Either he's covering his butt, or he has memory issues.

[ShadowTiger]

ShadowTiger = Jewish. Quite Jewish. Observant of all the assorted Hebraic laws.
This took place yesterday; A sunday. The day before was a Saturday, obviously. The Jewish Sabbath takes place from Friday evening until Saturday Evening. No observant Jew will ever be working during such a time.


Sucky customer.
Me.
Manager. (Also (mostly) Jewish)

*SC Approaches key desk*
SC: You made me these keys yesterday and they don't work. You should learn to make better keys so people don't have to keep coming back.
I pick up the keys and look at them, and discover they use a very different blank. It hurts my keymaker pride to see such a travesty take place.
Me: *shocked* ... ... Okay, firstly, hello. ._O' Secondly, I enjoy making keys and am sure I wouldn't make a mistake like this. They're clearly two different blanks. I would've seen it.
SC: But you did make me the key, and you did make the mistake. So now you're going to fix it, hotshot. You're also going to pay me for the gas money I had to spend to get here again.
Me: ... wait. You said that I made these keys yesterday?
SC: Yes, on Saturday. Yesterday.
Me: You're positive? Saturday, the 12th? Me?
SC: Yes! For the love of god, yes, it was you who made me the keys! What difference does it make? You made me the keys! You fix them and reimburse me!
Me: I wasn't here yesterday. I would never even ask to work on a Saturday or a Friday night. My manager knows it. He's Jewish too; he schedules us according to our needs.
SC: Bullsh!t. I know it was you.
Me: Okay, I'll bite. How do you know it was me?
SC: I just recognize you, because you made me the keys.
Me: And what was I wearing?
SC: I don't remember. It was too long ago.
Me: One day is too long ago? Anyway, If you can prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that it was me who made your keys, and I can't prove it otherwise, I'll be glad to reimburse you for the gas money. Now let me see them.
This appears to pacify him a little bit, (I was quite shocked that it did.) and I look at his keys and fix them for him.
Me: There we are. Right as rain. Take a look. *Hands him the keys*
SC: I know it was you. I'll find a way to prove it. Get me your manager.
I know where this is going.
Me: Aaaalrighty then. *Into Headset* <Manager> to the Key desk, please! ^_^
SC: *oddly cheerful* Alright, let's do this thing.
Me: *turning to him* ... so how was your weekend?
(He doesn't answer me; just stares towards the pathway.)
*Manager arrives.*
Me: Ah, hello. <Manager>, was I here yesterday? Is there any situation where a person of my religious observance could be here on a Saturday?
Manager: No. I would never schedule you for a Saturday. You know that. Why do you ask, ShadowTiger?
SC: But he made me my keys yesterday! Look how broken they are! (I love how he said "broken.")
Me: Yeah, he thinks I was here yesterday and made him some broken keys. :-/
Manager: Definitely not. If he was here on a Saturday I would be deeply surprised, and would ask why he was there on a day he should not be here.
SC: But he made me keys yesterday!
Manager: Um, no, I don't think he did.
SC: Okay, then he made me the keys on Friday!
**MIND GAMES** Me: *Grinning* Yep, I was here on Friday. :] *smirk*
SC: See! He made me keys on Friday and they don't work.
**MIND GAMES** Manager: I thought you said he made the keys on Saturday.
**MIND GAMES** Me: Ooh, I was't here on Friday after all! I was here Thursday.
**MIND GAMES** SC: That's when he made me keys. It was a Thursday.
**MIND GAMES** Me: I was kidding. o_o
**MIND GAMES** SC: No you're not.
Me: I go to school on Thursday.
Manager: True.
SC: Okay, then when is he here?
[sarcasm] Manager: My, what an interesting question. I wonder why you would ask. Perhaps you would like to step outside for a few hours to make a decision that fits the real world, hmm?[/sarcasm] *Walks away*
Me: You have your keys. Please leave.
SC: I know it was you. If I ever find out you made me these keys, I'll be back! *Walks away, facing me the whole time*

I hear the manager laugh from around the corner. I was about to vomit from laughter after I heard that last line he said. I didn't know you could vomit from laughing.

[seigus]

Oy, what a schlemiel...

[Pagan]

I had someone try to pull the same kind of thing on me once. The lady said that I specifically ordered her the wrong CD. Well, our system showed when the order was placed. I looked up the date and told her that I couldn't have possibly done so as I was at Warwick Castle on that date, several thousand miles away.

She did a fine imitation of a fish trying to breath out of the water....and then stormed off.

[MrsEclipse]

re: **MIND GAMES**

You're like a cat, you and your manager. You've caught him, and you're just playing with him before you decide to boot him out. I love it.

[ShadowTiger]

They don't call me ShadowTiger for nothing. ^.^

I just wonder what kind of scam he was pulling. I knew he couldn't prove I was there on a Saturday, but even if he had, .. gas money? O.o

[MrsEclipse]

I think maybe he had no idea who cut the key, but if he made you think you did it, you'd bend over backwards to make it up to him. But he was too much of an idiot to know that you're supposed to back off once you realize they can't be fooled. I've pulled that trick on people I know in my younger days.

Also, 2010 is the year of the tiger! So go forth, ShadowTiger.

[Green_Fairy]

my guess is that the guy wasn't even there when the keys were made. someone else was, then sent him to fix it. or it was a completely different store.

[ShadowTiger]

I know, I'm looking forward to it too. I'm sorry I was born in the year of the Ox, I think. 1985. .. .. Eh, whenever.

I actually enjoy making keys for whatever reason, and do tend to remake keys outright when they don't work, after throwing away the old ones, or grinding them down so they can't be fixed into a working key. I get the suspicion that they come in with functioning keys, tell me they're broken, and only give me the original key and a receipt to make a copy of as they have the new spares at home.

Then I'd say "Oh. If you have the ones they made for you, I'll take a look at them and see where the error is so I would best know how to fix them or remake them for you. Otherwise I might just make you more keys that don't work for whatever reason, and we wouldn't know why they wouldn't work. Come back with the duplicates and I'll be glad to make this right."


I look forward to the day when they come in with only the duplicate, and tell me that the key is broken, and I should make new ones, ... and tell me to use the duplicate as the original. Heheh.

Whoops, meant to click Edit instead of post reply. Sucks having to use the button just to reply.

my guess is that the guy wasn't even there when the keys were made. someone else was, then sent him to fix it. or it was a completely different store.

Mm, quite possible. Although he did say "I just recognize you..."

[Pagan]

Mm, quite possible. Although he did say "I just recognize you..."

I have a feeling he would have said that regardless of who was there.

[mikoyan29]

Sounds almost like the Malcolm in the Middle where Hal got off on embezzling charges because he never worked a Friday in his life and he had all the stuff to prove it.

[jjllbb]

That parting line was like something out of a batman comic.

Something like this happened to me once except when i got the customer to realize that it wasn't, in fact, me who had helped him, he left me with:

"Oh (chuckle) whoops. You all look alike."

It was clear he'd only meant that my coworkers and I looked alike because we were all in dress code but still...wtf? Even then....

[Jester]

I have to say, I like the color-coding.

I also have to say the dude was a schmuck, and obviously trying to get one over on you. And you were far nicer to him than I would have been to someone trying to say I did something wrong on a day I wasn't even there!

That being said, unless you are leaving some of the conversation out, I think I should point out that you saying you could not have been there on a Saturday because you are Jewish is not going to be a self-evident reason to a non-Jew. Saying you could not have been there on a Saturday because it is against your religion is a bit of a clearer way of saying it. Remember, not everyone, even in highly Jewish areas, understands Jewish customs and religious laws.

A perfect example of the above is my Irish Catholic friend who used to clean residences in New York. She had a very amusing situation one time, where she was hired to clean up a particular residence. Without anyone telling her anything other than that the place needed to be cleaned, she went in and did her job. Apparently too well. Because, seeing two different cabinets with dishes, she realized the kitchen space could be made far more efficient if she merely combined the two cabinets into one.

Now, I know a whole bunch of you are thinking, "....and?" But you see, that's the story. And that is the part of the story where every Jew reading this or hearing the story smacks their hand to their forehead and goes "D'OH!"

Allow me to explain. Jews who strictly observe Kosher dietary laws, such as many of my cousins, will have two refrigerators and two separate sets of dishes, and they must be kept separate. Kosher law forbids combining meat and dairy on the same plate, and many Jews will simply keep separate dishes and separate fridges, one for meat, one for dairy. I know this sounds odd to non-Jews (I'm Jewish and it sounds odd to me), but that is the custom.

So naturally when my friend made the Jewish kitchen "more efficient" by combining everything, the woman of the house freaked. Because it meant they would have to throw away ALL the dishes and buy entirely new sets. But my friend had the perfect defense: "I'm Irish. I wear a crucifix that I don't hide. What part of my Irish last name or my visible crucifix makes you think I would know anything about Jewish laws or customs?"

My friend still got paid for the work she did.

[AccountingDrone]

So naturally when my friend made the Jewish kitchen "more efficient" by combining everything, the woman of the house freaked. Because it meant they would have to throw away ALL the dishes and buy entirely new sets.

No, there is a way to ritually cleanse the dishes, it is what you do when you actually buy a new set of dishes, among other things it involves boiling them [although some friends of mine were discussing if the new dishwasher that they got that reheated water to just under 212*F would qualify, I think they are waiting for word back from their rabbi]

I also have way too much cookware, I used to keep kosher for a boyfriend I lived with. It is great when something breaks or disappears, I have spare =)

[elsporko]

I find it odd that she thought part of her cleaning duties involved reorganizing the kitchen. When I've done cleaning work I assumed everything was in a place for a reason and left it be.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Oy, what a schlemiel...

That story gives me shpilkis in my genechtagazoink.