Rage Before Beauty, Part 2

(A customer in her late 60s walks up with her granddaughter, who is probably 18-20 in age.)

Customer: “I want to return this crap!”

Me: “Alright, ma’am, do you have your receipt?”

Customer: “No, but you’d better take it back!”

(I page a manager to approve a no-receipt return. It gets approved and we explain it’ll have to go on a store gift card. The customer is still angry, but the granddaughter helps us calm her down.)

Me: “Alright, ma’am, here’s your gift card. There’s $24.83 on it.”

(The customer snatches the card from my hands. Meanwhile, she watches the POS terminal like a hawk to see how things add up.)

Customer: “NO, NO, NO! That was buy one, get one free!”

Me: “Sorry, ma’am let me have someone check…”

(As I page for someone on the floor to price check, I see a line of angry people forming behind her. We’re an insanely busy store in the summer, and it’s been a good ten minutes by this point. My coworker returns from checking the price.)

Coworker: “It has no tag, or none near it. Where did you see buy one, get one free, ma’am?”

Customer: “A couple weeks ago!  It was buy one, get one free!”

Me: “Ma’am, we can’t price modify for a sale a couple weeks old.”

Customer: “You can and you will. Let me speak to your manager!”

(I page the manager again, and they approve the modification while giving me a “Get this crazy customer out of our store” look).

Me: “Alright ma’am, I’ve run your gift card. That leaves $10.21 remaining on your total.”

Customer: “I should get it free for all the hassle you people put me through here!”

(The customer throws a 20 at me. I make change and she storms off, with the total transaction time about 16 minutes. Next up is her granddaughter, who is calm and polite. She puts her nail polish on the counter and I ring her up. Whole transaction time? 20 seconds.)

Me: “Have a nice day!”

Customer’s Granddaughter: “You too!”

Customer: *to her granddaughter* “Danielle, are you FINALLY done?! What took you so long?! I swear, you young people are SO inconsiderate, like that idiot behind the counter!”