So this happened
By Lena Kovadlo
@lovebuglena (53157)
Staten Island, New York
July 2, 2026 9:01pm CST
I went to my Russian grocery store on Sunday. The girl at the register was new. Before ringing up any item, she asked me what that item was. I had to tell her it’s a grapefruit, it’s a portobello mushroom, etc.
I was honestly shocked. I can understand if it’s something from the produce department that is exotic or uncommon but if it’s an item that is available everywhere the cashier should know what that item is.
14 people like this
13 responses
@LeaPea2417 (39958)
• Toccoa, Georgia
3 Jul
I can't believe someone would not know what a grapefruit is.
3 people like this
@DaddyEvil (177104)
• United States
3 Jul
When I started working in a grocery store, I had to ask what type of mushrooms a customer was buying. I'd never seen a Portobello mushroom before then.
2 people like this
@lovebuglena (53157)
• Staten Island, New York
3 Jul
It was hard to believe as well.
2 people like this
@lovebuglena (53157)
• Staten Island, New York
3 Jul
@DaddyEvil at least you knew it was a mushroom.
3 people like this
@kaylachan (86178)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
3 Jul
I would like to say I am surprised, but I'm not. More and more we're starting to see the affects of Gen Alfa and no kid left behind. You're right, she should know what the store sells. But, she should also know basic vegitibles fruits etc.
Now I'd understand if she was blind, and unable to see what you're holding, but most stores don't put the blind behind the register.
2 people like this
@lovebuglena (53157)
• Staten Island, New York
3 Jul
In her case, she wasn’t blind. I was surprised when she was ringing up tomatoes that she didn’t ask me what it was, but she did ask me what kind of tomato it is. It was an heirloom tomato.
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (177104)
• United States
3 Jul
I worked as a salesman in a grocery store. My job was actually in the Electronics department but, sometimes I had to go up to the front of the store and run a register. If some veggie was being purchased that I didn't recognize, I had to ask what it was before I could ring it up. By the time I left that store, I knew what everything in the store was without needing to ask anymore. *shrug*
If we didn't grow something on our farm when I was growing up, how was I supposed to recognize it when I saw it for the first time in the grocery store?
1 person likes this
@DaddyEvil (177104)
• United States
4 Jul
@lovebuglena Sometimes the store would have people call in sick so they'd take people from other departments to work registers. I also ran the register in Electronics and people could bring groceries to us if the front registers were already full.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (53157)
• Staten Island, New York
3 Jul
If your job was in Electronics why’d they make you work in the register?
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (53157)
• Staten Island, New York
4 Jul
@DaddyEvil Interesting. I’d think you can only check out electrics there.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (53157)
• Staten Island, New York
3 Jul
Sometimes if it’s a new person they may not know the code for an item. But they usually know what the item is.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (53157)
• Staten Island, New York
5 Jul
@porwest maybe if they are desperate for a new cashier they will hire even if that person needs lots of training…
1 person likes this
@porwest (113642)
• United States
5 Jul
@lovebuglena Did they ever hear of something called...making sure the person is fully trained before they are sent on their own? lol
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (61547)
•
3 Jul
That happens here, too. I have had to identify vegetables, etc. or had cashiers ask me ''what do you use this for?'' when ringing up a grocery item they are not familiar with. The item that once really surprised me was baking soda. Cashier asked me what I used it for. Seriously? I told her baking, deodorizing, even cleaning. Her comment was, she had never heard of it. Good grief.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (53157)
• Staten Island, New York
3 Jul
It’s hard to believe the cashier never heard of baking soda. I wonder how old she was.
@lovebuglena (53157)
• Staten Island, New York
3 Jul
I remember one time I was buying a yellow carrot. The cashier rang it up as either parsley root or a parsnip. I don’t remember. When I corrected her and told her that it was actually a yellow carrot, she was arguing with me telling me there’s no such thing.
2 people like this
@MarieCoyle (61547)
•
4 Jul
@lovebuglena
Lena, so many people never, ever cook anymore. They have no idea what fresh vegetables are available, or what they even look like.
A few months ago, I bagged some onions in the produce department to buy. At the checkout, the lady rang up shallots. Now I do love shallots, but these were onions. Shallots, at the time, were almost twice as expensive and I wasn't paying that price for them. I finally convinced her they were onions. Very frustrating.
1 person likes this
@Ineeddentures (43975)
•
5 Jul
Oh Lena
We all have to learn new things.
She was merely learning on the job
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (53157)
• Staten Island, New York
5 Jul
I can understand learning the item codes or uncommon exotic items, but a person should know their basic / common produce.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (53157)
• Staten Island, New York
5 Jul
@Ineeddentures I wouldn’t say it’s exotic lol.
1 person likes this
@Ineeddentures (43975)
•
5 Jul
@lovebuglena
A Porobello Mushroom might be quite exotic to some people Lena
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (170400)
• United States
4 Jul
I would say she is getting an education being at her job. Most produce here has little tags with barcode and numbers. Sometimes names as well, but really to scan you do not HAVE to know anything.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (53157)
• Staten Island, New York
4 Jul
Not sure if I’ve ever seen a little tag with the name of the produce. I’ve seen something where the little tag has, for example, a type of apple, but it will not say the word apple on it.
@lovebuglena (53157)
• Staten Island, New York
3 Jul
I did not see a mileage post about this. But I saw a post about it on the official NCIS page on Facebook. Tony is coming back to NCIS and Gibbs is coming back to NCIS: Origins. And NCIS: New York is a new spinoff bringing back Sam Hanna.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (53157)
• Staten Island, New York
3 Jul
@AmbiePam I’m excited. Supposedly both are season-long arcs.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (211572)
• United States
3 Jul
She didn't know what a grapefruit was? Was she from the US?
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (211572)
• United States
3 Jul
@lovebuglena That explains why she wouldn't be familiar with a grapefruit then I guess.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (53157)
• Staten Island, New York
3 Jul
@snowy22315 She was pretty young. Maybe that’s why.
@lovebuglena (53157)
• Staten Island, New York
3 Jul
She spoke Russian. Not sure where she is originally from.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (507545)
• Italy
3 Jul
@lovebuglena I can't believe that they know so little.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (53157)
• Staten Island, New York
3 Jul
That is true. Makes me shake my head.
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (99847)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
3 Jul
She probably does not know a lot of English.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (53157)
• Staten Island, New York
4 Jul
She should still know what the item is though.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (53157)
• Staten Island, New York
3 Jul
Maybe it didn’t matter if she knew the fruits and veggies the store sells.
1 person likes this
