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The Coupon Lady
Avid forum reader -- newly registered and first post. Enjoy!
This all occurred while working at a particular chain-craft store which is known for its custom framing. I work solely in the framing department, but I am not allowed to deny customers service outside of the department (make sense? No. Oh well!) Here goes my story of the Coupon Lady, who wasn't quite coherent.
I had just went on my break and was walking into the break room which is right next to my department. I was not wearing anything that symbolized I was working, and sat down to my lunch. This was pretty obvious because I was eating a sandwich and talking on my phone. A customer followed me into the break room, for whatever reason. I ignored her, thinking she perhaps was not a customer, and possibly someone who worked there and I had simply never met her before.
Coupon Lady: Older lady, probably late 50's or early 60's, not yet confronted by her age -- dressed in an all pink jog suit with an annoying puffy vest.
Me: Angry Cas
Coupon Lady: I have been standing here FOREVER and you never helped me.
(mind chew)
Me: I apologize, M'am, but this is the break room and I am on my break.
(that ought to do it...or not)
Coupon Lady: Do you have a coupon?
Me: No...?
(Odd question...I really didn't quite understand what she meant)
Coupon Lady: Where do they have the coupons?
(Here's a shot: maybe the weekly released ones we don't keep in the store!)
Me: In the Sunday newspapers.
Coupon Lady: Will you get me one?
Me: (Ew! Clearly, I am on my break!) We don't keep them in the stores.
Coupon Lady: Well then, can I have yours?
Me: ...I don't have a coupon!
Coupon Lady: If they were in the store, where would they be?
(My guess would be IN SOMEONE ELSE'S HAND who RETRIEVED IT FROM THE PAPER! But here is my mistake: giving her an almost hopeful answer)
Me: We don't keep coupons in the stores for customers. I guess you can check up front, but I don't work up there and I highly doubt they have any.
Coupon Lady: Will you go get me one?
(I promise this was said playfully, and not rudely. Her smile indicated that she wasn't offended by how I said it, but I was getting frustrated by the fact that she just wasn't getting it...)
Me: Not on my break! You can do that when you are ready to check out!
(she laughs a sadistic laugh)
Coupon Lady: Why can't I just have yours?
(very frustrated now...)
Me: I do not have a coupon, M'am.
(Things take a turn from playful to psychotic)
Coupon Lady: I think you are lying to me.
(pause)
Me: Why would I lie to you?
(psychotic to insulting)
Coupon Lady: You don't want to walk up to the front of the store and get me a coupon because you're lazy. This is POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE.
(OK -- now I am genuinely pissed. Not clocked in = absolutely no work. It is a policy everywhere. If I happened to trip and fall on a puddle because no one will fix our leaky roof on my venture up to the very front of the store, from the very back, that could mean a VERY BAD LAWSUIT. It seems unlikely -- but it has happened -- on the clock.)
Me: You're right -- I don't want to walk up there because I know for a fact they don't have any. And I am on my break.
Coupon Lady: (throws her hands in the air and complains about shitty service. She finally leaves the breakroom, and goes out into the framing department with her husband who clearly wants to leave)
The best part about all of this is right after she left, my manager brought me two flyers. My job, being in the framing department, is to drymount the ad and place it at the front of the store so that customers can easily see what is on sale that week. The coupons on these ads are always invalid. As soon as she handed me the ads, I voided out the coupons because I somehow knew this wouldn't be the end of the Coupon Lady. I was walking back into the shop with the flyers in my hands, and she saw me. Oh, great, I think. Here it comes.
(she sneers at me)
Coupon Lady: I thought you didn't have any coupons. Where is your manager?
(ignoring her question)
Me: Technically, I don't.
Coupon Lady: Then what are those?
Me: Michael's property, for advertising.
Coupon Lady: And why can't I have that one? You lied to me.
(I get it now -- she's one of those people who simply doesn't like to be told no. It's OK though, I can handle this
Me: Because it doesn't belong to you.
(The look on her face goes from "why is this service so shitty" to "OH HELL NO." I am satisfied with myself for this.
)
I really thought this would be the end of it, but it wasn't! Apparently, she went up front and complained about me, gave the cashiers a hard time, and so the cash register girls decided to give her the 40% off anyway. And when I say "gave them a hard time," I mean spent 15-minutes holding up an extremely long line, in order to complain to people who have little-to-no authority. I was told later that two of the cashiers laughed at her, and she threatened that we would "lose a customer." Did I mention all she wanted was a cheap frame and a tube of oil paint? Coupon lady returns to my department after this fiasco, this time, disregarding the fact that she had just fought with me for ten minutes about a coupon that 1) didn't have and then 2) was void, if it DID belong to me.
Coupon Lady: *holding a frame* I need this frame.
(Here vague need left only one question to be asked)
Me: ...another one?
Coupon Lady: Yes. You will get it for me. (That was a command, and not a request! The first problem arises. Although this is my department, she is holding an ANCIENT frame that I know is on clearance and moved around generally every 3 days.)
Me: Where did you get it? (It's a dumb question, but I didn't have much faith in her intelligence. I truly thought she would lead me back to the exact place she picked it up.)
Coupon Lady: I thought this was YOUR department. YOU tell ME. And NOW. You close soon.
(!@#$. I have duties that are beyond sales associate, and if I don't meet them by closing, I get yelled at by everyone else because they cannot leave until I am finished up. However, on a whim, I get lucky, and I am able to spot the frame in a matter of seconds. I take it as a sign from God to unleash my overall b*tchiness and frustrations with her attitude)
Me: Yup. It's my department. And my job is to take care of the frames that cost hundreds of dollars, for customers who are respectful and deserving of my time. (I pick up the frame she was looking for from the shelf) This one only costs 4. My name is AngryCas and the manager on duty is MOD. Feel free to pay her a visit. (hand it to her, and start to walk away) Drive safely.
Coupon lady is stunned. She never went to my manager, because her husband was laughing about what I said! I liked him a lot. Throughout the whole ordeal, he seemed to be the only on (silently) on my side. He drug her out of there before she could purchase anything, and thankfully, she vowed never to shop there again.
...unfortunately, she lied. I've seen her twice since. Stay tuned for more Coupon Lady, as the tales ensue.
This all occurred while working at a particular chain-craft store which is known for its custom framing. I work solely in the framing department, but I am not allowed to deny customers service outside of the department (make sense? No. Oh well!) Here goes my story of the Coupon Lady, who wasn't quite coherent.
I had just went on my break and was walking into the break room which is right next to my department. I was not wearing anything that symbolized I was working, and sat down to my lunch. This was pretty obvious because I was eating a sandwich and talking on my phone. A customer followed me into the break room, for whatever reason. I ignored her, thinking she perhaps was not a customer, and possibly someone who worked there and I had simply never met her before.
Coupon Lady: Older lady, probably late 50's or early 60's, not yet confronted by her age -- dressed in an all pink jog suit with an annoying puffy vest.
Me: Angry Cas
Coupon Lady: I have been standing here FOREVER and you never helped me.
(mind chew)
Me: I apologize, M'am, but this is the break room and I am on my break.
(that ought to do it...or not)
Coupon Lady: Do you have a coupon?
Me: No...?
(Odd question...I really didn't quite understand what she meant)
Coupon Lady: Where do they have the coupons?
(Here's a shot: maybe the weekly released ones we don't keep in the store!)
Me: In the Sunday newspapers.
Coupon Lady: Will you get me one?
Me: (Ew! Clearly, I am on my break!) We don't keep them in the stores.
Coupon Lady: Well then, can I have yours?
Me: ...I don't have a coupon!
Coupon Lady: If they were in the store, where would they be?
(My guess would be IN SOMEONE ELSE'S HAND who RETRIEVED IT FROM THE PAPER! But here is my mistake: giving her an almost hopeful answer)
Me: We don't keep coupons in the stores for customers. I guess you can check up front, but I don't work up there and I highly doubt they have any.
Coupon Lady: Will you go get me one?
(I promise this was said playfully, and not rudely. Her smile indicated that she wasn't offended by how I said it, but I was getting frustrated by the fact that she just wasn't getting it...)
Me: Not on my break! You can do that when you are ready to check out!
(she laughs a sadistic laugh)
Coupon Lady: Why can't I just have yours?
(very frustrated now...)
Me: I do not have a coupon, M'am.
(Things take a turn from playful to psychotic)
Coupon Lady: I think you are lying to me.
(pause)
Me: Why would I lie to you?
(psychotic to insulting)
Coupon Lady: You don't want to walk up to the front of the store and get me a coupon because you're lazy. This is POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE.
(OK -- now I am genuinely pissed. Not clocked in = absolutely no work. It is a policy everywhere. If I happened to trip and fall on a puddle because no one will fix our leaky roof on my venture up to the very front of the store, from the very back, that could mean a VERY BAD LAWSUIT. It seems unlikely -- but it has happened -- on the clock.)
Me: You're right -- I don't want to walk up there because I know for a fact they don't have any. And I am on my break.
Coupon Lady: (throws her hands in the air and complains about shitty service. She finally leaves the breakroom, and goes out into the framing department with her husband who clearly wants to leave)
The best part about all of this is right after she left, my manager brought me two flyers. My job, being in the framing department, is to drymount the ad and place it at the front of the store so that customers can easily see what is on sale that week. The coupons on these ads are always invalid. As soon as she handed me the ads, I voided out the coupons because I somehow knew this wouldn't be the end of the Coupon Lady. I was walking back into the shop with the flyers in my hands, and she saw me. Oh, great, I think. Here it comes.
(she sneers at me)
Coupon Lady: I thought you didn't have any coupons. Where is your manager?
(ignoring her question)
Me: Technically, I don't.
Coupon Lady: Then what are those?
Me: Michael's property, for advertising.
Coupon Lady: And why can't I have that one? You lied to me.
(I get it now -- she's one of those people who simply doesn't like to be told no. It's OK though, I can handle this
Me: Because it doesn't belong to you.
(The look on her face goes from "why is this service so shitty" to "OH HELL NO." I am satisfied with myself for this.
)I really thought this would be the end of it, but it wasn't! Apparently, she went up front and complained about me, gave the cashiers a hard time, and so the cash register girls decided to give her the 40% off anyway. And when I say "gave them a hard time," I mean spent 15-minutes holding up an extremely long line, in order to complain to people who have little-to-no authority. I was told later that two of the cashiers laughed at her, and she threatened that we would "lose a customer." Did I mention all she wanted was a cheap frame and a tube of oil paint? Coupon lady returns to my department after this fiasco, this time, disregarding the fact that she had just fought with me for ten minutes about a coupon that 1) didn't have and then 2) was void, if it DID belong to me.
Coupon Lady: *holding a frame* I need this frame.
(Here vague need left only one question to be asked)
Me: ...another one?
Coupon Lady: Yes. You will get it for me. (That was a command, and not a request! The first problem arises. Although this is my department, she is holding an ANCIENT frame that I know is on clearance and moved around generally every 3 days.)
Me: Where did you get it? (It's a dumb question, but I didn't have much faith in her intelligence. I truly thought she would lead me back to the exact place she picked it up.)
Coupon Lady: I thought this was YOUR department. YOU tell ME. And NOW. You close soon.
(!@#$. I have duties that are beyond sales associate, and if I don't meet them by closing, I get yelled at by everyone else because they cannot leave until I am finished up. However, on a whim, I get lucky, and I am able to spot the frame in a matter of seconds. I take it as a sign from God to unleash my overall b*tchiness and frustrations with her attitude)
Me: Yup. It's my department. And my job is to take care of the frames that cost hundreds of dollars, for customers who are respectful and deserving of my time. (I pick up the frame she was looking for from the shelf) This one only costs 4. My name is AngryCas and the manager on duty is MOD. Feel free to pay her a visit. (hand it to her, and start to walk away) Drive safely.
Coupon lady is stunned. She never went to my manager, because her husband was laughing about what I said! I liked him a lot. Throughout the whole ordeal, he seemed to be the only on (silently) on my side. He drug her out of there before she could purchase anything, and thankfully, she vowed never to shop there again.
...unfortunately, she lied. I've seen her twice since. Stay tuned for more Coupon Lady, as the tales ensue.
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