of disinfectants back there

 

[iVibe]

I've never been so disgusted by people. Seriously I think subtly stepping back is pretty much all I can do

 

[Sickofspot]

People are nasty. I have no poker face at all. So, when a germ sprayer is contaminting my personal space, I back away and cringe. I get a lot of apologies, but that doesn't make up for them getting their saliva in my face. I stand as far away from the counter as I can, but it doesn't help. I sanitize anything within range of them, in front of them to send a message. But, the Wal-mart/K-mart clientelle that we now have really are so nasty with or wothout a virus or infection. I kid you not, I swear some look as though they don't bathe or do laundry.

On the bright side, all these hardships help to strengthen the immune system. Small consolation, I know...

 

[daninnj]

I believe retail and schools are the main source of bacterial and viral transference. Kids chewing and snotting on everything. Yet, after leaving retail, I believe I have built a wide range immunity. KNOCK ON WOOD

The first February I worked at a school for my other job, I was sick for about 25 of the 28 days. It was terrible. Now I rarely get sick.

 

[kyle petty]

children have been spitting in my face about 3 times a day lately

 

[DoWork]

Nope. I'll back off. I don't like people close to me as it is, but to add coughing and sneezing?! Nope. I'll probably take a sink shower, after making it perfectly clear that that kind of behaviour is unacceptable, even for kids.

 

[Kartman]

1) Neck.

2) Snap like twig.

3) Next!

 

[redeye58]

I scored a good deal on some face masks after a bad flu outbreak failed to materialize; a HUGE pack of the ones that slip behind your ears & pinch at the nose to fit.
Kept one in my pocket for awhile.

 

[Bosch]

I just start coughing back. Well some asshole got me sick and my bronchitis sounds lovely and gruesome with the churning you can hear..



Been on antibiotics two weeks, not contagious btw...

 

[Sickofspot]

^That is the worst. When I worked a few months in the Pharmacy, guests coughed, sneezed, and blew their noses in my face. And then, they let their kids wipe their drool and snot all over the counter and registers. I got really sick my first month and they looked at me funny. Really? I got it from them.

 

[mrknownothing]

^That is the worst. When I worked a few months in the Pharmacy, guests coughed, sneezed, and blew their noses in my face. And then, they let their kids wipe their drool and snot all over the counter and registers. I got really sick my first month and they looked at me funny. Really? I got it from them.

Cue @tgtcpht armed with her bottle of isopropanol.

 

[TeamRed]

OMG that is the worst! I am a huge germaphobe and when guests cough in my face I freak out.