Poor planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.

[Catwoman2965]

Reminds me of the time I was at the airport; I had done curbside check-in, and was waiting to get my ticket etc. back from the guy who took it, took my bag, and so on. There were a few people waiting behind me (note: I hate flying with a passion and as such, have a need to be there abnormally early all the time, just in case).

This young girl rolls up, and is dancing up and down, asking the couple behind me if she can go ahead of them, as her flight was leaving soon, she wouldn't make it through security yada, yada, yada. they said sorry, no, then she asked me. I couldn't, even if i wanted to, as I was in mid-check in already.

Don't know why, but I suspected she was just one of those who didn't think the "make sure you're at the airport x hours ahead to check in" didn't apply to her.

[RealUnimportant]

Check-in times really seem to confuse people, even more so in this modern age of extreme security; minimum suggested lead time at UK airports for internal flights are 2 hours, external are 3 hours, and yet I've had customers turn up at my ticket window and get pissed about the fact we only have a train towards the nearest airport every 30 minutes, usually because they've arrived 5 minutes after the last one left. So very, very often they howl and wail about their flight being scheduled to depart in an hour... Yeah, even if you'd been here in time to catch the earlier train, you wouldn't be reaching the airport until pretty much the same time your flight will be pushing back from the terminal, so you'd have been fucked anyway. If it was a charter and you were paying then they'd probably wait, but it's usually a generic cheap flight being run by PlanesRUs and you are in no way important enough for the to consider delaying their takeoff just because you're not there yet!

After they finish cursing me out for not running a special train exclusively for them, they generally take off running to the nearest cab office. Good luck, it's at least an hour by car from here even on a good day!

[gerund]

After they finish cursing me out for not running a special train exclusively for them, they generally take off running to the nearest cab office. Good luck, it's at least an hour by car from here even on a good day!

One time a train saved me. I was in Singapore in Orchard Road on a Saturday night. I had a meal in the basement (out of sight of the main road) and left to catch a taxi with about 3 hours before my plane left. I arrived at a taxi rank to find about 25 people waiting for a taxi with a taxi arriving every 15 minutes.

I decided that I would not get a taxi before my plane left, so I went to the subway and asked which line went towards the airport. Once on the train I asked one of the other passengers which station was near a main road and closest to the airport. I walked to the road and caught a taxi within 2 minutes.

I was at the airport in plenty of time to catch my plane.

[XCashier]

As for the cops. They will come and look at the cameras, if called. If they see that the person was acting like a bitch they'll talk to people directly who were there and issue the bitch a small fine (usually $100). This started because our demographic in the area is generally self-entitled rich bitches, and things started to turn physical on a regular basis because they knew we couldn't do anything about it.

Well, that's something at least. Good to see some punishment dished out against SCs, even if it is fairly small. I hate it when SCs get to be Karma Houdinis and get everything they wanted and then some, plus the sadistic pleasure of heaping abuse on an employee.

[AkaiKitsune]

Well, that's something at least. Good to see some punishment dished out against SCs, even if it is fairly small. I hate it when SCs get to be Karma Houdinis and get everything they wanted and then some, plus the sadistic pleasure of heaping abuse on an employee.

I have no problem what so ever about calling the customer out on their abuse. I'm sorry but if you are such an asshole as to make a cashier cry from your verbal diarrhea then you aren't the kind of customer I want in my store anyway. It's probably the reason I'm so popular with the P1s but the P2s dislike me for doing my damn job and the P3s think I need to be more accommodating to customer concerns. I'm sorry but if a cashier calls me for backup because the rude ass bitch of a customer can't accept our damn policy (which is displayed at the till, service desk, and a few other random places so they can't claim ignorance) I'm going to support my staff. I have no intention of sending the message that it's okay to abuse staff or that the customer is allowed to do so and be rewarded for it.

A genuine complaint is one thing but some of the stuff I've seen makes me ashamed to call myself human.

We had one lady who would come in, grab a bunch of stuff off the shelves and try to claim she bought it and now wants to return it (she didn't pay for anything). When the cashier told her to return something you have to actually buy the product in the first place (but diplomatically) she would throw a tantrum like a spoiled toddler and inevitably the sup would cave and try to placate the customer. I stopped that. I have no problem telling the botch she can either walk out the same way she came in or we can call the cops to look at the surveillance tapes and see how much she needs to be fined for. After all what she's doing is theft and something else I can't remember what. Funny, how when I first started as a P1 they couldn't find someone to cover evenings even with bribes and now that I'm P2 there's a waiting list to get on evening/closing shifts. Strange how well treating the employees below you in rank works out. Especially if you actually take the time to listen to more then the customers side of the story and back up whoever is right.

If the customer is in fact right and the cashier was wrong about the policy or the situations standard response then I have no problem backing up the customer. But I also take the time to point out why that situation has that response or why it's the exception to the rule or whatever so that the cashier can learn (imagine that) and the problem doesn't repeat. It also lets the worker know that you have in fact listened to them and that this particular situation is handled in a particular way because...

Maybe it's because I did a brief stint in the military (family full of lifers. Not gonna be me. I like not be a psychological nutcase thank you very much) but I was under the impression that there's more to good leadership then simply dictatorship. Funny thing, a cashier is a cashier whether or not a supervisor is on duty. However a Supervisor without cashiers simply becomes an overplayed cashier to pick up the slack and cannot in truth be called a supervisor anymore. So who's the more important person in the hierarchy? You teach the person below you about your job and you learn from those above you. That is the road to promotion. Its less jarring for a company to promote someone who has at least an idea of what their new position is about and how it works then someone who only understands that when shit hits the fan, call the supervisor. It also is more efficient if they can solve some of the little problems at the till and just call for an override if necessary rather then have every little thing done for them.

That doesn't mean I'm always going to be on the cashiers side or that I won't correct their attitude if necessary (not that I've ever needed to as of yet...with the exception of one clerk who refused to do anything I told him to out of actual laziness). But I try to be at least respectful about it. Hell, we've all had customers we secretly wished would go step on a Lego. But actually showing that frustration in the form of rudeness and combative attitude is unprofessional.

Save it for the break room.

I actually added a CustomersSuck binder (like a low tech version of this site) so people can rant about the idiots they serve without turning the break room into an unpleasant place to be if you're having a good day. It allows people to get their anger off their chest so when they go back down they aren't dragging it with them. The general rule being one complaint a day and don't tell the management. Strangely enough we've actually gotten noticed for having a better on floor attitude.

I bet if everyone was forced to do a month of customer service (or some other menial job) as a condition of graduating high school, manners would skyrocket. New people to the real world would see what assholes other humans could be and decide they don't want to come off as a ginormous asshat... Either that or we'd have an extremely jaded and bitter generation entering real life as quasi-adults.

[earl colby pottinger]

Brothers

Yeah I couldn't work there, someone puts hands on me to do harm I'm gonna react in an extremely violent manner.
In college I worked third shift at a convenient store that was located near a poor folks apartment complex (housing project where I'm from.) I was told to expect to be assaulted and robbed. Never happened, I think the pistol on my hip made a difference.

Good luck and stay safe.

I grew up with four brothers, basic survival if you want to live thru all the pranks is to hit first, ask questions after.

[Ironclad Alibi]

...with the exception of one clerk who refused to do anything I told him to out of actual laziness.

Is this a tale that needs to be posted? Or is it already in COC?

I bet if everyone was forced to do a month of customer service (or some other menial job) as a condition of graduating high school, manners would skyrocket. New people to the real world would see what assholes other humans could be and decide they don't want to come off as a ginormous asshat... Either that or we'd have an extremely jaded and bitter generation entering real life as quasi-adults.

Unfortunately, too many of them would see it as training in "How To Be A Sucky Customer."

[Food Lady]

...or if its quiet that's extra time to chat up the cute girl selling popcorn...��

I used to be the cute girl selling popcorn. Now I'm just a middle-aged lady crunching numbers behind a desk. :/

[Tanasi]

I grew up with four brothers, basic survival if you want to live thru all the pranks is to hit first, ask questions after.

I'm the oldest of five. I have two brothers and two sisters. I'm closer to the older brother and sister. I was pretty much grown and gone by the time my youngest sister and brother came along. The prank wars with my siblings still rage to this day. The prank wars between my three youngest kids still rages with my grandkids sometimes being in the collateral damage pathway.

My youngest son left today with my oldest son to spend his summer vacation in Hawaii with the older son's wife and kids. Poor little boy being forced to spend his summer in paradise playing on a Navy/Marine base with his nephews instead of staying home and working on the farm.