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This is an old story from my video retail days, but it's still stuck with me vividly over the years.
I usually worked evenings, and at the time the company was testing the waters with us carrying more than just movies and games. The store I was stationed at because of it's proximity to the DM's homestore ended up with both a trial setup for music cds and computer games.
The computer games for the most part sat there gathering dust, but the music cds were showing much promise. All we were told by corporate was that the cds were also logged into the system under the restricted viewing policy so if it had a parental advisory label, we were to concider it the same as a R rated or M rated item and not to let it go to someone underage without a parent there.
Overall not a big deal. Most were okay with it, but every now and then you'd refuse someone clearly younger trying to rent one of the more 'intense' games and the parent would tear in ballistic over 'how dare you not rent to my child'. Even with those for the most part would calm down when you'd explain why.
Anyway, back to the story.
It was a typical busy friday night. I was in an overall good mood since I had my favourite CSRs on the shift and we were tearing through excellently. Lines were moving along good with checkouts, the returns were going back to the walls fast..etc.
One of my CSRs at the time had a medical condition where she had to go to the bathroom a lot so we had a system where she'd wave me to just take over her register so she could go and when she'd come back, I'd head off back to my thing.
I was on her register when this guy who looked to me like he was in his 20s, had some facial hair comes through the line buying the Antichrist Superstar cd. Since he wasn't renting nor presented an account card, I rang him up on the generic account for walk in sales and thought nothing of it until later on, The Call comes in.
It's him claiming he doesn't want the cd anymore and if he can come back and return it. Still, not a big deal and I tell him the return policy that's printed on the reciept I gave him. As long as it's not opened, either store credit or cash back-if it's opened even exchange (store credit at manager discretion with reciept).
He eventually comes in with cd and receipt, but the cd's open. I let him know I can't do a refund since it's open. Guy looks sheepish and leaves with the cd.
Not long after this woman comes tearing in loudly demanding the manager. Guy's following her looking like he wants to crawl under the nearest rock available.
I walk over and explain the policy while pointing it out on the reciept. As I was about to do a bit of bending and at least do store credit, she gets all puffy chested and loudly goes into how her son's underage and how dare I sell a child this cd.
Once again, guy's a good foot taller than me with facial hair, not a child by any stretch.
At this point with her accusation, I've decided all she's getting is the even exchange and state so again. In the background we've gotten another wave of customers so the store's now packed.
Lady starts doing this wild stare as if I've just informed her lobsters are crawling out of her ears and again starts up that the cd is offensive and demands her money back. I've by this point read between the lines and figured that the guy bought the cd, mom overheard some of it and counted it the coming of the apocalypse. Still doesn't change that it's an open cd.
By now I've assumed my ramrod straight standing position so my CSRs know I'm about to go on a roll. From what I was told later on, I didn't dissappoint.
Again I explain the returns policy and that if she found the purchase offensive, perhaps she should come out of the car when her son's buying things so she knows what's going on.
She explodes at this point to where I now have customers peering over shelves like meercats. She flings the flipped open cd at me near screaming that it's clearly offensive as 'that man is drinking urine out of that man's penis'. Without batting an eye, I again repeat the return policy and all she's getting is another copy of the cd.
She storms out shrieking the usuals. She'll have my job, she'll talk to my store manager of which I informed her he'd be here tomorrow morning. She also left behind the cd and the reciept. Her son looks like he's ready to will himself to die as they leave.
I bundle up the cd and reciept, put them in the back office and carry on with the rest of the shift. Customers comment to me that I really kept my cool well and that lady was crazy.
Rest of the night goes fine, I leave a long note for the SM so he's got advanced warning.
I come in the next day for my shift and the SM calls me into the office. The DM's there with an amused look on his face, and I'm wondering what happened that he's there.
Ended up she did come back in the morning, the DM just happened to be making the rounds to see things and was sticking around to hear my side.
SM who thankfully was extremely cool, took my note to heart and when the lady started on her spiel, he asked her for the cd and reciept so he could look it over. Of course she didn't have either nor was there a record of the sale on her account and with how many sales go on the generic account, there's no way we can do a search on it unless the purchase was a few hours ago.
The SM informed her that the most he could do since they didn't have any record of the sale provable (cd was still in back, but the reciept had since gotten buried somewhere in the mountains of paper on the desk), was to get her another copy of the cd. She demanded his boss and the DM just said that the SM was doing more than he'd do since she doesn't have the cd or a reciept.
She stormed out yet again swearing we were all disgusting and she'd never rent at us again. The latter was proven wrong later that night when her husband was renting.
The DM was pleased with me for sticking with the return policy since if we took things back for any old reason, the refunds would be going through the roof and my SM teased me for a bit for attracting the crazies.
End of the story was when we did inventory later that month, the cd was still in the back and since it was technically an overage, my SM gave it to me.
I usually worked evenings, and at the time the company was testing the waters with us carrying more than just movies and games. The store I was stationed at because of it's proximity to the DM's homestore ended up with both a trial setup for music cds and computer games.
The computer games for the most part sat there gathering dust, but the music cds were showing much promise. All we were told by corporate was that the cds were also logged into the system under the restricted viewing policy so if it had a parental advisory label, we were to concider it the same as a R rated or M rated item and not to let it go to someone underage without a parent there.
Overall not a big deal. Most were okay with it, but every now and then you'd refuse someone clearly younger trying to rent one of the more 'intense' games and the parent would tear in ballistic over 'how dare you not rent to my child'. Even with those for the most part would calm down when you'd explain why.
Anyway, back to the story.
It was a typical busy friday night. I was in an overall good mood since I had my favourite CSRs on the shift and we were tearing through excellently. Lines were moving along good with checkouts, the returns were going back to the walls fast..etc.
One of my CSRs at the time had a medical condition where she had to go to the bathroom a lot so we had a system where she'd wave me to just take over her register so she could go and when she'd come back, I'd head off back to my thing.
I was on her register when this guy who looked to me like he was in his 20s, had some facial hair comes through the line buying the Antichrist Superstar cd. Since he wasn't renting nor presented an account card, I rang him up on the generic account for walk in sales and thought nothing of it until later on, The Call comes in.
It's him claiming he doesn't want the cd anymore and if he can come back and return it. Still, not a big deal and I tell him the return policy that's printed on the reciept I gave him. As long as it's not opened, either store credit or cash back-if it's opened even exchange (store credit at manager discretion with reciept).
He eventually comes in with cd and receipt, but the cd's open. I let him know I can't do a refund since it's open. Guy looks sheepish and leaves with the cd.
Not long after this woman comes tearing in loudly demanding the manager. Guy's following her looking like he wants to crawl under the nearest rock available.
I walk over and explain the policy while pointing it out on the reciept. As I was about to do a bit of bending and at least do store credit, she gets all puffy chested and loudly goes into how her son's underage and how dare I sell a child this cd.
Once again, guy's a good foot taller than me with facial hair, not a child by any stretch.
At this point with her accusation, I've decided all she's getting is the even exchange and state so again. In the background we've gotten another wave of customers so the store's now packed.
Lady starts doing this wild stare as if I've just informed her lobsters are crawling out of her ears and again starts up that the cd is offensive and demands her money back. I've by this point read between the lines and figured that the guy bought the cd, mom overheard some of it and counted it the coming of the apocalypse. Still doesn't change that it's an open cd.
By now I've assumed my ramrod straight standing position so my CSRs know I'm about to go on a roll. From what I was told later on, I didn't dissappoint.
Again I explain the returns policy and that if she found the purchase offensive, perhaps she should come out of the car when her son's buying things so she knows what's going on.
She explodes at this point to where I now have customers peering over shelves like meercats. She flings the flipped open cd at me near screaming that it's clearly offensive as 'that man is drinking urine out of that man's penis'. Without batting an eye, I again repeat the return policy and all she's getting is another copy of the cd.
She storms out shrieking the usuals. She'll have my job, she'll talk to my store manager of which I informed her he'd be here tomorrow morning. She also left behind the cd and the reciept. Her son looks like he's ready to will himself to die as they leave.
I bundle up the cd and reciept, put them in the back office and carry on with the rest of the shift. Customers comment to me that I really kept my cool well and that lady was crazy.
Rest of the night goes fine, I leave a long note for the SM so he's got advanced warning.
I come in the next day for my shift and the SM calls me into the office. The DM's there with an amused look on his face, and I'm wondering what happened that he's there.
Ended up she did come back in the morning, the DM just happened to be making the rounds to see things and was sticking around to hear my side.
SM who thankfully was extremely cool, took my note to heart and when the lady started on her spiel, he asked her for the cd and reciept so he could look it over. Of course she didn't have either nor was there a record of the sale on her account and with how many sales go on the generic account, there's no way we can do a search on it unless the purchase was a few hours ago.
The SM informed her that the most he could do since they didn't have any record of the sale provable (cd was still in back, but the reciept had since gotten buried somewhere in the mountains of paper on the desk), was to get her another copy of the cd. She demanded his boss and the DM just said that the SM was doing more than he'd do since she doesn't have the cd or a reciept.
She stormed out yet again swearing we were all disgusting and she'd never rent at us again. The latter was proven wrong later that night when her husband was renting.
The DM was pleased with me for sticking with the return policy since if we took things back for any old reason, the refunds would be going through the roof and my SM teased me for a bit for attracting the crazies.
End of the story was when we did inventory later that month, the cd was still in the back and since it was technically an overage, my SM gave it to me.
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