Battery Jesus

[Nelsonette]

This is my first non-intro post on here, so sorry if I mess somethin' up...

This story was at my first job, and the SC was a combination of The Nonexistance Denier and the Constant Complainer.

He also smelled like garlic and cat pee. Very strongly so.

Anywho. I was working cashier at a dollarstore, and this old guy comes in. His voice sounds like he's been smoking two packs a day for the past 80 years, he's really hard to understand. I smile and say "Hi, welcome to Deal$, how can I help you today?" and he blows me off with half a handwave and a glare while he wanders off to the back of the store. I sigh and go back to cleaning the counter that some kid had smeared with chocolate, adn a few minutes later Groucho comes back up.

G: Where are your batteries?
M: Oh, they're in the second aisle from the left, on the endcap.
G: No they're not, I just looked there.
M: Ok, maybe I made a mistake, I am new here, so I apologize. Let me go look for you.

We head to the back of the store, to the aisle I told him, and what's on the endcap? A sh*tload of batteries.

M: Here you are, sir.
G: Where are MY batteries?!

...Like I freaking know what batteries are yours? Ho-kay.

M: Are you looking for a specific brand, or size...?
G: I want the Sunbeam batteries, size AA, in the dollar pack.

I happen to know we are out of sunbeam batteries, all we have left is EverReady. How do I know this? I'm the one who stocked the damned things.

M: Sir, I'm very sorry, but we're out of thos-
G: *cuts me off* NO you're not. Where are they?
M: *hesitating, totally lost now* Uhm, we are out of them sir, because there aren't any on the rack...
G: Well why aren't you going to the storage and looking for MY batteries?

I don't know, dillweed, maybe because a) I know there aren't any and b) because it isn't my job to?

I keep my nasty inner thoughts to myself, though, and say "If you'll wait a few minutes I'll go check for you." He nods, I go into the back and do a quick check of the battery stock, just in case I did miss them.
I didn't. They're not there.

I come back out.
M: Sir, I'm truly sorry but we don't have any Sunbeam batteries. We should be getting a new shipment in a few day-
G: Well...*muttermuttercursegrumble*
M: I have some EverReady AA batteries, in the dollar pack. Would you like those...?
G: NO.

He walks off without saying anything to me, and I see him go over to speak to my manager, who glares at me over the man's shoulders. I sigh and go back to the front of the store to sweep. The manager comes up and reams me out for "Not helping the man" and "not doing my job" and "calling him a liar" (when the hell did I do that?!), then warns me to "be nicer" and goes outside on her break, leaving me pissed and scared I'm going to get fired.

I go to my register since there's someone waiting to check out, and send them on their way (they were nice), when Groucho comes into my line. I grit my teeth and smile, even though I want to kick off his head. He grumbles under his breath while I'm ringing him out, and then says "So, no batteries."

"I'm sorry sir, but we don't-"

"I KNOW you don't have them. You weren't any help at all or you'd have found my batteries." He starts ranting at me while the line is slowly piling up behind him, my manager is outside on her smokebreak leaving me totally by myself, and finally, as he asks "So what am I supposed to do NOW?!" I snap.

"I don't know sir. Perhaps you'd like to use the batteries I found FOR you, since there's no difference besides brand. Or maybe you'd like to go to a different store that caters to old smelly grouches like yourself." His eyes widen, and people in the line are perking up, watching curiously. "I know it's the Christmas season, but I'm not Jesus, so I can't perform the miracle of making objects appear from nothing. Here is your purchase, have a nice day!" I hand him his bag, seething as he walks out of the store. The rest of the people in line were very nice and polite, and I think I might have frightened one lady a bit.

After my shift my manager comes up to me, and proceeds to apologize for the lecture earlier. "That guy comes in all the time, and he complains about everything and everyone. I only yelled at you so he'd think he was getting his way and leave quicker, 'cause otherwise he stays in the store and makes a big fuss." She then pats my shoulder and says "Good job on not freaking out. Most of our cashiers can't handle him without crying or coming to get me, you did a good job."

I thank God she was on her smoke break, because otherwise he would have found her and made a huge deal out of it.

[Jester]

I see him go over to speak to my manager, who glares at me over the man's shoulders.

The manager comes up and reams me out for "Not helping the man" and "not doing my job" and "calling him a liar" (when the hell did I do that?!), then warns me to "be nicer" and goes outside on her break, leaving me pissed and scared I'm going to get fired.

After my shift my manager comes up to me, and proceeds to apologize for the lecture earlier. "That guy comes in all the time, and he complains about everything and everyone. I only yelled at you so he'd think he was getting his way and leave quicker, 'cause otherwise he stays in the store and makes a big fuss." She then pats my shoulder and says "Good job on not freaking out. Most of our cashiers can't handle him without crying or coming to get me, you did a good job."

Personally I think she's a ass-kissing weasel who's trying to play both sides.

I hope she enjoys her smoke breaks. Hell, I hope she goes up to five packs a day. Yes. Full tar, full nicotine. Yeah....that's the way she should go.....

[Nelsonette]

That's how she was. It happened a couple more times too, and when the customer was there she'd always take their side and yell at me, usually in front of people. She'd then apologize later adn tell me I was a 'good sport'.

[StanFlouride]

So your spineless manager KNOWS this guy and still took his side and still she attacked you?
Time to refresh the old resumé and start looking for a better job.

By the way, it sounds like this person has one of several glandular conditions that can make them smell bad. He probably can't even tell- it happens to older folks, especially if they live alone and don't have anyone to tell them they stink.

[HorrorFrogPrincess]

Your manager is a bitch. There are easier ways to fake a scolding, and she didn't use any of them.

For example...

Manager: *comes over looking angry and whispers* I'm going to pretend to scold you. Now look sad, scared, and apologetic.

[Nelsonette]

Yeah, she knew him. That wasn't the only crappy thing she did, but it was just a seasonal and I needed the job experience since no one else would hire me since I didn't have experience.

After the seasons was over, she asked me to stay in and I said "Are you going to stop humiliating me for things that aren't my fault in front of customers you should be kicking out of the store?" and when she just stuttered I said "Yeah, ok then. Find someone else."

[Bright_Star]

What your manager did was uncalled for. There's no way I would have accepted her apology. Making herself look good just to humour that SC was way out of line.

[Eric the Grey]

Personally, I've only ever seen a manager come down on an employee once in front of customers. I would like to think it wasn't done like that on a regular basis, but I guess I'd be fooling myself.

There is no excuse for that. Discipline, IF it is necessary, then it should be done in private.


Eric the Grey

[smileyeagle1021]

There is no excuse for that. Discipline, IF it is necessary, then it should be done in private.

oh, I know my manager pissed of an SC for that reason... I do admit that I was out of line. He refused to sign a reg card because it didn't have a rate on it (it was prepaid and our system only prints out on the reg card what will be owed and the rate code... so it just had his rate code and nothing else).
I explained it was prepaid and that he was only signing for any incidentals or damage to the room. He demanded to know how much he had paid for the room then, I told him honestly that I did not know... all our system showed us was how much the website he booked through had paid us after they had taken out booking fees, and that our rate with that website was confidential.
He then said that he has booked with that website all the time and that no other hotel he staid at had any problem with telling him either how much he paid or how much the website had paid the hotel.
I told him that he was either mistaken, or lying, and that my experience led me to believe he was lying (a bit too honest).
Now you could argue that this guy had a legit complaint about me calling him on a lie... but then he went ballistic when my manager came out (he just happened to be staying late) and told him that as indeed the policy, he agreed that I should have handled it differently, and he would deal with me in a one on one meeting... that did not satisfy the SC, he demanded that he be there to see my manager deal with it, otherwise it wouldn't get done (he was right, the manager had listened to the whole thing and knew the guy was full of shit... but even so... some things just aren't done in public).

[Gravekeeper]

There is no excuse for that. Discipline, IF it is necessary, then it should be done in private.

Very true. You should never be dressed down in front of customers ( Unless you just kicked one in the boy jewels at random or something. )

I don't care if it rains or freezes, long as I got my battery Jesus fully stocked on the endcap of my store...

Argh. ><

[Peppergirl]

Fuck her.

And fuck the powers-that-be that allow 'customers' like that to keeping coming to a store, knowing they abuse their employees.

Jerk should have gotten the ban-hammer WAYYYY before that incident, it seems.

If you're gonna be a spineless manager, own it. Sure - they suck, but like Jester said, its 20x worse because she's spineless AND plays both sides of the fence about it.

She's beyond a bitch...she's crossed over into C-word territory.

[XCashier]

After the seasons was over, she asked me to stay in and I said "Are you going to stop humiliating me for things that aren't my fault in front of customers you should be kicking out of the store?" and when she just stuttered I said "Yeah, ok then. Find someone else."

Good for you! Bet that hag wondered why she could never keep any help.

It's a good thing I've never been considered for management, I don't think I could keep from telling SCs precisely what I think of them and their ways.

[PepperElf]

He demanded to know how much he had paid for the room then

How did he not know what the online-site charged him for a room. Didn't he see the price when he booked?

[Nelsonette]

Yeah, she was a fairly sucky manager. The type that would send a newhire out onto register with next to no training during the christmas rush, tell her to unpack and stack tins, mop the floor and watch the register, and then sit back and eat her lunch, watching and not lifting a single finger as I was flooded with customer after customer.

Then she'd yell at me for not having the mopping or the unpacking/stacking done. I'd just stare at her, with a 'wtf' expression on my face.

I'm so glad to be rid of her.

[GiftShopGirl]

After my shift my manager comes up to me, and proceeds to apologize for the lecture earlier. "That guy comes in all the time, and he complains about everything and everyone. I only yelled at you so he'd think he was getting his way and leave quicker, 'cause otherwise he stays in the store and makes a big fuss." She then pats my shoulder and says "Good job on not freaking out. Most of our cashiers can't handle him without crying or coming to get me, you did a good job."

It's managers like her that encourage SCs to act the way they do. They make the customers think they're right when they're not