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Lord, I had an awful day today. It could have been a passable, slightly stressful day, but one woman kicked it over the edge -- wannabe lawyer SC.
Some background: Before I started working where I do, someone working there, I think the previous manager, thought it'd be a good idea to mark all of the stock with price stickers that had the prices printed on them. I suspect that this was to keep her from having to do additional work when customers didn't see the large signs placed near each shelf detailing the price of the yarn and came to her to get her to check it. But whatever her reasons, it was a stupid idea, because we have a LOT of stock, and we don't have the manpower to put new price tags on everything whenever the manufacturers raise their prices.
Fast forward to me working there. The stickers are still on the yarn, but the prices have gone up, and I got stuck with the unenviable task of pulling down every last ball of yarn from the shelves, blacking out the price stickers, and putting them back. Not. Fun. I was at it for months and months, helped occasionally by co-workers who didn't do a very good job and frequently missed price tags, and at the end of it all, I'd gotten almost everything. Still, occasionally something turns up that has an un-blacked out price. When this happens, we make sure and note to the customer that the price is out of date and the current price is more, and we explain why and assure them that we're trying to fix it, but there's a lot of stock, and sometimes we miss things. Most people understand. Most people.
Wannabe lawyer lady? Not so much.
She was nice until she noticed that the price tag stuck on some very pricey yarn that she wanted was two dollars less than the advertised price that was stuck to the shelf. That's when she started on me. Relentlessly. Not taking ANY hints from my more and more frigid manner that it was time for her to shut up. It was like she was a record stuck on repeat.
WLL: Excuse me, but the price on this yarn is two dollars less than what it says on the shelf.
Me: Yes, and I'm sorry about that. The tags with the prices on them were put on before I started working here, and I've been trying to fix them all. There's a lot of stock here, and sometimes I miss some.
WLL: Well you should really fix it.
Me: Yes, I know. Now that I know there are some balls of yarn over there with the wrong prices on them, I'll make sure and get them taken care of.
WLL: It's just that it's the law that you have to charge the price that's on the price tag on the item.
(As an aside, no it's not. This issue has come up a lot, so when a representative from the Better Business Bureau dropped by once, I made a point of asking. As long as the correct price is posted SOMEWHERE and the staff make sure and point out the discrepancy, there's nothing wrong with having the wrong price on some items. What's against the law is for businesses not to honor an -advertised- price that's used to bring people into the stores. That having been said, people usually don't handle me arguing that point very well, so I skipped it.)
Me: I'm aware that it's a problem, ma'am.
WLL: It's against the law.
Me: It was a mistake. We will fix it now.
WLL: I'm just telling you so that you know.
Me: (Finally losing my patience) Believe me, I'm aware of the problem. I have to deal with someone complaining about it at least once a week.
WLL: Yes, and I'm trying to explain to you why they keep complaining.
Me: Look around you. There is a lot of stock here. There is a lot of yarn. Some of it has fallen through the cracks and been missed. It. Was. A. Mistake. We. Will. Correct. It.
WLL: It's against the law. That's why people are complaining.
(Finally, I just snapped. The long conversation I just typed up is actually a condensed version of our conversation -- it dragged on and on and on with her behaving like a broken record, hammering at the same point over and over again without regard for the fact that I was -agreeing- that it was a problem and -promising- to fix it It was like she wasn't listening to anything but the sound of her own voice.)
Me: You know what, you're right. This whole price tag thing is a problem, and I never would have seen it if you hadn't pointed it out to me! As soon as you leave, I'm going to wave my magic wand and make it all better. I never would have thought of that if it hadn't been for you. Thank you!
WLL: ...
Anyway, she paid for her stuff and left after that. I think a combination of how angry I was and what I said finally got through to her that I was finished with her. If she'd continued to argue with me, I seriously would have thrown her out of the store. If she comes back, I will.
ARGH! WHY DIDN'T SHE GET IT?! What did she want me to SAY? I acknowledged that she was right, told her that we were trying to fix the problem, apologized... what the hell did she want me to say?
I guess I'm just generally angry, at sucky wannabe lawyer lady for being a grade A bitch, at my old co-worker, who did a lazy, shoddy job of checking the price tags on that particular yarn, at the previous manager, for being too lazy to look up prices for customers and starting the problem at the first place... at everyone. I like being good at what I do, whatever that may be, and being able to be proud of the result, and it royally pisses me off when lazy slackers who don't give a crap drag me down and when hypercritical people make me suffer because the slackers are lazy. The laws of karma say that the slackers should have to deal with the jerky people, but that's rarely the way things work out.
Some background: Before I started working where I do, someone working there, I think the previous manager, thought it'd be a good idea to mark all of the stock with price stickers that had the prices printed on them. I suspect that this was to keep her from having to do additional work when customers didn't see the large signs placed near each shelf detailing the price of the yarn and came to her to get her to check it. But whatever her reasons, it was a stupid idea, because we have a LOT of stock, and we don't have the manpower to put new price tags on everything whenever the manufacturers raise their prices.
Fast forward to me working there. The stickers are still on the yarn, but the prices have gone up, and I got stuck with the unenviable task of pulling down every last ball of yarn from the shelves, blacking out the price stickers, and putting them back. Not. Fun. I was at it for months and months, helped occasionally by co-workers who didn't do a very good job and frequently missed price tags, and at the end of it all, I'd gotten almost everything. Still, occasionally something turns up that has an un-blacked out price. When this happens, we make sure and note to the customer that the price is out of date and the current price is more, and we explain why and assure them that we're trying to fix it, but there's a lot of stock, and sometimes we miss things. Most people understand. Most people.
Wannabe lawyer lady? Not so much.
She was nice until she noticed that the price tag stuck on some very pricey yarn that she wanted was two dollars less than the advertised price that was stuck to the shelf. That's when she started on me. Relentlessly. Not taking ANY hints from my more and more frigid manner that it was time for her to shut up. It was like she was a record stuck on repeat.
WLL: Excuse me, but the price on this yarn is two dollars less than what it says on the shelf.
Me: Yes, and I'm sorry about that. The tags with the prices on them were put on before I started working here, and I've been trying to fix them all. There's a lot of stock here, and sometimes I miss some.
WLL: Well you should really fix it.
Me: Yes, I know. Now that I know there are some balls of yarn over there with the wrong prices on them, I'll make sure and get them taken care of.
WLL: It's just that it's the law that you have to charge the price that's on the price tag on the item.
(As an aside, no it's not. This issue has come up a lot, so when a representative from the Better Business Bureau dropped by once, I made a point of asking. As long as the correct price is posted SOMEWHERE and the staff make sure and point out the discrepancy, there's nothing wrong with having the wrong price on some items. What's against the law is for businesses not to honor an -advertised- price that's used to bring people into the stores. That having been said, people usually don't handle me arguing that point very well, so I skipped it.)
Me: I'm aware that it's a problem, ma'am.
WLL: It's against the law.
Me: It was a mistake. We will fix it now.
WLL: I'm just telling you so that you know.
Me: (Finally losing my patience) Believe me, I'm aware of the problem. I have to deal with someone complaining about it at least once a week.
WLL: Yes, and I'm trying to explain to you why they keep complaining.
Me: Look around you. There is a lot of stock here. There is a lot of yarn. Some of it has fallen through the cracks and been missed. It. Was. A. Mistake. We. Will. Correct. It.
WLL: It's against the law. That's why people are complaining.
(Finally, I just snapped. The long conversation I just typed up is actually a condensed version of our conversation -- it dragged on and on and on with her behaving like a broken record, hammering at the same point over and over again without regard for the fact that I was -agreeing- that it was a problem and -promising- to fix it It was like she wasn't listening to anything but the sound of her own voice.)
Me: You know what, you're right. This whole price tag thing is a problem, and I never would have seen it if you hadn't pointed it out to me! As soon as you leave, I'm going to wave my magic wand and make it all better. I never would have thought of that if it hadn't been for you. Thank you!
WLL: ...
Anyway, she paid for her stuff and left after that. I think a combination of how angry I was and what I said finally got through to her that I was finished with her. If she'd continued to argue with me, I seriously would have thrown her out of the store. If she comes back, I will.
ARGH! WHY DIDN'T SHE GET IT?! What did she want me to SAY? I acknowledged that she was right, told her that we were trying to fix the problem, apologized... what the hell did she want me to say?
I guess I'm just generally angry, at sucky wannabe lawyer lady for being a grade A bitch, at my old co-worker, who did a lazy, shoddy job of checking the price tags on that particular yarn, at the previous manager, for being too lazy to look up prices for customers and starting the problem at the first place... at everyone. I like being good at what I do, whatever that may be, and being able to be proud of the result, and it royally pisses me off when lazy slackers who don't give a crap drag me down and when hypercritical people make me suffer because the slackers are lazy. The laws of karma say that the slackers should have to deal with the jerky people, but that's rarely the way things work out.
I shit you not. I'm still waiting for it to catch on fire).
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