Taking Out The Trashy Customers

(Holiday season has just ended; the year is coming to a close. Most of our customers are in the process of returning unwanted Christmas gifts. I’ve been running around the store all day helping in every department while also trying to put out my new stock. I get called to the registers to help with the line when a woman, her mother, and her son all come to my register and mention that they are returning a trashcan because it requires specific bags and they cost too much. The trashcan comes in a box and they’ve wheeled it in on a shopping cart and left it at one end of the registers. I go to grab the return, but when I begin to lift it, a putrid smell nearly overwhelms me and I turn to the coordinator in charge of customer service.)

Me: “[Coordinator], I think this has been used. It smells awful.”

Coordinator: “Hmm? You sure?” *she sniffs the box and steps back, quickly returning to her own customer* “Just take it back. We can mark it out.”

Me: “What? But it’s used—”

Coordinator: “We have to take it back. We always take everything back.”

(At that point, she was not even looking at me and I could see the customer staring at me. I was also aware that our manager was unavailable at the time. I wrote down the information for the return and processed the transaction without a word. All the while, the customer was talking as if I was some pathetic child who’s easily confused but being such a dear. In the end, the trashcan was returned for over $100 and she used it to buy $130 worth of merchandise. When I finished the transaction, my manager had finally returned to customer service and discovered the trashcan. I watched the customer run out the door with her purchases while my manager pulled the trashcan out of its box. It wasn’t just used, but full of trash. He was furious and had to dispose of it. I spent the rest of the day sick.)

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