Rude and obnoxious customer

[Tama]

Willis, some SCs are not satisfied and do not stop UNTIL you are crying, and sometimes not even then. They want you broken.

[Willis]

Willis, some SCs are not satisfied and do not stop UNTIL you are crying, and sometimes not even then. They want you broken.

Yea I understand that but you don't let them at least try not to let them. That's the whole purpose of saying OK and just leaving it at that. It's like an emotional stabilizer to emotionally detach yourself from whatever the situation is. That's just how I deal with people and I refuse to be broken. Even if I am starting to crack I'll fight my emotions tooth and nail not to let it show. No one is getting satisfaction from my misery if I can help it. Every time I a read a story like this, it just burns me that the OP let the SC see them crack.

[rapana1]

Sometimes, the tears just come, before you even realise it. We aren't all that strong.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Also, I generally cry out of anger and frustration, not cuz I'm upset. If you're the kind of person who never cries, no matter how rude someone is to you, good for you. I'm not. Of course, I used to self harm so that I wouldn't cry, and I personally think that letting out emotions is better than keeping them inside.

How does yer place enforce it? By "having his number", do you mean that the pumps can somehow deny him service?

We have his reg number plus a description of him and his car. A copy is behind each till so that if he does try to return, his pump just won't be authorised. If he tries to start anything, security will be called.

But I don't think he'll be coming back. We've banned a few SCs in the past, and none of them have ever returned. Guess the horror of being totally pwned in public did for them as far as the petrol station was concerned...

[Dave1982]

I'm not trying to be mean, but I don't know how some of you guys allow yourself to cry over these asshole SC's. In these situations I'm the type of person to jut say "ok" and leave it at that.

Every time I a read a story like this, it just burns me that the OP let the SC see them crack.

Sometimes, the tears just come, before you even realise it. We aren't all that strong.

What Rapana said pretty much sums it up. The simple fact is that *not* everyone has your stoicism. No two people are the same, and we all (including you) have our strengths and weaknesses.

Beyond that, there are a million and one possible reasons why even someone who normally is that stoic might crack, and it has nothing to do with "letting" the SC get to them:

-They may be tired, hungry, ill, or in pain and thus have less patience for BS.

-Maybe their boss has been riding their tail.

-Maybe they're dealing with a personal or family problem such as a serious illness, injury, or death that has left them vulnerable to an emotionally abusive SC.

-Maybe the SC managed to push just the right combination of buttons to break someone who normally does not break.

-Maybe it's been an especially stressful day and the SC was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

Also, I don't know where you work, but one thing I have learned from this forum is that not all customer-facing jobs are created equal, and the SCs encountered in some jobs make even the worst SCs in other jobs seem downright pleasant by comparison. So while in your experience you may not have ever seen an SC bad enough to elicit "cracking," not all of us are so fortunate.

[mhkohne]

I'm not trying to be mean, but I don't know how some of you guys allow yourself to cry over these asshole SC's. In these situations I'm the type of person to jut say "ok" and leave it at that. Basically I'll let someone fall flat on their face and mentally and/or physically walk away. Reason being is I sometimes tend to bend over backwards to help someone but when they piss over all my attempts, I disengage myself from them because I feel they're ungrateful or my help is unwanted and they've expressed it as rudely as they could. When they finally figure out whatever they're doing isn't working for them and protest, just say something like "you told me you didn't care what I had to say".

Not everyone can detach under stress. That's a strength in some situations, but a problem when the general public is allowed to abuse you at will.

I'm pretty sure that a sufficiently deranged customer could push me to tears, or a job-ending outburst, depending on what, precisely, it said. Thankfully, I don't generally deal with the public, and the last time I did, the only guy who yelled at me had every right to do so.

[Willis]

What Rapana said pretty much sums it up. The simple fact is that *not* everyone has your stoicism. No two people are the same, and we all (including you) have our strengths and weaknesses.

<snip>

Also, I don't know where you work, but one thing I have learned from this forum is that not all customer-facing jobs are created equal, and the SCs encountered in some jobs make even the worst SCs in other jobs seem downright pleasant by comparison. So while in your experience you may not have ever seen an SC bad enough to elicit "cracking," not all of us are so fortunate.

Not everyone can detach under stress. That's a strength in some situations, but a problem when the general public is allowed to abuse you at will.

<snip>

I understand what everyone is saying, in actuality, I was really trying to provide an option or an out for emotions to not let people get to you. I'm human too, I'm not always able to contain my emotions, but when I feel them coming on, I've found ways to deal with them and was sharing one example. Saying OK when things get tough. When I say OK, it isn't completely giving in. It's just a word to use to make the other person think you're conceding. I wasn't trying to say hey be like me and do this. Believe me, I wasn't always completely like this. I don't talk about this much, but growing up I had a severe stutter. As recent as about 16 years ago, I started to be able to manage and control it. Now, I barely stutter, just occasionally. I'm an empathetic person, that's why I commented the way I did previously. Mainly through that and other experiences, I can detach myself from situations to maintain my own sanity. Now imagine dealing with that impediment, dealing with assholes and trying to figure out how to manage it all.

Dave1982

Also, I don't know where you work, but one thing I have learned from this forum is that not all customer-facing jobs are created equal, and the SCs encountered in some jobs make even the worst SCs in other jobs seem downright pleasant by comparison. So while in your experience you may not have ever seen an SC bad enough to elicit "cracking," not all of us are so fortunate.

When I was a head line cook, I dealt with ruthless servers and customer complaints. During that time is when I started being able to manage and control my stutter. That job was a catalyst or constituent in developing my stoic detachment, the military immediately afterwards developed it even further. I do smile and am not mean. I can also relate quite a bit to a lot of Jesters' approach in his posts.

EDIT:

When I said this:

Every time I a read a story like this, it just burns me that the OP let the SC see them crack.

I meant it burns me up vicariously, I didn't mean that I get annoyed reading people crying about some SC's treatment of them.

[wolfie]

We have his reg number plus a description of him and his car. A copy is behind each till so that if he does try to return, his pump just won't be authorised. If he tries to start anything, security will be called.

Customer clearly didn't get what he deserved. What did he deserve? IMNSHO:

- He's got a car that REQUIRES a "specialty" fuel (such as 93/94 octane gas).
- The chain where LNS works is the ONLY chain that sells it (around here, Sunoco is the only source for super-high octane).
- Customer is banned not just from the one outlet, but from the whole chain.

[Teskeria]

A PS to this is that I told a few people I know about the incident. One person who is an acquaintance, rather than a friend, said, "Oh, he must have been having a bad day."

Next time the idiot says something like this respond with something like this: "Oh? You mean like Ted Bundy was having a bad day?"

[Lace Neil Singer]

^lol.

He hasn't been back since; guess the shame of being barred was too much for him to take in his self importance, and all.

[XCashier]

We've banned a few SCs in the past, and none of them have ever returned. Guess the horror of being totally pwned in public did for them as far as the petrol station was concerned...

In many cases, a good public shaming is what's needed. Knowing that everybody in the place completely disapproved of their actions will make them behave better...at least for a while.

As far as stoicism goes, it's a good idea in theory. In practice, it's not always applicable. Normally I can let customers' crabbiness slide off of me with a mental . One memorable phone customer brought me to tears when he verbally tore me down, calling me a bitch and generally being snide and mean. On that day, I had been feeling very under-the-weather, had slept badly the night before and we'd just had a rush of customers while understaffed. My defenses were completely kaput. The manager on duty saw me crying, took me off the floor and gave me a good pep talk, made me feel better. So yeah, usually it works, but sometimes it doesn't.

[Sundassa]

When I worked at a grocery store, I ended up with some cruddy customers, after one incident, I went home in tears. My dad told me, that there are people out there, who are miserable, and the only thing that makes them feel better about their crappy life, is making other people miserable. Which is why they call up to Customer service reps, walk up to cashiers, and berate them. Anything where they can see the reaction they so want to see. And while you want to break down, and cry, the best thing you can do, to make them angrier, is to bite your tongue, and continue serving them with a smile. Break down when they can't see the reaction. He said it helps to imagine their miserable lives and realize you have it better than them.

Didn't always help me, but I didn't break down in front of, or on the phone, with a customer. When people are being jerks like that, they expect you to react, either falling all over yourself, or negatively so they can take it to your boss. Neither option is a win for you. The only win is to continue treating them like a normal customer that you just want do your job and get them out of your sight/off your phone.

[Jay 2K Winger]

When I worked at a grocery store, I ended up with some cruddy customers, after one incident, I went home in tears. My dad told me, that there are people out there, who are miserable, and the only thing that makes them feel better about their crappy life, is making other people miserable. Which is why they call up to Customer service reps, walk up to cashiers, and berate them. Anything where they can see the reaction they so want to see. And while you want to break down, and cry, the best thing you can do, to make them angrier, is to bite your tongue, and continue serving them with a smile. Break down when they can't see the reaction. He said it helps to imagine their miserable lives and realize you have it better than them.

Didn't always help me, but I didn't break down in front of, or on the phone, with a customer. When people are being jerks like that, they expect you to react, either falling all over yourself, or negatively so they can take it to your boss. Neither option is a win for you. The only win is to continue treating them like a normal customer that you just want do your job and get them out of your sight/off your phone.

So much this. As I may have mentioned in other posts, I've been blessed not to get too many Sucktomers trying this tactic on me. Granted, that's probably partly because I'm 6'2", taller than average, and because these kinds of bullies (which is exactly what they are) will only target workers they perceive as easy prey.

It probably also helps me that I try to project an attitude of 'I give as good as I get.' Which works to increase the positive receptions I get from customers, and keep away the negative. If you project that same kind of attitude (i.e., "I am not prey"), the bullies may try to leave you alone.

Not everyone can pull it off, but it's always worth a try!

[Gibbo]

Kudos to the manager for banning that pompous loser. There have been times at my place when cashiers have been reduced to tears but I can't recall anyone being banned for it.