A Festival of SCs

[Dips]

I've posted a few times about SCs at the various fundraisers our neighborhood association has several times a year. You might remember the one where my husband stopped a haggler in his tracks and the one where my daughter stood up to a sucky parent.

Today we had our Winter Festival and I have to wonder why some people don't just stay home? Is being a pain in the ass so rewarding that you have to make the effort to go outside in freezing weather to inflict yourself on people?

Today my daughter had a guy use a $50 to pay for a $2 game (prize gauranteed) for his kid. When she politely asked if he had anything smaller, he barked "no," got nasty and loomed over her while she was trying to count out his change, "Yeah, you can break it. I see a ten there and a twenty there." He practically had his hand in her money pouch and wasn't even trying to hide the $20 he had been holding all along. Then, when she very politely asked him to give her some space (because she was afraid he was going to grab the pouch) he told her she was "rude." Jerk.

We had a guy demand we replace his kid's prize because the kid lost it. We didn't.

Then there was the lady who complained about everything.

First she asked my husband if we could break a $20. He wasn't sure, so he turned and asked me. I said we could, but she got all irritated that he didn't know and made a huge show of digging quarters out of her purse to show how put-upon she was.

Then her grandkid played the game and was shown the prize table which had a bunch of uninflated toys on it (we had inflated examples so the kids could see what was available). He wanted a dinosaur, but we had run out. Cue the lecture about not having the toy he wanted.

I guess we were supposed to hold one of everything back in case some one else wanted it? Problem being that if we still had one, we'd have to hold it back from her grandkid in case someone else wanted it.

So the kid picked another toy. She shoves it at me and demands I blow it up for her. I kindly explained that we don't blow the toys up (not enough volunteers and putting our mouths on stuff we're giving to kids isn't hygenic). She walked off muttering about how lazy we are. Yeah, I'm one of those lazy volunteers you always hear about.

My favorite guy of the day was the know-it-all who made a bunch of "helpful" suggestions about how we could do things better. I thanked him for the suggestions and let him know that the committee meets every other Tuesday and we are always looking for more volunteers. He left.

The nice folks more than made up for the jerks. The parents whose kids said "please" and "thank you." The people who signed up to help out next time. The lady who showed up with a bunch of baked goods and told us to sell them (No worries. She was known to all of us and not a poisoner.) The fellow who used a $10 bill to pay for a $2 game and refused his change resulting in an $8 donation. You're wonderful and appreciated!

[South Texan]

My favorite guy of the day was the know-it-all who made a bunch of "helpful" suggestions about how we could do things better. I thanked him for the suggestions and let him know that the committee meets every other Tuesday and we are always looking for more volunteers. He left.

I LOVE doing that to anyone who complains about something a volunteer is trying to do. It happens to me very often in some of the things I do. I usually whip out my pen and pocket spiral notebook and start asking for their name and phone number explaining with great eagerness that we always are looking for people who can do our jobs better than us and will happily put them on the schedule.

One woman responded to me that I was rude and she was going to have me fired. I laughed heartily at that one and directed her to the volunteer coordinator. The coordinator did the same thing I had done.

[0oAmericanGirl]

I don't get jerks who are rude to volunteers at events like that. When I was in Highschool we had a marching band contest and students and parents would run the show and put in LONG hours (especially the parents who alredy worked a 40+hour work week) I've seen people cuss out the parents for being "slow" while fetching food at the concession stand, cuss out students for shorting them five cents, and a whole bunch of stuff. Anyone who is rude to a volunteer for somthing like that is just a sorry sack of crap.

[Imogene]

I LOVE doing that to anyone who complains about something a volunteer is trying to do.

One woman responded to me that I was rude and she was going to have me fired. I laughed heartily at that one and directed her to the volunteer coordinator. The coordinator did the same thing I had done.

"Lady, the operative word in my previous statement was 'Volunteer'. Got that rolling around in your head? Good. I'm not getting paid to take your sh*t. And you can be fairly certain that they'll not fire a volunteer, as that would make them shorthanded."

[georgiab]

Had someone pay for their .75 cents purchase with a 100.00 bill...really uncalled for people ...it really is!

[powerboy]

Had someone pay for their .75 cents purchase with a 100.00 bill...really uncalled for people ...it really is!

Had that done, where I work. It happened after we put up a sign, stating that we do not have change for bills over $100.00. The main owner was there, and gladly accepted, the $100. So then the customer and I had to wait, while he went for change. the customer complained to me, because he had to wait. I even told him, that we have the sign there, because we do not have change, for large bills

[BookstoreEscapee]

Had that done, where I work. It happened after we put up a sign, stating that we do not have change for bills over $100.00. The main owner was there, and gladly accepted, the $100. So then the customer and I had to wait, while he went for change. the customer complained to me, because he had to wait. I even told him, that we have the sign there, because we do not have change, for large bills

I had a guy come in once at approximately 9:03 (we open at 9) and pay for a magazine with a $100 bill. The till starts with $100 in $1s, $5s, and coins. I asked if he had anything smaller, he said no, so I said I would have to call the manager to break it from the safe, so he would have to wait a couple minutes. He responded with "What, don't they give you any change?" It was all I could do not to take out the $3.95 for his magazine and dump the rest of the drawer on the counter.

And the kid with the blow up toy: if you HAD inflated it for him, he probably would have managed to pop it before they got home. Then grandma would have demanded you give him another one.

[BusBus]

My favorite guy of the day was the know-it-all who made a bunch of "helpful" suggestions about how we could do things better.

I get this sometimes at my job. Someone who has never dealt with us before says, "Can I make a suggestion?" in that know-it-all voice. Cue uninterested facial expression. I'm glad that these people think that they know how to run my organization better than...oh, I don't know....my organization? I smile and nod as they give me their "suggestion" and throw it away in the mental circular bin as soon as they stop talking.

[Becks]

I guess we were supposed to hold one of everything back in case some one else wanted it? Problem being that if we still had one, we'd have to hold it back from her grandkid in case someone else wanted it.

I'm LOVING the logic!!!!!