Makes me glad that the supermarket I shop at will sell the meat that expires that day at a discount. And yes, I take advantage of it IF I'm going to be using it right away. If not...then I get something fresher.

As for in the back. If it's pre-packaged, I agree not to ask. If it's a product that's "finished" in the store (meat the butcher has to cut, cookies they bake, etc) then it IS worth asking. Sometimes the cookies you want are in the oven or even sitting next to the oven cooling and you can just wait a few minutes.

But the most important thing is that grocery store workers are people, and the work isn't that unskilled.

(And thanks to every grocery store worker who has ever reached an item off a high shelf for my 5'4 self. I can reach the FRONT of the top shelf, but if nobody's been by to pull the items forward...)