a nasty SC who is BEGGING for a fight with me

[sportsmom]

there is no REASONABLE reason that he is so nasty to us.

That right there explains it all, my dear. This assmonkey is not a reasonable person. If you expect them to be resaonable, you will be disappointed everytime.

I have to agree with everyone else, the small amount of business this asshat is generating is not equal or greater than the amount of shit and heartburn he is giving you every time he comes in the store. Fire him as a customer.

[NightAngel]

From a financial stand point...

I absolutely agree with what everyone else said and I would never tolerate anyone being mean or rude to my employees. But all that has been said- here's a slightly different viewpoint of why he should be banned:

Okay, so he runs you, your mom and your staff all over the store. Then decides he doesn't want most of what he has you all get so it has to be put away. Not to mention all the time employees spend explaining things to him...

I'd say that he's probably costing you more in labor than he's purchasing anyway.

The fact that he's an asshat and costing the staff stress during the process makes his purchases even less valuable. Because once you're stressed, even if you don't mean to or realize it your level of customer service may not be so high for the next person. So, maybe that next person spends $5 when, with that little extra customer service, you could upsell them to $7.

I think it's a wise financial decision to BAN his flagrantly stupid self from ever setting foot in your store again.

[Talon]

T
i would like to add, however, that banning this man from our store is something i didn't consider only b/c most of the time, when he comes in, it's just me and mom - we're both 5'3" females and he is 6'3" and about 300 lbs. occasionally, we have another male employee but he's part-time, and not always here to back us up. i hate playing the gender card here, but honestly: given his size and level of hostility, i don't want to push any of his buttons. he just seems so nasty and unhinged. (i have seen, in the past, another man who was 6'5" and built like a linebacker, try to physically intimidate mom over a refused return - we called the cops on him). so that's where i'm coming from.

Well you could always hire Mystyglyttyr as a bodyguard, but that would be like swatting a fly with a Howitzer

Seriously you do legitimate point. I would point out however that there is no such thing as a bully who isn't a coward. It's entirely possible that the instant you bare your teeth he'll fold like a house of cards. I hope things don't get ugly, but in the long run the appeasement isn't worth the stress. BTW what was the cop's response time the last time you called them?

[blas]

I wish I would have done more at my gas station job, as in, talking to my manager about banning people.......or at least maybe her reeming them and making them be polite to me?

My mother claims I just have this distorted feeling that the world is against soley me, but I know for a fact that there were people at the gas station who hated the fact that I didn't bend over backwards for them, didnt bend rules for them, and ignored them when they went on tangents about all the stuff my manager would let them get away with.

I can't fathom why someone would be so bored with his or her life that they'd have to go to a certain store and get their jollies by bossing people about and making outrageous demands and then insulting employees' intelligence........it's just ridiculous. Like I said, I can't fathom that idea.......but apparently, there isn't much else to do where I used to live!

Do it for yourself, your mom, and all your employees. This guy is a whackjob who needs to find a new hobby. Harrassing employees at stores is NOT a hobby, and you should make that clear to him by banning him, and truly enforce it.

[Witch of Endor]

Yup, you and your mother and your other employees deserve good treatment more than he does. Why turn the other cheek to him if it means letting good people be abused?

I don't know if it would be possible to talk to the police about your fears, that if you ban him from the store he'll do something bad in retaliation. You might consider telling him he's banned on a day when your male employee (or other physically imposing individual) is around. Or you could try to hire an actual security guard just for that day.

From the business standpoint, one thing that many business owners forget is that bad customers who become regular fixtures can drive away good customers. There's a great article about it here: http://www.savantmag.com/16/retail16.html

[RecoveringKinkoid]

If you're afraid he might do harm to you, give the cops a call and ask if they will come by your store. You can explain why. When they arrive, ask the asshat to leave. If he doesn't, the cops are already there and already know the story. If he by some wierd alignment of the planets acts like a civil human being, he need never know you had cops standing by.

[wheresmysanity]

Well you could always hire Mystyglyttyr as a bodyguard, but that would be like swatting a fly with a Howitzer

Seriously you do legitimate point. I would point out however that there is no such thing as a bully who isn't a coward...BTW what was the cop's response time the last time you called them?

hmm, well the police didn't arrive until 90 minutes later. you can imagine that while we were waiting all that time, we had to just set him free. (the customer *did* calm down, by the way, after realizing we had called the police. yes, he was a coward).

ooh, and i would also like to address one thing: we care very much for our employees (they are like family to us), and i have certainly defended them against any nasty remarks that the SC has made. our employees tend to roll their eyes at this man, actually. i'm the only one who gets seriously enraged by his behavior. maybe i haven't been around enough mean people in my life or something... the others know how to brush him off and i don't!

[XCashier]

My mother claims I just have this distorted feeling that the world is against soley me, but I know for a fact that there were people at the gas station who hated the fact that I didn't bend over backwards for them, didnt bend rules for them, and ignored them when they went on tangents about all the stuff my manager would let them get away with.

My mom thought the same way when I told her about the SCs I dealt with. People who have never worked in customer service have absolutely no idea how evil some customers can be.

I was never a manager, never in any position to throw the bums out, so I had to take their abuse. If you have the ability to ban some jerk, by all means, do so. If you have to call the police to haul him away, do so. Your own safety and sanity are more important than some jerkwad's business.

[powerboy]

Seriously, you do got to ban him.

[Jester]

I can only suspect that 1) this man is raging racist (we are of a different race than he is) or 2) he's a raging mysogynist.

He might be neither.

He might just be a raging asshole.

Just a thought.

[BusyBee]

- and I think the one that turned me inside out was when he mentioned to his shopping buddy in a loud booming voice "That other place we shop at is *much* better than this place, don't you think?"

I'm surprised noone has pointed it out yet, but here's another reason to get rid of him, or at least make him behave. If you have other customers in the store and he's saying stuff like this, it may put them off buying with you, costing not only his potential business but that of others as well.

[allniter]

hmm, well the police didn't arrive until 90 minutes later. you can imagine that while we were waiting all that time, we had to just set him free. (the customer *did* calm down, by the way, after realizing we had called the police. yes, he was a coward).

ooh, and i would also like to address one thing: we care very much for our employees (they are like family to us), and i have certainly defended them against any nasty remarks that the SC has made. our employees tend to roll their eyes at this man, actually. i'm the only one who gets seriously enraged by his behavior. maybe i haven't been around enough mean people in my life or something... the others know how to brush him off and i don't!

Buy a Gun. If you're in the states and he turns violent, shoot his ass and get him imprisioned. You shouldn't have a problem after that. I understand some people are scared about causing violence but when it's self defense, it's justifiable violence; unless that is you care more about his safety than your own.

[AFpheonix]

I don't know about a gun, but a baseball bat doesn't involve much knowledge on how to use it and is brutally effective.

[Andara Bledin]

Take this. *hands over the Ban stick*

Oh, and you might want some of this, too. *passes over some pepper spray*

Seriously, nobody's business is worth being abused and intimidated. Well, maybe if they were spending some serious money on it, but outside of that, it's more expensive than just the money you're not making with him.

If you're that worried about how he will react, then when you do make the decision to give him the boot, call the police as soon as you see him enter. Tell them why you want them present and wait for them to arrive before showing him to the door. If he goes to leave before they arrive, tell him then. If he does try something, you have the police on redial, and they should be somewhere close already.

And, since you're two women working a shop, you might consider getting some mace or pepper spray to have on hand, just on general principal. It's only paranoia until something happens, then it's just being prepared.

^-.-^

[wheresmysanity]

*waving my new "ban"stick with a flourish*

Thanks again everybody, for all the advice and support. I really appreciate everything that's been mentioned. Much of it is very common sense (except for me getting a gun - I'd probably shoot myself in the foot before hitting a target 2 feet in front of me) and it's really nice to have a voice of reason. (When I'm at work and my blood pressure hits the roof, it's hard to think rationally.) I'll be sure to give my darling SC my size 8 foot firmly to his arse the next time he decides to act up.

I went from this -> to this -> after reading the posts, so much gratitude to you guys!