Just Bizarre

[csever01]

Several days before Christmas, a woman walked into my store, and through the course of her fifteen-minute visit, turned my excellent day into one of the most bizarre I have ever had.

This woman is a regular customer, and through previous experience, most employees want to run and hide when they see her coming. She's not usually rude, but just weird.

This particular morning, she walked in at about 7 a.m. with her hair all tangled and with one hair roller still holding her bangs in a loose, lopsided curl.

She immediately approached the counter, and we had the following conversation.

Me=Me
SC=Her

SC: I need two gift cards. One for $20 and one for $15.
Me: OK. Just one minute.
SC: OK.
(I get two gift cards and two envelopes, press the appropriate buttons, activate the $20 card, and then activate the $15 card. The MOMENT the activation went through for the $15 card, it begins...)
SC: Oh, you know what? I guess I only want the second one to be for $10, not $15.
Me: Oh, I'm sorry, but I've already processed both cards.
SC: OK, well, I don't want the $15 one, I want a $10 instead.
Me: No, I understand what you're asking for, it's just that I've already activated this card and unfortunately, once a gift card is activated, we cannot go backwards in the system.
SC: Well just VOID it!
Me (getting irritated by now): Ma'am, the system doesn't allow that.
SC: What do you mean? You HAVE to be able to void it!
Me: No, we can't. It's activated and we cannot un-activate it.
SC: Well you'll just have to cancel out of it altogether and re-ring it.
Me: The problem is that, like I said, the system doesn't allow you to do anything except for tender the transaction, meaning you'll have to pay for the gift cards as they were originally rung up.
SC: Well, that's the stupidest thing I ever heard! WHY can't you void it??
Me (getting visibly angry): Yes, I agree that it's not very user-friendly. WHY we can't do it, I have no idea. I didn't design the system, unfortunately.
SC: Well I'm not taking the $15 card. You'll just have to cash it out.
Me: I can't do that, because then I'd end up $15 short on my drawer.
SC: So??
Me: Sssoooo...I'm not willing to be short on my drawer by $15.
SC (now becoming irate): Well why not??
Me: Because I'd be written up for it.
SC: Well, that's not MY problem! (As if she thinks I'll just agree and say, you know, you're right, I'll just get myself written up because you changed your mind.)
Me: Ma'am, there's nothing I can do except for take your thirty-FIVE dollar payment. Believe me, if I could go back, I would.

And here comes the part of the conversation that left me in utter disbelief...

SC: Well, I mean, it's not MY fault. I mean, you went so fast when you activated them that you didn't even give me time to change my mind!
(??????????? is all I can think.)
Me (with a "Lady, you're on something" look on my face): Umm, *most* people *like* it when I go fast...
SC: Well, get the manager.
Me: I'm the manager on duty.
SC: Well for God's sake, get the GENERAL MANAGER!
Me: He's actually off today.
SC: What? He's OFF????
Me: Yes, he gets two days off a week.
SC: That's ridiculous. Well call another store then! They'll tell you how to do this.
Me: Ma'am, another store won't tell me anything because there *is* no way to do this. I would know because I've personally installed these computer systems in over fifty stores. (This is true.)
SC: Well, what am I supposed to do?
Me: Buy the gift cards.
SC: Well that's an unacceptable answer. I want you to DO something about this!
Me (finally boiling over and now yelling at her): There's *NOTHING* *I* *CAN* *DO*!!!!!
SC: Well, I have to have the $20 plus a $10 and a $5 card instead of a $20 and a $15 because I realized that I had three people instead of two to give them to.
(Notice that she at no time prior had mentioned a $5 card, too...)
Me: Oh, so now you want a $10 and a $5 instead of the $15?
SC: Well, YEAH! (Saying it like I was supposed to have read her mind.)

At this point, I was so furious because she had wasted fifteen minutes of my life that I will NEVER get back. If she had just told me in the first place that she just needed the $15 broken into a $10 and a $5, I could have cashed it through, then USED the $15 card to PAY FOR a $10 card and a $5 card. But NOOOOOO!!! She had to be a sucky customer and do it the hard way.

She left all happy, with me exhausted, fuming, shaking, and ready to hurt people, and I have not seen her since.

[Becks]

Too bad that woman can't come back one final time for a trip through the

[CrazedClerk]

Well that woman does suck, I think it's rather silly your system doesn't allow you to void gift cards. Where I work we are able to do that, it takes a few minutes, but it can be done.

[tollbaby]

No offense, but that is a pretty stupid system.... what if (as was the case here) the customer changes their mind before the end of the transaction? I'd have been pretty upset about that too. If I change my mind about something at the grocery store, I either put it back, or tell the cashier that I don't want it and hand it to her... I'd be pretty damn pissed if she told me "too damn bad, I can't void it, you HAVE to buy it"....

[Banrion]

I'm sure it's a fraud prevention measure.

[trunks2k]

No offense, but that is a pretty stupid system.... what if (as was the case here) the customer changes their mind before the end of the transaction?

Yeah, I agree. I think it's really dumb that the cards are unreversable activated before the customer pays for them.

[tollbaby]

I can understand fraud prevention, but at least wait to activate until they've been paid for... it just seems like an honest customer who changed their mind would be screwed.

[powerboy]

No offense, but that is a pretty stupid system.... what if (as was the case here) the customer changes their mind before the end of the transaction? I'd have been pretty upset about that too. If I change my mind about something at the grocery store, I either put it back, or tell the cashier that I don't want it and hand it to her... I'd be pretty damn pissed if she told me "too damn bad, I can't void it, you HAVE to buy it"....

I would be pissed too, if that happened to me

[RentalRacer]

While that Customer was very sucky, the system is also bass ackwards. You did a good job not coming unglued at her.

Placed in the same situation as the customer...I would have probably just walked out. Which yes, is sucky. I apologize in advance, and will be looking over my shoulder for arrows flying at my back.

[Arachne]

Is it possible to get payment before activating the cards? That's what I do with non-returnable stuff at my store. (For example, sometimes we wind yarn into balls for the customers. I won't do this, and won't let my co-workers do it, until the customer has payed for the yarn, because once the yarn is wound, we can't sell it anymore.) Or is the system set up so that it can't accept payment until the cards are activated?

[georgiab]

I believe this woman intentionally done this as she sounds like so very many SC I have dealt with in all my ten years of retail. It is quite annoying to reverse a gift cards because you are correct once they are activated they can not just be un-activated....therefore the purchase continues to show that's why they can not be voided. She knew exactly what she wanted and chose to be a bit of a bitch about it. God only knows why these certain individuals choose to act in such an inappropriate manner.....

[HYHYBT]

Very backwards system. We can't do anything with activated cards either (except take them as payment, or reload them) but they're activated *after* the order's paid for!

[TNT]

Honestly, I'm not seeing what difference it makes when the cards were activated. The customer could have paid in advance for two cards and still changed her mind... and expected that the person would take the $15 card and make a $10 and $5 card instead.

[Maevis]

Honestly, I'm not seeing what difference it makes when the cards were activated. The customer could have paid in advance for two cards and still changed her mind... and expected that the person would take the $15 card and make a $10 and $5 card instead.

That was my thought too...just ring up a $10 and $5 card and use the $15 giftcard to purchase those two cards.

When I was dealing with giftcards we were told that we shouldn't use giftcards to purchase other giftcards...but that was mostly because some stores were using that as a way to cheat the system during giftcard contests...but sometimes was necessary when a customer changed their mind. Documentation is a good thing.

[tollbaby]

Honestly, I'm not seeing what difference it makes when the cards were activated. The customer could have paid in advance for two cards and still changed her mind... and expected that the person would take the $15 card and make a $10 and $5 card instead.

Yeah, but if she's already paid for them, she can't just take off and leave the employee holding the bag. Every store I've ever bought gift cards from has always mentioned during the closing of the sale that gift cards are non-refundable, and can't be changed once activated.