Scary anti-credit app lady

[RammsteinGirl]

As you may already know, I work for K-Fart. We're supposed to ask every customer if they would like to apply for or use a Sears card. If we don't, we can get written up because the corporate desk monkeys want to make a bunch of money off people using their 26% interest Sears cards. Usually, all I say is, "Would you like to apply for a Sears card?" and if they say no, I don't badger them further. I would say on a scale of 1 to 10 of pushiness.. I'm definately a 1. I'm really big on being polite and trying very hard not to aggravate people.

One day I was working checkouts, and this little old 70-ish lady comes up to purchase a few small items. She didn't LOOK scary or mean at all.. she looked kinda like Betty White from the Golden Girls. At the end of ringing up her items, I simply ask, "Would you like to apply for a Sears card today?"

OH MY GOD.. you would have thought I had just murdered Baby Jesus or something! Her response to my question? She screams, "NO I DON'T WANT TO APPLY FOR YOUR DAMN SEARS CARD!!!!! EVERY TIME I COME IN THIS DAMN STORE YOU ASK ME THAT AND I TOLD THEM LAST TIME ----NEVER----- TO ASK ME THAT QUESTION AGAIN AND YOU'VE DONE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I quietly tell her, "Ma'am, we have to ask you, it is part of our job. We can get in trouble if we do not ask you."

She goes, "WELL YOU TELL YOUR MANAGER I'M A ----CUSTOMER------ AND I DON'T WANT TO HEAR IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!" I wanted to say that it was CORPORATE and not my manager that forces us to ask people to apply for Sears cards.. but I knew she wouldn't get it and it would send her into another screaming tirade.

Well, she storms off.. and I'm quite upset and shaken. There was NO fucking need for her to get so abusive to me, the little peon clerk who has no control over anything. The biatch was lucky she got ME and not my HR manager, who is the world's most annoying cashier "Do you want to apply for a Sears Card? Do you have a Sears card? ARE YOU SURE?" The lady probably would have leaped over the counter and attacked her, haha. Trust me, I'd rather NOT ask period because it's a hassle for me too.

Well.. that's not the end of it. (I heard about this after it happened) After she was done with me, she marched over to the Service Desk to complain about me asking her about the Sears card. Well, my co-worker, C happened to be working the Service Desk. C worked at Walt Disney World for 10 years, which has some of the worst customers in the world, so he is very calm and good at dealing with customers.

Old crazy bitch tells C something to the effect, "ONE OF YOUR INCOMPETENT CASHIERS ASKED ME TO APPLY FOR THAT DAMN SEARS CARD AND I ***TOLD*** YOU PEOPLE LAST TIME I DIDN'T WANNA HEAR THAT SHIT!!!"

C leans over the Service Desk toward the old bat and tells her in a quiet yet sinister voice, "Now you listen to me. We don't want to ask you if you want to apply for a Sears card anymore than you want to hear it. But we have to ask because we want to keep our jobs. If you have such a problem with it, you need to call corporate and complain to them. OH.. and DO YOU WANT A SEARS CARD MA'AM?"

HE ACTUALLY SAID THAT TO HER!!! I told C afterwards that he was my HERO! I guess she just stormed out of the store after he said that to her. I'm surprised she didn't want to complain to management.

Apparently, I'm not the only cashier at our store she's abused. One of my co-workers said that she thinks she had the same lady in her line not too long ago (she matched the same physical description). Upon being asked if she wanted to use or apply for a Sears card.. she told V that she could "Shove that card up her ass!!!!" What a horrible old bitch!

[nekoro]

What a horrid woman! It's not like you were asking her for her firstborn, or if she wanted to kill a kitten. Is it really that traumatizing for her to say no?

Honestly, I hate getting asked for those stupid store cards whenever I go shopping. But I don't get rude to a cashier unless they are pushing unnecessarily, and even then it's just an Icy Glare of Death. You just don't abuse people like that. If you hate it that much, complain to corporate that you hate being hassled to get their stupid card.

Now I'm all pissed too. Grrr, stupid bint.

[wagegoth]

That's the one thing I hate about checking out at Target, the "Would you like to apply for a Target credit card today?" But I'm not a bitch about it. I just say, "No, thank you," like my mommy taught me; unfortunately, that SC must have been raised by wolverines.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Well, first off, you asked her once and only once, and her reaction was out of order. That was uncalled for.

However, if I went into a K-mart and got asked if I wanted a card FOR ANOTHER STORE....I dunno...I think my head might explode.

I realize you all have to ask, but I'm fairly certain there's not a person alive, sucky or not, who does't find that fucking annoying.

Kudos to you for not giving the hard sell, btw. I hate that.

[IT Grunt]

However, if I went into a K-mart and got asked if I wanted a card FOR ANOTHER STORE....I dunno...I think my head might explode.

Sears and K-Mart merged, so it's in essence the same store now. Still, that lady needs to get that big chip off her shoulder. Yelling at someone about something like that is completely uncalled for.

[RammsteinGirl]

Yeah.. Kmart bought Sears a couple of years ago after it came out of bankruptcy and now it's no longer Kmart Corporation, it's "Sears Holdings Corporation." Kmart now also sells some formerly Sears-exclusive brands, like Craftsman tools.

One of my co-workers that's been working at the store for about 35 years says she knows of this woman just from living around the area so long. She's seen her in restaurants screaming about having to wait 2 seconds to be seated. So this bitch obviously has a couple screws loose, and she probably treats EVERYONE like this. She probably lives a very lonely, sad life.

[BdwayBabu799]

That response is pretty insane. Granted I know of several people, including myself, that have had a bad experience with Sears credit cards but jeez! A simple "no" would suffice

[Shabo]

When I worked at a clothing company, we had to try and get a certain number of credit card apps every day. It sucked coming in later in the day and told to push them, but it's a decent card that gives you some nice benefits if you shop there regularly. I had some people snap at me about the card, but never to that extent and I usually pushed a little harder, too.

[Boozy]

I TOLD THEM LAST TIME ----NEVER----- TO ASK ME THAT QUESTION AGAIN AND YOU'VE DONE IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

How exactly does she think that's going to work?

I don't know how many people you have working at your store, but does she really think every single one of those cashiers is going to remember her?

Does she think that you had an all-store staff meeting after her last visit simply to discuss the importance of keeping Her Royal Highness happy?

Does she want her damn picture posted above every cash register with the words "DO NOT ASK THIS WOMAN ABOUT A SEARS CARD"?

Hers is an unreasonable request to say the least. If this bothers her so much, she may just have to stop shopping there.

[MadMike]

She didn't LOOK scary or mean at all.. she looked kinda like Betty White from the Golden Girls.

If you had seen the movie Lake Placid, you'd know that Betty White isn't always as sweet as she looks. I believe one of her lines from that movie was, "If I had a dick, I'd tell you to suck it!" I was like when I heard those words coming from a seemingly sweet old lady.

Back on topic, I don't like being constantly hounded about those damn cards either, but I don't take it out on the cashier. Like someone else said, they probably don't like asking anymore than we like being asked.

[Catwoman2965]

We have to ask at my store too, as we have a weekly quota of new accounts we need to open. But honestly, i don't ask - i don't get into trouble, and i would say about 75% of the customers already have one. I hate being asked when I shop, so i don't do it to my customers.

And i realize that in every store they HAVE to ask, but i've alwasy just said no thank you, and that was it. Never had any problem.

[Mark Healey]

I just had a brainstorm.

How about keeping a stack of customer comment cards and some extra pens by your till. People could fill them out while they are still angry about it. If they have pre-paid postage you could mail them for them, if not drop them in the box.

I also thing that whenever some corperate bozo hands down a poilicy like this the front line staff should be given his e and voice mails to give to customers who don't like the policy.

[ReverendBSB]

Every time I got to Best Buy they always ask me if I want to sign up for 8 free issues of a magazine. That stupid program where you get some free issues, but if you dont call up and cancel they charge an inflated years subscription to your card automatically. Its annoying to have to say no every time, but its not the end of the world or anything. That woman if just a bitch.

[upsidedown_orchid]

I used to work at a Sears, so I remember the sears card very well.
When I worked there, you would save 10% off your purchase if you just applied, so I would run the spiel as:

"Will you be using your Sears' card today?"
And when they said they didn't have one, I would say "Wanna save 10% off your purchase today?"

I had lots of apps that way, especially when people were making larger purchases. I would tell them they didn't even have to be approved to get the 10% off, so lots of people would do it.

I got lots of bonuses that way.

Fortunately, I also never had any crazy dragon ladies lose it on me for asking.

[blas]

My little brother works at K-Fart as well. Somehow he always gets away with rolling his eyes at customers who flip on him for asking about the Sears card.

I can't imagine Betty White saying anything like that....maybe Bea Arthur. "The man is a douchebag!".....but then again, a lot of comedians did squeaky clean TV/movie comedies but really dirty standup comedies.

*cough cough* Robin Williams for example....