Walking around = You must work here

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This happened to me at a local restaurant last summer.

I was standing near the front door when a Boomer woman (who I had my back to) barks “CAN WE GET SEATED?!” No greeting or hello, just pure disdain.

I turned around and said “I don’t know, maybe you should ask someone who works here” in a similarly nasty tone.

She STFU real quick.

I made the mistake of wearing a red shirt in Walmart one time. The boomer was convinced I worked there and had a very awful attitude when I didn’t respond to him. When he finally walked over to me I was confused, once I realized what was going on I told him he was acting like an asshole and only a small man would talk to anyone like that let alone an employee. He was taken back by what I said at first then he left after telling me I was the asshole.

I’ve had this happen so many times. I was in a store with the post office attached. I was carrying boxes, had my sunglasses on my head, and my keys in my hand. This lady looks at me and goes “oh good. You work here right?” I’m trying to rush to the back of the store and I’m like ‘wha? No.’ And just walk away.

Another time I’m in a thrift store with my friend. I have on a jacket, my hair is in a heatless curler, no makeup, and a bag across my chest. The employees there wear red. I had on zero red. Again, a lady comes up to me and asks if I work there. I look myself up and down, give her a face and say ‘uhh, no.’ I think she realized and was super embarrassed cos I didn’t see her in the store after that.

I work in a gun shop, and oh man. Do i feel this. There is a massive % of boomers i do not want to sell firearms too. They are the most racist, sexist most ignorant people ever. And the sad part is when they are in my shop they are fucking open about it and proud. Its insane.

Same as you, I was in very normal, non-Home Depot employee attire (a sundress, in fact!). I was in the line for returns, kind of zoning out, and snapped back to reality when I realized an older lady was waving at me from about 10-15 feet away, trying to get my attention. She yelled, "Where can I find joint compound?" and I gave her a quizzical look as I shrugged, "I don't work here...?" She acted kind of annoyed and walked off. I'm still not sure what part of myself yelled out that I worked there.

I was at Lowes tossing bags of garden soil and mulch onto a cart so I could go pay for it and some boomer woman comes up to me and very rudely demands I go fetch such and such for her. I'm not wearing anything that even remotely looks like I work there and really wasn't even properly dressed for tossing bags of dirt around and had a handbag hanging off my elbow. I stopped gave her a moment to process hoping she would realize I do not work there. She didn't, I tell her I don't work here. She starts to repeat the same sentence like she is gonna demand I do something then it finally seems to register in her head that I do not work there and OMG I feel so sorry for retail workers if customers talk to them like that on a regular basis.

I worked at Home Depot for a few months, selling appliances, and I would say about 85% of the interactions I had were people from the retirement home across the street, with no intention whatsoever to buy. They would have us take literal hours building a kitchen appliance package, customers would back up, other departments would have to come help, then the old people would just walk away, sometimes to come back next week to do the same thing again.

Doesn't everyone walk around while shopping? How does that equate to working there?

Years ago I worked for a major health system here in the US. I was in software and worked at the HQ campus and because we were at that campus we had to wear suits. Software engineers in suits. It sucked.

Almost every single time i went to the grocery store or Walmart right after work I’d get someone, always presumably boomer-aged, ask me where something was. My suit was black, not Walmart blue. I took off my ID badge and put it in my pocket as soon as i left the parking garage at work. How these people assumed a guy in a literal suit was a grocery store or Walmart employee was beyond me.

“Uh, I don’t work here.” Well you look like you do! “I’m wearing a fucking tie and dress shoes, what Walmart do you normally shop at where employees dress like this??”

Some people’s kids, man.

Lmao. You should have caught her in another aisle and start asking her questions.

"Hey, I'm trying to build a deck. Can you tell me if I should use pine or douglas fir?"

"I don't work here!"

"Well, you're walking around here like you do, you old windbag!"

Christ, the entitlement.
I guess they forgot uniforms exist - must be that dementia kicking in.

I occasionally have to fax stuff and like 50% of the times I go to staples self service area some boomer throws a fit demanding I stop what I'm doing to help them. Doesn't matter what I say or what I look like. One time it happened I was faxing on my way home from fishing. I was wearing a camo hat, sunglasses, a shirt my gf got me that said "I'm a hooker on the weekends" with a picture of a bass getting hooked, I smelled a bit too, yet some old guy refused to believe I wasn't an employee.

I was in a Walmart one day after work wearing a long sleeve button up, slacks and a name badge from the company I work for on my belt, a boomer comes up to me to get me to find them something in the back room? I’m like, I don’t work here. They were like, Oh, the way you were dressed I thought you did. I was like, does this look like a blue smock that says Walmart in yellow on it?

I bet she wrote a complaint about you to Home Depot corporate.

Had an experience with a boomer employee at Home Depot. I had a 2x4 that was too long, I asked if they would cut it in half for me. Dude proceeded to yell and foam at the mouth about people who get wood cut and then don’t buy it.

To be clear, I wanted both half’s, I wanted the whole length and was willing to pay for it, just needed it cut in half first

One time I was slightly high, in a drug rug and sweatpants, at Walmart buying Cheetos and someone asked me if I worked there and I was like “do I?”

Not trying to make this into a race thing but I always assumed this happens to me because I'm not white. Because it's always old white people who assume I work at the retail store. Doesn't matter if I'm dressed in a basic tee and jeans or if I'm dressed like I'm on my way to or from the office. Does this happen to everybody else too?

Same thing happened to me. Wearing blue flannel when 2 boombooms wave me over like assholes. I give them the WTF face and wave back and keep walking.

Boomers do not understand what employees look like (retail worker). I’ll go to Walmart, wearing all black with a hoodie that says “Kimoji Syle” that has a drawing of a girl smoking a cigarette on the back, rummaging through the Hot Wheels bin and get asked if I work there

It never fucking goes well when you have to remove your headphones because a boomer is talking at you.

TBF tho, does ANYONE actually even work at Home Depot?!?! No lie, I’ve asked people who look like they know wtf they’re doing questions there before (but graciously and ass-kissingly, not at all like an A-hole Boomer) in my same aisle at Home Depot, cuz there are never any employees around anywhere!!! Both times the people were really nice to me, cuz I’m really nice too, but I would never just expect anyone to actually help me out here in the wild, I just got lucky, Lol!

Pre pandemic I was waiting in line at a McDonald's wearing my FedEx uniform. A lady walked up to me demanding I take her order. I just made a show of looking at the logos on my sleeve and chest and asked her if she had a shipping label.

https://youtu.be/BbDa5nbwnpQ?si=O-D6MosqLpzey2oX

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In the lyrics of Tom Cardy...

My go-to response is generally "how the fuck should I know? I don't work here."  My partner says I'm rude. I say it's ruder to make stupid assumptions when there's zero evidence to back up said assumptions.

Besides, it's direct and efficient in achieving the desired effects: expressing my displeasure at being interrupted in the middle of something, getting them to leave me the hell alone, and my own amusement about the pearl-clutching over the use of "bad words."

Throughout undergrad in the early 2000s, I worked for Cingular wireless as a promotional sales rep and rotated through all the big retailers in about a 100x100 mile territory. Great money back in those days because most didn’t have a cell phone yet. Well, one particularly busy weekend day, I was doing promotions in a Best Buy, talking to prospective customers. All the BBY employees were busy. Some boomer who was probably late 40s or early 50s wasn’t getting service as quickly as he felt he deserved but he saw me from across the department (remember - I was busy with customers of my own) wearing my bright orange Cingular shirt. He yells over at me that he’s waiting for help. I look at him and turn back to my customers. He then sticks his fingers in his mouth and whistles as loudly as he can. I look again and he starts snapping his fingers at me and points to the ground next to h8m and says something like “over here”. I pardoned myself from my customers and yell over to him that I’m not a dog and I don’t respond to whistles and pointing.

HE. LOST. HIS. SHIT.

He YELLS a guttural yell at me standing up for my human dignity and goes on what I can only describe as a 2 year old’s tantrum rampage. He starts just yelling obscenities, grabs accessories from their pegs and throws them on the ground and starts to walk towards me. He realizes I’m about 6 inches and 50 pounds of muscle bigger than he is and storms to customer service yelling for the store manager. I’m on great terms with this particular store manager because I made them a LOT of money.

He lets the boomer scream it out at him for a while and then comes to me to get my narrative on what happened. I tell him, he shrugs and laughs and went back to the customer and told him to never return to the store.

Had a very sweet old lady stop me at the goodwill electronics section because she was looking for a tv. To be fair, I was wearing a blue shirt.

No employees around so I decided to help her out, when I showed her the tvs she pointed at a laptop and said “but I need one of those”.

Went and got a real employee for her after that lol.

Tell her to walk with you and see how long she'll follow. Wind through random aisles and see if you can get more than one loop

They really have no critical thinking skills and expect everyone to drop what they are doing to help them, whilst also expecting everyone else to do it ourselves.

I've told a few that I don't work here, I'm not here to help them and they should find whatever they are looking for themselves.

I’m 50 now but my wife and I went on a cruise when we were both in our mid 30s. We are Gen X. This was a 12 day cruise around Australia and New Zealand. The boat was one of the biggest in the line. Thousands of couples were on the boat. We’d never been on a cruise before and I doubt we will go again.

We had to be the youngest couple on the whole boat. These old people were so rude and hostile and arrogant and entitled that it just really ruined the whole trip. Just awful demanding people. And these mostly weren’t Boomers. They were Silent Generation and Greatest Generation. Just awful people.

Went to the Mall to kill some time after work. Got stopped by 5 boomers in 30 minutes just walking around. They just want someone to help them so bad they don't care who it is.

I’ve had this happen at some shitty home store. I was just checking the place out and was carrying a wallet. I don’t know why I was asked, maybe because I’m a middle aged female? I honestly feel like giving a snotty reply like, “Actually, I’m a doctor.” I’m not a doctor, but I just want to say it to see how they respond.

Man you miss such a great opportunity to “wander” around with her like you were a boss.

Could have upsold her on some new power tools, maybe a zero turn, at least some axle grease.

Sorry but you squander 10 - 15 mins of absolute comedic gold.

I just learned something. I thought a small gardening shovel was called a "spade"; and a "trowel" was exclusively for laying mortar. I was wrong and think you should consider a job at Home Depot.

I worked at a movie theater, and walked over to the grocery store next door while on my break.

Older lady: "Excuse me, do you have <something>?"

Me: "Sorry, I don't work here."

Older lady: (irritated) "But you're wearing a uniform!"

Me: (gestures to my very obvious movie theater uniform) "Yea, but not for HERE!" 🙄

Ask them directly “what makes you assume I work here?” It will be delicious.

We all work for the boomers in their minds.

Something similar happened to me in a Walmart but there was a little more reason for it and the people were nice at least. I was in the electronics section and a random guy asked if I knew anything about playstations, and I responded that I did. He was looking for an adapter cord so I helped him find one since he wasn't sure what to look for. A lady saw me helping him and assumed I worked there and just wasn't wearing a vest so she asked if I could help her locate a desktop power cord, and I tried to help but couldn't find them so I suggested she find one of the employees to help and she was like "Oh my gosh I saw you helping that other man and thought you worked here!"

Lmao I see you ran into Edith from Bob's Burgers

You should walk around in surgerical scrubs at the local hospital. When a boomer says, "You look like you work there" you come back with, "I do and I'm much cheaper than other cutting jockeys!"

You should post this in r/IDontWorkHereLady

Can’t explain the actions of entitled people. I was at Home Depot yesterday hoping to purchase a laser measure tool that was locked up with various bits. I asked kindly to get someone to assist me in releasing the secured product. The store attendant helped and was kinda of apologetic I had to go through this effort. I was happy I could complete my purchase and felt no ill will toward the business. I am a Boomer. I can’t explain poor behavior by any generation much less my own.

I had one do this to me at Target a few years ago. I wasn't wearing khakis or a red shirt. I was actually wearing a black T-shirt with Darth Vader on it. Still, this old guy walks up and asks me what aisle the batteries are on. Fortunately, he knew how to handle embarrassment like an adult and just chuckled and said, "Oh, sorry about that," when I told him I didn't work there.

This has happened to me twice at Big Lots. I stopped in after work on both occasions wearing business attire with high heels and a purse. Just SCREAMS Big Lots sales associate.

This happens to me often for some reason. I guess I must look like a store worker?

Anyway, I don’t tell them up front that I don’t work there. I just say something like “fucked if I know” and watch their futile glee as they trot off to find a manager. More than once they have come back with one and pointed at me - “HIM”. It always ends with the manager confused, me pissing myself laughing and the boomer verging on that thing in 90s scary documentaries where people catch fire internally.

I've been at Home Depot straight from a construction jobsite with my orange safety vest on. I just helped people instead of arguing. The last time I didn't take it off it was 3 people, the last one was another contractor and he realized it right after and apologized.

Everyone exists just to make their lives easier. Fucking assholes. It's like their parents fought in WW2 and were heaped with praise and they just internalized it themselves somehow.

She wanted some gamer dick

“nothing orange on my person” tickles me

Elderly people did this to me frequently when I was in my twenties. If they were nice about asking, I'd just go find the item for them anyway. One man told me, "That is what you are - a finder of things." 🤷‍♀️

Mandatory Tom Cardy: Hey, I don't work here

I'm a 1955 boomer. In Lowe's or HD, I keep an eye out for people that look like they need help. It is because I go there so much, I know where most stuff is kept. I've had several people return the favor when I have been on the hunt.

That happened to me just the other day; I was taking my daughter to a skate party, walking in, purse on my arm, daughter dressed up in neon party clothes, some lady comes up and starts talking to me about adding two more to her party. Me, thinking I must know her, just nods and is like “oh wow, haha, that’s awesome so many friends came!” Until she looks at me irritatingly and says “so how do I do that?” My dumbass, still not clued in, with my daughter getting impatient beside me, looks around for an employee “oh, I don’t know maybe you could ask someone…” she responds really nasty “he said that was your job”

Record scratch. “He who? I don’t work here?”

Then she gets mad at me! And is like “well who do i ask?!” Ma’am, I. Don’t. Work. Here.

Then all night she was throwing daggers at me like I ruined her party. She wasn’t a boomer tho. But apples and their trees.

I was recently asked if the lemons at the grocery store were seedless. I responded that I didn’t know. They responded “well don’t you work here?” I was literally in a tank top and sandals. 🙄

I was in a local supermarket wearing a LONG FLORAL DRESS and holding a toddler. Random older lady comes up to me, asking where a specific type of chips are ?????? Ma’am what about my outfit makes you think I work here? What about my fussy toddler makes you think I have time to help you?

My husband was in the next isle. I told him he needs to stop leaving me alone because all the crazies come out to talk to me. Last time he walked away from me in a store, an older lady tried recruiting me into the Mother of God cult 🫠