She’s A Figure(ine) Of Ridiculousness

The store I work at is doing a promotion where you get a special collectible figurine for every $30 you spend. I’m overseeing self-serve when a woman calls me over.

Me: “May I help you?”

Customer: “Yes. I need two of the collectible figurines please.”

I glance at her screen. She’s only spent a little over $30.

Me: “I’m sorry, I don’t think you’ve spent enough for two. Just the one.”

Customer: *Suddenly very irritated* “No, I get one from spending $30, but I want to buy a second one.”

Me: “I’m sorry, you can’t buy them. You can only get them by spending $30. You’ve only earned one today.”

Customer: “No, you can buy them. The store I usually go to sells them to me. I always earn one and then buy a second. I have two kids who collect them.”

Me: “Let me go check something.”

I walk over to the box of figures. As I thought, there is a label on the box saying that they’re not for individual sale, and there’s no barcode to scan. I walk back over to the customer.

Me: “I’m sorry, but I can’t just sell them to you. Even if I wanted to, there’s no barcode for me to scan.”

Customer: “The lady at the other store manually keys them in as $3.”

Me: “We’re not supposed to do that. They’re not for individual sale.”

Customer: “Then go talk to your manager. They’ll tell you you’re wrong.”

I walk over to the nearby service desk and talk to the department manager. She tells me I’m right and that the customer is mistaken. I return to the customer.

Me: “I’m sorry, but she confirmed what I said. I can’t just sell them to you.”

Customer: “Was that really a manager you spoke to?”

Me: “The department manager, yes. She’s the one who knows all about this stuff.”

Customer: “Well, she’s wrong, too. I demand you to sell me one for $3.”

Me: “How about I go get the manager and you can talk to her directly?”

Customer: “You do that.”

I went over and asked the department manager to come talk to the customer when she was available. I then walked back over to the self-serve area to see that the customer had disappeared but had left all of her groceries behind. I told my manager not to worry and put the customer’s stuff off to the side in hopes she would come back to get them. She never did. I guess she decided that not being able to spend $3 on a collectible figurine was worth abandoning $30 worth of groceries over.