Customer wanted me to literally do the math regarding 25% off the shrimp and fish he

[snugglegirl05]

Some background information pertaining to this post:

There was no paper to write on at the register I was at other than the receipt paper that was in the machine that prints out your receipt.

There was no calculator at the register I was at for me to use.

I did not have my cell phone on me at the time.

This incident happened last week when I was working at one of the express lanes.

I scanned his groceries, and I let him know what his total was.

Then he asked me if the shrimp and fish be bought was 25% off.

So I pointed to the screen where the deduction was, and told him that yes, the shrimp and fish rung up as 25% off.

But he was not satisfied with my doing that.

He wanted me to literally do the math to show him that it is 25% off.

So I told him that 1) the cashiers are not trained to do that, and so I could not show him exactly how the shrimp and fish are in fact 25% off, and 2) the IT department programmed the discount, and so what shows up is how much it is.

But he was still not satisfied with what I told him.

He wanted me to get a manager to literally do the math to show him that it is 25% off.

So I page for a manager over the store intercom.

Of course it was busy at the time.

There was a co- manager and the ASM each on a register at this time.

The co-manager calls me, and I explain to her what the customer wants me to do.

She tells me that she cannot leave the register to help him and that the 25% deduction was taken off.

So I tell the customer that his bill is correct.

But he is still not satisfied with what I tell him.

So I page for a manager again over the store intercom.

No call from a manager.

And no manager comes over to my register.

I then tell the customer that he needs to pay for his groceries.

Meanwhile there are other customers in line waiting behind him.

He does not budge.

Then the customer behind him leaves, and I tell him "sir, a customer who was waiting behind you just left because of what you are doing."

He then says "so I cannot stand my ground and defend myself."

I say nothing.

He finally pays.

Then the ASM shows up and asks me what the customer needs.

So the customer tells the ASM the same thing he told me.

The ASM sends him to Guest Care.

[MoonCat]

I think I would have asked him, "who is attacking you?" I mean, really, "defend" himself"? "Stand his ground"? This ain't the old west, buddy. Pay up and get out. Do your math at home and if it's wrong, come back with your receipt and go to customer service.

[snugglegirl05]

I think I would have asked him, "who is attacking you?" I mean, really, "defend" himself"? "Stand his ground"? This ain't the old west, buddy. Pay up and get out. Do your math at home and if it's wrong, come back with your receipt and go to customer service.

The express lane I was assigned to faces customer service. So I had a full view of what happened at customer service while he went there.

He waited at the front for a while while one of the customer service employees went into the office and did something. What she did, I do not know.

But when she finished, she told him something, and he left.

I did not see her go to a register and give him cash back.

[mjr]

The express lane I was assigned to faces customer service. So I had a full view of what happened at customer service while he went there.

My guess is that she probably went to an "adding machine" that has a paper print of the operations, and proved to the guy that way that he got his 25% off.

Just a guess.

[snugglegirl05]

My guess is that she probably went to an "adding machine" that has a paper print of the operations, and proved to the guy that way that he got his 25% off.

Just a guess.

Yeah...

And that is it.

The Front-end registers do not have an adding machine to show any customer that the discount is correct.

So no-one could show him that before he paid for his groceries.

But he wanted that done before he paid for his groceries.

So he would have had to pay first and then go to customer service to begin with.

And he wasted his time as well as the customers behind him time that would not have been wasted if he had just paid in the first place and then go to customer service.

[Nunavut Pants]

I would have sent him to Customer Service right toff the bat. You want to argue the price? Argue with the CS desk. They have calculators and such, we don't have them here. Either pay for your stuff and go argue there, or I can void this whole transaction and then you can argue it all over there.

... I probably would be written up within 30 seconds of working the register ...

[Jetfire]

I agree, punting him to Customer Service might have been the simplest; but if he wasn't paying and being stubborn that may not be possible. Either say "You can pay the total now and go to Customer Service to resolve your concern. Or I can void the seafood, have a bagger take it to CS and you can purchase and resolve the seafood cost there."

He sounds stubborn enough not to do either sadly and frustratingly. If I were the guy behind him, if I'd heard his complaint, I'd probably have stepped in and done the damn math for him just to get him to move.


For what it is worth, in case you (generic 'you', not the OP) are curious, I find there are two 'easy' ways to figure out 25% that someone might be able to use to talk someone through.

The first is to Divide the price in half, then divide in half again.

The second is to move the decimal to the left by 1, divide by half, then add twice the first number to the half. (it sounds harder than it is).

So if the value is 7.75$ (an awkward number to find 25% of), to figure out what the 25% off would be is either:

Divide by half: 3.88$. divide by half again: 1.94. That's the 25% off. (after rounding to cents)

Move the decimal to the left: 0.78. Divide by half: 0.39. Add twice the first to the second: 0.78+0.78+0.39 = 1.95$. (The penny difference is due to the rounding, if you want you could keep it at 0.775 and 0.3875 and round at the end, if you are good at math or have paper to jot things down)

My trick for doing those types of numbers mentally is to round up to an easier number and remember the difference so I can take it off at the end. So 7.75$ I'd round up to 8$ since I know 25% of 8 is 2$, and I need to knock 25% of a quarter off of it. 4x6 is 24, so knock 6 cents off for 1.94$.

And that's all the math anyone needs for whatever time it is you read this. (What can I say, I love mathie mental 'tricks' and rarely take the time to write them out. )

[KuariKaydrith]

Some customers would still have balked at being told to go to Customer Service if they think there is a discrepancy in their receipt. Been there, done that, and had the customer try to bitch me out for apparently not wanting to do my job. Bugger him anyway.

[snugglegirl05]

[QUOTE=Jetfire;1358492]I agree, punting him to Customer Service might have been the simplest; but if he wasn't paying and being stubborn that may not be possible. Either say "You can pay the total now and go to Customer Service to resolve your concern. Or I can void the seafood, have a bagger take it to CS and you can purchase and resolve the seafood cost there."

He sounds stubborn enough not to do either sadly and frustratingly. If I were the guy behind him, if I'd heard his complaint, I'd probably have stepped in and done the damn math for him just to get him to move.

The other option would have been to suspend the transaction, have him go to customer service, get the problem resolved, and then come back and pay for his groceries. The cashier has to keep the receipt when that happens so she can scan the bar card at the bottom of the receipt. Another receipt prints out when you do that.

But that would have taken more time.

So I will do the math trick instead.

[earl colby pottinger]

School what school

[QUOTE=snugglegirl05;1358500]

He sounds stubborn enough not to do either sadly and frustratingly. If I were the guy behind him, if I'd heard his complaint, I'd probably have stepped in and done the damn math for him just to get him to move.

If I was behind him I would say in a loud voice "What type of two-bit school did you go to that you can't do 25% off in your head?" then do the math verbally right then and there. If you are going to complain that the numbers are wrong, you should be able to do yourself first do the math before complaining.

[workerbee222]

Had I been standing behind him, I might have been tempted to whip out my own phone and show him. Tempted, but I may have passed, on "don't engage the crazy, and don't invade another's privacy" notions. If I was in a hurry, I might have. Or I might have pointed out that time is money, and the time he wasted was worth more than the savings he had hoped to realize.

I hated the few days after the holiday, at Malwart. Everything holiday related was marked down every few days, and I stink at math in my head. The experienced brought calculators.

[dalesys]

That kind of dimwit would demand legal proof that your shortcut claim worked. That 1/4 exactly equals 25% and wasn't some scam to make him pay more.

Even pulling out the coin and showing them where it says "QUARTER DOLLAR" wouldn't persuade him... see, he's heard all about "seigniorage" and how the gubmint makes them for less than they're worth.

... Figgers don't lie, but liars sure can figger! ...

[AkaiKitsune]

I would have just 'suspend transaction' buttoned it and walked him over to CS desk. Fun thing is on the new system, it takes a couple minutes (like 10-15) for the suspend to come back up. If he wants to waste time then he can waste his own damn time too. Or better yet, if you're that obsessed with accuracy that you have to math it at the till bring a calculator with you or ask SIRI on your phone to do the math.