Examples of a not so merry Christmas...

[Lace Neil Singer]

Cuz of the Christmas season coming up (and I really hate it when people shorten it to Xmas) I figured I'd share these gems from back when I worked at the garden centre. Oh happy days... [sarcasm off]

1. Christmas Decs Are All Important.

This woman comes up to me at a time when I'm not doing anything too important, just making budgie boxes and waiting for a breeder to turn up with more hamsters. It's the week before Christmas, so any time where no customers are near me is gold.

SC: Stupid Customer
Me: Bored Pet Centre "Manager"

SC: (without even a hello) Where are your Christmas decorations?
Me: They're in the centre part. (thinking, surely you just walked by them?)
SC: No, I don't want to buy any. I just wanted to know why you haven't put any up in the pet department.
Me: Cuz the animals would chew them.
SC: Well, that's not good enough. It's not fair on the kids.
Me: (pardon me? ) Well I'm sorry, but I can't endanger the animals.
SC: (storms off)


2. Well, They're Not Here *wink*

This happened one Christmas Eve, when I was totally rushed off my feet and running around like a blue arsed fly cuz the Saturday girl who was supposed to be coming in to help me couldn't get in til the afternoon. Anyway, these customers came up and asked to buy a rabbit. I told them to pick one out and I'll be with them shortly, only the ones with the Sold stickers on their cages weren't for sale. Anyhoo, they come to me saying they'd picked one out... only, the one they wanted was a Netherland Dwarf with a Sold sticker on its cage. Cue inanity.

SC1 and SC2: Stupid Customers.
Me: Tired

SC1: We'd like this one please.
Me: Sorry, you can't have that one, it's sold.
SC1: Is it now?
Me: Yes, so if you'd like to pick out another one...
SC2: (interrupting) Yeah, but they're not here, are they?
Me: They've paid for it, and they're coming to pick it up after lunch.
SC2: So? We want that one.
Me: That one's not for sale. You'll have to have another one.
SC1: We don't want another one. We want that one.
Me: Well, you can't have that one, cuz it's sold.
SC1: We'll just go down the road then.

They actually came back and bought a rabbit 2 hours later. Guess the other garden centre wouldn't sell them sold rabbits either.


3. You've Ruined My Christmas!

This happened another Christmas Eve; we'd all been overrun by customers all day, and were all knackered and longing to get home. It was 6, and due to being a Saturday, we'd been able to stay open an extra half hour. (yay...X_x) I was standing on the door to stop anyone else from coming in, having cashed up my till about 20 minutes before, when this guy walked in, trying to shove past me.

SC: Stupid man
Me: The heroine who saved Christmas

SC: I just need to get 1 thing, I won't be long.
Me: It's 6 o'clock, we're closed.
SC: I only need one thing.
Me: We've been here all day, and we want to go home.
SC: This won't take long.
Me: I'm not letting you in.
SC: Why not? I just told you, I won't be long!
Me: We're closed.
SC: So?
Me: So, we want to go home to our families.
SC: I just need one thing!
Me: Sorry, but we're closed.
SC: (stomping off in temper) I hope you're happy, you just ruined my Christmas!

We all assumed he'd forgotten to buy his wife a present... and he could therefore expect divorce papers for Christmas.

[Demonoid Phenomenon]

Those last minute shoppers always boggle my mind.

Once at that infamous toy store I used to work at, it was Christmas Eve and we had just closed. The store was somewhat empty of merchandise, so cleaning up was a breeze. I was counting the money in the back office and everyone else is milling about waiting for me to finish.
Suddenly, there's a knock on our BACK door.
Me being the manager, I had to go and check out what this was.
"Hello?" I called.
"I need a Nintendo!"
Oddly enough, we actually had a few left, but...
"I'm sorry, but we're closed!"
"I really need a Nintendo!"
Now, it is quite possible that this was a poor soul who through no fault of his own was stuck at the last minute on Christmas Eve needing a Nintendo system for his brood.
Or, it was some jerk who just couldn't bring himself to shop at normal hours like the rest of humanity.
However, option #3 was what really kept me from opening that door.
What if he had a gun or something else of the sort and was all ready to pop caps and bail with our holiday haul?
The door remained shut, I finished counting the dough, and we booked, but only after we were sure no one was waiting to spread their good cheer and our warm blood all over the parking lot.

I still feel kinda bad because I'm sure it was just somebody who was desperate for the console.
But safety (and sanity) first.

[shelly2jn]

Last year, Christmas eve, store opened at 7am, I was scheduled to start when the store opened. Arrive at work at 6.45am, stagger to staff entrance (I'm sooo not a morning person) Swipe card, punch in code, push open door, turn to close door and come face to face with a customer with a trolley trying to get in behind me!
"Emm, we don't actually open until 7am and besides this entrance is for staff only"

"But I need to do my shopping.....I need to I have so much to get...Oh my God I can't believe you won't let me in a little early....." expectant face...

Not a morning person remember? "Ma'am it's 6.45AM! I haven't had my tea, I haven't had a cigarette and we don't open for another 15 MINUTES...please wait in your car" door slams shut.....tea and ciggies follow....guess who lands at my checkout...yup....with a half trolley, when most people have 3 per family! Didn't have to get so much after all.

[hawkchick11]

Last Christmas Eve, I had the lovely job of guarding our entrance at closing time. Every single person that tried to get by me freaked out, saying they absolutely *HAD* to get a sweater/jeans/shirt/whatever for someone. One woman threw such a fit because there were still customers in our store (we couldn't kick customers out if they were in before closing time). She actually went and got a mall security guard to "force me to let her in". He wanted to get home as badly as we did, so all he did was escort her to the mall exit.

[dizzy_starshine]

Oh the joys of christmas>_<. It feels like it comes earlier each year. I'm quite pleased with my company this year though. They've delievered all our gifts on time for once. Problem is the customers still moan.

We're a small community branch of a fairly big name pharmacy. We're here really just for the eldery population in a small retirment village and as such our 'shop' side of the busniess is very small. The big wig bosses came out and spend a week surverying locals asking what from the catalogue they'd buy. They then only sent us items they were interested in. We still get people from out of town coming in wanting the same stock levels as a huge high street pharmacy like Boots. I get about 5 people a day moaning about why don't I have the Nicky Clare £50 hair straighteners/ the homer simpson toothbrush/ the Noddy car.

Can't wait for news years...when they moan that the sale price isn't low enough.

[Sofar]

I hope you're happy, you ruined my Christmas!

Oh deary-deary me, November 3rd and already we're ruining Christmases. My how it does get earlier every year.

[Seanette]

We all assumed he'd forgotten to buy his wife a present... and he could therefore expect divorce papers for Christmas.

One of the good points of the gift system DH and I use: we agree on price range, taking into account the state of family finances, then the recipient chooses his/her own gift within that agreed-on range (which can at times flex upward if the recipient finds something he/she *really* wants that's above agreed-on but still doable).

As for Mr. "I need a Nintendo": uh, yeah, that's right up there with air, water, food, and shelter. How could humanity have possibly survived for millennia without Nintendos?

[Slave to the Phone]

Oh deary-deary me, November 3rd and already we're ruining Christmases. My how it does get earlier every year.

This year, I saw lights and Christmas decorations on a home Oct. 6th

One of the good points of the gift system DH and I use: we agree on price range, taking into account the state of family finances, then the recipient chooses his/her own gift within that agreed-on range (which can at times flex upward if the recipient finds something he/she *really* wants that's above agreed-on but still doable).

I sure do wish hub and I had figured out your gift system when we were first doing presents.

We worked something out a while back that seems to work well for us. If I see something that I really want, but don't "need", I buy it, take it home and wrap it up and put it on the shelf. When present times happen, hub doesn't have to do panic shopping, he just pulls a package off the shelf. I'm always surprised because I don't know what he's going to give me and I always get something I want.

I really wish he would do the same thing for me. A couple of years ago, he bought himself a new wallet a week before Christmas. He STILL doesn't understand why I got so upset.

[CrazedClerk]

What frustrates me is when people come in anytime after Dec. 21 looking for the HOTTEST game or item of the holiday season and then act absolutely stunned and/or rude when I politely inform them we sold out quite some time ago.

You're out of luck, you lazy ass jerks!

[DesignFox]

This happened Christmas Eve at the old photo job...fortunately, I wasn't working that night and only heard about it.

Mall closes at 7. Guy had appointment to take pics at 5:30...for a LARGE family. Photos take at least 1/2 hour to take. Normally, it takes an hour for them to be printed...that would mean his pics would be due back at CLOSE! It was explained to him when he made his appointment that he wouldn't get them same day, and after the sitting they reminded him that he would need to wait.

Guy threw humongous hissy fit, repeatedly harrassed SM for her full name, threatened bodily harm, threatened to sue... etc, etc, because he wouldn't get his pictures until after Christmas. The SM explained to him that well, we have families, too! No dice...

I don't remember the rest of the details, but I know SM didn't give guy his pictures....they were still sitting in the delivery bin days later- the guy threatened us into the ground but wouldn't come back to pick them up...Despite successfully getting the idiot to leave the store, I believe the poor girls working that night ended up leaving late.

It's been said on here how many times? Lack of planning on YOUR part, does not constitute an emergency on OUR part!

[Gurndigarn]

As for Mr. "I need a Nintendo": uh, yeah, that's right up there with air, water, food, and shelter. How could humanity have possibly survived for millennia without Nintendos?

Well, entertainment follows the absolute basics fairly quickly. It's not as time-esssential as air/food/water/clothing/shelter, but it's one of the first things sought after once those are covered.

Admittedly, you don't need video games, despite what my company would like you to believe. You can get plenty of entertainment out of balls and cardboard boxes and basic stuff like that, and your kids can, too.

[Antisocial_Worker]

It was either last Christmas or the one before that I got a lady calling me to ask if we had rooms available. We did. She then asked if I could rent her a room despite the fact that all she had was $11.

I couldn't. If I had, my boss would have had a fit. Nobody rents rooms for $11, and I hate that we couldn't help her, but why would you even ask that? Not even the sleaziest no-tell is going to rent a room for that little.

I don't know if she was telling the truth of not when she was saying that she and her baby had no place to go. We've heard stories like that before from the likes of Crackwhore Kelly and Meth Head Moneisha, when in reality all they want is a quiet place to put a few more bugs under their skin.

When I told her I couldn't, she said sadly, "Merry Christmas," and hung up the phone, and to this day I wonder if I did something wrong.

[Sofar]

Maybe in 1961 they might have.

[Mikkel]

I think she should have found a stable instead . Seriously, don't you have shelters to give people without money a place to stay? If I didn't have a place to celebrate christmas here in Copenhagen I could have my choise of at least ten free christmas parties ranging from Salvation Army to old hippies at the free town of Christiania (oh, that vegetarian christmas food ) , and if I were homeless there would be lots more. I'm sure a mother would have her choice of places to stay too.

[ArenaBoy]

On the subject of Christmas stories, I told myself that I would never again work a basketball game at the arena on Christmas day ever again. A quick backstory: Last year, my county experimented with a "dry" Christmas meaning that alcohol could not be sold on Christmas day, or Eve starting at 9 PM. This meant that the arena couldn't sell booze at all and that meant some SCs of a new degree for me.
The only bad part of the inbound process was the idiots trying to get into VIP with the "It's Christmas" crap and the "ruining my Christmas" garbage. Outbound was a different story, no booze = pissed off SCs to no end. My personal favorite was this guy who yelled at me for not letting him through the chains and called me Ebeneezer Scrooge. I stood there, trying so hard not to laugh that I felt like I was going to explode.