I would have said are you some kind of nut..I'm too quick to snap back with remarks that are plain ... stupid!!
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 MyFreedomSmokes.com. That was nearly a year ago. I may revisit that juice to see how far my palate has changed since those early days.
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.
A convenience store clerk is a convenience store clerk for a day-um good reason... think 'bout it!
So this guy thinks he's entitled to your hard earned money huh.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!

I really hate condescending attitudes like this.
What is this day-um good reason we need to think 'bout?
I took a job at Wal-Mart a few years ago as maintenance, which was just their fancy word for janitor. Was there a day-um good reason for me having that job? You're day-um right. It was about the only thing I could get at the time despite having a college degree and a journeyman card as an electrician. In fact, I'm sure the only reason I was able to get that job was because I knew someone working there. If not for that, I would have probably just been passed over because so many jobs don't want to bother hiring someone that's over qualified since they figure they'll leave the second they get a better offer.
They are right though. I didn't even stay a whole week before something finally came up.![]()
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.
A convenience store clerk is a convenience store clerk for a day-um good reason... think 'bout it!
You're right. Virginia Slims is part of the Marlboro line-up. So, it'll be taken care of. I know we had some odd brands that collected dust though (apparently too off brand to have reps maybe? I don't know.)
So, why was this guy so upset? Because he was slightly inconvenienced by ordering and stocking? Or what?
Oh, well. I almost never go into a convenience store anymore. I pay at the pump and go on my way.
ETA: While I was working at the convenience store, I had a friend who worked at a grocery store. OMG, I would never trade jobs with her! At a convenience store, people are relatively friendly and relaxed. At a grocery store, they are tired, frustrated, and grumpy!
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 0asked 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.
That was me tonight! I don't do a lot of grocery shopping. Sadly, I eat out a lot.
But when I do grocery shop, it is for my guinea pigs. I always make sure they have red and green leaf lettuce, cilantro, red apples, grapes, and green peppers. It's their nightly salad.
P.S. Guinea pigs. Man. I don't have kids, but I swear, these rodents rule my life......
I used to be that guy. Until I worked on the other side of the counter and saw just how ridiculous it is to get annoyed with people who are underpaid, overworked, and powerless to control all the things that are annoying about the store (like the prices).I was humbled, greatly. If only I took the time to look a little harder, I wouldn't have been that guy.
We all have to make a living, we all do the best we can, I think, and at the end of the day it's yourself you have to live with and look at in the mirror. I've had what some would consider menial jobs, and done them to the best of my ability and proudly. I've also worked for some well-thought-of employers whom I left over things I was not okay with morally. But, not everyone has that liberty, and I understand that. But, you can also perform a job without being wrong in principle, regardless of what you sell. I just see this particular experience as out of the norm, because most people do not respond this way.I used to be that guy. Until I worked on the other side of the counter and saw just how ridiculous it is to get annoyed with people who are underpaid, overworked, and powerless to control all the things that are annoying about the store (like the prices).
It made me feel ashamed of all the times I had been that guy!
