He’s Been A Major Problem Since He Was A Minor

I have not only been recently promoted into management, but I’ve also been moved to a bigger store during the current health crisis. This is my third week at my new store and my first shift not only working as a solo manager, but the closing manager, as well.

I’m a twenty-eight-year-old, five-foot-tall white woman with blonde and blue hair, tattoos, and piercings.

About an hour into the closing shift, I get an emergency call from a cashier while I’m doing paperwork. I quickly hurry over to see what the problem is.

Me: “Hi, I’m [My Name]. What’s going on here and how can I help?”

The customer is a younger white guy, somewhere in his early to mid-twenties.

Customer: “Yeah! I’ve been coming into the store for four years now, and I’ve always paid with credit, and it’s never asked for the last four digits of my card before!”

The customer jerks a finger to point at the next cashier, a white guy in his early twenties. During this time, my two opening cashiers have gotten off and are in line to make purchases of their own.

Customer: “He checked me out last week and didn’t ask for my last four digits! I don’t trust her to ring me up!”

The cashier he’s pointing at is an African-American woman around my age. Up until this point, she’s been as polite as possible in retail, but at this she gets justifiably offended.

Cashier #1: “Sir, as I told you, the register won’t let me finish your sale without the last four digits of your card. If you’d like, you can come over here and verify for yourself.”

Customer: “I SAID I WANTED TO TALK TO THE MANAGER!”

The two cashiers who are off and the two who are working all point to me and speak in unison.

All: “She is the manager!”

The customer finally gives me the last four digits of his credit card, signs the PIN pad, and then storms off and rams himself halfway into the door on his way out.

Before I can say anything, [Cashier #1] pipes up.

Cashier #1: “I checked his ID; he was 22.”

Cashier #2: “I’ve never seen him before, either.”