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I'm irish. Here, there is a 22c government charge on bags, a 'bag tax'. If someone from the government is in a store, and finds that a cashier isn't charging the bag tax, they can fire them on the spot. (End of backstory)
This was a couple of years ago. I was working in a fairly cheap store. We had run out of paper bags (which are free), and only had plastic ones. A customer came up to me, with quite a few items, which was fine. As I was ringing up the purchase, I said something to the tune of: "Unfortunately, I'm going to have to charge you the 22c bag tax, as we've no paper bags large enough for all your purchases. All I have is the plastic ones."
The customer's response? "Well, go get some!"
Me: "Sorry, but I can't. We've completely run out. There's none in stock, even."
Customer: "Well, since it's your fault, you shouldn't charge me for the plastic bag."
Me: "I'm afraid I can't do that, sir. It's a government tax. We all have to pay it. I could lose my job if I didn't charge you."
*there was gritting of the teeth at the blame, but I remained polite and friendly, as well as apologetic*
Customer: "That's your own fault for not making sure you had the paper bags."
Cashier next to me: "Actually, we've not got any because none have been delivered to the store. Blame head office."
Customer: "Well, I wasn't charged the 22c anywhere else, so why should I be charged in a cheap store like this?"
At this point I had gotten fed up and finished off the transaction, 22c included.
Ok, that guy bought a fair amount of stuff, over 100 Euro. I could have let him off, but since it's a government tax, and I was using that job to fund a year abroad, I didn't want to risk being fired. Besides, there's always a chance that if a manager came along, I would have asked to let the customer off the charge. However, blaming me for the lack of paper bags lost that possibility.
This was a couple of years ago. I was working in a fairly cheap store. We had run out of paper bags (which are free), and only had plastic ones. A customer came up to me, with quite a few items, which was fine. As I was ringing up the purchase, I said something to the tune of: "Unfortunately, I'm going to have to charge you the 22c bag tax, as we've no paper bags large enough for all your purchases. All I have is the plastic ones."
The customer's response? "Well, go get some!"
Me: "Sorry, but I can't. We've completely run out. There's none in stock, even."
Customer: "Well, since it's your fault, you shouldn't charge me for the plastic bag."
Me: "I'm afraid I can't do that, sir. It's a government tax. We all have to pay it. I could lose my job if I didn't charge you."
*there was gritting of the teeth at the blame, but I remained polite and friendly, as well as apologetic*
Customer: "That's your own fault for not making sure you had the paper bags."
Cashier next to me: "Actually, we've not got any because none have been delivered to the store. Blame head office."
Customer: "Well, I wasn't charged the 22c anywhere else, so why should I be charged in a cheap store like this?"
At this point I had gotten fed up and finished off the transaction, 22c included.
Ok, that guy bought a fair amount of stuff, over 100 Euro. I could have let him off, but since it's a government tax, and I was using that job to fund a year abroad, I didn't want to risk being fired. Besides, there's always a chance that if a manager came along, I would have asked to let the customer off the charge. However, blaming me for the lack of paper bags lost that possibility.
to 
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