Um, are you two going to get into a fist fight right in front of my register?

[Despina83]

Okay, so I'm cashiering and a little old lady comes through and pays with her card. She signs the card reader with a real ink pen instead of the pen thing that's attatched to the card reader, so her signature is written on the screen in ink. She promptly gets upset.

"I can't have my name on there. Do you have some soap and water? I'm not leaving until it's off there."

As she scrubs it off using my hand sanitizer, I begin slowly ringing up the next guy's purchases while I'm waiting for her. She doesn't like this.

"Don't go any farther until I get this off here!"

Okay, I stop and wait. She finally gets the ink off. Before I get a chance, the guy next in line quickly steps up to help her load her bags in. He asks her, "Do you have all of the bags?" She doesn't answer, or even thank him. Instead, she ignores him, glares at me and demanded that I give her her name. That's when the guy BLEW UP.

Guy: *to me* "You know, what is it that makes old people think that they don't have to have any manners??!"

Keep in mind that the old lady was standing right next to him when he said this. His wife looked MORTIFIED and hissed, "Stop it!"

Old lady: *taking a few steps forward* "WHAT was that about old people?!"

Guy: "I said what is it that makes old people think they don't have to have any MANNERS?!!"

Then they were both going at it. It felt surreal. They're both arguing at the top of their lungs, the wife looks like she'd love nothing more than for the floor to swallow her up, and I'm looking back and fourth as though I'm watching a fascinating tennis match. I couldn't believe that two customers, er guests, were standing right in front of me arguing like that. I've never seen anything like it. I might expect something like that in Wal-Mart, but I thought our store was of a slightly higher class. I guess I was wrong.

[Evil Queen]

People like to cause a scene?

[Trayol]

Sooooooo...Who won the fight?

[Argabarga]

There's no point in trying to fight an old lady

Win, and what have you accomplished?

Lose, and you'll never live it down!

[clod75]

Happens alot, lol.

I have felt like saying that to older people, but I always keep my trap shut.

And my husband is one who will get his undies in a bunch and start fighting with people too. I felt for this guys wife lol.

[freeatlast]

At the discount tobacco store, I had two customers get into it like that. I wasn't really sure what to do, but I knew I didn't want the two men to get into a fistfight right in front of my register. I finally told them that if they were going to fight "like two little boys" to take it outside and also to never come back into the store. The men stopped, paid for their purchases and left. A woman was standing in line behind them, and it turned out that she was from a church who wanted some of our empty cigar boxes to make into jewelry boxes for members of a teen mothers group. She just stood there looking white as a sheet until they both left. She thanked me for breaking it up - she thought it was really going to escalate. Later, I called my manager and asked how I really should have handled it. She said I handled it just fine and that if it had continued, we would have banned both men from the store. She also said that if they had continued the fight outside, the police should have been called.

[pssorens]

In my store when someone uses a real pen to sign the reader, we just peel off the layer of clear plastic and slap on a new one. unfortunatly, we end up replacing tons because most customers here are neo-luddites and are still having trouble with ATM machines.

the old lady screwed up and shouldn't have forced everyone to wait while she cleaned up her mistake.

[PepperElf]

well i was going to say "Who would EVER write on those electronic pads with real pens?" but... apparently it's more common than i ever considered. wow.


personally i hate them... at least the one i had to use the other day... try to sign it properly and it ends up looking like i was writing while passed out drunk and using my left hand. i much prefer paper where the pen only writes when it touches the paper

[Despina83]

Let me put it this way-we have brand new card readers. Each and every one of them now has signatures written in ink-just like the old ones.

[JLRodgers]

Those machines never seem to work well for me.... they either don't acknoldge half my signature -- or the "pen" is picked up before it touches the pad. I once had to sign my name in the air because the reader was so sensitive it picked it up three inches from the screen! (and they promptly shut down the register after I.... not complained... but mentioned it).

But to sign it with a real pen? Wow....

[powerboy]

personally i hate them... at least the one i had to use the other day... try to sign it properly and it ends up looking like i was writing while passed out drunk and using my left hand. i much prefer paper where the pen only writes when it touches the paper

As do I. I wish that they would get rid of the signature needing ones. And just stick with the pen pad

[Chromatix]

I can understand an "electronic signature" device for couriers, as paper management is more difficult when you're running around in a van. But not in a store. Either use a paper receipt or a proper Chip+PIN system, don't go off half-cocked.

[rerant]

It may have been a surreal tennis match of insanity, but look at the bright side: that guy totally had your back.