Snitching to Corporate ~ STORY TIME!

[flyonthewall]

It's that time again, folks! Step right up and share you SC stories so we can scowl at their horribleness together! (And maybe hope they accidentally step on a lego..) It's Story Time, the corporate version!


I don't know about you guys but the fine establishment where I work is beholden to a torturous entity that is totally out of touch and stupid as . This monster is called.. corporate. And sometimes the SC is a seasoned SC who knows how to pull the strings of our tormentor. They contact corporate with a sob story about how everyone was mean and unfair to them! No one helped them! Or they were harassed! Discriminated against! Maybe someone said something that hurt their feelings like, "Would you like that gift-wrapped?"! The scandal, the horror, the injustice! IMA CALL CORPORATE ON YOUUUUUU.

[notalwaysright]

Just one example:

Our receipts (like many other stores) say that clearance and seasonal items are not returnable. It makes sense, these items are likely completely out of the computer system by the time people want to return them. So sometime last year a woman tries to return a seasonal item. A manager declined, stating corporate policy, and indicating said policy on the woman's receipt.

Obviously, she goes home and writes the most stupid complaint to corporate. Everyone was rude, she's never heard of such a policy, she's always been able to return things in the past, doesn't our store claim to have a NO HASSLE return policy???

Corporate sends an email to our SM asking "what could we have done to make this customer happy?" Um, break corporate policy? Ding ding ding! Correct, indeed. So then corporate makes the SM call this terrible excuse for a human being, apologize, and say that she can return the item. Also (didn't find this out until later) corporate sends her a $50 gift card.

Once again it's shown that policies are put in place to punish the honest and reward the stupid and/or lazy. No wonder people argue with the cops over everything, why shouldn't they? It's literally ALWAYS worked for them in the past.

[CKoch]

Where I work, the SCs don't call corporate. They call our regulators, the news media, and their elected officials.

I work for the evil power company, you see, and some of our customers are under the false impression that they are entitled to free service. When we threaten to, or actually cut off their service, the SCs can pull all kinds of tricks to keep the lights on. These include getting a doctor's note saying they have some dreaded medical condition and without power they will die. The other is to file a complaint with our regulators. Filing a complaint, you see, stops all credit action instantly. Great way to buy a few more months.

But the news media threats crack me up. You really want to go on the 6 o'clock news and tell the whole world that you are a deadbeat? Fortunately, our news media have better things to do than run a sob story about someone whose power got shut off.

They spew on social media once in a while, too. Yet another way to tell all your friends that you are a deadbeat.

[drjonah]

Had an old lady call corporate on me last week. She came into the store and asked if we had alcohol. I told her we don't sell beer, wine or any of that stuff. Turns out she wanted RUBBING alcohol and was severely offended that I would think she was a drinker

[Teefies2]

Had one of our "serial returners" in over the weekend. This woman is a gigantic PITA. She always comes in right before closing and takes her da** sweet time shopping. For example, one night she comes in at 9:45, we close at 10, to pick up her 300 print photo order. Then stands at the counter going through the pictures ONE AT A TIME to decide if she wants them. Even her kids that were with her were yelling "Mama they're closing! We have to go!" I tell her, PLEASE take the pictures home, pick out the ones you don't want, and return them. Well she went home, but came back two nights later (right before closing again) with all 300 prints and proceeded to do the same thing. Rinse, lather, repeat.

The reason I call her a "serial returner" is that she will buy a crap load of stuff at the beginning of the month (when I assume she gets her assistance check). Then, later in the month, when she needs money, she will return it. She always has a receipt, so I can't complain about that, but jeez!

Anyway this past weekend she topped it all. She comes back with a bunch of stuff to return, including toilet paper (really??? who returns TOILET PAPER????) The cashier called me because she wanted to return 2 lighters. I explain that our policy is that tobacco-related items cannot be returned. "But see! They don't work!!" She starts trying to light them in the vicinity of her receipts. Oh no, we're not going there. I repeat the policy. She gets irate: "If you sell something that doesn't work, you should return it!" I apologize, tell her I don't make the policy. Well she's gonna call corporate and they'll MAKE me return it AND fire me!!!! Okay, you have fun with that and have a nice night!

Did she call corporate? I don't know. I DO know that it's been 4 days and not a peep out of corporate about this incident.

[Mondestrucken]

I am lucky in that the worst complainers who try to go up the ladder usually get slapped down by our central office.

A few months ago, I had 2 separate customers. Both were families that had moved here from another state, and both had young teenagers who had received their first permit in a different state. Since different states have different requirements, we always have to pull the manual. One of the things we ask for is proof of so many hours of classroom instruction, and neither of these kids had it. One teen was only 3 months away from his 18th birthday, and we told him that with all the requirements for under 18 drivers, it would be easier and cheaper to wait out the 3 months. Once he was 18, most of the stringent recommendations go away. The other was 16, and we explained that if he still wanted to drive he had to take a classroom course and then apply for a permit.

Well, I got a call from the main office, and there was a complaint about me. I didn't know what I was talking about, and someone in the phone center said that the customer should be able to get his permit, no problem and no extra requirements to meet. I assumed that it was the 16 year old, but it was the (almost) 18 year old.

Mom wanted him to be able to drive without an adult in the car, which means he needed to be moved into the adult category right away. Main office backed me up. If he had come from a state with classroom requirements like ours, then yes. But his state required a 3 hour online course, and ours requires 50 hours in a classroom. The central office apologized to the woman that the phone center had made a mistake, but emphasized that I did indeed know what I was talking about.

Mom pitched a fit. The 3 hours was the equal of the 50, and we needed to waive the hold. And that is when they pulled the big guns on her: "Ma'am, our requirements are set by law. We have no authority to waive it." WHO DOES? "The State Supreme Court or the legislature. The legislature would have to change the law, which would literally take years. The court would probably only take a year."

[KuariKaydrith]

When I was still at my most recent call center job we had a regular caller who would call in screaming at whoever she got on the phone. Because she did not retire directly from the company she was not eligible for any retiree health plans offered by the company, and she hadn't been with the company long enough to really be vested in her pension plan either. She did have pension money saved up that we have to provide to her, but we could only do that in a lump sum payment. I don't even pretend to really understand how that side of things works - I only handled health and life insurance information while I was there, but this woman was a button masher so she did end up over on my side more than once.

Her antics were reported to corporate, and she even wrote a multi-page letter outlining her demands - 90% of them could not be done for legal reasons or she simply was just not entitled to what she was demanding. Corporate drafted a response, had it run past their legal team, and then mailed off to the woman. And they made sure that the contents of the letter that was sent to her was added to her account so that if she called in about any of it we could refer to the letter that corporate sent her. And she did call in, repeatedly, to refute having ever been told anything that was in the letter, or that she hadn't received the letter (despite there being notes that clearly indicate that she stated she received the letter when she called in previously). Last I heard she received her lump sum payout of her pension funds and told not to call into the benefits or payroll center as she was given the number of a direct corporate contact person. Not that it stopped her, of course, but now the agents can just hang up on her as soon as she identifies herself.

[redsox33413]

Fortunately for me, a law enforcement agency is beholdin' to... THE LAW. That being said, NO, I will not violate law and release active investigative material to you or anyone else. WHY? Well, for one, it will compromise the investigation and result in the victim not getting the justice they are entitled to under...THE LAW. Second, I will go to prison. Not even a member of my own family (child included) is worth prison. NO ONE. Third, you pretty much announce to the world that you assume that A.) You are not only ABOVE THE LAW, but B.) THE LAW doesn't apply to you, and C.) You think you are soooo super spe-shull that I am willing to risk prison for you. Nope. Like, nope with a side of nope and nope sauce on top. Super size that nope. NOPE. What's that? You're a LAWYER... Well, then, cuppycake, you ALREADY KNOW THAT. Don'tcha? kthxbai.

[April]

We don't have a corporate. We have a board of directors, but client's don't really have access to them. If they DID, they would be asked if they followed the chain of command, and redirected back to me. I would have to do something seriously bad (like illegal bad) for their complaints to affect me

[flyonthewall]

Someone pulled the race card on our store about a year ago. >.< The person got free stuff and services, management had to kiss their ass. Why did they feel discriminated against?


Because people were watching them. Our store is a luxury store and there is $100,000+ of product in the reach of the public. Most of our products are small enough to easily slip into a coat or bag. EVERY human being that walks into the store is watched and considered a potential criminal(the employees especially). Before I worked there and was simply a customer, I remember being followed by security guards while I shopped. (I'm white as hell.) We are a high profile company that is commonly targeted and have a lot to lose. Doesn't matter what your skin color, age, or gender is. You are going to be watched.

Our store got in major trouble for it. Corporate had a conference call of doom with management. The funny thing is, most of our security guards are the same race as the person who complained. Also, the customer was acting strangely to the person waiting on them. Who is an extremely nice and likable person that is constantly getting good feedback from customers and excellent tips. (The employee got no tip.)

I think the customer is full of and trying to get free stuff out of the company.

[WishfulSpirit]

We had one couple come in who asked for a discount no less than 7 times before even trying to find something in the room to complain about (I work in a hotel). Then they came up with a bunch of BS things that were wrong, and every time our maintenance workers checked them, no problem found. Of course they complained to corporate and got exactly nowhere thanks to the copious "these people are trying to scam us" notes in their folio. Funny thing, my boss would have given them a night for free under "please steal from us" gaurentee if they'd been less obvious about it.

[Limescale]

While customers complaining to corporate was sadly part and parcel of my former retail job, one stood out for just how little effort the customer put into their complaint.

Essentially they said they were threatened with bodily harm by an employee who worked in the kitchenware section, only they didn't think to get their name, nor could they remember much about what they looked like. When told little could be done for them without more details the customer began rattling off a random list of physical features (sandy blonde hair, wrinkled suit, between 5 and 6 feet tall), none of which matched anyone who worked in the kitchenware department. Upon being told this the customer then had the gaul to ask if corporate could send them photos of every employee who worked in their store so they could pick the offender out like in a police line up.

Naturally corporate told them this could not be done and no further action would be taken unless the customer could come up with more definite proof of their claim.

Nothing more was ever heard on the matter.

[Evannah]

I had a customer the other week threaten to report me to corporate because I wouldn't give her money back for an item she didn't have the receipt for. She could have picked that up from the shelf for all I knew. Apparently though I was rude for not taking her word for it. Never heard anything from corporate though. Either it was an empty threat or corporate decided not to do anything, since, you know, I did what was right.

[Lace Neil Singer]

I'm lucky in that anyone trying to whine to corporate will be referred back to my manager, who has my back in terms of sticking to store policy and/or the law. The last time someone tried to complain to head office was when I'd refused to take an expired coupon that was over a month out of date and which the till also rejected. SC decided to complain to head office and it was referred back to my manager, who backed me up and told them that we NEVER accept out of date coupons, the SC was on CCTV behaving like a lunatic and I was perfectly within my rights to refuse to serve him, get up and walk out back. I had nothing happen to me, the SC got nothing and his complaint was put away in what my manager likes to call the "idiot file".

[eltf177]

I had nothing happen to me, the SC got nothing and his complaint was put away in what my manager likes to call the "idiot file".

We need more managers like this!