Not terribly long ago while I was in the mall, I went into a clothing store to wander around a bit. Near to the cashier's desk I was standing and looking at some shirts when a rather happy lady walked up. Apparently she had a gift card for quite a large bit of money that had been a gift from her sister and she was finally getting some new outfits. She was a teacher from what I heard correctly.
Well, she gave her gift card to the woman at the desk and the woman scanned it once. When it wouldn't work, she didn't even attempt to retry. Instead, she simply put it down and the conversation followed as thus:
T - Teacher
OC - Ornery Cashier
M - Manager
OC: *brusquely* You must have already used it.
T: *mildly* I...I couldn't have. I haven't been to the mall since I've gotten it and it's been in my purse the whole time.
OC: Well it doesn't work.
T: Please...it was a gift from my sister. Can you try one more time?
OC: *refusing to* It doesn't work. You must have already used it.
T: *beginning to get frustrated, but not yelling* I just know it's not used yet.
At this point a much younger manager walked up and inquired about the problem. The teacher told her in slightly exhasperated terms and the manager smiled and tried scanning it again. When that didn't work she turned the card over and typed in the numbers from the barcode. That simple act was enough to show that YES the card had never been used. From there, the manager checked the woman out and the OC gave both of them assorted nasty looks.
I guess the moral of the story is that, yes, sometimes customers can be a hassle, but if they're not being rude to you PLEASE at least be kind and indulge them. There may really be an honest problem. After all, this Cashier did CHOOSE the service industry which does mean serving (at least, serving the polite customers who follow the rules).
Well, she gave her gift card to the woman at the desk and the woman scanned it once. When it wouldn't work, she didn't even attempt to retry. Instead, she simply put it down and the conversation followed as thus:
T - Teacher
OC - Ornery Cashier
M - Manager
OC: *brusquely* You must have already used it.
T: *mildly* I...I couldn't have. I haven't been to the mall since I've gotten it and it's been in my purse the whole time.
OC: Well it doesn't work.
T: Please...it was a gift from my sister. Can you try one more time?
OC: *refusing to* It doesn't work. You must have already used it.
T: *beginning to get frustrated, but not yelling* I just know it's not used yet.
At this point a much younger manager walked up and inquired about the problem. The teacher told her in slightly exhasperated terms and the manager smiled and tried scanning it again. When that didn't work she turned the card over and typed in the numbers from the barcode. That simple act was enough to show that YES the card had never been used. From there, the manager checked the woman out and the OC gave both of them assorted nasty looks.
I guess the moral of the story is that, yes, sometimes customers can be a hassle, but if they're not being rude to you PLEASE at least be kind and indulge them. There may really be an honest problem. After all, this Cashier did CHOOSE the service industry which does mean serving (at least, serving the polite customers who follow the rules).
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