And She Would Have Gotten Away With It, Too…

(I am a cashier in a popular toy store around the holiday season. One of my coworkers neglects to give a customer two of her many bags, since we often have to place items behind the counter as we bag due to the limited amount of space we have at the register. The customer’s name is written with the bags, and she returns the next day to pick them up.)

Me: “I was told what happened, and I’m very sorry for the inconvenience.”

(The customer seems content with the apology as I hand her the items, but she becomes dismayed as she gives the items a cursory glance.)

Customer: “Where’s my Scooby-Doo mobile?”

Me: “It’s not included in the bags?”

Customer: “No, it’s not in here!”

Me: “Someone may have found it in a bag separate from the others and returned it to the shelf. Do you have your receipt?”

Customer: “No. But I bought it yesterday.”

Me: “I’m sorry, but I can’t give the item to you if I’m not positive that you bought it with your previous purchase. Let me get my supervisor.”

(The customer grows more and more upset as my supervisor and I discuss what should be done. We’re an express version of this toy store and have very little in-house authority. My supervisor steps away to make a call to headquarters to ask what can be done, as she lacks the authority to give anything away without permission.)

Customer: “This is ridiculous. I drove all the way back here from [Different County, over an hour away]. This is taking too long. I’ll just buy another one. I can’t believe this.”

(The customer continues to complain while buying another of the missing item. She quickly leaves right before my supervisor returns.)

Supervisor: “Where’d she go? I finally got in touch with corporate and they said we could give her a new one for free.”

Me: “She bought another one, which I’m guessing she was willing to do because she hadn’t actually bought the first one.”