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I encountered a very angry, very rude lady today and it made me so mad. This happened at around 4.25pm, five minutes before closing. I'd already had a shit day. Every little thing made me want to cry. I cried on my break when I was alone in the office. Just a bad week for me, really. So I really didn't need this lady screeching at me like I was the sole cause of everything bad in the world.
I work in a concession shop within a larger store. The store has other concessions like ours, with their own tills. This woman came storming up to me with her timid mother, and plonked her basket at my till. She was very aggressive in nature and I could tell she was going to kick off.
Miss Angry: All these different tills everywhere! "Oh you can't pay for this here! You can't pay for this here! You can't pay for this here!" (said in a high pitched mocking tone) and now YOU'RE going to say exactly the same thing, aren't you!! I know you are!!
Me: I'm so sorry, but yes. You have to pay for this at the main tills, but you can pay for... (these here, but I'm cashing up so it's just cards now). Brackets because that's what I would have said had she not interrupted me. The items in question were a few of our Christmassy ornaments and some tea towels. And the reason I was cashing up was because concession staff are pretty much kicked out of the store at closing, so we have to cash up about ten minutes before hand. I don't like this. To me, this a breach of security. We've asked them if we can cash up when we're closed, but nope.
Miss Angry: I knew it!! This is ridiculous! Sending me to all these different tills, it's pathetic! Why can't I just pay at ONE till?! How would YOU like it if I left without buying anything? Well?!
Then she just went on a tirade about the other concession shops and about how bad we all were, how we didn't want her custom, that we were toying with her, how ridiculous it all was. It was horrible. She was so angry and frankly she was scaring me. And bare in mind, I was trying to cash up at the time as well.
Her mother: Oh, well thank you anyway, I'm sure it can't be helped.
Miss Angry turned to her mother and yelled at her and said, "Oh, they know exactly what they're doing and it's ridiculous!" (Jesus, cut it OUT with the 'ridiculous' word. The only one being ridiculous is you!) then turned around and made towards the main tills without paying for the things that I could process on my till. Her mother followed her and looked rather anxious. I followed, (my other co-worker was in the stock room and came out in the middle of all this, so I asked him if he'd mind the till for me and take over with the cashing up) and told them both that certain items had to be paid for at my till, and that it was card only. Cue the daughter going off yet AGAIN about how I sent them away in the first place and now was trying to drag them back again. It was ridiculous. *yawn* Not that word again. Shut up and take a look in the fucking mirror, lady.
Miss Angry: You know what, mum? You go up there and pay. I can't deal with all this. They're running circles around us.
Yep, you stay there, because to be fair I so can't deal with you right now, either.
Her mother followed me to the till and I processed the items for her and guess what? She pulled out cash :/
Me: I'm sorry, it's card only.
Miss Angry's Mum: Oh. Why is that?
Me: It's just that we're in the middle of cashing up. *larger store* wants us out by 4:30 so we have to cash up a bit earlier.
Miss Angry's Mum: Oh, well never mind then. And I'm sorry about my daughter. She always causes a scene. I don't know how to cope with her.
Me: Don't worry about it.
I half expected her daughter to come charging up to me, demanding to know why I ended up not serving her mum, but she didn't, thank God. I did, however, hear her raising her voice to the cashier who was serving her over on the main tills. No idea why. Maybe the cashier smiled at her wrong or something? Oh, and she also ended up leaving all her stuff on the counter and left empty handed. Kind of makes you wonder what the point is. All that energy wasted on yelling at everyone, over something so stupid, and leaving the store with nothing but more strain on your heart and a few more points added onto your blood pressure.
I work in a concession shop within a larger store. The store has other concessions like ours, with their own tills. This woman came storming up to me with her timid mother, and plonked her basket at my till. She was very aggressive in nature and I could tell she was going to kick off.
Miss Angry: All these different tills everywhere! "Oh you can't pay for this here! You can't pay for this here! You can't pay for this here!" (said in a high pitched mocking tone) and now YOU'RE going to say exactly the same thing, aren't you!! I know you are!!
Me: I'm so sorry, but yes. You have to pay for this at the main tills, but you can pay for... (these here, but I'm cashing up so it's just cards now). Brackets because that's what I would have said had she not interrupted me. The items in question were a few of our Christmassy ornaments and some tea towels. And the reason I was cashing up was because concession staff are pretty much kicked out of the store at closing, so we have to cash up about ten minutes before hand. I don't like this. To me, this a breach of security. We've asked them if we can cash up when we're closed, but nope.
Miss Angry: I knew it!! This is ridiculous! Sending me to all these different tills, it's pathetic! Why can't I just pay at ONE till?! How would YOU like it if I left without buying anything? Well?!
Then she just went on a tirade about the other concession shops and about how bad we all were, how we didn't want her custom, that we were toying with her, how ridiculous it all was. It was horrible. She was so angry and frankly she was scaring me. And bare in mind, I was trying to cash up at the time as well.
Her mother: Oh, well thank you anyway, I'm sure it can't be helped.
Miss Angry turned to her mother and yelled at her and said, "Oh, they know exactly what they're doing and it's ridiculous!" (Jesus, cut it OUT with the 'ridiculous' word. The only one being ridiculous is you!) then turned around and made towards the main tills without paying for the things that I could process on my till. Her mother followed her and looked rather anxious. I followed, (my other co-worker was in the stock room and came out in the middle of all this, so I asked him if he'd mind the till for me and take over with the cashing up) and told them both that certain items had to be paid for at my till, and that it was card only. Cue the daughter going off yet AGAIN about how I sent them away in the first place and now was trying to drag them back again. It was ridiculous. *yawn* Not that word again. Shut up and take a look in the fucking mirror, lady.
Miss Angry: You know what, mum? You go up there and pay. I can't deal with all this. They're running circles around us.
Yep, you stay there, because to be fair I so can't deal with you right now, either.
Her mother followed me to the till and I processed the items for her and guess what? She pulled out cash :/
Me: I'm sorry, it's card only.
Miss Angry's Mum: Oh. Why is that?
Me: It's just that we're in the middle of cashing up. *larger store* wants us out by 4:30 so we have to cash up a bit earlier.
Miss Angry's Mum: Oh, well never mind then. And I'm sorry about my daughter. She always causes a scene. I don't know how to cope with her.
Me: Don't worry about it.
I half expected her daughter to come charging up to me, demanding to know why I ended up not serving her mum, but she didn't, thank God. I did, however, hear her raising her voice to the cashier who was serving her over on the main tills. No idea why. Maybe the cashier smiled at her wrong or something? Oh, and she also ended up leaving all her stuff on the counter and left empty handed. Kind of makes you wonder what the point is. All that energy wasted on yelling at everyone, over something so stupid, and leaving the store with nothing but more strain on your heart and a few more points added onto your blood pressure.
I shouldn't wish a fatal heart attack on a customer, even if they are bringing it upon themselves. But it's her own damned fault for not listening properly and refusing to comprehend that different concessions have different tills and only the stuff from that concession can be purchased at that till. She's only making things more difficult for herself than they need to be.
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