The bitch after christmas

[Liminality]

She could've been a bit more understanding, but she didn't know your situation.

My Visa's got both the chip and stripe, and I've had some issues with the chip in a store I buy my lunch for before I go to work, but thankfully I always leave home in time so it hasn't led to me being late.

[Lace Neil Singer]

It seems that you both over-reacted.

Do NOT cry about the lady with the chip card.

DO find out how to handle chip cards in the future.

It's easy for you to say "do not cry." I have the same problem, in that a lot of the time I do get upset whenever I get faced with a total bitch SC; cept in my case, a lot of the time I cry angry tears. Tho at the very least, my supervisors will let me go to the loos to sort myself out; couldn't the chef have backed you up? At least he could have stood behind you and told the woman that he didn't know what she was talking about either.

[PepperElf]

you forgot choice 5

choice 5 being "The customer sucked"


I mean really, who gets a chip credit card and expects the chip to suddenly work on machines that don't have chip capacity. That's like buying a car that runs on *only* dilithium crystals and then pulling a rude, 'i'm smarter than you, you're just stupid' act at the local gas stations for not selling said crystals.

I mean...i've never seen these chip cards but it sounds like they're using RFID only?

and... oh don't get me started on RFID security.
(it's flimsy. from what i've read chips can be scanned from a distance - and not everyone who scans your info is doing it for your benefit. so skim-barrier cards are woth the peace of mind)


but back to the customers...
So she had to use the other cash. Wah-freakin-wah. Yeah somtimes things like that happen... but really... treating you badly for it just makes her look even worse.

*hug*
I hope you have better days and better customers.

[Phone Jockey]

I think you did fine & the customers should have been more understanding. Sure, it's annoying, but there are other ways to pay. Jeez.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Yes, of course. You should have had more training done.

I believe this should read: No, of course not. You should have had more training done.

I voted for "You had a bad day" because "The customer sucked" and "The training/scheduling was insufficient" were not options.

That you were left on your own without a more experienced employee or a manager is the fault of the manager who should have made sure you were properly trained before scheduling you alone. At the very least, if such scheduling was unavoidable, someone should have been available by phone so you could have called them for the authorization code or other instructions.

I will agree with others that you'll need to develop a thicker skin (which should come in time, don't worry), but I also know that sometimes people get to you despite your best efforts. Deep breaths and a splash of cold water can go a long way.

I personally have never seen a chip card. I assume they need a special reader? (I'm guessing they are the "tap and go" cards I've seen commercials for.) I noticed at the grocery store last night that the card reader had another reader at the top; I figured that's what they were, but not every store has them. I know B&N only has regular swipe readers.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

There is absolutely, positively, no reason to tear an employee a new asshole because their card isn't working and the employee isn't as familiar with the technology as they would like.

It's stuff like this that made the sub shop in the mall attached to my store give their new trainees buttons saying something like "Please be patient: I'm in training!"

[Peppergirl]

She was a bitch, plain and simple. There's just no reason to act like that.

Don't take it personally. Once you work with the public for awhile, your skin will thicken and it will just kinda roll off when they act like that.

And I agree with what IPF said on an earlier post: In my case, occasionally extreme anger will cause tears to form in my eyes. And a few people have made the big error of mistaking these tears for weakness and not anger. Needless to say, they regretted their error.

Bottom line, no shame in crying. We've all been there. And trust me, it will get easier.

[Broomjockey]

choice 5 being "The customer sucked"


I mean really, who gets a chip credit card and expects the chip to suddenly work on machines that don't have chip capacity. That's like buying a car that runs on *only* dilithium crystals and then pulling a rude, 'i'm smarter than you, you're just stupid' act at the local gas stations for not selling said crystals.

I mean...i've never seen these chip cards but it sounds like they're using RFID only?

Nope, those are completely different from chip cards. RFID, as you said, has to be scanned by a near-by reader. Chip cards are read by inserting them into a slot and being left there (no pulling/swiping).

[Brentos]

nobody deserves to be treated like that. Lots of places don't accept lots of forms of payment, as a customer you just have to be prepared to pay in more than one traditional way. If you're not prepared for that, it's your own damn fault, not the poor girl trying to help you on her first day.

[PaRaGaS]

The UK uses Chip and Pin. It's meant to be more secure, as instead of signing, you tap in a PIN. However, the cards still have a magnetic strip, in case the machine doesn't read the Chip. Which leads to a whole new level of suck...

*put card in machine. Machine says 'Swipe Card." Remove Card. Swipe.*
Customer: Thats a CHIP CARD.
Me: I know, but it asked me to swipe it this time.
Customer: Why?
Me: I don't know. Maybe it couldn't read the chip. It does this occasionally. Could you sign this for me please?
Customer: Blah blah blah security blah blah blah chip blah blah blah
Me: I agree, however sometimes the machines simply don't read the chip, which is why your bank still asks you to sign the card, Just in case of this happening. Thankyou!

Haha.
Friday I got a customer who had a contactless card (one with an RFID transmitter).
These cards also have a chip AND magnetic stripe, and we actually have contactless terminals as well as chip and magnetic
(we have had them installed like two weeks ago, he was the first customer with such card).

Me: *tries to swipe the card*
Terminal: CHIP CARD, INSERT INTO SLOT
Me: *does that*
SC: (As I'm already entering the amount) It's contactless!
Me: But it also works as chip.
SC: It's contactless! See, you got this terminal here, and you got to draw the card near it.
(While picking the terminal up and showing me the VISA contactless whatever logo. Yes, dumbshit, I KNOW.)
Me: Uhhhh, *manager*?
M: Yes?
Me: This guy has a contactless VISA and I don't know how to enable the terminal.
M: Well, I don't know either (starts processing it as chip)
SC: But... but...


As if there wasn't enough trouble with chip cards already .

[Velfarre2001]

I didn't vote as you were missing the most important option.

Manager was incompetent and customer was a bitch.

[prb]

this is a chip card:

or


They are more secure, but will cause more problems for retailers.

[Ree]

She was a total bitch but you overreacted.

I can understand because you are new to this, but you're going to have to develop a much tougher skin if you're working with customers.

I've seen a lot of situations much worse than this, and I'm sure you will, too if you stay in this business long enough.

Never let them make you cry. Tune it out and focus on the job and mentally tell them to go screw themselves, but don't let them know they got to you.

[Metody]

She was a bitch.

But if it helps, in the future you might want to stop at 'It isn't working' instead of continuing on to 'I really don't know how to do this'. Once you go past saying it isn't working, you've opened up the way for a bitchy customer to blame you.

And you absolutely should never, ever, under any circumstances, offer to pay for someone else's stuff while you're working. Just don't do it. It can lead to all sorts of problems. Even if its someone you know, don't do it.

[myswtghst]

But if it helps, in the future you might want to stop at 'It isn't working' instead of continuing on to 'I really don't know how to do this'. Once you go past saying it isn't working, you've opened up the way for a bitchy customer to blame you.

Exactly my advice. One of the best lessons I've learned working in customer service is that you never let the customer know that *you* don't know. It just opens the door for abuse, it seems, from jerks and idiots who couldn't do the job themselves anyways. I always act as if I know exactly what I'm doing, and it's the computer that's taking too long.