No cuts!

[Mara-chan]

Today's sucky customer reminds me of more ranting.... so on with the story first.


We sell desk calendars. Some aren't very cheap, they range from $5-18. Today we were busy in spurts, one minute we were dead, the next 20 people were wanting to be checked out.

So this SC comes up with some calendars. I start ringing them up and he doesn't like the price of one of them. Tehre's about 2-3 people in line behind him.
<SC> How much was that?
<me> $16.99.
<SC> The sign said $12.99.
<me> Well, they do get mixed up pretty easily and...
<SC> This is rediculous. *I'LL* go check the price.

So he stomps off to go look at the calendars again, leaving his other stuff. By now, I've got 5 customers in my line, another line is open with 4 people in it. Sudden burst time again. I finish up with my customer and he jumps up and plops the calendars on my counter. I pick up the calendars and hand them back to him.

<me> I'm sorry, you'll have to wait in line, these people have been waiting.
<SC> You mean *I* have to wait in line AGAIN?
<me> Yes!
<SC> *hurumph* Just give me my stuff!

I hand him the stuff and he goes off somewhere. I think he was trying to go check out at Copy Center, but when they get tied up they can't check anyone out. Eventually he came back to my line... and he was a bit more subdued.

I guess after trying to cut in line and failing then trying to jump between lines he ended up taking even longer than if he just waited in line in the first place.


It's not the first time people have tried that. We had a long line the other day and a customer just walked in front of other customers. The other customers actually told him off. I laughed.


And then there's the ones who "just have one question." I hate these people. Our service desk is a box, our front door is behind me to the right, to the direct right is a small counter that we're supposed to greet people over, but people just like to ask questions over.

Many many many times customers walk in and see my side and butt in asking where something is or "where do I return this" or some other crappy question. I've been in the middle of talking to a customer and had people butt in like that. I've even had customers demand I walk them to where something is while I'm in the middle of checking out a line of people!

Just have some friggin respect and manners! Wait until we're done talking or at least say "excuse me" before you blurt out your dumbass question like "Where's ink" when there's a 4' sign 10 feet in front of you.

I've even had customers stand to my right, just BARELY on the edge of my peripheral vision waiting to ask one of their all-important dumbass quesitons while I have a line of 4 people to check out. I just conveniently never turn my head to the side until they get the hint and at least walk up in front where the other customers are.



I hate people.

[Cat]

The worst line cutters I have seen was in the watch store. This woman has brought her stuff to the checkout, a bit off to the side, and said she was just deciding what to get. No worries, I rang a few people out (a line had formed while she was up there) I still had a line, when she announced, "I'm ready!"

She didn't like it when she had to to back to the end of the line, I didn't do "holds." haha

Why is it so hard to understand the concept of line, and waiting in these line properly?? Did we not learn this in kindergarten??

[I_Hate_SCs]

Why is it so hard to understand the concept of line, and waiting in these line properly?? Did we not learn this in kindergarten??

Exactly. It isn't hard to realize that once you leave the line, you aren't in it anymore. That means if you were #1 in line, and you leave, you must go to the back when you return!

This happened to me one time in the drive-thru line at the Chick-Fil-A fast food restaurant. This white van simply pulled in front of me after I ordered and went up to the drive thru window. I honked my horn because I was like 'wtf' because who cuts in a drive thru line after the point where you order? Come to find out the line cutters got the wrong food and wanted to get it right. Fair enough, but didn't you think they would PARK and GO INSIDE to exchange the food, or, gasp, go to the back of the drive thru line like everyone else? Cutting in a line like that unexpectedly is one easy way to get into an accident, especially if you catch the person who is starting to drive forward to the drive thru window off guard and enter unnanounced like it was for me. The dolt who did this is probably the same kind who will not look and enter a busy intersection, get into an accident, then get furious and point fingers when their car gets totaled in an accident.

[Pagan]

Why is it so hard to understand the concept of line, and waiting in these line properly?? Did we not learn this in kindergarten??

Apparently not. At the pharmacy, it's just like the damn bank or post office people! There might be multiple registers/tellers but there is only one damn line!

And don't get me started on the "quick question" crowd. It. Never. Is.

[Jay 2K Winger]

I have had people who don't have a membership card/left their card at home/their card was invalid, and I had to send them over to Member Services to get their card situation straightened out. (Note: I cannot ring anyone out without a membership card or a pass from the Member Services desk.) When this happens, I ALWAYS clear their items off the belt and into their cart, and push it out of line-- usually parking it next to one of the free-standing displays we have near the front line.

By parking it there, they are not parked next to the line, where they can try to jump back in. If the customer has a spouse or someone to stand guard with their cart, fine, but I tell them, "I have to put it back here, so I can help other customers." And if they ask, I tell them they have to go to the end of the line when they get their card/pass.

Especially when it's a weekend, and we're busy. You ain't going to cut in front of everyone else in my line.

[mandaliz8704]

Oh, I hate the "Where's the ink?" people.

It's about 10 feet in ---> that direction. There is nothing in between the desk and the ink. Look to your right, people.

[Mara-chan]

Oh, I hate the "Where's the ink?" people.

It's about 10 feet in ---> that direction. There is nothing in between the desk and the ink. Look to your right, people.

Our store layout:

Walk in front door. DIRECTLY ahead is a big L shaped structure FILLED with HP ink. Big sign talking about ink. Island in front filled with ink. Stanchion sign mentioning ink. Another sign to the left talking about ink recycling. A little to the left of that the same setup but with the other brands of ink mirrored.

Every day "Where's your HP ink?"

People don't look or read.


If I'm in another store there's only been 2 times when I didn't really look first for help finding something.
1) When I was sick and needed to find the medication.
2) when I was sick and was trying to find a BluRay for the wife for Xmas and actually looked right past it because of my screaming headache. But I did TRY to look first.

[Cat]

Actually, besides being extremely rude, this story reminds me of why one should never cut. A friend of the family owned a package store that sold lottery tickets.

This lil' ol' lady was waiting to get her scratch off, when the guy behind her cut right in front, got his scratch-off...which was as loser ticket. She bought hers (which would have been his) and it was a winner....I forget how much, but it was over $100.

When I shop, I usually just look for what I want, I think it more fun to hunt around then have someone tell me where to go

[Peppergirl]

And don't get me started on the "quick question" crowd. It. Never. Is.

*cringe*

Yet another similarity between us, Pagan.

When I answer a call and the first thing out of their mouth is "I just have a quick question", I squeeze my eyes shut and brace myself.

[aurelemsrealm]

I hate people who blurt something at me without any forethought when I'm busy doing anything. I intentionally ignore them until I'm done doing the task at hand. I seem to find this frequently happens when I'm busy with a customer. It also frequently happens when I'm sorting money or paperwork at the register between customers. I just simply refuse to acknowledge those who interupt me before I'm ready to deal with their presence. I've even been known to simply walk away from the register after finishing my task as if no one was there after all.

I especially hate it when it's some noncustomer who just wants directions or other information. Very good way to be fed false information if I decide to bother with it at all. Most likely, I'm apt to blurt an equally rude, "I don't know," and walk off to do something more important with my time, like twiddle my thumbs.

Here's another customer I hate, the ones who start barking about what they want from behind the counter as soon as they walk in the door, especially if they're not coming straight to the counter to get it.

"I want a pack of Marlboros," jackoff keeps walking to the beer cooler barely even looking toward me. Jackoff spends five minutes picking at butt while deciding which cheapest brand of swill jackoff can afford. Then, jackoff pitches a fit that I didn't have cigarettes on the counter waiting.

Yeah, I'm a clerk, not a genie. If I had the power to grant any wishes, it would be my own wish to be independently wealthy so I didn't have to rely on working in craphole places like convenience stores to make my living.

[Chromatix]

"Can I ask a quick question?"

"Only if it's got a quick answer."

[aurelemsrealm]

Why do they never have a quick answer? I usually just pretend not to know the answer so they go away even if I do know the answer.

[Mara-chan]

What I like to say to customers to throw them off:


<SC> Can I ask you a question?
<me> Was that the question?
<SC> ... ?

[Jay 2K Winger]

Actually, besides being extremely rude, this story reminds me of why one should never cut. A friend of the family owned a package store that sold lottery tickets.

This lil' ol' lady was waiting to get her scratch off, when the guy behind her cut right in front, got his scratch-off...which was as loser ticket. She bought hers (which would have been his) and it was a winner....I forget how much, but it was over $100.

When I shop, I usually just look for what I want, I think it more fun to hunt around then have someone tell me where to go

Reminds me of something that happened at the wholesale club.

Our maintenance guy at the time, DF, could be kind of annoying sometimes, but he got his job done and was generally a cheerful person. He had a habit of playing the lotto scratchers on Sundays, like $50 worth of the $10 tickets.

This particular day, DF had struck out several times and sat down in the food court to just enjoy the rest of his break. Food court employee RK tells him "You should buy another one, I think you're gonna win." DF declines. So RK says, "Fine, then I play it."

The ticket she bought? She won $10,000.

DF was pissed, and moreso when me, RK, and anyone else who knew about his lotto habit teased him about it for the next two years until he quit because he was moving.