Tweet
"Christmas-y" Gift Cards
I work in a BP station. This woman came in yesterday about three different times looking for the "perfect" gift card. My store has gift cards in amounts of $25, $50, and $100. All of the gift cards we have in stock have abstract wintry designs. That's the best way I know to describe them. The $50 and $100 gift cards have some kind of abstract snowflake shape on them, and the $25 gift cards have a box drawn to look like a birthday or Christmas present on them. We don't have a lot of demand for gift cards, so they do move slowly. We only get new gift cards when BP decides to send out new ones. Basically, the situation is that we have what we have.
The woman starts whining about how the gift cards are too "Christmas-y". Even more annoying, she keeps asking in between my other customers if I'm sure that's all we have as she repeatedly looks at them over and over. Yes, I work here, so I'm sure since they're all kept in a little display case by the registers. The woman leaves empty-handed the first two times after pestering me with her whining about not wanting "Christmas-y" gift cards. The first time, it wasn't that much of a big deal. The second time, I was getting a little annoyed because it should be obvious that our gift card selection is not going to change within the span of a couple hours on a Sunday afternoon. Even so, it was the same routine the second time around. I just stared out the window indifferently as she looked again at the same gift cards I'd showed her earlier while she whined about not wanting the "Christmas-y" designs.
Then, another couple hours later, she comes back in a third time. As soon as I saw her, I just rolled my eyes because I already expected yet another long boring round of pointless whining from her between other customers. As expected, she was there yet another eternity before finally deciding at first that she wanted a $100 gift card with an abstract snowflake design. I remembered silently thanking God that she finally decided to pick something after all the whining and walking out empty-handed in the span of a few hours only to return.
I started to ring up the gift card, and she told me she also wanted a $50 Boost Mobil card. So, I stopped ringing up the gift card to punch in the phone card information since the phone card machine is painfully slow to process and print out a pin number. Sometimes, it takes several tries to get a successful phone card transaction out of that stupid machine. While I'm getting the phone card, the customer changes her mind about wanting the $100 gift card, again because it's "too Christmas-y." I'm glad I hadn't rang it up yet because I'd have had to void it due to the way the register processes gift card activations. She now wanted four of the $25 gift cards instead. Personally, I find the abstract present design on the $25 gift cards to be more suggestive of Christmas than the abstract snowflake design on the $100 gift cards. Whatever, I'm just ready to get this twit out of my hair by that time. Plus, each card must be activated on the credit card machine individually. Add to that, a small line has started to form behind her now that I've actually started ringing things up that can't be suspended because the register won't allow it for some reason, and I'm the only clerk running the store. So, I finally get her phone card printed out and scanned into the register, ring up the four $25 gift cards, and push the credit button since she's already scanned her credit card into the credit card terminal. Then, she made a comment about thinking maybe the $100 card would be easier to keep track of than four $25 gift cards. It was possible to cancel the transaction if I'd really wanted to cancel it, but I told her it was too late because the transaction was already approved and the cards were activated. I was ready to get rid of the twit since other customers were waiting. I handed her the receipt to sign as soon as it printed a moment later, scooped everything into a bag and slung it on the counter, tossed her copy of the receipt at the bag, scooped up the signed copy to put with my other receipts, and happily shoved her bag across the counter in her general direction. She finally left for good, and I was able to get everyone else out the door a few minutes later. All the customers behind her seemed to think she was a scatterbrain, too, especially when I told them that was her third visit for the day to find a "perfect" gift card. The other customers seemed to think it was amusing that she was making such a big deal about "Christmas-y" gift cards. As for me, I could care less what design is on a gift card I receive, and the other customers seemed to express the same sentiment as they laughed about it.
Propane Tanks
A while later after the gift card lady, I had several propane transactions in a row. This is a royal pain when you're working alone since you have to go out to unlock the cage, dig out a full tank (which is usually in the back because everyone else is to lazy to rotate empty tanks to the back and full tanks to the front), put in the empty tank, and fight with the lock to let go of the key. It never fails that propane customers pick the worst and busiest times when you're running the store by yourself to want a propane exchange. Most people are willing to take their tanks and go away so I can get back inside to take care of everyone else.
One guy yesterday decided he wanted to see how much heavier a full tank was than an empty tank. So, while I was on my knees digging through the tanks in the cage for a full tank, he starts grabbing out other tanks to compare to his tank. I got out a full tank from the back of the cage, set it beside him, and started putting the tanks he'd dug out back into the cage. He starts pulling tanks out to make comparisons to the tank I'd gotten for him. Instead of putting them back, he starts sitting them on the sidewalk, and asks me which I think has the most. I impatiently tell him I don't know, just that a red cap on the spout means it's supposed to be full. So, I proceed to start shoving tanks back into the cage so I can get back inside to wait on other customers since I'm the only clerk on duty. He grabs one of the tanks that I had just shoved back into the cage, and is comparing it to the tank I'd given him. I shove the other tanks into the cage, stand up, and slam the door on the opposite side from the customer closed. Then, I pointedly tell him that I need to put the remaining empty tank back into the cage so I can lock it and get back inside since other customers are waiting. He just looks dumbfounded at me. I motion impatiently for him to hand me the empty tank, and again tell him that I don't have time for this right now. He finally gets the point, sets the empty tank down, and walks off with his new tank. I grab it, shove it back into the cage, slam the other door closed, and lock the cage.
Had another clerk been working with me, I wouldn't have cared. I'm always eager to get off register for a few minutes for just about any reason. When I'm obviously working alone, and have other customers waiting is not a time to be dicking around and wasting my time. This is one of the many reasons why I think at least two clerks should be on duty at all times.
I work in a BP station. This woman came in yesterday about three different times looking for the "perfect" gift card. My store has gift cards in amounts of $25, $50, and $100. All of the gift cards we have in stock have abstract wintry designs. That's the best way I know to describe them. The $50 and $100 gift cards have some kind of abstract snowflake shape on them, and the $25 gift cards have a box drawn to look like a birthday or Christmas present on them. We don't have a lot of demand for gift cards, so they do move slowly. We only get new gift cards when BP decides to send out new ones. Basically, the situation is that we have what we have.
The woman starts whining about how the gift cards are too "Christmas-y". Even more annoying, she keeps asking in between my other customers if I'm sure that's all we have as she repeatedly looks at them over and over. Yes, I work here, so I'm sure since they're all kept in a little display case by the registers. The woman leaves empty-handed the first two times after pestering me with her whining about not wanting "Christmas-y" gift cards. The first time, it wasn't that much of a big deal. The second time, I was getting a little annoyed because it should be obvious that our gift card selection is not going to change within the span of a couple hours on a Sunday afternoon. Even so, it was the same routine the second time around. I just stared out the window indifferently as she looked again at the same gift cards I'd showed her earlier while she whined about not wanting the "Christmas-y" designs.
Then, another couple hours later, she comes back in a third time. As soon as I saw her, I just rolled my eyes because I already expected yet another long boring round of pointless whining from her between other customers. As expected, she was there yet another eternity before finally deciding at first that she wanted a $100 gift card with an abstract snowflake design. I remembered silently thanking God that she finally decided to pick something after all the whining and walking out empty-handed in the span of a few hours only to return.
I started to ring up the gift card, and she told me she also wanted a $50 Boost Mobil card. So, I stopped ringing up the gift card to punch in the phone card information since the phone card machine is painfully slow to process and print out a pin number. Sometimes, it takes several tries to get a successful phone card transaction out of that stupid machine. While I'm getting the phone card, the customer changes her mind about wanting the $100 gift card, again because it's "too Christmas-y." I'm glad I hadn't rang it up yet because I'd have had to void it due to the way the register processes gift card activations. She now wanted four of the $25 gift cards instead. Personally, I find the abstract present design on the $25 gift cards to be more suggestive of Christmas than the abstract snowflake design on the $100 gift cards. Whatever, I'm just ready to get this twit out of my hair by that time. Plus, each card must be activated on the credit card machine individually. Add to that, a small line has started to form behind her now that I've actually started ringing things up that can't be suspended because the register won't allow it for some reason, and I'm the only clerk running the store. So, I finally get her phone card printed out and scanned into the register, ring up the four $25 gift cards, and push the credit button since she's already scanned her credit card into the credit card terminal. Then, she made a comment about thinking maybe the $100 card would be easier to keep track of than four $25 gift cards. It was possible to cancel the transaction if I'd really wanted to cancel it, but I told her it was too late because the transaction was already approved and the cards were activated. I was ready to get rid of the twit since other customers were waiting. I handed her the receipt to sign as soon as it printed a moment later, scooped everything into a bag and slung it on the counter, tossed her copy of the receipt at the bag, scooped up the signed copy to put with my other receipts, and happily shoved her bag across the counter in her general direction. She finally left for good, and I was able to get everyone else out the door a few minutes later. All the customers behind her seemed to think she was a scatterbrain, too, especially when I told them that was her third visit for the day to find a "perfect" gift card. The other customers seemed to think it was amusing that she was making such a big deal about "Christmas-y" gift cards. As for me, I could care less what design is on a gift card I receive, and the other customers seemed to express the same sentiment as they laughed about it.
Propane Tanks
A while later after the gift card lady, I had several propane transactions in a row. This is a royal pain when you're working alone since you have to go out to unlock the cage, dig out a full tank (which is usually in the back because everyone else is to lazy to rotate empty tanks to the back and full tanks to the front), put in the empty tank, and fight with the lock to let go of the key. It never fails that propane customers pick the worst and busiest times when you're running the store by yourself to want a propane exchange. Most people are willing to take their tanks and go away so I can get back inside to take care of everyone else.
One guy yesterday decided he wanted to see how much heavier a full tank was than an empty tank. So, while I was on my knees digging through the tanks in the cage for a full tank, he starts grabbing out other tanks to compare to his tank. I got out a full tank from the back of the cage, set it beside him, and started putting the tanks he'd dug out back into the cage. He starts pulling tanks out to make comparisons to the tank I'd gotten for him. Instead of putting them back, he starts sitting them on the sidewalk, and asks me which I think has the most. I impatiently tell him I don't know, just that a red cap on the spout means it's supposed to be full. So, I proceed to start shoving tanks back into the cage so I can get back inside to wait on other customers since I'm the only clerk on duty. He grabs one of the tanks that I had just shoved back into the cage, and is comparing it to the tank I'd given him. I shove the other tanks into the cage, stand up, and slam the door on the opposite side from the customer closed. Then, I pointedly tell him that I need to put the remaining empty tank back into the cage so I can lock it and get back inside since other customers are waiting. He just looks dumbfounded at me. I motion impatiently for him to hand me the empty tank, and again tell him that I don't have time for this right now. He finally gets the point, sets the empty tank down, and walks off with his new tank. I grab it, shove it back into the cage, slam the other door closed, and lock the cage.
Had another clerk been working with me, I wouldn't have cared. I'm always eager to get off register for a few minutes for just about any reason. When I'm obviously working alone, and have other customers waiting is not a time to be dicking around and wasting my time. This is one of the many reasons why I think at least two clerks should be on duty at all times.