Fifty Reasons Not To Come Back

I work as a delivery driver for a building supply store. I’ve never had any issues with those I deliver to, because if something is wrong with their order, I just point out that I’m just given the paper of what to deliver, and where to go, or I admit if I forgot something. They understand that and direct their frustrations at the staff who made the order wrong, or if I forget, they appreciate the effort of me arranging to get their missing item ASAP.

Today, a guy orders close to $3000 worth of material. They are paying cash when I arrive, so our rule is you get the cash first, then give the material.

I get there, and this guy looks rough, like either he had been using drugs for years in his life, or still is. I go through the routine, asking him where he wants it placed, etc, then ask for the money. He starts counting off the bills in batches, handing them to me faster than I can verify the amount.

Customer: “There’s $400.”

Me: “Actually, that’s $350.”

Customer: “No, no, it’s all there.”

I recount it three times and each time it comes up $50 short. Important to note, in order to safely count, I set the money on a cooler which is not directly in sight of the customer, but he is there watching the whole time.

Me: “No, sir, there is $50 missing.”

Customer: “It shouldn’t be out, because I counted it beforehand.”

Me: “Unfortunately, I’ve counted three times, and each time it’s short.”

Customer: *Getting angry.* “No! That’s correct; I counted it all beforehand!”

I hand him the money, saying he can verify. He counts, and sure enough, it comes up short.

Customer: “I don’t understand it, I counted everything. I don’t know what kind of con job you’re trying to pull!”

Me: “I’m not, I am just saying that you’re $50 short, and I can’t leave any material unless I get the full amount.”

He gets madder and madder by the second.

Customer: *Points to his friend.* “He was there when I counted!”

Customer’s Friend: “I only caught glimpses.”

Me: “Everyone is human; we all make mistakes, so maybe you miscounted. I just pointed out how I noticed fifty missing when you handed me the four hundred.”

He doesn’t like that! His voice is getting higher and higher, and he accuses me of taking the money. He’s swearing, saying I don’t know how to count, or that I pocketed the money; just every kind of blame he can think of where I am the one at fault and not him.

Me: *My voice is starting to rise too.* “If you’re just gonna accuse me and say that stuff, I’ll take the order back and you won’t get anything.”

He keeps yelling, so with the money still on the cooler where we counted, I tell him:

Me: “All your money is there. You aren’t getting your order.”

As I’m walking out, he’s yelling:

Customer: “Send someone who has f****** brains and who knows how to count, and is competent! I’m gonna call your boss and get you fired!”

Me: “Go ahead and call my boss. Your attitude is terrible.”

Customer: *Yelling.* “I have a f****** great attitude!”

Me: “You’re throwing a tantrum like a five-year old.”

I get in my vehicle and drive off. As soon as I’m back, I inform the staff what had happened. The customer phones and while the worker is dealing with him, I call my bosses to make them aware of the situation.

They assure me that everything is fine and that I did the right thing. I wasn’t worried about that, I just wanted them to be aware of the situation.

The worker gets off the phone with him, saying she is sending one of our other drivers back so I won’t have to deal with it. I warn the driver that the customer is short on money, so be careful.

The worker dealing with the call later told me what was said; the customer was making it look like he was the victim:

Customer: “He was accusing me of short-changing you, and he wouldn’t let me recount it! He was the first one to start yelling!”

My coworker brought up several points I mentioned about what he said to me.

Customer: “Yeah. I was a little rude. I shouldn’t have said that. But this just ruined my day. Tell the driver I am sorry. I was just angry because I was being accused of not having all the money.”

My coworker pointed out that kind of behavior is not tolerated towards the drivers. And that I was following the rules for not giving them the order when I haven’t received the full amount. 

They told the customer that I am extremely competent, and that I know how to do my job, and that if I say it’s short, they believe me.

My coworker comes back, with the full amount, and the order gone. He explains to me how the fifty dollars was still missing, and that the customer had to go into his wallet for the missing amount. Then the customer went on for another ten minutes about how rude I was, how he didn’t understand why someone would risk their jobs stealing fifty dollars from a customer, and how he never wants to see me deliver to his place again.

My coworker just told him:

Coworker: “I’m just here to drop this off and get the money. I don’t know what happened, what was said, or anything like that.”

I don’t know if he said it to the customer or if it was under his breath, but he said:

Coworker: “As for him not coming back to your place again, the feeling is mutual.”