So it starts, the Holiday frenzy. So far, this week, I think I've had more "unpleasant customers" (I'm trying to be nice!) than ever before at my store. I think they all decided to lash out their bitterness towards life and now would be the perfect time to do so. Last week, I had a customer ask me "what kind of manager" I was for working evenings and weekends. Earlier this week, someone told me that I was lying, we still had their foundation in stock and had never heard about this product being discontinued over 5-6 years ago. Another customer told me that I was being too nice and was insulted that I wasn't trying to shove products down her throat (even if I really really wanted to!) and steal her money by selling her something she told me 2 seconds ago she tried before and thought it was useless.
"My tolerance for ridiculous customer inquiries was discontinued at the same time as your foundation m'am. Have a good day!"
The latest one was a regular of ours who's told me all about her life countless times again and again. By the end of it, I'm usually really bored and covered in spittle. Tonight, she was PEE-OH-ED because her card expired eons ago and she wasn't able to claim enough gifts to make it worth her while and now was upset because she didn't know her card expired. I understand that it can be upsetting when you realize that not everything lasts forever. (I am typing this with my left hand as my right one is in the shape of an "L" on my forehead.) She tells me that she is on fixed income and we should be more accommodating for "these kinds of situations" and then proceeds to tell me that she has her own business and if she would treat customers like that, she wouldn't have any. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight. She thinks we should notify her when we "know" that her card is about to expire and when I explain to her that logistically, that is absolutely impossible and toss in a "You run a business, you know what it's like right!?"... She can't really say anything so she babbles on for a while about how she "wanted to get ... ... ... ... *na-na-na-na-na-HEY-na-na-na-na-na* ... really disappointed... ...holidays!" I squeegee myself dry and then explain to her that I can't "reprogram my computer" to make it prompt me when a customer's card is about to expire because all the stores in the entire WORLD use the same computers and I'm done work at 9pm tonight, so that doesn't give me enough time. Strangely enough, that seems like a good enough answer for her, she ends up thanking me and giving me the "I know it's not your fault" bla-bla.
I don't understand how some people think that, I, from my wee store in my wee mall can change the way this ENTIRE company works!? How?
I think, sometimes, some people are either lonely or just in a bad mood and feel like taking it out on people that don't really affect them. I'm just a stranger to them that they feel they are entitled to scream at me. Since I can't really go anywhere or do anything, they'll rip me a new one for as long as they can. It's kinda sad, really.
I've grown used to ignoring it, letting them get it all out and just feeding them a robotic answer. As long as I don't feel threatened, like they are starting to get agitated or overly exaggerating, I'll let it slide off my back. They are not trying to solve the problem, they are not looking for an answer so why argue with them and try to provide them with a solution? It's just adding more wood to the fire. I really don't have time for that, come back in January!
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