Adventures in Grocery Checking (cont'd)

On behalf of cashiers everywhere, I'd like to give the general public a message:

If you pick something up in the grocery store and decide that you don't want it, simply hand it to the cashier and say you changed your mind. If there's something wrong with it, tell us. If not, that's fine too. See, we don't actually care what you take home.

If you're too shy to do this or think we'll take it really personally and decide to put the item back yourself, for the love of God, use your fucking head. Putting a box of cereal on the shelf next to the dog food: not the end of the world. Putting a brick of cheddar behind the shampoo: major problem. Putting perishable items where they can get warm is not a smart idea.

The best example of this happened, of course, in my lane. Someone had decided against a steak that they had taken the celophane off of (for whatever reason) and instead of handing it to me, they put it in the magazine rack, just outside of the range of my peripheral vision. So this thing sat flopped over in front of the National Enquirer for who knows how long. Finally some lady let me know.

Woman: Um, miss, there's a steak in your magazine rack.
Me: *Leans over to see* OH MY GOD THAT IS SO GROSS! Ok, I'll take care of it. Thank you.
Woman: *Reaches for the steak*
Me: NO! Don't touch it! I'll take care of it!
Woman: *Grabs it anyway, passes it to me*
Me: Oh geez... *Reluctantly takes it*
Steak: *Flops over to make complete contact with the back of my hand*
Woman: Oh that's gross!
Me: *Sigh* Yes. Yes it is.