Me: “Will that be it for you today?”

Customer: “Yes, that’s it.”

Me: “All right. Your total will be $9.28.”

(The customer pays and leaves, and I go through about five minutes and eight more customers. The other customer comes back up, looking angry.)

Customer: “You didn’t give me a discount.”

Me: “Excuse me?”

Customer: “I had a receipt code and you didn’t give me the discount for it!”

(At our restaurant, we have a promotion where, if you bring in a code on a receipt from filling out a survey, you will receive a free entree item; however, the code has to be given at the time of purchase.)

Me: “I’m sorry, sir. You didn’t say anything about having a coupon, so I had no idea you had one.”

Customer: “I forgot to give it to you. But I still need the discount.”

(I call my manager over to help with the situation. I should add that there IS a way to fix this situation in the register but would involve me possibly being fired because it sends a report to corporate claiming the situation was “my fault,” and they no longer accept excuses.)

Manager: “Sir, did you mention you had the receipt to her when she rang you up?”

Customer: “No. It was in my back pocket. I forgot I had it.”

Manager: “And she told you the total, yes?”

Customer: “Well, yeah, but that doesn’t mean I should have to pay for the extra entree!”

Manager: “Sir, I can’t do anything about this that wouldn’t cause problems for her with corporate, and I can’t in good conscience punish her when it wasn’t her fault. I’m sorry. You can bring the coupon back and use it next time.”

(The customer stormed off and later filed a report to my manager claiming we “refused his coupon and forced him to pay additional costs.” Obviously, my manager knew what had really happened and just laughed.)

Related:
The Couponator 15: The Transaction Void
The Couponator 14: Multiple Attack
The Couponator 13: Coupons Of Purchases Past

(My managers received an email a few days ago warning them to be on the lookout for fake coupons. This happens in the drive-thru.)

Me: “Welcome to [Restaurant]; what can I get for you?”

Customer: “I have a coupon here that’s a little bit expired. Do you take expired coupons?”

Me: “Usually we can. What is it for?”

Customer: “It says a free [cheeseburger] with purchase of fries and drink.”

(This is a very common coupon, sent out with every set of coupons.)

Manager: *to me* “How old is it?”

Me: *to customer* “How long has it been expired?”

Customer: *sheepishly* “A while…”

Me: “What’s the date on it?”

Customer: “Um… 2011…”

Manager: *shakes her head*

Me: “No, you cannot use that coupon.”

(She ended up ordering something completely different.)

(I’m waiting for a flight and grabbing a bite to eat at a well-known Canadian coffee chain. While I’m in line, I see a new menu item, but I don’t know what’s in it.)

Me: “Hi, what’s in [item]?”

Cashier: *punches in item* “That’ll be [price].”

Me: “What’s in it?”

Cashier: “Pardon?”

Me: “I don’t know what is in the [item].”

Cashier: *points to the sign overhead*

(I can’t see very well without my glasses, so the sign is only slightly helpful and I had seen it from the line to decide to ask about. In particular, there’s something on top of the wrap that looks like it could be potatoes, which I like, or eggs, which I hate, and I have no idea if there are small vegetables like diced onions, or any sauces.)

Me: “I can’t tell what’s in the picture.”

Cashier: *looking at the sign* “Lettuce, tomato, sausage, cheese, and vegetables.”

Me: “Vegetables? What vegetables?”

Cashier: “Lettuce and tomato.”

Me: “Okay… What about that thing on top?”

Cashier: “Vegetables. They’re… fried potatoes.”

Me: “Okay, I’ll get that.”

(It had sauce. No idea what kind. It was quite good, but I hate to think of if I’d had a food restriction.)

(A girl has ordered a shake which costs $3.13. She gives me a five-dollar bill.)

Me: *to myself* “Okay, that’s $1.87.”

(I smile and hand the girl her change. She takes the money and counts it, and then she looks at me and says, rudely, I might add:)

Customer: “You need to give me another dollar.”

Me: “Umm… No, I gave you the correct amount.”

Customer: “No, you didn’t. I gave you a $5 bill. So you need to give me another dollar.” 

(One of my coworkers comes by and asks what’s happening.)

Me: “She paid with a—”

Customer: “I gave her a $5 bill. And she forgot to give me another dollar.”

(My coworker looks on our screen to see how much she paid.)

Coworker: “That looks right… but just in case.”

(He then pulls out his phone and calculates it. It is correct. He flashes his phone to her.)

Customer: “Oh.”

(Then, she walked away. No apology. No thank-you. Nothing. I don’t know if she was trying to short me or was stupid, but either way, wow.)

(One of my friends has recently gotten a job at a fast food restaurant that I have worked at for almost a year. I am in the kitchen and she is in the drive-thru but I am helping her with any questions she might have.)

Friend: “Hello, what can I get you today?”

Angry-Sounding Man: “I want the number three meal, large size.”

Friend: “All right, and what to drink with that, sir?”

Angry-Sounding Man: “I don’t want a drink.”

(It takes my friend a moment to say anything and I can tell she’s confused. I remind her that she can’t ring up a meal without a drink.)

Friend: “I’m sorry, sir, but you can’t get a meal without a drink.”

Angry-Sounding Man: *sounding even angrier* “I don’t want a drink and you can’t make me get one! I want the meal without the drink and I’m gonna get it.”

Friend: “I’m sorry, sir, if you don’t want the drink I’ll have to ring it up separately.”

(The man said that was okay but then got to her window and asked her to change it to the meal without the drink. I guess he didn’t realize it was the same person… although she was the only one taking orders and the only one wearing a headset.)