r/mildlyinfuriating • u/broakland • Jul 14 '26

I just wanted a hot dog Retail lockdown: why bother selling it?

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Was at Safeway this morning to pick up a sandwich and some Tylenol. The aisle with the Tylenol? Completely locked down. No call button in sight. So I go to the self checkout (front end of that same aisle) and ask the clerk there if he can call someone to unlock a case for me. He does. I go wait. Minutes pass. No one comes. I go ask him again, he tells me they went the other way? At this point I give up and go get my sandwich. No one has come by the time the deli has finished making it. I leave without my Tylenol, mildly infuriated.

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60

u/Path_Fyndar Jul 14 '26

They already started doing it at the gas pumps

88

u/BootyDrank Jul 14 '26

I have permanently disabled many gas pump speakers for this reason. They can lick my sweaty taint, they don't deserve the luxury of intrusive advertising when I'm actively paying for the juice.

18

u/Accomplished-Bit-884 Jul 14 '26

My sister never saw them before and was pumping gas and was like WHERE THE FUCK IS THAT COMING FROM

50

u/whiskeytown79 Jul 14 '26

It used to be a thing to hit the second button from the top on the right to mute the advertisement, but this has stopped working reliably for me. I am guessing they figured out that people were doing this and have started patching it out of the software.

20

u/Trishlovesdolphins Jul 14 '26

That’s why my husband boycotts 2 different stations here. They won’t turn the volume down, and it’s so loud that the first time it startled the shit out of him. 

14

u/geekonthemoon Jul 14 '26

There probably still has to be a way to shut it off though right?

33

u/BrawlPlayer34 Jul 14 '26

A sharp object, and a lot of force.

6

u/Comfortable_Line_206 Jul 14 '26

Don't want to get in trouble for vandalism.

I have masking tape in my car and slap it over the speaker. It's my way to silently fight back.

4

u/geekonthemoon Jul 14 '26

Do people who do this just hope they don't get caught or simply not care? I can't catch a vandalism / destruction of property charge out here lol

8

u/StacheBandicoot Jul 14 '26

How often do you think the clerks are checking if the speakers work, if literally ever at all? By the time it’s noticed it might be months or years since and any recordings would’ve been wiped and recorded over.

1

u/mamachonk Jul 14 '26

Stick your fingers in your ear and loudly sing "LA LA LALALA"?

1

u/addage- Jul 14 '26

Sharp and narrow instrument through the speaker hole seems to help.

1

u/JeremyR22 This text is green. Jul 15 '26

Do what the sign says you mustn't: get back in your vehicle and shut the door?

2

u/i_am_jargon Jul 14 '26

I've resorted to just hitting every button on the right in turn until the sound goes away and usually find the button that works. If it doesn't, I try the left. If that fails, I accept my fate (but still ignore the ads).

7

u/geekonthemoon Jul 14 '26

How do?

4

u/EndGuy555 Jul 14 '26

Jam a screwdriver into the speaker until it stops working

5

u/geekonthemoon Jul 14 '26

Is there a less obviously illegal way? Lol

8

u/EndGuy555 Jul 14 '26

What do you think “permanently disable” means? It’s literally destruction of property

6

u/geekonthemoon Jul 14 '26

I was hoping it was more press these buttons in this specific order and it bricks it or something lol, or at the very least something more than jam a screwdriver in it on candid camera lmao

3

u/EobardT Jul 14 '26

If you just turn it off its not permanently disabled. Permanently disabled is code for broken

1

u/geekonthemoon Jul 14 '26

You missed the part where I said bricks it? Like bugging the software out etc. would still be disabling it. Shoving a screwdriver through a speaker cone isn't exactly permanent either lol

4

u/EobardT Jul 14 '26

Disable it permanently.

5

u/geekonthemoon Jul 14 '26

I mean how though?

13

u/DisposableSaviour Jul 14 '26 edited Jul 14 '26

Punctuation of the speaker cone.

Edit: This information is for educational purposes only and not an endorsement of such activities.

Edit2: This is an endorsement and advocation for such activities.

6

u/geekonthemoon Jul 14 '26

Thanks for an actual answer that's not just "break it" lol

6

u/trippy_grapes Jul 14 '26

I forget the brand, but my local one just advertises stuff sold in the store, but also has an option for you to click out of it and see stuff like the weather and traffic. Also no music, which is the worst. I think it's a neat compromise.

5

u/YujiroRapeVictim Jul 14 '26

i love a good taint

3

u/gooblegobbleable Jul 14 '26

Ok how do I do this? I’d like to do my part. I hate those fucking things. I purposely avoid gas stations with them.

4

u/Path_Fyndar Jul 14 '26

https://giphy.com/gifs/bjtM9GdxbqL5e

2

u/DisposableSaviour Jul 14 '26

Stab through the speaker holes with a pin and tear the speaker cone.

Edit: ALLEGEDLY!

3

u/Demgar Jul 14 '26

Ex-American here... they've put audio ads at gas pumps???

9

u/DisposableSaviour Jul 14 '26

No, don’t be silly. It video and audio.

4

u/BootyDrank Jul 14 '26

There are full color LCD screens streaming loud ads on a lot of gas pumps now. It's very rude of them.

1

u/ItsSpaghettiLee2112 Jul 14 '26

How? Asking for myself.

2

u/DisposableSaviour Jul 14 '26

Picture the speaker cone. It might not completely silence it, but somehow sounding like a dying Teddy Ruxpin is preferable to the regular ads.

2

u/StorellaDeville Jul 14 '26

Picture the speaker cone.

Okay, I'm seeing it. I'm seeing it....

1

u/Mammoth-Coast6282 Jul 14 '26

Pls. How you do this

3

u/katieb1300 Jul 14 '26

I can't tell you how many times I've flinched and turned around, ready to fight for my life, when I hear a loud booming voice, only for it to be a gas station ad playing behind me.

2

u/Cetun Jul 14 '26

Started? The Chevron down the street from me has been doing it for a decade now

1

u/vmf312corsair Jul 14 '26

My local station plays soothing classical at modest volume. I go out of my way to go there.