Old lady's voice mysteriously improves

[Shannarah]

This is an old story of a SC.
I work checkout, usually the opening shifts, bright and early before the daily supervisors turn up for work, so I, or the other person working with me are the acting morning supervisors.

Backstory
We had a regular occurrence of an older lady coming in every couple of days and returning random grocery items without a receipt. She was old, used a walking frame, and had an "Old Lady" weak quavery voice.

As most people on here would realize, retail workers talk. One of the workers that knew someone that knew her mentioned that the lady had a bad poker machine addiction, and would use the money received from the refunds to play the pokies.
This lady had been told on numerous occasions, by a lot of the staff working here that we could not do returns without a receipt, but we would do it this time, but next time that she would need the receipt to do a refund.
It had also been noticed that some of the items that she had returned had been several years out of date (after the refund had been processed and she had gone).

On this morning I was working, and noticed that she was walking in with a few bags of stuff.
My Co-worker that morning was crouched down behind the cigarette counter restocking the cigarettes from where the shelves had been emptied the night before, so the customer would have had no idea that there was anyone else around at all except for me.
The old lady comes up to the service desk, puts the bags on the counter, and says (in her old lady quavery voice

SC - "I'd like to do some returns please"
Me - "Do you have your receipt, I can't refund without a receipt"
SC - "Oh - I have a receipt for these ones, but I don't have a receipt for these" motioning to a few of her items.
Me - Said in a matter of fact voice, while setting to the side the items that she says that she doesn't have the receipt for
"Ok - I can't return these ones then"
while starting to process the items that are on the receipt for refund.
SC - "Oh, but the other girls do it"
Me - " I am afraid that I have told you a number of times that we can't do refunds without the receipt, and you have been told this by a fair few of the other girls as well. I will not be able to refund these items"
SC - "But the other girls do it for me"
Me - "Well you are quite welcome to ask someone else to do that, I have told you before that we wont be able to do refunds without a receipt, and I am not going to jeopardize my job by doing so"
All this while processing her refund, and then handing her back the cash.

SC - (Suddenly her voice is raised and not quavery at all) "Well you can shove this store up your fucking ass" while turning and grabbing a customer complaint form before leaving.

Whilst this is all going on, my Co-worker is literally at my feet trying not to crack up laughing.
CW - "I cant believe that you said that to her"
Me - "She has been told by me, at least half a dozen times before to have the receipt, and at least that many times by other co-workers. I'm over it. I wasn't rude, she just didn't get her refund. Besides did you hear her voice come good at the end?"
CW - "Not really - what did she say, I didn't quite catch it"
Me - "She told me to shove *store name* up my fucking ass"

At this, my Co-workers eyes opened and she burst out laughing.

Every time after this, when my co-worker spotted this lady coming in the store, she always rushed over and served this lady before I could.
The good thing was that the lady did not attempt to do refunds without receipts after that at my store. (probably went to another store in our town, but didn't bother us )

[Mr Hero]

That's what I hate about all the managers that will break the rules "just this once." It gives the SC a chance to say "but they did it for me last time."

[notlovinit]

That's what I hate about all the managers that will break the rules "just this once." It gives the SC a chance to say "but they did it for me last time."

Ugh, I hate it too and what's worse is that as a manager I find myself saying it alot. Only because I would get in trouble if I didn't. Also, there is no way for all my other coworkers to know the specific person I told just this once too so then they say it too and just this once becomes every single freaking time until I see the person again.

[Stryker One]

Ugh, I hate it too and what's worse is that as a manager I find myself saying it alot. Only because I would get in trouble if I didn't. Also, there is no way for all my other coworkers to know the specific person I told just this once too so then they say it too and just this once becomes every single freaking time until I see the person again.

You get in trouble for enforcing policy?

[emax4]

Let this be a lesson to your store. You should have both the customer complaint forms AND the SCAMMER complaint forms handy at all times...

[Shannarah]

That's what I hate about all the managers that will break the rules "just this once." It gives the SC a chance to say "but they did it for me last time."

The thing is, at the time of the morning that she came in, there were no managers.
At that time, I was expected to do the work of a supervisor, refunds etc, without any of the training that goes along with it.

[MoonCat]

This is why I hate it when any of my co-workers breaks a rule, or the manager allows something that's against policy. When that happens with advertising, it often means the violated rule is right there in the paper for everyone to see, which leads to loads of whiny customers moaning, "well, you did it for somebody else!!"

[Kristev]

Yes, you do get punished for upholding policy.

[BeenThereDoneThat]

In my job the CSAs are often told by the team leads to make it very clear to the customers that we are doing such-and-such this time as a one-time courtesy, and make the acutal policy very clear. So we do, and we note that particular order to that effect...trouble is, next time they call, if it's not about the same order we might not see that note and they do ask again. Of course, by saying "you did it last time" just raises a red flag because then we have cause to go back through past orders and see WHY we did it last time