[VermontMom]

I work in a small deli/convenience store in a resort town. We can be SUPER busy or really slow, depending on weather and holidays. I'm only there from late Oct. through the end of April, but by this time of year, I am SO ready to be out of there!

It is crazy what people do. Burst into the store, loudly ask 'where are the eggs' and I say "Good morning" which really throws them People asking really personal questions of me (why is the person behind the counter an object for such questions??) people being so demanding and rude (a few days ago a young woman picked up a buckeye candy {holding it pinched between thumb and index finger, like it was a bug} examined it, and said to her boyfriend, 'this looks like a dog treat but I guess it's for humans') and then this guy yesterday just had me so steamed -

I was in the middle of a transaction with a local lady, with a large sale (over $100, that's alot for an an average approx $11 transaction) and a jerky guy walks over to the deli (which the boss has just put the CLOSED sign up and he left for the day, which leaves me alone) So the guy stops abruptly in his tracks and announces to no one "Deli closed? What? Why? Why is it closed?!" I just continued with my transaction with the lady. He comes over and just interrupts, "Why is the deli closed?"

I looked up, and gave him a nice cold stare and he says, "oh, go on with what you're doing, finish with her". Oh, thank you very much, I will

So I finish with the lady, and he just goes on , "why is it closed? it's never closed at this time of day! It's open til 6!" and the lady bless her heart says, "No, the STORE is open til 6, the deli closes alot sooner"

and I calmly say, 'the boss decides when to close it, when he leaves for the day" AND I was going to offer to make him something? because there wasn't anyone else around...BUT he starts to walk out...and says in this idiotic, overly dramatic way - "I shall STARVE tonight because of this. I shall STARVE! and it will poorly affect my skiing tomorrow!"



I looked right at him, and said, 'Ah, I don't take responsibility for that, that's your deal" I've never spoken so to a customer, but couldn't resist.

Okay rant over ONly 23 more days of this!! then i have a good 2 weeks off and then to my summer job which I love. Guess I wouldn't love it as much, if I didn't have the winter job to compare it too.

[Thighs Be Gone]

I am soooo sorry! Keep the faith and chin up! You can so handle these idiots and in a dignified fashion!

[Thighs Be Gone]

btw--you should have told the guy what aisle the peanut butter was on! PB aisle is always open!

[MiZTaCCen]

<~~~ I love customers like that, ~~~> It seriously makes my day sometimes when I make someone else miserable who is a complete asshat! And when they storm out yelling stupid things I just go ~~~>

I'm the worst person for customer service. I'm sweet as pie until you become an @ss and then it's game on from there.

[NiteNicole]

The trick is to continue being sweet...sweet but dumb, as if the insults and insinuations are just going right over your head. It. Makes. Them. EXPLODE! But they can't really complain because, "she said 'yes sir' and smiled at me" doesn't hold a lot of water, does it?

I miss retail sometimes.

[CandyCoatedSymphony]

uhhh that so annoying!!! Good for you standing up to him and saying what you said. What an idiot! (lol sorry couldn't resist)

I worked at 7-11 for a 9 months once and OMG i hated it! People were sooo rude in the morning bc everyone's in a rush to get to work then in the afternoon their rude bc everyone's in a rush to get home. & the lottery players OMGOODNESS THE LOTTERY PLAYERS! They were the most annoying pushy rude people I have ever dealt with in my entire life. They come in with their stacks of (losing) tickets and demand you take care of them 1st bc they think bc they are playing the lottery and not - getting gas or whatever other thing we have in the store- they are priority. Sometimes I would have a line of people but the lottery people would say things like "Really quick just take me" or start grunting loud,or doing some other rude mess, so I would just take them to get em outta there.

Once I was taking care of some customers that were there first and this men by the lottery machine started grunting very loudly, so i turned & looked at him and said R U SERIOUS? Then I went back to doing what i was doing. OMG it felt sooo good to do that and the customer I was waiting on said "thank u" in a low voice. lol

It just feels so good to put people in their place when they act like jackasses. & I 100% agree with MiZTaCCen up top, I'm the same way, super nice but if you test me better me, you watch out! LOL

GOOD LUCK WITH EVERYTHING & ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR FABULOUS

[Silverdrmr]

which is why I'll never work retail

[Nola Celeste]

Oh, honey. I SO empathize. I worked for 17 years in retail selling everything from books to kids' clothes to hotel rooms to diamonds and PITA customers are always with you no matter where you work.

Cracks me up that the guy was so melodramatic, though: "I shall starve!" Haha...yeah, okay, buddy--not like you can just eat peanut butter like a mere mortal, hmm?

I think everyone should work retail for at least a year. I guarantee that people who do would develop a vastly different disposition toward sales personnel. Everyone would have a better time of it if everyone felt a bit more empathy.

Empathy has its reverse side, too, though. I can fairly say that I liked a good 95% of the customers I dealt with because they were polite, kind, or at the very least businesslike. Sometimes I even miss retail work because I enjoyed being able to recommend the "Gormenghast" books to someone who hadn't yet read them or to help a guy choose the ring he'd buy to propose to his girlfriend with.

But then there were the other 5%...I've had books thrown at me multiple times, cleaned up almost every bodily fluid you can think of (yeah, even that one--apparently there was one guy who really liked the cookbook section), been yelled at, spit at, and cursed at. It's astonishing how badly behaved some people can be.

[friendlykat4u]

Dealing with the public is definitely not an easy job. Good for you for saying something, I would have too!

I'm with Nola Celeste, even after all these years, it still astonishes me some of the things people say and/or do!