For every who has to work with membors of the public!

[Zeitgeist]

If you want to talk to weird people, try being on the phone line of a taxi company. You really get all sorts o_O My all-time favourite was this fellow -

[man] - "I want to go home. Need a car." (2 am, boy was that guy drunk)
[me] - "Alright, where are you currently?"
[man] - "Outside."
[me] - o_O "Outside...where?"
[man] - "Of the party, damn it. I'm (insert first name), I called last week too."

...and went on to insult me. I never knew we were supposed to be mind-readers :P Seriously, there's all the jokes about drunk people not knowing where they are, but they're based on truth.

Also nice was the woman who called to yell at me because she thought we had brought her husband to... ah.. a place where love has a price tag. Gotta love people who let out their anger on strangers!

On the other hand, there was this lovely old lady who called every other day just to talk for a while Too bad we weren't paid extra for telephone counselling.

*shuts up now*

[Mandimoo]

i'm gonna do a twist on this and tell you about when i was the rude customer.

i booked a taxi home from a pub in the winter, usual firm, usual time 12:45am. so i'm waiting now, it's freezing cold, i didn't bring a coat. at 1am i ring them up and say that i'm freezing my knockers off. he reckoned i'd booked the taxi for 12:15am and coz i wasn't there he has gone home again.

the fact i ordered it as twelve forty five (not a quarter to - incase of confusion), then i said no, you must have written it wrong, he swore at me so i shouted at him and hung up.

we were left for 4hours, after closing time, freezing cold, waiting for the first available taxi. was so not funny. grrrrrr

[surprising mystery]

^^ nasty

I work in a 'super' market and I have had so many rude customers, once a lady shouted at me because a bottle of disinfectant was leaking, she slammed it in front of me, screamed her head off, moaned about the beeping noise the tills made, said all sorts of things that I cant possibly repeat, then walked off. I was gobsmacked, the person behind her offered to give me a hug because I had tears in my eyes and I looked so shocked. My supervisor let me have a break and told me to write it all down with a description of the woman. o.O so yeah I get all the crap where I am, and dont get me started on refusing alcohol...

[Samz]

I work in a supermarket and I get abuse all the time. Mostly when I refuse to sell someone alcohol/cigerettes etc or when I tell them that they have to pay for thier gas/electricity by cash cos we don't accept cards for it. & then they say "Well I came in yesterday and paid on card!" Well it wasn't here then, cos we don't accept them, the till won't let us.
Tonight I had some woman come in at 7.45 and ask for a lucky dip on the lotto. I explained that the lotto ends at 7.30 and she then shouted at me that I was lying because I couldn't be bothered to serve her. Thankfully my supervisor was just behind me at the time and managed to convince her I wasnt lying.

I let most of it go over my head and just smile and be polite, if somebody is so angry that they have to come in and try to make my day hell then that's a bit sad really. What does annoy me though is when people come into the store at five to eight (we close at eight) with a trolley. Especially when it's the same people everynight. We close at eight EVERY night, have you not learnt that yet?!

[Just a girl, Interrupted.]

*post was pointless*

[Mandimoo]

tell them you got sickness/diahorrea and couldn't come away from the bathroom/sleeping long enough to call, you were so ill you didn't really realise you were missing work.

i saw a girl in work today serve 2 lads who had been drinking, she was concentrating on their ID's rather than their faces/state they were in. so they pay and then they both open a bottle, so i said to them 'excuse me, you're not allowed to drink in store, or on the premesis because our license doesn't cover consumption of alcohol. so they put the lids on and walked out, apparently they were drinking outside so the manager had to chase em off.

alcohol sales suck. i think we should have microchips inplanted as a baby and if you're old enough, you scan your chip and walk through a turnstile into the alcohol section, and pay in the aisle.

then you don't get shop lifters coz you would have to scan your receipt to get back out, and it would be their responsibility if they gave it to minors, because clearly when they were sold it, all customers were 18+

i *hate* age restricted products.

[Kangaroo]

I used to work in my local tesco express store. It was crap but convenient as the shop is literally one minute from my house. God i have so many stories of awful customers

1 - "I just bought this ice cream 10 minutes ago and i want another one because it looks like its been half eaten and its all melted"

WTF. Ice creams melt in the time they are out of the freezer when a
it is being stocked. 5 - 10 minutes in a 25 degree heat does melt ice cream. I refused but the manager (who was a wanker) came over and told him to take another one. Mad. The only reason the ice cream looked half eaten was because he had just eaten half of it.

2 - Drunk woman. She piles her shopping in the basket and i start to ring it through, Then wheres X item? I direct her. She couldnt find half of what she wanted so asks me, goes off to get it, brings it back, asks for the next item. And while she is going that the queue is getting long and inpatient as we are short staffed and there is only 1 other till open (there were only 4 tills anyway). Then she would always ask a young person to carry her shopping home for her. I always asked said young person if they knew her, when they said they didnt, i advised them to go. I met that lady in the loony bin so didnt want 13 year old carrying shopping to her home.

3 - You refused to servce my son alcohol. He came in, i asked for ID (he looked under 21 so i have to). he didnt have any, i call the manager who also want to see ID. Manager tells me not to serve him. I dont, he leaves. Later in the day he comes back in with his mum. She started swearing at me. "How ****ing old does he look? How old are you, does he look younger than you?" i say that my age is irrelavent, that my manager also wanted to see ID. She carrys on swearing at me while i scan the rest of her shopping, buy the alcohol for him (i couldnt stop that) and it really bitchy to me when she sees me after that.

Then there was the woman who stank off piss and sweat and other foul things and whose credit/ debit cards NEVER worked.

Thank god i dont work there anymore. I cant work at all at the moment. I also had strops from moody teenagers because i wont give them any fags. I dont want to get fined.

[Nat]

I remember my first job in Toys R US (almost 10yrs ago now!!!!) It was when Pokemon where in fashion. It was last thing at night at Christmas time and I was tidying up. This old man with stinky breath came up to me and asked if we had a Pokemon something and we didnt. He spent 10 minutes yelling in my face about how crap we where. I asked him if he would like to speak to a manager as I was only temporary and he spent another 10 minutes ranting about how crap the managers where. I was 16 at the time and well I have never been rude since. BTW Toys R US is crap and the manager one day started to yell at all the customers. Ive never been rude to anyone ever due to that experience.

[Dreaming.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by just a girl, interupted.

this is stupid managers today...

I didnt turn up for work and didnt cal them, just turned my phone off. so when i was starting work at 1045 i didnt turn up

...

I couldnt walk this morning, so how could I pull another 9 hour shift for mcdonalds... and i feel like im about to hurl just now (have since actually finding things growing on plates in the kitchen...) and so yea... not really in a fit state to work... plus, finishing at midnight thursday and starting at 8am friday doesnt help my mood...

Without meaning to offend, how were they supposed to know that you weren't well, if your phone was off and you hadn't told them that you weren't going in? I don't see quite why you had said that they were stupid, considering that they had just wanted to find out where you were, considering that you wre supposed to be in work?

Jo xo

[Mandimoo]

Roo, actually, you *could* have refused his mother the alcohol on the grounds that you had reasonable doubt that it wasn't for herself, but for someone who had failed to show ID. In morrisons they would be refused, but also we could refuse them on the grounds that they were associated with someone who had been refused. The only way round it is to sort the reason why they were refused (ie bring ID, come in sober etc).

The law now states that it is an offence to buy (and serve) alcohol intended for a minor. This makes it illegal for parents to buy alcohol for their kids. The law is actually changing again to make it illegal to give your children alcohol under a certain age, this is to clear the confusion there is now. Right now a parent has the right to give their child alcohol, but it is illegal to buy that alcohol for them.

mand x

[Just a girl, Interrupted.]

*post was pointless*

[Comely]

I'm a waitress at a 4 1/2 star resort. I had this table one time,and the guy literally just shouted his order at me as I would walk by. Say,if I was ging to another table,all I'd hear from him was "Vanilla ice cream!"with a hand waving at me.

Or there are the tables that order 50 bagillion sundaes,and we have to make them ourselves....grrr...

or the ones where you work really hard but they don't tip you a dime for an entire week of service...

and the peoplewho just sit and talk for an hour after they're finished,and you have to miss eating you're own breakfast because of it.

[Protector]

Well currently working as a manager at McDonald's not calling in for your shift wouldbe a no call, no show on your record which would be a write up (which equals not good btw)

and I didnt know that sitting and talking after your meal was rude to the wait staff *is being completely honest here* why is that?

Sarai

[Dreaming.]

Quote:

Originally Posted by just a girl, interupted.

was kinda meaning more the bit that you somehow edited out, the bit you left was just back story
but whatever, i got into trouble for it today in work, but apparently loads of people did it yestrday

No, I know, I read the whole post, but I felt that it was too long to quote the whole post. :)
I was just wondering why you thought that they were stupid for leaving the messages, though? Especially if, as you say, a lot of people did it yesterday - I work in a chemist, and there is nothing more frustrating than when staff members who are contracted to come into work, don't - and don't even give any explanation.

[Voldemort]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Protector

and I didnt know that sitting and talking after your meal was rude to the wait staff *is being completely honest here* why is that?

Sarai

I don't find it rude, and I'm a waitressss. Though I work in Pizza Hut, so it could be completely different. I suppose if you're on a section and you have to finish all your tables before you go then it would annoying from the clean and bussing sense.

[Just a girl, Interrupted.]

kinda telling me the store address and that it was where i was employed etc... like i need to be reminded that i work at that hell hole... but whatever, just drop it cos i cba anymore...


and yea, but I earned a warning for cash last night anyways (for having £9.72 missing from my till)

[IceBreak]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kangaroo

I used to work in my local tesco express store. It was crap but convenient as the shop is literally one minute from my house. God i have so many stories of awful customers

1 - "I just bought this ice cream 10 minutes ago and i want another one because it looks like its been half eaten and its all melted"

WTF. Ice creams melt in the time they are out of the freezer when a
it is being stocked. 5 - 10 minutes in a 25 degree heat does melt ice cream. I refused but the manager (who was a wanker) came over and told him to take another one. Mad. The only reason the ice cream looked half eaten was because he had just eaten half of it.

well The manager shouldnt have gave the man the ice cream as they are basically trained to back you although they will have probably done it to stop all hell breaking loose and to stop giving themselves a hard time which is crap lol

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kangaroo

3 - You refused to servce my son alcohol. He came in, i asked for ID (he looked under 21 so i have to). he didnt have any, i call the manager who also want to see ID. Manager tells me not to serve him. I dont, he leaves. Later in the day he comes back in with his mum. She started swearing at me. "How ****ing old does he look? How old are you, does he look younger than you?" i say that my age is irrelavent, that my manager also wanted to see ID. She carrys on swearing at me while i scan the rest of her shopping, buy the alcohol for him (i couldnt stop that) and it really bitchy to me when she sees me after that.

Did u know you could have refused to still serve the woman because she was in with someone who had already been refused alcohol that day??? I didnt know this but it happened to one of my team leaders and when he got told that someone who was going through his till was refused earlier in the day, he still couldnt sell the alcohol to them even though the guy was in with one of his parents. Its incase they just grabbed any old person off the street and got themt o pretend they were thier parent.

sorry i work in tescos and my mum works in the customer services and Im very friendly with my managers so I kinda know some of the ground rules lol

[Jenner]

I work in Argos - and I am either on Customer Service or Jewlery.

I've been working there nearly a year, but have worked in Tesco as well. In tesco, I was a PI Operator - checking and changing of prices - so I was the one who was called down when the price was done, to aplogise and sort it all out. There was this woman, who actually kicked one the shelves, shouted at me, then left. Over a bag been in the wrong place...

Argos, I swear, we have the rudest customers on earth. Beacuse it's my fault that the warehouse has no stock. Or that they dropped their phone down a flight of stairs...honestly.

But in the end, 'the customer is always right'.

i'mn a paper girl and i'll never forget once. It was my first week starting out and they gave me a trolly for saturday papers i fell and tripped onto the trolly thinking i had broke it i went to knock on the door of the hose to see if he could help i got "what u fricken expect me to do about it your just a girl who delivers my paper i don't pay u to fix things!

[Stellata]

Customers that come to the IT desk where I used to work - different library to now - and just shove their library card in my face. If I was lucky they would say "Internet!"
and?
They're still at it where I work now, but not quite so abrupt, and I usually ask them what they want. Like, put it in words. With please would be nice.

I have to admit I've been rude to checkout assistants in supermarkets before. But that's because I'm agoraphobic and just want to get the hell out of there so that I can breathe!