Woolworths deli worker lists annoying customer habits

A Woolworths deli worker has called out nine things that ‘annoy’ her about ‘rude’ customers. 

While on the job it ‘grinds her gears’ when shoppers order right before closing time, request ‘freshly sliced ham’ and speak on the phone while at the counter. 

‘I have worked in the deli for almost six years now,’ the woman said in series of TikTok videos. 

‘And these are just a few of the things that customers do that grind my gears.’

A Woolworths spokesperson commented on the video and told Daily Mail Australia it’s disappointing.  

‘This is a little disappointing to see, and we’ll be following up with the team member,’ the spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia.

In two videos she listed each bullet point and explained her reasoning, with some of the confessions deemed to be controversial. 

1. When customers get their kids to speak for them

First, the employee claims she finds it annoying when parents allow their children to make the deli order, leaving the staff member to speak to the child. 

‘Now this annoys me for many reasons because not only are you making your kid uncomfortable, you’re making me uncomfortable,’ the TikToker said.

‘Because I can’t hear a damn word your kid is saying, the kid does not want to speak to me. It’s just all around annoying.’

2. Wanting ham sliced right before we close

The worker then took aim at shoppers who request sliced ham right before the store is about to close. 

‘The audacity of some customers,’ she said.

‘They come in five minutes before we close and say ‘Can I have 500g of this?’ And there’s only 100g in the bowl, and they’re like ‘Can you do me up some more?”

3. Speaking on the phone

The worker also finds it rude when customers speak on the phone while ordering from the deli, and claims she’s been ‘shushed’ multiple times. 

‘Speaking on the phone when they come up to the deli – and then they shush you when you ask them if they’re ready or when you greet them. No,’ she said.

‘Or even worse, when they answer the phone halfway through ordering and then when you ask ‘Anything else?’ they’ll shush you … even though they answered the phone halfway through ordering. I can’t.’

A Woolworths spokesperson commented on the video and told Daily Mail Australia ‘it’s disappointing to see’

4. When you greet them and they ignore you

The worker also claims she’s been ignored by customers when greeting them at the counter, which she deems to be ‘so rude’. 

‘So you’re like ‘Hey, how are you?’ And they just … either they start ordering straight away, no hello back, no how are you,’ she said.

‘Or they just straight up ignore you and keep looking.

‘And I just stand there and go, ‘Hello?’ Most of the time I just say ‘Oh are you just looking?’ and walk off because it’s just so rude!’

5. When they yell out at you

Not only has she been shushed, she claims to have been yelled at on occasion too.  

‘When they walk up and they’ve been there for 0.2 seconds and they’re like ‘Hello?’ And yell out to you? Oh, don’t even try me,’ the employee said. 

6. Asking for freshly sliced ham

Despite offering sliced ham in the deli display, the worker claims customer always request the cured meat to be ‘freshly sliced’.  

‘So you’ve just sliced some ham up right, you’ve put it in the cabinet,’ the Woolies worker said in the second of her controversial videos.

‘Customer comes up: ‘Can I have 500g of that ham?’ Yeah sure. ‘But can you slice it fresh for me?’

‘[I tell them I] just did it five minutes ago. [And they say] ‘Yeah but I like it sliced fresh.’

‘I cannot tell you how much that irks me. Or when they go, ‘Can you give me that ham, but can you cut it for me thicker or thinner?’

‘Like, I get it, but I don’t. Stop it.’

7. Breaking a piece off because it’s 5g over the weight requested 

 At times, the worker serves ‘picky’ customers who require the exact weight they asked for,  

‘When they’re that picky. Like, I get it if you go 100g or 200g over. But when it’s 5g to 10g over and they’re like ‘Hmmm, a little less.’ And you have to break the ham,’ she said. 

‘Like if you take one slice of ham out, it’s too much. So you have to break a piece off.

‘I’m just like, it’s literally like an extra 5 cents. You know?’

8. Kids yelling at you for smiley fritz

Smiley fritz are an Australian classic snack, and the Woolies worker says both children and parents have yelled at her for some.  

‘Now this one gets me, because as a non-kid person … I really don’t like kids. I’m not a kid person at all,’ she said.

‘So when they’re yelling at you ‘Can I have a piece of smiley fritz? Can I have a piece of smiley fritz?’

‘I just want to say, ‘No. No, you can’t.’ And their parents just yell at you, and I mean yell. And you just think, ‘What’s going on here?’

9. When they say choose ‘whichever ham’

Lastly, she also finds it annoying when shoppers ask her to choose a ham in the counter from the entire variety available. 

‘This one really gets me. When they order and they go, ‘Can I have $2 of whichever ham,’ the worker claimed.

‘And I’m like, there’s like a whole variety here. I go ‘There’s a few here’ and they go ‘Yeah, whichever one you think.’

‘I really hate that because I don’t know what you like. We could like completely different things. So, what do you want?! I do not want to pick for you!

‘It happens way too often.’

Despite the unbelievable claims, other deli workers on TikTok agreed with her. 

‘I work in the deli at Coles and 1000% yes! Also me and my co-workers are constantly laughing at the fact that there are two types of customers,’ one wrote in the comments of the video. 

‘THIS. And when they start yelling at you about the prices of something in a completely different department. Like does it look like i did that?’ another said.