If you value your sanity, I beg you not to work for a video store...ever!!! It may sound fun, but future employers look down at it and customers treat you worse than fast food workers. You are open 365 per year and working as a Store Manager of one of these places is a kin to running Hell, only less fun. I also had the pleasure of being an Area Trainer and as such, trained all of the new managers.
On this particular Friday night, I had a new female MIT that I had given the floor to for the first time. I wanted to see what she could do and how ready she was. I kept busy with projects off to the far side of the counter.
Next at the register was the man of my dreams....Kidding! His name was Tavish and he was about 6'6" and had his little 5'2" girlfriend with him. At first I only heard bits and pieces of his interaction with my new MIT. She's no small fry herself. Big country girl from Montana, about 185, 6' tall...even though soft-spoken, I figured she'd be fine. Not even close! Next come the obscenities. B*&^H this and F$#@K that. He was really quite the gentleman. He had the entire store's attention, as well as mine. My MIT came to me to ask for guidance. It appeared that he had a whopping $15.00 in late fees that he admitted were his, but because he TOLD us they would be late, he felt he should not have to pay any late fees! WHAT !?! I'll try that next time I rent a car. Well I told you I was keeping it for a week......... So, I told her just to work on getting him out of the store. Offer to split the fees in half as a courtesy. (This is a very common practice...try it next time you have late fees) She returned to him, and he returned to screaming and swearing. Enough was enough.....time for me.
I approached him and said, "Sir, I am the Store Manager here and it appears that there is a dispute on your account. How can I assist you in correcting this today?"
His response was, "Shut up B&^%*H, I wasn't talking to you!"
I informed him that since I was the SM, if he expected anything to be done, I was the ONLY one he would talk to and he would stop with the language. Now, I'm only 5'2" myself, but I train 1200lb horses and I would gladly take this punk down so he doesn't bother me in the slightest. I again reaffirmed our offer to split the late fee's which he himself stated were of his own doing. He then threatened to take his business elsewhere. Now that thought was breaking my heart! I looked at his account and very matter of factly told him that we obviously didn't have his business anyway. In the past year and a half, he had rented 5 movies and 3 were in 1 visit. So, if he felt his business was better served elsewhere then so be it. That did it and the bastard took a swing at me! He tried to punch a girl! I ducked out of the way and told my MIT to call the cops. As he ran out of the store he slammed the door open so hard he broke the glass.
Two weeks later, I get a call from this same loser saying that he is disputing the fact we have sent him to collections. I know it's him because I recognize the amount and his voice. So, I make him wait while I walk back to the office to take the call. When I pick up the phone he says, "Oh...I've talked to YOU before! You're that B*^#H, just give me your boss' number." I tell him he'll have to hang on again while I go up front and get that for him. Of course I know it by heart, but I'm just being an ass now.
So he calls my District Manager who happens to be a very good friend of mine to this day. He starts out by saying that now that MEN are handling the situation, maybe something can be accomplished! Little does he know, my boss is so beyond gay it is not even funny. BIG time fem! So my boss tells him that I offered more than he ever would have. After 30 minutes, Tavish hangs up on him too.
A few days later I get a call from the VP of the company. He goes through the whole thing and how this customer is demanding this and that and wants to know what I'M going to do for him. I let him know that, after what this man verbally and physically put me through, I will GLADLY walk him across the street to the competitor and help him fill out their application. If they wanted more than that, I would walk....right then....no notice....and my whole staff agreed to come with because that said what they thought of employee safety.
We never heard from or saw Tavish again. Hope the competitor loves him as much as we did!
On this particular Friday night, I had a new female MIT that I had given the floor to for the first time. I wanted to see what she could do and how ready she was. I kept busy with projects off to the far side of the counter.
Next at the register was the man of my dreams....Kidding! His name was Tavish and he was about 6'6" and had his little 5'2" girlfriend with him. At first I only heard bits and pieces of his interaction with my new MIT. She's no small fry herself. Big country girl from Montana, about 185, 6' tall...even though soft-spoken, I figured she'd be fine. Not even close! Next come the obscenities. B*&^H this and F$#@K that. He was really quite the gentleman. He had the entire store's attention, as well as mine. My MIT came to me to ask for guidance. It appeared that he had a whopping $15.00 in late fees that he admitted were his, but because he TOLD us they would be late, he felt he should not have to pay any late fees! WHAT !?! I'll try that next time I rent a car. Well I told you I was keeping it for a week......... So, I told her just to work on getting him out of the store. Offer to split the fees in half as a courtesy. (This is a very common practice...try it next time you have late fees) She returned to him, and he returned to screaming and swearing. Enough was enough.....time for me.
I approached him and said, "Sir, I am the Store Manager here and it appears that there is a dispute on your account. How can I assist you in correcting this today?"
His response was, "Shut up B&^%*H, I wasn't talking to you!"
I informed him that since I was the SM, if he expected anything to be done, I was the ONLY one he would talk to and he would stop with the language. Now, I'm only 5'2" myself, but I train 1200lb horses and I would gladly take this punk down so he doesn't bother me in the slightest. I again reaffirmed our offer to split the late fee's which he himself stated were of his own doing. He then threatened to take his business elsewhere. Now that thought was breaking my heart! I looked at his account and very matter of factly told him that we obviously didn't have his business anyway. In the past year and a half, he had rented 5 movies and 3 were in 1 visit. So, if he felt his business was better served elsewhere then so be it. That did it and the bastard took a swing at me! He tried to punch a girl! I ducked out of the way and told my MIT to call the cops. As he ran out of the store he slammed the door open so hard he broke the glass.
Two weeks later, I get a call from this same loser saying that he is disputing the fact we have sent him to collections. I know it's him because I recognize the amount and his voice. So, I make him wait while I walk back to the office to take the call. When I pick up the phone he says, "Oh...I've talked to YOU before! You're that B*^#H, just give me your boss' number." I tell him he'll have to hang on again while I go up front and get that for him. Of course I know it by heart, but I'm just being an ass now.
So he calls my District Manager who happens to be a very good friend of mine to this day. He starts out by saying that now that MEN are handling the situation, maybe something can be accomplished! Little does he know, my boss is so beyond gay it is not even funny. BIG time fem! So my boss tells him that I offered more than he ever would have. After 30 minutes, Tavish hangs up on him too.
A few days later I get a call from the VP of the company. He goes through the whole thing and how this customer is demanding this and that and wants to know what I'M going to do for him. I let him know that, after what this man verbally and physically put me through, I will GLADLY walk him across the street to the competitor and help him fill out their application. If they wanted more than that, I would walk....right then....no notice....and my whole staff agreed to come with because that said what they thought of employee safety.
We never heard from or saw Tavish again. Hope the competitor loves him as much as we did!
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