When The Store Is Closing Down So Does My Patience
This story takes place back in early 2022. The privately owned arts and crafts supply store I’ve worked at for years is sadly closing down due to the owner’s health. The owner, who is also my direct boss and works alongside me on the shop floor almost every day, is a fantastic woman and has basically adopted me. She is also a great boss and has thus always given us employees free rein to deal with a**hole customers however we see fit.
Sadly, I have had to make use of that free rein an insane amount of times during the past two years (with mask mandates and such rules setting off customers on honestly frightening fits of rage), so between that, the store closing down in a few weeks, and entitled customers rudely trying to get me to discount the last remaining wares of our closing sale (which already gives them 75% off anyway), I am on my last nerve.
In the middle of the busy period of our sale, with the lines on both our registers reaching almost the other end of the store, a woman comes up with a basket full of ribbons that we sell by the meter, and she wants to buy all of it. All of these rolls have a good amount cut off already and are nowhere near full.
Customer: “I’ll take everything that’s left of all these.”
Me: “Of course. I’ll just have to measure what’s left on the rolls so I can give you the final prices.”
Customer: “What?! But that’s going to take forever! I’m actually doing you a great service by taking all of these off your hands, so you should just give me a good price for the whole set!”
Me: “I’m sorry, but the only way I could do that would be by giving you the prices of the full rolls minus 75%.”
Customer: “Urgh, no, that’s too much. Go ahead and measure it!”
I do. One of my colleagues helps me while my boss and another colleague take care of the other register and the other customers in the store, respectively. If you’ve ever tried to roll up ribbons of different widths, you’ll know it takes forever, especially if you try to neatly put it back on the roll.
We employees have a technique to roll it up on our hands in a neat little skein that will easily unravel as much as you need it to by pulling on one end, and it’s a very fast way of rolling up any kind of ribbon/string/yarn, so we won’t hold up the line even longer after even just measuring all her ribbons already took ages.
However, the woman is having none of it.
Customer: “What are you doing there?! Stop that! I want them back on the rolls they came on!”
Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but we can’t do that at this time. However, you are welcome to take the empty bobbins with you and roll up the ribbons however you see fit yourself.”
Customer: “What?! No! This is terrible service! I demand you roll them up properly right now!“
Me: “Ma’am, we are currently in the middle of a rush, and I am not willing to hold up all these other people for something like this. We do not have the time and are honestly not making enough money off of these with the sale price to justify that amount of extra work.”
Customer: “You will do as I tell you, you insolent little girl!”
Note that I am in my mid-twenties. My coworker, who is nearly double my age and still standing next to me, is very non-confrontational, so I have already motioned for her to not step in.
Me: “Lady, I am not having this discussion with you, and I will not tolerate you speaking to me like this. You will take these ribbons the way they are now or leave.”
Customer: “Shut up and do as I tell you, or I will have your boss fire you! And don’t you think you can dictate what I buy!”
I have now had it with this woman. I reach out and snatch the ribbons out from under her hand and shove the entire pile, ribbons and bobbins and all, back into the shopping basket with one sweeping motion.
Me: “And that’s where you’re wrong. You won’t be buying anything from us today — or ever again, for that matter. I am refusing you service.”
Customer: “You can’t do that! I am going to complain!”
Me: “This store is closing down; I do not care. Leave quietly, or I will have to have you removed for trespassing as you are now banned — for what it’s worth for the remaining [weeks].”
She did, in fact, leave, albeit not without yelling. The next customers apologized to me that I had to deal with that and commended me for staying calm. When I told my boss about the encounter later, after the rush of customers had died down considerably, all she had to say was, “Good riddance!” Then, she bought me some chocolate.