Why does nobody talk about how awkward it is when a cashier remembers you but you don't remember them

So there's this woman at the Target on Broadway who always says hey to me by name. Last Tuesday I finally asked how I knew her and she said we went to high school together in 2012. I felt terrible because I still couldn't place her face or name after that. Has anyone else had a moment where someone clearly knows you but you draw a total blank?

2 comments

2 Comments

jenny_sullivan971mo ago

Happened to me last month at the grocery store (the one on 5th, not the one near the mall). This guy comes up and says "hey Jenny, long time no see!" and I'm just standing there like a deer in headlights, trying to scan every face I've ever seen. It turned out to be someone who worked at the same summer camp with me in 2015, and I only remembered him when he mentioned the color war incident. So yeah, I totally get that awful feeling of not wanting to be rude but having no clue who they are. It's even worse when they seem genuinely excited to see you.

keithbennett1mo ago

Oh man, that's rough. I read somewhere that our brains are wired to remember faces better than names, so it's actually pretty common to draw a blank like that. Take it from me though, if she remembered your name after all those years, you must have made some kind of impression on her back then.