I Decline To Comment Further On Your Attitude

(I work in a rotisserie chicken take-out place in Ontario. One evening, a regular comes in to pick up her meal. I say “ma’am” a lot because I was raised in North Carolina and it’s just how I talk.)

Me: “Good evening, ma’am. How are you doing today?”

Customer: “Fine. I’m here to pick up my meal.”

Me: “Okay, let’s just get your bill paid and then you will be on your way.”

(I pull up her bill on the computer and hand her the credit machine so she can proceed.)

Customer: “It never asked for my PIN.”

Me: “Oh, that is odd. Would you like to try again?”

Customer: “Sure.”

(I set the transaction up again and watch the computer to ensure that nothing goes wrong. Once she has input all her information, I find out that her card has been declined.)

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but it appears that it didn’t go through. We could try again in case it was just a glitch if you like.”

Customer: “It’s not my problem.”

Me: “My apologies. I wasn’t trying to imply that you were at fault in any way; sometimes the machine will say that the card was declined by mistake. If we could just try again I’m sure that it won’t happen again.”

(The customer nods at me and we set about the transaction again. This time my computer informs me that the card was declined again.)

Customer: “It shouldn’t be declining my card; I know what money I have.”

Me: “I really am sorry, ma’am. Would you happen to have another means to pay for your meal?”

Customer: “I have cash but I do not want to pay with it. I want to pay with my card. It is not my problem that your machine isn’t accepting it.”

Me: “Okay. I really am sorry, ma’am. Let me go get the manager; perhaps he can figure out what is wrong.”

(I left her at the counter with a brief smile and returned not even a minute later with my manager who I had explained the situation to on the way.)

Manager: *resets the credit machine* “Let’s see if the card will work now.”

(The customer is now obviously annoyed with how long it is taking. We go through the transaction again, and when it is once again declined, she looks at both of us.)

Customer: “It isn’t my problem that your machine isn’t accepting my card.” *looks over at me* “Is my food ready?”

Me: “Yes, it is. We’re just waiting for the bill to be settled and then you will be on your way.”

Customer: “If my food is ready, then give it to me so I can leave.”

Me: “Ma’am, I am sorry, but I can’t give you the food until we have received payment.”

Customer: “Your machine isn’t accepting my card and I demand that I get my food now and am allowed to leave. If my food is ready before your machine accepts my card then I shouldn’t have to pay.”

Manager: “I am sorry. I will gladly offer you a few free drinks for your delay; however, I cannot give you your meal for free.”

Customer: *looks at my manager and then slams her card into the machine again while screaming* “I don’t want your d*** drinks; I want my food.”

Manager: “I’m sorry but the card doesn’t seem to be working. Is there any chance you have cash or another card you can pay with?”

Customer: “I have cash but I won’t pay with it. How do I even know this machine works with a card? You guys are probably just saying that it’s declined so I will keep running my card so you will get more money out of me.”

Manager: “If I can prove that the machine is working, will we be able to move forward?”

Customer: “How the h*** are you going to prove it?”

(The manager pulls out his wallet and rings up an order for a simple meal, and then he proceeds to pay for it with his card without any problem.)

Customer: “That doesn’t prove a d*** thing. Now give me my food!”

(The manager looks at me and tells me to go ahead and go back to work and that he will hand the customer her food once the issue is solved.)

Customer: “Don’t walk away from me without giving me my food, you little b****.”

(My manager shook his head when I went to grab her food and told me to go back to work so I didn’t hear how he managed to get her to pay. However, my coworkers and I could hear her swearing and screaming at my manager the entire time. Once the customer left, my manager came to talk to me and told me that I handled myself well and that the customer did pay full price for the meal. He also told me that the next time she came in to go and get him immediately so that he could deal with her.)