This woman wants her money!

[Jaden]

You know those Coinstar machines? The ones where you dump all your change in it, it prints out a little slip of paper that you have to redeem for the cash equivalent of your coinage? Well, I dunno about most company's policies, but our policy is that we can't take the slip past 9 PM. The reason for this is that the service desk closes at 9 PM, and they register all the coinstar slips and all that stuff when closing up the service desk. Thus, if we take a coinstar slip and take money out of the register for it, the register is out of balance, and the cashier could get in serious trouble, and even suspected of stealing if they can't account for it. Now, we've had a few people come in and then ask to redeem their slip only to be told they'll have to come back in the morning, but they've all been cool with it. To be fair, we really should put a sign on the front of that Coinstar machine after 9 telling people not to use it.

So, I'm workin closing shift as usual, which means that after 9, service desk is closed, it's just me, the closing cashier, and the closing SCO operator. Probably around 10:30 or so this man walks in and dumps all his coins in the coinstar machine. He gets the slip, asks the SCO operator where he can redeem it, she of course says the service desk is closed, he needs to come back tomorrow. The guy says ok, he understands, and leaves. End of story right? No. You know what they say, hell hath no fury...

So the man comes in, this time being dragged in by a large, strong looking woman who keeps saying over and over again "I want my money!! I want my money! I want my money!" I swear, this woman did not BREATHE, she just kept saying that over and over and over again. At one point, I heard her turn to her husband and say "They're LIEING to you!!!" Yes ma'am, we set up this whole charade about not being able to redeem the Coinstar slip after 9 PM just to infuriate YOU!!! You've found us out!!!

So the SCO operator tries to explain that they cannot do that. The conversation went somethin like this:

SCO = SCO operator (duh )
CRW = Crazy Raving Woman

SCO: Ma'am, I'm sorry but we can't...

CRW: I want my money!!!!!!!

SCO: We can't do that this late...

CRW: I don't care, I want my money!!! This is RIDICULOUS!!!!

SCO: Ma'am, after the service desk closes...

CRW: Shut up and give me my money!! (No joke, she said that!! )

SCO: *now quite rightfully offended* MA'AM, after the service desk CLOSES, we CANNOT ACCEPT THESE!!!!

CRW: At (other Kroger location) they'll call someone in if there's no one here who can do it!

SCO: Well, we don't...

CRW: I want my money!

SCO: If you'll just...

CRW: I WANT MY MONEY! I will call a manager and have your job if you don't get me my money!

SCO: Listen...

CRW: I want my money! I want my money! I want my money!!!

I swear this woman was just totally crazy!!! It was obvious she wouldn't leave if she didn't get her money, which she obviously wanted so very badly, so finally the SCO operator broke down and gave it to her, writing a note at the checkstand to explain what happened. I don't blame her for caving, this woman was a raving psychopath, and the SCO operator never got in trouble for it. I've got to wonder, when did we move to that other Kroger location? I don't recall that ever happening, and if that other Kroger is so wonderful, why the heck wasn't she at that Kroger?! I swear at one point, when the SCO operator went to the register to get their money, I heard the woman turn to her husband and call her "A racist bitch!" (The couple was African-American, SCO operator is white) The entire thing was just so stupid, you'd think we sacrificed her first-born child or something the way she was acting!

[AFpheonix]

Most likely, even if you had a sign up on that thing, she wouldn't have read it, but probably should print on out and tape it on the next shift you're on just to save yourself from getting yelled at too much more.

At least then you could point out the sign to people who insist on doing it anyways.

[Becks]

If it's anything like my store, management wouldn't like the thought of an unauthorized note on the Coinstar machine.



If it makes sense, or otherwise makes the employees' shifts better, it's not allowed.

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

Not defending the crazy psychopath or anything, but it's a bit odd that the cashier doesn't take the coinstar slips. The two coinstar locations that I've used (in a Foodlion and a McKays) gave me a slip that I could take up to the cashier with groceries and get change back from the coinstar slip.

In fact I thought the whole idea of coinstar was that you could use the slip at the register.

But as for the crazy woman...I'd have called the police and explained that since the CS counter is closed, they have to come back in the morning and that I'd be glad to make sure that she gets her money...then ask the police to escort her off the premesis.

Mongo

[erik316wttn]

Being the stubborn sort I am, I'd have let her rant and rave, then smile and wave goodbye as she was dragged out kicking and screaming by the police.

[Jaden]

Well, it's not so much that you can't use them at the register. They don't particularly want you too, but if the service desk was jam packed and a register was free they'd let you do it. It's just that after the service desk closes, they don't want ANYONE taking Coinstar slips, because the registers were balanced along with the coinstar slips being accounted for before closing up the service desk, so if a cashier takes money out of the register past 9 PM without there being records of a sale being rung up, they have to account for that missing money, which means they could be accused of stealing.

[MadMike]

If it makes sense, or otherwise makes the employees' shifts better, it's not allowed.

Tell me about it.

We used to have problems with customers bringing unweighed produce up to the register, and then we'd have to call someone to take it back to the produce department, weigh it, stick a label on it, and bring it back. Our registers didn't have any kind of scales, and the only scale in the whole store was in the produce department.

We figured that at least some of the time, it was an honest mistake on the part of the customers, that they didn't know they needed to have their stuff weighed before they brought it up to the register. So the produce guy put up a fairly large, but polite sign asking people to please have their produce weighed in the produce department.

From what I heard, it was helping a lot, until the manager got wind of it, and made them take it down.

[Strange Magic]

I just left a store managment position and can say that I'm offended that your MOD caved in and gave her anything except a call to the police. I really would have had to wrestle with my better judgement about adding comments that would make the situation worse to boot....
The police would tell her to leave or go to jail after hearing the proper explanation....end of story. Let her take her ravings to corp (who will also ignore it after the situation is explained)

[Luna]

Well, I can understand both sides of the story. I can't understand the woman screaming and hollering - but I would've been upset too.

Companies don't allow signs posted anywhere to make the employees lives easier.

Customers don't read signs anyway - even if they are lit up neon with blinking lights and physically in their way.

Ya can't win.

[Jaden]

She wasn't a MOD, she was just an employee. She has no authority, and quite frankly, knowing the management at our store quite well, I think the employee would have gotten yelled at for not caving had the woman complained. Seriously, even though it's store policy. Our management has a history of crazy things like that, and I don't blame the SCO operator for caving. She did what she thought was right under the circumstances, and she didn't get in trouble for doing it because they understood what happened the night before and had me and the cashier to back her up.

[dispatch]

the sad part is she will probably come back and do it again after 9 and this time say "I've cashed these after 9 before here"

[One-Fang]

... so if a cashier takes money out of the register past 9 PM without there being records of a sale being rung up, they have to account for that missing money, which means they could be accused of stealing.

I still don't get it. Wouldn't the coin star slip in the till account for the missing money?

[phillippbo]

I still don't get it. Wouldn't the coin star slip in the till account for the missing money?

Probably not. They'd make up some cockamamie excuse why it's theft. After all, corporate suits are ALWAYS right.

As far as this woman goes, I'd have let her run off at the mouth for a few minutes, then tell her it could not be done. If she wouldn't shut up, then I'd talk over her explaining that it can't be done. If she continued to verbally assault me, I'd give her one warning to stop or she will be thrown out. If she refused to stop, I'd politely ask her to leave. If she refused to leave, the police would be called to have her removed.

I know it would be like this because I've had this happen to me on a couple of occasions. Phillip. Does. Not. Play.

In this particular situation, if the store management expects me to follow a rule until I encounter resistance, and then do whatever the customer demands, that's functionally equivalent to having no rules at all. (Usually in such cases I refuse to do anything contrary to the rule and request the manager do it.) I refuse to operate under such conditions, especially since I have seen people fired for breaking the rules when the rule was broken because they were told to break it by someone higher up. I would quickly find myself something else to do, even if I had to be unemployed for a bit.

If that's not an option, I feel for you. I'd suggest for your sanity and physical and mental wellbeing to get out of there as quickly as humanly possible.

[AFpheonix]

If it's anything like my store, management wouldn't like the thought of an unauthorized note on the Coinstar machine.



If it makes sense, or otherwise makes the employees' shifts better, it's not allowed.

See, here is about where I just go and do something anyways, operating under the assumption that it's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to ask permission.

Maybe it's just my charming personality, or perhaps that my boss understands that I'm pretty effective, but I never get in trouble for taking initiative.

[ladodger34]

I have a really silly question...

If it is against policy (more or less) to accept Coinstar slips after 9pm, then why the heck is the machine still on?

I wouldn't go postal, but I would probably be a tad bit pissed (especially if there was no sign or anything posted) that I couldn't use the slip or exchange it for cash. If you have the machine and no posted policy, I would expect that I would be able to use the machine as it was intended and get my cash (or groceries).