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The original was posted on /r/talesfromretail by /u/Shoopahn on 2024-01-14 02:57:11.
This is a little bit of a longer story for those who like them. TL;DR in bold at the end for those who do not.
This story happened years ago, soon after I first moved to a different US state. I had accepted an IT-based customer service position but found myself laid off exactly a month later; the company had made poor decisions and could no longer pay support staff. Because I had signed a new year-long apartment lease I was in trouble and quickly found a new job in the technology section of an office supplies store. Let's call it Depot Max. It wasn't my first retail job but it was the first one I worked full-time as an independent adult.
Within months I had made a name for myself in the store. I was quite good with computers - I still am and have made a professional career of supporting them - and I was honest, to the benefit of customers even when it was detrimental to store sales.
If you were buying a gold-plated USB cable for twice the cost as a regular one, I helped you save the money. If during our discussion I found that you didn't need to print in color I suggested a (relatively) inexpensive laser printer instead of an ink-jet with expensive cartridges that dried up or clogged. If you were looking for a laptop for email and web browsing and didn't need the latest and greatest, I helped direct you to less flashy models. You get the idea. I didn't care much about high sales numbers or warranty spiffs (a little money added to your paycheck for selling warranty plans). I just wanted to be a decent person and treat people they way I'd have wanted to be treated.
Well, people noticed. It got to the point where people I'd never met before would ask for me by name, avoiding my coworkers or leaving and returning at my next shift. I felt like I was making a small difference in people's lives, for the better. That made me feel good about myself. It still does.
One day, in between running between the stock room and floor retrieving office chairs and flat-pack desks, a man and his wife storm into the store and walk directly up to me. Immediately, and in loud, broken English, the man begins raging at me about a desk phone that he had bought from us the previous day being broken in the box. I stood there with his face not two feet from mine as he shouted, spittle spraying from his mouth into my face (I wear glasses and kept my mouth shut, thank goodness). After he finished I asked him for the phone he bought, made sure it was in there, took him to the phone display and just gave him a new one. To be clear, I was not authorized to perform exchanges. But I thought for the price of the desk phone and the scene the man was making, a simple swap would be for the best for everyone involved, even if I'd overstepped.
"That it? This mine? We good?" The man said while looking at me incredulously.
"Yes. You're all set!" was my response accompanied with an appeasing retail grin. Frankly, I just wanted to be rid of the situation and wash my face. I would handle any management fallout later.
The change in the Russian couples' demeanor was immediate. They changed from rage-induced shouting to beaming with the excitement of someone who had won the lottery. They thanked me and I excused myself to the employee restroom, handing off the 'broken' phone to the floor supervisor along the way.
The store sales manager intercepted me on my way back to the floor. He said he heard about what had happened and agreed with my handling of the situation and decision to exchange the phone. And that's when he pointed towards the registers - the Russian couple were there with a new desktop, laptop, a couple mice and keyboards, and a printer. All told it was just over $2000 in new sales. The sales manager indicated they were so happy I fixed their issue (and I like to think they felt a little guilty for yelling at someone trying to help them) they decided this was "their new store". Mission accomplished; everyone was happy.
Soon after this event I was offered a position of supervisor-in-training. They would bump my pay, have me do some computer-based training, etc. I declined, stating that I was flattered but I was applying for positions in my chosen career and wouldn't be there long enough for it to be beneficial to the store. The sales manager insisted, that they wanted to do this to get me a raise, but I asked that they make this offer to someone else in the store for whom it would be more beneficial long-term. The raise they were offering wouldn't mean very much to me. But some of my peers had indicated they were struggling.
After another month or so I left that job, having been there for 9 months. My next job (which is a whole other story for another sub) came from a customer of the store who was impressed at the level of knowledge I exhibited. I'm told that up to a couple years after I left people still asked for me by name on occasion.
I have never since taken another retail role. But the lessons I learned there have stayed with me for my entire career.
I visited the store on occasion after I left and within a couple years they had cycled through their employees to where I only recognized the floor supervisor. She would give me a big hug when we happened to see one another. Happily for her, she married her long-time SO, had her first child and left her job to raise her as a stay-at-home mother. I no longer know anyone there. Whenever I visit, I'm just another veteran of the unending retail wars.
TL;DR: Years ago, a Russian couple came into a retail store and screamed at me that the new phone they had bought was broken in the box, spraying me in the face with spit in rage. Without authority to do so I performed a swap with the same model on the spot. They were so happy they ended up buying over $2000 worth of computers and accessories. I was offered a promotion that I declined and soon moved on with my career.