Alright, onto the next part of this saga, people are showing that, without a doubt, brain cells indeed come in limited supply. And it seems a number of the shoppers are the ones that did not get the memo in time.

So, it was decided by Bossman - or Bossman just delivered the message from the Regional Managers, who knows - to save on money, weekends were to have only one register during the day. Luckily, it did not mean from 8:00 to 23:00, rather, the first one work to 15:00, then gets swapped and the second person works till closing. That’s not so bad, for the most part. Was nice having a chance to go home when the sun was still bright in the sky and weekends back then were generally chill enough for one person to handle.

Now, many of our stores sell/refill public transport cards, but we only have 1 machine, which was placed in Register 4, so when someone comes to 1 or 2 or 3 and asks for a transport ticket, they have to go to 4 to get it made. So, here I was sitting in Register 3 and a woman wanted to buy a ticket. I got up and went to Register 4 to get the one she wanted, when I looked up and saw a whole bunch of people walking up and unpacking at the very obviously closed register - Closed Sign and no lighting on. I tell them that this register is closed and to go to the next register, where the lady is still standing.

Would you like to guess what they did?

They went to Register 2, which at that point had not been open in months (and when it is, people ignore it, very rude of them). The Security Guard had to point out to grown adults that this register is obviously closed and to go to 3. Then this bunch of grown ass men and women stood between Registers 3 and 4 and looked lost as all hell as they could not figure out which register is which…while ignoring the woman still standing at Register 3.

One day, we’re running a bit late to send everyone out, we’re rushing, we want to go home, y’know? Here comes an old lady and starts asking for prices on plastic dishes, because “she needs to know what to buy“. Head Cashier looked ready to commit a murder (given her shift starts at 6:45, understandable) and asks (demands) the woman if she knows the time.

What did that lady do?

She shrugged. Said it was like “Ten something.“ Security Guard: "It's eleven at night!" "It is?"

Another night, a dude ran out of the store while stealing something. He took the basket with him. The basket. What the heck?

I also got trained to work at the Self Check Out (SCO), thus, I do not have to count monkey or talk to people much. Downside, there were 7 registers and when Friday rolls around, a lot of drunks come in, wanting their alcohol.

Some lady even ready to yell just to get her discount that ended last week. And another person forgot a whole watermelon in the SCO. HOW?!?!?!

I did not catch the Secret Shopper when he bought an alcoholic drink and had to write a short explanation as to why. Spoilers: I ask young looking people. The video footage showed him as a balding man. Why would I ask a clearly adult man for his ID? So I wrote as passive aggressive as I could, using words like 'judging by the amount and color of hair' and 'visible age signs, such as wrinkles' and since I have not been fired, Imma say I'm in the clear for now.

Foreign White Man was shouting atop of his lungs about how he paid and that we were ripping him off in the SCO. Apparently, he was trying to scam us, because he had done the same tirade at the bakery one day and they noticed that the transaction didn't actually go through, so he got good buns for free and tried it again in the store in the same shopping centre as the bakery.

As it had been the Pandemic Era, many businesses could not serve customers indoors, so while the bakery had tables and chairs for clients, they were not in use at the time. Did not stop people trying to use them, like this one grandma who went in and sat by the windows in the far corner, where she could not be easily seen. One of the Bakery workers lowered the 'garage door' style door and went shopping in the store, leaving the idiot grandma to repeatedly try to bash open the door to get out. Pretty sure I only heard her over the noise like 10 minutes in - we get a lot of people during the day. She looked very grumpy and annoyed when the bakery girl returned from her shopping, angrily stomping at 'how dare she lock her up, I should have you arrested!' Nobody got arrested, so jokes on, granny.

Another day had a doggie, who was sitting in the cart, who chewed like half of a pears bottom off by the time the owner picked up to pay for it. They looked so proud of their accomplishment.

Angry Old Man yelled at the security guard that he 'needs no mask, no basket! I know my rights!' and then yelled about how rules are taught to kids, not adults. Guess who got dragged out?

Old Man Buys 20 packs of 1 kg of sugar. I can't even…I can't odd…I know sugar had a discount, but why so much? I don’t understand.

I saw by the bakery, a toddler tried to eat their own shoe. Like, pull it off and start going to town on it – and they were very determined to eat it.

A Very Stinky Drunk Man has been coming to the store now. He stinks so much you can smell him before he even comes to the register. People yelled at him - understandable, it was a very bad stench.

Another Old Drunk Man buys vodka and pickles, doesn't take them, goes back inside the store, goes out through the other register…and forgets about his purchase.

Old Guy bought cigarettes and came back later, demanding I give him his cigarettes – which I did? But when offered to review the security tapes, he got real quiet and quickly left.

Very Stinky Drunk Man came back with a friend, Less Stinky Man – and as Less Stinky Man tried to count how much money they have, Very Stinky Drunk Man asked if the cigarettes on the lane are Less Stinky Man's – 3. Separate. Times. Consecutively. I didn't move the lane and there were no other items on the lane…

Man Argues About The Price Of A Can Of Olive Oil – claims the sign says a discount, and it does, but the discount only comes with the store card. He went to take a picture and came back to show it to me and the head cashier while saying 'it doesn't need the fucking card!' Would you like to guess what was drawn in the corner of the sign?

Two Grannies, unconnected I assume, with these shoppers who knows sometimes, tried to steal items – one went for a single onion, single garlic, bread and butter, after buying a lettuce head and some other things, while the other went for muffins. I have no words…beyond why?

Somebody made a scene about their lost earrings that we magically just did not bring back to them. Yes, both. How?!

One day, electricity went out randomly three times, before returning. Nobody knows why that happened.

Granny was too short on funds to buy stuff. Random Man and Random Woman both wanted to help out and offered to buy the stuff for her. Granny huffed angrily, grabbed her things and harshly pushed people out of her way…why? They tried to help, people are usually happy when they get some help.

So, the registers are like a bunch of parts, right? Well, when moving eggs to the scanner, the box snagged somewhere and one egg rolled out. Like, just rolled out – when you're using your blankets to make yourself into a burrito and roll around the bed – not fast nor high enough to cause it any damage. I move to put the escapee back in and the lady starts shrieking that I broke all of her eggs and she doesn't want them. I show the clearly intact eggs, the head cashier – who was coming to do an encashment – looked and said they were fine, but nope! The lady made a tirade that her eggs were now broken and she didn't want them – didn't want to spend anymore money on place that sells broken things. Some people really just want to cause a scene.

Colleague tells about how one day the fire alarm blares – no cause found – and everyone was instructed to get out of the building, because nobody wanted a possible repeat of the Zolitūde Maxima Collapse:

But this building is 4 stories high, sooooooo…yeah, evacuate, evacuate, evacuate!

Except for this one old lady who asked Colleague is she can still buy some vodka…

An Angry Old Lady yelling about how anybody who takes the vaccine is a traitor and murderer and how 'you all shall regret it when the government kills you!!!!' It might have been past noon, but it still felt too early for that bullshit. I thought our education system was better than that, why do we have anti-vaxxers????

Crazy Lady With A Dog was yelling at the bakery girl about buying pastries from them that were so hard she nearly broke her teeth – which is impossible, as they bake fresh every day, with what few from the previous day remain are sold out by noon. I should know. I see fresh non-baked buns brought to them by their supplier that they then pop into the ovens to bake.

She also wasn't wearing a mask. Her dog was without a leash.

So much yelling – about how she will have her job, how she has friends in high places – including the USAs presidents right hand man – and when she will call him in California, they will be in so much trouble. Bakery Lady was obviously suppressing her laughter, like her shoulders were shaking.

Security Guard came up and told her to leave the shopping centre. She argued that 'she left the store' and he told her to leave the shopping centre. She argued that this place – officially called ""*********" Shopping Centre" ('cept in Latvian) – was not a shopping centre and she didn't have to leave because of some 'clearly failed school boy'.

I am amazed nobody Batman Backhanded her.

Finally, Part 4 done, the crazies start becoming more normalized. Part 5 will arrive, eventually.