Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

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

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

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

    So it's dollar days at the store I work at and so everyone is trying to get their groceries at the same time making the store super busy. This is particularly true because we're short staffed (yet again) and the weekend is about to start.

    Let me make it clear that this is not old news to the public. We've been running obscene amounts of advertising because Summer's coming and camping season has already begun (bit cold personally). We've got advertisement on the Internet, our website, all the local papers, tv, and even the radio and snail mail. It is not the first day of the sale nor is it the last chance to grab stuff before the flyer turns over.

    So this lady shows up at customer service desk, where there is a line obviously as its a busy day. She bitches whines and moans the entire time in line because "can't we see she's in a rush" and keeps trying to budge in front of people who are paying less then perfect attention (both other customers and staff call her out on it). She bitches that she should "be given priority because there's a long drive to the ferry and she's not sure if she'll make it this way."

    Sorry lady, everyone who is kindergarten age or older knows that the people who were there in line first, get served first. Even some kids younger then kindergarten age can sometimes understand that.

    She spends the whole time complaining about what "horrible service we have for making her wait [in line...like everyone else]". She does this at the top of her voice. Then complains that she's "been planning this trip all month and she booked time specially off for it." Sorry but if you've been planning this trip that long then you had plenty of time to buy your ferry passes earlier (they aren't dated so you can use them once within 30days of purchasing) instead of waiting to the last minute. No sympathy from me here.

    When she finally gets to the till we tear off the necessary tickets from the book (2 car and 2 passenger) She then questions us about why we're trying to "scam her" into buying two tickets and we have to tediously explain that when you get on the ferry you have to give them the ticket for the car and for the driver. You don't get that ticket back. You therefore need a second set of car/driver tickets to return on the ferry back home or spend more money to get back (the tickets are cheaper if you buy there and back again rather then two separate trips). So she can either pay $30 now or pay $20 for one way and then pay $20 more when she's due to return.

    Then she tries to snatch the tickets out of the cashiers hand before she's paid for them. Whereby I have to explain we can't give her the tickets until she's paid for them as some people aren't as 'honest' as her and we've had people walk off with tickets before without paying or having their card declined. I don't think she caught the subtle barb. Probably a good thing really.

    She pays and leaves. Thankfully.

    Only then, we get a call from SOHC (sucky old hag customer). Note, slightly edited to cut out the more graphic descriptions of what I could do with myself while still making sense

    SOHC: thanks to your terrible service I'm now stuck in traffic. It's all your fault. If you had just let me in front of all those people I wouldn't be stuck in traffic.

    Me: I'm sorry to hear that but we have no control over how busy it gets and I am legally not allowed to serve you before customers who are already in line.

    SOHC: well you should have made an exception for me. After all I only needed one thing (and the other people didn't?). I would have been faster then all those people with returns and problems (because that's totally not the point of the desk?).

    Me: It's a legal obligation ma'am. I could lose my supervisor position if I broke store policy and be fined for breaking the law.

    SOHC: Well nobody would know and it would have been more convenient for me if you had just ignored your silly rules (hello! Legal obligation, store policy, and common human decency?).

    Me: I'm sorry but we do have cameras pointed right at the desk (hint hint of you're going to complain to my boss like you're probably about to threaten they'll check the cameras) and they are reviewed regularly. Other customers were ahead of you and they would have been within their rights to complain if someone was allowed to skip the line. My fellow supervisors would have also reported me as per our policy. We are not allowed to show favourism.

    SOHC: *cue indignant reply* *graphic rant.* As far as I can tell (kinda tuned her out) she thought is should do things that were likely physically improbable, a few were downright impossible or there were laws about that sorta thing. She also insulted just about every branch of my family wondered allowed if my mother was as big a bitch as me and then decided that she must be an actual bitch (as in the female dog variety) and that my father couldn't find a woman stupid enough to -insert expletive here- so he made do with the family pet. And a bunch of other shit that honestly had me trying not to laugh at her from the simple absurdity of it all. Not to mention I come from a long line of military personnel, I've heard all kinds of interesting words and things other people should do with themselves. It doesn't bother me because I don't take it seriously even if the other person is saying it seriously. (Besides it pisses them off more to just laugh at them).

    Me: Your concerns are noted and I will take the issue up with my manager if you give me a name and number (and she was dumb enough to do so). I'm sorry but if you don't have an actual question for me then I'm going to have to either put you on hold or end the call as it's really busy and there are other customers to be served.

    SOHC: Don't you dare put me on hold!

    Me: I hope the traffic gets better and you can enjoy your vacation. Have a nice day! *click*

    Of course as soon as she gets to the ferry and realizes she missed her ferry and now has to wait an entire hour she's back to calling us again.

    Store manager, dept manager, and WIC all notified. I seem to recall someone debating whether or not there was any ground for legal action (even if it's just some poor cop sent to her door to explain that being a bitch doesn't mean she can harass and verbally abuse anyone who doesn't cater to her will).
    Last edited by AkaiKitsune; 05-01-2018, 09:47 AM.
    Don’t worry about what I’m up to. Worry about why you are worried about what I’m up to.

  • #2
    AIUI verbal abuse is down in a gray area where it can sometimes be prosecuted... if the cops and DA can be arsed with it, remembering that they won't get much thanks for it, let alone a spiffy headline. (And, of course, they may have more serious matters to deal with.)

    Comment


    • #3
      I wonder if you can refuse to serve her in the future. "Sorry ma'am, I'm refusing to serve you due to you being an abusive asshat, try the next 50-person line."
      Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, you speak with the Fraud department. -- CrazedClerkthe2nd
      OW! Rolled my eyes too hard, saw my brain. -- Seanette
      she seems to top me in crazy, and I'm enough crazy for my family. -- Cooper
      Yes, I am evil. What's your point? -- Jester

      Comment


      • #4
        Reminds me of people in the ticket line at the movies, fuming and stewing and exclaiming, "My movie's about to start! Just buy the damn ticket and move the line...!" The start time is clearly listed, so you're the one to blame for not getting there with sufficient time to purchase the tickets and find a seat. Yeah, I know, sometimes traffic is heavier than expected, there are other delays...but still, that's why you give yourself a buffer of extra time to cover that before heading out. If it takes 20 minutes to drive to the theater, leave the house with at least 40 minutes to spare, and you'll rarely be late. And if you arrive early, jeez, just sit in the lobby and read a book/magazine or futz around on your phone until the movie starts, like I do.

        Comment


        • #5
          ...or if its quiet that's extra time to chat up the cute girl selling popcorn...��
          The Copyright Monster has made me tell you that my avatar is courtesy of the wonderful Alice XZ.And you don't want to annoy the Copyright Monster.

          Comment


          • #6
            Quoth Monterey Jack View Post
            that's why you give yourself a buffer of extra time to cover that before heading out. If it takes 20 minutes to drive to the theater, leave the house with at least 40 minutes to spare, and you'll rarely be late. And if you arrive early, jeez, just sit in the lobby and read a book/magazine or futz around on your phone until the movie starts, like I do.
            In ye olde cab industry, we tell passengers, figure the travel time to your destination, then add half an hour. That should be your pickup time. Appointment is 10 miles away? Pickup an hour in advance. Same appointment, 50 miles away? 90 minutes, minimum. Longer if there are no freeways between point A and point B.
            Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, you speak with the Fraud department. -- CrazedClerkthe2nd
            OW! Rolled my eyes too hard, saw my brain. -- Seanette
            she seems to top me in crazy, and I'm enough crazy for my family. -- Cooper
            Yes, I am evil. What's your point? -- Jester

            Comment


            • #7
              Quoth AkaiKitsune View Post
              Of course as soon as she gets to the ferry and realizes she missed her ferry and now has to wait an entire hour she's back to calling us again.

              OMG, a WHOLE HOUR???? Alert the War Crimes Tribunal!!!
              “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged.
              One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.
              The other, of course, involves orcs." -- John Rogers

              Comment


              • #8
                Quoth Deserted View Post
                I wonder if you can refuse to serve her in the future. "Sorry ma'am, I'm refusing to serve you due to you being an abusive asshat, try the next 50-person line."
                Unfortunately unless she goes full blown pycho or pulls a weapon she probably won't get banned. HO thinks money is money and just doesn't care if their employees are getting abused by the customers or not.

                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.

                Before the cops made it a point to actually show up and actually investigate the customers literally did whatever they wanted and we were there to just take the abuse. I've had people literally slap money out of my hand. I've had stuff thrown at me. I've had a person rip the code book out of my hand (because shouldn't I have those memorized by now? Yeah, I've got the entire 25 page book of 9pt font memorized for the literally thousands of codes for other dept because I really get paid enough for that shit). I've had people deliberately run me over with their shopping carts rather then talk to the lowly employee and say 'excuse me.' That's not including people who would scream and holler abuse because you didn't give them the discount that they made up or because you had to check a price with someone.

                We never asked to have anyone jailed for being a bitch but if they can't be bothered to keep their hands off the employees and speak sentences that don't begin and end in profanity on a regular basis, then I don't want them in my store (regardless of HO money's money idea). It was the cops idea to issue fines and thankfully that kind of behaviour has mostly stopped.

                I think my favourite was the woman who spent over an hour berating an employee for daring to warn her that on Dec25 we are closed (only day of the year where we are closed) since she had said she'd just shop for whatever she forgot then (would you have preferred the cashier kept silent and then you would have shown up to a shutdown store the next day? It's not like this is a new procedure. It's been going on for 45yrs). Then she proceeded to tell us how we didn't deserve Christmas off because we were just lowly cashiers. (Proof that some of our customers have never had to work in a low paying job in their life)
                Don’t worry about what I’m up to. Worry about why you are worried about what I’m up to.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Why is an old hag getting WIC? Or am I confused?

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Quoth AkaiKitsune View Post
                    Unfortunately unless she goes full blown pycho or pulls a weapon she probably won't get banned. HO thinks money is money and just doesn't care if their employees are getting abused by the customers or not.)
                    Are you allowed to defend yourself?
                    Last edited by EricKei; 05-03-2018, 06:15 PM. Reason: We just read it, thanks
                    Bow down before me for I am ROOT

                    Preserving precious bodily fluids sine 1952

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Quoth Nunavut Pants View Post
                      OMG, a WHOLE HOUR???? Alert the War Crimes Tribunal!!!
                      Yeah, last night I unexpectedly spent an hour on a bus, taking it back downtown and then back to my home. My own damn fault for not paying attention to which way the bus was going.

                      (At that particular stop, both directions come into a shopping center and stop at the same place. The only way to tell is to look carefully at the bus's display, and/or check with the driver.)

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Quoth Tanasi View Post
                        Are you allowed to defend yourself?
                        Nope, if we touch the customer at all, even if it's just a hand on their shoulder to hold them back, it leaves the HO monkeys with a potential lawsuit ironically for assault since you put hands on someone without their permission. Stupid really.
                        Don’t worry about what I’m up to. Worry about why you are worried about what I’m up to.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Quoth workerbee222 View Post
                          Why is an old hag getting WIC? Or am I confused?
                          I don’t think it means women, infants, and children in this context. You couldn’t use that for ferry tickets. I assume something like Worker in Charge.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Quoth AkaiKitsune View Post
                            Nope, if we touch the customer at all, even if it's just a hand on their shoulder to hold them back, it leaves the HO monkeys with a potential lawsuit ironically for assault since you put hands on someone without their permission. Stupid really.
                            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.
                            Bow down before me for I am ROOT

                            Preserving precious bodily fluids sine 1952

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Quoth Tanasi View Post
                              I was told to expect to be assaulted and robbed. Never happened, I think the pistol on my hip made a difference.
                              It's amazing how the prospect of getting shot encourages a would-be criminal to find somewhere else to pull his crap. 'Open carry' cities see lower small-time crap, while the non-carry areas nearby see a little raise.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X