Arguing Over The Tax Rate

[zigcat]

Phone rings at the pizza place.

ME (Name of pizza place)
SC: Like to order for delivery.
ME: Sure, can I get your address please?
SC (Gives address)
ME: And you're name?
SC (Gives name)
ME: What can we get for you?
SC: I'd like a medium combination.
ME: Great. One medium combination. Anything else at all?
SC: No just the pizza.
ME: Can I get your phone number please?
SC: Gives phone number.
ME: Okay, your total comes to $19.40 all together. Will that be cash or charge?
SC: Wait. $19.40? It says here on your site it's $17.99
ME: Yes, that's the price before tax.
SC: You mean to tell me it's over a dollar tax?! That can't possibly be right!
ME: Yes, the sales tax is 6.85% the use tax is 1.00%
SC: I don't believe that. There's no way. The rates must be off or you're totaling it wrong.

There's a pricelist above the phone table showing prices before and after tax. It takes all the guesswork out.

ME: The total's already been calculated.
SC: You do it in your head or something?
ME: No, I'm referring to our pricelist. It shows prices before and after tax.
SC: I still don't think that's right.
ME: I'm sorry. That is the current tax rate in this state for restaurants. I have no control over it. If you'd like I'll put your order on hold while you contact the state tax commission to verify what I'm telling you. Will that work for you?
SC: No just SEND it!
ME: How did you want to pay?
SC: Cash.
ME: See you in about 30-50 minutes. Thanks for calling.
SC: Bye.

I told my driver what just happened. He looked at the order.

DRIVER: Oh god! Not HER! Got her a few times now. She never tips and is always nitpicking stuff and acting like you're ripping her off. Now she's bitching about taxes?!

This is just one example of about three I've had where people argue with me over the tax rate. One of them even went so far as to call me an asshole, hang up on me then post about me on a review site.

Needless to say, we immediately stopped charging sales tax (NOT)

[EnoughAlready]

Boy does this one hit home for me! I'm a sales tax accountant for a corporation. I can't tell you how many times I've heard people fuss over the tax rate. I just charge it and report it, I don't set it!

[jiarby]

When I had a retail store my standard speil for this was:
"You're right... sales tax sucks, but WE are not the ones charging you the sales tax... we are just required by law to collect it on behalf of the state."

[MelindaJoy77]

I've gotten that a few times at work. We get a lot of people from BC and from out of state in our area I guess. When they question it I just whip out my calculator and show them. I did have a CSM change the price of an item for a guy once because it was what appeared to be a half gallon of juice but it had tax on it; our state doesn't have sales tax on food but some drinks do. It was a whole two dollar item but the SC bitched about it.

[manybellsdown]

I'm sorry. That is the current tax rate in this state for restaurants. I have no control over it. If you'd like I'll put your order on hold while you contact the state tax commission to verify what I'm telling you. Will that work for you?

Ahahahahaha! I love this!

[Jay 2K Winger]

s right.
ME: I'm sorry. That is the current tax rate in this state for restaurants. I have no control over it. If you'd like I'll put your order on hold while you contact the state tax commission to verify what I'm telling you. Will that work for you?

Yeeeah, we got that kind of thing now and then from the occasional folks at the wholesale club. They got upset because we were "charging them twice" for tax... when, no, what had happened was the sales tax was parsed into "food tax" and "non-food tax" and presented in two separate entries, that happened to have the same rate at the time.

When they'd argue over how high the tax is getting, I'd just tell them, "Well, come November, you can vote to express your displeasure, but we don't have any control over that sort of thing from here."

[Racket_Man]

I told my driver what just happened. He looked at the order.

DRIVER: Oh god! Not HER! Got her a few times now. She never tips and is always nitpicking stuff and acting like you're ripping her off. Now she's bitching about taxes?!

This is just one example of about three I've had where people argue with me over the tax rate. One of them even went so far as to call me an asshole, hang up on me then post about me on a review site.

Needless to say, we immediately stopped charging sales tax (NOT)

Welcome to my world as a delivery driver. Once you have been at a pizza place long enough you get to know where ALL the complainers, whiners, cheats, scammers, the exact changers, the "I want my 2 cents back, and wierdos live.

and I wonder why I still actually have hair left.

[Android Kaeli]

I get that a lot too, lately it's become really annoying since it's been almost everyday that I get at least two-three people who complain about the taxes here. And most of these people come in at least three times a week and LIVE in the area.

[AccountingDrone]

I just don't get people who are jerks to delivery people. I would freaking KILL to live where I could get delivery.

[Nordel]

But delivery is a privilege that people are owed! Food should always be brought right to peoples faces within minutes so they don't even have to move from their couch! It's their right! And it should be free and tip free! And garaunteed!

[Oprah's Book Club]

One customer went ballistic over sales tax on his order. I explained that the register simply couldn't remove tax or discount his particular item to compensate for it at all. I told him where else he could purchase the item and even pointed out that some vending machines don't require tax on the item in question. I told him how he could apply for a tax-exempt status card, but that he would have to wait until he had a federal number before we could cancel his tax. He just got madder and madder. Finally, after every customer in the store had been staring at him for 5 minutes, he asked to talk to the store manager.

When he realized that the store manager was the guy cracking up around the corner, he stormed out. The item in question? A 50 cent newspaper.