Convenient store clerk=dealer of death?

[flowerpots]

I've been going to the same convenient store for a while, before I started vaping, but not very often now. I went there tonight to buy beer and the owner was asking me why I don't buy cigarettes there anymore - he asked me if I had quit. I told him yes and he was almost irate with me because he said he expected my patronage on a regular basis and now nothing, and he has my brand of cigarettes in stock with me in mind, and now they just sit there. I can't imagine that my cigarette consumption by any means kept this place in business or affected it more than a fraction of a percentage at most, and really not even that. I told him I was using an electronic cigarette now and he then showed me that he had SNUS and Blu's. I told him I was not interested, but thank you, and I could not help but feeling like this guy was analogous to the clerk of death. I don't say this because he offered to sell me tobacco alternatives, but because he did not even say congratulations for quitting - he simply wanted me to know I affected his bottom line. If he had it his way, I would be smoking, barreling closer towards death, but he would be happy. I know he has his finances to consider and I'm sure a family to support, but it just struck me as sad and disappointing. It reminded me of BT mentality and how people support their families by creating and pushing death for others. As small of a gesture as this is, I won't patronize this store again.

I was just curious if anyone has had a similar revelation or experience.

Thanks for reading!

 

[Iffy]

A convenience store clerk is a convenience store clerk for a day-um good reason... think 'bout it!

 

[toddrhodes]

Thankfully, no, I've not had such an experience. You are a better person than I for putting up with that... Frankly, that's a little bit sickening. And here I was slightly offended that the local tobacco store that makes their own DIY liquid (not great, mind you) was a little peeved that a flavor I liked a little bit on my first day off cigs was made "especially for me" and I didn't want it because I have way better alternatives now.

Oh and by the way, your avatar is awesome

 

[u4ia]

Wow, what a sad little convenience store clerk. I agree, time to find a new location to patronize.
Thanks for sharing

 

[flowerpots]

A convenience store clerk is a convenience store clerk for a day-um good reason... think 'bout it!

Yeah, I guess so, but the whole conversation was just disappointing.

 

[flowerpots]

Thankfully, no, I've not had such an experience. You are a better person than I for putting up with that... Frankly, that's a little bit sickening. And here I was slightly offended that the local tobacco store that makes their own DIY liquid (not great, mind you) was a little peeved that a flavor I liked a little bit on my first day off cigs was made "especially for me" and I didn't want it because I have way better alternatives now.

Oh and by the way, your avatar is awesome

Thanks!

People are funny, but then again, not so funny

 

[heroinesick]

Pretty much the same thing happened to us. We have a corner store across the street from us, that my wife always would walk over too and buy our cigarettes there. It's family owned and ran, which we always loved. We went in to buy soda about a month after we quit smoking and took up vaping, and the store owner wanted to know why we never bought cigarettes there anymore. We explained that we had quit smoking and had taken up vaping. They just seemed incredulous that we had found a more than just viable alternative, and were no longer depleting stock. They weren't rude about it, but they just seemed to not believe it.

Thankfully, no, I've not had such an experience. You are a better person than I for putting up with that... Frankly, that's a little bit sickening. And here I was slightly offended that the local tobacco store that makes their own DIY liquid (not great, mind you) was a little peeved that a flavor I liked a little bit on my first day off cigs was made "especially for me" and I didn't want it because I have way better alternatives now.

However, I have to say, on both accounts, this would have ...... me off MIGHTILY. Getting all upset because I don't want want you have? Get over it. Taste is subjective, and no one is obligated to buy anything that they don't want. Giving anyone a hard time for it.. yeah that just makes my blood boil. >:T

 

[Thunderball]

I went there tonight to buy beer and the owner was asking me why I don't buy cigarettes there anymore - he asked me if I had quit. !

Well, between the cigs and alchohol, both are definatley in the top ten killers in the US....I'd say he is pretty much a a link in the chain as a dealer of death.......

 

[Mark Anthony]

I've had store workers notice that I quit but I received nothing but accolades......

 

[Racehorse]

A convenience store clerk is a convenience store clerk for a day-um good reason... think 'bout it!

Sounds like he may be the owner/ entrepreneurial type, you know, small businesses that keep the American Dream alive.

Not sure why I would denigrate anyone based on their job, but in a way then you are insulting most ecig vendors who serve us here, as they are just people running stores, right?

In this case, perhaps a store owner who doesn't care about his customers and only the bottom line, but there are plenty of them out there like that. He may not be a good person but I don't see what that has to do with what he does for a living?

 

[HauntedMyst]

Just the opposite. I get Thank You notes from Starbucks all the time. Apparently I've spent enough there to have paid for Howard Schultz's pool.

 

[Racehorse]

I get Thank You notes from Starbucks all the time.

Do they say "thank you for not vaping"?

Apparently Starbucks doesn't allow ecigarettes on property anymore from what I've read here....

 

[Ryedan]

I told him yes and he was almost irate with me because he said he expected my patronage on a regular basis and now nothing, and he has my brand of cigarettes in stock with me in mind, and now they just sit there.

If that happened to me, my patronage for anything I would have bought from him in the future would be used on a better supplier. One with hopefully a better grip on reality.

 

[Jayvaps]

Well, one store that I went to very often.

When I would walk in, one guy behind the counter(he was an employee, young kid, not the owner) would always grab 2 packs of marlboro ultra light 100's for me and have them ready for me before I made it to the counter.

The first time I went in there after a couple of weeks after I quit to get a drink, he did the same thing. The kid was shocked when I told him that I didnt need them and had quit. He didnt try to guilt trip me though like yours did. He was just surprised.

I guess many bartenders that I have known for years would be just as shocked though if I walked in and ordered a water. /shrug.

 

[DancingHeretik]

I've worked at a convenience store. If it's anything but Marlboro, they may have that supply that they bought with you in mind for several years. They may even have to eventually throw it out. Marlboro is the only thing the sells fast enough to stock up on.

It was still rude of him to act like you owed him (unless you actually asked him to stock up for you).

 

[PNW Rider]

i find that i have to take things for what they are worth. a convenient store clerk is no saint and no purveyor of healthy ANYTHING let alone a friend to you. there may be a cultural divide of some sort and he may feel that he is being kind to you and doing nothing wrong.
basically his responsibility for you is no greater than your for him, you are just aquaintances. by all means if this guy goes out of his way to offend you or do you wrong then stay away from this place HOWEVER i wouldnt go at all out of my way to go to a different store because the clerk wanted me to continue buy ciggys from him. just kindly decline and over all do as YOU please.

 

[Rocketpunk]

Sadly, purveyors of alcohol and tobacco sell these products because we as consumers choose to buy them. Clerks in and of themselves are only doing their job. And honestly, we can't truly fault store owners for carrying things the vast majority of spenders want, whether they're good or bad for us.

I remember going to the gas station for the first time knowing I wasn't going to buy cigarettes. I looked at all those brands stacked up on the back rack, and I remember experiencing the most liberating sense of freedom, almost religious in nature. When the guy who usually ringed me up asked me why I wasn't buying cigarettes, I said I had made the switch to electronic cigarettes, and he asked me if I used Blu, too, since they carried it. Nope, I hefted up my baby (then a Vamo at the time) and showed her off. His eyes grew as wide as saucers.

 

[flowerpots]

I've worked at a convenience store. If it's anything but Marlboro, they may have that supply that they bought with you in mind for several years. They may even have to eventually throw it out. Marlboro is the only thing the sells fast enough to stock up on.

It was still rude of him to act like you owed him (unless you actually asked him to stock up for you).

No, I never asked him to stock for me and I understand it was a courtesy of sorts to keep them stocked, and maybe I should have warned him I would no longer be purchasing them - honestly that thought never crossed my mind. I guess my brand is not a best seller and maybe he will end up with a loss. But, I think that's part of owning a retail business. I was not offended so much by him for being upset that he lost revenue, but that he almost seemed as if he thought I did owe him. He was very pushy and rude about the whole thing. The whole experience just rubbed me the wrong way.

 

[Mrs C]

I've worked at a convenience store. If it's anything but Marlboro, they may have that supply that they bought with you in mind for several years. They may even have to eventually throw it out. Marlboro is the only thing the sells fast enough to stock up on.

It was still rude of him to act like you owed him (unless you actually asked him to stock up for you).

They don't throw them out and the store isn't out anything. The BT companies have marketing rep's that come in at the least monthly. They will take out of date stale stock and replace it or issue the store a credit that goes back to the supplier on the next order. Or if it's corporate owned it goes thru them to the supplier. I was a C-store manager for over 7 years. BT companies have marketing deals with the stores be they Mom and Pop or corp owned. They actually bid against one another for the percent of advertising signage in the store and pay the stores for it.

 

[Rocketpunk]

What brand were you smoking? Most gas stations stock the major brands, even the cheap brands. When I smoked, I always asked if the store carried Lucky Strikes (especially if it was a new store that I'd never been to before). If they did, I bought those, no matter how much they cost. If not, I defaulted to Camel Lights. Not a lot of stores in the Dayton, Ohio, area carried Lucky Strikes. The one place that did, stopped, and I was sad...

But not anymore!

When I first started this journey, I found a "Lucky Strikes" flavor from theecig.com. That was nearly a year ago. I may revisit that juice to see how far my palate has changed since those early days.

EDIT: PG only. Naw. Nevermind. Good times, though, those early days. Good times.