I Had A Bad Experience At Work Today

[newfoundsky]

I work at a convenience store, and a customer came up with a large cup of water from the fountain machine and inquired if we had any bottled water (which is tucked away in a separate cooler from our soft drinks). I pointed him to the cooler, and he said he would just take the water he had. So instead of charging him full price, I charged him for the smallest size fountain drink (after all, it's just water). Apparently 1.29 for a half gallon of water is too much for this guy, who proceeds to pitch a fit. I just kind of stand there and take the verbal abuse (I was very specifically told to not yell back at people anymore.) until I complete his transaction and tell him to have a wonderful day. He tells me to go fuck myself.

So in case any of us are wondering, cashiers and even store managers of chains do not set prices and we get fired if we give away free things. Please don't be a tool.

Anyway, more to the point, is there anything I could have done to resolve this situation in a way that

a) would not violate company policy and
b) keep my dignity intact

For further conversation value, how was your day at work?

 

[tippy2k2]

For the most part, all you can really do as an employee is kill them with kindness. It's not going to do much for you in the immediate time but you'll get to keep your job and if you're lucky, he'll realize what a dick he was.

I'm not sure how but it somehow needs to become law that everyone has to do customer service as their job at some point. The world would be such a nicer place if everyone had to walk in those particular shoes...

 

[Shoggoth2588]

Like you said, you don't control prices and you can't yell back at the customer. All that you can really do is grin and take it until the guy leaves and ***** about him in the breakroom however long after the encounter. It's people like that who make me loath going out onto the sales floor...I'm lucky enough to work in the back room of my store but I still hear about all kinds of crap customers get away with at the guest services counter and at registers...

 

[Bat Vader]

I can't stand customers like that. A similar thing kinda happened at a Meijer I shop at. I was in line behind a man who looked to be in his 40's who was trying to return a couple of shirts that didn't fit him. He didn't have his receipt and was starting to get verbally abusive with the male employee. Eventually I had enough and told the abusive A-Hole to get the hell out of my way or I would make him get out of my way. He seemed like he was going to say something but instead decided not to and just walked away.

The cashier thanked me and I was able to pay for my groceries and be in my merry way. I could never work retail though because I would most likely end up getting fired for yelling at customers like him.

 

[Frankster]

"I'm terribly sorry sir but I not am authorized to give you things for free and have to charge you for things you acquire in this shop. Should you have made a purchase then the water would have been free as it's for paying customers but as you sir, are NOT a paying customer I am obliged to charge you. If you wish to keep shouting at me for things outside my power then please feel free to continue though, I am legally obligated to receive all your abuse however little I deserve it."

You're not allowed to shout back but I didn't see anything about you not being allowed to be a smartass/sarcastic.

A bit long winded but something to that effect would have worked imo. The guy was being a dumbass because he assumed it was "free" but you had to charge him because he wasn't a paying customer.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

There wasn't much else you could do, without losing your job or at least getting a corporate spanking (as one friend used to put it). He was a prick and was either ignorant of how things work or an even bigger jackass for making a scene while knowing how you can be fired (and possibly even arrested! in some places/cases) for giving away anything, or even the discount you did give him. Of course, if someone like that doesn't leave soon, the police usually are quite helpful in convincing people to make a formal complaint, instead of harassing someone with no control over pricing.

You just have to be nice (like I assume you were) and find a way to vent later on that doesn't get you into trouble. You usually don't want to burn bridges by finally telling off a fucker like him, because you never know if your hypothetical new job doesn't work out or a witness works at the place you applied to/are about to work at and tells that story.

I've had to deal with assholes like that many times, especially when I worked as assistant manager at the movie theater. People complained about the prices of the tickets, and the popcorn, and the drinks,and the candy. Guess what, most of the ticket money goes back to Hollywood (until the movie is so old that its booking period is about to end and usually no one is seeing it), so the overpriced popcorn sales cover the rest of the operating costs and finally the profits. I've also had people yell at me for not honoring their free refill for the day, when their cup or popcorn bag is beat up and has a promo design we hadn't used in months. I've even been accused of being incredibly rude when I was always polite in asking groups to stop talking during a film, among some other things. It was my job to make sure other patrons were not being disturbed by constant talking or bare feet about .5 meters away from their heads. In an alternate universe, someone would have been sent through a window at least once during my career there.

You just got to deal with schmucks like that. The day is over, and there are always better days coming that will be much better. [small]More good news is if I'm ever made Emperor of the Earth, everyone will have to work at least a few months in every industry, to learn some actual perspective of other's lives.[/small]

 

[spartan231490]

of course not. you work customer service, dignity is off the table. I know that sucks, I worked customer service for years, but you have no options. Company policy is always to sit there and take it, violate that and if the guy complains, you're gone. I suppose you could quit/resign, that'd give you your dignity and not violate policy. Though it probably defeats the purpose.

 

[MajorTomServo]

He was probably upset about something else and just chose to dump his anger on you, knowing you couldn't retaliate in any way or you'd lose your job.

Though I have to say everywhere I've ever gone water from the soda fountain was free. I wouldn't pitch a fit (like you said, you have no control over that) but I'd still be a bit annoyed.

 

[FalloutJack]

I believe you can still communicate your disdain or indifference to a customer without yelling at them. "Not my responsibility, not my problem" probably covers it.

And me? I work at a church. We're fine.

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Seems you handled it well enough and didn't violate the terms of your employment. Sometimes people are jerks, they expect free shit and will fly off the handle hoping to intimidate you into giving it to them. Years of customer service experience has taught me two things:

1. Don't sweat assholes, they're everywhere and you're bound to run into them in any customer service job
2. Smile, the louder, more asshole-ish someone gets, just keep smiling. It either confuses them or angers them but either way they have nothing legal they can do to you except pitch a fit and look foolish. Don't say anything to goad them, just do your job. Odds are for every shitheaded customer that walks in and out, you're probably going to have at least 10-15 decent or neutral (completely ignorant of your existence) customers.


In other words: Don't let one jerk ruin your day, thats way too much power to give someone. As long as they don't physically harm you, its really nothing.

 

[Techsmart07]

Short answer: no.

I worked in returns (target) for 5 years while in high school/college, and I've seen more than my fair share of those people. They usually lash out for one of 2 reasons: 1 is they had a bad day and you are their punching bag. 2 is they wanted to either get something for free or some other kind of compensation. Some managers are kind of spineless, so if you had spoken back, they would have contacted your business's owners (either your manager, or someone higher in the chain), and played the victim to get something like a coupon or gift card. I've seen both of those (although the ones that wanted something for free are much more common), and you made the right choice. I found the best way in most of these is to smile and bear with it. In the case of 2, this will get under their skin more than anything else. The more you see of those people, one of three things usually happens: 1) you get a thicker skin and ignore them, 2) you break down and quit, 3) you end up enjoying the thought of messing with these peoples' heads, since they can't really retaliate in any way without proving that they are in the wrong. I went #3, but I also knew when to be nice to the people that deserve it.

 

[Areloch]

I work at a convenience store, and a customer came up with a large cup of water from the fountain machine and inquired if we had any bottled water (which is tucked away in a separate cooler from our soft drinks). I pointed him to the cooler, and he said he would just take the water he had. So instead of charging him full price, I charged him for the smallest size fountain drink (after all, it's just water). Apparently 1.29 for a half gallon of water is too much for this guy, who proceeds to pitch a fit. I just kind of stand there and take the verbal abuse (I was very specifically told to not yell back at people anymore.) until I complete his transaction and tell him to have a wonderful day. He tells me to go fuck myself.

So in case any of us are wondering, cashiers and even store managers of chains do not set prices and we get fired if we give away free things. Please don't be a tool.

Anyway, more to the point, is there anything I could have done to resolve this situation in a way that

a) would not violate company policy and
b) keep my dignity intact

For further conversation value, how was your day at work?

During my time as a call center IT guy, and a McDonald's scrub before that, I pretty much turned the whole thing into some sort of meta-game.

Fact is, the longer they spend being angry, yelling, and pitching a fit when you haven't done anything wrong, the more you 'win'. You're being PAID to be there. The best the customer being a dick can say is they merely wasted their time and shortened their lifespan by getting so worked up over the issue.

Just own that you weren't in the wrong, realize you're winning the 'game' and keep being professional throughout. You'll look awesome to your coworkers, make the management happy, STILL get paid and if you're lucky, you'll make the customer realize they were being a colossal prick.

The only way to lose is to stoop to their level.

 

[soren7550]

My day wasn't as bad as yours, but the next two days for me are probably going to be worse than what you dealt with today.

I was supposed to do personal assistant work today right after my first job, but the guy I work for didn't bother to tell me that he wouldn't be around today. Waited 30 minutes before I gave up, irritated that I had to rush there while eating a small crappy lunch. He later called around 10:30 at night to get me to work tomorrow, a day I know I told him I couldn't do due to a doctor's appointment (which I have to get up at 7 or so to get to on time), but seeing as I'm a poorass and didn't get the work I was supposed to today, I'm probably gonna have to book it to him as soon as my appointment is done.

To make matters worse, the day after I have another doctor appointment, but this one I have to get up at 5:30 to get to on time, and then right when that's done, I have to run off to my other job.

This also means that I'm going to be so busy I won't be able to pick up any of the groceries I was going to pick up tomorrow while they were still on sale.

I'm going to be so fucking exhausted and irritable.

 

[Lil devils x_v1legacy]

I think in regards to water, and the guy being upset about it, I think that may be due to the widely varying polices of different places. Some places do offer free water, and only charge people if they buy a cup for $0.15, if they bring their own cup they often let them have water for free here. Now he should not have taken it out on you, but it is far from being a standard policy at all convenience stores to charge everyone for water. Here, denying someone water could easily result in their death quickly due to the extreme heat that is endured here, so they are not really hard asses about even making people pay for the cup if they are that thirsty. I think they weigh the impact of the business image it would create by denying people water and they die on them or are hospitalized vs the minimal costs involved in allowing those in need to have a life saving drink. Usually community friendly policies like that pay off in their favor by creating a better public image. Many places here not only offer free water but during certain hours offer free coffee, and even donuts on occasion in the morning.

While the guy may not have wanted to " pay for water" on that day, that isn't to say he would not have been a repeat customer buying many other things on many other days. Some of the stingiest people I know are also the wealthiest. This one guy running around here looking like a homeless guy asking for free stuff actually owns a bunch of hotels and is a philanthropist often anonymously leaving large sums of money to unsuspecting strangers. People can be weird like that. LOL

Of course a store policy does not excuse his behavior, it is not your fault the store has a non community friendly policy.

 

[jademunky]

For further conversation value, how was your day at work?

I hear you. I work in retail banking and cannot tell you the number of times a person has blamed me personally for my being unable to approve their loans. "No I cannot justify a line of credit so you can build a new deck, you have thousands owing to collection agencies. Yes I understand your word should be enough."

 

[lacktheknack]

a) would not violate company policy and
b) keep my dignity intact

You work in retail. You have no dignity.

Dignity is incredibly overrated anyways. It does absolutely nothing for you, and when you just cast it off like a plaid sweater, your life gets a lot more interesting and simple.

Doing undignified work also allows you to make complaints about terrible people on the internet, so there's that.

As for what you could do differently, make eye contact, and absolutely refuse to break it. If they try to look away, lean back into their vision. It will cut the conversation short.