ITT: Your most memorable "I'll see you fired!" tales of horror

[Blade_Raver]

My apologies for this, I'm about to go way off topic... but there's a neat trick I learned that you might see valuable sometime...

I know this works on whiteboards.. but not sure if it works on mirrors or other slick surfaces...

If someone takes a permanent marker and marks on a whiteboard.. obviously you can't wipe it off... grab a dry erase marker, mark over the permanent markers' marking.. then dry erase it... the permanent markers' markings also come off.

I don't know why, I don't know how... but it does lol!

Maybe you can use that trick on the mirror if that happens again next time...

Just tryin to help ya,

BladeRaver

[MercenaryMuffin]

Well, not sure if that would work on a mirror, but I do know we had to replace the mirror entirely. And they got charged for it

[Andara Bledin]

Because, really...what am I supposed to do? Call up the room and be like "Sir, I need you to tell your girlfriend to keep it down"?

Call up and say, "Sir, have you and your lady ever considered bondage? Specifically gags or the like?" I'm sure that would go over real well.

Well, not sure if that would work on a mirror, but I do know we had to replace the mirror entirely. And they got charged for it

Sure you charged for it, but did you actually get paid?

As for the 100% satisfaction guarantees, they should always have a clause that requires immediate notification and refunds only being in order when the problem cannot be fixed immediately upon notification.

^-.-^

[Snowbird]

EB: "NO. I want them to stop it RIGHT NOW. I am a DIAMOND MEMBER (oooh, big freakin' deal, so is everyone else), and I want you to move them to another room!"

I'm a card holding member of Blockbuster Videos, does that mean I can have other customers kicked out because their talking disturbs my movie selecting zen?

Well obviously this can't be tolerated, and they were both arrested in short order. Apparently when our manager asked them why they'd hung strips of tape up, the mother replied very calmly: "To catch the ghosts, of course."



You can't make this stuff up.

To quote the song, "cause I got high, cause I got hiiiiigh". It sounds like their brains went right past sunny side up and straight on to scrambled.

[MapGirl]

My apologies for this, I'm about to go way off topic... but there's a neat trick I learned that you might see valuable sometime...

I know this works on whiteboards.. but not sure if it works on mirrors or other slick surfaces...

If someone takes a permanent marker and marks on a whiteboard.. obviously you can't wipe it off... grab a dry erase marker, mark over the permanent markers' marking.. then dry erase it... the permanent markers' markings also come off.

I don't know why, I don't know how... but it does lol!

Maybe you can use that trick on the mirror if that happens again next time...

Just tryin to help ya,

BladeRaver

OT Nerd moment: dry-erase ink includes a solvent that works astonishingly well on dissolving many other inks. Including dry-erase ink, if you have any that has been sitting forever and just won't come off on its own.


Back ON topic:

I was surveying the edge of a golf course's property, regarding the actual property limits. (Contrary to popular belief, a fence doesn't equal the limit. Many people will build their fence inside their limits, to avoid any dispute over the fence - height, colour, materials, etc. Its entirely on their land, they control it.)

Can you see where this is going?

The golf course shared its boundary with a brand new development. Not all of the houses are finished yet. We set up on an empty lot, check our benchmarks, and start to put in our iron bars and orange flagged stakes at relevant points along the limit, which is well away from the golf course's fence. It averages out to about 12 feet PAST the fence. Most folks go the <1foot route, but, hey, GC is totally within their rights to do this.

Past the empty lot, we get a gorgeous house, with a lovely fence that wasn't much fun to climb (pointy iron thingies.) Set a control point, and continue on with the iron bars and stakes. Only we can't. There's a pool in the way. And a purple-faced, angry old man yelling at us from inside the house. He never opened the window, or came outside though, so we waved happily and continued along, surveying the extent of the paved area around the pool, the pool house, and everything else in "his yard."

Next house, after jumping the other side of the iron pointy fence, was an empty one. Thank goodness. Before we even get set up though, a banshee flies out of the backdoor, with a very large black dog, screaming to get off "her land." And the demon-puppy? A gorgeous portugese waterdog that came over for pets once she let go of his collar. Aww. When we explain that we aren't on her land, (even if we were, we aren't required to ask permission in cases like this), and she FLIPS. Called us burglars, thieves, con-men, and scum. Scaring a poor defenseless woman, while she's home alone (at noon on a Wednesday! You'd think we snuck into her yard at 3am)! Many threats were spoken, she went inside, got the cordless phone, then came back out so we got to hear her yelling. We ignored her and continued staking along the lot line, but I snuck a few glances and saw the familiar cat-butt face before she hung up. I guess she didn't get me fired after all.

She did, however, call the land developer next, and he got a good yelling about the whole 'fence is not the line' thing: she wants to sue him for misrepresenting her lot size. I thought she was going to pop a vein or something, with the tension in her face.

---
Consider the different sides: from the GC's view, these people (6 houses in total) stole their land! And built on it!
From the homeowners' view, that evil mean golf course wants them to tear up their backyards and put a fence up!

(Eventually, they had to remove anything in the GCs land - they could use it as lawn, but not put any structures, paving, or trees in it.)

[Alpha Strike]

I was surveying the edge of a golf course's property, regarding the actual property limits. (Contrary to popular belief, a fence doesn't equal the limit. Many people will build their fence inside their limits, to avoid any dispute over the fence - height, colour, materials, etc. Its entirely on their land, they control it.)

Can you see where this is going?

The golf course shared its boundary with a brand new development. Not all of the houses are finished yet. We set up on an empty lot, check our benchmarks, and start to put in our iron bars and orange flagged stakes at relevant points along the limit, which is well away from the golf course's fence. It averages out to about 12 feet PAST the fence. Most folks go the <1foot route, but, hey, GC is totally within their rights to do this.

I'm tired and slow today , so help me out:

First, why would the golf course build their fence 12 ft in from their property line? Isn't that just asking for problems to come up later with folks who build on what is the golf course's property, claiming that they were using the fence to gauge property limits?

Secondly, if I understood correctly, you were marking out the golf course's territory and wandering around homes that were already built. Does this mean the new development of houses had encroached on the golf course's land? If so, what happens next?

By the way, how are you legally allowed to enter someone's land simply for survey purposes?

[Dreamstalker]

My second night alone at GameStore. A guy brings three Jim Butcher books up to the counter (one new and two used). Holds up one of the used books and says: "I need to know if I bought this one already."

The system does keep track of titles a given customer has purchased, but only if they were scanned in via ISBN (ie, new). Used books do not get scanned and just have a generic code. I didn't see any Butcher titles in his new-book purchase history, but there was 3+ pages of used books. I suspect that said title might have been a used purchase, but have no way of verifying this.

"I'm sorry sir, I'm not finding any Butcher titles in your new-book purchases."
"Bull ! I know I bought one of these before!"
[well why can't you remember which one you already have?]
"I apologize, but nothing's coming up in the computer. If it turns out that you already have one of these titles at home, you can return the duplicate within seven days for a refund."

I'm told he bought it "last week." Computer says otherwise.

"You're new, aren't you? Fine, seeing as you're forcing me to buy another copy I guess I will! I'm going to have you fired, he never should have hired you, this is no way to treat a paying customer!"

He buys all three books and leaves.

Cue next day. Owner chews me out (in front of customers no less) saying that SC told him I "freaked out"

I later find out that while the guy did already have a copy of one of the books, said purchase was made over a year ago. This happened in August of 2007, meaning the original purchase had to have been made at the latest in August of 2006. Purchase records in the customer database--at least ones that are accessible through the register--only go back to the beginning of the current calendar year (January 07)....leaving me scratching my head as to how Owner was able to pull up the info (possibility that he knew the customer, but after a year I don't even remember what books my friends bought). The threat of firing was there, but at that point he needed me so I was safe...when I was really canned, that was cited as a "mistake" he claims I made.

[wagegoth]

By the way, how are you legally allowed to enter someone's land simply for survey purposes?

Apparently, it was the golf course's land.

[Nurian]

Hehe, the first time I worked at (government agency), I clawed my way up to Senior Rep. This is the job where you answer the rep's questions when they can't remember but it's also where you take call escalations. There wasn't a lot I could do. We were an information desk for the agency.

3 times, I had someone who didn't like my answer threaten to throw me out of office. These people thought I was an elected official! And what did I say when I was presented with my pending doom?

"Well, I'm sorry you feel that way. If there's nothing else, thank you for calling (agency)!" *CLICK*

[fireheart]

Most of my customers just imply it, not necessarily say it. Usually their complaints tend to be with the notion that they want the employee to be fired or at least punished.

My boss does the simplest methods of dealing with it. If it's legit (i.e. an employee is rude and it's obvious that he or she has been) then he will deal with it privately. But for most complaints, especially trivial ones, he'll listen to it and then say nothing. Poor guy...

Things I've been complained for:

-having a crappy day and making it rather obvious. (I was whinging a bit)
-checking bags (repeatedly)
-telling customers to go to another lane while I've been on express (they have WAY more than 15 items)
-taking another customer in line when I opened up instead of some cranky woman. (I'd only just opened up and started working there)
-telling another guy to go to my manager about the bag-free trial. (I didn't get in trouble for that)
-throwing groceries (I received a verbal warning for that one)

The one customer I loved though was a guy who asked me where to complain about a lack of certain iceblocks. He received a raincheck for that and went on his way. I'm so glad he didn't complain to me about it...I do occasionally tend to get mistaken for a manager

[MapGirl]

I'm tired and slow today , so help me out:

First, why would the golf course build their fence 12 ft in from their property line? Isn't that just asking for problems to come up later with folks who build on what is the golf course's property, claiming that they were using the fence to gauge property limits?

Secondly, if I understood correctly, you were marking out the golf course's territory and wandering around homes that were already built. Does this mean the new development of houses had encroached on the golf course's land? If so, what happens next?

By the way, how are you legally allowed to enter someone's land simply for survey purposes?

No problem

They built that far into their limit because of the shape of the landscape - its more cost-effective to build on the flat land rather than on slopes. Just past these houses was area defined as 'greenspace', with a creek and a bit of a marsh, so keeping the fence further back kept golfers out of the water, and kept the greenspace available for deer and other animals.

You're absolutely right - it is asking for trouble. Perhaps a double fence would have been best.

Technically, the developers built the houses where they belonged. The new homeowners put up fences, pools, etc, without checking their property limits. In this town, that's actually illegal: you NEED a survey to get a permit (partly to prove you own the land, partly to identify gas lines, etc, so you don't damage them.) I can sympathize with feeling misled, and the developer claims they pinned the lot corners (pins were missing, probably removed when the fences were built) but I can't fathom building illegally like that.

Once you've encroached on someone's land, they have a time limit to establish the theft, and then it goes to a municipal board or court. Either the land is re-assigned, and paid for, or the land is re-confirmed to the original owner, and the encroachment must be removed.

You'd be surprised at what surveyors can do within the law (which of course varies in different places) and what little rights people have to 'their land' (my favourite is mineral rights - in most places, if someone decides they want to dig for gold in your backyard, and applies for the mineral rights, they can! Crazy.) You're not allowed to block the city crew who wants to dig up the water main in your front lawn, for example. Interfering with a legal survey will get the police called. Asking permission, while certainly nice, is not required, and very time consuming. I know it sounds harsh, and invasive, but this situation was something like a search warrant.

It was my only "I'll get you fired" story

[slavetotheman]

What kind of fool doesn't get his own land survey done before putting anything up on his property, much less a pool?!?

Did he have to have that removed or am I misunderstanding that his pool extended onto the golf course's land?

[MoonChild2007]

My "I'll see you fired" moment ended me in tears. it was not Pretty. long story short

Customer walked out with a cart full of merchandise....customer was in the process of paying...walked out...told the guy he will need to come back inside...customer was an asshole and told me the company should fire my ass.

[hotelslave]

When I worked at the Hampton Inn I despised the Diamond Desk. They would always cave to the stupid Diamond members and then go off on us and make us fix the near impossible problem. I liked when the Blue Members got uppity. That would make me laugh in their face.

[hotelslave]

The 100% guarantee is complete bull shit. I hated that EW would lie right to my face and I had to honor the policy