Argh! Don't patronise me!

[Lace Neil Singer]

This happened yesterday, and is yet again connected with the manager's new policy. The woman wasn't that bad of an SC, but her tone of voice really annoyed me.

SC = Customer
Me = Me

SC: (hands me store card)
Me: Can you swipe that thru the machine?
SC: (in super patronising tone) It's not a credit card. It's a store card.
Me: I know that. You have to swipe all your cards now.

Maybe I'm overreacting, but having someone talk to me like I'm braindead really bugs me.

[purplecat41877]

Where I work, customers have the option of either sliding their card or having it scanned. I prefer to slide my card so I ask the employee ringing me up to set it up for me so my card can be slid.

[kelly]

I know what you mean. A few years ago I had a part-time job in a supermarket and when I was on the till one day, this guy just stood there and watched me scan his shopping, before saying in a very patronising voice, "How on earth can you do such a boring job all day, every day?"

I took great delight in looking at him for a few seconds before saying in a very neutral voice, "Actually I'm in my final year of an economics degree and I only do this a few hours a week"

His face fell and he skulked off! But seriously, how dare someone say that kind of thing? What's wrong with people that they talk down to a complete stranger?

[Special Patrol Group]

OMG this reminded me of the stupidest customer ever. SC wants to pay with a credit card but doesn't want to swipe it in the machine because it scratches the pretty surface of the card. She was actually pointing at these stratches and complaining to me about them. I had to tell the moron that if she wanted to pay with the hard it had to be swiped (we don't have an alternate way of running them). This went back and forth with her saying "But it will scratch the gold surface" and me saying "Do you want to pay with the card or not?", over and over and OVER. It ended with me saying "Okay so you want to pay with the card?". Customer starts say yes, but it will stratch her card, I take card, swipe card and return it.

Who the hell cares if the card gets scratched? It's not for pretty, it's for using! I should have suggested that she have it framed and mounted to hang on her wall instead. Or perhaps I could have run it through the magic non scratching machine I keep in my a***

[Imogene]

*snip*

Who the hell cares if the card gets scratched? It's not for pretty, it's for using! I should have suggested that she have it framed and mounted to hang on her wall instead. Or perhaps I could have run it through the magic non scratching machine I keep in my a***

In which case, everyone who comes into her home would have free reign to use her credit card number! Sweet!

[cheese]

Are those the swipey bits on the chip and pin machine Lace? I always end up putting the card the wrong way round, let alone the customer doing it correctly. We've been told instead of swiping, to scan the barcode on the store card instead. Its much quicker and you only have to do it once aswell, because when its beeped its done, whereas if you scan it, it doesn't always go through the first time. If they have an objection to you swiping the customers card, they can't have a problem with you scanning the barcode surely, i mean thats your job, to scan things, right?

[AFpheonix]

Agh, the ones that want you to swipe your own club card say to do so on the pin pad READ, peeps!

Said by Kelly:I know what you mean. A few years ago I had a part-time job in a supermarket and when I was on the till one day, this guy just stood there and watched me scan his shopping, before saying in a very patronising voice, "How on earth can you do such a boring job all day, every day?"

I had a lady with a nametag from Claire's tell me essentially the same thing. "God, I could never count pills all day"
"Well, that's really only part of my job, ma'am."

I personally couldn't deal with screaming teeny boppers getting ugly earrings and tchotchkies all day, but that's just me.

[Kogarashi]

OMG this reminded me of the stupidest customer ever. -snip tale of scratch-phobic customer-

At Wal-Mart, I can technically hand-key the card. I've had to do it for demagnetized credit cards before. However, this requires the following to occur:

1. I press the credit card key, and key in the entire 16-digit number on the card.
2. I then re-key the 16-digit number, just to make sure it's entered correctly (register actually prompts for a re-key every time).
3. I wait while the register sends a page to the CSMs' PDA (which beeps at them when things like change and voids are requested through the terminal). I can, in addition, set my light to blinking if I can't hear the PDA beeping, or if I think it'll help get the CSM there quicker.
4. More waiting, since we generally have only one CSM in the front at a time, and they're often busy helping out other customers and running over to the service desk.
5. CSM finally arrives, puts in their key, and enters their supervisor numbers.
6. CSM keys in the card's expiration date.
7. CSM fetches me one of those old slips for taking the imprint of the card so I can quickly get an impression of the card's number, exp. date, and owner name, as proof that the card was actually present for the transaction (another required step).
8. The customer is finally allowed to sign on the signature panel of the pinpad. If their purchase is large enough (or the system anal enough), I have to hang onto the card anyway to compare signatures, which requires waiting for the receipt to print out with the signature on it.
9. The customer is handed card and receipt and finally allowed to leave with their merchandise.

Whereas, if the customer swipes their card, it's usually a matter of swipe --> CC key --> signature --> leave.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Are those the swipey bits on the chip and pin machine Lace? I always end up putting the card the wrong way round, let alone the customer doing it correctly. We've been told instead of swiping, to scan the barcode on the store card instead. Its much quicker and you only have to do it once aswell, because when its beeped its done, whereas if you scan it, it doesn't always go through the first time. If they have an objection to you swiping the customers card, they can't have a problem with you scanning the barcode surely, i mean thats your job, to scan things, right?

I do if it has a useable barcode... ah... loopholes.

[karma_gypsy]

At Wal-Mart, I can technically hand-key the card. I've had to do it for demagnetized credit cards before.

Yeah, the pizza place I worked at had a machine that you could just punch in the number. For customers who wanted to pay with card on a delivery. Punch in the number and the total, slip would print up to customer to sign and driver would have to get an imprint.

Sometimes if the customer hands me their card and it didn't work in the machine (it was kinda picky), then I'd punch it in (happened very rarely though). I wouldn't punch in the number if the customer simply didn't want to ruin it's shiny surface though . .. that's just asinine - it's gonna get scratched eventually, then you'll either cut it up or replace it, it's not that big of a deal.

[ArenaBoy]

Patronising SCs are a rare breed but when they pop up they are very deadly. I had two cases of that over the summer. When I worked Dave Matthews Band, I overheard a guy making cracks about my job and education. The guy asked me if I have to be a high schooler to work here to which I reply with "No, there are guys who are in their 50s and they work here and have day jobs." Then there was the idiot who said told me I was too young to be working in a parking lot. WTF?

[Writer Cath]

*Raises hand*

Ohhh, ohh, I've got one for y'all.

Backstory: Tim Horton's seems to be the only place that'll hire me. Seriously, just so annoying. Basically I worked at Tim's during two non consecutive summers. And when one opened up on campus, I basically did the weekend shifts, which was fun.

Tim Horton's is a coffee place. Both places I served only had take-out cups.

In short, I've put a lotta lids on a lotta coffees.

So it's my typical Saturday rush and this grey haired absent minded professor looking type walks up, smiles and says "I'll have an extra large black coffee, filled to the rim and here's how you put the lid on it.

I believe my reaction was appropriately because seriously, dude, it's not a stretch to say I've put at least a thousand lids on a thousand cups of coffee. The level of liquid will not deter me, thank you. And THEN he launches into this sci-fi explanation about the parachute effect and how you have to seal your fingers around the rim so the coffee doesn't shoot up.

And he came in every week.

After a while, I just had the coffee waiting for him, took the change and smiled.

Then once, I was training a new guy, saw the Professor in line and said, "He's going to tell you that he wants an extra large black coffee, filled to the rim and here's how you put the lid on it."

So what happened?

He walked up and said his same little speech, word for word.


Oh what the hell.

The Tim's was actually located in the student union building, so there were a few other places there, including Mr. Sub. I was trained for pretty much all of them. So I'm working Mr. Sub one day and who walks up but the Professor. He ordered some seafood thing and we started talking. I mention in passing that I'm a vegetarian. He looks at me, scoffs and says "You'll be anemic before you're thirty."

Thanks for the tip, pal.