(We hire a seasonal worker who is in high school. She only works weekends, yet after only three weeks she gets promoted to product co-manager because she knows higher-ups. She comes into the store a few times, very smug about her promotion. She often shoves her work onto us, as she doesn’t believe it is worth her time. For example, she refuses to take out garbage even though all the tills are full and the garbage is overflowing. Even the DM takes out the garbage sometimes so it isn’t unreasonable. However, because she isn’t actually in the store that often, she doesn’t always know the answer to questions customers have even though she’ll pretend to.)

Customer: “How much does fudge cost?”

Product Co-Manager: “Oh, it’s like $10.”

Me: “Actually, it’s $5.99, and we’re having a buy-one-get-one deal.”

Product Co-Manager: “Right, so it’s around $10. Don’t you have somewhere else to be, [My Name]?”

Customer: “Actually, can I ask you a few more questions?”

Product Co-Manager: “Sure!”

Customer: “Oh… I meant her.” *meaning me*

(The product co-manager glares at me and storms away. A few days later, my manager pulls me into the back room.)

Manager: “We got an anonymous customer complaint about you.”

Me: “What?”

Manager: “They said you were rude, and would always send them to other people because you were too busy on your phone.”

Me: “When?”

Manager: “Tuesday at eight.”

Me: “[Manager], I called in sick this Tuesday. It couldn’t have been me.”

Manager: “Really?”

(My manager looked up the records and saw that I called in sick Tuesday and Wednesday, and wasn’t scheduled Monday. There was no way that complaint was about me. They sent back an email asking to verify the employee they were complaining about. The next day I saw my manager yelling at the product co-manager in the back room. It turns out the product co-manager sent an anonymous complaint about me to get me written up or moved. My manager saw her email open on her phone, and she had the email the company sent to the “anonymous customer.” The product co-manager was fired immediately.)

Related:
They Totally Mismanaged That

A coworker who works evenings called in sick. We managed to get someone to cover his shift and everything seemed fine.

Management and employees are all pretty friendly with each other, so it’s a very relaxed atmosphere; apparently, so relaxed that the coworker felt very comfortable coming in to buy alcohol during the time he was supposedly “sick” and bragging about how he just wanted the night off for a party. He bragged to the supervisor on hand.

He denied doing it later when my manager brought him in to talk about it, even with multiple witnesses. Despite this, my manager gave him a chance and told him that as long as he admitted to what he’d done and was sincere in his apology, there wouldn’t be any disciplinary action.

He swore up and down he didn’t do it and was fired on the spot since multiple witnesses were present in the shop and another co-worker — who actually had the night off — saw him at the party.

My manager just couldn’t trust him after that.

Later I heard him threatening the other coworker for “grassing him up” about it.

Honesty is sometimes better than a bold-faced lie.

(I am getting a customer her change. One of the dollar bills I hand her has a small rip in the corner, but I don’t think it’s a big deal. I give her the money, and she just stares at it.)

Me: “Is something wrong?”

Customer: “Does this have a rip in it?”

Me: “Uh… I think it had a small tear–“

Customer: “Oh, no. I can’t accept that. [Store] makes so much money. They can stand to have some ripped up dollars; I can’t. [Store] just makes so much money.”

Me: “Would you like me to get you a different dollar?”

Customer: “Yes. [Store] makes a lot of money. They can keep this one.”

(I have ordered the new Samsung Galaxy S8. It arrives and, despite my protests that I know how to set it up, the cashier is adamant that he do it for me. He walks around the counter and takes the phone out of the box in front of me. Lo and behold, he opens it upside down and the phone falls flat on the floor, face-down. Everyone gasps and he tries to recover the situation by playing it off. While I doubt there is any real damage, I’m less than keen on accepting the phone now. He tries to convince me to keep take it because “I’ll just end up breaking it anyway.” I refuse, and a manager gets involved.)

Manager: “Again?! This is the sixth one today!”

Cashier: “But there’s nothing wrong with it!”

Me: “Sorry, but I haven’t even touched it. I know it might be a bit pompous, but—”

Manager: “No, no. It’s all right. I wouldn’t think of selling one that has been damaged in-store. No one accepted their phones either…” *mumbles to himself* “Two iPhones, two Nexus, an HTC, and now a Galaxy!”

(He apologises to me and offers that I take the phone that he ordered for himself. I decline and just reorder another, but he gives me a discount on a case and screen protection. As I leave…)

Manager: “[Cashier], if you must open them, please, I say, please open them over a table, at least. I can’t keep sending phones back!”

(It’s Valentine’s Day, and although it’s not really celebrated in my country, we have a few things for the occasion. A young man comes running in, panting like crazy.)

Customer: “I need that teddy bear!” *points to a bear with a big heart on his chest* “And that balloon!” *a giant heart with “I love you” written on it*

Me: “Sure. It will be [amount].”

Customer: “Do you have chocolates?!”

Me: “Yes, I can recommend [Brand] that comes with a little love poem inside.”

Customer: “Yes, give me two.”

(I gather everything and put it in a red and pink bag. He pays and runs off like he’s being chased by the devil. My boss has been watching in silence until this moment.)

Boss: “Do you think he just forgot or that he needs to repent for some sins?”

Me: “I don’t want to know.”