LISTEN to my words... they might be imporant.

[Lingering Grin]

Ok, our bowling alley has 64 lanes. The front desk sits directly in front of lanes 26 - 30.

Background: Saturday mornings I have no concourse until 11am (I get in at 8am), which means during these times if anything goes wrong with a lane, other than a mechanical problem, (stuff like pins in the lane, or the ball doesn't make it all the way down, or if they need the bumpers put up) *I'M* the one that has to go and do it.

Second, when we have birthday parties scheduled, we have to have EVERYONE off the lanes that the parties are using at least an hour before hand. So, if the party is at noon, we can't use those lanes after 11am.

This lady comes in with her grandson around 10:30. First of all, she's yakking away on her cell phone. She's not listening to what I'm saying, and won't let me get a word in edge wise.

She wants to bowl for an hour. (From 10:30 - 11:30, remember I can't use B-Day lanes after 11.)

She asks if I can put her on lane 1 because her grandson likes that lane. Well lane one is out in the middle of nowhere AND it's being used for a birthday party later. So I ask if I can put her closer because I have no concourse right now and it's easier on me.

*Remember, she's yakking on her cell too

Her: "Ok, how bout lane 6?"
Yeah... that's a LOT closer...
Me: "How about 26?"
Which, you know, is right in front of me.
Her: "Lane 6 is good."
Me: "I can put you on 26."
Her: "So we can have lane 6?"
Me: "I can put you on TWENTY-six."
Her: "Ok, lane 6 will work."
Me (thinking): "Bitch, I'm about to slap you."
Me: *audible sigh* *Throw hands up, and shake head* "Whatever, just go to six."
I just wanted her out of my face at that point, it was too damn early in the morning, and I had to much to do, to stand there and argue with her.

So i walk all the way down there to put the bumpers up, making it a point to display how aggravated I was with the task. I even slammed the bumper-stick (A piece of rebar with a chunk of rubber stuck on one end) down on a table near them. I really didn't care if she was put off at that point. I WANTED her to be, maybe she'd get the hint and actually LISTEN TO WHAT I SAY.

Later on, the manager did scold me for having someone on those lanes past 11 o'clock, until I related the story to her. She just rolled her eyes and understood WHY I did it.

To top it off, a guy comes in after her with 3 kids, and doesn't know ANY of their shoe-sizes. He even picked the little one up and showed me his foot, as if I'd actually know what size shoe the kid actually wear just by looking at it.
(He also needed the ball-ramp, which I didn't mind getting except for the fact that I had to walk all the way down to the other end of the bowling alley and into the back room to get it... more frustrating than anything.)

Luckily I won't have this problem anymore, because they hired a new guy to work concourse on weekend mornings, and he's able to start at 8
(The other guy they had doing it bowled in a league on Saturday mornings, so while he was there, he wasn't able to work until 11am)

[BookstoreEscapee]

DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE WORDS THAT ARE COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH?!

I WANTED her to be, maybe she'd get the hint and actually LISTEN TO WHAT I SAY.

If she couldn't be bothered to listen to your words, I doubt she even noticed the rest...

[king4aday]

I would have just said "Im sorry Im interrupting your conversation miss...I will be happy to help you once you are finished with your call."

This is what I typically do where I work.

[mattm04]

If I am trying to help a SC who is too busy w/ their cell phone call I will just stand silently waiting for them to hang up before I say anything. If they want to bark random thing at me I will write down and assume that is what they want to order. If the above fails, I have been know to walk away as a last resort.

[marasbaras]

That's would I would suggest. Just don't say anything until they hang up. And, if they get snotty, just say you were trying to be polite and not interrupt their important phone call.

[powerboy]

Once when I was working at OfficeMax, I was helping a customer with everything that he needed. While I was in the back room bring out something. He had received/called his wife. Well I brought that product out and I stopped where he was. As soon as I stopped, he told his wife that a idiot employee was evesdropping and that he had better go. I dropped his product, which was unbreakable into his cart. I thought , I helped you and you insult me. Fuck you then. The best was my manager had heard him insult me, and when he checked out. The manager took over and told not to insult his employees again and that he was banned from OfficeMax for 6 months. And also not to bother with the other one located on the other side of town.

[marasbaras]

I might've taken the product BACK into the back room and disappeared.

[Boochan]

The manager took over and told not to insult his employees again and that he was banned from OfficeMax for 6 months. And also not to bother with the other one located on the other side of town.

Nice to hear about another manager with balls.
Same thing is done here, when we've had customers complain unjustifiably against my colleagues in a rude manner, we will refuse any further service and ban them. We had one when it was just me and the AM, and another one of the newer saturday casuals.. SC had called asking for some kind of handheld game, we told them we had them in stock but not in the store (in the middle of renovations), she comes in later and demands why we don't have it in here.. she goes off, comes back later and when we still don't have it in she really goes off (over a $20 game), and accuses us of all been lazy, slow and rude. We eventually kicked her out after letting her scream at us for a couple of minutes, and she called the store the following Monday to try and complain more, she was just further informed she was no longer welcome in our store..

[Slytovhand]

Once when I was working at OfficeMax, I was helping a customer with everything that he needed. While I was in the back room bring out something. He had received/called his wife. Well I brought that product out and I stopped where he was. As soon as I stopped, he told his wife that a idiot employee was evesdropping and that he had better go. I dropped his product, which was unbreakable into his cart. I thought , I helped you and you insult me. Fuck you then. The best was my manager had heard him insult me, and when he checked out. The manager took over and told not to insult his employees again and that he was banned from OfficeMax for 6 months. And also not to bother with the other one located on the other side of town.

That was the coolest!!! Wish I had management like that....

Closest I heard is one of our operators had a hard call, and was apparently getting tear-ey... so one the TL's (the hardest nastiest one we had), put her on hold and took the headset off her and demanded of the caller to know "Why is my agent in tears? What have you been saying to her?"...too bad I only heard this 3rd hand.