Flexing the Manager Muscles

[Xieg]

Recently, at my primary job, selling pet products over the phone, I was promoted to a supervisory posistion. This means I can tell alot of the worst customers to go suck an egg, and people now send customers to me to tell them that very thing. I am gleeful at the fact I can now use common sense to slap down SC's, and can spring the line "I am a manager" when they start to get uppity and demanding an authority. And here are two stories where those come into play.

I Want This @ 2.99

Lady purches a couple of rhinestone studded hats from us, for dogs ofcourse. They are a clearance item, and are listed at 3.99, original price for this size being 7-8 bucks. She purhcased them at 3.99, which is a decent discount considering. They have been listed at 3.99 for a few weeks on the website. They have never been listed at 2.99, and there are no smaller sizes left in stock that would have been listed at 2.99. I'm not going to put up with this crap, as she is demanding, and has been abusive to other CSRs as notes dictate.

Me - Played by Me.
SC - Played by, entitled money grubbing bitch

SC: Why would I pay 4 dollars for these. I ordered them at 2.99
Me: SC, these have been listed at 3.99 for weeks. You would very likely have been told that when you placed the order, and even if you weren't, that is the price they are listed at.
SC: Well I want them at 2.99, thats what I told the guy who took the order.
Me: And that doesn't really matter, because they have been sold at 3.99, and are going to remain at 3.99 for likely another month or so.
SC: Thats not going to work for me. I want them at 2.99, I want a manager.
Me: *Waiting for this moment all call* Well, SC, I am a manager. I just happen to be taking calls because of the large call volume today. And you are not getting these at 2.99.
SC:... Really?
Me: Yes, really.
SC:... *click*

Spontaneous Generation

Not so much sucky as one of those headdesk moments, but my new found status came in handy none the less. Lady had ordered flea top spot medication for her dogs and cats. Anyone who uses something like this knows that it will kill fleas, but its not a perfect anti-flea weapon. The flea has to bite the animal first. The following ensues.

Me - Encore performance
BIF - Biologically Impaired Woman

BIF: I have been using *flea med* for 14 years now, I bathed him and I put some on him on Friday. Wednesday he began scratching, and I bathed him tonight and he was covered in fleas! I want a refund.
Me: So for 14 years, you have not had a problem, and he had no fleas on Friday, and he got them on Wednesday, and you want a refund because of this?
BIF: Yes.
Me: Miss, while I understand what you are saying, *flea med* does take 24 to 48 hours to kill fleas. It cannot kill them until they bite the dog. If he was scratching on Wednesday, and you bathed him on Thursday, that has only been about 24 hours. They would have died between then and tomorrow.
BIF: But where did they come from? It is supposed to keep them off the dog.
Me: Well, he had to come in contact with a local source, either along his usual walking route when you walk him or in your yard. That is, ofcourse, excluding your house as an option, as you would have noticed an infestation there.
BIF: That can't be, our neighbourhood does not have fleas. I want a manager.
Me: Miss, I am a manager, and I can tell you, with *flea med* or not, fleas do not spontaneously generate. Your dog absolutely has to have come in contact with fleas some how. We cannot give you a refund for this, as it is likely still doing its job.
BIF: Oh. Okay. Thankyou *click*

Ofcourse, I could be wrong. She may have the first modern case of spontaneous generation of complex life forms. I should do a study on her dog, and get out of the CS business.

[IT Grunt]

Ofcourse, I could be wrong. She may have the first modern case of spontaneous generation of complex life forms. I should do a study on her dog, and get out of the CS business.

If fleas have invented transporters, we're all in trouble.

"Target dog within scanner range, Captain."
"Scan for any environmental threats."
"Scan negative, Captain."
"Prepare the away team. Tell them to bring plenty of plasma extraction units."
"Coordinates locked, Captain. We'll set you down near the equatorial region."
"Energize."

[Fawn]

Completely filled with WIN!!

[Sheldonrs]

Kind of funny getting TICKed about fleas.

[Dips]

That can't be, our neighbourhood does not have fleas.

That would have had me lauging out loud at the customer.

"Ma'am, I assure you fleas aren't snobs. To them, your neighborhood is just as good as the nicer neighborhoods."

[poofy_puff]

My ex-friend, the same woman with the wanna-be-vegetarian daughter, sent her cat up to the vet with me (I get a rescue-discount and she's kind of poor) and the vet found fleas (embarrassing me), so they put Advantage on him and gave me another tube for her other cat (free to her). She told me that "There are no FLEAS in THIS HOUSE. I'm from FLORIDA. I KNOW what fleas look like. Etc Etc blahblahblah"... I didn't listen to the rest of her voice-mail, and I have not returned her calls since this episode.

We are in Massachusetts. There are NO FLEAS in THIS STATE (?!?!?!)

[friendofjimmyk]

I Want This @ 2.99

Lady purches a couple of rhinestone studded hats from us, for dogs ofcourse.

Yeah, that's where this lady loses any ground with me.

[Geek King]

Fleas are not a stigma. My cat picked them up during my move a couple years ago. Never had them before, and (after treatment) hasn't had them since. We still can't figure out where they came from, as the new apartment didn't show any signs of infestation, and none of my friends helping out reported flea bites.* Ah well, she's settled now, and flea free for about twenty months now.

*Cat got transported on the third day of the process, when most of the stuff got moved. Several people had been working in the new place, and been on the floor. Hungry fleas had plenty of time to nosh on one of us..

[Alpha Strike]

My ex-friend, the same woman with the wanna-be-vegetarian daughter, sent her cat up to the vet with me (I get a rescue-discount and she's kind of poor) and the vet found fleas (embarrassing me), so they put Advantage on him and gave me another tube for her other cat (free to her). She told me that "There are no FLEAS in THIS HOUSE. I'm from FLORIDA. I KNOW what fleas look like. Etc Etc blahblahblah"... I didn't listen to the rest of her voice-mail, and I have not returned her calls since this episode.

We are in Massachusetts. There are NO FLEAS in THIS STATE (?!?!?!)

Since I'm not a pet owner, I don't understand: why was this episode embarrassing for you? Does an animal having fleas somehow translate into "Pet Owner is a bad bad person" or something equally unsavory?

[Nephy]

I recently was promoted, and just got to have my first 'Managment trump card' moment.

My first name is Jennifer, and being a common name, we happen to have another Jennifer working at the store (shocking, I know)

Jennifer answers the phone, but is too busy with customers to take the call, so she has me take it.

I get on the phone with the usual "Thank you for holding, this is Jennifer, how can I help you?" The woman gets bitchy and says "Yes Jennifer, I asked you to look for that radio for me" in a very very snotty tone.
I reply in a slightly snotty tone "This is Jennifer's manager.. Jennifer. She asked me to take the phone call for her. Now how can I help you?"
I think I could hear the woman blushing.

[Slytovhand]

Kind of funny getting TICKed about fleas.

<sigh> <groan> (but only cos it needs to be 10 characters...)

[poofy_puff]

Since I'm not a pet owner, I don't understand: why was this episode embarrassing for you? Does an animal having fleas somehow translate into "Pet Owner is a bad bad person" or something equally unsavory?

The reason it was embarrassing for me is because I am a foster home for rescue and I know how to keep the cats flea-free. I had asked my "friend" if she needed any of the flea-control products we have. She said "Oh no, my cats stay indoors, they don't have fleas, if they did we'd know it." So, yes, in my case, fleas DO translate to "Pet Owner should know better and fleas = negligence". Of course, I didn't get in TROUBLE for this; but the cat had originally been sent to the vet because it was eating a lot but losing weight, only to find that he also had something so easily preventable as fleas, and then his person WOULDN'T EVEN ADMIT IT. I saw the cat after the vet visit where all the fat, dying fleas were rising to the top of his long, white fur, and NO WAY does a cat get like that after one day. I realize that they can get fleas from anywhere, but I picked up the cat from her house and brought him straight to the vet. They do NOT get FULL of FAT FLEAS in that amount of time under those circumstances (assuming that there could have been some extra fleas in the car or whatever). Sorry, I see spots before my eyes just thinking about it.

Besides, the correct answer would have been:

"OMG, my cat has fleas. What can I do about it? What about my other cat(s)?"

Like as if: "OMG, my kid has diaper rash. What should I do to get rid of it and how do I prevent it from happening again?"

NOT: "You don't know what you're talking about. There are no fleas / diaper rashes in THIS HOUSE."

Animals don't just itch from the flea bites. Fleas can cause anemia (usually fatal in newborn kittens) and they can transmit diseases and parasites (such as tapeworms, which can cause the animal to lose weight and other things).

It is very embarrassing when I'm trying to be a poster-child for proper care of pets and I have a so-called friend whom I am trying to help who can't even get the fundamental basics. Sure, I bring stray cats in for rescue who have fleas, but we GET RID OF THEM and don't try to pretend like they weren't there at all. If she had told me there were fleas I'd have treated the cat prior to the vet or have TOLD the vet about it myself. But it was embarrassing to have the vet find them and tell ME.

[Kyree]

Fleas like to jump. They're SO easy to get, unfortunately
My cats are indoor cats. They're actually terrified of going out. But they still managed to get fleas. Neighbors' cat was an outside cat. Neighbors' cat got fleas, and came inside. Gave fleas to his owners. His owners' kids came to my house for 5 minutes, patted my kitty. And all three of mine got it from that They're like headlice x10000. I couldn't stand watching my poor cats with them for only a few days....I can't imaging letting my pets just sit there with those things on them, making them sick.....

If the cat had them that long, I bet you anything the people in that house had them too.

[Xieg]

If fleas have invented transporters, we're all in trouble.

"Target dog within scanner range, Captain."
"Scan for any environmental threats."
"Scan negative, Captain."
"Prepare the away team. Tell them to bring plenty of plasma extraction units."
"Coordinates locked, Captain. We'll set you down near the equatorial region."
"Energize."

I don't know why, but I see the away team not having a single redshirt the way this lady speaks of them. They didn't die on contact with the surface, so they must have been all above ensign level.

Yeah, that's where this lady loses any ground with me.

Same here. Not only do things like that look stupid on humans, they are twice so when put on a dog.


As far as fleas are concerned, they are easy to notice relativley quickly. This dog had them for 2 days, tops, and he was scratching and biting. Anyone who is attentive to their pet will notice something is wrong. Taking it to the vet for one problem, and having this pop up, is embarrasing for any good pet owner. Its easy to spot before it becomes a real infestation, easy to stop in the early stages, but a real bitch to remove once they become entrenched. This lady was lucky she noticed something was wrong and gave the dog a bath. Given a few days, she would have been calling for A). A refund and B). Room foggers.