The "Joys" of Customer Service.

[Jessifer]

I had a customer last night who came up to the service desk with an issue regarding some broccoli she had purchased. The broccoli was on sale for 3 for $5.00. She had only purchased one, and it rang up at $1.67, which is the correct price.

Her issue was the fact that there was three stalks of broccoli grouped together (like so (http://www.bonappetit.com/images/tips_tools_ingredients/ingredients/ttar_broccoli_h.jpg)), attatched with a rubber band. She was insistant that it should have rung up at $5.00 instead of the $1.67. Try as I might, I could not get her to understand that since they were banded together it was only considered one unit of broccoli, which was indeed only $1.67. I even told her that I wasn't worried about changing the price, and was willing to let her have them at that price (which is the correct price...).

After deciding that she did not want the broccoli at the correct price, she decided to go over and look at the sale sign. She came back shortly and said "I believe the key word on the sign is that it says 3 for 5 each. Why is the word each in there?" to which I replied "...Because each unit of broccoli is 3 for 5." And then she gave me a blank stare, and I proceeded to try to explain to her again that because the broccoli was banded together it was only considered one broccoli, regardless of how many were in the bundle.

And again she didn't understand it...

By now I had decided to just charge her what she felt she should have paid for the veggie, so I rang her up for two more broccoli's, which would have made up the difference. She then threw a mini fit because "That means I'll be charged for, oh my goodness, nine broccoli!?"

She wanted me to adjust the price that she paid for it to the 5 dollars, but I told her that my computer does not allow me to change the price of an item to a higher price, only a lower price. She was suprised at that. It is, as she put it, "The way of the machine".

In the end I key dumped (created a generic purchase) $3.34 under produce, and she paid for it that way. Before she left she told me that she would rather be overcharged than undercharged, and I told her that she's probably the only one I'll ever meet like that.

And then she left.

And I wanted to slam my head against the counter, but alas, I had more customers to help. And the Service Coordinator laughed at me.

And that is all.

[D3V]

What a tool. Was she one of those people that just like to randomly argue about shit and try to prove they are right in one way or the other? Or was she just generally confused and stupid, the type that you wonder how the function through their normal daily lives?..

Sucks to hear, I would've just laughed it off either way.

[Jessifer]

The latter.

And I would have laughed if it hadn't just dragged on...and on and on...

[D3V]

You should've messed with her atleast. I would've called the entire staff to the counter and make a huge scene about it and get everyone to play along and act freaked out about the brocoli and make her feel like a genius when really you guys just get the last laugh. It's like the movie Waiting, the bitch gets her food messed with and she feels like the shit when really she just ate pubes and dandriff.

[!King_Amazon!]

I had a customer last night who came up to the service desk with an issue regarding some broccoli she had purchased. The broccoli was on sale for 3 for $5.00. She had only purchased one, and it rang up at $1.67, which is the correct price.

Her issue was the fact that there was three stalks of broccoli grouped together (like so (http://www.bonappetit.com/images/tips_tools_ingredients/ingredients/ttar_broccoli_h.jpg)), attatched with a rubber band. She was insistant that it should have rung up at $5.00 instead of the $1.67. Try as I might, I could not get her to understand that since they were banded together it was only considered one unit of broccoli, which was indeed only $1.67. I even told her that I wasn't worried about changing the price, and was willing to let her have them at that price (which is the correct price...).

After deciding that she did not want the broccoli at the correct price, she decided to go over and look at the sale sign. She came back shortly and said "I believe the key word on the sign is that it says 3 for 5 each. Why is the word each in there?" to which I replied "...Because each unit of broccoli is 3 for 5." And then she gave me a blank stare, and I proceeded to try to explain to her again that because the broccoli was banded together it was only considered one broccoli, regardless of how many were in the bundle.

And again she didn't understand it...

By now I had decided to just charge her what she felt she should have paid for the veggie, so I rang her up for two more broccoli's, which would have made up the difference. She then threw a mini fit because "That means I'll be charged for, oh my goodness, nine broccoli!?"

She wanted me to adjust the price that she paid for it to the 5 dollars, but I told her that my computer does not allow me to change the price of an item to a higher price, only a lower price. She was suprised at that. It is, as she put it, "The way of the machine".

In the end I key dumped (created a generic purchase) $3.34 under produce, and she paid for it that way. Before she left she told me that she would rather be overcharged than undercharged, and I told her that she's probably the only one I'll ever meet like that.

And then she left.

And I wanted to slam my head against the counter, but alas, I had more customers to help. And the Service Coordinator laughed at me.

And that is all.
I like this version better. Made me lol. And /headdesk.

[Willkillforfood]

Why is the word each in there?" to which I replied "...Because each unit of broccoli is 3 for 5."

If "3 for 5 each" was on there, then whoever made the sign screwed up. It should be 3 for 5, 1.67 each, or something like that.

[Senesia]

I hate that kind of customers.
I don't mind it as much if she's the only one I need to serve for that half an hour, but some customers would do that to you when there's a huge lineup behind her. I mean, just get your change and go home..

There was this one time a customer, a woman in her 40s, was telling how we spelled "Rappini" wrong on the price sign (It's also called Broccoli Rabe, Rapini, Broccolette.. Rapini is what it is originally known as).

So she told me that it's only one P. I was being friendly and told her the different variations of name of this produce, and I got a glare of disbelief. At the end she sort of concluded that she was right and we should change the sign and educate the staff.

How old was that customer you faced anyway, Jessifer?

[!King_Amazon!]

If "3 for 5 each" was on there, then whoever made the sign screwed up. It should be 3 for 5, 1.67 each, or something like that.

That's what I thought, but decided that it probably made sense somehow and didn't say anything.

[Jessifer]

She had to have been in her fourties.

If "3 for 5 each" was on there, then whoever made the sign screwed up.


The sign isn't wrong. It's all in how you interpret it. I read "3 for 5 each" as one is on sale for 3 for 5, or 1.67. Maybe it's just because I work in customer service and actually know how to read signs. /shrug

[Willkillforfood]

"...Because each unit of broccoli is 3 for 5." That explanation doesn't exactly clear up any amibguity, but any person that's not retarded knows what those deals mean.

[KagomJack]

I know how you feel. You should see some of the shit I go through at Blockbuster and Cracker Barrel. :[

[D3V]

3 bundles for 5 dollars, problem solved. The sign is confusing, but not to the point where explaining it for 3-4 seconds couldn't fix the confusion.

[Grav]

Bah. I get stupid things (maybe not THAT stupid) like that all the time from tourists over here.

My favorite random moment was a phone call that went like this

*Phone rings*
Desk: Hello, tourist hotel. How can I help you?
Man: Can I have peanut butter?
Desk: Well, some of our rooms have mini fridges, so you could keep peanut butter in there...
Man: No, I mean can I have peanut butter.
Desk: ...well, peanut butter is not included with the room...
Man: No. Can I eat peanut butter?
Desk: (Obviously confused by now) Peanut butter is not included in the rooms, but there is a CVS down the street you could buy some from...

This went on for at least a minute before the front desk guy finally asked who he was calling for. The man was diabetic and wanted to know if he could eat peanut butter. Apparently one of the guests gave him the hotel number to call, but we had no idea which guest it was and he didn't have a name. Lol.

[Jessifer]

Heh. Cool.


3 bundles for 5 dollars, problem solved. The sign is confusing, but not to the point where explaining it for 3-4 seconds couldn't fix the confusion.


Seriously, I tried explaining that to her. Her response was "Well there are three broccoli in a bundle, so it should be 5 dollars." And when I tried to explain to her that it was only considered one bundle, she just kept on going in circles.

[KagomJack]

Someone obviously wanted to pay for more.

[Jessifer]

Next time her see here, I'm going to take a "bathroom break"...

[KagomJack]

There's a customer at Blockbuster I do that with. Can't stand that ungodly obese bitch.

[Jessifer]

There's an old gay guy who uses an oxygen tank who flirts with all of our male employee's. We call him Oxy. It's funny, whenever he's in the store certain people are suddenly MIA.

He's actually quite nice. I'm usually the one that waits on him. He habitually buys two Cashwords.

[Senesia]

There's an old gay guy who uses an oxygen tank who flirts with all of our male employee's. We call him Oxy. It's funny, whenever he's in the store certain people are suddenly MIA.

He's actually quite nice. I'm usually the one that waits on him. He habitually buys two Cashwords.

Sometimes I feel weird about certain people. Be it this guy or that lady you previously talked about, do they do these on purpose, or are they just behaving normally and are oblivious to how other people might perceive them as?

I've dealt with customers who just talk nonsense and act like they are superior and have the rights to do anything.. when they really don't. The only right those customers have was to not buy from the store.

[Jessifer]

The only right those customers have was to not buy from the store.


I agree 100% with this.


Anyway. Yesterday sucked. First there was some Cat and Dog Repellant (smells intensely of Garlic) that broke open, I got it all over my hands and dumped it out in our supply closet, and followed that with a gallon of bleach, and then used some air spray to try to get rid of that smell. The rest of the night the service desk, the supply closet, and the hallway leading to the supply closet, and my hands smelled of garlic. Horrible.

Later on, I was giving the Service Coordinator (SC) his break and I got a call warning me that the "Short Changer" was in one of the cashier's lanes. I like...ran to her lane, because that guy pisses me off like no tomorrow. He'll come through a cashier he's never been to before, buy like one or two items and then pay with a $50 bill. And then as soon as the cashier counts out his change he'll either question the bill that he gave him ("Didn't I give you a $100 bill?") or will instead decide to use a larger bill to pay so he can keep the smaller bill, and will confuse the cashier to the point where he ends up walking off with an extra $100. He tried that with me once, I flat out told him that if he wants different change he can go to the service desk. I hate him. A lot.

Anyway, when I got there the cashier was at the point where she was counting out the new change, and handing the money to him. I stepped in and grabbed the edge of the money myself and told him that he needed to let go so I could double count the money. He flat out refused to let me count the money, and even insisted that he was still short $10. I told him to let go of the money (I still had a hold on the money too) again so I could count it and make sure, and he still refused, and insisted that he get his other ten dollars. By then the SC showed up and said that we had to audit the drawer to see if it was over or short, and I let go of the money at that point because the guy was getting angry, and when the SC went to get the audit machine, the guy started walking out, saying that he was just going to leave and live with being shorted $10. I tried to stop him, but he just kept on walking.

The drawer ended up being $90 short.

And I gained +150 rep with my co-workers. They said they didn't know I could be so authoritative and that I handled it incredibly well.

My heart was beating like crazy though, and my hands were shaking. Lol.


Whew.

[!King_Amazon!]

Grats!

[Willkillforfood]

I'm pretty sure you have the right to detain him if you do it in as private a way as possible, keep him in satisfactory conditions, and do not be too physical. I'm not a lawyer of course, but we talked about it in our business law class.

[Jessifer]

Looking back on it, I could have done some things differently. Like told him if he didn't let go of the money I would call security, or follow him out and get his license plate number...

[Willkillforfood]

Yea, you've got it on camera I believe. You should talk to your manager about this and see what he/she would like you do. $90 is enough for him to be prosecuted over, and you've got PLENTY of witnesses it seems. Although you REALLY should have done this right as it happened, and it may be too late now. Anything along these lines should be a red flag and you should contact your superiors.

[D3V]

That's pretty intense.....

[Jessifer]

It was actually my first time having to confront anyone directly like that.

[Willkillforfood]

Did you talk to your superiors?

[Senesia]

It sounded like you work in a pretty big store.
The way I handle bills is, I don't put them in the drawer right away, but would just put them somewhere on top of the cash register where the customer and I can both see. I only deposit them into the drawer after I've handed the customer the change.

Sometimes I ran into people who want to pay with a larger bill after handed out the change as well. What I do is, if he hasn't put the change in his wallet, I will ask for all the change back, take his larger bill, and hand him the smaller one, then do the calculations again (usually just involve the same coin changes but more bills). If he put the change in his wallet already, I'll just ignore the request saying, "If you want to break a large bill, you can go to the bank." If he were to complain, I'll just ignore him. I gave him the change, and I don't owe him anything.

I recall watching an episode on Real Hustle where a shop keeper was confused to give the hustler too much change.. it's sad really, because the cashiers just wanted to help, and there are people out there trying to take advantage of others' kindness..

[Jessifer]

Did you talk to your superiors?


I didn't, no. The SC wrote an e-mail to our manager, though.


It sounded like you work in a pretty big store.
The way I handle bills is, I don't put them in the drawer right away, but would just put them somewhere on top of the cash register where the customer and I can both see. I only deposit them into the drawer after I've handed the customer the change.

Sometimes I ran into people who want to pay with a larger bill after handed out the change as well. What I do is, if he hasn't put the change in his wallet, I will ask for all the change back, take his larger bill, and hand him the smaller one, then do the calculations again (usually just involve the same coin changes but more bills). If he put the change in his wallet already, I'll just ignore the request saying, "If you want to break a large bill, you can go to the bank." If he were to complain, I'll just ignore him. I gave him the change, and I don't owe him anything.

I recall watching an episode on Real Hustle where a shop keeper was confused to give the hustler too much change.. it's sad really, because the cashiers just wanted to help, and there are people out there trying to take advantage of others' kindness..


That's what I do, only I vocalize what they gave me as well ("$14.58 out of $50?"). When it comes to them wanting to pay with a larger bill after the change is counted, I'll refuse it, but offer to break the bill for them after I give them their change.

[Wallow]

Lol, that's probably how that guy puts the bread on the table.

You said you were shaking, how big was he?

[Willkillforfood]

15 hands to the withers.

[Jessifer]

He wasn't big at all. He's an older guy that was haunched over. I was just shaking because it just wound me up so much. And to hell with that being the way he puts bread on the table. I know for a fact that he hits more than one place in a day, and will on occasion come back more than once and go through a different cashier. And he only shows up when we're busy and have less of a chance at spotting him.

[Senesia]

Just a little off-topic question, how many days/hours do you work each week? Do things like this happen all the time?

[Jessifer]

I work a 40 hours a week, being full-time. Five 8 and a half hour days.

Something like this happens...I think once a week.