Bad hanicapped cust vs. nice handicapped cust

[Monterey Jack]

Okay, I'm out in the parking lot pushing carriages around (four-hour shift...thank God the regular carts guy is back from vacation this week), and I get one of the regular handicapped customers, who I am beginning to strongly dislike. Last week when I was on carriages, he started to frantically honk his horn and flash his lights...while I was still a third of the lot away from his spot. When I finally get over there, he rather annoyingly barks at me to get one of the electric mart carts for him, adding rather uselessly "I'm handicapped!" (yeah, kinda gathered that from you being parked in the HANDICAPPED SPACE and all... ) Oka-a-a-a-y, fine. Today, there's the obligatory repeat, but at least he waited until I was actually walking by his car before asking for one, which was okay. The suck, however, came when he was heading out to his car...

I followed him out, offering to drive the cart back into the store, and helpfully reminding him that he can always ask whoever's bagging his groceries to follow him out and bring the cart back into the store when he's done. Standard procedure..."we're happy to do it", blah-blah-blah. Well, the guy just EXPLODES at me, suddenly shouting that how "inconvenient!" it is to drive up to the service desk to request an employee to follow him out (despite the fact that he doesn't have to do that...just ask the bagger RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM), and that "sometimes I have an URGENT APPOINTMENT!" and he doesn't have time to wait, and I'm riding this out, kind of agog that my very mild helpful suggestion merited such vitriol. Still trying to be polite, I also reminded him that we also have to make sure the carts get back into the store to make sure they're fully charged-up for the next customer, ect., and he continues to yell and shout about how "As long as it's not raining, it's fine! The carts WON'T BE HURT by a little rain(!), all that's wrong is that the seat will be wet...!" This is the same customer who refused an offer to be followed out about two years ago, when it was CLEARLY obvious it was about to pour buckets any minute, and I was forced to run out literally a minute later to retrieve the cart while being pelted by rain...while the guy just sits in his car and watches me through his rolled-up window.

Well, I finally extricate myself from the guy, telling him to have a nice day (yeah, right...)...and not too much longer, another elderly customer comes out in one of the Mart Carts, and as I'm helping her put her groceries in her car, I go through the same "just ask your bagger, he'll come out and drive the cart back in" routine, and you know what her reaction was...?

"Oh, that's nice."

Okay, one asshole, one sweet little old lady...but honestly, I was trying to A.) help the guy out, and B.) make sure our expensive equipment wasn't left out where it could get run down or damaged, and he practically bites my head off. And I just KNOW the next time I'm working the lot, and he pulls up, I'm going to be forced to fetch his precious Mart Cart for him (bonus: most times I get it for him, he spends an inordinate amount of time just sitting in his car with the door open before he actually sits down in the cart and uses it...I swear, I clocked him at TWENTY MINUTES one time). And I just know he'll probably say something nasty to my manager next time, grrrrr....

[An Haddock]

Like I said in a recent post... just because someone has a disability doesn't mean they can't be an asshole, too.

[eltf177]

And the next time he comes in tell him the last cart user left it in the parking lot and the battery died. So it isn't available for him. Bet he learns his lesson then!

[otakuneko]

Well, perhaps sir, if you cannot manage the space between here and the door without a scooter, you should get yourself a Rascal. I hear Medicaid pays for them.

[Estil]

Shouldn't that be naughty handicapped cust vs nice handicapped cust?

[Monterey Jack]

Well, perhaps sir, if you cannot manage the space between here and the door without a scooter, you should get yourself a Rascal. I hear Medicaid pays for them.

Seriously, this guy doesn't seem nearly as bad off as some of the truly mobility-impaired customers who nevertheless still manage to hobble into the store to get a Mart Cart for themselves (albeit with assistance from a friend or family member).

[Sapphire Silk]

How the hell does he get out of the car into his HOUSE? How does he get the groceries in if he's doing it himself.

I know, I know. Sometimes people can deteriorate and we just can't see it.

But still . . . this guy is just a massive EW.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Well, perhaps sir, if you cannot manage the space between here and the door without a scooter, you should get yourself a Rascal. I hear Medicaid pays for them.

They will . . . just need a written letter from the doctor (like a prescription) and he should be able to qualify. That's how my mother got her first power chair (she's on her 2nd and still has the 1st one.)

He'll get a new one every five years. Of course he'll also need a lift to attach to the back of his vehicle to take it everywhere - but only if he has a large enough vehicle.

[MoonCat]

No doubt if the only available cart had a wet seat from being rained on, he'd scream about that, too.

[raudf]

It really hurts the store when one of those electric carts gets run down due to someone leaving it in the lot. We had one at the Mart that Wal built that got run down because the senile old goat wanted the spot it was in. Only thing was, the spot he wanted wasn't a spot at all.. it was part of the van handicap parking area! Yup, he got a ticket out of the deal and all of his threats to sue must have been shut down by corporate, because we never heard anything more about it.

[XCashier]

And I just know he'll probably say something nasty to my manager next time, grrrrr....

Beat him to the punch and talk to your manager first. Let the manager know that this guy is being an abusive jerk and screaming at you, leaving the motorized carts in the rain and generally being an all-around pain in the arse.

Have the manager serve him next time. They're paid to take the abuse, you are not.

[bainsidhe]

I've heard that some stores have scooters with a power cut-off if they go beyond the entry doors. I always wished *big box retail* had that feature, because scooters would get rained on, snowed on and plowed up into snowdrifts. Not to mention the pavement was rough on the cart in the best of weather. Worst of all, the carts were always dead, which meant the wheels would lock up. It'd take a minimum of two people to half carry the damn thing back into the store to be charged.

I remember one woman getting snitty with me when she started telling me how *big box retail* should put headlights on the carts because it's tough to see in the dark. She didn't like my explanation that they were not vehicles, were not designed to be taken outside on the pavement, and should not be taken outside at night because it wasn't safe. She huffed and just kept repeating that the carts should have headlights.

[Seshat]

Rain may not hurt them, but being driven through puddles WILL.

Next time you see Mr Asshole waiting eleventy-mumpty minutes before he uses the scooter, go out and get it after about five, and when he yells at you, tell him you apologise, but since he wasn't using it, you're going to give it to a customer who's in the store and needs it. And he just has to call the store when he's actually ready to use one, and you'll bring the next available out to him.

[Captain Trips]

Pet peeve about people who abuse the carts. The other day, my wife was using one in Wally World, and the battery died. The staff was very helpful to get her another one and transfer all her stuff to the new one's basket. They were even very helpful when they had to do it again a few minutes later. That's right - two scooters in a row had low batteries.

Many people who use them forget they are responsible for plugging them back in when they are done.

(Aside: she is definitely qualified to use them, she's a polio survivor.)

[wolfie]

How the hell does he get out of the car into his HOUSE? How does he get the groceries in if he's doing it himself.

Simple - he walks to the house, carrying the groceries. He doesn't have a physical need for the cart, merely a psychological need to boss wage slaves around.

Have the manager serve him next time.

Is Paul Bunyan in your town, taking tennis lessons? If so, have HIM "serve" the EW.