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Senior shoppers

A branch full of a ripe, new apple variety hangs on it's bended limb at the Cornell University Fruit and Vegetable Research Farm in Geneva, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 23, 2013. (Heather Ainsworth / Fr120665 Ap)
Catherine Johnston

One of our local grocery stores offers a seven per cent discount on Wednesdays to shoppers who are 55+.  I make an effort to shop there on Wednesdays when I need groceries mid-week.

The best part is watching the poor check-out clerks determine whom to ask if they want the discount or inquire directly to the patron, “Are you over 55? If so, you receive a discount today.” Reactions vary.

I gleefully announce my eligibility when I load the bread, the milk, and the food stuffs on the moving belt. Yesterday, the clerk said, “Really?! I never would have guessed! You look a lot younger than the last woman in this line and she was younger than 55.” I didn’t confess I pay someone to color my irritating gray hair. Helps.

But one patron, so insulted by the inquiry, announced quite loudly, “Asking a woman her age or assuming she is older than 55, is like asking an overweight woman ‘when is your baby due?’ ”

The world is full of real problems – hunger among children, unemployment, catastrophic illness – that age disclosure in exchange for a few dollars saved, seems trite. Yet, the clerks struggle with their responsibility.

If you were the store manager, how would you advise your employees?

(S-R archive photo)

* This story was originally published as a post from the blog "EndNotes." Read all stories from this blog