Chocolate Assault

(I’m the youngest employee at my store and I also happen to be the manager. I often have customers bypass me and speak to one of the older employees thinking they have more authority than I do. This takes place in the weeks leading up to Christmas. A customer comes up to the counter with an expensive box of chocolates that has been heavily reduced due to the fact that it reaches its “best before” in a month’s time.)

Customer: “So, this box of chocolates from last year?”

Me: *looks at back to see when it was made* “It says here it was made in January, so it’s from the beginning of the year.”

Customer: “No! I mean is it from last Christmas?”

Me: “No, it was made in January.”

Customer: “Stupid girl!” *storms off*

(I think that’s the end of it, until the customer comes back up dragging one of our newer employees that I only hired a week ago. It just so happens that this employee is male and in his 50s.)

Customer: “Her! I want her fired!”

Coworker: “I’m sorry?”

Customer: “She lied to me! Look at the date on the box! It expires in a month! She said it wasn’t from last Christmas! I. Want. Her. Fired!”

Me: *to my very flustered coworker* “You can go back to what you were doing; I’ll handle this.”

Customer: *throws the box at me* “How dare you?! You are so rude! You can’t tell him what to do! MANAGER!”

(With this, the customer starts running the length of the checkout screaming for a manager. In the meantime, I have called security and the police.)

Me: *now bleeding from catching the corner of the box right in the soft tissue next to my eye* “Sir. I am the manager. And you just assaulted me.”

(The customer tried to flee the store but was caught by security and later handed over to the police. I’ve been working retail for over ten years and it still surprises me that people think they can assault us and not get into any trouble because they are the customers, and we are just the lowly employees.)