How to talk back to an SC without getting fired.

[Super Cashier]

Hey guys. It's been about 2 years since my last post (give or take a few months) but now I'm ready to contribute again.

For the record, I'm a very nice guy. I'm easy to talk to, I get along with most others, and if someone's having a problem, I'm more than willing to lend a helping hand. There is a lot I will tolerate as well. Rudeness, I'll handle. Attitudes, I'll ignore. But if you throw a personal insult at me, I will not let you get away with it.

Case in piont: last week, an aggressive and impatient Polish lady carrying a cordless phone from her home practically ambushes me when a CW and I were helping another customer pick out a TV (note: I'm no longer a cashier, I got bumped up to Electronics). Without warning, she pokes me in the arm to ask me a question.

ME: Who else?
SC: Sucky Customer

SC: Excuse me, you have battery for phone? (English wasn't perfect, but understandable)
ME: Uh, let's go take a look.

I walk her down to the batteries for cordless phones. I will say that cordless phones are not really my thing, so I asked her;

ME: Do you know what type of battery you need?
SC: No, I don't.

Ok, she needs my help, but she doesn't know what exactly she's looking for. Was she trying to make my job not easy? I couldn't answer her question, so I decided to be honest with her.

ME: I'm not sure if we have what you're looking for.
SC: Let me talk to someone else, or manager.
ME: (a bit miffed at this point) OK.
SC: (as I was walking away) Incompetent.

Now the gloves are off. I turned around and looked at her for two seconds.

ME: I'm sorry!?
SC: You heard me.
ME: I don't understand why you would say such a thing.
SC: Because you don't know! (she then said something along the lines of me not being able to do my job, and this is when I raise my voice at her)
ME: DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT I WAS ONLY TRYING TO HELP YOU!? I WAS NOTHING BUT NICE TO YOU! I DON'T NEED TO TAKE THAT FROM YOU! (points finger) YOU DO NOT CALL ME THAT!!!!
SC: Ugh! (walks away, and fast)

When she storms off, I walk in the other direction. Only one of the managers overheard it, and I explain everything to her. I then tell my department manager what happened, then tell him that I was heading to the break room to blow off steam. Every one of my coworkers praised me and told me they were proud of me for standing up for myself. Apparantly, she never filed a complaint about me, since no other manager came to talk to me about it.

I think the reason I didn't get in trouble was because I called her out on her bullshit without getting nasty and without insulting her. Otherwise, she would have had grounds to file a complaint.

Super Cashier: 1
Sucky Customer: 0

[Nyx]

I probably would have told her "You don't know either and it's YOUR phone.". But I guess that may be considered talking back.

[MoxisPilot]

I probably wouldn't have shouted, but I would've told her the same thing.

[powerboy]

Maybe her husband or other family member tossed the battery away? But yeah, I would have probably said the same thing.

[Blade_Raver]

That was pretty sucky of the customer..

However, this situation has arisen the inner problem solver in me.

Did you say that the customer was carrying said phone that needed the battery?
If so, was there a dead battery in it?
Would you have been able to tell the battery needed by looking at said battery?


I would have told the customer to contact the manufacturer of the phone to order a new battery if there was no option left.

[NateTheChops]

Those moments are few and precious.

I've had more than my share of battles of wits with unruly and obscene customers and honestly it was the fact that the managment loved me more that has kept me from being fired.

Like you, I generally go above and beyond to help my customers, but I will not be mistreated by them. Unfortunately the newer management seems to think otherwise so I'm forced to bite my tongue yet again and save it for when said customer catches me off the clock.

Then the gloves are off. And so are the leather restraints. And the orderlies are on vacation.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Anytime a customer asks me for a phone battery and doesn't have the old one with them, I just tell them "Here's the phone batteries, if it isn't here we don't have it."

Customers can't reasonably expect us to know which kind of phone they have and what battery fits it sight unseen--oops, wait, I take that back. They're customers.

And even if they bring the phone in, I can't tell what battery fits it unless there's a label or something in the plastic that identifies the size they need.

[Bright_Star]

Sometimes you have to throw customer courtesy out the window & tell a customer the way it is. Some customers have this notion that they can talk to a retail worker any way they want without regard for respect & when they get confronted about it they're the ones who are most surprised. YES, we do have backbones & if you catch us at the wrong time you will be lowered down a few pegs. So when that happens, most retail workers don't care what management thinks cause by that point the "gloves have come off".
Generally I'm mindfull of giving good customer service but that's no excuse for putting up with SC behavior. People have their limits & I'm sure many of you have reached yours when dealing with nasty customers.

[AirHostess]

What I like about my job is being able to tell pax to sit down, fasten their seatbelt, turn their phone off etc and the HAVE to do. I can be pretty scary sometimes.

[draftermatt]

I'd have fired you if I were your manager.

If you're blowing up that quickly because of an idiot I wouldn't want you working for me.

I can understand being frustrated and irritated, but there was no need to start shouting. I would have just told her she can find someone else to help her if she's going to insult me for not knowing something even she didn't know.

When you argue with an idiot people watching can't tell who the real idiot is anymore.

[AirHostess]

I'd have fired you if I were your manager.

If you're blowing up that quickly because of an idiot I wouldn't want you working for me.

I can understand being frustrated and irritated, but there was no need to start shouting. I would have just told her she can find someone else to help her if she's going to insult me for not knowing something even she didn't know.

When you argue with an idiot people watching can't tell who the real idiot is anymore.

A bit harsh methinks. In the UK I think you would be hard pressed to sack someone over that.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

A bit harsh methinks. In the UK I think you would be hard pressed to sack someone over that.

Yeah, but that's the UK. Here in the U S of A, managers can have itchier firing fingers.

Me, I wouldn't hold it against the OP unless he had a habit of doing this.

[blas]

I think the shouting was a bit much, but if the OP had just flat out said in a normal to even just slightly irritated tone of voice, his defense spiel, that would have been ok.

I wouldn't want a Chrisitan Bale working for me, but I definetly wouldn't demand that my employees take it up the butt from bitter, crusty bitches and hos.

[Athaelia]

I'd have fired you if I were your manager.

If you're blowing up that quickly because of an idiot I wouldn't want you working for me.

I can understand being frustrated and irritated, but there was no need to start shouting. I would have just told her she can find someone else to help her if she's going to insult me for not knowing something even she didn't know.

When you argue with an idiot people watching can't tell who the real idiot is anymore.

Someone sounds a lot like an SC himself.

[Kiwi]

I'd have fired you if I were your manager.

if you were my manager I would have already quit

just kidding, lighten up folks! we are here to be supportive not to bring each other down