TalesFromRetail

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/Worldly-Leg-74 on 2024-03-23 16:24:12.

I work at a big home improvement store on the US Gulf coast. A few weeks ago we had a big winter storm come in, so I was putting out several boxes of pipe insulation, pipe wrap and faucet covers out on the main aisles (we always get tons of people looking to buy these whenever the weather drops below freezing). We put giant endcaps out, right in front of the checkout lanes. We had so many boxes taking up practically the whole front of the store.

But I still had so many customers walk right in, come right up to me, and ask "Where is the piping insulation... do you guys have faucet covers?? " etc.. I'm literally standing like 5 feet away from, with a box cutter, opening all these boxes for display. I was wondering if maybe it's because our faucet covers are colored weird (so maybe people didn't recognize them), but we also had big signs on the boxes, and the pipe insulation and everything else looked normal and was in plain sight. And people kept asking over and over. It took all my self-control to not say something snarky. Eventually, after like 20 people doing this - completely blind to their surroundings - I really start to worry about the future of civilization. Crazy.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/JammyThing on 2024-03-23 01:36:54.

This happened a little while ago, but still makes me laugh a little.

I was on the till for one of my shifts, the end till closet to the exit. Just before the exit was one of those toy dispensers, the sort where you put a coin in, turn it, and you get a cheap piece of poorly coloured plastic, that half resembles a character from some kids show.

I've seen a lot of kids pester their parents or guardians for a £1 coin for the thing. Some give in, others don't.

This story is about a one who didn't.

I was serving an older guy (perhaps late 50s, early 60s) who was out shopping with his young grandson (Around 4). He was nice enough, polite and friendly...as to was the grandson when asking for a £1 coin for the toy machine. To the kid's credit he, at first, starting asking very nicely "Grandad, could I please £1 for a toy?"

The way the kid said it showed good manners. The grandad then told him no, in an equally well mannered and nice tone. It was kind of refreshing to see all round to be honest.

Unfortunately though, that's not where it ended. The child kept asking for a £1 coin from his grandad, the request getting less mannered each time, but not quite reaching the "tantrum zone" yet.

Grandad stuck firm on his response. He didn't loose his cool or his manners, merely got slightly more firm in his response. The kid didn't like this and did something neither of us were expecting. He gave his grandad a death stare while his back was turned, and then ran straight out the store, full speed. It would be bad enough for the kid to run away, but the fact that the store I worked at, at the time, was on very busy road. The kid could be out the door and into traffic in a matter of seconds.

The grandad didn't notice as he had his back turned to the kid at his point, but I quickly pointed out the fleeing child to him as he left the building. Panicked, the grandad tried to hand me his wallet, saying "...shit! Right! erm...I'll..I'll be back I'll pay for the shopping...take this...and..."

I tell him to just go get the child, I honestly don't care about the shopping. Quick as he can manage, he runs out of the building. I'm standing at the side of my till at this point, so that I can see out the exit, I can see the grandad looking around the busy carpark, but I can't see the kid and it's clear he can't either.

It was at this point I was seriously excepting someone in the queue to start whining about having to wait and demanding to be served, but unbelievably, no-one did. Everyone seemed to just be focused on what was happening.

After a tense 20 seconds or so, I heard a little voice besides me. "...where's Grandad...?"

I looked down to see the kid had...somehow, made his way back into the store. I quickly grab the hood on the child's coat and tell him "Don't move!". With one hand holding the kid's hood, I start waving in large gestures to the grandad outside. He quickly notices me and re-enters the store, red in the face and almost breathless. He sees his grandson, who I still haven't let go of at this point.

The grandad walks up to the kid, a mixture of exhaustion, anger and relief, all playing across his face at once. He stands there...catching his breath...as he stares his grandson dead in the eyes.

I let go of the hood at this point, as the kid stares back at his grandad. Neither speak for a full 10 seconds. The kid is the first to break the silence.

".....can I have a £1 grandad?"

The level of restraint that man showed in that moment was godly.

He just payed for his shopping, got his grandson by the arm, and took him out the store. As they passed the toy machine, the child quickly realised he wasn't getting a toy and went full tantrum.

I didn't hear his crying long, as the grandad didn't even slow his pace one bit as he dragged that kid out the store.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/loCAtek on 2024-03-21 15:44:46.

This is a new one for me!

Yesterday, I was covering a shift for a young co-worker who henceforth, shall be known as 'Andy'. He's been with us for about a year and has been doing pretty well for the most part.

Andy's friendly and can handle the hectic pace a busy gas station can get into during commute times or big Lotto days. Like yesterday.

So, he's out with an infection and I'm covering his high-traffic day; when a young lady steps in confidently and asks for cigarettes. Well, I'm never too busy not to ID, but she tells me that she hasn't got one.

Not the usual, 'It's at home.' or; 'I forgot it.' No, she just doesn't have it.

I guess she thought her nice make-up made her look old enough, but I still had to scan her ID ...which she didn't have.

Next, she tries to tell me that she lives close by in some apartments and she lived within walking distance of the gas station. Okay, that is common of many of our customers; our little food mart is quite convenient to them ...but that still wasn't a good excuse to not have an ID.

Luckily, she wasn't a Karen about it and calmly left without her smokes.

Approximately twenty minutes later, my phone rings. Now, I'm too busy to answer it, but checking it a few minutes later shows it was Andy. In-between customers, we text the next, since I really shouldn't be on my phone during shift.

Andy asks if I had a pretty, young lady come in to buy cigarettes? Thinking Andy was going to tell me to watch out for her, because maybe she'd tried her feminine wiles on him too; I reply, 'Yes, but she had no ID so, I didn't sell them to her.'

Imagine my shock - shock I tell you! when Andy admits that her mystique HAD worked on him. 'She's my friend.' He texts, 'It's OK.'

Apparently, she had called Andy for backdoor help in getting her nicotine fix without a valid ID.

This was such a shock because Andy had earned multiple, green, passing cards from surprise inspections, hanging up on the bulletin board ...and now this revelation! How long had this been going on!?

My last text to Andy was; 'Tell her to bring her ID.'

In my retail experience, this is the first time in witnessing an inside job.

Oh Andy, I'm so disappointed in you; she was just another pretty face taking advantage of you! It's not worth it - grow up, before she gets you fired.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/ItchySurround6605 on 2024-03-14 03:42:22.

Soooo I decided to start a page about all the crazy things I go through working in retail as a manager.

This one was over a year ago , I randomly got a call from an employee saying they were being robbed. Indeed somebody was robbing the pharmacy, but instead of hiding, or calling the police, one of my employees, stood in the middle of the sales floor freaking out and decided to call me INSTEAD OF THE POLICE. One of my employees went up to the roof, and one of my employees ran back-and-forth, trying to tackle the guy. I had customers in the store just wanting their pictures didn’t even care what was going on. I got to the store as the police did to try and help the employees and deal with the aftermath. Find out a year later that one of the employees that was there for the robbery knew the guy that robbed the pharmacy and also was stealing money from the store. Which ENDED up being OVER 20,000 (which that is a completely different story time)

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/AutoModerator on 2024-03-01 14:01:17.

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/ItchySurround6605 on 2024-03-14 03:42:38.

One day I got called to the front of the store because I had a minor working upfront, who couldn’t sell cigarettes, and he decided to tell me that he did sell cigarettes, and he was allowed to because as of 18 years ago he was in his mother’s stomach. Mind you we have gone over numerous training and I have explained it every which way I could. I had to sit there and explain to him why that doesn’t make sense and that does not make him legally 18 and we can lose our tobacco license. He could get a fine and he could possibly be fired. He proceeded to tell me, I was wrong, and walked out to smoke a cigarette, which I do not care what people do in their spare time that is not my business but the confusion I had BECAUSE I found out the cigarettes he sold was to himself. A minor who couldn’t buy them or sell them. this whole conversation was WILD. Ended in termination.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/hamcon1 on 2024-03-06 06:32:11.

At my retail job, we also sell minutes for phones, but they come in two verities, the carded versions, which are used for long distance, and the ones we print out that are connected to the actual companies (Bell, Sasktel, Rogers, Koodo, etc) but once they are printed I can not refund it and they must contact the company that made it, my store does not have the power to deactivate them.

Here comes in a customer wanting 30 dollars in Sasktel minutes, and he has a 10 dollar phone card, he couldn't make it work so wanted me to take the 10 dollars from the card and put it towards the SaskTel minutes.

Me: Sorry I can not do that

Customer: Why not? It is on the card

Me: Because the card has no monetary value, it is attached to that card

Customer: But it doesn't work, so I want you to transfer the money from the card to the minutes

Me: Sorry but that is impossible, and I can not refund it.

Customer: But I can not make it work

At that point I helped him out and told him what to do, he called the number he needed to, but then looked at me.

Customer: See I can't put it in, it says I have no minutes

That was when I realized that he was trying to use a card for long-distance calls to make a call.... when he had no minutes left, he was using it as a substitute for his actual minutes. I explained it to him what the problem was and finished the transaction, told him to put in the codes for Sasktel and he can use the phone card to call the other number, he took it all back, but during the transaction he still told me to take the 10 dollars from the card and put it towards what he owed.

I do not think what I said went through too him.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/Nilla_Wafers1046 on 2024-02-29 17:40:39.

I worked in a retail hardware store, my department was flooring, but I was also responsible for window treatments (blinds, curtains, shutters. etc.)

The first thing you need to know about windows, there is no "average" size. Sure, builders aim to make most windows a certain size, but after cuts, drywall, and paint you could end up having a window that is not perfectly rectangular, and this makes a huge difference when getting window treatments like blinds that are installed INTO your window frame.

The issue here is, no one measures their windows before coming to buy blinds. Many angry customers would leave in a huff because they didn't know they needed to "do my job for me." And one customer in particular is stamped into my memory for their excuse to not have to measure their window sizes.

An older man, came up to me, inquiring about blinds for his windows. I went into my whole explanation on measuring your windows. He insisted he knew how wide his windows were. When I asked for the measurement, he answered, "It's a full-cat's-length window." I, believing to not have heard correctly, asked the customer to repeat himself and after doing so a few times, he finally explained, "My cat can lay down perfectly in the window from head to tail, so the window is a full cat's length window!" The look on my face must have said everything that I could not physically communicate without getting fired because this old man ended up just turning around and walking right out of the store.

I still wonder if this man ever measured his windows, or if he just attempted to measure his cat from head to tail and buy his blinds from that information. So, no, a cat cannot be used as a measuring tool. Please buy a measuring tape if you live in a home.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/momito-chan on 2024-02-26 21:07:41.

First, English isn't my first language, so sorry in advance if I butcher any words or sentences.

The following story happened to a friend of mine - let's call her Sarah for the sake of the story. She told me this story about three years ago so memory is a bit fuzzy on the details.

Background: Sarah works as a customer service rep in a store that sells hearing aids among other things. Sarah's job includes doing hearing tests and light maintenance and adjustments for hearing aids. To repair broken hearing aids they have to be sent to the manufacturer or a repair shop thereof.

The story: One day an older gentleman comes to the store. He puts the small box containing his hearing aid on the counter and says:

"My hearing aid is broken. Could you please repair it?"

Sarah opens the box and unpacks the hearing aid. Now this man's hearing aid is basically a custom fitted earplug thingy (don't know the English term for it). It is the most expensive type of hearing aid in my country. The piece In question had a part broken off.

Sarah: "What happened to this hearing aid?"

Gentleman: "It fell on the floor when I was about to put it in and I accidentally stepped on it while looking for it."

Sarah checked the piece and deduced, that it needed to be rebuilt.

At this point I need to mention that the gentleman was a regular at this shop and had private health insurance. If you can afford private health insurance in my country then you have no problem forking over a couple thousand euros for important stuff.

Sarah: "Unfortunately your hearing aid has to be completely rebuilt."

Gentleman: "I see. Please do. Will my warranty cover that?"

Sarah: "I'm sorry, but the warranty you had expired already. How do you wish to pay?" (Sarah did tell him the amount, but I don't remember it other than the fact that it was in the lower four digits area)

Gentleman: screams "What?! I'm not paying this. You're trying to screw me over! This is ridiculous! I'm going to sue you!" bla bla bla etc.

No actual insults towards Sarah, just a full on adult tantrum sprinkled with threats of a lawsuit.

While Sarah is a petite, shy, bespectacled redhead, she doesn't take anyone's flack.

So she just carefully packs up the hearing aid, closes the box and with her best customer service smile tells the gentleman: "Then I am afraid, I can't help you. Have a nice day."

He is speechless for a moment, then grabs the box off the counter and stomps out of the store mumbling something under his breath.

TL;DR: Man refuses to pay, is refused service

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/kitcat6662022 on 2024-02-26 19:15:24.

So I (20) have worked at a retail chain in a small village for a few years, I have had my fair share of terrible customers but I have one time about a year ago where I managed to come out on top as it were. For some context I have non epileptic seizures depending on how bad they are I will sometimes keep working after a seizure if I feel well enough, one day I had just had a seizure and was still feeling a bit shaky but well enough to work so I went up to the cash register and served this lady, when I had scanned all her items she spoke up in a rude tone and said(I am paraphrasing as this event was a while ago) "you know you really should really offer people a bag before scanning it would be much quicker that way" I politely apologised and said " I'm very sorry I'm just having one of those days" and she rudly snapped back "well I've had a really bad day so that's no excuse" I was taken aback but decided to be petty I changed my tone to sound very apologetic " you're so right I'm so sorry I just had a seizure so I'm a bit wobbly but your so right I will definatly do better next time" she looked shocked and said "I didn't realise I'm so sorry" but I doubled down and said "oh no you were right I should have done better I am so sorry" she quietly paid and left muttering a sorry as she left.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/Rbxyy on 2024-02-25 05:48:45.

I work a couple of nights a week at a liquor store to make a little extra cash on top of my main job. Our policy is that everybody in your party and in your car has to show an ID, and we ID anybody who looks under 35. We turn people away pretty regularly due to their friends not having IDs.

Tonight two girls came in. I said hello to them and they ignored me, and then they brought up a bottle of tequila. They looked young so I asked for both of their IDs. One of them gave me her ID and she was all set, but the other said she left it at home. They both immediately told me she was 23, but I told her I still had to see her ID. Her friend asked if she could go outside and then she could buy it, but unfortunately I couldn't since she had already come in. They left after that.

About 15 minutes later the girl who showed me her ID came back with another guy. They brought up the same bottle and I told her that I couldn't sell to them because of her friend from before. They argued and said that they dropped her off at home so she's no longer part of their party (which made no sense because if they brought her home then she could've just brought her ID back, assuming she's 23 like she claimed). I told them I couldn't and they kept arguing. I stood my ground and they asked for a manager, who told them the exact same thing. They finally left.

Just bring your ID or leave your underage friends at home. I'm not going to risk my job because you didn't bring your ID. And no, a photo of your ID does not count.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/BiroaceQuill on 2024-02-23 17:08:30.

Pretty much all my stories of frustration are ones you've probably heard before, so I figured I'd post about a positive experience I had. Sorry in advance for formatting, I'm on mobile.

I work at a mid-range department store. It's not so fancy people are escorted around when they walk in, but it's nice enough we're encouraged to chat with customers on the floor and make their experience personal. "Can I grab a cart for you?" "Let me know if you need another size." "Are you shopping for a specific occasion?" That sort of thing. I'm a social butterfly, so I adore this aspect of my job.

A few days ago, an elderly woman comes in, we'll call her Barbara (not her real name). I welcome her to the store and she immediately starts up a conversation, asking me about my day, the weather, just small talk. We weren't very busy and there was another cashier in my section for support, so I stepped out from behind my register to walk with her and let her chat. Myself and other staff do this often, when we can; we get a lot of elderly customers who just need somebody to talk to. Our managers don't mind as it often creates repeat customers of these people, and coworkers don't mind because we usually have enough people on the floor to manage.

As Barbara and I chat, we started to pass a section of clothing that catches her eye. The brand is exclusive to my store, so instead of calling it by its real name I'll call it Cutesy. They make cute, comfortable everyday clothes. Their staple is bright colors and thinner fabrics, and we had just gotten the first batch of their spring selection in. Barbara stopped to look at one of the shirts, and our conversation went something like this:

Barbara: I really like the pattern on this shirt. I used to wear colors like this when I was younger.

Me: Oh? What changed?

Barbara, chuckling: Well, you're a very pretty young girl, so maybe it will be different for you, but as I started to get older these sorts of clothes just didn't look good on me anymore.

Me: Don't say that, Barbara! A shirt like this would look great on you. You're still very beautiful.

Barbara, now laughing: Thank you, sweet girl, but it's alright. I'll just stick to what I normally wear. Patterns like this are made for young people like you.

This is a personal source of heartbreak for me, but I always hate it when older people believe their age is ugly. It's a side of unrealistic beauty standards that doesn't get talked about often, at least where I'm at. Older women buy wrinkle corrector, dye the white and silver out of their hair, and do everything they can to stave off evidence of their age until they give up and start to say to themselves, "I'm just old and ugly now." Myself and most of my coworkers don't see things that way at all. Many of our customers have aged gracefully, and Barbara had aged downright beautifully. So, I pressed the issue just a little bit.

Me: Are you sure you don't want to just try it on? You might be surprised. If you don't like it, we can put it back for you and find something else.

Barbara: Well... Where is the fitting room?

Me: It's in the corner, right there.

Barbara: Since we're already here, I guess I might as well. I really don't know about these sleeves, though. They'll show my big, flabby arms!

Me: That's not an issue at all! But if you really aren't comfortable with the short sleeves, Cutesy makes a few other shirts and dresses with that pattern that have longer sleeves.

Barbara: Oh, they've made a dress?

Me: Mm-hm! It's hanging on the wall, there. It's shorter, falls a little past the knees, but it has three-quarter sleeves that will cover your forearms if you prefer them covered.

Barbara: ...tell you what. If you can find a large in that dress, I'll try it on, just to see.

I went over to the wall and happily retrieved a large for Barbara, who took it to the dressing room to try it on. As she did, one of my managers was passing by and stopped to check in on me. While we were chatting about the day (slow) and store metrics (struggling but not terrible), Barbara stepped out of the fitting room in the Cutesy dress to ask what I thought.

Myself and my manager immediately started to gush over how nice she looked. And she really did look nice! The dress fit her figure perfectly, the colors brought out the warmth in her skin, and most importantly? She looked really, really happy in it. She didn't just like the dress- she liked herself in the dress. The most important part of an outfit is that it makes the person wearing it feel confident, and Barbara clearly felt confident in the dress. She even turned in a circle to show us the back, and how the skirt flared!

She ended up buying the dress, as well as a few other floral and brightly colored blouses that she found. I was happy to help her at the register, and oh so excited that she was excited about her new clothes. As I was ringing her up, she asked me a question.

Barbara: What's your name, young lady?

Me: Quill, ma'am.

Barbara: Well, Quill, thank you. You made me feel about forty years younger today.

Me: I hope you know I really mean it. You still look beautiful in bright colors. You still look beautiful, regardless.

Barbara: I don't know if I believe that, but maybe you're right. I think I'll buy a sunhat to go with that dress, and my husband and I can go on a picnic. We haven't done that in a while.

Me: That sounds like fun. And the weather's getting warm enough for it!

We chat about the weather a bit more, and her plans for each new outfit she got. The entire interaction made my day. I hope the next time I see Barbara, she has that sunhat she wanted!

Edit for TL;DR: An older woman came into the store and claimed that she wasn't pretty enough to wear bright colors anymore. I encouraged her to try on a brightly colored dress she liked, and she ended up loving it.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/ChocolateGreedy7283 on 2024-02-23 14:55:52.

For some context, I work in a store where it only has card self-checkouts (cash can be paid, but only when you ask us to help, the counter is usually closed) and we’re planning on changing to cash-and-card self-checkouts in a month.

My main job is to watch customers pay the money (because we don’t have those scanners that beeps when the customers shoplift), help customers who have issues with the self-checkout machines, and clean and maintain our own areas in the store.

There was a customer, an old lady, with at least 50 items with her. I asked if she needed any help, but instead went on a rant talking about how annoying the machines were, and that the staff weren’t needed anymore because self-checkout machines were taking over. She also told me to “go away” before she began to scan her own items. I just thought she was rude and annoying so I left.

While she was busy scanning her items, I noticed that one of the items had a promotion, 2 for the usual price of 1, so I told her that, and guess what? Another rant about how she didn’t need help from the staff and she could handle it herself because she was capable enough to use the self-checkout, and the self-checkout was smarter than us, that kind of rubbish.

I shrugged and left again, but my supervisor saw this and asked what happened, so I explained the situation and she told me to ignore her when she faces any issue with the promo.

And my sweet karma came when the machine decided not to let her pay. Basically the self-checkouts are incredibly sensitive. If you have a promo 2 for the price of 1, the machine will not let you proceed on to checkout unless you have 2 of the same item.

It would have worked fine if she decided to just get the other item, but she was adamant on removing it, which is something only the staff can do because of a barcode only we have behind our name tags. So, she had to ask the staff for help just to remove the item, and I just ignored her as I watched her struggle with the machine.

(My coworker who had helped her was really mad when I told her this story because she would have made the customer wait longer just to teach her a lesson on respect)

Edit: Forgot to mention that the card-and-cash self-checkouts also follow the same 2 for 1 promo thing because it’s a part of the programming

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/Vote_Tanner on 2024-02-21 22:35:32.

next please, you tell the queue.

and she comes forward, important middle-aged woman #21,649.

I’VE BEEN WAITING IN THIS QUEUE, she declares, FOR 20 MINUTES!

you tell her:

I’ve been standing here serving it for 5 hours.

WELL AT LEAST YOU GET PAID! she points. WITH MY MONEY! AND YOU KEEP ME WAITING TWENTY MINUTES!

I didn’t keep you waiting, you say. there were other paying customers who’d queued up before you, and you chose to wait behind them. also, you haven’t given me any money yet.

DON’T YOU BELITTLE ME! she warns. I COME HERE TO PAY YOU YOUR WAGE, AND YOU KEEP ME WAITING TWENTY MINUTES, AND THEN YOU THINK YOU CAN BELITTLE ME?

you start scanning her stuff …

OR MAYBE YOU DON’T THINK YOU NEED MY CUSTOM? MAYBE I SHOULD JUST TAKE MY CUSTOM ELSEWHERE, SINCE YOU OBVIOUSLY DON’T NEED MY MONEY?

that’ll be twelve-eighty please, you tell her.

she whacks her card against the machine:

it beeps twice.

your card’s been declined, you tell her.

WHAT? THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE! LET ME TRY AGAIN!

beep, beep.

declined again.

YOU’VE DONE IT WRONG! YOU’RE CANCELLING IT AT THE LAST SECOND TO MAKE ME LOOK BAD!

madam, please, you implore. you’re holding up the queue.

she looks at you.

she turns to face the queue.

then she looks at you again.

YOU MUST HAVE CHARGED ME TWICE! YOU’VE CHARGED ME TWICE AND NOW I’M BROKE! I’LL BE SUING YOU! she reckons, marching out. I’LL BE SUING YOU FOR ROBBERY, AND DISCRIMINATION, AND ... AND TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE!

you dump the leaking frozen food she’s left into the waste basket.

next please, you tell the queue.

and the next one comes forward:

important middle-aged woman #21,650.

I’VE BEEN WAITING IN THIS QUEUE, she declares, FOR 25 MINUTES!

you’ve been standing here serving it for over 5 hours now and you’ve made about forty before tax and do you know what’s really scary?

you’re not the unhappiest person here.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/hamcon1 on 2024-02-15 07:35:55.

a couple months ago, a store I work at implemented in, that for all products that require you to be 18 and over to buy, you must now put down a month day and year when another store that was owned by the company I work for was caught selling cigarettes for minors and got fined 50k and loss their license to sell lottery and tobacco for 5 years, and they did not want to risk that happening agian.

It is annoying, but most customers understand why after we tell them, and we just ask for a year if they are clearly over 30, is it stupid to ask when we can tell? Yes, but it is what the company wants, and most got use to it, and understand.

this brings me to this guy who wanted some tickets, and we asked him for his birthday (this was still early on so we asked for the full date instead of just the year) and he refused to give it too us, his reason being that someone could hear him and use his birthday as a way to steal his identity. After a bit the manager came and ended up just selling him the lottery just to get him to leave,

That whole thing confused us all and all the customers there, mainly because a day month and year gives you nothing to work on. thousands of people are born on the same day you are, so anyone who tries to use that would face a giant wall and give up. I don;t know if he needed to think of a reason to not want to say when he was born, or if he actually believes that someone could use that to steal someones identity, but it was just such a silly thing to get mad about.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/AutoModerator on 2024-01-01 14:00:51.

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

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/scrommitmaster on 2024-02-08 06:20:24.

Original Title: You know, there are some customers out there who just can't seem to wrap their heads around the fact that refusing to sell alcohol to minors isn't a personal choice but a straight-up legal obligation.

Sorry for the rant, but I've gotta get this off my chest—I'm still reeling from dealing with some more than clueless customers.

Now, don't get me wrong, the vast majority of folks who come through our small-town bottleshop are decent and easy to deal with (aside from the occasional grumble about beer prices, which is fair game, I reckon). But lemme tell ya, something happened last week that seriously tested my faith in humanity.

Here's the what happened: I was the only one scheduled on, as per usual, when these two characters stroll in. One looked like she was in her mid-20s or early 30s (probably the mom), and the other, well, she looked like she couldn't have been more than 15-16 (likely her daughter).

So, I do the polite thing and offer 'em a hand while discreetly trying to figure out their ages. They brush me off and continue looking, just as I finish helping another customer, they make a beeline for the counter with their purchases.

I hustle over, and that's when the mom drops this bombshell: "It's her 18th birthday, but she doesn't have any ID." They plonk their stuff down, and I'm like, "Sorry, but I gotta see some ID in order to complete the transaction." Well, that sets the mom off, and she snaps back with, "I'm in my 30s, for crying out loud, but whatever," and thrusts her driver's license at me. I stand my ground and insist on seeing the daughter's ID too.

And wouldn't ya know it, that's when all hell breaks loose. The mom starts seeing red, ranting about how she's the one buying the booze and it's not for the kid—she was just lugging it around 'cause I apparently refused to help them (never mind the baskets and trolleys at the entrance, or the fact that I offered). She demands to speak to someone else, getting more wound up by the second. I stick to my guns, explaining our policy against selling to minors, and she storms out in a huff, hurling insults left and right. As I start serving the next customers, guess who barges back in? Yep, it's the mom, this time with some older dude who I figure must be the grandad. They're both on a mission to get their hands on that alcohol, no matter what i say. I stand my ground, laying out our policy and the hefty fines we face for breaking the law. But do they care? Not one bit. The grandad tries to grab the booze, telling me that i WILL sell him the alcohol whether i like it or not things start getting heated, and I'm seriously considering just selling it to 'em to get 'em outta my hair, and also because I thought the old bloke was about to launch himself over the counter at me.

Thankfully, another customer steps in, reminding 'em to show some respect. "It's his job, you can't speak to anybody like that" And wouldn't ya know it, one of my regulars pipes up, telling 'em to beat it. (In a much more expletive filled way that i reckon would get me banned if i repeated it) That shuts 'em up real quick, and they skedaddle outta there in a hurry. They were not expecting the other customers to call them out on their behavior their head down, tail between the legs exit was hilarious.

So yeah, that whole ordeal definitely shook my faith in a VERY small amount of cutomers, but hey, I'm still grateful for the 99% of customers who know how to act like decent human beings and are able to behave themselves in public.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/Lazy_Main_3829 on 2024-02-07 21:25:47.

I manage a small shoe store and just had an interaction that made my day. The guy came in and immediately recognized me. Customer: “I was hoping you’d be here! You helped my wife find shoes and i cant thank you enough! Your knowledge on all the products and foot problems was so impressive.” I felt bad because i honestly dont remember him coming in before. We talked for a bit and he took home two pairs of sneakers. I know its not much, but getting such a genuine compliment really made my day. Im a woman with a young looking face so more often then not i get patronizing comments about how the customer “cant believe” i know anything about my products. I try to brush off condescending remarks, but its tough to hear them. Ive worked for the company for five years and at the end of the day i just want people to walk away feeling happy. (On mobile, sorry if the formatting is bad)

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/maybe_im_dark on 2024-02-07 20:52:51.

Lady was 1 cent short for her can of beer. "Just give it to me! It's just 1 frickin cent!" "I know, but it's against our rules. I can't basically give stuff away for free." She asked the other people standing in line. Every single one refused to help her out. "Well, give me money from the box over there!" "Those are donations! That'd be illegal!" "Yeah, i bet you're an illegal immigrant!" "Excuse me?" throws the can at me "i'll kill you, you little btch, i'll kill you, little btch!" I told her she's banned and to get out. "Go fck yourself, you damn btch, i'll kill you all!" I then called for security, when she went into the store again. A few minutes pass and i hear through the radio: "Watch out, she's got a knife!" I was later told she pulled a pocket knife out of her purse and tried to stab our security guy. Police had to be called and now she is facing charges for attempted murder

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/AutoModerator on 2024-02-01 14:00:44.

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")

This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.

The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/MrDozVibing on 2024-02-04 20:05:48.

Hello everyone! I'm new on this Subreddit so sorry if I'm breaking any rules here, I just wasn't sure where else to post this. So this customer came in awhile back and simply stated that her PO box key wasn't working as well as it used to. I checked and surely enough it was a little hard to get get the key out of the box once the box was locked. So I went grabbed another key and told her that it would be $17 for a new key. She scoffed and said "Forget it!" before walking out. A few days later guess who comes walking back in like she owns the place. She slams the key onto the counter and loudly says "Alright here's the deal, I want a new key but I'm not gonna pay for it. What do we do?" to which I say "Well you can pay for a new key" and her being a pissed off Karen goes "No you're not hearing me! I want a new key but I'm not going to pay for one!" and of course I said "My hearing is just fine, keys are $17 though I can't just give one away" and of course being the Karen that she is she then said "Where's your manager I want to speak with him!" so I went ahead and got my boss and told him the situation before heading up to the counter. He just looked at her and said "Mam I understand that you're having issues with your key but we can't just give away keys like they're candy at the parade, you have to pay for a new one". Now this Karen was furious, she yelled "NO! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND I PAID FOR THIS KEY I GOT IT FROM YOU GUYS THEREFORE THE KEY SHOULD OPEN MY BOX WITHOUT ANY ISSUES, AND IF IT DOESNT THEN I SHOULD GET A FREE REPLACEMENT BECAUSE IT'S YOUR PRODUCT AND IT FAILED!" I swear her yelling echoed through the town. My boss took a closer look at the key and realized it was a little bent. So he took the key and got a pair of pliers and bent the key back into shape. My boss then gave the key back to the Karen and she tested it out and it worked perfectly. Except for the fact that we now know the reason why the key was so bent, because rather than wait until the key is fully out of the box she starts to walk away with the key in the box and pulls on it very hard like. We told her not to do this as that can not only damage the lock but also BEND THE FRICKING KEY! And she looks at us and goes "Well I always do this and never have had a problem before!" and she storms out. Me and my boss just look at each other, and then get back to work.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/dickcheney600 on 2024-02-03 18:09:21.

I worked at a crappy furniture & arcade machine store for a short time.

One day, while I’m out on the sales floor looking for things that needed cleaning or whatever, a pair of movers came in, saying they were here to pick up a (retro game) machine. I asked what name it was under, they gave me a name. I got behind the desk and looked for a search bar in the orders system. It didn’t appear to have one. So I clicked the name column, hoping I could sort the names alphabetically, but no dice. There wasn’t a separate game name column because not everything we sold was a game. Just a name, details, phone number and email were the 4 columns you had. Well, I decided to just CTRL+F (customer name) and find it that way. The CTRL+F window didn’t find his name. Oddly enough, it didn’t find the game name, either. It was a pretty common game, so I was pretty surprised there were no orders in the system for it. We even had a mostly gutted cabinet that still had the marquee to that game, but no motherboard or monitor. It was out on the sales floor, not in the back of the store.

I told the movers there was no record of a (game name) or a (customer name) in our system. They glared at me and began searching the store on their own, eventually finding the gutted remains of the (game name) that we just so happened to have in the store. They said they were going to have to file a damaged item report, as they had delivered us a machine that just needed a monitor repair or replacement, and they started taking pictures. I asked for the serial number but they didn’t know what it was. In a bit of a panic, I went searching the back room for another (game name) and left a message for my boss at the same time, stating that movers were here to pick up (game name) for (customer) but I couldn’t find either in our system. There was no sign of another (game name) in the back.

With that, the movers left the store empty-handed.

I later found that the inventory system not only didn’t allow for sorting orders in any way, it didn’t even support CTRL-F. In other words, if we had a Pac-Man machine for example, you could CTRL-F Pac-Man and get no results!

It turned out, the gutted machine was the one that belonged to the customer after all. The boss and the other employees just took everything out and left the machine like that, while they were waiting for a new bezel and LCD mounting kit. However, they had neither ordered the LCD or board, nor checked if we already had those things in stock. They just stopped dead in their tracks when the bezel was running late, and didn’t even update the customer on their machine, or return the customer’s calls or emails. They essentially ghosted the customer, to the point that he thought that the store had gone out of business, until he drove back to the store and saw it still operating.

The store did, in fact, go bankrupt a few months later.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/Party-Switch3465 on 2024-02-03 05:13:06.

A lady used self check out and after she bagged everything and paid, she made sure to tell the self check out employee, the service desk employees and some cashiers how she did our job for us. She made sure she was nice and loud in letting the employees know. Then she got very mad that the employees weren't saying anything back to her. We just looked at her and then continued doing our jobs. After not getting a reaction from the employees, she stood near the exit and was shouting as loud as she could "I did your job for you!" and pointing at her cart. She caused such a ruckus that she was escorted out by security.

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/texaschainsawmolycre on 2024-01-29 20:52:46.

About a month ago there was more theft than normal going on in the makeup store I work at, and it's because of the fact that it was winter break. Unfortunately when the teenagers in my area get a bit of free time they feel it's appropriate to use it to come into our store and steal from us. We were finding wrapper after wrapper, box after box stuffed under aisles and in displays. It was really annoying because it reflects really poorly on the hours we get. Anyways, towards the end of Christmas break we started to slow down, people had bought all their presents and spent their gift cards so there wasn't much going on. Except for on the night in question

Me, my manager who we'll call M, and my two coworkers (C1 and C2) were the only employees there. We were only an hour from close and there was maybe two or three customers meandering around the store. I was replacing all the trash bags while my coworkers were cleaning up the register area. At my store it's sort of an unspoken rule that we make a point of greeting every single person who comes through the front doors. So, when a group of three teenage girls came through both my coworkers greeted them. They did what all the teenagers who come in to steal do, they don't acknowledge the greeters in hopes of coming off unapproachable, but my coworkers are seasoned retailers so they immediately get on the walkie talkies and alerted me to keep an eye out.

C1: hey OP, C2 and I just said hi to those girls and they were acting a little weird. you might wanna stay in that area and keep an eye on them.

OP: I will, I'll leave the trash over in the corner and I'll pick it up later.

I didn't want the girls to feel like I was following them just in case we were wrong and they really just didn't want to be talked to, so I stood in the aisle on the left side of the aisle they were in. I had a direct view of them but they would have had to come stand at the very end to see me. At first they were just having a bit of fun, spraying our hand sanitizer testers at each other and opening the sugar scrubs to smell them. Nothing I really care about. But then the sound of a crinkling wrapper made me lean in closer to look at what was going on. I noticed that the girl ripping the packet open was also holding a starbucks cup, one of the white ones with a flat lid for hot drinks. I watched as she took the hand sanitizer out of its packaging and removed the lid from her drink. I watched her put the hand sanitizer in the drink cup and replace the lid. I knew I was going to have to tell my manager.

OP: Does M have a walkie on? because I just watched one of these girls steal a hand sanitizer.

M: Yeah, I do. Where are they?

OP: There in the bath aisles. I think they're gonna head up to the front soon.

Unfortunately that wasn't entirely correct. The girls rounded the corner of the next aisle. The one which housed all our hairbrushes. A different girl, one with one of those loungefly bags unzipped it and put one of our harry potter themed hair brushes in her bag. It didn't even zip all the way. She tried to zip it up hard, but the end of the handle stuck out, only slightly. They promptly abandoned that aisle and started making their way to the front of the store.

OP: M they're coming up right now. They put something in that drink cup and there's something in the backpack too.

Now, we're not allowed to accuse people of stealing. We can get into trouble if we're incorrect and were definitely not allowed to hold them back from leaving. So I wasn't sure what my manager could do, but I wanted her to be aware. They made it up to the door when my manager stopped them, asking something she asks everyone who leaves our store empty handed. (the girls are G1, G2, and G3)

M: Was there something we could help you guys find today?

G1: No, you guys don't have what we want.

M: Oh okay, well is there anyway I can get back the stuff you took from us. So I don't have to trespass you from the store?

G2: Are you accusing us of stealing? we didn't take anything.

M: I'm not accusing you, I can see one of my hairbrushes sticking out of your friends bag.

The girls all just sort of looked at each other, not sure what to do. Eventually the girl with the backpack ripped the hairbrush out of it and handed it to my manager. They started to walk past her to the door when my manager stopped them again.

M: Can you please give me whatever you put in that cup? Then you can go.

The girl with the cup huffed and rolled her eyes. Nevertheless she opened it and took out the hand sanitizer that was now covered in what looked to be hot chocolate or maybe really sugary coffee. She put it in my managers hand.

M: If you guys come back with your parents I'm gonna have a talk with them cause this is really ridiculous, girls.

They all left really quickly and we got to go about our business for the rest of the night. Could have been worse! But we never really get the stuff back people steal from us so I wanted to share!

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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/tmrwtmrw26 on 2024-01-27 23:49:49.

Cant even express how frustrated I feel. Due to a party my boss was hosting it was extremely busy. Now, after nonstop helping people at the register I can admit that I was feeling EXTREMELY overwhelmed. This is my first job where I have to help out with customers, so I am new to this side of a customer service interaction. I would say that all of my experiences with customers have been positive so far (since October), and I can say that I’m usually pretty good at my job. Except for today.

This man and his wife come up. They’re both very disinterested and frankly rude. Which would be fine, but I’m already so frazzled. Then of course, the register starts tweaking out. My anxiety levels are off the roof so my hands shaking + the glitchy combo result in me struggling to ring him up. This process took a couple minutes, but I just knew he was frustrated. Mind you, he was standing at the wrong side of the register. He goes to hand me a 20 and I assume he can see his total is $16, as the register is still visible where he is standing. He practically barks at me and loudly declares, “I CANT SEE THE TOTAL.” Okay. I apologize, tell him, and take the 20. My panic is at the surface.

This part is fully my fault. I just want this interaction to be over. So instead of his actual change, I grab SIXTEEN DOLLARS in a rush. I go to hand it to him, and I’m like, wait, this isn’t right. I apologize profusely and grab him his real change. But I’m grateful this is finally over. His wife, who was basically silent at this point then suddenly adopts her husbands rude demeanor “I NEED A BAG.” Fine, take your bag???

As soon as I see the back of his bald head, I’m instantly relieved. Then he shout-whispers to his wife, “SHE’S SPECIAL.” OMG? I wish I said something, but I was just too stunned. He really just couldn’t get worse. Luckily, the guy behind him heard this interaction and was extremely kind.

And that was my first bad customer interaction. Tears were def shed, but I know this won’t be the last negative interaction. I know this is considerably tame, but WOW. Very humbling experience.

Edit: also I wanna mention how my boss and coworkers are amazing and was so comforting about the whole thing!!! A mention is deserved.