11 Things Walmart Employees Wish Customers Would Stop Doing

The economy has been hitting Americans hard lately, and consumers are turning to Walmart shopping hacks to try and create wiggle room in ever-tightening budgets.

Unfortunately, Walmart employees are suffering, too. According to the company itself, the average Walmart associate makes close to $18 per hour. Understandably, they have a list of things they do not get paid enough to handle.

Here's what behaviors Walmart employees are begging customers to stop doing to make their lives just a little bit easier.

Everybody has done that emergency run to grab something last-minute as a store is closing, but Walmart employees really want customers to shop before the closing hour. Between prepping for closing and going home on time, shoppers waiting to check out till the last minute make it difficult.

As Walmart employee Wonderful-Citron-478 explained on Reddit, "I'm an overnight stocker, and what really annoys me is when customers shop at the last hour we're open, and the first hour that we're open."

If a Walmart employee isn't wearing their vest, you can likely assume that they are on a break. Workers deserve breaks, and in fact are legally owed breaks from work, so they can't always help you when they're off the clock.

"You are not entitled to my free labor…it may be mental labor but still labor none the less. Also, I'm not helping people off the clock," one Walmart employee explained on Reddit.

When Walmart checkout lines get long, many people go to the electronics department or pharmacy to check out their handful of purchases, but those registers don't have scales to weigh things sold by the pound, such as produce.

One Walmart employee on Reddit explained how frustrating it is: "When a customer tells me to ring up their entire cart of stuff and then gets pissed when they can't buy bananas even though I told them that I can't sell weighted items since we don't have a scale."

It's hard to say who is more annoyed by shopping carts left in random places — employees or other customers. The basic rule of shopping carts is to return them to one of the cart areas and to avoid leaving them at the register. Both of these things make it more difficult for employees trying to return carts.

As one employee said, "There were a few times when I had to leave my register to pick up a cart because they just decided to leave infront of my register and people had to walk around it."

A Walmart employee revealed on Reddit that one of their biggest pet peeves is when customers "Pick up items and leave them in a treasure-hunt style all over the store."

It's okay to change your mind and decide you don't want to buy something, but if you can't return it yourself, please hand it to an employee to be returned for you. This is doubly true for frozen or refrigerated items, as they can't be sold if employees do not know how long they've been sitting out.

There are many reasons you may need to show your phone screen to a Walmart employee, but let them decide how close they need their face to your phone. If you hold up your phone with the screen out, they will happily look at what you want to show them, whether it's an item you can't find or an order for delivery pickup.

"There's so many" an employee explained of annoying customer behaviors. But Reddit user TheChronicInsomniac particularly hates it when anybody "shoves their phone so close to your face, if you stuck your tongue out you'd lick it."

"We can't stand it when a customer sees you coming with a loaded pallet and proceeds to step in front of you and pause," explained Walmart employee DontcallmeArchie on Reddit.

Large pallets are heavy and unwieldy, which means it can take a while to get them stopped, and it's also difficult to get them going again. Not to mention, it's dangerous for customers to stand in front of them. If you need assistance, please look for an associate who isn't trying to navigate a heavy load through a crowded store.

"I'm a cashier and I hate when they spin the bag thing while I'm still bagging the groceries. Stop touching it. I'm not done with the bag," a cashier complained on Reddit.

Cashiers are trying to ring up your order and bag your items, and spinning the bags interferes with that process. If you want to help, make sure you remove the loaded bags to clear up room before they run out of bagging space, especially if you have a large order.

You're checking out, the cashier scans a product, blinks at the screen, and scans the product again. Nothing happens. Cashiers are tired of the "it's free" joke. They hear this "joke" a thousand times, and it gets less funny every time.

When asked what annoys them most, VomPup commented about how customers say, "'It must be free!' When something doesn't scan, they always say that."

Walmart employees are kept busy, so it's difficult not to interrupt something when asking for assistance, but if they are clearly already helping a customer, being patient can pay off. This can be frustrating when you think your issue is a quick one, but it's rude to both the employee and the other customer to interrupt, especially when you do so rudely.

"It's the finger snapping (or the loud hand clap) for me when I'm clearly already talking to someone else," QueenFF said on Reddit.

Many employees become frustrated with customers who simply say one word, such as the item they can't find, and expect employees to understand what they want. Sure, it may be obvious to you, but asking politely will make everybody's day better.

As employee Elegant-Celery666 puts it, "I absolutely hate when customers approach me and just say what it is that they're looking for…like, c'mon."

Many families are shopping at Walmart to save more on everyday essentials and fight the rising costs of living, but it's important to remember that the employees there can often be overworked and underpaid.

Being kind and respectful goes a long way towards making their jobs easier, and avoiding these common missteps will make it a lot more appealing for workers to assist you in your shopping experience.