Kind Stranger Pays for Fragile Old Lady's Groceries, Feels Ripped off after Dialogue with Cashier

A woman shared she felt ripped off after paying for an older lady's groceries. She didn't realize what had happened until the cashier told her something.

The cashier's words made her think about what happened, so she shared her story on Reddit to ask other people if they had experienced anything similar.

Other Redditors shared their opinions in the comments section, making the woman change her mind. She updated her post, saying the comments made her look at the situation from another perspective.

The woman with the Reddit username despisedbride shared that she was loading her groceries on the checkout belt when she saw a frail woman in front of her. She described:

"In front of me was an old fragile lady trying to scrape together enough cash to pay for her groceries."

The older woman gave all the change she had to the cashier, expecting it would be enough. But after counting the money, the cashier told her she was $8 short.

OP (Original Poster) noticed that the cashier had started scanning the items back so the lady would only purchase what she could pay for. He scanned a loaf of bread, a carton of milk, a crate of eggs, and a couple of soup packets, but the woman still couldn't afford to pay the bill.

The cashier's words had started to make her feel bad about her decision.

Feeling bad for the lady, OP stepped forward and asked the cashier to scan her groceries back, informing him that she would pay the amount the old lady couldn't afford.

The lady looked at OP with tears in her eyes, asking her if she was sure about paying the remaining amount. OP assured her she was happy to help and paid around $14 to the cashier. When the older lady left the store, the cashier said:

"I wasn't going to say anything when that lady was standing here but this isn't the first time she's done this. Just wanted to let you know she comes here and does that often - be careful when you pay it forward, especially during the holiday season."

It was the first time OP bought groceries for someone else and the cashier's words started to make her feel bad about her decision. She felt ripped off.

Feeling the lady had scammed her, she posted her story on Reddit to ask other Redditors if they had experienced something similar. But tax-me-now-and-later replied:

"It might not be a scam - even if the shopper is a regular"

The Redditor told OP that the woman might be finding it difficult to make her ends meet. Another user agreed, saying it wasn't right to assume she was scamming people.

OP read the comments and said that might be true, but she also pointed out that the lady put groceries worth $50 in her basket while she only had $30 in her wallet. MidniteProph replied:

"Maybe she can't survive on $30 so she's hoping someone will help her out."

Other users guessed the woman might have dementia. They agreed that dementia was common in older people, so she might repeatedly do the same thing because of the condition.

robikki asked OP to look at the situation from another perspective. They said that the entire case says more about OP than the older lady, writing:

" You're a good person for helping somebody who you thought was in need of help."

As a whole, most users agreed that the older lady didn't scam OP. They believed she actually needed help and encouraged OP not to feel bad about what happened at the store.

Questions to Ponder:

Would you help someone again if you were OP?

OP decided not to buy groceries for anyone in the future because of her experience with the older lady. However, after reading the comments, she changed her mind, agreeing to keep paying forward when she can. What would you do if you were OP? Would you stop helping others because of this incident?

Do you think the cashier was at fault for assuming the older lady was scamming everyone?

OP didn't think the woman was scamming her until the cashier asked her to be careful. His words made her feel the woman had ripped her off. Do you think the cashier was at fault for assuming the lady was scamming other customers?

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