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I joined a little while back, but this is my first time posting a SC thread. This just happened today, and it's my first particularly bad SC in a while.
Backstory! I currently work at a kids book shop at a popular tourist area in British Columbia. It's in a market with lots of other stores, sort like like a little mall. I only work there on weekends, during weekdays I have another job where I don't deal with customers.
Anyhoo, today was actually fairly busy, I just finished ringing up several customers and the store emptied out except for one lady who'd been browsing for a while. She comes up to the counter with some books and asks me in a kind of exasperated tone if I could gift wrap them.
I inform her that, regrettably, no I can't. We don't gift wrap.
This was when the suck happened.
The lady says in this really snotty tone "Are you serious!!??" as if she cannot believe I won't gift wrap them. It was the sort of reaction you'd expect from someone if you just punched their puppy or something.
I was just sort of stunned for a moment and not sure what to say, 'cause I really wasn't expecting such a nasty reaction, and then she looks at me and says (again, all snotty and crabby)
"I am not having a very good [tourist area] experience!!"
...well excuse me lady. what crawled up your butt and died? Somehow I've just ruined everything because I can't wrap her books. I'm assuming there must have been more to her day that resulted in her being all crabby, but I'm rather inclined to think it's her own attitude that's causing her problems, not so much the people who work in the area.
All I can think of at this moment is "are you for real??" I was pretty much speechless.
She kept going and dropped some line of "what happened to the market I used to shop at?" I'm not sure if she meant a) there used to be another market, or b) that the market service was so much better back in whatever year her nostalgia goggles were tuned to but it's so horrible and terrible now blargle blargle blarg. I'm inclined to assume the latter.
She then asked if there were any stores that did gift wrap, and I started to say I wasn't sure (we may all be in the same market, but we're all separate shops and I don't even know the names of all the shops in the building, let alone what services they do or do not provide), but then she asked me if there were any other book stores in the market. Still all snotty and rude, and clearly trying to threaten that she was going to take her business elsewhere
So I just told her there aren't any other book shops in this market, however there's [other bookstore] in [other market] to which she said something along the lines of "No, they're terrible too"
... yeah 'too', nice way to insult our store there lady >.>
So she sets her books down on the counter, as if she's resigned herself to her gift-wrapless fate but is clearly not happy about it, and asks if she could get a gift receipt for them. I figure okay, she's buying them anyways I guess.
I started to explain our return policy to her, which is books are final sale but we exchange items that are wrapped/packaged provided they're still unopened.
Clearly this gave her another unhappy (oh noes!) because before I finish explaining she either shoved the books towards me or slapped them down on the counter again (I don't really remember which) and stormed towards the exit of the store in a rather dramatic fashion.
I had stopped talking mid policy-spiel at the word "exchange" because... yeah.. she was storming off. She got right to the exit, before turning around and asked "They can exchange them?"
I said no and finished what I'd been saying about exchanges, and she stormed out.
Her whole tone and attitude was just so entitled, like I was personally ruining her day, or it was my responsibility to somehow improve her "[tourist area] experience" Yeah, I get not being happy about the return policy, lots of people aren't. But to get all in a huff because we don't gift wrap? Seriously?
And the way she stormed out, I don't know what she wanted. She did it so dramatically, did she expect me to go chasing after her? Or to get upset? I honestly felt more amused than upset by her, though I found her aggravating.
But oh well, today was actually a good day, I had several really nice customers and I helped a couple of them find books they were really happy with, so at least the kind, polite people had a good "experience", and that matters far more to me that some crabby lady who probably forgot a birthday party or something and decided to blame the world for her problems.
I apologize if this is somewhat incoherent, it's getting a bit late here. I'll give it a read over tomorrow and make a few edits for clarity if needed.
Backstory! I currently work at a kids book shop at a popular tourist area in British Columbia. It's in a market with lots of other stores, sort like like a little mall. I only work there on weekends, during weekdays I have another job where I don't deal with customers.
Anyhoo, today was actually fairly busy, I just finished ringing up several customers and the store emptied out except for one lady who'd been browsing for a while. She comes up to the counter with some books and asks me in a kind of exasperated tone if I could gift wrap them.
I inform her that, regrettably, no I can't. We don't gift wrap.
This was when the suck happened.
The lady says in this really snotty tone "Are you serious!!??" as if she cannot believe I won't gift wrap them. It was the sort of reaction you'd expect from someone if you just punched their puppy or something.
I was just sort of stunned for a moment and not sure what to say, 'cause I really wasn't expecting such a nasty reaction, and then she looks at me and says (again, all snotty and crabby)
"I am not having a very good [tourist area] experience!!"
...well excuse me lady. what crawled up your butt and died? Somehow I've just ruined everything because I can't wrap her books. I'm assuming there must have been more to her day that resulted in her being all crabby, but I'm rather inclined to think it's her own attitude that's causing her problems, not so much the people who work in the area.
All I can think of at this moment is "are you for real??" I was pretty much speechless.
She kept going and dropped some line of "what happened to the market I used to shop at?" I'm not sure if she meant a) there used to be another market, or b) that the market service was so much better back in whatever year her nostalgia goggles were tuned to but it's so horrible and terrible now blargle blargle blarg. I'm inclined to assume the latter.
She then asked if there were any stores that did gift wrap, and I started to say I wasn't sure (we may all be in the same market, but we're all separate shops and I don't even know the names of all the shops in the building, let alone what services they do or do not provide), but then she asked me if there were any other book stores in the market. Still all snotty and rude, and clearly trying to threaten that she was going to take her business elsewhere
So I just told her there aren't any other book shops in this market, however there's [other bookstore] in [other market] to which she said something along the lines of "No, they're terrible too"
... yeah 'too', nice way to insult our store there lady >.>
So she sets her books down on the counter, as if she's resigned herself to her gift-wrapless fate but is clearly not happy about it, and asks if she could get a gift receipt for them. I figure okay, she's buying them anyways I guess.
I started to explain our return policy to her, which is books are final sale but we exchange items that are wrapped/packaged provided they're still unopened.
Clearly this gave her another unhappy (oh noes!) because before I finish explaining she either shoved the books towards me or slapped them down on the counter again (I don't really remember which) and stormed towards the exit of the store in a rather dramatic fashion.
I had stopped talking mid policy-spiel at the word "exchange" because... yeah.. she was storming off. She got right to the exit, before turning around and asked "They can exchange them?"
I said no and finished what I'd been saying about exchanges, and she stormed out.
Her whole tone and attitude was just so entitled, like I was personally ruining her day, or it was my responsibility to somehow improve her "[tourist area] experience" Yeah, I get not being happy about the return policy, lots of people aren't. But to get all in a huff because we don't gift wrap? Seriously?
And the way she stormed out, I don't know what she wanted. She did it so dramatically, did she expect me to go chasing after her? Or to get upset? I honestly felt more amused than upset by her, though I found her aggravating.
But oh well, today was actually a good day, I had several really nice customers and I helped a couple of them find books they were really happy with, so at least the kind, polite people had a good "experience", and that matters far more to me that some crabby lady who probably forgot a birthday party or something and decided to blame the world for her problems.
I apologize if this is somewhat incoherent, it's getting a bit late here. I'll give it a read over tomorrow and make a few edits for clarity if needed.
And with reusable bags coming into fashion (or am I delusional?) it's even easier if you don't like wrapping.
And you're right about the gift bags; extremely easy to use, can be reused, and a godsend for people with limited time or who aren't too good with giftwrap. (Hmm, maybe you could ask the boss if he could carry gift bags?)
I like the term 'nostalgia goggles', I'm glad you like my little phrase.
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