So here's where I get screamed at, berated, and LP has to be called (REALLY long)

[rerant]

Any customer in the store on my shift that was refused service by any cashier would have been told to leave, period. Anyone displaying that sort of behavior would have been ejected the minute they started to tell us that we HAD to do anything.

Oh how I wish that were the case at my work.
The managers always claim that anyone behaving poorly would be escorted out, but I've never, in the nearly three years I've been there, seen it happen, and there have been plenty of times when it should have.

The only two things I HAVE to do are stay a human and die.

I think I'm going to have to start using that line.

[LambChop]

SC: What's with the attitude!? Do you hate your job or something?

"Only when I have to deal with people like you, sir. Have a nice day."

[depechemodefan]

I'm looking for a new job, but for the time being I've had it with cash. People are too fucking nuts for my tastes and I'm done with them.

I work a job that hardly deals with money (I work in a library) except for people paying fines, and you imagine how many entitlement whores walk in. Though truthfully, nothing gets more yelling in a place then "You're stealing my money!" when the copy machine doesn't give a person change.

[Whyme]

Slight threadjack, but on topic.

This was almost 2 years ago. I had a family come through my line that I suspected were scammers (4 forms of payment for a $15.00 order? Plus cash back when one form of payment is cash? Okaaaay.). I was very careful due to this and this pissed them off that I was actually taking my time and not falling for the scam. Long, horrible, scary, story cut short, I'm the one who ended up getting the manager because I was scared the mother was going to get physical. Asst. Manager took over transaction and allowed the woman to verbally assault me and threaten me the entire time.

Next time they came in (yes, of course they were allowed back! They were customers!) I was supposed to cover the cashier's break whose line they were in. When I recognized them as next in line I said to cashier "After these next customers I'm going to cover your break. Just let me know when you're done." EXPLOSION!! The parents screamed I was refusing them service (even though I wasn't their cashier at this point), yelled to the rafters about how they were going to kick my ass, they would never shop here again (truth be told, I never did see them after that), I'm a horrible cashier, a horrible person, I should be fired, I can't do my job, you name it, they screamed it.

Once again I was the once who contacted management, who refused to come to the front, CSM said "just get them out of here" to the cashier on register. The entire time their transaction was being rung up, they were screaming about how I can't refuse to serve them (yes, I can actually) so on and so forth. They caused quite a scene and threatened me several times, even after I left the area (as was told to me by the CSM and other cashiers). It was just horrible and upsetting. If that happened now I would just call the cops but at the time I had been working at this store less than 6 months and hoped management would actually do something.

I can't even write out the whole story because to this day it upsets me. These people threatened me physically multiple times and they were still allowed to buy their items and never thrown out of the store. I worry still I will see them in public and they will try to attack me.

So, to the OP, they're some people who just can't stand to hear they're being refused service. I'm guessing especially scammers as it sounds like the guy in your story scammed his way to cheap blinds via anger and intimidation. Maybe he thought the angrier he got the more of a discount he would get?

[smileyeagle1021]

I work a job that hardly deals with money (I work in a library) except for people paying fines, and you imagine how many entitlement whores walk in. Though truthfully, nothing gets more yelling in a place then "You're stealing my money!" when the copy machine doesn't give a person change.

sorry bout the but that reminds me, I have some overdue books to return thank you

[Polenicus]

I think people like this do this on purpose. They're not GOING to be reasonable, because they're there looking for a fight. The same way spouses can be abusive, this is a form of abuse, and it's all about a power trip.

Basically, if this guy pulled this sort of nonsense out on the street, going off on someone on the sidewalk, he'd get his ass handed to him, either by the person he's belittling, or by some passer by who doesn't like to see a little guy get picked on, or worse yet, a COP could come by. But in a retail environment... it's safe. They won't do anything to him. The worst they'll do is tell him to get out. He can happily psychologically batter the hapless employees, and even try and get the employees superiors to help him do it. And unlike other abusive situations, there's no consequences.

I'm sorta hoping someday in the future we'll start to see some sort of legal changes regarding abusing service workers in this way.

[Brightglaive]

If your management had a little more spine you might have been able to get away with telling him, "Actually, sir, whether I like my job or not is really none of your business. But to answer your question, I do like my job, except when I have to deal with loud, verbally abusive, rude, uncooperative customers. That kind of customer makes this job difficult at times. If you'll just sign here on the credit slip you'll be all set. "

If he then refused I would tell him, " Until you sign the slip the merchandise is not yours. You can either sign the slip and leave with your blinds or you can choose not sign the slip and leave the store empty-handed. Those are the two choices you have at this moment." THEN you call Loss Prevention over, tell him the situation and, if he's worth his salt, he'll tell the customer the same options. The customer can then complain to kingdom come and to the supervisor or manager or whoever and the manager just has to tell the customer no if he persists. Makes it easier on the manager and most of the people involved overall. Except loss prevention who may have to throw him out.

[rerant]

If he then refused I would tell him, " Until you sign the slip the merchandise is not yours. You can either sign the slip and leave with your blinds or you can choose not sign the slip and leave the store empty-handed. Those are the two choices you have at this moment." THEN you call Loss Prevention over, tell him the situation and, if he's worth his salt, he'll tell the customer the same options. The customer can then complain to kingdom come and to the supervisor or manager or whoever and the manager just has to tell the customer no if he persists. Makes it easier on the manager and most of the people involved overall. Except loss prevention who may have to throw him out.

That was almost how it went down, in the sense that I told him he had to sign or I needed to keep the items, then when he went ape-shit LP was called.
Unfortunately, though, even with that nothing good came of it on my end.

I told some people about it today when they learned I was putting in a transfer for another department and I was told I should bring up the fact that LP did nothing to the LP manager and see what he can do about it.

Funnily enough we have our mandatory robbery prevention training coming up, and I know that the LP guy who "dealt with" my situation is running it, and that the topic of coworker abuse from customers will come up, as it always does.
I'm considering saying something about it, but I don't think it's right to put him and me on the spot like that in front of about 50 other people (my department is pretty damn big).
I really want to, but I think I'll just go with a passive aggressive, "So at what point would LP deem it necessary to remove a customer from the store, and what would be the exceptions to that?"

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

Wow, that customer should be a hall of famer at this forum. What a douchebag.