Oh, You DO, do you?

[Nijiero]

Ahh, long time since I had something to post about... Work life had been pretty mellow since my weeklong drama from before. Untill about this last week, when I started to get the same thing from a number of customers at the sub shop.

I'm pretty sure that EVERYONE here hates that line "Oh, I know the owner!" tossed out to get special treatment or discounts and such... it's a little more convincing when they can feed you the owners actall NAME, admittedly.... but thats easier in our store, because our owner has a largeish chain franchise, and by each of his registers, there's a sign stating "THIS LOCATION PROUDLY OWNED AND OPERATED BY (Owners Name)". This gives the scammers the ability to rattle off the line more easily by using the guys name.
Well, in the last week or so, we've had, oh, I wanna say, ELEVEN different people say that, expecting a discount, or that super-special sandwich made extra-picky. It's gotten a little annoying... but after consulting with my manager, we came up with a SUPER way to counter these claims.

All we do, when someone drops the line, is this...

Customer: "Oh, hey, this is one of (Casual use of owners first name)'s stores! He's a good buddy of mine... maybe I'll have to give him a call and tell him a review of the location, I'm sure he'll want to hear how it's going."

Me: "Oh, hey, you know him. Thats Great! Hang on a sec, he's in the back with the manager doing some inventory, let me go get him! He'll deffinately want to say Hi!"

And every.. single.. time... I have had them look really shocked and start stuttering... "O..oh... oh, thats okay, don't bother him, really, if he's busy..!" and they clam up, get their food, and slink away rather quickly.

Yeah, it's a bluff, but we've never actually encountered anyone who ACTUALLY KNOWS the guy, so we're not really concerned with any backlash from it.

Peace Out!

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

I've used that trick before.

It's even funnier when an SC uses that "I know the owner" line while, unbeknownst to them, they are speaking to the ACTUAL OWNER, who promptly says he/she's doesn't have a clue who the heck that person is.

[Mnemjian]

Hilarious! That is a fantastic idea which I will have to steal

[cawaker]

thats pretty genius, cause if someone does happen to know him you can just go in the back and then act like he just disappeared out back or something.

"huh, he was just here a second ago"

[ReadyToRetire]

I've had the "I know the owner" line thrown at me a few times.
Weird thing is, whenever they mention the name it is always one of the 2 previous owners. The current owner has had the store for about 12 years.
Nobody seems to know the current owner.

[Tito]

That's pure genius! I wish I had thought of using that back in my retail hell days, when someone would throw the 'I know the owner' line at me!

[VComps]

I once had a guy tell me I should treat him well because he owns "tons of stock" in our company... funny, that, because when last I checked, our company was privately owned and did not actually have stocks.

He tried to play the "best defense is a good offense" game when I called him on it, but I just wasn't buying what he was selling, so he eventually left.

[edible_hat]

I've had the "I know the owner" line thrown at me a few times.
Weird thing is, whenever they mention the name it is always one of the 2 previous owners. The current owner has had the store for about 12 years.
Nobody seems to know the current owner.

I had that where I used to work. The previous owner of the store had died.

SC: "I know X."
Me: "Oh, how was the funeral?"
SC: (head explodes)


Where I work now, people actually do know the owner or manager (owner's son). But they don't ask for discounts, they just want to catch up with one or the other or both of them.

[fireheart]

I'm pretty much in the same boat as edible. People know my manager or a few of the sups and all, but they don't ask for discounts. They generally catch up, which is fine.

But still....nicely done.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

A "friend" would not go into his friend's business and expect special treatment or free stuff. Because I would think a "friend" would understand that that business is his friend's livelihood and wouldn't dream of expecting free stuff on his buddy's dime. Nor would a "friend" mistreat his buddie's employees.

[edible_hat]

Because I would think a "friend" would understand that that business is his friend's livelihood and wouldn't dream of expecting free stuff on his buddy's dime. Nor would a "friend" mistreat his buddie's employees.

My wife kept asking my brother to do some artwork for her for free. Her argument was that she's done lots of art for free over the years. When I pointed out the difference is that her art is a hobby and his is his business, she got it.

(He designed our wedding invitations for free, but that was as a wedding present.)

[Jester]

SC: (head explodes)

We really need an exploding head emoticon/smiley here at CS.com. Anyone want to get on this?

Hurry up, damn it--don't you know that I know the owner! Oh, I know Raps really well. Why, just the other day he was over my house with his wife and kids, regaling me with stories of his recent visit to his relatives in Ecuador. And then there was the time he and I went golfing with Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan......

[TonyDonuts]

My company bought the store I manage about two years ago.

People still come in throwing Previous Owner's name around, expecting discounts or whatever.

But that's not the funny part, this is the funny part.

I inherited 5 employees when we took over. Two of them, the former acting manager* and assistant manager, took months to figure out that Previous Owner had, in fact, sold the joint. That the new uniforms, signs, store layout, etc. meant that Previous Owner was no longer involved in the operation.

So if they wanted raises, he wasn't the guy to talk to anymore.

If they had complaints about the way New Company ran the store, he wasn't the guy to run to anymore.

Some customers still go to the Previous Owner's auto shop to complain about the price of gas.
_____________________
*Previous Owner owned the place for seven years, with the same guy managing the store all along. This guy quit without any notice, so Previous Owner had one of his assistant managers take over the slot, with mixed results. His inability to find a suitable replacement led him to sell the place.

[Primer]

I used to work with the wife of the owner of a restaurant in Austin. I took DH in there, and as we were checking out, I asked how she was doing, and DH made some comment about getting a discount. I shushed him, and said that they would be more likely to charge me double! I've not worked with her in about 7 years, but I still try to patronize the restaurant when I can.

[El Pollo Guerrera]

I live in a small-ish town (population around 10,000 people), and there are two printshop/stationery stores... where I work and a bigger, cleaner one. I have had several people ask me about "the boss' new house..."? Apparently the owner of the other store won a house in a draw a few years ago, and people think that it's my boss.

Funnier still, people would come in and ask MY boss the same thing, thinking that he just worked there, too.