Sale Gone Stale

(I work at a popular candle and fragrance store. I am helping a customer and her daughter with their products. Everything is going fine, and the mother is really polite, until it comes to checking out.)

Customer: “Oh! Do you have any coupons?”

Me: “You can always check your email or [Specific Website]. That’s the only one we accept.”

(We say this because other websites steal our coupons and change the sku for the customer’s transaction to come out as $0. I see that she starts Googling for coupons. She shows me one that I can’t accept.)

Me: “I’m sorry; I can’t take that one. We only accept your email, or [Specific Website].”

(She starts Googling again a few more times, and then gets frustrated at me for not taking other coupons I can’t accept, despite me repeating the only ones we do accept. She throws her bag of products onto the cash-wrap.)

Customer: *angrily* “Then never mind! Just ring my stuff up.”

(I just smile at her and ring all her things. I see that she is getting two large candles, but they’re not the ones for sale. I tell her her total. She looks on the screen to make sure everything is correct. Then she looks up at me.)

Customer: “Why am I paying $22.50 for each candle?!”

Me: “I’m sorry, but it’s the smaller candles for sale.”

(She pushes the candle towards me.)

Customer: “Take it off! I don’t want it!”

(I smiled at her and told her I would happily do that for her. Her daughter looked at me, embarrassed, and I just smiled at her. Her mom swiped her card and tried walking away. I told her that she had to answer a few questions. After she was done, she walked away angrily, leaving her receipt, her daughter, and her bag of products. She yelled for her daughter to grab her things as she walked out the door. A few weeks later, she came in again and didn’t make eye contact with me.)