Some Folks Just Aren't Wrapped So Tight

[fureverywhere]

You know when you witness people behaving so badly it's almost surreal? Last night we were slammed by customers. Even the best cashiers can get fried after a few hours of non-stop ringing up. There was one customer who I was blessed not to have in my line. He had brought in an empty flea collar tin so he knew the brand. Then he picked several to purchase. Apparently the cashier mistakenly rang up the empty tin. The customer paid and left the store. Then he reappeared suddenly absolutely livid that he had been charged for the empty tin.

First off those collars aren't cheap. If you noticed an extra forty bucks on the pin pad you might question it right there. Given that it really wasn't a difficult thing to fix. All we have to do is go in the system, return the empty can and the money goes back to his credit card. But he didn't want that. He wanted the difference in cash. That also would have been fairly simple. Except that he went off on the hapless cashier and then the store manager too.

Then today I was at the book sale. They have volunteers who sort and display the books. One shelf to the side was for specialty and first editions. So instead of the dollar for other titles these were maybe five or ten dollars each. I recognized some of them as ones I had donated. One of the volunteers was beside the shelf and I guess he was taking his job a bit too seriously. I went to other areas and gathered my treasures. I got out to the parking lot wheezing from the effort.

Here was this volunteer looking wildly around the parking lot. He saw me and came over and started eyeing my bags carefully. Such a $%&*...he said " Somebody just left with one of the books off that shelf and they were wearing a white jacket, might YOU have that book?". Whaaaaat? EXCUSE me you moron twit...first off I have donated more than a few hundred books to this sale, secondly I am wearing a gray sweatshirt and a black jacket...you sir are a rude nut job. The noive of some people

 

[bluebreezes]

Yeah, stressed out people who don't know how to count to ten before launching into a tirade, geez, they're everywhere. I try (but don't always succeed) to kill them with kindness. Doing this I found helps me not replay the incident over and over to devise a snarkier response and feel my BP rising. Whether it sinks in, who knows, it's out of my control.

 

[Carla]

The poor cashier. How can anyone get so mad over an honest mistake? It almost sounds a little fishy on the side of the consumer. Either way, it seems unnecessary to cause such a scene. He should not have laid it on the counter so it was partly his fault too. Sorry you were accused of being a book crook. That's never a good feeling, I know. I have had a couple similar type incidents--the most recent a couple years ago, I purchased a wreath and paid at the flower counter in a busy produce store. While I was walking to my car, a woman came running out and asked me if I paid for it! With receipt in hand, I offered to go back inside and speak to the cashier who had just rung it up. She said "no" but not I'm sorry. What's wrong with people? If you're going to accuse someone, at least offer an apology if you're wrong. I don't steal!

 

[fureverywhere]

IMHO unless it's a really ridiculous situation I wouldn't call someone out for stealing. It's just not worth it unless somebody is really trying to pull one over. Another customer a few days ago and my BS radar went up. He was returning these two stupid cat items. They're small plug ins that are suppose to be aromatherapy to calm felines...at fifty dollars a pop.

One of the managers whizzed over and gave him the fifth degree over if he had a receipt, did he buy it at this location and when. It turns out these things are very popular theft items. Small and easy to steal...then you makes the rounds until a store will give you a refund for it. But really if I forget to ring up two cans of cat food I'm not going to bust you for walking out.

But really, the people who get off on going into rages...I just don't understand it. I go out of my way to be cordial to sales and service people. Cashiers are usually the lowest paid and doing the most work. Be kind and sincerely ask them how they're doing. If they mess up something, be patient and point out the error nicely...you might be their fiftieth customer in the last half hour.

 

[Carla]

There are a lot of angry people willing to take out their hostilities on anyone they can. They are the type of person likely to have road rage and lay on the horn but not apply their brakes. Cashiers/retail clerks do work very hard and the vast majority are quite pleasant. They deserve common courtesy.

 

[Butterfly]

I've never worked in retail, but in the office I worked in I put up with a lot of crap from clients, and I hate to see anyone giving a cashier, etc., a hard time. 9.9 times out of 10 it's not the cashier's fault, anyway, and even if it is, everybody is allowed to make a mistake once in a while.

I was in Wal-Mart today checking into something at the pharmacy for my sister, and a customer (I won't call her a lady, because she clearly was not behaving like one) was throwing a tantrum at one of the people behind the counter because she wasn't getting her prescription fast enough and was having to wait in line. She was getting louder and louder and more and more abusive, and there were all these other people patiently waiting their turn.

If she didn't want to wait in line, she shouldn't have gone to Wal-Mart in the first place. I finished my business and left while she was still spouting off, but if I had been the person behind that counter I'd have called security. Secondly, throwing a temper tantrum doesn't get you any faster service -- sometimes when I was working, the problem of a person who was behaving badly somehow found its way to the bottom of my pile. Rudeness doesn't get a person anywhere and just makes everyone dislike you.

 

[jujube]

I've never understood the thought process behind throwing a hissy fit about your food in a restaurant. Do you really want to eat the food they bring you after that? Y'know.......the food with the extra order of spit? Just calmly explain the problem to the wait person; that will usually take care of it with no added ingredients to your dinner. If there is a further problem, take it up with the manager and DON'T EAT THE FOOD.

 

[peramangkelder]

The incidence of mis-placed anger seems to be on the rise these days don't you think? Road rage for example...frightens the heck out of me.
In Brisbane Queensland today 28th October a bus driver doing his job had an accelerant thrown over him and he was set alight...may be terrorist related.
The bus driver died and many passengers were injured and of course they will remember this horror the rest of their lives.
The reason I mention this is because my husband used to drive buses but thankfully he is retired now.

 

[bluebreezes]

Secondly, throwing a temper tantrum doesn't get you any faster service -- sometimes when I was working, the problem of a person who was behaving badly somehow found its way to the bottom of my pile. Rudeness doesn't get a person anywhere and just makes everyone dislike you.

Oh my word, that is so true. Assuming she had a choice when to go, she could have gone at a non-peak time. She could have called ahead to find out when that would be or when her order would be ready.

People need to learn how to direct their complaints and anger effectively instead of lashing out, what works, what doesn't work. I also am slow to recognize situations where the person might have mental health issues and not just be someone who temporarily went off the rails due to a situation.