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I work in a convenience store.
Sometimes, queues form. Usually we have two till staff taking care of the registers. Last month, however, I was on my own when the manager did the banking and another was on lunch.
I had a queue of about 5 people. That's it. A short one, actually.
Some people want to pay bills, so I have to do those, or buy electric tokens. I was putting these through when this horrid old lady started loudly making 'tsk' noises and saying to other customers, 'what's taking her so long? Always a wait in here.' etc etc.
I ignored her. Granted, this wasn't actually a big queue. It was (now) 4 people.
As I was serving the next person she kept on doing it. Then she started on me.
Old Lady (OL): 'What's the matter with you? Why do I have to wait so long?'
By now a couple more people had joined the queue so I pressed the buzzer for my colleague. This woman seemed to like making a scene.
OL: 'This is stupid! Where are your staff?'
Me: 'One is on lunch. I've just called her down. She'll be with you in a second.' (of course, just to annoy her I use my best Stepford Salesgirl voice. Being a former radio newsreader perfect pronunciation is my gift.)
OL: 'WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, SENDING YOUR STAFF ON LUNCH?!'
Ahh, right. I finally got it. As she kept ranting about my obvious incompetence for not being able to serve 4 people at once, I figured it out - she thought was the manager.
As new uniforms are due to be arriving in a few months, our store hasn't been sending new staff uniforms, so we've had to make do with our own clothes. I wear smart trousers, a red (store colour) blouse with a blazer/cardigan over the top. I dress very smartly which leads a lot to mistake me for the manageress. Which is what this woman had obviously done.
Me: *Loudly* 'I do apologise. Would you like to speak to my manager? Maybe she can sort out your problem for you.'
OL: 'Oh. *pause* Um. Yes, I will.'
You could tell by this woman's face that she felt stupid. Now she'd have to speak to the manager in front of everyone. She couldn't exactly say 'no, it's okay' because then she'd look even MORE of a twat. I mouthed 'Sorry' to the man I was serving, and picked up the office phone beside me.
Me: 'Hi...Linda? Yes, could you come out here a sec please? There's a lady who has a problem with the queue, and would like to speak with you.'
The woman went pale as the whole queue was quiet. Okay, so she wanted to make a scene - now she had one.
Me: 'There you go! She'll be out shortly.'
I could see a regular customer giving me the thumbs up at the back of the queue. I tried not to laugh. Linda, my manager, came out and I introduced the woman.
Then Linda began to explain to her nicely about the queue (at this moment my colleague came down and started serving) and how it cannot be helped, and that if she had a problem, she could take it to her personally.
The old woman soon shut up. She couldn't even look round at other people like she had in the beginning because you could tell she was so embarrassed. When I began serving her, she said quietly:
'I'm sorry. I thought you were the manager.'
Me: 'Well, I'm not. Have a lovely day now. Next, please!'
Lesson for the day:
1. One should never assume.
2. If you want to belittle me to make a scene, trust me - I can turn it right around.
When my next customer came to my till I apologized for the wait. 'No worries!' he said. 'Some people should just stay away from shops altogether.'
Sometimes, queues form. Usually we have two till staff taking care of the registers. Last month, however, I was on my own when the manager did the banking and another was on lunch.
I had a queue of about 5 people. That's it. A short one, actually.
Some people want to pay bills, so I have to do those, or buy electric tokens. I was putting these through when this horrid old lady started loudly making 'tsk' noises and saying to other customers, 'what's taking her so long? Always a wait in here.' etc etc.
I ignored her. Granted, this wasn't actually a big queue. It was (now) 4 people.
As I was serving the next person she kept on doing it. Then she started on me.
Old Lady (OL): 'What's the matter with you? Why do I have to wait so long?'
By now a couple more people had joined the queue so I pressed the buzzer for my colleague. This woman seemed to like making a scene.
OL: 'This is stupid! Where are your staff?'
Me: 'One is on lunch. I've just called her down. She'll be with you in a second.' (of course, just to annoy her I use my best Stepford Salesgirl voice. Being a former radio newsreader perfect pronunciation is my gift.)
OL: 'WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING, SENDING YOUR STAFF ON LUNCH?!'
Ahh, right. I finally got it. As she kept ranting about my obvious incompetence for not being able to serve 4 people at once, I figured it out - she thought was the manager.
As new uniforms are due to be arriving in a few months, our store hasn't been sending new staff uniforms, so we've had to make do with our own clothes. I wear smart trousers, a red (store colour) blouse with a blazer/cardigan over the top. I dress very smartly which leads a lot to mistake me for the manageress. Which is what this woman had obviously done.
Me: *Loudly* 'I do apologise. Would you like to speak to my manager? Maybe she can sort out your problem for you.'
OL: 'Oh. *pause* Um. Yes, I will.'
You could tell by this woman's face that she felt stupid. Now she'd have to speak to the manager in front of everyone. She couldn't exactly say 'no, it's okay' because then she'd look even MORE of a twat. I mouthed 'Sorry' to the man I was serving, and picked up the office phone beside me.
Me: 'Hi...Linda? Yes, could you come out here a sec please? There's a lady who has a problem with the queue, and would like to speak with you.'
The woman went pale as the whole queue was quiet. Okay, so she wanted to make a scene - now she had one.
Me: 'There you go! She'll be out shortly.'
I could see a regular customer giving me the thumbs up at the back of the queue. I tried not to laugh. Linda, my manager, came out and I introduced the woman.
Then Linda began to explain to her nicely about the queue (at this moment my colleague came down and started serving) and how it cannot be helped, and that if she had a problem, she could take it to her personally.
The old woman soon shut up. She couldn't even look round at other people like she had in the beginning because you could tell she was so embarrassed. When I began serving her, she said quietly:
'I'm sorry. I thought you were the manager.'
Me: 'Well, I'm not. Have a lovely day now. Next, please!'
Lesson for the day:
1. One should never assume.
2. If you want to belittle me to make a scene, trust me - I can turn it right around.
When my next customer came to my till I apologized for the wait. 'No worries!' he said. 'Some people should just stay away from shops altogether.'
ups"
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