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June 03, 2006
No, Lady, that won't work. Oh, ok. Fine then. Just leave. We won't miss you!
Speaking of come and go, let me tell you about my First Customer today.
It was morning, about 8:30? Not really one of the "crazy at the door when it opens shoppers" but not a "lazy I'm finally out of bed today" shoppers either. Punctual, early, determined.
Merchandise: two graduation cards and two (cheap Christmas knickknack) clearance gifts. One of the clearance gifts didn't ring up at all--the UPC wasn't even in the mainframe!--and while I made my various pages and calls for help, the First Customer got more and more impatient. I tried to explain to her that getting another one wouldn't work ("They all have the same series of numbers called the UPC. This one isn't here, and neither will any other identical ones, ma'am."), but she would have none of it.
So when the Housewares/Seasonal Associate made it up to my register, the lady didn't listen to me say "Here he is! It'll be just one moment now!" (though I yelled it because she left). She left the register to go get another of her cheap Christmas knickknack clearance gifts.
Even though there were four people in line (two with very full carts), I waited for her to come back, but she didn't come for about a minute. So I voided her purchase and rang the next customer.
Lady returned just as I was swiping the Next Customer's credit card, but Lady was so irritated that I didn't wait for her that she huffed off. (I bet she thought I'd make her get back in line. No, I would have kindly asked the Next Next Customer if they wouldn't mind waiting while I rang up Lady's 4 items. Those types usually don't mind.) So Lady huffed off after saying (in a tone that clearly communicated that she was as important as the Queen Mum and couldn't believe that I, the lowly cashier, had the gall not to listen to her [stupid and pointless] plan to get another of the mystery items)...she said "You could have waited. That would have been the polite thing to do."
Oh, ok, polite.
I simply looked at her, and calmly said, "Ma'am, it would have been just a moment more if you had not left. And these customers were in line. You made them wait; I'm not the rude one."
Yesssss. It felt great to finally answer back to a customer.
Stories from Behind the Counter | By The Newest Worker | 10:09 PM
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