SC Stories from the past....

[ladodger34]

Long one folks, sorry.... I'll post it in a couple of sep. posts!

I have a couple from my ice cream shop days and the composite customer as well..

Just a quick background on the ice cream shop. When I was scheduled to work at the joint, I was alone 98% of the time. The owners were pretty much week to week and operated on a razor thin margin. They had piss poor management skills (I could post several morons in management stories about them), but they were good people otherwise.

First guy: Scooped up his ice cream. No problems, he paid, etc. He wanted a cup of water. Earlier in the day, my boss had decided that he was fed up with giving out free cups of water (like I said, his profit margin was razor thin). Though customers don't believe it, the small cups still cost him money. I told the guy that I was sorry, but the boss said we were out of the small cups and I couldn't give away the other cups (for punch and lemonade). I think maybe I told him that I would charge him .25 for a cup of water but he didn't like it.

He pitched a fit and told me he wanted to talk to a manager. Being a smart-assed 18 year old, I looked around and told him since I was only person at the place, he was going to have to deal with me. Besides, I told him that I was just following the owners directions. He never called back or anything, but he was a severe butt-head. He uttered my favorite phrase (to come later)..

[ladodger34]

Second biatch..

Second biatch.. It was a Saturday and my small bills ran out rather quickly. We were next to a movie theater and I had it timed pretty well when we would run into a rush (when movies would let out). I served this biatch and her two kids. They took forever and I knew a rush was coming on.

Remember once again that we operated on small margains. We opened with like $30 in the till for change (most days we were cool). If some jackass paid for a scoop that was $1.17 (ten years later and still remember) with a twenty, I was screwed.

Anyhow, like I said.. the biatch and her kids were taking forever. I had to go and get change (once again, I worked alone most of the time). There was a Home Base nearby (they don't even exist anymore.. anyhow, a Home Depot type of place) and they helped me out with change when I needed it.

After waiting for this woman and her kids to finish their ice cream, I kindly asked them if they wouldn't mind sitting outside (we had several tables and chairs outside of the shop) while I locked up to go get change.

Of course, she pitched a fit and said that I was kicking her out of the store and wasn't offering her a place to sit, etc. I told her that I was really sorry, but I was out of change and needed to get it shortly before the next movie let out. Most of the time, people were totally cool when I asked them if it was cool if I locked up to go get change or whatever. They knew I was alone but this chick was EVIL.. seriously, she yelled and biatched at me for quite some time.

I essentially had to kick her out of the store (maybe and a-holish move, but I didn't have a choice). I walked down to get my change and came back to find a line waiting outside the store. I had a rush for quite some time. It was a damn good thing I went to get the change when I did.

[ladodger34]

Composite Customer..

A couple of composite SC's

Aww, my least favorite SC.. we had some pretty cool coupons to entice people to come into the store. Like a banana split for $2.99. Get a two scoop sundae for $1.99. For the most part, pretty nice deals.

This is like in '95-'96. Frozen yogurt shops had gone by the wayside and Cold Stone was still just a localized franchise (in AZ). Our main competition was Baskin-Robbins (I still like BR as they make a mean mint choc. chip).

Folks would turn in the coupons and whine at me that "at BR, they give me more". Or "they don't make it like this at BR", etc. I'm sure most of you know the drill.

At first I was concerned because the owners drilled the "customer is always right" mantra into my head. After listening to these a-holes for quite a while, I just started telling them that in case they missed it, we were Grand Slam Ice Cream and not Baskin-Robbins. If they wanted what BR served, they should have gone there. Of course, they would have paid more, but whatever.

[ladodger34]

My last composite customers..

We were also a mile or sow away from a Thrifty's at the time. Thrifty's was sort of a So Cal thing, but most Rite-Aids (at least in our area) still carry the ice cream.

We charged $1.09 for a scoop of ice cream (plus tax). We served Dreyer's Ice Cream (or Edie's for you East Coast folks) at the time. It was pretty good stuff. Anyhow, Thrifty's charged like .75 for a single scroop at the time.

From time to time, we'd get the welfare entiltment queens that would bitch that we were way too high(we were next to a dollar theater, it came with the territory). Even at the time, the price we charged for a single cone was nothing compared to most places, unless you want to take Thrifty's into consideration.

They'd pull the "It's way cheaper at Thrifty's, why do ya'll charge so much" After a while, I stopped explaining and told them if they wanted Thrifty's Ice Cream (good stuff, but not on the same level as our stuff) they could march their asses down their and get it their selves.