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The Results Of The California Education System by: Kusanagi

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  • The Results Of The California Education System by: Kusanagi

    Kusanagi has mentioned in another post that he would like to have this story posted again but he did not save it before a hack. I recently found it nd wanted to put it up for everyone to see. I do however think it is incomplete. So Kus., if you notice that it is not complete please feel free to do what needs to be done to it. Mods, if this is not the correct place for it, please feel free to move it wherever.

    The Results of the California Education System

    First post! Lurked here for a few days, but having a customer walk into my showroom last night certainly pushed me over the edge and made me want to write this story. I have had several SCs in the course of working for this company, but there are two stories that stand out. One caused me to deal with a customer for a good 8 months on end.

    The other occured last night, and this will be the one I detail. There is some foul language here, none of it by me however.

    This is an extremely long post, but I like to be as detailed as possible.

    As I mentioned in my introduction post, I work at a furniture showroom. we are a national company with over 250 stores across the company. We work about 2-3 people to a showroom, and sometimes only 1, as the case may be when we are shortstaffed from the turnover rate and the firings.

    I get the stupidest customers working in commissioned sales. As many times as I want to tell someone off, reply to a snide remark, hurl back an insult, I cannot. It's part "taking the higher ground," and part "If this person walks I don't get paid."

    About 5 minutes before closing last night these two customers walk into my showroom and explain what they're looking for. Long story short, they sit down on a very nice set, and the most expensive one in the store. I have them sold on the ENTIRE living room package, they just need to pick out their lamps.

    I don't mind; I'm having fun with these people and if I feel a customer is genuinly going to buy, I will stay past closing to finish the transaction and put some more money in my pocket. It was about 15 minutes after closing time, and this sale will basically put an extra 300 onto my paycheck.

    Now, there are two things that need explaining. The first one is, I'm covering at another showroom roughly 130 miles away from where I live. I don't know the area too well, I don't know the current issues that are going on here, and I am doing my best to answer questions.

    The door is literally KICKED open and in walks a very large, stout black woman. I only mention her race because it pertains to the story. Plus, even though I hate stereotypes, she definately enforced it. First words out of her mouth when she steps in: "I wanna speak to the mother----ing manager!"

    Me: Ummm...I'm the manager on duty tonight. How can I help you?
    SC: You f----d up my furniture, my house, and the delivery! Now what the f--- are you gonna do about it?
    Me: ...Ma'am, I assure you I will do my best to try to straighten out the situation, if you'll calm down and let me know what it is...

    The SC goes on an angry tirade that lasts 15 minutes. Cussing out our company, cussing out me, the person that she bought the furniture from, etc. At this point, the couple I was about to sell walk out of the front door politely and I grit my teeth so hard I could have probably turned a charcoal briquette into a diamond. That's $300 of my money walking out the door. I eventually get from her that the furniture took two weeks longer to get than she thought it would, we delivered it on a different day, the piece didn't fit through the door but she told the drivers to try anyway, and it ripped a hole in the sofa and tore half the jamb off the side of the door.

    I direct the woman over to the desk, being extremely patient this whole time. She comes over to me, and walks RIGHT behind the desk to lean over the computer.

    Me: Umm, I'd be happy to help but this area is employees only.
    SC: There ain't no other employees in the store, and I want to make sure you don't f--- up anything worse than you're going to!
    Me: Please...go around behind the desk, I have to enter some passwords to get into the system that I can't have anyone else seeing.
    SC: Fine. :goes around desk, finally:
    Me: :boots up computer system, and enters our company network: Do you have an order number?
    SC: No, I don't.
    Me: Okay then...(this was a common occurance)What's your last name?
    SC: :gives last name in a pissed off tone:
    Me: Hmmm, that's not showing anything in the computer...
    SC: You just don't know what the hell you're doing.
    Me: :ignoring her: Did someone else come in and purchase the furniture for you? Maybe it's in their name?
    SC: Oh yeah, my boyfriend did.
    Me: What's his last name?

    She gives me his last name. This also doesn't show up in the computer. I inform her of this and she gets even more irate.

    SC: You're doing it wrong! You're such a f---ing idiot you can't even pull up the order in the computer? What types of idiots are they all hirin' here at these places? I don't know how you stay in business, with stupid people working here...

    I think anyone will agree I am putting up with far more than I need to at this point. I look in the filing cabinets for deliveries that day. Odd...there are none. I start to get confused.

    Me: Ma'am, I'm doing the best I can. There's no need to use profanity or hurl insults at me. I'm covering from San Diego and I cannot find any information on your order in the computer, and I cannot find your physical order here in the delivery bin for today. Did you get it from here?
    SC: YES! My boyfriend came to the place here by the Taco Bell!
    Me: I've done all I can...I'm sorry for the damage to your home and I will do everything I possibly can to follow up on this first thing in the morning...
    SC: Why can't you do it tonight?
    Me: Because it's 9:30 on a Tuesday night and our corporate office is in New York.
    SC: So?
    Me: It's past midnight back there.
    SC: I don't care. I want you to call up someone who will be able to follow up on this and fix this for me now!
    Me: The best I can do for you right now at this point is email corporate, send an email to the manager that works here, and have him follow up with you in the morning.
    SC: Call your manager, right now.
    Me: I'm not doing that. It's 9:30 at night on his day off. Even if I were to call him, which I won't, he wouldn't be able to follow up because he is at home and has no computer access to our system.
    SC: You f---ing do something about this, RIGHT NOW! I demand that you pay to fix my furniture and fix my house!
    Me: Ma'am, I'm genuinly sorry, but there is nothing I can do at this moment besides what I just mentioned.
    SC: :turns to leave: I swear to f---ing Christ, I will sue to have you shut down! I will sue to have you fired, since you can't do your job for sh-t! I am NEVER walking into any Ethan Allen again!

    At this point, I should explain the second thing. Our showroom shares a huge parking lot surrounded by other stores. We have a Best Buy, Toys R Us, and Home Depot. We also have 4 furniture showrooms including ours and yes, an Ethan Allen.

    Let me reiterate the point I am trying to make. The dumb bitch walked into the wrong store.
    I'm trying so incredibly hard not to laugh at this point, but I'm unable to. I catch myself from laughing openly, but a huge grin spreads across my face.

    SC: What's so f-ing funny!?
    Me: Ummm...this isn't Ethan Allen. This is [company name]. The Ethan Allen is on the other side of the center...
    SC: Well how the f--- was I supposed to know that?

    I'm not exaggerating here. You would think that a sane person would realize their mistake, and apologize profusely. Barring that, you would expect them to walk out of the store with some shadow of dignity. But no. She. Actually. Said. That.

    SC: Don't you f-ing talk to me like that! You know, I can get you fired for talking to me like that. Well what the hell do you have that's like what I bought at Ethan Allen since they're such f-ing retards who can't do sh-t?

    God help me, I actually take her to a sectional. I'm being very curt with her. If I can sell her, it could make up a bit for the fact another customer walked on me because of her, and since I won't be covering at this showroom anyway, I won't have to deal with her. Plus my coworker would be able to write a thread about me in the coworker forum.

    Me: :turning around and laughing: No, that isn't happening. I think we're done here.
    SC: (You have any idea how mad a black person has to be before their face turns red?) Stop laughing at me, motherf-cker! Do you think what I said was funny?
    Me: :whirling back towards the customer: You want me to give you a discount when we did nothing wrong? Your problem is with Ethan Allen, not us, and not me. THEY messed up your order. Not US. Even if I could give you a discount, which I couldn't, there's no way I would because of the way you have been treating me.
    SC: :making those little open mouth gasps, you know the ones I mean: I'LL HAVE YOU FIRED AND I'LL PERSONALLY SUE YOU AND THE ENTIRE COMPANY FOR TREATING ME THIS WAY! I AM A CUSTOMER AND I EXPECT TO BE TREATED WITH SOME RESPECT!
    Me: (I've lost it at this point) Then learn to give it. You aren't a customer till you've bought something. And there's no way you can get me fired (this is true, as I am one of the best associates on the west coast and ALL of my bosses would have told this lady to go shove it already). Either buy something, NOW, or leave, NOW. Those are your two options. Now, do you want to buy the sectional or not?

    I am one of those people that will never shout in rage but I do have an extremely commanding and authoritive voice when I chose to use it. I was extremely pissed off, but I was not going to shout.

    SC: You're the most rude, inconsiderate f-cker I've ever met! I promise I will have you fired for speaking to me like that!
    Me: Leave now, or I'm calling security on you.
    SC: You can't do that! What gives you the right to treat me like this? (here is where she has long gone into self righteous mode as only a stereotypical reinforcing black woman can. Here's where I completely snap)

    Me: Lady, you come in here 45 minutes ago, start screaming with no regard for anyone in this showroom, including me, and caused two people who were going to buy to walk. I lost the commission on a sale and 300 dollars on my paycheck just now because you were TOO STUPID to even walk into the RIGHT STORE. You don't even apologize, you have spit on me, you have thrown every insult imaginable at me and I have stood here and taken it, even after it was shown that YOU were in the wrong on this. Completely. I could have demanded you apologized and I even started to help you pick something out when I had every right to tell you off the same way you told me. I have continually been verbally assaulted by you, and now, I don't even want you to buy from me because I wouldn't want to put the poor people at Ethan Allen in this type of bullshit when you find something to complain about us and go kick in the door over there. You messed with my paycheck and at that point I don't care about you as a customer or as a person. Now, get the hell out of my store, this instant!

    The SC actually picked up a pillow and THREW it at me as hard as she could. I caught the thing with both hands and simply said "That's it. I'm calling the police."

    SC: Go ahead, call them! Do you think you're better than me? You're doing this and giving me this kind of sh-t because I'm black, huh? (Wow, took her long enough to pull the race card)
    Me: No, I'm not really upset. I just smile because I know with how stressed you are, I'm going to live much longer than you will. (A DIRECT QUOTE FROM LURKING ON THIS SITE, GO ME!)

    I picked up the phone to call the police and she stormed out, overturning two chairs on her way to the door. I set down the phone, and finished closing, locked up the store (she actually tweaked the doorframe when she kicked it!) and went to the bar for a few very strong mixed drinks.

    In my 5 years of working retail I have NEVER come across anything remotely like this. Behold, the product of the California education system. She could not read, nor could she admit she was wrong in the slightest.

    That's my story. Now I just need to be careful a 300lb boyfriend doesn't come back today and stomp a mudhole in my ass...

    UPDATE:
    Sorry all, had to leave last night for a 2 hour drive and slept like a brick when I came through the door.

    She came back in! A few minutes before close, she came back in with her boyfriend - sure enough, this guy had at least 60 lbs on me (and I'm 200) and I was honestly getting ready to bolt out the back door when he lumbered in. I'm in the showroom by myself, and I'm not about to get my ass kicked by an irate boyfriend.

    How did I recognize her? She was wearing the same outfit as the day before...ew.

    The cool thing? Her boyfriend asked her if I was the one she talked to. She said I was. He looks at me and goes "Look, sorry for the misunderstanding. Try not to be too mad, I just told her it was a furniture store in the parking lot, I didn't tell her it wasn't this one."

    Psycho lady turns red again and starts cussing at the boyfriend as soon as he apologizes. I honestly believe she thought he was going to beat the crap out of me. As they walk out of the store, I can hear her screaming in the parking lot, I'm still in shock, and my adrenaline is pumping even harder than I thought possible.

    Took a few minutes to calm down....sorry I wasn't able to post this last night before I closed up shop.

    I'm really not a violent angry person. Working commissioned sales is alot different than most jobs when it comes to catching crap from customers. I mean, I know the reason alot of people don't fire back at someone is because they are scared of losing their job. When you work on commission, it takes alot more for you to actually lose it towards a customer because not only is your job on the line, but so is your money. Don't sell, you don't get paid.

    I'm lucky enough to work in an environment where I get a weekly salary that takes care of my bills AND commission on top of that. Because I know my bills will be paid, I actually make more money because I'm not stressed out. But two or three good sales will double my paycheck that week, so I'll do everything I can and I will swallow my pride, bite my tongue, etc in order to get paid. You reach a point with customers like this where you go "Is the money I will make off this sale worth the amount of stress this person is putting me through?"

    The customers that piss me off are the ones that are high and mighty and come across as they are doing you a favor by buying from you. Anyone in commissioned sales will experience this type of customer. They flaunt the fact that you get paid if they buy as a way to sling so much in your direction. If I get a customer like that, it's so nice to just smile and go "Well, it's my job to find something for you that you like. But all my finances are taken care of and I really don't need the 10 dollars I'd make from you buying this piece of furniture. I do this because I want to, not because I have to." This puts them in their place 9 times out of 10, they will apologize or just leave.

    In the year and a half I have been working here, the one thing I absolutely LOVE is the fact that we all have each other's back. Management will never cave in to a demand or an unreasonable request. We will work with you, but there have been times when I was a manager I had to take my associate's back when a customer flat-out lied. I remember the first time a customer lied about me to my manager (in front of me, no less!) and he actually took my side. His reasoning? "Anyone that stupid and anyone she deals with would be nothing but headaches and problems for our company because they would always find something to complain about. We don't want their business."

    I am so happy to work in an environment that does not take crap from unruly customers.

  • #2
    People who react like that lady did react that way because they're too miffed to accept the fact that they're the ones who made a mistake & take out their frustrations on people who had nothing to do with their mix up. They are the worst kind of Sucky Customer you can ever have.

    Comment


    • #3
      I remember read that when I was first lurking.

      Wow.
      I'm bringing disdain back...with a vengeance.

      Oh, and your tool box called...you got out again.

      Comment


      • #4

        In my 5 years of working retail I have NEVER come across anything remotely like this. Behold, the product of the California education system. She could not read, nor could she admit she was wrong in the slightest.
        Ironically poor Kus would probably welcome this lady after all the insanity he's had to deal with since then.
        "You know, there are times when it's a source of personal pride not to be human." - Hobbes

        Comment


        • #5
          I remember reading this.

          It still inspires strong feelings.
          Unseen but seeing
          oh dear, now they're masquerading as sane-KiaKat
          There isn't enough interpretive dance in the workplace these days-Irv
          3rd shift needs love, too
          RIP, mo bhrionglóid

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          • #6
            I remember this story... there's a paragraph or two missing in the middle there where the lady actually agreed to buy if they'd give her a discount "for her trouble".
            GK/Kara/Jester fangirl.

            Comment


            • #7
              Quoth CancelMyService View Post
              Ironically poor Kus would probably welcome this lady after all the insanity he's had to deal with since then.
              Maybe we should put this "lady" and Ghetto Stupidstar in a cage and let them duke it out...
              Last edited by XCashier; 05-14-2008, 11:03 PM.
              I don't have an attitude problem. You have a perception problem.
              My LiveJournal
              A page we can all agree with!

              Comment


              • #8
                This is what made me a fan of Kusanagi in the first place. He's the id unleashed when it comes to dealing with assholes.

                And I always imagined when the SC came back in with her boyfriend, she had a really smug "You gon' DIE, cracka!" grin on her face while awaiting the expected beatdown.
                The New Orleans Saints are your 2009 NFL champions.

                Believe dat.

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                • #9
                  *Sarcasm on*

                  Just because they are from California, does not mean that all of us is like that. Damn stereotypes

                  *Sarcasm off*

                  Last edited by powerboy; 05-16-2008, 06:33 AM.
                  Under The Moon Paranormal Research
                  San Joaquin Valley Paranormal Research

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                  • #10
                    Quoth powerboy View Post
                    *Sarcasm on*

                    Just because they are from California, does not mean that all of us is like that. Damn stereotypes

                    *Sarcasm off*
                    I wasn't aware that that was a stereotype. Also, check your use of sarcasm. Usually if you're being sarcastic, you mean the opposite of what you're saying. Somehow, I doubt that's the case here.

                    To Kus: Man, once she realized she wasn't in Ethan Allen, you'd think she'd have fled the store, but I guess some people just can't admit when they've screwed up big.
                    Ba'al: I'm a god. Gods are all-knowing.

                    http://unrelatedcaptions.com/45147

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                    • #11
                      Go go gadget boyfriend! Seriously, his apologizing made me laugh and have hope for people.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Me: Ummm...this isn't Ethan Allen. This is [company name]. The Ethan Allen is on the other side of the center...
                        SC: Well how the f--- was I supposed to know that?
                        I totally imagine this scene if it was made into a movie.

                        The camera moves back from the woman, to get a general view of the store. Close-ups on several price tags, each larger than the previous one, with the company name. View of the front desk, with the company name, in large, friendly letters. View of the front door with the even larger "Welcome to <company name>" sign. View of the outside of the store, with the huge neon sign above the building. Back inside the store, Kusangi picks up his jaw and replies.
                        "I am not able rightly to apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question."

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