Yet More Fitting Room Suck...

[MiddleofNowhere]

The fitting rooms have bit a little more slow since the holidays, but it's amping up with new levels of suck again...

The Players:

Me: MiddleofNowhere
SM: Sucky Mom

SM rolls up to the fitting room area with a cart OVERFLOWING with wintercoats and athletic wear, kind of a strange combo, but whatever. Also in the cart, sitting on our product mind you, was obviously her little boy - about 3-4. The suck starts instantly.
SM (with catbutt face) - '**grunts**wannatrytheseon...'
Me: 'Sure thing, ma'am.' I start picking up the items to count them. 'Okay, you've got 10 items here ma'am. You can take in 6, would you like to leave the coats out here 'til you're done and then we can switch out what you don't want?'
SM (now extreme catbutt face) - 'WHAAAAAAAAAATTTTTT?'
Me: 'We have a limit of six items, ma'am. I'll happily hold these coats out here while you try on the other items.
SM (rolls eyes emphatically while picking up her little boy out of the cart) 'but I wanted to try them all onnnnnnnnn!'
Me: 'You can ma'am. Just holler at me when you're ready and I'll bring you the coats and switch them out for the ahtletic wear.'
SM: **stares at me like I crapped on her carpet ** 'fine...whatever'

SM flounces into our fitting room and tries on the athletic wear. I check on her in a few minutes and ask how she is doing. SM ignores me. A couple minutes later she comes out of the fitting room, leaving all the athletic wear in a pile on the floor and literally dragging the little boy.

Me: 'You ready to try those jackets, ma'am?'
SM: **ignores me as she talks to little boy**'Some people don't know what it's like to shop with kids and have their stupid rules' SM grabs the jackets where I have them hanging and stomps off.
Me:

Seriously? I didn't ask you to leave your child unattended while you did this and the little boy was causing NO trouble whatsoever. I did not know what her major malfunction was. Granted, I'm not a mom, but I heard no obvious problems with the little boy as she was trying them on. I'm starting to think she was a scammer/shoplifter trying to take in more things and hide some to steal.

Hag...

[Nashida]

I'm starting to think it's the same thing, especially if she tried to take the cart in with her. I saw some woman do that yesterday. She didn't get very far.

[poofy_puff]

She could try on the coats without taking them INTO the fitting room.

[MiddleofNowhere]

EXACTLY!!!!

On the outside of our fitting room area we have two HUGE full length mirrors. She could have tried on the coats out there!

No worries - I put LP on her when she left!

[AirHostess]

Can I just say, I love how you are so polite in the USA.

Calling customers ma'am and sir. You don't really get that over here and as a rule I don't address passengers as madam and sir.

[AriRashkae]

Can I just say, I love how you are so polite in the USA.

Calling customers ma'am and sir. You don't really get that over here and as a rule I don't address passengers as madam and sir.

I think it's a bit more individual. My former coworkers (and especially my husband and best friend) knew that when working, I tend to get sweeter and more polite as the situation escalates. Managers knew to step in when I got a Southern accent (I'm born and raised Western NE farm girl ) because the fecal matter was about to hit the fan.

[AirHostess]

I think it's a bit more individual. My former coworkers (and especially my husband and best friend) knew that when working, I tend to get sweeter and more polite as the situation escalates. Managers knew to step in when I got a Southern accent (I'm born and raised Western NE farm girl ) because the fecal matter was about to hit the fan.

LOL.

I love the USA as everyone is so friendly and you get excellent service generally!

[poofy_puff]

I thought San Francisco was very friendly in that sense, but I've only been there once. Have you ever been to Boston or New York? Different story.

[AnaKhouri]

Wow, you were very accommodating, offering to bring her new items and everything. What a bitch!

[HorrorFrogPrincess]

I thought San Francisco was very friendly in that sense, but I've only been there once. Have you ever been to Boston or New York? Different story.

I went to New York this summer for about 5 days. I didn't experience ANY of the legendary New York rudeness.

Actually, I got asked for directions a few times. Maybe I didn't look like a tourist?

[poofy_puff]

OK, maybe NY is not so bad. I think they have a reputation because some of the WORST rudeness happens there, but it's probably only a small percentage of the people doing most of the rudeness!

If you come to Boston (or Cambridge), it's not so much rudeness as it is stupidity. There are so many colleges here; when you have lots of high academic achievers, the every-day per-capita stupidity goes up, along with the entitlement-mindedness. However, I am so used to it that I just go around giving people the dirty look, especially when classes are in session.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Are people really polite in America? XD Whenever I go to London and encounter tourons, the reaction to my refusal to direct them is always the same:

"I thought all English people were polite!"

You thought wrong. Well, I could always direct them wrongly, if they prefer that to a refusal. XD

[simplyanother]

I have a few co-workers who are like the person who said they get sweeter and sweeter as the situation deteriorates. I adore those people.

One of my favorite co-workers has the ability to tell a customer straight to their face how nasty they are being, and the customers don't register it. She's sort of my hero.

I wouldn't doubt the woman was trying to scam the OP.

In real life, I don't address anyone as Ma'am or Sir, it just feels wrong to me. But at work, I do. I have no clue why. Never have called anyone madam though.

I hate it when people ask me for directions, mostly because I can't give them in anyway that would makes sense to anyone who isn't ME. I'm not trying to be rude, but fuck if I want to be responsible for some dumbass getting lost on the interstate.

And relating back to the thread...I've shopped with small children. I've shopped with small children while in an extremely pissy mood. I've shopped with small children, while in an extremely pissy mood at Christmas... and I can't recall ever stomping out because I wasn't allowed to do something that was against the rules...and then blame it on my kids.

I blame everything ELSE on my kids...(but there are only two of them...so it's kind of hard to do, they can't be responsible for everything).

[fireheart]

My thoughts on OP: I would agree with the shoplifting/scamming part. And honestly, if you are gonna take your kids shopping, it would be common sense to at least ask the fitting room person to hold the trolley and take your kid in with you...am I right?

My thoughts otherwise: I address people by ma'am and sir. This one lady though, she HATES being addressed by ma'am and made me call her by her name. I got rid of her quick sharp.

[Chromatix]

Probably the image of British people is from the upper class through literature, and from official publications around wartime. The stereotypical British accent is a form of Received Pronunciation, which cements that image even further.

The fact is, Britain has one heck of a lot of chavs.