Walmart cashiers wearing gloves?

[Misstika]

Hi everyone, just curious about others opinion. A few times when visiting walmart, cashiers were wearing gloves. I asked what was the reason for doing so, and they did not want to say. I'm sure its for "avoiding" illnesses but wearing gloves all day without handwashing won't help. I feel as if there's a greater chance of getting an airborne illness. How do you all feel about wearing gloves as a cashier? I somewhat find it annoying and offensive. I feel as if having hand sanitizer at each counter would suffice.

[MunoRN, RN]

There was a news story, which unfortunately I can't find right now, that stated some Wal-Mart's were choosing to use gloves to handle money due to reports of fentanyl contaminated cash, and if there's one place where tweakers shop, it's Wal-Mart, so they assume a good deal of the cash they handle is only a step or two removed from a drug deal.

A related story: The DEA Is Worried Sick About Touching Contaminated Drug Money

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

Misstika said:

? That's a logical reason. It's funny that everyone thinks it really offends me. I just find it somewhat unprofessional.

Well you said it offended you hence why everyone thinks that it does...

[Misstika]

Mergirlc said:

Well, by the same token, all (or most) of us wear underwear for a long period of time and we sweat in them too. Should we not wear underwear and go commando? Or change underwear like gloves? Then we all would really have to go to Walmart to buy tons of cheap underwear. Hmmm...........

Not the same thing.....can't compare.

[Guest1025459]

X Sam's Club greeter here. Same hole of a company. For me, transdermal drugs... Fentanyl, PCP, etc...

I took a wet dollar bill at my last job. Dude told me "sorry, my wallet fell in the toilet"

And that was the first time I almost got a felony...

[Jedrnurse, BSN, RN]

Wuzzie said:

Pretty much every tollbooth worker I've seen over the past few years wear them too. Money is absolutely filthy.

Okay. BUT...if they don't change the gloves frequently (and I suspect they don't), wouldn't they just end up with germ encrusted gloves, spreading the same microorganisms as they would with bare hands on everything they touch? (Including the customer's items that they are bagging?)

[amoLucia]

smf0903 said:

It probably has more to do with the amount of drug dust on everything anymore. We have had oodles of people getting arrested out of our Walmart bathrooms and parking lots for dealing and ODs. We have a lot of fentanyl and carfentanyl-laced stuff around here. My guess is it would have way more to do with that than germs.

Is this stuff about drug dust FOR REAL or is it just urban myth? I think Abby Sciuto on NCIS commented about it on a show.

But to be honest, I did think about it befor you posted it!

I wonder if this would make a good science experiment for a Bio class to swab for C&S samples?

Why not just go to the 'Customer Service Office' and ask why?

[smf0903]

amoLucia said:

Is this stuff about drug dust FOR REAL or is it just urban myth? I think Abby Sciuto on NCIS commented about it on a show.

But to be honest, I did think about it befor you posted it!

I wonder if this would make a good science experiment for a Bio class to swab for C&S samples?

Why not just go to the 'Customer Service Office' and ask why?

It's not an urban myth. Our police and other responders are required now to wear nitriles with just about anyone they touch or if they touch any possessions of whomever they stop/respond to. They started this after we had officers OD after touching clothing of persons they arrested. The drug epidemic is horrible here. Now meth seems to be making a comeback as well. We had a couple people come to our facility recently with meth overdoses and some with burns after blowing up their meth labs. But heroin is still numero uno around here. We just had another rash of "tainted" heroin ODs...the batch was laced with carfentanyl. People were requiring ridiculous doses of narcan.

I doubt any company would care to say "hey, people are wearing gloves so our employees don't overdose from our customers" But I can tell you we've had many, many times EMS and police have had to respond to our two local wallyworlds for people shooting up, dealing, and ODs. We refuse to shop there (not that it's exclusive to that company but it does seem to be particularly bad there).

[BonnieSc]

I wonder if it's to avoid touching receipts as well? Receipts have nasty chemicals in them that can lead to all sorts of problems. I wouldn't touch one while I was pregnant and try to avoid it in general.

I can't, for the life of me, understand what is unprofessional about it. At least one cashier at the hospital cafeteria wears gloves and the only thought I ever gave it was sympathy that her hands probably get dry.

[Scottishtape]

My first job was being a cashier at Walmart. Money is GROSS. I would go a few hours and have to go wash my hands, because they'd be black from the dirt on the coins.

I started wearing gloves to stop that. I didn't want to think of all the gross stuff that I was picking up from the money.

Also: things leak and get sticky. If you're not wearing gloves, your hands get all sticky.

[Wuzzie]

Jedrnurse said:

Okay. BUT...if they don't change the gloves frequently (and I suspect they don't), wouldn't they just end up with germ encrusted gloves, spreading the same microorganisms as they would with bare hands on everything they touch? (Including the customer's items that they are bagging?)

They aren't wearing them to protect the customers.

[Amethya]

Ex-cashier from Walmart here. We never had to wear gloves, but I started after having to handle some sticky money from a woman's boobs... I didn't want to know where it came from. I'm not sure what's the policy recently but it might be related to the drug dust money I heard of about.

[middleagednurse]

Misstika said:

? That's a logical reason. It's funny that everyone thinks it really offends me. I just find it somewhat unprofessional.

I wouldn't call cashiering a profession.