I don't have my license!

[Craftstoreslave]

WARNING: This turned out pretty long, but I forgot to add that to the title.

I haven't really had anyone worthy enough to post about for a while. But today that all changed.

So, these two ladies who are known troublemakers and strongly suspected shoplifters come up to my line today with a cartfull of home decor-type items. These two are known to stash items into their gargantuan purses and then later return the items, but because our spineless management never does anything, they keep coming back. SC1 says they have a return (a common occurance with these two) and pulls out the items to be returned. This time, she actually has a receipt, which surprises me, but I knew it was too good to be true for this to be a trouble-free encounter. One item she wants to return no longer has a price. Since our receipts aren't itemized, she points out a price on the receipt that she says belongs to this item. I know these two, and the price doesn't seem to make sense, so I call up the girl from that department to check the price. While waiting for her, SC2 starts throwing a hissy fit saying she has to pick up her child from the bus and I'm wasting her time! So SC1 tells me to go ahead and start ringing up her items and we would do the return afterwards.

By now, they have dumped all their merchandise onto the counter, but apparently I was supposed to know it was actually two separate orders and which items belonged to who. So when I accidentally ring the two orders together, SC1 throws her own baby tantrum and demands to know why I rung that item up with it. I explain to her that I didn't realize it was separate, but because I don't have the ability to take the item back off, all I can do is call a manager up and do an overring. So I do so (and by now both women are whining and calling me stupid). By the time the manager leaves, the girl from the department has returned with the missing price for the return item.

So instead of continuing to ring her up, I go back to the return to complete it first. However, the price I have been given doesn't match on the receipt. SC1 throws a mini-tantrum, but ends up keeping the item rather than return it. The real hell breaks loose when I ask for her driver's license, since the return was about $47 and all returns over $25 require a driver's license. The following ensues (my thoughts are in italic):

SC1: I don't have my license! (Then why are you driving?)
Me: Well, all returns over $25 require a valid driver's license.
SC1: I don't have my license! (Didn't we establish this already?) That's why I brought my receipt! You don't need my license if I have my receipt! That's why I have my receipt! (Ad nauseum...)
Me: Well, all returns over $25 require a valid driver's license.
SC1: It's not MY fault you made a mistake! That's YOUR FAULT! YOUR FAULT!
Me: Ma'am, your license is for the return. It has nothing to do with the overring (which was YOUR fault, thank you).

While the two SCs continue throwing their tantrums, I call the assistant manager (AM) back up and she calls me on my phone. I explain the situation to her (and the SCs are yelling loudly enough that she can hear them through the phone), and she tells me to ask the store manager (SM). I immediately knew what would happen. You've never worked for a spineless manager until you work for my spineless manager. AM hangs up with me and approaches SM, and the two come up to my register where the two women are still yelling and complaining about me causing them to take so long. Once the SM hears the situation, he immediately says it was fine that they didn't have their license, which is exactly what I expected him to do.

After this, they both get that smug look we all know on their faces and start berating me, then, on why I made such a big deal about it and, get this, MADE UP THAT POLICY just to hold them back out of spite because I knew they were in a hurry. Instead of defending me, the SM very quietly says it is store policy lowly enough that they probably didn't even hear him over their yelling. Then, both managers leave me to the carnage.

With that milestone covered, I have SC1 begin filling out her information for the return (fortunately she did this without too much fuss) and ask if she needs her receipt back. Of course she does. Which means I have go to over and make a copy of it. My entire way to the copier (just on one of the far registers), I can hear them going over the exact same points they did after I asked for their license. Since they kept insisting they were in such a big hurry, I made sure that receipt copy was cut out very clean and straight. After all, we don't want a messy copy, do we?

So I return with the receipt copy and finish up the return. Then, I have to go back and start re-ringing the merchandise from the transaction that was overrung. By now, they have been continuously berating me and insulting me, and I can feel myself getting hot and a bit shaky, so I am completely ignoring them. I know if I try to say anything, it will end up like the fiasco we had last week where a cashier couldn't hold her tongue. As I'm ringing up their junk, this is what I constantly have to listen to from SC2.

1. I feel like you made up those policies just out of spite because we said we were in a hurry. (Repeat x5,000)
2. You must not have any kids, so you don't know what it's like to HAVE to pick them up from the bus. (Well, no, I don't, but if I did, I wouldn't be trying to shop 10 minutes before hand. Say it with me: "Lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part". Or, if I DID try to go shopping with such little time to spare, I wouldn't be berating the cashier for wasting your precious time.)
3. I spend more money here every week than you make in a month. (Well, no, to be truthful, you would have to say you STEAL more here every week than I make in a month. Even if you DID spend more here, uh...so? I guess that means I'm supposed to worship the very ground you walk on?)
4. I'm never coming through this line again. (Can I get that in writing?)

After these things she said didn't really seem to get a rise on me, she decided to start intimidating me.

1. (Talking to SC1) I'm going to call corporate. I'm so f**king sick of this place.
2. What's your name? (Looks at my name badge.) Ah, craftstoreslave. Yeah, I'm calling corporate on you for lying to me. (Repeat ad nauseum, as before.) (You know what? I don't care. In fact, I hope you DO call corporate. After all, I'm following their policies, so let me know how that works out for you.)

FINALLY, I finish ringing up SC2's order, and she can go pick up her precious kid, but not after throwing my pen at me as a final "punishment for my misconduct".

So far, I haven't heard anyone from corporate call back to fire me.

[Raerlynn]

but not after throwing my pen at me as a final "punishment for my misconduct".

And THAT is a classic example of assault and battery. You should have threatened to call the cops. Then point out all the stolen goods when the cop arrives. I'd love to them explains THAT.

[myswtghst]

Stories like this remind me how glad I am to work in a call center. At least with my customers they can't physically abuse me, and if they get too obnoxious, I can hang up, or at the very least, put the phone on mute and flick off the phone.

But if I had a nickel for how often I heard that I was making up a policy out of spite, I'd be rich. Why is it that people think we care enough about them to make things up? I don't care, I want you out of my face, but unfortunately, if I don't do what the people above say, I get in trouble.

[felixxkatt]

if your store has a corporate line to compain, you should totally call it and tell them that your store manager embarassed you in front of customers and then allowed the same customers to berate you. that is verbal abuse, it is unproffessional for a manager to let it continue, it's unproffessional for a manager to stand there and let it look like it's all your fault anyway. also, you should be allowed to say to the customer, "Ma'am, i'm sorry that you are late, but i am doing my job, and there is no need to be rude to me." you have to stay professional, but there is no reason to allow yourself to be trod upon!

[Jewels]

The next time they attempt to go thru your line, call your SM up and let him know that you refuse to help them as they are rude, violent, and steal, and then let him deal with them.

[Rapscallion]

Was the pen throwing on camera? If so, you have them by their ovaries.

Rapscallion

[Jester]

Craftstoreslave, you are in what sounds like a horrible situation workwise. As I was. As ArenaBoy is.

I would like to suggest that you follow our lead and start jobhunting for another job. Once you find said job, quit your current, job, but make sure you have documented in writing all the stuff that your management has (and hasn't) done to make this move necessary. Then submit said documentation to corporate so that, hopefully, these asshat managers don't get to be in a position to let customers abuse other employees while they sit there and do absolutely nothing.

[SnapAddict218]

THAT pisses me off!!!!!!!!!!! The management LETS them treat you that way.

Kudos to you for having what it takes to put up with BOTH SC's and the manager.

[air914]

Once you find said job, quit your current, job, but make sure you have documented in writing all the stuff that your management has (and hasn't) done to make this move necessary. Then submit said documentation to corporate so that, hopefully, these asshat managers don't get to be in a position to let customers abuse other employees while they sit there and do absolutely nothing.

Ha that did NOTHING for me..... I had over 20 pages of documentation on this woman (District Manager) and it still was another year before someone wised up and fired the idiot. My parents even called corporate and complained about them firing me (two days before Christmas mind you) - now yes, I was embarassed and no I didn't have any idea until later how MANY times they called.... but I guess it shows my parents love me and knew that there was no way I should've been fired

Still - I sent so much documentation on all of my reviews (which were all good), my training folder, etc.... didn't do a thing.

My husband also worked for this same company and documented quite a bit of information on his District Manager (another idiot) and so far it doesn't seem like a whole lot has been done - I think they lost like 5 store managers in a period of 2 months b/c of the moron but still they don't fire her.... I don't understand that at all. If someone is NOT doing the work and is completely incompetent - NO they don't deserve 50 chances, NO you don't need to try to "get them to quit" - just freakin fire them! What's up with that being so hard?

[F**kYouForCalling]

Stories like this remind me how glad I am to work in a call center. At least with my customers they can't physically abuse me, and if they get too obnoxious, I can hang up, or at the very least, put the phone on mute and flick off the phone.

But if I had a nickel for how often I heard that I was making up a policy out of spite, I'd be rich. Why is it that people think we care enough about them to make things up? I don't care, I want you out of my face, but unfortunately, if I don't do what the people above say, I get in trouble.

I completely agree! I have worked face to face with customers before and it was horrible! I have also worked in call centers where we HAD to deal with the verbal abuse and was not allowed to do anything about it. Luckily, I work for a company now that understands what it is like to be abused by the customer and we have whats called the "abusive member policy" which means if they do it once, we warn them that they will get hung up on and if they do it again- buh bye. I was so used to dealing with abusive customers already that I was happy to say I never had to use this, because I could calm people down easily, but I recently did have to hang up on someone, and I was VERY glad that I could!!

[Andara Bledin]

They threw something?

Hold the phone. That's it. Unless it was a cotton ball, that is completely and utterly unacceptable!

I don't know what your situation is, but you should do what you can to make sure you don't have to accept any form of physical violence from anyone for any reason.

Today it's a pen, tomorrow it might be something more dangerous, and even a pen can do some nasty harm.

^-.-^