Paint Can Explosion

[Dave1982]

Well my last story didn't go over too well, so here's another from my last job. This one goes in the "didn't listen" and "no common sense" category.

A guy came in looking to buy some spray paint. Now we often got people in looking for paint for non-hobby purposes since we sold it in small quantities (bottles as small as 1/4 ounce) and in a wide variety of colors. I don't recall specifically what this guy was attempting to do, but it's not important.

Anyway, he bought a 3 ounce spray can of Model Master paint. He'd obviously never used spray paint before, and asked a LOT of questions. Now it's important to point out that Testors/Model Master spray cans have the caps taped to the can bodies to prevent tampering. In order to open the can, you have to run a fingernail around the bottom edge of the cap to highlight the seam, then VERY carefully cut the tape to release the cap. It says right on the can, and the ASM and I emphasized several times (because this guy kept asking "so how do you open this thing?") that this be done SLOWLY and NEVER with the point of a knife. Remember, a spray can is under pressure and the skin of the can is not especially thick. Hacking or jabbing at the can can easily puncture the can and create a lovely paint explosion. Let's just say that ou'd better like that color, because everything nearby will now be that color forever.

Sooooo........just as I'm walking out the door at the end of my shift, this guy comes back in with a plastic bag. He had some paint on his hands, but at the time I did not put two and two together.

The next day I got the full story.

The can had exploded. THe guy was EXTREMELY pissed off because apparently he opened it in his kitchen and it got all over his countertops, table, and cabinets. He proceeded to tear into the ASM (my uncle, by the way), claiming that the can was "defective" and that he wanted a replacement for free and that we were lucky he wasn't suing us for what happened to his kitchen.

The ASM inspected the remains of the can and found very obvious marks from a serrated blade. As near as could be determined (since of course this guy wasn't about to admit anything) he skipped the fingernail step and went directly to cutting......with a steak knife. He had hacked away at the label trying in vain to cut the tape seal until he finally punched a hole in the can with disasterous results.

I shoudl also point out that the ASM is a complete no-nonsense guy and has a VERY low tolerance for BS of any kind. So he flatly refused to replace the can since it was obvious to him that the problem was "user error" which neither the store nor the manufacturer was responsible for. So of course this moron goes ballistic and demands a refund. Again, the policy here is NO REFUNDS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, so this was also refused.

This guy was so loud that he attracted the attention of the Boss (from behind TWO clsoed doors), who came out and........replaced the can for him!!!!!!!!!

So for his stupidity, this moron got a free can of paint. Only $3 hit for the store, but the ASM was incensed and made this abundantly clear to the Boss.

He was still fuming about it the next day, which is when I heard the second half of this tale. I also got to see the can, and it was clearly hacked up with a knife, after the two of us told the guy to NOT do that.

The good part is that we NEVER saw this guy again.

[Becks]

Wow. I don't really mean this, but...I WISH I COULD BE A SUCKY CUSTOMER AND GET REWARDED FOR MY STUPIDITY!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Anakah]

I understand that in order to have a sucessful business, pleasing the customer is a priority. BUT rewarding them when they're being complete dumbasses is NOT the way to go.

I HATE it when the "boss" gives in after someone tells the person NO. It drives me insane and made me get out of retail. Though now if anybody wants anything I just grab the supervisor and make it their problem.

[friendofjimmyk]

Yes, I have learned to never, ever be adamant about something. I have been burned to many times by powers that be when I have strictly adhered to policy and then they come and make me look like a fool because they have the authority to go against policy. Now, when confronted, I simply state the policy once and if they argue, they go to a sup on duty and I let them take over. Where I work now is not retail. At any given time, we have at least 4 supervisors on duty, sometimes more. They all work the "assist queue" at different times of the day and the results vary from sup to sup on the policy following thing. It really sucks.

[pbmods]

No wonder SCs ask for managers! If only supervisors would back their staff, SCs would stop trying this childish*-yet-effective tactic.

*Mommy said, "No," so go ask Daddy. (Or vice versa. Not implying anything, nosiree.)

[MadMike]

Wow. Crime may not pay, but stupidity certainly does.

[HawaiianShirts]

It happens where I work, too, which is major electronics retail. We get hagglers and customers who demand something free or discounted for whatever stupid reason. We get the unreasonable requests and the threats and the pleading for us to "just help a guy out." I tried going by policy, but it never worked. Policy may be written down somewhere, but either my managers ignore it or are illiterate. Policy changes from manager to manager.

So, whenever I get a customer who wants me to do something beyond what I can do (which is sell them the products I have in stock or can special-order from our distribution centers), I tell them, "That is beyond my control. I can't do that. I can ask a manager if you like, but I won't even speculate as to their response." Often, just telling the hagglers that I have no control over pricing (several times) gets them to give up.

I was talking recently with a supervisor about a certain model of laptop we still had nine of priced at $599. With its specs, it won't sell at that price. The sup told me that I should mention it to customers looking for a deal and give it to them for a lower price. I told him that I couldn't do that, and he said, "Sure you can. Just use your best judgement about the discount. Something the customer will like that won't cause us to lose a lot of money." My response was a very emphatic: "No. The last time I was told to 'use my best judgement,' I got in trouble. The MOD at the time overrode me at the check-out, told me I couldn't do what I was about to do, refused to even work with the customer on the issue, then left before the problem was resolved. The customer yelled at me, left angrily without purchasing, and that MOD later got mad at me again because the department hadn't hit budget. No. What's on the tag is what I offer the customer."

This is why I don't want to be in retail any longer than I have to. Inconsistency is one of my biggest pet peeves about anything.

[protege]

Ugh. What a dumbass! I wonder if he would have snapped the nozzle/valve off a can of Tamiya spray lacquer while trying to remove the white plastic cap. (For those who don't know, this brand has a little white cap over the nozzle, under the colored plastic lid. It's not difficult to remove--gentle prying with a screwdriver is all that's needed.)

Anyway, the shop I go to is pretty strict about things. They'll take back things that were damaged in shipping, or have missing parts, but not things that were willfully damaged by the purchaser. They're good though, about fixing things. Whenever I've brought in things I've broken/blown up/shorted out, or otherwise screwed up, they take care of it...usually with some good-natured ball-breaking. And no, I don't bitch about having to pay to fix it

[zzapp the witch]

Maybe he was hoping that the idiot would screw up the second one, too? I would, especially if he was getting a different color that time. Teehee!

[pbmods]

This is why I don't want to be in retail any longer than I have to. Inconsistency is one of my biggest pet peeves about anything.

And you feel that this is confined solely to the ranks of retail management?