No Hun Intended

I used to jump on a cash register at a department store where I worked when it got busy. I would be one of four people putting folks through. This one lady would always come to my cash; I was really fast. 

This is the South, so certain terms of endearment down here are very common.

Me: “Hello, hun! How are we doing today?”

Customer: “Do not call me hun! I am not your hun! You will address me as ma’am or not at all!”

‘Not at all,’ it is! I check her out in silence and move on with my life.

A few weeks later, I’ve forgotten all about it, and she’s back.

Me: “Hello, hun! How are we doing today?”

Customer: “I have told you not to call me hun! That’s it! I want to speak to your manager!”

Me: “My manager is on vacation this weekend, ma’am. I’m the manager on duty today, ma’am, but I can get her to call you if you like?”

Customer: “You better have her call me on Monday or I will be back here to get you into even more trouble than you’re already in!”

I left her a message on her voicemail, with the standard store code indicating a callback is required for a customer complaint.

My manager got back on Monday and had so many messages on her phone waiting for her that she didn’t listen all the way through my message, and jumped straight ahead to calling the customer back.

Manager: “Hi! How can I help you, hun?”

Apparently, the call did not go well.