I owe my soul to the company store

Dear Customer with the Fucked up Credit Card, If you knew you credit card didn't work at our store last week, then why the hell did you try it again the next week without taking the time during that previous week to fix it? Do you realize how fucking annoying it is to have someone come in with a broken credit card and have it fuck up our machines? ESPECIALLY with a half an hour left before closing? All I did was swipe the damn thing and it started acting up on me. First made a weird noise, then started beeping like mad continuously then when you pushed a "1" it gave you a three and when you tried to clear or hit backspace it gave a whole bunch of numbers instead of clearing it, and opening and moving around was pointless since it froze lots of times, eventually they had to put me on a new register for the last 30 min and the manager had to do some serious register hacking.

For a grown woman, one of my managers is incredibly petty. She greets everyone else but me, and refuses to speak with me (what?). I asked her to call my extension in order to help a customer today and she instead calls the other cashier to see what I wanted. She's overly nice to everyone when I'm in proximity, and then is a crusty old witch to me. It's been like this since I started working there, and I have no idea what I could have possibly done to this woman to deserve such an extreme cold shoulder. I wouldn't care about it if she did this with other people, but I'm slightly concerned considering this treatment is specially reserved just for me. I used to have a certain amount of respect for her and the way she handled herself so coolly with employees/customers, but she's brought it to a whole new level recently, where I actually feel uncomfortable being there. Way to be professional?

Guess it's time to kill her with kindness.

I hate working there so much now, that I've written my letter of resignation a month in advance.

For the passed couple of months, I've been noticing that my fellow employees all scatter once I get to work. The supervisors will leave the cash's to go stock things even though we already have three people specifically there to do that, and fellow cashiers will find whatever reason to just go wander off, leaving me to deal with all the customers. I'm constantly paging people back to their registers, and it takes them at least ten minutes to get up there, if they bother to come at all, and by that time I've already done everything myself. They even have the nerve to ask me to stop calling them, and tell me to call someone else instead. The instant the customers are gone, so are my other employees. I didn't call you up here because I needed help for fifteen minutes, you are supposed to stay up here with me and do your job of all things. The same applies if we are doing something on the side like 'was nows' or any other odd job around the registers. They will keep doing it regardless of a growing line and I'll be forced to go put everyone through. They really shouldn't have to be told to go help, even if it's just two people in line, we could each take one and that would make things go a lot faster. The girl who is especially infamous for doing this even had the gall to tell me that she was trying to avoid her cash all day, failing to realize that I'm the only other idiot up there, doing her share of the work. God, stunned. If this wasn't messed up enough, I also get stuck sweeping the floors, doing the garbages, and answering all the phone calls in between taking all the customers.

Talking to a manager about this seems to be a waste of time, it will just seem like I'm whining to them and they probably won't do much to fix it anyway. What else can one possibly do, to make other people do their share?

At the craft store where I work, our receipts have a reputation of being outrageously long. Receipt>coupon>other coupon>debit slip>visa slip equaling a meter long. This, coupled with the snail-like reflexes of our machines, makes for very irritable customers. Yesterday, our store was very busy, which isn't typical of a Sunday. The lines were long and unending, enabling me to have an inevitable encounter with a crazy person. She gets to my cash with just one pink t-shirt, and I scan it for her and place it in the bag. She sees that it comes to $9.99, instead of the $5.99 sale price and loudly inquires about it. I check the shirt and discover that it is a fitted one, which are never, ever, on sale. I explain this to her, and before I can finish she is ranting and raving about how she "ISN'T WAITING IN LINE AGAIN!", and refuses to leave, but not before telling me that I should hire more cashiers. Yeah. I let her know that I had no intention of just sending her away, and before her child-like tantrum I was actually about to page someone on the floor to grab another shirt. So, as they are running to grab another one, I'm just waiting there with freak woman, as she's huffing and puffing as though that's ever done anything for anyone. As it would turn out, there are no other non-fitted pink shirts, so she opts to buy the other colour at the sale price, but first declares to me that she "MIGHT GO CHANGE IT FOR A COLOUR SHE ACTUALLY WANTS!". Now comes time for the receipt. As it's slowly sputtering forth from the machine, the crazy woman says "THAT'S, EMBARRASSING!" in such a tea slurping snobbish manner. First of all, what? The receipt is embarrassing? Oh god no, please don't insult the receipt I've been slaving over all night typing up! It isn't embarrassing! It's just ..shy ..and a little socially awkward ..not unlike yourself. Was that supposed to be offensive to ..me? What happened to people simply cursing when they leave? No need to get all fancy and unintelligible.

I love these kinds of customers, because if I don't I'll hate my life forever.

Customer comes into the store with a Voyager whose front display is insanely cracked, looks like a spider got in there and built a bunch of glowing white webs. The charging port is also completely missing, you can see right into the motherboard. Customer seems to think it's under warranty.

"Sir the warranty covers against manufacturer's defects, your phone is broken and it will be a $50 fee to replace it"

The usual ranting and raving "It is too under warranty; my last phone looked exactly like this and they replaced it for free; this is bullshit; I'm not getting no phone from insurance they're all garbage" etc.

Then he actually said "Is the phone you're going to give me a real phone or one of those crappy refurbished ones?"

At this point I was frustrated and said "It is a real phone, it's not fake, it makes and receives calls and text messages just like the phone in your hand"

He got all mad about the fee and took his phone back refusing replacement, slammed it on the ground in a tissy fit, picked it up and walked out of the store, and slammed it on the ground again outside the store. lol, if he hadn't been doing that his phone probably wouldn't have broken in the first place.

Based on my experiences with numerous Rite Aid customers over the past 11 years(though actually a pleasant place to work in general),these three take the cake:

• "Which aisle are the drugs on?"(a wrong question even though the customer's English was broken)
  
• Where can I find the crotch itch medication?(that term was a bit too frank if you ask me)
  
• Do you carry Playboy magazine?(I believe most non-bookstore mainstream retailers stopped carrying adult magazine decades ago)
  

Any other bad questions by drugstore customers come to mind?

Hi, my name is Lyndsey; L-Y-N-D-S-E-Y, and I've been a cashier at Michael's Arts and Crafts for more than a year now. Upon getting the job, I decided to compile a list of "Dear"'s to my place of employment. Since then, it has evolved into the long winded rant you see today. Without further adieu, my list.


( Dear Michael's )

CLOCK OUT AND GO HOME!

  J=me
p= psycho lady


J *sits at work computer, trying to find the new price changes*
P *slams stuff on counter* You are going to give me a refund on this phone"
J *blinks* "whats wrong with it ma'am?"
P "nothing is wrong with the phone, but we got it for our daughter and shes using waay too many minutes and its too expensive so we went with some one else"
J *bites back urge to say..well..its pay as you go..so YOU control how much she goes through..if its expensive, its because you can't say no*  but no no..I DID NOT say it  INSTEAD "well wheres your receipt?"
P "right here, I was in on Saturday and your other guy said it wouldn't be a problem, and hurry up..I'm in a hurry"
J *looks at receipt, and right above the "no returns after 30 days" note, I see the date of perchase......5 months ago.  "um ma'am, you bought this 5 months ago..its not faulty or broken..I can't refund this for you"
P "yes you can..now do it..the other guy said you would..so do it"
J "did you tell him how long ago you bought it?"
P"no"
J "well..it says right here "NO REFUNDS AFTER 30 DAYS" right on your receipt....I'm sorry..I'm not returning it"
P "yes you are..wheres your manager?"
J "I am the manager ma'am"
p "then call someone who will refund this for me"
J *calls my head office, and they tell me that unless its broken (we have a year warranty) its my discretion, but doesn't recommend refunding*
P "come on and do it already..just return the phone....its your fault that its so expensive"
J "ma'am its PAY AS YOU GO.....someone had to buy time for the phone for her to be able to use it, its been five months since you bought it..4 months after the deadline, and you've been very rude to me and my other customers.....I AM NOT RETUNING THAT PHONE"

P storms off screaming about calling the better business bureau on me.

I took a longer lunch break that day...
and quit a few months after....

ahh retail...

Hey, I'm rather worried about losing my current underpaid horrid retail job, due to some petty insanity on the part of a new-ish manager. At the moment my internet research time is rather limited, so I'd be ever so appreciative if anyone could direct me to some good resources on unemployment benefits, and/or share personal experiences with collecting unemployment...how do you explain such a situation to prospective employers? I'm hoping it won't come to that, but in case it does I'd like to be prepared. Thanks in advance! ^.^

x-posted

So this might brighten your day
I walk over to 7-11 to get a soda.. I don’t do coffee.. any way I’m in line waiting to pay and this BITCHY little woman comes in stomps up to the counter in front of me.. I don’t really care I’m looking at candy bars anyhow LOL

she slams down her money and says “Pack of Marlboros”

The women behind the counter is this very nice and soft spoken older Hispanic woman.

The countner lady says "soft pack or box?"
Bitchy Lady rudely "I said box!"
Note she just said pack not box..

The counter lady smiles and gets the cigs for the Bitchy lady takes the money and says
"thank you"
quietly but the Bitchy chick was to busy shoving things in her purse to hear the 7-11 lady.
Bitchy woman grabs the change and in a very bitchy tone says “Thanks and Your Welcome.. great service” .. then makes a huffing noise. As if the lady behind the counter never said anything to her.

Now me being me just can’t keep my mouth shout so as the Bitchy lady is storming out

I call to her” And a Happy Friday To You!”..

LOL she actually turns around and flips me off.. I just shrug it off and pay for my drink.
The rest of the people(3-4) in the store are laughing now. Bitchy lady stamps out to her car and manages to drop her keys under the car so she is out there swearing pretty good. Then places the cigs on the car hood and grabs her keys then gets in. Starts up the car and opens her window. She has a handicapped sticker and is in the handicapped space. Though she looked just fine.

By now I am outside and me being me comments “Nice handicapped sticker”..
She returns with “my husband is handicapped asshole”
I answer back.. “But he’s not here is he?"

She swears again slams her car in reverse and takes off.. forgetting the cigs on the hood which go flying and land in the lot. I walk out as she is speeding down the road.. I pick up the cigs crumple them and throw them into the garbage can..
The people in the store are laughing hysterically

That’s my contribution to the world today

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and I have to close tonight. I know nobody's going to be in with problems tonight, they're all out trick-or-treating. The kicker is my new job doesn't even let me dress up, so I can't even get that much holiday joy. It's going to be a very long and boring night.

At least I won't have belligerant assholes insisting that phones are defective because they were a jackass and sat on it because it was in their back pocket. So I won't have to deal with that tonight.

Newbie here! Work p/t at a soft furnishings store; 4 hours a day, five days a week. It's in the UK, so I'm sorry to the guys here from across the pond that you won't be able to figure it out. This first one is actually something I witnessed, as I have yet to figure out how to condense my own irritating retail experiences.

A: my co-worker.
DC: the doddering customer

Cross-posted from bad_service with a bit of editing, because it pisses me off that much.

If you are the store manager of a sporting goods store that sells live rifles, you should be used to having to clarify what the paperwork required to purchase said rifles says.

Under no circumstances should you say "Are you blind? It's right there." after acting like your customer is being the most aggravating piece of crap in a long, sad history of aggravating pieces of crap for the duration of the sale, which you lost (Fun fact: The customer did, in fact, have extremely poor vision and did not have his reading glasses on him, and responded as such, with the addition of "So what the f*ck does it say?"). Nor should your assistant manager, who is 31 different flavors of awesome, be the one that apologizes to the customer the instant he's out of your sight.

PS: Also, you really should stop doing things like asking your cashiers for dirt on your assistant managers. We do talk to each other, you know. We also like your assistant managers a hell of a lot better than you. You're the reason every one of us wants to quit and why we now call the store ahead of time to see which manager we're going to be working with. Yes, every single one of us wants to quit because of you.


He's making our jobs harder by pissing off almost every customer he talks to, or just making them unwilling to come to the store at all because there's the chance they might have to deal with him again. He treats us like idiots, thinks he's more valuable to the company than other store managers (News flash: somebody's gone for two months on disability, and comes back and cultivates this kind of reputation in less than a month, is not high on the list of Valued Employees, Captain), acts greatly put-out when we ask him to do something we are required to ask him to do--like authorize a return, for example--and plays up his limp anytime he's asked to carry something or get something from the office, to which none of us have the keys.

I count myself lucky that this guy is the first "bad manager" story I've acquired. And that he really is a hair's breadth away from getting himself fired--his bosses have been interviewing us about him lately and they are Not Happy. Oh, but we are.

A belligerent lady came in today asking if any of our curtain rods came with screws that weren't plastic. Of course, all of them have metal screws, they don't make plastic screws. But she had to insist that the last hardware she got was faulty because the screws were plastic. I had to open the hardware and show it to her.

She held it up in my face and said "you see, this is actually a very hard plastic, and when I went to screw it in the wall my drill bit mashed it all up like cheese"

I told her she should put her drill on a lower setting, and she said she'd even tried a hand screwdriver and it did the same thing. She complained that she had to go to the hardware store and get a new drill bit and different screws.

Honestly, what is wrong with people? Plastic screws? Come on! Use some common sense!

That's almost as bad as the lady who insisted our faux wood was pronounced "fox wood" and it came from the "fox tree". What part of Polyvinyl Carbonate equals wood? And where, pray tell, does a "fox tree" grow? I shold get one of those blow-up plastic palm trees and put it on display somwhere with a sign on it that says "fox tree" and an arrow pointing to the faux wood blinds. They'd probably think it was real.

(i work in a coffeeshop)

1) we have a policy in our shop, that we need to point out to the customer where cutlery & sugar is. we say it to everyone if they're buying a hot drink. and i get SO MANY PEOPLE saying to me when i tell them, "no, i don't take sugar" looking at me as if i've just offered them diabetes in a cup. am i supposed to know the intricate details of what someone who i know nothing about, has in their coffee?? and am i trying to shove 48 sachets of sugar down their throats?? no. i am simply pointing out that they are quite free to take it as they please. what's the point in telling me they don't want sugar? if you don't want it, JUST DON'T TAKE IT!

2) when we say to people, "eat in or takeaway?" 80% of customers will say, with a bemused look on their faces, "i am sitting outside." - i can't for the life of me figure out why this is so confusing for people! eating in = eating on the premises of the shop. that includes the tables outside. eating out = leaving the shop, drinking as you walk, or shop, or go home or whatever. why do so many people think that eating on a table outside that STILL BELONGS TO THE SHOP is taking away, when you are clearly NOT taking the product away??

so the other day someone came into my shop. i didn't know who he was but it turns out he was the dad of someone who i worked with. so i was like oh yeah, ok, etcetcetc. general banter. then i served him, asked for the money - no reaction. so then i thought maybe he hadn't heard & i asked him again. and then he acted all surprised that i'd charged him, because "i am ___'s dad!". i didn't charge him in the end because my colleague (not the one whose dad this was, a different one) came along & said yeah it's fine don't charge him. but it really pissed me off!

this is why: i don't mind if someone comes in & i get told not to charge them. i understand there are some customers you don't charge. i only work part-time, so i don't know the regulars as well, and even if i do know them, it's not enough for me to want to give them something on the house. nevertheless when a colleague tells me 'don't charge them', i do it, just because it's not my problem. in this case, it's kind of nice seeing how grateful they are when i tell them it's on the house. but when the person actually *expects* not to pay, because of 'who they are', that really makes me angry. because quite frankly, i didn't give a crap that this guy was my colleague's dad. i have no emotional attachment to him, or to my colleague, so why would i give him something for free?

additionally, if i went into a shop where i was a 'regular', and was served by someone who didn't know who i was, i wouldn't ask for discount/free things! how rude is THAT!!

haven't posted here yet, so i thought i'd share.
comments welcomed!

I had a very "pissy" experience one day. Thankfully it did not have to do with *acutal* pee.

POW = Pissed Off Woman
MC = My Customer

POW: You there! I need you to tell my husband where to find Ruby Tuesday *shoves cell phone in my face*
Me: It's just on the other side of the mall, if you go straight out our main entrance and...
POW: I know where it is, I want you to tell him where it is! *shoves cell phone in my face*
Me: Well I'm kind of busy helping someone at the moment, but if you tell him to just go to...
POW: Why can't you talk to him and tell him where Ruby Tuesday is!? He's on his way and he needs directions NOW! *shoves cell phone in my face*
Me: Okay I'll...
MC: EXCUSE ME She was helping me first lady!
Me: *quickly losing control of the situation* It'll just take a moment I'll...
POW: *directed at my customer* Oh what are you getting all pissed off about?
MC: Because I was here first!
POW: Oh now EVERYONE'S pissed off, I'm pissed off, you're pissed off, my husband's pissed off, you don't have any right to be pissed off! *general piss piss piss piss piss*
Me: *deer in headlights* *reaching for radio to call a manager*
MC: OH PISS OFF LADY!
POW: Well I'm going to go find a manager because you're not helping me, and this lady is all pissed off. I just wanted you to tell my husband where Ruby Tuesday is! *general hollaring as she storms off*

Nothing ever came of it, she never filed a complaint as far as I know, and the managers never caught her to throw her out before she walked herself out of the store. But all that piss, man... crazy lady.

I work at a chain department store that wants you to 'expect great things!'
Today, while putting back merchandise from the fitting rooms, I placed a size small shirt on a hanging clearance rack. Well, it was on a 1X hanger. Here's the story that follows.


AW: Audacious woman.
Me: ME!! =)

Me: ::places shirt on rack::
AW: Excuse me, ma'am!

Me: ::turns to face AW:: Yes?
AW: Do you work here?

Me: Yes, I do. *helpful smile*
AW: Well, you know better than to put the 1X in front of the smalls!

Me: ::stunned look:: ::picks up shirt:: ::shows the lady the size small printed inside:: Oh, nooo dear, it's a size small. Sometimes we can't find the correct size hangers to go on items sometimes.
AW: Oh, well, it's really frustrating that it's like that.

Me: ::still stunned:: Well, I do apologize, ma'am.
AW: ::mean look:: ::keeps browsing::

I've never had a customer be THAT ballsy before! I was still in shock for the rest of the day. I would never DREAM of saying anything like that to a poor salesperson just trying to get the rack cleared so people like her could slop all the clothes they picked out in the juniors section but they're 4500000 years old and can't/shouldn't wear.

And, to think, it's all the employees fault that the racks are like that! </end> I'll defiantly take some blame for the employees, but a lot of the time customers like to do 'things I don't want' dumps. Unfortunately, clearance racks are hot spots for it. Ugh.