Third-Party Pooper

(I am working at my store on Black Friday and it has been extremely busy throughout my entire shift. It is so busy that I can’t get anyone to cover me for my lunch and just as I am about to clock out for the day, a man and a small child come to my register. He silently puts a popular MP3 player, that recently just came out, on the counter and I scan it. He is quiet for the whole transaction until he sees the total price.)

Customer: “No, that’s not right. You do price matching. This [MP3 Player] is 99.99 on Amazon. I want that price.”

Me: “I will be happy to help you, sir, just let me pull the [MP3 Player] up on Amazon to double check.”

Customer: “Can’t you just give me the price?”

Me: “I’m sorry, but since it’s on Amazon I have to double check to make sure the price is not from a third party seller.”

(Throughout the whole time I am pulling up Amazon on the computer, the customer does nothing complain about the horrible service he is receiving and how ridiculous it is to check to see if he was telling the truth. I pull up the MP3 player and see that the one he is talking about is indeed from a third party seller. When I show him this, he completely flips out and complains about how we are scamming him out of his money.)

Me: “I am so sorry, sir, but that is our policy. Unfortunately, we can only price match items if they are sold and shipped from Amazon. Would you still like to buy the [MP3 Player]?”

Customer: “No, I don’t, and thanks for ruining my kid’s Christmas.”

Me: “Okay, sir, I am so sorry about that. I hope you have a great rest of your day and a wonderful holiday season.”

(The customer is turning around to walk out the door and when I say that. He abruptly turns around and glares at me.)

Customer: “GET ME YOUR MANAGER, NOW!”

(I called my manager and when he arrived, the customer told him how I was treating him rudely throughout the whole transaction, refused him service, and told him how I made his son upset and was ruining his Christmas. When my manager asked me if what he was saying was true, I said no and told him the situation and even brought up the webpage to show him I was just following the store policy. The customer started yelling that I was lying. To my surprise, my manager gave him a gift card as a way to say sorry and pulled me to his office. When I tried explaining that he wanted me to take more than 80% off the MP3 player to price match the third party seller, he didn’t believe me and told me he was going to let me go. Looking back, I realize that it was their loss because I was only doing what they were telling me to do and I am now working at an office job that treats their employees a lot better than that store I used to work at.)

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