Draining Their Pool Of Complaining

(I have been working at a convenience store for close to six months now, and I feel very comfortable as the front door cashier. Most people are regulars and are usually very polite and kind towards me, though I have had some unruly customers try to intimidate me due to my age and appearance. Here is one conversation I’ve had.)

Me: “Hi, there! Did you find everything okay?”

Woman: *sighs a little* “I guess…”

(Before I can ask anything else, out of the corner of my eye, I see a teenage boy wearing a blue hoodie heading out of the store. Abruptly, the woman looks a bit haughty.)

Woman: “That kid stole a candy bar.”

Me: “I’m sorry?”

Woman: “He stole a candy bar. I saw him pick it up earlier; I don’t think he came to pay for it.”

Me: “Well, hopefully he didn’t steal a candy bar, but if he did, there’s nothing I can do besides let my manager know.”

Woman: “What do you mean? He just went outside the door!”

Me: “Okay?”

Woman: “You’re not going after him?!”

Me: *startled, as she and another woman are in line to get checked out, and it’s against the company policy to chase after possible shoplifters, as my safety would be at stake* “No, ma’am. There’s really nothing I can do. If he stole a candy bar, then he’s long gone. I’ll be sure to let my manager know, though.”

Woman: *gives me a dirty look but decides not to argue anymore*

Me: *ringing up her products* “Do you have a [Rewards Card]?”

Woman: *hands me the rewards card*

Me: *scanning it* “Great! That’ll be [total].”

Woman: *staring at the mini screen, frowning* “Where’s my discount?”

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am?”

Woman: “My discount! I always get the discount with that card; where is my discount?”

Me: “Um, ma’am, I’m sorry, but the card only takes money off if you get something that’s on sale. The items you’re getting are not on sale, except for the beef jerky.”

Woman: “But I always get a discount!”

Me: *recognizing that this woman won’t be reasoned with unless I’m blunt* “I’m sorry, ma’am, but the ‘discount’ you’re mentioning only goes towards products on sale. Except for the beef jerky you’re buying, none of your items are on sale. That’ll be [total]. unless you wish to void the transaction.”

(She gives me a dirty look and puts her card in the chip reader, allowing the transaction to proceed. Once she gets her receipt and bag full of stuff, she storms off. At this point, she has forced a line to form behind her, and my manager has to help get them through as my coworker is on his lunch break. When she’s done, she heads over to ask me what happened, having heard a small bit at the end. I explain to her what happened.)

Manager: “Oh, all right. But next time, don’t let her leave angry; just call me over.”

Me: “Sure thing.”

(Of course, not two minutes later, guess who comes back? Yep, the grumpy woman.)

Woman: “I wanted cash back!”

Me: “Excuse me?”

Woman: “Cash back. I wanted cash back with my card; it’s a debit card! Can I do that?”

Me: “You’d have to buy something first, ma’am.”

Woman: *condescendingly* “Well, I already bought stuff…”

Me: “You’d have to buy something else first to get cash back ma’am. It only works during a transaction, not after.”

Woman: *scrambling for something else to complain about* “Well, I didn’t get my discount, and I know all of my stuff was on sale; I saw the tags!”

Me: “You probably saw them last week, ma’am, as our new sales of the week started on Sunday.”

Woman: *pause* “Do you have any wine bottle openers?”

Me: “No, ma’am, we do not.”

(She spies an ad booklet of the week and points to a picture of wine in the corner of the front cover, looking almost triumphant in a catty way, as if she’s caught me in some kind of lie.)

Woman: “Well, then, what is that?“

(I am getting pretty fed up with her attitude; this woman in her forties is trying to intimidate a twenty-one-year-old who is NOT going to take it lying down.)

Me: “That is for convenience stores that actually have a liquor licence, which we do not have.”

Woman: “…”

Me: “Will there be anything else, ma’am?”

Woman: “The beef jerky is disgusting!” *stomps out of the store like a five year old*

(If any of you think you can intimidate someone purely because of how young they maybe or appear to be, just remember that we can bite back.)