A Hispanic kid, around ten years old, comes in with his mom and looks around the store for a minute. He then gravitates toward “Grand Theft Auto” and proceeds to pick it up and bring it to the front. I explain to his mother, in English:

Me: “Just so that you’re aware, this game is rated M for violence, language, sexual content, and drugs.”

She gives me a blank look, and then she looks at the kid and asks what I just said in Spanish.

Customer’s Kid: “He’s just asking whether this is the correct game.”

My coworker, who overheard all this, came over and told the mother in Spanish what I’d really said.

She proceeded to tell the kid to put down the game box, slapped him upside the head, and pulled him by the arm as they left the store.

Related:
Grand Theft Innocence, Part 16
Grand Theft Innocence, Part 15
Grand Theft Innocence, Part 14
Grand Theft Innocence, Part 13
Grand Theft Innocence, Part 12

There are moments where we can’t do returns on certain items, like if a game system gets “accidentally” damaged, or if you open a new game copy and do not like the game, sorry we cannot do the return for the said items. In short: we the employees are just doing what our bosses are telling us to do. 

I am working my usual opening shift. About two to three hours in everything is running smoothly and calmly, until a woman with (assuming) her husband and two kids (boy and girl) comes in. I do my usual greetings and before I can ask anything the woman cuts me off demandingly.

Customer: “Do a refund on this video game we bought!”

The game was still sealed and everything.

Me: “May I see your receipt?”

Customer: “I don’t have one.”

Me: “Did you pay by card?”

Customer: “No! Cash.”

Me: “Do you have a membership account with us?

Customer: “Of course not! Look, I know the owner and they’ve done this a few times for me. I’ve been shopping at your store for years!”

Funny, because I’ve never seen this woman nor her husband and kids in all my years of working here.

Me: “Ma’am, I cannot process this return without any form of verification.”

Customer: “Well I’m not taking no for an answer!”

Still pi**ed, she goes about browsing the store. Her son ended up picking up a game. He is very nice and apologizes for his parent’s behavior.

I went ahead ringing him up and telling him it was alright and for him to have a good and better day. As he was about to walk out, his mother sees that he has no bag to carry his game out and she marched right back in and makes more demands:

Customer: “Give me a free [$5 tote bag] because of the inconvenience you gave me for not doing the return!” 

I refused, basically letting them know I’m also not paid enough to care.

A woman comes into our video game store with her son, and he begins to play a first-person shooter we have going on our Xbox display. He’s a rowdy little guy, shouting as he plays, rocking back and forth, and shaking the controller around like a maniac.

Customer’s Son: “I LOVE WAR!”

Customer: “I need you to recommend some games for my son.”

I tell her about the game he is playing and games that are similar.

Me: “…however, ma’am, that game is rated M for ‘Mature’.”

Customer: “That’s fine, as long as there’s not a lot of reading involved. I don’t want him to have to read.”

Normally, I work in the stock room, but today, my manager asked me to work on the shop floor.

Throughout the day, I have been helping customers with various items they want to order. A customer decides he wants to buy a game that is rated 18+. He has children with him.

My colleague has the unfortunate pleasure of serving him. She has only been with us for a few weeks.

Colleague #1: “Can I just ask to see some ID?”

Customer: “I’m f****** thirty-seven years old! Why do you need my ID?!”

My colleague goes very quiet as she is unsure what to do. The customer, however, is having a go at her for following procedure.

My other colleague has been listening intently and walks over to the tills.

Colleague #2: “I’d take that as a compliment that she believes you are young enough to be asked for ID.”

[Colleague #2] proceeded to walk off while the customer stood there with his mouth gaping at what had just happened. The customer finally provided his ID, got his item, and left the store with his kids laughing at him.

I like playing board games, so after I moved to a new city, I went around looking for groups to play with. I found a few game stores that hosted regular board game nights and hit it off with some of the regulars.

After a few weeks, one of the regulars approached me in the parking lot after game night.

Regular: “A group is getting together for a game night at my house this Friday. Would you like to come?”

Always eager to play more games, I agreed.

When Friday rolled around, I headed to his house. When he answered the door, he was all dressed up, which I thought was somewhat odd, but he quickly ushered me in. He then called his kids in to meet me.

Regular: “This is [My Name], the guy who will be playing board games with you while Mommy and Daddy are out on a date”.

Cue record scratch.

Yep, the “group” that he had told me was getting together was actually his kids, who he expected me to babysit for him.

Me: “I came to play board games, not to babysit.”

I headed to leave. He swore at me and I swore back.

Regular: *Yelling* “Don’t you swear in front of my kids!”

When I was heading down their driveway, his wife came out onto their porch to scream at me, too.

Regular’s Wife: “YOU RUINED OUR DATE NIGHT!”

Come the next game night at the shop, [Regular] wasn’t there. I mentioned what had happened to the group, which triggered a round of groaning. He’d tried that exact scam a few times several months before and had been threatened with banning if he kept harassing people like that. It turned out that being on his last chance was still in effect, meaning that when he showed up at the game night the following week, he was told by the store owner that he was no longer allowed to attend game nights at that store.

He tried to argue that since he’d approached me in the parking lot, not in the store like he’d been doing before, they weren’t allowed to punish him for that. That argument did not hold water and the ban was upheld.