Tweet
Another extremely hot day today in Central Florida. I'm coming inside from the garden center, soaked in sweat and my torso covered in dirt from loading 35 bags of topsoil and Black Kow for a customer. All I want to do right now is get to the break room to wash my arms and hands, get the sweat off my face and drink lots of water.
I'm walking along the main aisle from outside garden to the front when I hear *tweet* (that's sposta be a whistling sound). I keep walking. *Tweet* even louder this time. I keep walking. *Tweet tweet* Again, I keep walking, not looking behind me or around to see what that noise is. I know what that noise is; it's an SC trying to get my attention. But no one is in front of me, so it must be from one of the adjacent aisles.
SC: *Tweet!* "HEY! YOU!"
Me: (I finally stop and turn around. A customer comes from around the corner) "Yes, sir?"
SC: "Are you deaf? Didn't you hear me calling you?"
Me: "I heard what sounded like whistling, like someone calling for their dog. But I didn't hear you asking for assistance. How can I help you?"
SC: "I've been trying to get your attention since you walked thru that door (20 feet away)! I can't believe you ignore customers like that! I whistled loud enough for the whole store to hear! (Yes, he did at that)
Me: "I wasn't ignoring you, sir. Like I said, I heard whistling, like someone was calling their dog. Now, how can I help you?"
SC: "I'm going to see your manager about this! You ignored me!
Now he gets real close to me, trying to intimidate me. And this is very funny, (to me at least) because he is a short, fat man, around 55-60 years old, pattern baldness, dressed in a white tank top (wife beaters we call them down here), shorts just above his knees, black socks just below his knees, and sandals. He stands about a foot away from me, and glares at me. The top of his head barely comes up to my chest.
SC: "You deliberately ignored me! I want to see the manager RIGHT NOW!"
Me: (Amazingly remaining very calm while still dealing with this dipshit) "Okay, I'll get one for you." I was hoping to ditch the guy, but no. My luck doesn't work like that. I start to head off when he says:
SC: "Oh, no. You'll stay right here!" He even tries to grab my arm, but a very evil look from me makes him decide that touching me is probably the last thing he wants to do.
Me: "If that's what you'd like, but how am I going to get a manager?"
SC: "Uhhh... "
Meanwhile, as he's going on with his tantrum, other customers are looking at him like he has 4 heads. I hear a few mutter "jerk" and "what an asshole" as they pass by.
Just then the department manager, Dan, walks thru the doors. Perfect timing. Dan is awesome. Doesn't take shit from anyone, just like me. Dan also helped me load up some of the 35 bags. SC sees him (20 feet away) and yells:
SC: (to me) "YOU! Stay there!" (to Dan) "YOU! Come here!"
Dan: "Is there a problem?"
SC: "YES, there is a problem! This guy right here ignored me. I called for help TEN TIMES before he stopped. He finally turned around when I had to yell."
Dan: "Ten times? Is this true, Knightmare?"
Me: "No, it's not. I was coming in from that 35 bag job we had when I heard whistling. I..."
SC: "I never whistled! You ignored me!"
Now we have a few other customers around us, the ones that did the whispering, and others hanging around to see what is going on. The 2 main ones will be called C1 and C2.
C1: "You did too. Leave the guy alone."
SC: "Stay out of this! This doesn't concern you!"
C2: "He asked you many times how he could help you, but you kept on with your tirade. Get a clue, mister."
Dan: "Ok, what happened here?" he asked SC.
SC: "He came thru the doors, and I said 'Excuse me.' He kept walking and I said it louder, and again he kept going. He ignored me!"
C1: "He did not ignore you! He asked how he could help!"
Dan: "Ok, everyone. One at a time. Knightmare, is this what happened?" Dan could see from the look on the other customers' faces that this was, indeed, not true.
Me: "No, Dan. I was coming in from the loading job when I heard whistling. I..."
SC: "I DID NOT WHISTLE!"
Me: "May I finish, please? I heard whistling, like someone would do when calling a dog. Not once did I hear anyone ask for any help at all. This aisle was empty when I was walking down it."
SC: "I did not whistle!"
C2: "You did too. I was standing 5 feet away from you. You broke my eardrum!"
Me: "You even told me that you whistled loud enough for the whole store to hear."
Dan: "Is that what that was? I heard that all the way outside!"
SC: "Why is everyone so stuck on whistling!? Do I look like a have a dog with me?
Me: "DO I LOOK LIKE A DOG TO YOU? When you need help, ask for it! Don't whistle and expect someone to come running! Dan, he's all yours. I've had enough of him."
Dan: "Go take a break, Knightmare. I'll take care of this."
SC: "Where is he going? Get back here! I'm not done with you!"
Dan: "Yes, you are. I'm taking it from here."
C1: (Taking me aside and saying to me) "I'll stick around and make sure everything is correct. Go get cleaned up. You look horrible. Don't smell too good, either." She laughed at that, which made me laugh.
Me: "Yeah, this is what happens when you load bags of manure for a customer."
C1: "Oh, you poor thing. Don't worry, I'll help you out."
C2 walks to the front with me, saying the whole time that SC was a complete ass, and had no right to treat me like that. He's going to see the store manager to make sure that I don't get into any trouble, and to tell them that I handled the situation as best as anyone could. I thank him and tell him he really doesn't have to do that. C2 says he's been in retail a long time, and knows that in situations like this, it's the customer's word against the employee, and employee usually loses. He's going to make sure it doesn't happen. I thank him again and go to the break room and clean up.
I clean up, sit down and relax. Only 7 minutes or so have passed. I have 2 hours until I go on lunch break. What joy this day will bring. Fortunately, the rest of the day passed without any further major incidents.
Everyone kept asking me "What happened?" "What's all the commotion about?" I just looked at them and said, "Eh, same old, same old."
Yes, I know. I actually DID ignore the customer. But if you want help, ASK. DO NOT WHISTLE FOR MY ATTENTION.
P.S. Later, Dan came to me and told me not to worry about anything. The guy got kicked out when he got verbally and physically abusive, jabbing Dan in the chest with his fat, sausage-like finger. I have no idea why this guy got so bent out of shape. I was polite and did ask how I could help.
Sorry this post was extremely long, but I like to be descriptive. Hopefully it wasn't boring.
I'm walking along the main aisle from outside garden to the front when I hear *tweet* (that's sposta be a whistling sound). I keep walking. *Tweet* even louder this time. I keep walking. *Tweet tweet* Again, I keep walking, not looking behind me or around to see what that noise is. I know what that noise is; it's an SC trying to get my attention. But no one is in front of me, so it must be from one of the adjacent aisles.
SC: *Tweet!* "HEY! YOU!"
Me: (I finally stop and turn around. A customer comes from around the corner) "Yes, sir?"
SC: "Are you deaf? Didn't you hear me calling you?"
Me: "I heard what sounded like whistling, like someone calling for their dog. But I didn't hear you asking for assistance. How can I help you?"
SC: "I've been trying to get your attention since you walked thru that door (20 feet away)! I can't believe you ignore customers like that! I whistled loud enough for the whole store to hear! (Yes, he did at that)
Me: "I wasn't ignoring you, sir. Like I said, I heard whistling, like someone was calling their dog. Now, how can I help you?"
SC: "I'm going to see your manager about this! You ignored me!
Now he gets real close to me, trying to intimidate me. And this is very funny, (to me at least) because he is a short, fat man, around 55-60 years old, pattern baldness, dressed in a white tank top (wife beaters we call them down here), shorts just above his knees, black socks just below his knees, and sandals. He stands about a foot away from me, and glares at me. The top of his head barely comes up to my chest.
SC: "You deliberately ignored me! I want to see the manager RIGHT NOW!"
Me: (Amazingly remaining very calm while still dealing with this dipshit) "Okay, I'll get one for you." I was hoping to ditch the guy, but no. My luck doesn't work like that. I start to head off when he says:
SC: "Oh, no. You'll stay right here!" He even tries to grab my arm, but a very evil look from me makes him decide that touching me is probably the last thing he wants to do.
Me: "If that's what you'd like, but how am I going to get a manager?"
SC: "Uhhh... "
Meanwhile, as he's going on with his tantrum, other customers are looking at him like he has 4 heads. I hear a few mutter "jerk" and "what an asshole" as they pass by.
Just then the department manager, Dan, walks thru the doors. Perfect timing. Dan is awesome. Doesn't take shit from anyone, just like me. Dan also helped me load up some of the 35 bags. SC sees him (20 feet away) and yells:
SC: (to me) "YOU! Stay there!" (to Dan) "YOU! Come here!"
Dan: "Is there a problem?"
SC: "YES, there is a problem! This guy right here ignored me. I called for help TEN TIMES before he stopped. He finally turned around when I had to yell."
Dan: "Ten times? Is this true, Knightmare?"
Me: "No, it's not. I was coming in from that 35 bag job we had when I heard whistling. I..."
SC: "I never whistled! You ignored me!"
Now we have a few other customers around us, the ones that did the whispering, and others hanging around to see what is going on. The 2 main ones will be called C1 and C2.
C1: "You did too. Leave the guy alone."
SC: "Stay out of this! This doesn't concern you!"
C2: "He asked you many times how he could help you, but you kept on with your tirade. Get a clue, mister."
Dan: "Ok, what happened here?" he asked SC.
SC: "He came thru the doors, and I said 'Excuse me.' He kept walking and I said it louder, and again he kept going. He ignored me!"
C1: "He did not ignore you! He asked how he could help!"
Dan: "Ok, everyone. One at a time. Knightmare, is this what happened?" Dan could see from the look on the other customers' faces that this was, indeed, not true.
Me: "No, Dan. I was coming in from the loading job when I heard whistling. I..."
SC: "I DID NOT WHISTLE!"
Me: "May I finish, please? I heard whistling, like someone would do when calling a dog. Not once did I hear anyone ask for any help at all. This aisle was empty when I was walking down it."
SC: "I did not whistle!"
C2: "You did too. I was standing 5 feet away from you. You broke my eardrum!"
Me: "You even told me that you whistled loud enough for the whole store to hear."
Dan: "Is that what that was? I heard that all the way outside!"
SC: "Why is everyone so stuck on whistling!? Do I look like a have a dog with me?
Me: "DO I LOOK LIKE A DOG TO YOU? When you need help, ask for it! Don't whistle and expect someone to come running! Dan, he's all yours. I've had enough of him."
Dan: "Go take a break, Knightmare. I'll take care of this."
SC: "Where is he going? Get back here! I'm not done with you!"
Dan: "Yes, you are. I'm taking it from here."
C1: (Taking me aside and saying to me) "I'll stick around and make sure everything is correct. Go get cleaned up. You look horrible. Don't smell too good, either." She laughed at that, which made me laugh.
Me: "Yeah, this is what happens when you load bags of manure for a customer."
C1: "Oh, you poor thing. Don't worry, I'll help you out."
C2 walks to the front with me, saying the whole time that SC was a complete ass, and had no right to treat me like that. He's going to see the store manager to make sure that I don't get into any trouble, and to tell them that I handled the situation as best as anyone could. I thank him and tell him he really doesn't have to do that. C2 says he's been in retail a long time, and knows that in situations like this, it's the customer's word against the employee, and employee usually loses. He's going to make sure it doesn't happen. I thank him again and go to the break room and clean up.
I clean up, sit down and relax. Only 7 minutes or so have passed. I have 2 hours until I go on lunch break. What joy this day will bring. Fortunately, the rest of the day passed without any further major incidents.
Everyone kept asking me "What happened?" "What's all the commotion about?" I just looked at them and said, "Eh, same old, same old."
Yes, I know. I actually DID ignore the customer. But if you want help, ASK. DO NOT WHISTLE FOR MY ATTENTION.
P.S. Later, Dan came to me and told me not to worry about anything. The guy got kicked out when he got verbally and physically abusive, jabbing Dan in the chest with his fat, sausage-like finger. I have no idea why this guy got so bent out of shape. I was polite and did ask how I could help.
Sorry this post was extremely long, but I like to be descriptive. Hopefully it wasn't boring.
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