Leftover stories from Xmas Eve

[RammsteinGirl]

Seeing as I haven't posted in a long time, I'll post some experiences that I had working Christmas Eve 1-10 PM. We didn't really have any sucky customers and it was uneventful for the most part, but there's a few that stick out in my mind.

Had a young teen girl come up to me, she's maybe 13-14 years old or so. She's holding a tube of Maybelline jelly lip gloss and she asks me if it is okay for customers to TRY ON cosmetics before they buy them. I was like, no.. sorry. And she asked me why? I told her, erm, well.. it would just be unsanitary if you try on a product and then decide you don't like it and put it back on the shelf. I was pretty bewildered, I mean, it's pretty obvious WHY you wouldn't be allowed to try on cosmetics without buying them first! And she wasn't a young child, she was old enough to understand this. The only thing I could think of is that maybe she was mentally handicapped in some way.

We still had customers rushing in to shop 30 minutes before we closed! People were still calling electronics to see if X digital camera/mp3 player/gadget was still in stock and yelling at the electronics associate when it wasn't (duh, idiots, it's Xmas Eve! YOU'VE ONLY HAD ALL FRIGGIN' YEAR!).

The last hour we were open I was helping straighten back in toys. My feet and back were hurting me pretty bad and at that point I didn't give a shit anymore, so I was just casually going along straightening stuff on the shelves and shooting the shit with my co-workers. In the meantime, a young lady frantically comes up to us and asks us if we had guitar hook-ups (I'm guessing she meant like cables that go from the guitar to the amp or something). We seriously doubted that we carried anything like that in stock because it IS Kmart, and the most we ever carry in the way of musical instruments is maybe a keyboard or a cheapo guitar. But being helpful, we look all over electronics and toys to no avail. When it becomes clear that we don't have what she's looking for, she almost tearfully tells us that that was all her husband wanted for Christmas. I felt bad for the lady but jesus, why wait to go Xmas shopping for your hubby 20 min before the last store in town closes, when you could have went to Guitar Center when it was open and gotten what you wanted in like 5 seconds!

Well that was it for my Xmas Eve at the K. I actually don't mind working the holidays because we're usually well-staffed (overstaffed, even) and that makes for a more pleasant working experience overall. It's after the holidays that usually suck ass when they cut hours down to nothing and we're extremely shorthanded.

[PepperElf]

I was pretty bewildered, I mean, it's pretty obvious WHY you wouldn't be allowed to try on cosmetics without buying them first! And she wasn't a young child, she was old enough to understand this. The only thing I could think of is that maybe she was mentally handicapped in some way.

unless she was hoping for a tester i guess. though that's usually something you find in the bigger makeup stores, not in kmart

[Crazeyal]

Eh... a little slow.. but Handicapped???

That's a bit unkind. Plenty of adults never get the mental picture that the world does not revolve around them. The sad fact is that people need to be TOLD (and reminded) that simply because they don't see evidence of the owner's bills, the stuff they see costs MONEY. Nothing gets shipped and thrown out if not sold.

And comon..

What teenager YOU know thought beyond their own needs?

[Boozy]

Eh... a little slow.. but Handicapped???

That's a bit unkind.

Au contraire! If anything, I think she was being too kind by assuming that a genuine disability is the only thing that could cause a teenager to be so clueless.

Seriously though, we weren't there and RammsteinGirl was. Perhaps the girl's general demeanor pointed to some sort of disability.

[Mighty Girl]

Sounds like a narcissist. I mean please- you expect her to spend FOUR WHOLE DOLLARS on something without knowing first if it''s a sure thing??? If she wants to try testers, she needs to be shopping for Clinique or Estee Lauder, not drugstore lip gloss.

I actually wasn't surprised at all about your post though- I've had people try to return panties, hosiery and earrings, and were just stunned beyond belief that it wasn't acceptable.

[zzapp the witch]

I'm surprised that you wouldn't think that the girl just didn't know! I don't wear makeup for the most part, and there are some stores where I would ask if they had testers......sometimes its obvious, sometimes it isn't. At least she asked the question.....

[RammsteinGirl]

Eh... a little slow.. but Handicapped???

That's a bit unkind. Plenty of adults never get the mental picture that the world does not revolve around them. The sad fact is that people need to be TOLD (and reminded) that simply because they don't see evidence of the owner's bills, the stuff they see costs MONEY. Nothing gets shipped and thrown out if not sold.

And comon..

What teenager YOU know thought beyond their own needs?

Oh jeez, sounds like I struck a nerve. I'm sorry but the girl's general demeanor was kind of odd, but maybe she was just shy. I worded it as nicely as I could. I could've said "dumbass kid" or something but I didn't. I was just putting a THEORY out there because I don't know the girl personally. No need to get so offended, damn! I knew from the time I was a little kid that when Mom went into the cosmetics section to pick out makeup, I wasn't supposed to open anything..

[Alpha Strike]

Sounds like a narcissist. I mean please- you expect her to spend FOUR WHOLE DOLLARS on something without knowing first if it''s a sure thing??? If she wants to try testers, she needs to be shopping for Clinique or Estee Lauder, not drugstore lip gloss.

I actually wasn't surprised at all about your post though- I've had people try to return panties, hosiery and earrings, and were just stunned beyond belief that it wasn't acceptable.

So I understand why panties and hosiery couldn't be returned but why not earrings?

[Sylvia727]

So I understand why panties and hosiery couldn't be returned but why not earrings?

Ear infections can be transmitted through the crud that gets stuck on there. Only reason I can think of, and it still doesn't make sense. Just douse them with rubbing alcohol!

[Geek King]

Ear infections can be transmitted through the crud that gets stuck on there. Only reason I can think of, and it still doesn't make sense. Just douse them with rubbing alcohol!

My sister and mother wore earrings quite a bit, and I remember that they were always sold as no returns. It may even be a health and safety law in these parts, but as I don't wear earrings, I'm not sure on that.

[Shironu-Akaineko]

What teenager YOU know thought beyond their own needs?

I did.

The sad part is, my first social worker was pissed that I wasn't more selfish...

[Broomjockey]

So I understand why panties and hosiery couldn't be returned but why not earrings?

Bloodborne diseases which aren't guaranteed to be destroyed in any sanitizing that a store could do. Mostly Hep from what I know, though there are others that are a concern.

[Rine]

Hey RammsteinGirl, so how are things on the bluelight side now that the company is being "restructured?" Is the restructuring going to effect your side? Oh yeah, did you hear that our CEO got the boot? (but he's leaving with 23 million dollars!! )

Glad to see that your X-mas Eve was uneventful; so many times it seems like the very worst happens on that Eve, at least in my experience.

edit: hope you don't mind me asking you. It's not every day I get to talk with a K-mart person...it's like you are an endangered species, at least around here.