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Hi, all, first post here! 
Sorry for how long it is, but I can be somewhat descriptive at times.
I'm not going to give much background here, other than I work in a small specialty store in a developing area of a major metropolis. I'm the store manager, and assistant to the general manager (we have three locations total). The neighbourhood is mainly black, though it's becoming more diverse. I'm a 5'2" young, white woman, which may or may not be important - I'm not sure yet, as the story is probably only half-done.
This afternoon, shortly after opening, but before I had managed to get any paperwork done, a man comes in. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and has wings like a duck, it's, well, you know. He's definitely a community organizer looking for money. I can smell them a mile away, and I have a stock answer for them.
He plops his bag down on the counter, and starts pulling out information about his neighbourhood youth group. He had been by sometime in the last few days, which I knew because we already had a copy of his flyer and pamphlet sitting to the side. He seemed surprised that the information wasn't still sitting out in plain view on the counter (right, because we're going to give up working space to his demands for money).
He proceeds to start telling me about his organization. I cut him off, a bit brusquely, mainly because I had quite a bit of work to catch up on, and I'm not the one who makes the decisions. His response is to say 'well, it's in your best interests to support us, because I know everyone in the neighbourhood, and send them all over here.'
My response to him was a direct result of my being quite offended by that statement, and letting him know, politely and fairly gently, that although I was sure he didn't mean it to sound so, his phrasing and tone of voice came off a bit like blackmail.
Oh boy, was that the wrong thing to say.
He turned into the classic irate, offended customer. Ranted on and on about how offensive that was, and how he knew everyone on this avenue from X St to Y St. This went on for...oh, say about 5-10 minutes (though my time sense is probably wrong, due to adrenaline overload). He demanded an apology, ranted on for a bit about how he was leaving now (while continuing to rant, and *not* leaving), then starts going off about how he's 'doing this for the kids,' and how he grew up in this area, and how we all have to support each other, and on, and on, and on, and on.
Finally he stalks out.
By this point, I'm shaking with pent-up anxiety (and I have an un-medicated anxiety disorder, so I can *really* build it up), and then I see him outside on the phone. I assume he's attempting to get some sort of info about the store. He comes back in (now, that was my fault, I shouldn't have let him back in, but I wanted to try and defuse the situation a bit, and hopefully save everyone some drama), and while continuing to rant, asks for the owner's contact info. I tell him that I'm not allowed to give out the personal info for the owner, and the best he can do is try to catch him in the store. So the organizer asks when the owner will be in, and I tell him what shift he's scheduled to work.
And I apologize again. Just for good measure. Just in case it can calm him down a bit.
The organizer stalks out again, still muttering about how offended he is and what a big man he is in the area.
I'm sure this isn't over. I'm sure he'll complain to the owner, and with any luck, the owner will back me, and tell him that he was too quick to offend. Or at least say something. Either way, I'm on pins and needles for a week, and given that I'm due to have minor foot surgery this weekend, I really don't need this.
I love this job, but sometimes I end up very hacked off at the end of the day.
Sorry for how long it is, but I can be somewhat descriptive at times.I'm not going to give much background here, other than I work in a small specialty store in a developing area of a major metropolis. I'm the store manager, and assistant to the general manager (we have three locations total). The neighbourhood is mainly black, though it's becoming more diverse. I'm a 5'2" young, white woman, which may or may not be important - I'm not sure yet, as the story is probably only half-done.
This afternoon, shortly after opening, but before I had managed to get any paperwork done, a man comes in. If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and has wings like a duck, it's, well, you know. He's definitely a community organizer looking for money. I can smell them a mile away, and I have a stock answer for them.
He plops his bag down on the counter, and starts pulling out information about his neighbourhood youth group. He had been by sometime in the last few days, which I knew because we already had a copy of his flyer and pamphlet sitting to the side. He seemed surprised that the information wasn't still sitting out in plain view on the counter (right, because we're going to give up working space to his demands for money).
He proceeds to start telling me about his organization. I cut him off, a bit brusquely, mainly because I had quite a bit of work to catch up on, and I'm not the one who makes the decisions. His response is to say 'well, it's in your best interests to support us, because I know everyone in the neighbourhood, and send them all over here.'
My response to him was a direct result of my being quite offended by that statement, and letting him know, politely and fairly gently, that although I was sure he didn't mean it to sound so, his phrasing and tone of voice came off a bit like blackmail.
Oh boy, was that the wrong thing to say.
He turned into the classic irate, offended customer. Ranted on and on about how offensive that was, and how he knew everyone on this avenue from X St to Y St. This went on for...oh, say about 5-10 minutes (though my time sense is probably wrong, due to adrenaline overload). He demanded an apology, ranted on for a bit about how he was leaving now (while continuing to rant, and *not* leaving), then starts going off about how he's 'doing this for the kids,' and how he grew up in this area, and how we all have to support each other, and on, and on, and on, and on.
Finally he stalks out.
By this point, I'm shaking with pent-up anxiety (and I have an un-medicated anxiety disorder, so I can *really* build it up), and then I see him outside on the phone. I assume he's attempting to get some sort of info about the store. He comes back in (now, that was my fault, I shouldn't have let him back in, but I wanted to try and defuse the situation a bit, and hopefully save everyone some drama), and while continuing to rant, asks for the owner's contact info. I tell him that I'm not allowed to give out the personal info for the owner, and the best he can do is try to catch him in the store. So the organizer asks when the owner will be in, and I tell him what shift he's scheduled to work.
And I apologize again. Just for good measure. Just in case it can calm him down a bit.
The organizer stalks out again, still muttering about how offended he is and what a big man he is in the area.
I'm sure this isn't over. I'm sure he'll complain to the owner, and with any luck, the owner will back me, and tell him that he was too quick to offend. Or at least say something. Either way, I'm on pins and needles for a week, and given that I'm due to have minor foot surgery this weekend, I really don't need this.
I love this job, but sometimes I end up very hacked off at the end of the day.
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