Not Too Chicken To Have Your Back

(I have just started work as a cashier. An older woman comes through my checkout lane. We talk, and I ask her how her day is going, etc. I finally scan her rotisserie chicken through and it rings up $8.99. She gets all up in arms.)

Customer: “That is supposed to be $5.99.”

(I look at the chicken, and sure enough, in red it says $5.99. I apologize for my error and flip my light so my supervisor can come over to fix it, since I can’t void anything over a certain amount. Apparently, this doesn’t satisfy her.)

Customer: “No, I want it fixed now, or it won’t get done.”

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but I can’t do anyth—”

Customer: “You don’t talk to me like that! I’m the customer; you’re not! Now, fix it!”

Me: “Ma’am I honestly—”

Customer: “Stop talking! Stop! Fix it.”

(At this point, everyone in the store is watching, and I shoot a glance around for my supervisor.)

Customer: “Do you like your job? Do you want to keep your job? I’m calling corporate and you won’t have a job anymore. How’s that sound?”

(Finally my supervisor walks over.)

Supervisor: “I’m there a problem, ma’am?”

Customer: “That chicken is supposed to be $5.99, not $8.99. I want it fixed now, and she won’t do it!”

Supervisor: “That’s because she needs a manager to do it. I’ll get that fixed for you right away.”

(I walk away from my station to get a drink, thinking that when I get back she’ll be gone because the supervisor is handling it. Nope. She WAITS for me to come back so she can yell at me some more. I avoid eye contact because I am about as done as could be. She REACHES OVER my counter and pulls my face to look at her.)

Customer: “I’m the customer. You’re not. Once I get a hold of corporate, you won’t have a job anymore, understand?”

(Our store director interferes. The customer yells at him and tells him that I’ve been disrespectful. He responds:)

Store Director: “I’ve been watching the whole scene unfold, ma’am. She did her job. I will also be getting a hold of corporate, and you are no longer welcome in this store.”

(She left in a huff, ranting and raving that our store was not the only store she could go to. However, after chatting with some colleagues who had been here far longer, it turned out she’d been banned from several grocery stores in town because of her behavior.)