Of Percents And No Sense

(Our customer service areas double as our cashes, so it’s common to ring in one customer only to walk with the next customer to go pick out jeans or other items. One day an older woman comes to my station and looks disappointed.)

Me: *holding her items* “Hello there, ma’am. Did you find everything you were looking for today?”

Customer: “No. I wanted to find a coat for my husband but none of the styles here are right for him. He wants a fall jacket not a winter one.”

Me: “Oh, I see. You’re right, all the jackets that we have out now are made more for winter since it’s October and everyone is looking for winter clothes. But if you’d like, before I ring these in, you can look over at [New Clothing Brand] and see if they have anything? They feature more high-end looks and I’m pretty sure there are some lighter jackets mixed in there.”

Customer: “Hmm…”

Me: “Most of the items of that brand are on sale for 30% off right now. I’m not sure if the jackets are on sale but if you want you can see if there’s one you like and I can see if there are any discounts on it?”

Customer: “Oh, okay. Thank you! I’ll go have a look, thank you.”

(The customer goes over to the section I mention and looks around; a few moments later she comes back with a light jacket.)

Me: “Oh, it looks like you found one.”

Customer: “I did. It’s almost exactly what he wants. Thank you for mentioning it.”

(I take the coat to scan the barcode and notice the sticker on the tag. The sticker is our way of showing clearance items which have been marked down 40%.)

Me: “It looks like you found one of the clearance jackets, because it’s already been reduced 40%, I can’t take 30% off of it, but 40% is still better than 30%.”

Customer: “But you said everything was 30% off?”

Me: “I’m sorry. I mentioned that most things were 30% off, but your jacket is already 40% off, so it’s a better deal.”

Customer: “Well, now, that’s not what you told me. You said it would be 30% off!”

(The customer continues to argue this back and forth for a while, with me offering to look for one that wasn’t clearance (but more expensive), but the customer refuses and leaves the coat behind. I go on my break soon after, feeling bummed that I wasn’t able to find the woman a gift for her husband. When I come back my coworker pulls me aside.)

Coworker: “Your lady came back.”

Me: “The one who wanted the coat? Why?”

Coworker: “She came and demanded that she get the discount. She said that the signs said 30% off so she was getting it discounted.”

Me: “But it says ‘unless already reduced…’ and it was already 40% off.”

Coworker: “I know, but she put up such a fuss that the manager gave it to her. Then she said the manager was a big baby!”

Me: “So she got a high-end coat for 70% off?”

Coworker: “Yup.”

Me: “… Only six more hours to go.”