TalesFromRetail

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/No-Quit4834 on 2023-08-12 02:59:09.

So I've been experimenting lately with my customers as test subjects. I have 10 regulars I remember by face and name. They like to tell me their life story. One in particular, Emily is very forgetful. Emily is very young she has no memory problems or at least, I pray she doesn't.

Emily likes to come in on Thursdays and order from our deli. The issue is, our Deli is closed on Thursdays and has always been closed on Thursdays for the past 2 years. Emily has been a regular for 2 years. Now Emily is a very hungry person 😋 so she wrote a review of our store and rated it 1 star for never serving her food and having no signs to let her know that we don't open the deli on Thursdays.

I'm beginning to worry for Emily because For 2 years now, every Thursday Emily will come and ask me why we don't serve hot food on Thursday and I have always told her "Our workers deserve a rest day and we spend that day doing maintainence, restocking, and other such work". Sometimes, Emily asks me why I don't cook if the other workers are off or is it because I can't cook. I chose not reply but in my mind I'm thinking "Well, why don't you cook for yourself Emily, can you not cook?"

So one particular thing in Emily's review was that we have no sign or schedule for our deli shop. But I have security proof that on that day Emily came in before she rated our store 1 star, there was a sign up that said "Hello, we will not be serving hot food or drinks until September 19, thank you for your understanding."

I am greatly appalled that Emily is not the only one who can not read that sign because on that particular day, 50% of my customers came to the deli corner and asked for Drinks, and Hot food.

Dan another regular even asked me "Can I get the Fried Noodles" and when I told him we did not serve hot food that day he than said "Oh okay, can I get the fried pork than?" I also worry for Dan. Dan does not seem to think Fried Pork is hot food 😋

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/Royalty1765 on 2023-08-11 20:45:07.

So I used to volunteer at a thrift store (I had just gotten off of my paid job that day) and a guy came into the store and walked around for a litter bit. He then came up to the counter where me and my co worker were and told us that "you're not a thrift store anymore, the prices are too high" and he told us this in a very rude and angry like manner. I just told him that I'm sorry and that I have no control of our prices.

Now here's some background, we as volunteers price any donations that we get in the store, most of the times those donations come on weekdays and not the weekends. There's abt 10+ of us that volunteer there. We only price anything that comes during the time that we volunteer.

Now, the thrift store is a part of an animal shelter that helps locals. The funds that we make in the thrift store go to helping with pet food, toys, surgeries, and any other health related things. So yeah, our prices might be a little higher than other thrift stores, but that's because we only sell limited pet supplies, and selective home decor. We don't sell clothes(unless it's our own that was ordered), shoes, books, DVDs or selective electronics. And we can't lower any of our prices once they've been put out and we don't do sales unless our owner sets one bc everything goes to the animals.

We have to make a profit somehow and with the way things are going, everything is becoming more expensive, especially since they just done a remodel at the end of last year.

I just found it odd that he was complaining, like if you don't like our prices go somewhere else?? he knows our policy it's written right behind our desk in bold print on a sign-

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/Royalty1765 on 2023-08-11 07:16:24.

so- Yesterday at work, I was putting away the go backs when a woman approaches me and informed me that there were teens by our wing bar that were taking them and eating them right from the bins. When she told me, I went to the CS and informed my coworker, which she then called our manager out. Apparently more than one came out 💀 and as the teens were in line at our registers she told them to get out of the store for taking the wings w/o paying for them. They tried to deny it but we also have security cameras so it's more likely that the cameras saw them. One customer told them that they should have called the cops on them and honestly I kinda agree. We have a small problem with teens stealing stuff from our store, usually when the cashier's aren't facing their direction or where they can't see them, they sneak stuff into their pockets.

Bc one night I was closing and apparently some teens (not the same) that came through my line for bananas and a drink took some small things and put them in their pockets. now my back is facing them when they took something but one of my coworkers informed me afterwards that they took something (we aren't legally allowed to do anything when a customer steals it's against company policy for us) and idk I just felt helpless and upset bc it happened when I was the only one there.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/mancan71 on 2023-08-10 00:52:52.

I used to work at a retail pharmacy and often get customers who are trying to find over the counter items. We happily get out from behind the pharmacy counter and guide people and answer questions or have them speak with a pharmacist for more difficult questions.

One day a guy comes in and goes

Guy: hey my GF sent me to get some melatonin for our son.

Me: sure I can help you find that! Here…

I guide him to the kid’s section as they have all children’s strength items there.

Me: which strength did you need?

Guy: ugh…I don’t know…

Me: well the lowest strength is 3mg but there is also the 5mg. Do any of those sound right?

Guy: I don’t know my GF is the one who usually does this stuff.

Me: do you want to call or text her then and see if she can let you know? I can wait.

Guy: nah I’ll just head off.

Me:…you’re not…gonna even ask?

Guy: nah. I don’t know any of this stuff. See ya. leaves

Still baffles me to this day where he would rather leave and probably get scolded later than ask and pick it up. Now she’s gonna probably be the one to pick it up. Even if he had gotten the wrong kind so long as they didn’t open the bottle we could have refunded him!

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/NoFliesOnFergee on 2023-08-09 22:25:33.

So sophomore year of high school (2002), I worked for a small mom and pop hardware store in a nice town in New England. The place was famous for being about twice the size of a 7-11, but still having almost everything you could find at a big box store.

The retail workers there knew where everything was, and there was always at least one employee standing in the front by the entrance to immediately say "Hi! How can I help you today?" and then take the person to the location of whatever they asked for (I always found it funny that the older folks saw this as "Good Customer Service" while the younger folks (correctly) saw that it was a loss prevention measure). We would also carry things out to folk's cars, be it charcoal, propane tanks, bird seed, et cetera. The owners VERY explicitly told us that we are NOT to accept tips from customers for helping carry a customer's purchase.

So a little old lady comes in. I'd guess she was in her mid 80s, almost five entire feet tall, might weigh 90 pounds if she was soaking wet and had rocks in her pockets. Perfectly done hair that never moved independent of the rest of her head, and dressed in very colorful, ornate blouses with a giant brooch on her lapel. Just a well put together, dignified woman.

She lived at the old Private School that had been converted to senior apartments a few blocks away, and wanted some lawn chairs so she could host guests in her garden.

She was a super sweet and pleasant woman, and it only took us about 5 minutes to find a chair that she liked the looks of that was also light enough for her to move and fold/unfold it herself. She bought three of them. When she went to the cashiers, she asked for a hand getting the chairs back to her apartment. Due to her age, seeming frailty, and the fact that she was just such a pleasant customer, my bosses got her address and told her they'd have them delivered that afternoon.

So an hour or two later, the store's pretty dead, and my boss says "Hey Fergee, why don't you go deliver those chairs to that lady?" I immediately said yes, grabbed the chairs, and made the quarter mileish walk to her building.

She lets me in, shows me where to put the chairs, and before I can say "Thank you for shopping at Local Hardware Store," she's already grabbed my right hand and put a handful of Werthers and Bazooka Joe gum in it. I'm super surprised and can barely say thank you, but when I manage to stammer that out, she goes and puts a $20 bill in my hand too. I tell her through habit that I can't accept tips (even though this was 2002 and that was almost four hours of work that she just tipped me), but thank you so much for the thought.

The lady looks right in my eyes, closes my fingers around the candy and the money, and says, with absolutely delightful sincerity "Honey, if you don't think your bosses want you to have this money, just don't tell them about it!"

We both had a pretty good laugh about that, and I gave her a hug, thanked her again, and went on my way. I took her advice and didn't tell my bosses, instead saying she tipped me in candy (which they were still a little put off by).

I took the $20 and invested it in an Ozzy Osbourne Greatest Hits CD (a friend had just introduced me to Crazy Train a few weeks prior and I was obsessed), which was the start of a lifelong love of all things heavy metal.

Marie, I assume you're dead by now, but I hope the rest of your life whipped ass and you died peacefully in your sleep after a long, fun day with family and friends.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/Trying_To_Stay_kind on 2023-08-09 10:57:29.

For context, I am a supervisor at a membership-type grocery store that requires you to use an app for "digital-application" coupons. I will be changing a few key words, due to their ability to put a name to the company I work for. I may not look it, but I can work laps around most of my coworkers, and often do, I am rarely still. I also move quickly and silently, and often scare my coworkers when I pop up out of seemingly nowhere and vanish without a trace ( not my words, but described as such by others often enough it left an indelible impression.) We are always shortstaffed, so it is normal to work several positions during any given shift.

I had a few minutes left before my co-worker was scheduled to return from break, and was watching three separate areas, waiting to step in if any section needed attention, or assistance. Everything was calm, then out of nowhere this little old woman with a bob cut appears as if materializing directly from a fairy tale. Back facing me, squinting at her recipt, scowling as if the thin slip of paper she held had secreted some noxious vapor directly towards her sharp nose, she thrust her hand skyward so abruptly that a grown man passing her flinched out of her way. In what I can only describe as the briefest shifting of her fingers, as if an errant draft caught them for a moment, she summoned me. Walking towards her briskly with my customary customer service smile plastered to my face, I ask " how can I help?" After a tick or two she slowly turns around to face me clutching her recipt tightly as if it may sprout legs and make a break for it, which due to the draftiness of our store is a distinct possibility, she asks rather abruptly " Are you the manager?"

Smiling a little apologetically now due to the important distinction between manager and supervisor in our company, I explain " I am a supervisor, and would like to help, if possible." She waves her recipt at me as if bidding farewell to a knight of yore and claims " one of my digital dohickies didn't ring up properly."

Cue programmed response one: " did you add your coupon to the cart?" I ask out of habit. "Yes, yes, of course I did" the little old lady replies, exasperated by my canned response. "ok, awesome. Do you have your app with you?" I ask still following my problem solving script. "Right here on my phone. " she states with no motion towards her phone of any kind. "May I please see it?" I ask with placid smile intact. No verbal response, simply a frantic search for her mobile device, followed by a swift opening of phone and app.

Mind you, I've yet to glance at either recipt or product in question, simply following the prescribed troubleshooting steps.

After initially allowing her to attempt finding the coupon herself I ask again politely "May I see it?" gesturing towards her phone. She obliges without thinking, as most do when asked politely for the item they're holding, regardless of the items' importance. After a few clicks I ask which product she was using the unapplied coupon towards and pull up the corresponding deal description. "I see, it looks like the item you purchased isn't one of the offered products for this deal." I say as I try to show her the coupon details I've pulled up, and which products are offered ( with pictures to alleviate any confusion).

Without pausing a beat she rebutts my statement with "I got it from a spot labeled with the coupon on it".

Now, I'm slightly confused due to our price tags clearly describing the product it's meant to pair with as well as recognizing the item she's holding is not only a new addition to our chip section, but also, due to its adage of " healthy" maintaining a loftier price range than their less healthy cousins.

With every intention of double checking the tags before refusing, I ask " Was the product name on the tag, or was it possibly in the wrong spot? Were there any similar products surrounding it?"

Our chip section is often times a headache and a half to traverse if unfamiliar with our price tags, fortunately the section was reorganized the evening before by one of the managers. Any issues should have been mitigated.

This question was met with a click of her tongue and a rejoinder that about knocked me over out of sheer disbelief. " Well, if you'll walk your fat little legs over there, I'll show you where I got it. It'll give you some work to do."

Completely gobsmacked, befuddled, and incredulous at this tiny ladys' casual cruelty, I watch as she begins to shuffle around the checkstands towards the product aisles muttering to herself "Now where is that chip aisle."

As my brain begins to reingage with reality, rebooting after receiving an unexpected shock, it fixates on the simple fact that I was just insulted with an oxymoron.

Typically while acting in a professional capacity I strive to remember not to take insults or abusive words to heart due to the frustration clause: " People may lash out when frustrated, It doesn't truly exemplify the person, only that a requirement, perceived or otherwise, isn't being met."

To acheive distance and remove my personal feelings I quip quietly "Wow, that would've hurt my feelings. If I had any." Which never fails to remind me of the ridiculousness of any given situation.

Back to my chipper self I glide swiftly to the chip aisle, her phone resting in my hand, passing her silently and guiding her to the proper section. I make a show of reading the labels out loud for her benefit, even squatting and resting my hands on my knees, scratch my head for effect, and say " Unfortunately none of these labels match the product, and there aren't any similar items nearby, is this where you found it?"

She then points at one of the shelves that has the offered items and says "I found it right here." To which I repeat, " There aren't any similar products nearby. Unfortunately since it wasn't a mis-shelved product ( our products are shelved by brand, and there would be several here if they were ment to be part of the deal) and there isn't a corresponding tag with the coupon price listed, I'm afraid I can't honor it at that specific coupon price." I pull out her phone and get ready to show her how to check if a product works for a deal so that we can mitigate the frustration in the future. I begin the tutorial I've been trained to supply in these instances. " If you ever aren't quite sure if an item works with a coupon, there is an easy way to check, first you-."

She cuts me off with a venomous " I don't want to take your class."

I slam my mouth shut. "Then let's get you set up with a refund." I say as patiently as possible. I start to turn toward the front. She says "I still want to buy the chips with the coupon."

I half turn back an say as upbeat as possibly " once you've chosen your item, we'll get you all set up."

Then I hastily retreated and asked the returning supervisor to help the little lady in the chip aisle with her product exchange.

He reported back that he had no trouble with her, and that she was kind through the entire transaction. I told him about our interaction after she left and he seemed as shocked as I was.

She made a point of stopping by me on her way out to let me know that " He got me all set up, just like you said."

I politely said " Awesome, glad to hear." followed by " That exit is locked, please use the other one." She looked at me strangely and kept walking, one of my cashiers had to run and catch her and reiterate that the doors were locked, and she couldn't use that exit.

I think she was expecting more attention than she was given, or she was completely oblivious that her words were caustic. Too much vinegar in that one.

Apologies for the poor formatting, im on a mobile. Also sorry for the overall wordiness.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/Royalty1765 on 2023-08-09 08:35:45.

there was one time (I work as a cashier for a grocery store) when a lady that had her cart piled high and whenever she passed by the front we would all just glance at her much like what we do with everyone else (we try to make sure we can help someone find something if they look lost) and then turn to our bagger to talk (when we're not busy oc) but she was going back and forth between each side of our store quite quickly and we all noticed that everytime she passed there wouldn't be anything new in the cart...eventually she called out over like 5 registers and i didn't know what she said bc I thought she asked me if my register was open and I told her yes....then she came storming over to my register asking me and my bagger if we had a problem with her. now I did not have a problem so I was really confused why she asked this and I told her no I don't. but she wasn't having any of it so she made me call one of my managers to the front all while she was yelling at us abt how unprofessional we are and how we're all terrible ppl (I'm sorry but I almost started smiling BUT I DIDN'T bc idk what her problem was) and she complained to our manager how bad we were and how we were watching her and whispering to each other like she didn't just walk across the store 10+ times (most likely to see if we would catch her when she tried to walk out the store w/o paying) but we weren't talking abt that at all bc all I said to my bagger was "get ready it's going to be a long order" and my manager said he would talk to us and he pulled the bagger aside and he explained what was happening. the she had the audacity to yell at my manager while he was talking to the bagger. she yelled that "this store is full of ignorant ppl" my manager got pissed so he raised his voice bc she yelling the whole time and told her he was speaking to the bagger rn. then she threw her hands up and shouted that she wasn't going to shop there anymore and that she wasn't going to be getting all the things she put in the cart so she walked out the store. I felt bad bc the other bagger had to put away all the items...but she was trying to steal 4 packs of ribs, 4 12pks of beer, cooking equipment, tp and a lot of other food and none of it was our sale items XD

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/Mysterious_Clue_3500 on 2023-08-09 07:02:30.

I used to work retail at a year round costume store and we would get some pretty interesting customers.

I was closing on a random Friday night. About an hour before we were going to close a regular customer walks in with a guy. I happen to know from past experience that this customer was a lady of the night. The guy came in with this huge black duffel bag. The store was a mom and pop shop and had a strict policy about not carrying large bags or purses around the store to help curb shoplifting. I asked the guy to either take it back out to his car or leave it up front with me. He was kind of squirrely but after some back and forth he finally agreed to leave the bag up front but told me that he had a lock box inside of it with some "loose diamonds". He didn't want to leave it unattended. He pulled out the lock box to show me and since it was small and would be cumbersome to get into, I told him it was fine to carry it around the store with him. I then found out from the woman that they were going to be driving out of town to get married. That were stopping by the store so that he could buy her a wedding dress. We didn't sell wedding dresses but I told her that we had some really cool corseted dresses if she wanted to take a look at those. She went to do that while the guy wandered around with his lock box. He was constantly going on to me and all the other employees about how rich he was. He also told us that in addition to being a diamond dealer he was an "astrologist" that worked for NASA.

After trying on a few dresses she finally found one she liked and brought it up to check out. The dress rang up and about $180. When the dude saw the price he completely lost it and an argument ensued. After about 10 minutes of arguing with him (by the end about 10 min before closing time) she decided to go back and get a different dress but she reminded him that they also needed a ring and that he should pick something from our costume jewelry while she found a new dress. I showed him some rings and he picked one but when I told him it was $12 he asked me to show him something cheaper. He finally settled on the $2 ring.

I told everyone to go ahead and start on closing duties while they finished up shopping. About 20 minutes after close she came up with a $40 vintage style dress. After a little more arguing he finally agreed to pay for the dress. However she also wanted a pair of shoes and flatly refused to leave without them. She was wearing a ratty pair of canvas tennis shoes. He kept insisting that they would "look great" with the dress and she didn't need shoes. They continued to argue and by that point we were coming up on almost a half hour after closing. My coworkers and I were supposed to be clocking out and I still needed to close the drawer. Sick of listening to them argue (and wanting to make staying open later as worthwhile as I could) I told the guy that since he had a "case full of diamonds" surely he could afford to pay for the shoes. The guy got angry, grabbed his bag and stormed out. She ran out after him dragged him back to pay for the dress and ring. She then bought the shoes herself. I wish to the best of luck and she was on her way.

After they were gone, I locked up and finished closing. About 15 minutes later when I was leaving I noticed they were still in the parking lot arguing. I'm fairly sure that wedding didn't happen.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/SafeSpace316 on 2023-08-08 16:44:26.

I had this customer back when I first started working at this gas station. He loved telling other customers how I was new and they would have to be patient with me. He had this really condescending attitude.

Well, 1 evening He made a purchase of candy bars. He bought 2 cause of the deal but the scanner rang up 3. I voided the extra one but the way the register had a weird way of showing this on the receipt. It would look like this

Snickers 2.17 Snickers 2.17 Snickers 2.17 Snickers -2.17 Discount .34

The Discount made them 2 for $4 + tax, thus his total with tax was 4.28 but he told everyone that I overcharged him. I showed him on the receipt the -2.17, this was the removal of the extra one he didn't purchase. The receipts showed it this way, which was a major pain but it was how it worked. He got quiet and left the store but not before others teased him about the new guy knowing more than he did and comments like, "so whose new?" Didn't see him for a while.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/kclee1st on 2023-08-06 06:10:24.

Cashier at large grocery chain. It's about 6pm and my shift is almost over. Normal looking middle aged lady comes on my line. We exchange pleasantries and I begin to ring up her order. She goes to the back and bags. All good. She asks how long I've been working there. She tells me she also worked at a competitor for 11 years and liked it. So she pays and I give her her receipt when she begins to tell me she was enslaved by the U.S. government for 40 years. I wasn't sure I heard her correctly so I said "say again" and she goes on how she was in forced labor with no pay for 40 years and then they started to pay her 1/2 pay. She went on to say she now gets double pay and was pulled out by Amazon. She also said there were thousands like her. At that point I had another customer to tend to. I would have loved to ask her how she worked at the grocery store while enslaved by the government but I didn't have the time.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/1-800AlbinoRhino on 2023-08-06 04:32:48.

So I'm a cashier at a retail furniture store, and I was bored out of my absolute mind since it was a weekday morning and the store was about as dead as I've ever seen it. Regardless, I'm at the counter probably trying to think of words that rhyme with "bucket" or some other absurdity, when this younger couple comes up and they have a couple pillows and whatever else. I scan their items and start getting them in bags and their total comes out to some-odd dollars and six cents. The guy pulls out his wallet and gets a $50 bill and they both go through their pockets and couldn't find any change, so he just gives me the fifty, saying, "Man, this is why I hate stores, they always make you break stuff for no reason." And I say something about how it's a pain and some joke about sales tax that I've used everyday for a year. But I'm getting the guy his change and it's whatever dollars and 94 cents, and I count out loud as I'm getting the coins, 25, 50, 75, 85, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, and as I'm about to give it to him he says, "See what I mean man, look at all that change."

And that's where things got bizarre.

I give him his change and the receipt, tell him to have a good day, when he says, "You realize you would've been better off giving me a dollar?"

I sort of gave him a look, and just explained, "I know carrying the coins around can be annoying, but the computers will tell the managers at the end of the night exactly how much is supposed to be in the drawer and they throw a fit if it's off at all, above or below what it's supposed to be."

To which he says, "No, you just gave me more than a dollar in change for no reason." He balls his hand into a fist around the coins and starts shaking them like a maraca.

I am confused now. "Sir, I'm pretty certain I gave you the 94 cents I was supposed to."

"Yeah man, that's more than a dollar," as he walks off.

I am befuddled.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/_Monjara on 2023-08-05 02:48:05.

Customer buys about 10 things. 3 of the items were 6.99–2 with tax and 1 without tax. 6.99 x 2 = 13.98

Customer’s daughter comes back in to tell me that I overcharged them. So I asked to see the receipt knowing I did not. I asked her where was the mistake and she said that I charged her 13.98 and they got nothing for that price.

Me: You got 2 things for 6.99 so that’s the subtotal of the 2 items.

Daughter: Yeah but then you charged us 6.99 again. We only got 2 things you’re saying.

Me: Yes you did, you got that other thing and that has not tax. That’s why it’s separate.

Daughter: Could you do the sale again? It’s not right.

So I do it again, as I’m able to void out sales, and it came out correctly. She begins to shake her head and her mother comes in and pulls out the calculator on her phone and they start going at it again.

Mother and daughter: YOU SEE?!?! You over charged us. We got nothing for 13.98!!!!!!

I began to explain it and point at their things and show them which ones were 6.99 and they still could not understand that 6.99 twice equals 13.98… So then the daughter gets loud and says, “Well you don’t have to give us an attitude!”

And I said, “Well, I shouldn’t have to explain things with apples and bananas so that you could figure out that 6.99 x 2 equals 13.98. 1 banana plus 1 banana equals 2 bananas.”

In disgust, they look at me and tell me that it was wrong. The amount they got on their calculator was not equalling the amount on the receipt because they forgot about taxes. I just don’t know how these morons get through life.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/Blubblesblubb on 2023-08-04 18:52:18.

Happened a few days ago. I picked up my boyfriend from work (a Shop in a mall). I used to work there too. I was waiting for him in the store, looking around and saw the Idiot throwing a 1€ Item into the shelves. Infront of his kid. The cashier saw that too but was to busy. I always call some customers out for their bs (mostly in my own store), because you just dont do stuff like this. Its not yours, even for 1€ or 1000€, i dont care. I also try to be nice in tone or at least neutral. I was like, in a nice or neutral tone:"uuh, you can't throw stuff just like that? Thats not nice." Idiot then told me he will definitley pick it up but he got more and more angrier since the cashier was watching him if he really picks it up (my bf was with me by then and I told him about it).

Idiots wife came to me to ask something but I told her that I dont work here anymore but my bf wanted to help until Idiot got puffy about me calling him out and how I am a stuck up btch for a 1€ Item. It goes back and fourth, with the Idiot yelling, between my bf and him. Telling him he is yelling for something this trivial and to act like a decent human being. His wife came by totally confused but didnt took any sides. He became more aggressive, threatening to kill me and my bf until security (called by the cashier) came and he got kicked out. His side of the story was we were threatening him (most of the other customers were like 'dude dont lie') and nobody is believing him because he has black hair? Noone ever mentioned his hair or his darker skincolor. His wife told him:"okay, daugther and I will still have fun, you wait here baby". He looked pretty pissed that she still went shopping.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/Sufficient-Aerie-542 on 2023-08-04 17:51:12.

So this lady was waiting outside my store (in a mall) before I even opened. She was staring at me before I even unlocked the door, I still have my bag my coat everything still on, and she was expecting me to serve her right away. I tried to ignore her and entered the store closing the door behind me and start preparing for the day. I was hoping she would get the point that the store was not open yet but she didn't. She continued staring at me until I ran out of things to do and have to tell her that I would not open for 10 more minutes. She seemed to understand but continue to stand there and stare at me. I left the store for 5 minutes while I went to the bathroom, hoping that she would leave. But as I was walking back I noticed that she was actually standing at the corner waiting for me, like she couldn't believe I left her hanging. As I was opening the door to go back inside and try to ignore her she told me her order. I still was not open yet but she didn't care. I told her to wait but she pulled out her card and stood at the till staring at me. When opening time rolled around and my delivery still had not arrived I told her that it would be a bit late and she got mad at me. She told me to call the driver, I told her that he wouldn't pick up because he was driving and she continue to berate me for lying to her. When delivery came in she told the driver that she was waiting. I served her as soon as I could just to get rid of her. After she paid she told me I should say sorry. It's not like I could control traffic. I told her the information as I knew it and that stuff like this was out of our control. About starts to a bad day and it was only getting worse... 😩

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/Total_Brother7101 on 2023-08-01 15:51:48.

This just happened about 3 hours ago

At least 3 hours into my shift I start serving a customer (let's call her Karen). In my store we can type a number, press multiply and scan one item through so it comes through as whatever number is typed (i.e if a customer wants 4 cans of beans, I would type '4x' then scan one of the cans through) and this is shown above the item I have scanned (e.g each can is 89p it would read '4 @ 89p'). This is important to the story.

Karen has a decent amount of items so a couple times I used the multiply method. Karen pays and walks away from the register so I start serving the next customer.

As they leave, Karen cuts in and looks mad.

Karen: you've charged me for 3 of these vinegars when I only bought 2.

Me: can I take a look at your receipt?

(Karen shows me the receipt and points to '2 @ 99p' for the oven cleaner which is below this. I point this out to her)

Karen: you're wrong. You've charged me for 3 and overcharged me. They were 49p not 99p!

Me: ma'am the 2 thing isn't for the vinegar it's for the oven cleaner. See?

At this point Karen keeps telling me I'm in the wrong. I also have a queue of customers lining up, a couple of them looking very baffled at Karen.

Karen then proceeds to blame me for her mistake. I gave her the right answer and she didn't like it.

Me: would you like me to call a manager?

Karen: yes please

I then call a manager but at that point Karen's gone.

She had also told me apparently "this" was the reason her son left the store. I've never seen this woman in my life and I honestly doubt her son left here...

TL/DR: Karen needs to listen and check receipts

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/AutoModerator on 2023-08-01 14:00:57.

Welcome to /r/TalesFromRetail's Express Lane - your quick stop for short tales, pithy observations and general retail chat about how things are going with your store, your customers and yourselves.

Please follow the rules regarding anonymity and derogatory speech. NO BUSINESS NAMES

(All comments will be sorted by "new")

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/UnderstandingSea7999 on 2023-07-30 20:52:01.

I used to work in a specialist running retailer where we sold running shoes, clothing, and accessories. What set us apart was that a lot of staff were runners, and we really took our time with customers to make sure they got the right things.

A lot of the time we'd be talking people down from buying the most expensive shoe / jacket / watch to help with their running if they really didn't need it or it would be actively bad for them (e.g. very expensive shoes that did not match their foot shape so would likely cause blisters). As you can imagine, this used to take a lot of people by surprise that we wouldn't just automatically sell them the wrong thing to make more money, and we built a lot of trust and got a lot of repeat custom that way. Slowly slowly catchy monkey.

Anyway, the company grew and we got taken over as the original boss sold up to enjoy their retirement. I'm working in one of the shops one day and a customer comes in asking for a really obscure accessory for a running watch. He knows what it is, but is only fairly sure it'll do what he wants it to do, and wants to see if we've got one - fair enough.

I check and we don't, because it's really obscure, it's not even registered as a product on the till - and knowing how the special ordering system works for non stock items is (you have to pay up front and there are no returns unless it's faulty) I let him know that it'll take about 2 weeks to get in, and if it doesn't work for him he'll be stuck with it, BUT Amazon have loads, can get it to him tomorrow, can sell it for cheaper than we can buy it, and he's got the option to return under distance selling regulations. I say to him it's best to go down that route as it'll be quicker, cheaper, and less risky for him that way. This is quite honestly the type of advice the company was built on - if there's a better way for the customer to do something, let them know.

His response (and he was almost welling up with tears / anger) - "So you're telling me you won't order me one in, I just can't believe it - you guys have really gone downhill since you were taken over!!!"

Yeah pal, sorry for giving you the same sort of advice that has built the companys reputation for 30 years haha. Only time I actually laughed at the ridiculousness of someone in front of them.

Edit: typos

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/TylPlas26 on 2023-07-30 18:44:08.

This happened yesterday, and thought it would be a good story to share.

I work at a building supply store as a yard hand and delivery driver. I’ll try give you a picture of the store and it’s building. There are 4 building, but one isn’t part of the story.

You have the main store with a attached shed where we keep some building material in. Next to it we have a second detached shed that keeps a majority of lumber, and weather sensitive material. This is where me and my coworkers work in. And we have a third, I can’t remember the name to describe it. It’s a shed with a roof with no walls where we set lifts of sensitive lumber in to keep out of the sun. This building sits in the lumber yard where all the rest of the lumber is kept.

Usually when a customer buys some material in the store, they are directed to come to the second shed we are in, they give us the receipt for what they need, and we direct them where to take their vehicle to we can load them up.

Yesterday, it was me and two other workers. At the time, I was up in the store attached shed collecting a order, my second coworker was in the second shed, helping a customer load up their vehicle, and the third was on lunch.

As what my coworker later explained to me, as he was loading up the customer, he saw a white vehicle stop in front of the shed doors. When he was almost done with his current customer, he said the white car drove off.

He made his way to the door, looking around but didn’t see the car, so he assumed they drove off. It was at this point I came back, and after a few minuets of us checking over paperwork, one of my coworkers came out.

They said they got a call from a customer. Saying they have been waiting outside for several minutes, and still haven’t gotten any help.

Confused, we began looking around. I walk to the yard past the third shed, which this building obstructs our view of the yard from the shed we work in. And in the middle of the yard, I see the white car. I approach and ask if they need help, and the woman steps out, sounding a little irritated, saying “Yeah. I’ve been waiting a while. I need some material.”

I take her sheet looking at what she ordered, and and say to her. “Alright. All this stuff is in our second shed. Just for future reference if you need stuff loaded. Come to our second shed. That is where we work out of.”

In a small huff, she goes “Well, they told me to come down to the last building.” We load her up, and she leaves. And that when my coworker told me what he witness with the vehicle. Usually all the store staff say to customers to go to the second shed.

We were guessing my either she didn’t want to wait for my coworker to finish, and decided to just go and wait in the yard, thinking someone would come out, or was just clueless. Or both.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/BushyEyes on 2023-07-29 05:01:40.

I worked in retail over 10 years ago but I still have vivid flashbacks to the orange man and I’m positive this is my villain origin story.

I worked at a local grocery store in a very small town where you know all the regulars. I was a cashier to CSR to cash office person and don’t ask me why, but 17 year old me took my job very seriously. When I was CSR, I ran that place like a well-oiled machine. Like deep-cleaning every nook and cranny, we all spot our dots, and no one’s till was ever off. I just honestly loved the grocery store and I loved feeling like everything was running smoothly and lines were moving and customers were happy. I really liked my job, but I was also a little inflexible when it came to rules sometimes and I had an occasional power trip 😂

One day, this old guy’s oranges rang up wrong but I caught it before he hardly even noticed because I always memorized sales prices of popular items. I adjusted the price before he paid but when he saw I did that, he was adamant that the “if you pay the wrong price it’s free” policy applied. Me being the rule queen was adamant it didn’t since he didn’t actually PAY the wrong price, and I was fully prepared to die on this hill, so we got in a big fight.

He finally relented and paid but immediately went to the store manager who just wanted everyone in the town to like him and gave him his money back.

This dude did a full-on champion walk out of the store wagging his finger at me and swinging his oranges around like he owned the place. To this day, I occasionally get hit with a mental image of that man totally rubbing it in my face that he had won the battle. I never forgave the manager for that one either 😂

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/TeenagemutantPharmT on 2023-07-28 05:46:36.

Usually the stories I bring home from work are frustrating or otherwise negative but working in a job where I interact with a large quantity of many different kinds of people, you meet some incredible people sometimes.

I met this older gentleman at work the other day. He needed help finding something for his girlfriend he said. He explained to me she was about to have surgery and he went out to pick up something for her. I gladly helped him find what he needed and offered to check him out to save him some time. He thanked me and I walked him to the counter to pay for what he got.

After I scanned his item I remarked on how kind it was to come to the store for his girlfriend. And he just smiled at me and told me how much he loved her. And I could see it in his eyes. In his smile. How they lit up when he talked about her.

“I really hope she’ll marry me one day”

That’s what he told me as I bagged up his stuff for him. And it made me smile.

“I’m sure she will”

I told him. He seemed like such a sweet person. He told me he would be nursing her back to health for the next six weeks and he hoped he could wear her down by then. I wished him luck and sent him on his way with a smile on his face and a hopeful spring in his step.

And I don’t think I had ever seen love before. Not like that.

And I felt myself tear up. Because all I wanted was for someone to love me like that. I think maybe that’s all anyone wants. And not everyone is lucky enough to find it.

Everyone talks about how sweet young love is. And maybe they’re right. But I want the kind of love this man had. The kind they write songs about.

Because that kind of love never grows old.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/InfiniteCalendar1 on 2023-07-28 17:08:59.

Earlier this week this woman came in returning an online order; it was a band tee that was distressed style so it had some holes in it. The reason she was returning was because it had holes and my manager who was processing the return explained that’s the style and she said she was buying it for her granddaughter who’s 9. After the return was processed she stepped aside and was analyzing the receipt. Obviously my manager continued to ring people and process returns as there were others in line.

At one point I walked away to put some items back where they belong, and when I walk back towards the register, the woman is yelling at my manager and pointing her finger in her face saying that she has terrible customer service skills and that she would report her and “you sold me a shirt with holes in it! I’m never shopping here again!” When she told my manager she’s reporting her, my manager just said “okay”. I found it weird she brought up the shirt having holes in it again as it was literally explained to her that the shirt is distressed style hence the holes. It wasn’t something malicious like she perceived, she just failed to recognize the shirt was designed that way when she placed the order online. Apparently she yelled at my manager because after the return was processed she didn’t get the amount for the shipping fee refunded and just for the item, and my manager was ringing others and she didn’t fall back in line to address this so she apparently was like “excuse me, I’ve been waiting here!” To my manager and a customer after a moment. Literally the whole time she was standing next to the register my manager was ringing on just analyzing the receipt.

My manager was very calm when handling this customer and she mentioned that she had to focus on the line and that the lady wasn’t in line, so she can’t just leave people waiting to do a return or get rung up hanging. There was a customer I rung up after who said my manager handled it very well as she remained calm, and empathized with retail employees who deal with customers like that lady. About her not getting a refund in shipping, I don’t handle returns as it’s only for managers but I’d assume it was because shipping is a service and the service was carried out, so that can’t be taken back the way an item would. Honestly I do think it was ridiculous that she was antagonizing us for how the shirt was designed even after it was explained to her as she clearly glossed over this when she placed the order online, but then again I could see that she probably doesn’t realize that distressed style clothing is a trend because she’s older.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/WeaponizedDiarrhea on 2023-07-27 23:20:19.

This one is from years back when I worked at a mobile carrier store between 2006-2008. A customer came in complaining that her new phone kept turning off whenever she tried to answer a call.

So my coworker and I gladly offer to troubleshoot, ask for the phone number, and call. I picked up the call and it worked just fine. The lady asked how I did that and I said "I just pressed the answer button. Maybe the battery was going dead when you tried?"

She insisted the battery was fully charged each time, so we tried two more times just to show her. My coworker then asked the lady if she could try herself, so we dialed her number from our store phone and waited.

Her phone rings, she holds a button down and it turns off. My coworker and I looked at each other trying to hold back laughter and kindly informed this sweet lady that she's pressing the wrong button, it's the green one. You know, green means go. That one.

> > "I've never used that button before, I think my 'Press While Ringing' button isn't working." > > > "...the green button is the only one you're supposed to press when it's ringing, unless you want to ignore the call. Then you use the red one." > > > "That's not right, it says it right there! PWR! Press While Ringing!" > > >

That was one of my most memorable days from that shit job.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/sophiahxx on 2023-07-27 03:13:11.

over a month ago i started a new retail job and all my co workers are relatively nice. on todays hour i was doing clear rail. ( which is essentially getting clothes from the changing rooms and finding where they go) i was helping a girl out in the changing rooms, getting items to also take out when one of the floor managers comes (female) in and asks me to sort out the sale section, i finish helping out in the changing rooms, head over to the sale section and proceed to tidy and pick clothes up off of the floor to the best of my ability. one of the hangers was snapped so i go back into the changing rooms, throwing away broken hanger and putting new one for shirt on etc. im just about to leave as she comes in and proceeds to say ‘every time i come in here all it is is you two talking’ and ‘ i asked you to tidy the sale, when i ask you to do something it should be instant.’ i explain about the hanger and the misunderstanding and before leaving she says ‘did you even tidy anything?’ the thing that’s really annoying me is that not even 20 minutes before this she was 1) gossiping with a co worker for 15 minutes in the middle of the store (i overhead most of their conversation) and then 2) whilst me tidying had another 2 10 minute conversation whilst just standing around doing nothing ? floor managers in our store have all the same tasks as us and looking at her rota she was meant to be working. after tidying she switches me onto till when im meant to be doing self checkout (which no one is on) leaving me to do both when relatively busy whilst she stands around talking to the girl who was meant to be doing till and yet again doing nothing. my boyfriend said the way im reacting is valid and i should speak up about it but i don’t want to cause a problem but the double standard is crazy. (i always try to help out at work often doing tasks to help others if i’ve done my job or it’s a slow hour, having a good recruitment rate etc so i think if i did address anything my co workers would be able to back this but idk what to do) edit: the hangers are kept in changing rooms hence why i went back there

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/Affectionate-Kiki on 2023-07-24 00:06:59.

I’ve had my fair share of customers who catch attitudes with me, but the one I had today takes the cake. So today I had a customer in the drive thru place an order. It was a very simple order which I got packed up in no time. I get to the window, take her card so she can pay, and hand her her order and receipt, and give her back her card. A pretty typical drive thru customer interaction. The drive thru line was long (short staffed) and I heard honking, so I figured maybe it was the people in line being impatient. Nope! It was her. After I got the next customer’s order, she’s still sitting at the window. I open it up and she asks for napkins, then absolutely flips out on me and cusses at me. It caught me completely off guard because she was nice when ordering. I calmly told her “ma’am, please don’t get an attitude with me. Don’t talk to me that way” and that’s when her outburst got worse and when the f bomb came flying out of her disgusting mouth. I don’t remember exactly what she said, but it was something along the lines of “I know you heard me honking this whole f*cking time” or something like that. Hopefully one day she learns the hard way not to talk to customers like that. And hopefully her daughter disowns her when she’s old enough to move out. Really lady? Flipping out over napkins? Get a life 🤣🤦🏻‍♀️

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/mmofrki on 2023-07-23 20:58:56.

So I work at Big Chain Retail Store selling produce and produce accessories mid-afternoon to closing. For some reason management has decided that the most important times of the day are between 8am and 3pm, so that's where they hired/staffed most of the people. On most days (except Sundays) the bulk of shoppers come in late in the afternoon since most people work the typical 9-5 job. By this point in the shift, I'm basically left alone, having to keep everything at 100% stocked capacity while customers shop and somehow decide that rummaging through everything is necessary. I get called out on things because certain areas aren't faced and neat, while management clearly sees me trying to replenish things on the sales floor, as well as high moving items like bananas.

Early shift comes in and does "what they can" which essentially means leaving a mess for the closing shift to clean up and make orderly again. One of my more recent pet peeves has been management referring to me as "You guys in the afternoon..." when it's simply me on staff running around like a chicken without its head, getting reemed because things aren't getting done in a timely manner.

Cleanup is the worst, I think. Since I have to not only do my share of the cleaning, but the entirety of it all: trash, cardboard, processing inedible products, foodshare, scrubbing, squeeging stock room, cleaning sinks, prep tables, etc. All while maintaining a stocked and neat sales floor before 11pm - and absolutely no overtime.

When I asked why we couldn't hire a few mor closers I was told that the majority of the work is needed in the morning, yet I always have too finish whatever didn't get done by 3pm.

It doesn't make sense, at least to me it doesn't.

I think I had a slight breakdown at work too, since I was shaking and things seemed fuzzy for a moment.

Maybe one day I'll get a better job. Here's to hoping 🍻.

/rant