This is a thread of fun times I had while enforcing the new company policy of required masks at the grocery store I work at

One woman came in with her husband, neither had masks. I offered them free masks. She turned around and waited outside in 101 degree heat (Fahrenheit) instead of just putting on a mask. She stood, arms folded, next to her idling motorcycle until her hubby was done shopping.

One man came in with his mom. She saw the “masks requried” sign and told her son. He come in anyway, and got super angry when we asked him to put a mask on. He decided to wait outside in the 101 degree heat, and took pictures of us and the “masks required” signs outside.

One man looked at the “masks required” sign and power-walked in. We asked him to wear a sign. His face flushed with anger, and he took the mask (which we handed him inside a paper bag) and held the paper bag over his face and continued into the store.

One woman came in with her teenage daughter. I asked if they had masks. She scoffed. I offered them masks. She handed them back, told me she was going to go somewhere else, but she was going to go through the other exit, pushing aside my sanitized carts and... 1/2

knocking a few paper towels off a display. Her daughter, looking embarrassed, put the merchandise back on the display and followed her mother. The woman stopped at the exit and looked back at me. I resisted the urge to wave. Then she turned her nose up and left. 2/2

Between 4 pm and 6 pm, there were no outstanding incidents, and most of the people were gracious:
they brought masks,
accepted the free masks,
saw the signs went and got their masks, and
saw the signs and just left.

But every person who threw a fit today was a middle aged white person.

I gave one woman a free mask. She looked at me like I handed her the corpse of her family pet. She kept that face the whole time she shopped.

One man walked into the store. I asked him if he had a mask, he said nothing, I offered him a mask, informing him of our new policy. He slams his basket down and storms off. I tell him to “Have a nice day!” He flips me off and yells “fuck you!” 1/2

Then he sits in his red hummer for a bit, and pulls up to the entrance and blares his horn, scaring a young (masked) couple to death then flipping everyone off. 2/2

A couple walks in. I go to hand them both masks, but the woman quickly walks away and looks intently at a display. I hand her the mask and tell her about the policy. She takes it and quickly tells me “okay okay” like a guilty child caught in the act 1/5

I watch her. She doesn’t put the mask on. I ask a cashier what I should do. The cashier calls pages the manager. Meanwhile the woman puts the mask on her ear so that it’s hanging off, useless. Manager confronts them, but is too far away for me to hear. 2/5

They keep saying something to him as he walks away, causing him to go back to them. I guessed he asked them to wear the mask, they said no, he asked them to leave, they said no, and he informed them that they were tresspassing. Sure enough, the manager came to tell us... 3/5

that the couple were now trespassing. The couple comes to check out, and the manager hands them a filled out form from corporate and tells them that they are trespassing, that they are now banned from the premises, and that the police will be called if they do not leave. 4/5

They start insulting him on their way out. He asks if they want a copy of the form. They tell him to shove it up his ass. He tells them to have a nice day.
5/5

So this last one of the day I do feel bad about. A young woman comes with without a mask. I do my thing and she says she doesn’t have to wear a mask because she’s pregnant. I tell her about our pickup and delivery options. She says she’s dying and just wants food. 1/3

I don’t know what to do so I just offer her a mask again. She takes it, looking sad, and says that she isn’t mad at me because I’m just doing my job () and she goes in. Then, my supervisor, who is a few months pregnant, comes over, and I remember that she wears masks... 2/3

for eight hours a day. She confirms my thoughts that masks don’t harm pregnancies, and I kick myself for not just calling her over in the first place. We both thought the young lady was told false information about masks and was just scared for herself and her baby. 3/3

And that, folks, was one day’s worth of drama. Not nearly as bad as the day before, which was Day One of the new mask policy.

NEW SHIFT:

One young woman came in and I greeted her by asking if she had a mask. She said no and tried to go into the store. I informed her of the company policy. She insisted that she had a respiratory condition that prevented her from wearing masks. I suggested she try... 1/2

using our online pickup or home delivery. She told me she just needed to buy milk for her daughter. I repeated the policy. She again insisted that she had a condition. I suggested she speak to a manager. She glared at me and threw her basket down, storming out of the store. 2/2

One woman came in and I offered her a mask. She told me she is “medically unable to wear masks”. I tell her the policy and give her the options. She leaves. A few minutes later, she calls the store trying to get them to get her order over the phone. But that is not... 1/3

a service we provide, but she apparently talked over the cashier who picked up and demanded we bring her a bottle of vitamins. She repeated her whole story about her medical inability to wear a thin cloth for 10 minutes. The manager got involved... 2/3

but decided it just wasn’t worth it to let her waste our time and energy. He took her payment and bought her bottle of vitamins and ran it out to her car. 3/3

Good story: a young man came in without a mask. I did my thing and he was surprised that I had a mask for him. He took it and said, smiling “of course I’ll wear it! I’m not a Karen!”

I wasn’t there, but yesterday, a manager had to flag a woman down in the store who refused to put on a mask. She started crying and cursing and throwing merchandise at the manager. He told her he would call the police and she immediately calmed down and put on a mask.

I watched a manager go talk to a mother and her son who refused to wear a mask. She saw him coming and evaded him fruitlessly. Their exchange was out of sight of the cash registers (to our disappointment) but the woman... 1/2

was seething, muttering quickly under her breath as she was escorted out, dragging her young son behind her. 2/2

One guy was outside the store while I was collecting carts to be sanitized. He did that “really funny” thing where he asks if he can steal a cart, etc. I went ahead and let him have a germy cart, but when i asked him to... 1/2

use the designated entrance (instead of the exit) he narrowed his eyes, huffed and grumbled, grudgingly following the posted rules. 2/2

Speaking of which, we have to tell dozens of people which way the exit is, despite there being signs every few feet with big arrows pointing to the exit. So many of them try to push stacks of carts aside to exit through the entrance. Some get pretty mad when we tell them.

NEW SHIFT:

A woman wore a mask and had her kids wear them (even though we don’t enforce the policy with kids ~8 years or younger) and I heard her instruct her kids to take off their masks “the second we leave the store”. Because it’s risky to wear masks for more than 10 minutes.

An older woman came in without a mask. I offered her one but she said she had one. She took it out of her pocket and asked “ok how should I wear it? Like THIS-“
She showed me her mask, which said TRUMP 2020 (but, ironically, was upside-down)
“-or like THIS?”...
1/3

She turned her mask inside-out. I told her I wasn’t sure and that she’s probably fine either way. She cackled triumphantly then told me she was just teasing. She later told the cashier that the coin shortage was the government trying to get people...
2/3

...to use contactless payment so that they (the federal government) can steal money from the citizens. The cashier came over and cracked up when the woman left.
3/3

One woman came in with two kids and no mask. I offered her a mask and she said she was unable. I gave her the pick-up or home delivery options. She told me it was illegal to prevent her from shopping without a mask. I asked her if she wanted to speak to a manager.
1/3

With a defiant gleam in her eyes, she asked for the manager. Manager comes over and she informs him that it’s illegal to enforce a face mask policy. He tells her that, because there are alternatives like pick-up and delivery, it’s not illegal.
2/3

She took the flyer I tried to hand her earlier and left the store. I later asked the manager if there was any truth to her assertion (just checking) and he said that there’s absolutely no way. He confirmed my thought that even without alternatives, it’s legal.
3/3

A few different times, anti-maskers would enter the store and stand near the door until one of us approached, then they’d run away. These are adults.

No much more excitement, but a couple people did have to be chased down by managers. One couple actually complied and wore masks without throwing a tantrum, which for one manager, was the first time it had happened in the 7 days the policy has existed.

NEW SHIFT!

My coworker told a woman about the mask policy. The woman announced that she had a medical condition. My coworker repeated the policy (politely). The (white) woman declared that we were discriminating against her and left the store.

One woman comes in with no mask. I offer her one. She tells me she has a respiratory condition and can’t wear masks. I tell her the policy. She repeats that she is medically unable. I ask if she would like to speak to a manager. She takes my flyer, crumples it, and tosses it.

One woman tried to sneak past me, but I caught her and asked if she had a mask. “It’s a lie, you know!” I’m confused. She walks over and says “it’s all a lie anyway!” I inform her of the policy. She says she doesn’t want to wear a mask, that she came all the way from-
1/3

Lehi to get one thing. I repeat the policy, adding that she can talk to a manager if she has questions. She asks if she can just bribe me. I tell no. She then demands to speak to my manager. Manager comes over and she asks to speak with him outside.
2/3

Manager later told me that she “was bananas” and that she told him I was being very rude to her.
3/3

One elderly woman was walking in and paused at the door. She didn’t have a mask so I offered her one. She didn’t take it but instead started laughing at me. As in Scooby-Doo-villain’s-laugh. Finally, she took the mask, beckoned me closer, which I didn’t do because-
1/3

I was already closer than I wanted to be. “I bet these are made in China!” I confirmed that, yes, these were made in China. “THAT’S where it all began!” She cackled again and I stood there bewildered. She later rode by in her electric cart and said-
2/3

“This is the first time I’ve worn a mask and if I get sick, it’ll be from THIS.”
She kept cackling which honestly made me a little uncomfortable. She was like something out of a cartoon.
3/3

One couple (“friends”) come in. The guy has something wrapped around his mouth. It’s not a mask but it looks okay. The woman doesn’t have a mask and acts super confused when I offer her one. Guess she missed the 9 signs facing the entrance that say “FACE MASK REQUIRED”.
1/3

The man that was with her was “explaining” to her that the masks are meant to stop people from breathing. He was talking really loudly and animated and looked at me the whole time. I saw that his “mask” had a gaping hole where his mouth is. I pointed it out and offered-
2/3

a real mask. He pulled the wrap up to cover the hole but it fell back down almost immediately. I informed a cashier and we called a manager to ask for advice but the guy left before we could take action. I think it was some kind of protest.
3/3

Remember that lady who thinks China’s sending COVID-filled masks? She was in the store for TWO AND A HALF HOURS. She spent 45 MINUTES talking to the poor guy in charge of the vitamin aisle. She also cackled and pointed at me when she left the store.

One woman came in right before my lunch break she did that thing when she speed walks into the store in hopes I won’t catch her. I do. She says she has a medical condition. I tell her the policy. “WELL, state regulations say I don’t have to.” I ask if she wants to speak-
1/2

to a manager. She goes from seething with self-righteousness to looking unsure. But she says yes. Manager comes over. I go get a sandwich to eat on break. She talks very animatedly at him and eventually storms off.
2/2

I had my first instance of trouble with a non-white customer, with a KEY DIFFERENCE. This Hispanic woman told me she doesn’t like to wear masks because they give her panic attacks. Her demeanor, and the fact that her excuse sounded legit, made me more-
1/2

sympathetic. I gently explained the policy again. She nodded, hypes herself up out loud, TOOK THE MASK AND PUT IT ON. I mentioned it to my neighbor/coworker and we both agreed that white people throw tantrums cause they don’t have to experience oppression. They’re spoiled.
2/2

One man tried to come in without a mask. I asked him if he had one or if he needed one. He just shook his head. I explained the policy and handed him a mask. He snatched it out of my hand and shot me a death glare.

NEW SHIFT!
Day 8 of mask enforcement!
One woman came in and tried to run past me (they always do) but I handed her a mask. She refused it as I told her the policy. After I said “everyone in the store must wear one”, she asked if it’s mandatory. () I told her it is.
1/2

She didn’t look convinced and let out a long “HMMMMMmmmmmmmm” as if she was skeptical. But she put the mask on and continued.
2/2

One man came in with his 8ish year old son and I offered him a mask. He asked if it was required. I managed to NOT point out the 9 different “FACE MASK REQUIRED” signs all around him and said “yes”. He thought for a second and told me was going to go somewhere else.

This next man came up and grabbed a basket. I offered him a mask, informing him of the policy. He thrust the basket down and stormed off. I sanitized his basket while watching him peel out of the parking lot.

Our next anti-masker almost got in because I was fetching a cart (we are a little short staffed today). I asked him if he had a mask or if he needed one. He said he has a respiratory condition. I told him the policy. He said he doesn’t have to wear a mask.
1/5

I offered to call a manager over if he wanted to ask her some questions. He repeated that I can’t make him. Another customer walks over. Even though he has a mask on, I’m not sure who he will side with. The following conversation occurred:
(antimasker)
(other customer)
2/5

“hey, there’s no respiratory condition that can prevent you from wearing a mask.”
“yes there is and I have it.”
“ok but I actually have lung problems and I’m wearing a mask with no trouble.”
“I don’t have to wear one.”
“ok what condition do you have then?”
3/5

“I don’t have to tell you!”
“So? People ask me why I have a service dog. You don’t have a resporatory condition, you’re just being a dick!”
:
And with that, the anti-masker threw his basket on the ground and stormed off. All employees who saw, thanked our hero.
4/5

Not all heroes wear capes. Sometimes they wear jeans, a solid grey t-shirt and a gold chain. But they still wear masks
5/5

One couple walked up to the store. They stopped in their tracks when they saw the “masks required” sign. Usually, this is because they don’t have masks, so I just pop my head out the door and offer them masks. But this time wasn’t like that. The husband waved me off.
1/4

The wife shook her head at me but dug through her purse for a mask. She pulled it out and then just stood there, in front of the store. I watched her from inside. Another couple approached and stopped in front of the door. I let them know we have masks if they need one.
2/4

They were yelling. First they were ranting to each other, then they all turned on me and started yelling “THERE IS NO VIRUS! THIS IS SO STUPID! THERE IS NO VIRUS!” So I waved at them as condescendingly as possible and told them to have a nice day.
3/4

They kept yelling for a bit but then dispersed. I waved at them from inside the store.
4/4

One woman claimed she didn’t need to wear a mask because she talked to “sixty doctors who all said that I don’t need to wear a mask”.

Does Fox News our out a script for these people? Because they all say the same things, almost word for word.

*hand out

Jk I meant *put out
I couldn’t even remember