Unfiltered Story #201631

(I’m an order-taker for a catalog company. In the US, if a company has a physical location in a state (store, warehouse, office building, etc) then that company is required to charge a sales tax for any items shipped to customers in that state. My employer only has a handful of physical stores, but 2 of them are in Illinois.)

Me: Thank you for calling (catalog company), my name is (my name). How can I help you today?

Caller: I just placed an order a few minutes ago, and I think the lady charged me more than she was supposed to.

Me: I can certainly look that up and see what’s happening, do you have the order number handy?

(I look up the order and verify that I have the right file. When I try to read the order back, she interrupts and starts listing the charges without pausing long enough for me to ask any more questions. I have a calculator nearby, so I punch in the numbers as she lists them, making sure they match what’s on my screen.)

Caller: And that only adds up to $174.49. She charged me $184.96. She charged me too much money!

Me: It looks like there’s also a sales tax of $10.47 on th-

Caller: (Angrily) Sales tax! You can’t charge me a sales tax, I’m not in Wisconsin!

Me: We’re required to charge a sales tax for –

Caller: (Interrupting) That’s illegal!

Me: Actually, it’s a legal requirement.

Caller: I just ordered from 2 other places, and they never said anything about any sales tax!

Me: The law says we have to charge sales tax for any state we have a physical location in. If they don’t have-

Caller: It’s against the law for you to charge sales taxes!

Me: Actually, it’s against the law for us not to charge it.

Caller: You’re breaking the law!!! I’m never ordering from you again, you’re all a bunch of crooks! You can’t charge people like that! I’m telling the police about you!

Me: …. That’s certainly your right. Are there any other questions I can help you with?