Tis the season of badwill!

[Lace Neil Singer]

Share stories of seasonal SCs from Christmas past! XD These are both old stories; when Christmas has been and gone (I always work Christmas Eve) I may have more to add.


SC From Christmas Past #1

This happened at the pizza place. It was Christmas Eve and we were closing early (yay!) so that we could go home and spend time with our families/go to the pub. This call came in just as we were doing cleanup, cashing the tills and all the other boring jobs that need to be done before we went home. And no, there was no preamble by the SC or greeting; she went straight for the kill.

SC: Are you open tomorrow?
Me: Sorry, but we're closed Christmas Day.
SC: What?! That's outrageous! How can you be closed Christmas Day?! What am I supposed to do for my Christmas dinner?
Me: I'm very sorry, but we're closed.
SC: Fine. So, are you open Boxing Day?
Me: Sorry, but we're closed Boxing Day, too.
SC: I don't believe it! That's bad business sense! How am I supposed to get dinner for my family if you're closed?
Me: Sorry.
SC: Well, you just lost a customer! *click*

For the Americans on the board, Boxing Day is what we call the day after Christmas. Most places are closed Christmas Day, with a few twenty four hour outlets open, and some petrol stations open on Boxing Day. What got me was the fact that she wanted takeaway pizza for Christmas dinner. O_o Even if she didn't like turkey, she could always have cooked something else. Oh yeah, and she called us up the first day we were open. XD


SC Of Christmas Past #2

This happened at the garden centre. I'd just closed the pet unit and was currently on door duty along with a collegue from the outside section. This SC turned up after we were closed; in fact, about ten minutes after we were closed. The last customer in the shop had been summarily dispatched, the cashiers on the front tills were cashing up, and everyone else was cleaning up as we were all desperate to go home.

The SC first tried to barge past myself and my collegue into the store. When that didn't work, he then demanded that we let him in. When we refused, he came up with loads of excuses; he needed to urgently buy a present; he'd been busy all day; the other garden centre was closed; everywhere else was closed... you name it, he said it. When it finally filtered thru to his miniscule brain that we were not going to let him in despite what he said, he shouted, "I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY! YOU JUST RUINED MY CHRISTMAS!!" and stomped off. XD We all had a good laugh. Nothing like ruining an SC's Christmas to put you in the mood for the holidays.

[b2addm]

...When it finally filtered thru to his miniscule brain that we were not going to let him in despite what he said, he shouted, "I HOPE YOU'RE HAPPY! YOU JUST RUINED MY CHRISTMAS!!" and stomped off. XD We all had a good laugh. Nothing like ruining an SC's Christmas to put you in the mood for the holidays.

It makes me happy. I had a similar situation last year. People trying to come in as I let others out, yeah, so NOT gonna happen. One SC tried to run in EVERYTIME I let someone else out for the last 10 minutes. As I locked the door after the last person left, he finally screamed at me that I had ruined his Christmas. I just smiled and waved through the door, while the cashiers .
I'm expecting more of the same this year.

[XCashier]

SC: Are you open tomorrow?
Me: Sorry, but we're closed Christmas Day.
SC: What?! That's outrageous! How can you be closed Christmas Day?! What am I supposed to do for my Christmas dinner?
Me: I'm very sorry, but we're closed.
SC: Fine. So, are you open Boxing Day?
Me: Sorry, but we're closed Boxing Day, too.
SC: I don't believe it! That's bad business sense! How am I supposed to get dinner for my family if you're closed?

"Well, you could try going to the grocery store ahead of time and buying actual food to make for dinner!" (And if the family is really dead set on pizza for Christmas dinner, many places make some that you can buy uncooked, put in the refrigerator and then oven-bake it when you need it. There's also frozen pizza.)

Sorry, I have no sympathy for those who insist on not planning ahead.

[chainedbarista]

SC: What?! That's outrageous! How can you be closed Christmas Day?! What am I supposed to do for my Christmas dinner?

well, you could try NOT being a lazy twatcake and get some groceries and actually COOK them a meal for a change.

ruining some last minute putz's christmas? SCORE!!!

[MoonCat]

The last customer in the shop had been summarily dispatched,

This makes me think an elephant gun was involved.

Love the pizza woman. Wow, Mom, takeout pizza for Christmas dinner! Hope it wasn't too much bother!

[Kristev]

Actually, I think pizza for Christmas is a wonderful idea.

[Racket_Man]

SC: I don't believe it! That's bad business sense! How am I supposed to get dinner for my family if you're closed?
Me: Sorry.
SC: Well, you just lost a customer! *click*

when I worked at the gas station a few years ago you would be SURPRISED (I totaly was) that on evening shift I almost sold out of frozen pizzas on CHRISTMAS DAY.

How wierd is that????

[MaseMan]

A lot of people I know will do pizza (or something similar) around Christmas. One year our family did a nacho bar when we got together the day after Christmas. Sometimes it's nice to do something easy the day before or after doing a big "proper" meal. The point is they plan ahead for this, though.

[ExRetailDrone]

I have to admit that one year my mom and I had pizza for Thanksgiving. I was living 400 miles away from home and working at a large, chain bookstore, so I wasn't able to make it home for the holiday due to having to work Black Friday. My mom came down to visit me so that I wouldn't have to spend the holiday alone. I was living in Ann Arbor, MI, at the time, so we figured that there would be something open, given the decent size of the town. We drove around everywhere and the only place we could find was a pizza joint. But we were very polite and pleasant that we were able to get anything at all, and I'm sure my mom tipped very well (it's been a decade so my memory is fuzzy). If not for that place, we might have had to eat ramen, since I was 19 and rarely cooked for myself, so I had very little in the apartment and I'm not sure if any grocery stores were open

However, the thought of being rude to workers having to work on a holiday just because prior planning wasn't made? Hell to the no. If we had had to eat ramen, then that's what we would have done, and we wouldn't have gone bitching and complaining the next day because we didn't plan ahead.

[XCashier]

A lot of people I know will do pizza (or something similar) around Christmas. One year our family did a nacho bar when we got together the day after Christmas. Sometimes it's nice to do something easy the day before or after doing a big "proper" meal. The point is they plan ahead for this, though.

There's no reason you can't have a non-traditional Christmas meal; a lot of folks are burned out on big feasts after Thanksgiving (a nacho bar sounds darned good, actually!). I'm planning on steak with potatoes au gratin this year.

[chainedbarista]

i generally don't do the traditional meal, either, but i do plan it ahead and i cook it, not pull it from some package. i get the feeling that this particular sc always does this...

i can understand and go with a take out before the big meal, but as the meal itself (unless there are circumstances, like exretail's story), get off your lazy arse and cook.

[Lace Neil Singer]

"Well, you could try going to the grocery store ahead of time and buying actual food to make for dinner!" (And if the family is really dead set on pizza for Christmas dinner, many places make some that you can buy uncooked, put in the refrigerator and then oven-bake it when you need it. There's also frozen pizza.)

Sorry, I have no sympathy for those who insist on not planning ahead.

Agreed. There are loads of brilliant frozen or fresh pizzas you can buy at the supermarket to cook if you really must have pizza for Christmas dinner. Ringing up a pizza place the day before and then weeing your knickers cuz they're closed is just stupid. XD

well, you could try NOT being a lazy twatcake and get some groceries and actually COOK them a meal for a change.

ruining some last minute putz's christmas? SCORE!!!

Lol @ twatcake. I'm going to use that in day to day conversation from now on.

Ruining SC's Christmases gives me a happy warm glow. ^^

This makes me think an elephant gun was involved.

Believe me, there were times during that day when I really wished it could be. It's nearly closing time, ffs GO HOME! XD

[BeeMused]

Christmas traditions in Germany are quite different, first of all, we get our pressies on Christmas Eve, and in most families the tree is set up on that day too. If the family visits church as well, there isn't much time to cook a proper meal. Quite a lot families just have potato salat and sausages or something similar simple and cook a big meal on Christmas Day. Very few shops are open during the holidays and certainly not the big retail stores, so if you forgot to buy something important you're SOL.
I'm not a christian, so I don't care about the symbolism, but I think it's nice to have time off to spend with family and friends if you desire to do so and no greedy corporate can force you into working.

[Kristev]

Then there's people like me. I don't like my relatives, and so I don't like spending time with them. Instead, I'd rather just have a nice, quiet evening at home on my own on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Why bother with a big feast and people I don't want to see?

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Then there's people like me. I don't like my relatives, and so I don't like spending time with them. Instead, I'd rather just have a nice, quiet evening at home on my own on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Why bother with a big feast and people I don't want to see?

But at least you made your plans out ahead of time . . .

My point is: no matter what one's plans are, whether to spend the holidays with family or not, proper planning ahead of time makes for a smoother holiday for everyone involved.

What's the old saying here:

Failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine.

And I think that applies more so at this time of year than any other.