SC confronts me in another store on my break...

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

I work in a wireless store that's part of an outdoor shopping plaza, meaning there are multiple stores and business under one roof. Quite often on my breaks I will visit some of these stores, especially since there is an EB games in the plaza and I'm a huge game nut.

So this guy comes in with a malfunctioning phone, I take a look at it, tinker with a few settings, do a full reset on it and run a few test calls. Everything is working fine. I give it back to him and tell him he should be all set, but if the problems start again, come back to see me and I'll look into further.

So far, so good.

About half an hour later, I decide to take my lunch. After eating, I went over to the EB games store for a few minutes.

Imagine my surprise when while I am standing in front of wall of games I hear this:

"Excuse me sir"

(I am on break and I do not work at this store, so I ignored it)

SC: Hey, phone guy!

I turn around and Lo and behold it's the customer with the phone problems from earlier.

SC: This phone is acting up again, you need to fix it.
Me: Well sir, I'm on my break right now, I'm certain Angie (coworker of mine) can take care of it for you.
SC: Well I said I needed you and she said you were on lunch, so I saw you in here and decided to talk to you about it since you already knew the situation.
Me: Be that as it may sir, I'm on my lunch break right now.
SC: Does that mean you can't help me?
Me: Not for another 20 minutes or so, you are welcome to wait if you want.
SC: Come on man, I am waiting on some important calls, I need this fixed! You're supposed to be customer service.
Me: I certainly am sir, when I am ON THE CLOCK. Right now however, I am on a break and will be unable to help you until its over. Angie is more than capable of assisting you.
SC: This is stupid man, whatever happened to looking after your customers?
Me: Sir, I will say it one more time. I am on a BREAK. When I go back on shift I will be happy to help you if you wish.
SC: Whatever man, you don't care anyway (leaves)

By the time I get back to my store, SC is gone and Angie asked me about what happened.

A: Hey did SC find you in one of the stores?
Me: Yes, unfortunately.
A: Man, that sucks. He came in here asking for you but I told him you were on break so he left. Then he came back maybe 10 minutes later to get his phone fixed and he was complaining about how rude and unhelpful you were to him when he found you at the other store.
Me: I'll bet he was, but anyone that hassles me on my break will not get a warm reception.
A: (laughing) He said he was going to report you to corporate.
Me: For what, wanting to spend a break in peace? Some people. Did you get him fixed up?
A: I think so...I hope so.
Me: So do I, because if he comes back again today I'm going to flip.

Thankfully he didn't come back.

Don't get me wrong, I'm all about helping customers but my break is MY BREAK, it's the one time of my work day I get to be away from customers for awhile.

[rerant]

I love how we're supposed to be at people's beck and call all the time. Never mind the fact that we are entitled to our small bits of down time.
Back hen I worked at Wal Mart I was in the store one day on my day off and was stopped by a customer who wanted to return something.
She recognized me as the cashier who checked her out and sure enough my employee number was on the receipt.
She was pissing and moaning about how the item (I think it was a blender - some random kitchen device regardless) wasn't working how it was supposed to, how I shouldn't have sold her a defective product, rabblerabblebitchbitch.

Eventually I just said, "I'm not even working today, leave me alone," and walked away.
I don't know if she complained about me or not because I never heard anything about it later on but honestly, I'm standing here with a cart full of stuff pondering over my next possible purchase while wearing my winter jacket.
What about this suggests to you that I'm on the clock?

[vacation_rentals_suck]

I know your pain

Don't get me wrong, I'm all about helping customers but my break is MY BREAK, it's the one time of my work day I get to be away from customers for awhile.

Yea they do it to me also. I work right next to a grocery store and when I take my break, I actually change my clothes so SC's wont notice I work here. I used to wear my shirt in the store and they'd stop me and be like "hey is my place ready?" or "I have roaches in my unit and you havent taken care of it yet". One lady actually followed me out of the store screaming and cursing because I told her she'd have to talk to the folks at the desk who are on the clock. SC's seem to think your entire life should be devoted to them and their every whim.

[Sableonblonde]

Me: Sir, I will say it one more time. I am on a BREAK. When I go back on shift I will be happy to help you if you wish.
SC: Whatever man, you don't care anyway (leaves)

I can't even BEGIN to wrap my mind around the self-importance that so many people seem to possess. How out of touch with reality, and wrapped up in yourself would you have to be to approach an employee who is obviously NOT WORKING, who is in a totally different store, obviously shopping/browsing, on his own personal time? He seemed to be genuinely surprised that you weren't wetting yourself at the opprotunity to fix his phone again.

[tropicsgoddess]

SC: Well I said I needed you and she said you were on lunch, so I saw you in here and decided to talk to you about it since you already knew the situation.
Me: Be that as it may sir, I'm on my lunch break right now.
SC: Does that mean you can't help me?
Me: Not for another 20 minutes or so, you are welcome to wait if you want.
SC: Come on man, I am waiting on some important calls, I need this fixed! You're supposed to be customer service.
Me: I certainly am sir, when I am ON THE CLOCK. Right now however, I am on a break and will be unable to help you until its over. Angie is more than capable of assisting you.
SC: This is stupid man, whatever happened to looking after your customers?
Me: Sir, I will say it one more time. I am on a BREAK. When I go back on shift I will be happy to help you if you wish.
SC: Whatever man, you don't care anyway (leaves)

How would you like it if somebody hassled you on your break?!! Yeah, like we're supposed to do stuff for you off the clock and God forbid that we can't take a break and not be at your beck and call. Fucker.

[Tigress]

You know what's worse? Asshole managers that pull you off break to help out.

I had that happen to me once at Best Buy. I was sitting in front of the lounge TV in a happy zombie state, enjoying my yogurt and soda and being off my feet after 4 - 5 hours of running like a chicken with my head cut off. One of the managers came into the lounge and told me to go help my co-worker, who got bombarded by customers. By the time I walked the ten feet to the counter, the customers were all gone.

Usually, I only take my break long enough to get my snack in me, so I don't pass out from low blood sugar. But this time, I made sure I got my full 15 minutes and took my sweet time sipping my drink. I was completely pissed that he pulled me off break, when everyone else in my department has no problem completely abandoning their co-workers for the full 15.

I don't know if it was the death glare I gave to the manager or the fact that he realized he pissed off someone that could quite literally drop kick him, but he never pulled that stunt with me again.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I cut my breaks short for nobody. If you think things are going to get busy and you're going to have lots of customers, carryouts, etc, then ask me to wait a little bit until it slows down.

Otherwise, once I get up to the breakroom, I'm off the grid, so to speak.

[Hyndis]

If I'm on break or lunch, I'm off the clock. The only thing that would get me to work is if, say, the building is on fire or something, in which case I'd work out of genuine humanity and not an obligation to the company.

But if I'm on break and the lines get swamped? Too bad. I'll be back in 15 minutes to take care of it.

[Alpha Strike]

You know what's worse? Asshole managers that pull you off break to help out.
...

I cut my breaks short for nobody. If you think things are going to get busy and you're going to have lots of customers, carryouts, etc, then ask me to wait a little bit until it slows down.

Otherwise, once I get up to the breakroom, I'm off the grid, so to speak.

If I'm on break or lunch, I'm off the clock....

But if I'm on break and the lines get swamped? Too bad. I'll be back in 15 minutes to take care of it.

Wow. My work experiences have given me completely different expectations compared to you folks. Maybe it's the fact that I worked for McSlavedrivers for several years, but they put me in the mindset that no matter where I was in the store I could be pulled away to help if we got hit with too many customers.

Involved cleaning tasks in the back? Too bad! On Break? Bzzzzzt - back to the front with me! Hell, I even had times where I was punched out of work altogether but hadn't left the store yet and my managers would ask me to come back and work. (And yes, ultra-motivated, and very young 16 yr old that I was, I would do it.)

My current job isn't as bad. Sometimes, if I'm taking my lunch/break at my desk, they'll suggest that maybe I could help but they'll never push it. And I'm more inclined to help out anyway since I like most of my bosses and they've covered for me in the past.

[Hyndis]

By law you are given breaks, and while many states allow you to waive these breaks, it must be done by the employee, not the employer.

Also, requiring you to work off the clock is very illegal.



Some related humor, also relating to Dwarf Fortress

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

By law you are given breaks, and while many states allow you to waive these breaks, it must be done by the employee, not the employer.

Not necessarily; AFAIK Wisconsin does NOT require breaks to be given. They are only "suggested"

But thankfully my company does give the employees breaks and I am almost always able to take all the breaks I am allotted in a given shift.

[sarahj]

As I was browsing the candy aisle one evening at work, having just clocked out and put a jacket on, a lady said to me, "I know you're not working, but could you please tell me where to find x item?" I was happy to tell her what aisle it was in. But a rude or demanding customer? No way. I'd tell them to go to the desk and ask there.

I can't believe the nerve of some customers, bugging employees on their day off when they aren't even in uniform, or are in others stores! ... Oh, wait, I'm on CS.com, I do believe it.

[MoonChild2007]

SC: Does that mean you can't help me?

Why do customers always play that shit? First they put words in your mouth just to make us feel like shit when its not really OUR fault to begin then they pull this shit "you can't help me?" or "does tha mean you can't help me!"



Sorry, bad day

[videodrone]

ooh. I had one of these just the other day. I had just pulled into a spot in front of my store and got out of the car when some lady was walking out the front doors. I had just slammed my car door shut when she bee-lines straight for me and starts ranting about how rude the employee inside was. I gave her a sympathy face and said I'd be able to help her after I clocked in buuuuut...she left after I came out of the backroom.

[freeatlast]

Many years ago, I worked for a small, family-owned oil company. We sold mainly heating oil and farm fuel. Many times, I would run into customers out in public in my off time who wanted to give me their orders. I started carrying a small notepad in my purse to note the orders. But most of them were very nice and were not pushy or sucky about it. Christmas of 1989 we had really bad weather (snow and well below zero temperatures.) My boss and his wife had invited my daughter and me to dinner. Many of our customers would only purchase 100 gallons of heating oil at a time and were concerned because of the weather, so they began calling at my boss's house that evening. He ended up calling the drivers in and went to the company warehouse to oversee things. He had me field the customer calls and relay them to him every hour or so. Most customers were so grateful that they were able to reach us that they were really nice to deal with. And my boss made sure to tell the payroll person to pay me double time for spending the evening handling business calls from his house.