Best We Can Get You Is The King Of The World?

I am a supervisor working for a retail chain that has “World Market” in the name. A woman approaches my cashier pushing a cart full of obviously-used throw pillows.

Customer: “I want to return these.”

Cashier: “Do you have a receipt?”

Customer: “No. Just look me up in the system.”

Cashier: “Can I get your name and phone number?”

Customer: *Yelling* “You don’t need all that! Just look me up!”

I step in to tell her very politely and calmly:

Me: “Ma’am, you either need a receipt or you need to provide us your name and phone number.”

Customer: *Screeching* “You’re all idiots! If you don’t want to be fired, I want an apology from the president of the world!”

I’m certain she meant the president of “World Market,” but in her fury, she said, “the president of the world,” and I barely held it together as I calmly offered her the corporate feedback number.

She didn’t take it and instead walked out of the store still yelling and without her cart of dirty pillows. She returned about twenty minutes later, quietly apologized, and took her pillows with her. We never heard from her again.