Last Tuesday seemed like it was going to be a great evening at work: the sun was shining, the store was nearly empty, and it was the day before my birthday (Forecast called for Cupcakes!).
Italics will be used to distinguish what I heard from others and saw on camera later that night.
~3:00: Psycho woman (PW) enters the store. PW ignores all employees' attempts to greet/help her and instead plops herself on a chair that customers use during Bare Minerals makeup application. Two coworkers and a manager offer assistance to the hellbeast, but are told to "go away," "leave me alone", and "I don't like you."
~3:25: PW lurches across the store to get a basket, knocking over several items from a nearby display.
~3:45: PW is seen attempting to shove several non-clearance items into a plastic case holding a clearance blanket. This is seen by a stock person, who promptly tells management. PW is monitored on cameras. PW lumbers back to the Minerals area and sits on the chair.
~3:55: NC (who does not know that PW is a potential thief) gives her spiel, asks customer what she's looking for today.
PW: "I don't like you! I want someone else."
NC: (Confused) Well, ma'am, I'm sorry to say that no one else is available.
NC tells me later that this conversation went on at least 2 more times before the PW settled down and just muttered to herself. Afterward, NC let PW borrow her pen to write down foundation colors used and application directions, etc...
4:00: I show up to work and begin ringing up customers.
~4:30, the truck with load arrived and all of the employees go to the back room to unload, save myself (running the lone cash register) and nice coworker (NC) on the floor.
~4:40: PW finally makes it to the line where I'm finishing up with a customer. NC walks behind me to get something. I call PW up to my register. As NC goes to leave the register area, she pats her pockets and realized that PW still has NC's pen. NC turns back and moves next to me and parallel to PW.
PW
-----counter-----
NC Me!
NC: Ma'am, I'm sorry, but I left my pen with you, if I could just have it back...
The PW turns and THROWS the pen at NC!
NC:
then:
"Excuse me? Why did you do that!"
Me:
PW: "I told you to leave me alone, I really don't like you!"
NC: Ex-cuse me?!?
I should probably note that PW is not a tiny woman, but larger than both me and NC. Curiously, she has a large bruise on the left side of her lower cheek, next to her mouth. Throughout the whole event, she tries to use her size to intimidate us, pounding her fist on the table, slamming the basket. NC is still stunned, and getting visibly pissed off. I myself ease back when I notice that PW is pulling heavy aerosol bottles of product from her hidey-hole in the clearance blanket bag. Granted, if she had thrown anything at me, I would probably whip it back reflexively, but I was certainly not going to jump over the counter and get into a land war with this beast.
PW: (yelling at me) Aren't you going to ring me up?
Me: No frickin' way! You just threw something at my coworker, there is no way you can make me get close enough to you so that you can throw something at me too! Absolutely not!"
At this point, a nearby shopper, nicknamed Ms. Feisty in my head, who had witnessed the whole thing came charging up.
MF:
"What in the hell is wrong with you? Attacking young girls! You need to act like an adult!"
PW: Mind your own business!
Me: Yeah, she just needed her pen back, you didn't have to throw it at her!
MF, Me, and NC continued to spar with PW until the manager got to the front. I was mainly hoping we could run her out of the store. Although, once I told PW that I would not help her and that a manager was on her way, PW immediately pulled out her "contraband".
Manager arrived, NC went back onto the floor. We told the manager the situation. PW is being rung up and berated at the same time by Manager, who tells her it is disgusting to do that to anyone, especially employees.
MF: "And you need to apologize to that girl!" Beckons NC up front. "Ok, here she is, now apologize."
PW: "I can't stand her, and you need to mind your own business!" Gets her stuff and leaves.
I gave, with my manager's permission, MF a 20% discount on her items. She didn't have to do anything, but she kept PW distracted long enough for us to get a manager and offered her info as a witness if we needed her. If I see her again, I will gladly give her another freebie.
Later that night, we reviewed the tapes, put together a sequence of what happened, and, after determining that it was not the result of employee wrongdoing, printed her picture and banned PW from our store!
Italics will be used to distinguish what I heard from others and saw on camera later that night.
~3:00: Psycho woman (PW) enters the store. PW ignores all employees' attempts to greet/help her and instead plops herself on a chair that customers use during Bare Minerals makeup application. Two coworkers and a manager offer assistance to the hellbeast, but are told to "go away," "leave me alone", and "I don't like you."
~3:25: PW lurches across the store to get a basket, knocking over several items from a nearby display.
~3:45: PW is seen attempting to shove several non-clearance items into a plastic case holding a clearance blanket. This is seen by a stock person, who promptly tells management. PW is monitored on cameras. PW lumbers back to the Minerals area and sits on the chair.
~3:55: NC (who does not know that PW is a potential thief) gives her spiel, asks customer what she's looking for today.
PW: "I don't like you! I want someone else."
NC: (Confused) Well, ma'am, I'm sorry to say that no one else is available.
NC tells me later that this conversation went on at least 2 more times before the PW settled down and just muttered to herself. Afterward, NC let PW borrow her pen to write down foundation colors used and application directions, etc...
4:00: I show up to work and begin ringing up customers.
~4:30, the truck with load arrived and all of the employees go to the back room to unload, save myself (running the lone cash register) and nice coworker (NC) on the floor.
~4:40: PW finally makes it to the line where I'm finishing up with a customer. NC walks behind me to get something. I call PW up to my register. As NC goes to leave the register area, she pats her pockets and realized that PW still has NC's pen. NC turns back and moves next to me and parallel to PW.
PW
-----counter-----
NC Me!
NC: Ma'am, I'm sorry, but I left my pen with you, if I could just have it back...
The PW turns and THROWS the pen at NC!
NC:


Me:

PW: "I told you to leave me alone, I really don't like you!"
NC: Ex-cuse me?!?
I should probably note that PW is not a tiny woman, but larger than both me and NC. Curiously, she has a large bruise on the left side of her lower cheek, next to her mouth. Throughout the whole event, she tries to use her size to intimidate us, pounding her fist on the table, slamming the basket. NC is still stunned, and getting visibly pissed off. I myself ease back when I notice that PW is pulling heavy aerosol bottles of product from her hidey-hole in the clearance blanket bag. Granted, if she had thrown anything at me, I would probably whip it back reflexively, but I was certainly not going to jump over the counter and get into a land war with this beast.
PW: (yelling at me) Aren't you going to ring me up?
Me: No frickin' way! You just threw something at my coworker, there is no way you can make me get close enough to you so that you can throw something at me too! Absolutely not!"
At this point, a nearby shopper, nicknamed Ms. Feisty in my head, who had witnessed the whole thing came charging up.
MF:

PW: Mind your own business!
Me: Yeah, she just needed her pen back, you didn't have to throw it at her!
MF, Me, and NC continued to spar with PW until the manager got to the front. I was mainly hoping we could run her out of the store. Although, once I told PW that I would not help her and that a manager was on her way, PW immediately pulled out her "contraband".
Manager arrived, NC went back onto the floor. We told the manager the situation. PW is being rung up and berated at the same time by Manager, who tells her it is disgusting to do that to anyone, especially employees.
MF: "And you need to apologize to that girl!" Beckons NC up front. "Ok, here she is, now apologize."
PW: "I can't stand her, and you need to mind your own business!" Gets her stuff and leaves.
I gave, with my manager's permission, MF a 20% discount on her items. She didn't have to do anything, but she kept PW distracted long enough for us to get a manager and offered her info as a witness if we needed her. If I see her again, I will gladly give her another freebie.
Later that night, we reviewed the tapes, put together a sequence of what happened, and, after determining that it was not the result of employee wrongdoing, printed her picture and banned PW from our store!
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