I am visiting the US at the moment, and yesterday, I went out to buy some stuff. I wanted something that was behind glass, and when an employee came, I asked her "Excuse me, would you mind unlocking that for me?". She reacted in a way that made me think that that was a very unusual thing to say.

In my home country, we don't have these locked-up shelves, and I'm not a native speaker of English, so now I'm wondering how I should actually phrase that.

I'm aware that this must seem like an absolutely idiotic question, but sometimes, I feel like the small interactions are the hardest to get right.


44 comments

  2. You ask them to get the product for you, you don’t ask them to unlock the case. They aren’t supposed to let you into the case, they are supposed to retrieve an item from it for you.

  4. I think the way you said it was fine. Did the employee unlock it? She may have just been having a bad day and been annoyed at having to do it.

  5. That’s how I would ask, and I’ve lived here my entire life. Maybe she was the weird one.

  6. That’s exactly how I would ask it. I wonder if maybe your accent is thick and she misheard you or struggled to understand what you meant initially, hence the look.

    Or even more likely, she hates helping people and you were inconveniencing her lol

  7. I think that’s pretty normal to say. Maybe they were confused that you just asked them to unlock it rather than asking for a particular product? I’d probably ask them to get something in particular, but just asking for it to be unlocked doesn’t seem odd to me.

  8. Honestly I dont know how else you would do it. Ive only ever seen those over expensive electronics, gun/ammunition or things I dont want.

  9. You asked correctly. The worker might have been having a bad day or something. You did nothing wrong.

  10. You did it right.

    You have to remember that in the parts of the country where stuff has to be locked up, you’re also not getting the highest quality employees.

  11. I just ask “Hey. I need to get (so and so), out of the locked case. Can you get it for me?”

  12. Ask for the product. “Hi, I would like to purchase x”. They’ll know to unlock the case and either give it to you, take it to a nearby register and charge your, or put it in another small and portable locked case that you’ll take to the register when you check out. 

  13. Last time I visited NYC, almost every small item was locked behind glass. I had to ask an employee the same thing and got the same reaction.

    I attributed it to a combination of NYC attitude and them being asked to do that a hundred times a day.

  14. I usually say something like, “I want to buy that “Whatever” right there, would you unlock it for me, please?”

  15. Generally there’s a button. The button usually doesn’t work. But you did the right thing. Unfortunately there are assholes everywhere

  17. I usually say something like “excuse me, would you mind grabbing something out of a case for me?” However the way you said it was perfectly fine, I wouldn’t overthink it

  18. You were polite. That was the perfect way to ask. The employee was the weird one in this scenario.

  20. I don’t shop in stores that lock up merchandise.  The store leadership is calling you and me a thief, simply for wanting to shop there.  That shit is rude.  I own and operate a retail outlet in a cruddy neighborhood, I don’t lock anything but the beer after midnight.

  22. You probably just got an employee who didn’t want to be bothered, was about to go on break, it just didn’t care.

  24. You did nothing wrong. I have asked them to unlock the case because I wanted a product. 🤷🏻‍♀️

  25. I think they were having an off day and shared a bit of ‘tude with ya. Just ignore it! They prolly and used to/expect somebody to say “hey can I grab (whatever product) from behind the glass?” (So more specific of an ask than just can you unlock?”) but it really is semantics. You did nothing wrong at all!!

    Some stores have buttons that you can press and somebody will come over to unlock that particular shelf.

  27. What you said was fine. The employee was just being weird.

    The only other thing you could say is, “Hey, I want to get x, can you unlock this”

  28. You don’t. Just get all frustrated and order off Amazon like I do. I’m almost certain they are losing more money to people like me than they ever did to shoplifters.

  29. In some places like Walmart, they keep extras unlocked on top of the display racks. They’re pretty high up, you have to be probably 6’2” to reach it. I know this because I am 6’3” and that’s where I get most of my stuff from so I don’t have to bother anybody.

    I guess only short people shoplift.

  30. Lmao, I had to get a locked item recently and the person I asked was like “I don’t have the key” and then I had to walk the dog and find out who did…someone they said wasn’t on the premises. They then referred me to a competitors store if I wanted a similar item, they didn’t do anything in order to get the product for me. Another employee walked by and when asked if she could help me out, she stated she was “just clocking in to work” but was the aforementioned person who would have a key. I then let her know that it sounds like she’s a good candidate to help me out, even though her tone implied she didn’t want to…..all this to say, customer service really isn’t what it used to be. I’m a native English speaker and this interaction was weird for me because, tbh, you have one job in retail. For those wondering, no I’m not a boomer who is an ass to customer service people…I have worked retail and customer service myself so I try and be empathetic, but I was rather appalled by the lack of give a fuck.

  31. The way you said it was fine, especially with English not being your first language. Most people would figure out your intent.

    That said, most retail workers are paid very little and, frankly, they aren’t paid to think. Maybe she was out off because her instructions are to get the item for you and take it to the register (as others mentioned).

    What you said was fine and not worth worrying about. Her reaction was probably because she isn’t paid enough to care AND we are into the busiest shopping season. So, give a little grace to yourself and to her. (And your written English, at least, is wonderful!)

  34. Based on your responses here, the reason she looked at you funny was because she wasn’t going to open it and hand you the item. At the Walmart near me they DO open it and hand it to you which seems stupid, but people literally clear entire shelves into carts and run out the door with it. So it prevents larger scale theft. Some places take it up front to prevent theft of each individual item. So generally you would say something along the lines of “hi there, I’d like to get the Dove shampoo on the bottom please.” If you say it that way then it doesn’t matter whether they are going to hand it to you or take it up front to wait for you. I’m not saying you said anything wrong. She just took it wrong. Some customers get really shitty about locked up merchandise. She might have thought that your phrasing implied you were being shitty.

  36. We dont’ have any of the locked stuff at any store near me in the US either. So when I’m in a place that does do that I find it anoying. But I would say exactly what OP did when asking for assistance.

    The issue here isn’t with OP, but with a strange/crappy employee.

  38. There is a local Walmart where locking things up is new and the employees don’t seem to know how to unlock things. You asked correctly, but maybe you got a bad employee.

  39. Generally you dont ask them to unlock it. You tell them which product you want and they give it to you.

  40. Locking things up in stores is still only a few years old. It sucks. Everyone hates it. It solves a problem that barely existed terribly. So I’m sure the person working there was just mad at having to help you, which is obviously not your fault. I barely shop in cvs and Duane Reade anymore because I just can’t take it.

  42. What you said is correct. Maybe it’s something the employee doesn’t unlock or the employee is new or something.

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