I actually had a Sucky Customer today

[jnd4rusty]

I don't usually get many sucky customers, that is why I don't post on here much but the customer I had today really pissed me off!! B/G: I work in a resturant that requires us to ask the customers name, which we write on the reciept and then hang up so when the order is ready we just take down the ticket and call the name out. Well we have a young man who works at our store who is a very poor speller, I don't hold that against anyone because some people are poorly educated. The young man is an excellent worker and works damn hard!! Anyways that is the B/G.

So today I was on register and A (the person mentioned above) was on second till as back up. Two gentlemen (I am being polite by saying that) came in, A takes the order for the first one and when it came time to write down his name A asked the man how to spell it. The name was easy but still A wanted to make sure he had the spelling right. The second man started laughing at A, althogh A did not realize that he was the butt of the giggling.

The second guy comes up and orders from me and this is what was said at the end of the transtaction:
Me: "May I have your name please"?
G2: starts to spell the name
Me: (I interupted him) "just tell me the name, you don't have to spell it"
G2: "Well that guy did not know how to spell" (indicating that I did not know how to spell just because A did not know how to!!!)
Me "Just because some people can't spell does not mean everyone here does not know how to!!!!" (I was really bitchy about it!!)
He tells me his name (the name was Chance) and shrugs his shoulders and walks away!

I was pissed because one of my biggest pet peeves is people making the assumption that resturant workers are stupid because we work in a quick service industry! I am a junior in college, I am an excellent speller, I have been spelling names for 16 years at this job, I have spelled practically every name in the book, I chose to work fast food as a career not because I was too dumb to get a "real job"!!! I even get people who will spell out the simplest names such as Bill or Bob or Deb! Those people tick me off also!

I went into the office later and told my boss about it, she was shocked at the behavior of this young man! I swear some people are just too ignorant. Well that is my sucky customer, heck I have not had one in a long time so I guess I was due.

[Jack]

I'd be insulted too if someone assumed I couldn't spell "Chance".

[Mr Hero]

And Din/Nayru/Farorie help you if the name a SC spells for you has so many variations. I get lots of weird looks when I ask how to spell "Brian" or "Bryan" or ""Brivolbn7q"

[Marmalady]

It's not just the customers who assume you can't spell.
I was on a till when one of the bods from Head Office had been on a visit and decided to buy a couple of our raffia parasols. He told me there was no barcode and I'd need to do a search.

So I hit the search button and before I can hit the first letter he says "That's R-A-F-F-I-A"

Instant grinding of teeth from Marmalady (bearing in mind I'm known at work as the Human Dictionary). Why the assumption that because I work a till, I can't spell? even a word as simple as that?

I did get my point across later, though. I was in the break room having my tea, and in came this Head Office guy plus our manager. The guy spots me and says to the boss, 'Oh this is the lady who served me earlier'.
'Yes' says the boss, 'this is (real name)'.
'That's unusual' says Head Office bod. 'I don't know you, do I?'
'No you don't' I replied 'or you wouldn't have tried to tell me how to spell raffia.'

[bainsidhe]

Well we have a young man who works at our store who is a very poor speller, I don't hold that against anyone because some people are poorly educated.

Keep in mind, poor spelling isn't sure-fire proof of lack of education. I have a friend who has issues with spelling, yet is a wonderfully intelligent woman. She's a literature buff and is fond of quoting from books. She has a larger vocabulary than most of the folks I've worked with (including myself), yet she's poor on the spelling side.

I think much of it comes down to attitude. A customer innocently asking if I can spell a name is fine. Making me the butt of jokes isn't. There's no need for customers to be rude over something so petty.

[Sleepwalker]

Avoiding any amount of SC at point of order isn't worth getting the name wrong on the finished cake...oi.

[lupo pazzesco]

I HATE that assumption. I work in a college textbook store, and sometimes the people I deal with are so horrible, they assume I can't spell the most basic of things, probably because I try to verify as I go along, almost talking to myself. One of our accounting books, for example, is written by, let's say, EastON, and another in the finance department is written by EastING. Two different names, but the titles are similar, and customers don't always speak clearly.

They ask for book A, I say, "Ok, book A, and the author on that?"

SC: Easton
Me: Ok, Easton, Book A, by E-A-S-T-O-N, that looks like we have--
SC: <Butts in> It's ING!! EastING!!! I need the FINANCE BOOK
Me: Yes, ma'am, I do apologize, this is why I verify, one second - ok ,we have 12 copies, etc, etc.

Later on with the same customer, she asks for a book by Baker, and goes

"And that's spelled B-A-K-E-R. You got that, right?"

Me: <glare of doomy doom, I hand her her books and conveniently find someplace else to be before she tries to ask me another question>

Just because some people aren't the best spellers doesn't make them stupid, and the condescending attitude that some people give makes me want to rain stabbity death on them sometimes. Grr.

[Teskeria]

I'd suggest your CW, when he asks someone to spell their name, put just a little emphasis on the word you. As in ' How do you spell Chance.' If they then comment, you can always come back at them with something along the lines of 'Yeah we get some unusual spellings on names like Chanz and Chanse, so we like to ask. Some people get really upset when they have an unusual spelling and we spell it the common way.'
Makes the SC look bad for assuming everyone spells things the same way.

[Dytchdoctir]

Customer Service Worker: Your name, please?
SC: Baker, that's B-A-K-E-R, you idiot you!
CSW: Got it, that's F-U-C-K-Y-O-U.

[Merriweather]

I even get people who will spell out the simplest names such as Bill or Bob or Deb! Those people tick me off also!

.

Making fun of someone for not knowing how to spell something, anything, is just wrong on SO many levels, that guy was a jerk. Poor spelling does not equal unintelligence, just as education doesn't necessarily equal intelligence.

On the other hand, do try not to assume that everyone who spells even a simple name for you is trying to insult your intelligence. There are lots of reasons for it - perhaps they've had problems of people misunderstanding them (such as taking "Bea" for "Dee"), or maybe they have a job with databases where perfect spelling on one's name is crucial, so by habbit they spell theirs, just as they have everyone spell to them. Or maybe they've just seen lots of unusual variations on even common names of people they know. It seems to be a trend nowadays to try to give babies, especially girls, unusual and unusually spelled names - I've even heard of some that incorporate punctuation marks, pronounced (such as dash, etc). Wouldn't surprise me to hear someone say "My name is Dot, spelled "."

I keep thinking of an old British TV show, where the lead character (a middle class woman intent on putting on airs) keeps introducing herself and spelling her last name - "that's the French pronunciation, Bouquet, spelled B-u-c-k-e-t"

[Jack]

Keeping Up Appearances -- she wouldn't always spell it introductions, but as everyone kept saying Bucket instead of Bouquet, she would always be correcting them.

[Kristev]

Definately "Keeping up appearances." It's always such fun to see Hyacinth getting her arrogance whacked by life's unco-operative craziness.

[Jack]

That show pretty much convinced me not to get married.

[Lachrymose]

"It's spelt Raymond Luxury Yacht, but it's pronounced Throatwobbler Mangrove."

[chainedbarista]

hey, i can spell his name: j-a-c-k-a-s-s.

but it's pronounced bob.

that was a nasty thing to say; usually when someone has a weak area in one spot, they're really good in another, like weak in eng/spelling, great at math or science. it all balances out, but it sounds like those two customers specialize in ignorance, which has no complement.