Ahh. My favorite customer.

[Plankton78]

Working in Tweaker Town has it's hilarious moments.

This particular customer is on our 'No Bathroom Key' list. Yeah, she can't use the restroom in our store because of her, ummm habit. Anyways she wanders in right as we opened the store at 8am. She's pale, sweating, and can't stand still. Ah great, she's on that stuff.

As you walk in there a large table full of stock with the registers directly to the left and three junk food aisles to the right. She wandered through the junk food aisles for a few minutes before snapping her fingers and yelling for service.

Me: Cameras are watching, stay cool, don't laugh.
Nit: My awesome store manager.
TL: Tweaker Lady gone mad.

Me: Yes ma'am, May I help you?
TL: YES. I want some more of these bags here! [She's referring to the bags of candy we have on pegs. It was full (15 two oz bags) just a moment ago since I stocked last night.]
Me: I'm sorry ma'am. Unfortunately, I just put out the last bags of those last night. We're out of stock until Wednesday.
TL: NO!! I NEED SIX MORE BAGS NOW!
Me: Um. I'm sorry. We have no more.
TL: There must be some in the back!!
Me: Our back room is empty. We have no more. I'm sorry.
TL: *shrieks*

Nit has been watching but didn't say anything until now...
Nit: Go look in the back room for her. (She knows it's empty, she just wants the lady to shut up)

I go to look and of course the lady follows me. I get there, look around, show the lady the empty room.

TL: *gasp* BLACK MAGIC!! You're a witch!! A witch!! They should burn you at the stake! Drowning you with concrete shoes!! A witch! You've made it all disappear!!
Me:

She's still muttering about voodoo, black magic, and witches, but goes up front, pays for her fifteen bags of Sour Patch kids and leaves.

[Firecrackers Not Included]

Do you literally empty a backroom to the level of "EMPTY"?!?
I want one! Or a fake empty backroom for customers such as your
story ^^. Available for tours, every day!

[Plankton78]

I guess I forgot to mention that all I showed her was the employee break room. A small room with a table and three chairs, a microwave, and a mini fridge.

[Ironclad Alibi]

I guess I forgot to mention that all I showed her was the employee break room. A small room with a table and three chairs, a microwave, and a mini fridge.

All magic is about misdirection. You available to a show for my club?

[Plankton78]

All magic is about misdirection. You available to a show for my club?

Anytime!

[Argabarga]

They should include a fake backroom, with empty shelves, in the floorplan of EVERY store, so customers insistent that there are more "in the back" can be shown directly to it, and then tossed out.

[Mytical]

They should include a fake backroom, with empty shelves, in the floorplan of EVERY store, so customers insistent that there are more "in the back" can be shown directly to it, and then tossed out.

Now Arga, we know that shops are not in business to make money by selling goods. They are in business for the soul purpose of keeping things 'in the back', you know where it won't get sold. And of course the employees are expected to lie about what is 'in the back', just so shops will not have to sell anything. I mean.. selling to make a profit? Who heard of such crazy things?

[Null Requiem]

Now Arga, we know that shops are not in business to make money by selling goods. They are in business for the soul purpose of keeping things 'in the back', you know where it won't get sold. And of course the employees are expected to lie about what is 'in the back', just so shops will not have to sell anything. I mean.. selling to make a profit? Who heard of such crazy things?

Actually, one place I work at is exactly like that. They refuse to staff adequately, and quite often the staff we do have gets pulled for special projects by the store manager.

Other issues include, but are not limited to: facing over empty spots on shelves, putting things in the wrong spot because the right spot is faced over, the special project that was just done for the store manager being undone or redone because it looks like ass, etc...

I don't work there much. It's now the extra cash job that I can walk away from if they pass me off too much.

[Dreamstalker]

My store has the 'facing over empty spots' problem (usually happens if we have too much product on the shelf; rather than being hidden behind something else or thrown downstairs the extras get faced too just to make the shelf look pretty). Which then drives G (night crew chief) batshit because his crew has to waste time shuffling everything around if they need to stock that space. Once half an aisle was running low because of a sale/impending storm; what does someone do? Face everything that's left. As predicted that was the load that came in that night, so I got pulled from tags to help fix things (G asked me if ASM had been closing; gee, how did he know?).

I think the only backstock we have in the basement on a regular basis is soda, spices and gen-merch.

[XCashier]

Actually, one place I work at is exactly like that. They refuse to staff adequately...

Have a similar problem at my store. Corporate has cut our hours to the bone...nay, to the marrow!...and our store is badly understocked, the back room is packed nearly to the ceiling, we're frustrated because we have to move dozens of boxes to find anything, and the customers are getting pissed off because there's nobody to help them and not enough stock on the shelves.

"You need to hire more help!" is the customers' oft-heard cry. No, we do not need to hire more help. We have all the employees we need. What we don't have are the HOURS to give them! And Corporate can't won't understand why things aren't getting done, the customers are unhappy and employee morale is in the basement. They just keep giving us scant hours and piling on more tasks and upselling spiels and other damned nonsense, rather than giving us the hours, letting us get the store up to spec and giving the customers what they really need.