Retail Hell Underground

Custy Has Ridiculous Fitting Room Demand

I've been working at my retail hell place of employment for three years now.

For the past two and a half years, I've been asking my managers if I can be moved from the front end (cashier) to another department. Layaway, sporting goods, electronics, shoes, grocery, domestics - whatever. And for two and a half years, I've been completely and totally ignored.

Finally I left a note for my boss a month ago that I wanted to be moved before my 21st birthday because there is no fucking way in hell I'm ringing up alcohol. (The note I left had a slightly lesser amount of intense description.) After discussing with her my moral objections to doing so, she finally, finally, FINAL- FUCKING- LY moved me.

So now I'm in fashions - fashion accessories, to be more specific.

YAY!

Except we're doing inventory and I can't do anything without an LRT which means I can pretty much not learn that department for three weeks. The person who is teaching me the department is retiring in four weeks. Awesome.

Anyway, onto the story... on Tuesday, my second day working in ladieswear, I was wearing the walkie talkie and carrying the fitting room keys for someone who went on break. I got a page to the fitting room and the lady said to me, "I need this shirt in a size Medium."

"We do have them in medium, yes."

"Well can you get it for me? I have other clothes to try on."

Now I'm thinking, what the heck? Well, okay, at least she's considering buying it.. even if she is kind of a jerk.

I returned with the shirt, and when I returned, she was picking out a couple outfits for her two-year-old who I didn't notice before. I handed her the shirt and she grabbed it from me and said, "Oh, by the way there are clothes in my dressing room."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I thought I cleaned out the dressing rooms ten minutes ago... maybe it was longer than that."

"No, I tried them on, I just need them out of the dressing room before I try on anything else. I don't like stepping on messes."

Lo and behold, I walked into the dressing room and there were shirts, pants, and bathing suits on the floor, rumpled, and not one thing was on a hanger.

Pissed.

I removed the clothes without a thanks and disabled the fitting room button until my co-worker got back from her break.

With retail hell love,

--Jit

 

JIT: Gardeners Who Don't Want To Get Dirty

So it's summer, and I'm working in the garden center department now as opposed to the hellish checkouts.

It's waaay nicer in a lot of respects - we're not harrassed as much about getting saver's cards, rewards cards, smart plans, etc. We don't have to deal with other cashiers, and the garden associates are pretty chill.

However, I am sick and tired of people buying dirt that don't want to get dirty. Then don't buy dirt. Because guess what. You're going to get - wait for it, wait for it - DIRTY. -Gasp!- Do not ask a 100lb girl to haul twelve 40lb bags of dirt from the pallets into a cart into your car, when you are PERFECTLY CAPABLE of doing it yourself when you're TWICE MY SIZE.

I don't mind working hard. I don't mind pulling my share of the weight. But when they sit there watching me struggle with things, you would think they would at least try to help.

Granted, there are people who work in the garden center that are males and that can lift more than I can. And they usually help when they're around. However, when one person's on break and the other is getting a patio set for a customer at the registers... it happens.

I don't have a problem with helping people that truly need it, like people as small/smaller than me, or if it's a matter of helping for the sake of time, I don't mind. If they have back or shoulder issues, some medical issue where they can't do it themselves, whatever.

But seriously... it's just rude to ask that of people just for the sake of cleanliness. If that's what you're worried about, then don't plant a freaking garden.

With retail hell love,

--Jit

 

Dousing The Flames of Retail Hell: An Angel, Free Coffee, and a Good Friend

Okay so I know I haven't written here in like... fourish months. But between school, work, and my new (and first!) boyfriend, I haven't had time. (At one point, I really thought the only guy who could turn me straight was Edward Cullen. Apparently, I was wrong.)

That, and up until today, customers/management really haven't been giving me problems to report.

Except for today, where it seemed like it was Christmas all the fuck over again. Awesome.

1) Two weeks ago, a customer asked me how her total came to $19.10. "Well, your shoes were x amt, your concealer was x amt, and your tax was $1.23 (ish)." Customer: "WHAT! K Mart's taxes are ridiculous!! No wonder no one shops here, you need to lower your taxes!" Okay, you idiot, the state sets the tax, not the store. That's statewide, honey, get a grip. You've got to be kidding me.

2) On Thursday, I walked into a glass window and fractured my nose. Yes, I'm talented, and yes, I went to the E.R. for x-rays and because my nose wouldn't stop literally gushing blood. I absolutely had to call off of work in order to prevent bleeding all over customers' things.. anyway, I went to work on Friday and was training this new girl. I had just finished the paperwork and put her on register. We had no customers and were at the end of the aisle to greet customers and welcome them into our line.

Said trainee had a question about our saver's card program. Said trainee asked me. I started explaining it to her when a manager came and told me we needed to be straightening things. I looked around me and EVERYTHING was in order. She told me to organize the candy and said that her point was that we shouldn't be talking, and by the way, how dare I call off work yesterday.

I told her that the trainee had a question about the card and I was trying to explain it. The manager said that I wasn't a good trainer because I put the new girl on register before I had properly trained her, and she went to the service desk and told them not to let me train new people because I didn't know how to do it correctly. AAARRRGH!! I've been at the store for almost three years now! I'm sorry she had question, she's new, and it's going to happen.

3) Today I had a customer that yelled at me because the only registers in the store that are able to process layaway payments without the original receipt are in layaway, electronics, and garden. The regular registers at the front are not set up to do that. I tried to explain it to her and she threatened to call corporate. A manager came by and asked me and another girl who dealt with the customer what was going on and we showed her the differences in the register, so thankfully she wasn't mad at us as well.

4) I also had a customer today that couldn't figure out that half of seven dollars is three-fifty, and was insisting that her toy was ringing up the wrong price. I did the math by hand on a piece of blank receipt paper and then on my phone's calculator (approved by a supervisor) to show her.

5) Another lady was being a general bitch to me about a bike that was clearanced for $28. Toys are half off (that's what happened in #4) and she insisted the bike was supposed to be $14. Unfortunately, our sporting goods section and toys section are right next to each other, and the bikes are right next to the start of the toys section.

I explained to the customer that even though they were purchasing a children's bike, the bike was still considered to be sporting goods. She started cussing me out.

This is when God sent me a freaking angel.

The customer behind her told the lady to stop being an asshole and yelling at me for things that weren't my fault. The lady grumbled and left in a hurry. I love people that tell off people who are wrong.

After work, Spritzy and I went to Starbuck's and this poor stressed girl was completely by herself. We waited patiently, chatting amongst ourselves. When another worker got there, the girl said, "Hey ___, these people have been waiting in line for fifteen minutes, Jimmy's been on break for twenty, and it's crazy. Give them free drinks." So we got free drinks and tipped them $5, because they were absolutely fabulous people.

Not a bad ending to a super stressful day.

With retail hell love,

--Jit

Destined For Markdown

From Jit: Fugly blouse awaiting the red pen and an additional off sign.

 

 

You Know It's Busy...

 

 

...when the store manager is helping the cashiers put bags in customers' carts and scanning booze for the minors.

--Jit

 

 

Holiday Hell: N.A.T.'s and Asshat Managers

Auuuughh!!!

Okay. Today, I had a customer call in the store that I rang out earlier (exactly 6:36, as she didn't fail to mention several times). She said that she paid me with two $100 bills and that I shorted her $10 because I keyed in the wrong amount ($190). I'm perfectly fine with counting down my till, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember accepting any $100 bills that day.

I went to count down my till, and lo and behold, no $100 bills in sight. There is no reason for me to take out a $100 bill for change or anything, so there is no way that I had those bills. The lady who counts down my till said that it balanced perfectly. The supervisor told her that I was not over $10, and she hung up on her.

Twenty minutes later, she showed up at the service desk, asking for me. The service desk has absolutely no idea why she's there, so they called me over. She then proceeded to yell at me that I ripped her off.

I tried explaining to her why I couldn't have possibly miscounted and she told me to recount it. My supervisor told her I wasn't going to do that and sent me to put away strays.

I didn't run again all night, and at the end of my shift when I was told to count down, I counted down. It took approximately thirty seconds because I'd already done it. I went to the break room, gathered my things, and went to the registers up front to punch out. The time clock said 10:28 when the conflict occurred.

One of the night managers came up to "Lyssa" and me and haughtily told us to clock out right then since we were ready to go. She was mad that we were just standing by the time clocks. The register she looked at said it was 10:26. I looked at mine and said as politely as I could, "It is? This register says 10:29, that's the one we've been going by."

She said it didn't matter, we had to clock out right then. I was getting angry and snarkily said "Okay, I just need you to sign a note so the day managers will know we got permission from a manager to clock out early."

"I won't either, it's your own fault that you're just standing here doing nothing. It ain't no skin off my back that you'd get the half infraction."

"Then I can't clock out. We were told when we got hired that we are not allowed to clock out early without a manager's consent."

She then proceeded to tell Lyssa and I that if we didn't clock out right then and there, she would write us up. By this time the time had changed to 10:30, so I clocked out.

I know we aren't supposed to technically go in the back and get our things before we clock out and all, but the thing that made me the most angry was that she was disputing ONE lousy stinking minute. I was pissed.

Then she walked away and the entire time, everyone from loss prevention, the girls from fashions, and the electronics associate were standing at a time clock by register 12 (we were at register 3 or 4) so they didn't get yelled at. -_-+

AARRRGHH!

Retail hell love,

--Jit

 

 

Supporting Our Fellow Retail Slaves

From Jit:

So. Spritzy and I were shopping together a couple of days ago and noticed a sale on something we wanted - yarrrn!.

The particular type of item I'd wanted, however, was sadly understocked. I wanted five or six skeins, and there was exactly one left.

We walked over to the service counter and asked a checkout lady if she knew whether or not a raincheck could be done for this specific item.

She then redirected us to this other lady who we'd known from just being in the store like the knitwits we are. When we asked her, not only did she write up a raincheck, she'd gotten an LRT (handheld device that locates things on shelves. Can do basically everything on one o' those). From there, she told us exactly which stores had how many in stock. She's always so helpful when we see her. We then found out that she had a really rough day and had to stay at the store an extra three hours because of the holiday season, and was expecting exactly zero customers for at least two of those hours.

So Spritzy and I bought her a hot chocolate and a cookie from a nearby Starbucks. When we got into the store, she smiled at us as if she was afraid there was something else we needed or that we were mad about something. She was waiting on another customer and asked us if we needed anything. We gave her the treats.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe you guys! You brought me all of this? I think I'm going to cry!"

She then turned to the customer she was waiting on.

"They're just customers! I don't even know what to say! Thank you, guys!"

Moral of the story... be nice to everyone. T'is the season.

Retail Hell Love,

--Jit

 

Customer Reject

Was at Hellmart last night and spotted this funny reject. If we hadn't already bought a super-sized double pack of Doritos at Costco, I would have saved a wally slave from a go back (there were no Doritos anywhere near the Oreo display) and snatched them off the shelf! I'm dedicating this Reject to Jit because she just LOVES Doritos - NOT! Something tells me she was behind this...xD

-- Freddy

 

Jit's Double Whammy Retail Hell: Nats and Asshat Managers

Auuuughh!!!

Okay. Today, I had a customer call in the store that I rang out earlier (exactly 6:36, as she didn't fail to mention several times). She said that she paid me with two $100 bills and that I shorted her $10 because I keyed in the wrong amount ($190). I'm perfectly fine with counting down my till, but for the life of me, I couldn't remember accepting any $100 bills that day.

I went to count down my till, and lo and behold, no $100 bills in sight. There is no reason for me to take out a $100 bill for change or anything, so there is no way that I had those bills. The lady who counts down my till said that it balanced perfectly. The supervisor told her that I was not over $10, and she hung up on her.

Twenty minutes later, she showed up at the service desk, asking for me.

The service desk has absolutely no idea why she's there, so they called me over. She then proceeded to yell at me that I ripped her off.

I tried explaining to her why I couldn't have possibly miscounted and she told me to recount it. My supervisor told her I wasn't going to do that and sent me to put away strays.

I didn't run again all night, and at the end of my shift when I was told to count down, I counted down. It took approximately thirty seconds because I'd already done it. I went to the break room, gathered my things, and went to the registers up front to punch out. The time clock said 10:28 when the conflict occurred.

One of the night managers came up to "Lyssa" and me and haughtily told us to clock out right then since we were ready to go. She was mad that we were just standing by the time clocks. The register she looked at said it was 10:26. I looked at mine and said as politely as I could, "It is? This register says 10:29, that's the one we've been going by."

She said it didn't matter, we had to clock out right then. I was getting angry and snarkily said "Okay, I just need you to sign a note so the day managers will know we got permission from a manager to clock out early."

"I won't either, it's your own fault that you're just standing here doing nothing. It ain't no skin off my back that you'd get the half infraction."

"Then I can't clock out. We were told when we got hired that we are not allowed to clock out early without a manager's consent."

She then proceeded to tell Lyssa and I that if we didn't clock out right then and there, she would write us up. By this time the time had changed to 10:30, so I clocked out.

I know we aren't supposed to technically go in the back and get our things before we clock out and all, but the thing that made me the most angry was that she was disputing ONE lousy stinking minute. I was pissed. Then she walked away and the entire time, everyone from loss prevention, the girls from fashions, and the electronics associate were standing at a time clock by register 12 (we were at register 3 or 4) so they didn't get yelled at. -_-+

AARRRGHH!

Retail hell love,

--Jit

 

 

Merchandising Fail

Who knew the jolly fat man was a fitness expert! Sent in by Jit.

 

The Pros and Cons of Working Retail Thanksgiving Day

From Jit, sent Thanksgiving Day night:

Tomorrow when I go into work, I'm going to rip everyone's motherfucking BALLS OFF!!!!! AAAAAAAUUUGGHH! I HATE WORKING HOLIDAYS!

I mean, "I had a bad day."

1. I went into work at 2:30. I was scheduled at 2. Already I'm stressed and kicking myself because not only did I fuck up and not get the right time on a HOLIDAY the ONE TIME I was scheduled to work in a department and not at the register, the people leaving at 2 had to stay till 2:30 because people called off that were supposed to be working with me. So they had to stay past their shift for me. Fuck me.

2. One person that was supposed to be working with me until eight called off. NOT a good day to call off.

3. From 6-8:30 I was completely alone and swamped.

4. The front end cashiers were swamped because of call offs, therefore

5. Because of number 4, I worked through all my breaks and unpaid lunch.

6. After our sale ads ended at 9, someone eventually sent a coworker back to help me at 9:20 when we were DEAD AS ALL MOTHERFUCKING HELL. And she did SHIT for helping me. I know it was busy up there too, but still. Jeeze. She went MIA in 10 minutes.

7. A new co-worker gave unauthorized information to four of my customers and made me look like an ass for not telling them what he did. They all had the audacity to say that they preferred guys working in electronics because they know their shit. WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS!!! This was during the busiest part of my shift. Little fucker didn't even bother sticking around to help me ring out any customers or get any merchandise for them off of the shelf... auuuughhh

8. I was supposed to leave at 10:30. I got clocked OUT at 11:15 because of an indecisive customer plus the only manager in the store had to deal with her, she was also the only one who could clock me out.

BUT! ONNN the positive side..

1. The customers didn't eat me alive for not being fast enough.

2. One of my manages kicks some major ass and stayed back with me for a half hour-45 minutes to get control of the number of customers I had to deal with.
 
3. It's over now.

BUT!!! ONNN the negative side...

1. I have to do this all over again on Black Friday. *SOB*

Wish me luck?

With retail hell love,

Jit

Jit: Asshat Managers Get Told

In this post from Jit, a Retail Balls Award goes to her  coworker, a slave who happens to be an RHUer and one we all know and love. Sometimes it's not just custys that need a dose of Retail Balls, it's delusional droid managers:

Okay, so this is why I'm pissed.

Within the last few months, my wisdom teeth have been giving me massive amounts of problems.

At one point, I was taking Advil, Ibuprofen, Naproxen and mouth numbing medication all at one time just to try to ease the edge of the pain, and nothing was working.

Finally, finally, FINALLY with some nudging from the Spritzmeister, I called the oral surgeon I was referred to... several months ago.

At work the next day, I told my manager that I had been given an appointment to get my wisdom teeth out as soon as possible, but it was on a day that I was already scheduled to work.

I asked her if there was any way she could find someone to work for me, because I would be extremely drugged and dead to the world. (Note how I don't mention my pain and suffering, just my temporary inability to do, well, anything.)

She said it would be fine and to write her and the Scheduling Manager a reminder note so that they could make the necessary changes.

Sounds like smooth sailing. ^_^

That's what I thought too, until today when I was hanging out with Spritzy.

She told me how she overheard the managers throwing a huge fit about me getting my wisdom teeth out!

"Why would she do that?!"

"You know she's going to call off."

"We should just give her no hours for the next week at all."

"And right before the holidays!! Is she stupid?!?!"

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!

I would now like to take the opportunity to give a huuuge shout-out to...

SPRITZY

*musical fanfare*

...for being basically the most amazing friend and big sister one could have. She reminded them how I come into work in pain because of my teeth... how I get sick and still come into work, I could even be puking up blood and proceed to stay my whole shift... and they apparently didn't give a fuck.

Given how stressed the managers have gotten recently (holiday season plus changes to company procedure) I think she really stuck her neck out for me. She really is great. I don't think anyone else would have had the gall to say that to the two already pissed-off higher-ups. You rock, Spritzy.

BUT SERIOUSLY!??! I can't even get my wisdom teeth removed?? Just thinking about it makes me want to cry. They would rather me have bad teeth that grow in crooked, hurt like hell, etc, than possibly sacrificing A DAY of my work. You'd think they'd rather have a happy employee than one who was miserable, thereby making everyone around her miserable. But let's not think too logically, here.. we might hurt ourselves.*Sigh* After the homophobic retail encounter, this is literally the LAST thing I need right now.

With retail hell love,

--Jit

 

 

Bullied By Homophobic Religous Customers

From Jit:

Okay, retail hell slaves... horror story time.

Why the horror story?

Because it was horrible.

It was nearing the end of my shift. I had just gotten done ringing up a hoard of piggy customers, picky bitches, etc. I was told to go put the strays back on the shelf, so I grabbed a cart from the stray room and started back to Toys. I was super grateful for the break because I was exhausted.

I went back to the Toy department and remembered that our store had undergone some remodeling, so not everything was in a location I remembered. I was trying to find the over-sized beach balls when I heard someone yell, "Hey, it's her!"

Let me just tell anyone who doesn't know offhand - that's never a good thing to hear.

I turned around and saw a few women that I knew - mothers of children I taught in the church's nursery I used attend. Why don't I attend anymore?

One of them screamed, "You're the homosexual that tried corrupting our children in the nursery at church!"

What? I did what?

Because really, I was pretty sure my job description said something along the lines of 'teaching children the beauty of God's ways and exemplifying God's love for them'. But I'm just saying.

They kept going. "Sinner!" "Disgusting." "Evil." "Abomination." "A mistake."

One woman went through her bag and produced a small bottle of HOLY WATER and started sprinkling me with it saying, "In the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I beseech the demons in this child's soul to be banished!"

WHAT?!?! Seriously?!?!

I couldn't believe it! I froze and kinda just stood there before I ran off in fright (oh and humiliation from having seen that at least four co-workers witnessed the whole incident, let's not forget that one).

Okay, first of all - yeah, I am a Christian, and yeah, I am gay. What these ladies never quite tried to understand was that I kinda don't openly practice it. I'm not saying if you're gay and proud, you're damned or anything, but it just doesn't sit well with me personally, and I'd rather have God than anyone else anyway. Basically, they didn't see that and forced me to leave the church. So I had to find another one. And I did. And my friendship with Spritzy began (TAKE THAT, BITCHES!!)

Anyway, to end the story, Loss Control came and did their thing. I still don't wanna go show my face at work.. but I guess I can't let them stop me. The entire thing was frustrating and humiliating.. and just... augh. Stupid custys. It's people like those that make me ashamed to call myself a Christian.

With retail hell love,

--Jit

Jit: Stupid Bosses and Custys

Hey, it's Jit again..

Pretty much, I haven't written anything in a while because it's been a long while since anything's pissed me off really badly.

So get ready.

Dear boss,

STOP PUTTING ME AS A DOOR GREETER.

I have asked to be switched departments (electronics, layaway, cash office, whatever) for a YEAR AND A HALF NOW. I am still a cashier.

And now for half my shift every time I go into work, I stand at the doors as a greeter. So now I'm not even good enough to be in a technical department??

Seriously... seriously... SERIOUSLY!?!

Yet they'll let me train new people on register. So I can see why they don't want me moving departments because I need to be fluent in cash register to teach people... but when new people need to be trained... I'm not usually the one training. Instead they pick some brand-fucking-new person to do the training that haven't done two tax exempts in their short life at the hellhole.

But back to the doors. At my store, we have our carts on the inside of the store right by the doors.

Dear Customers,

When you leave the store, please take the extra TWO SECONDS to put your cart away so that the carts don't pile up in the doorway and become a fucking FIRE HAZARD.

Lazy sons of bitches have no idea how to clean up after themselves. Now I will concede that the older people might have a little more of an excuse if they have a very difficult time walking... but they're usually the ones that put the damn things back where they befuckinglong!

I've seen THREE-YEAR-OLDS that know better to put things back where they came from.

Also, when I'm trying to ask you to sign up for our saver's card, don't snap at me and tell me you don't want another credit card before I even get the chance to say one thing to you. 1) It'snotafuckingcreditcard!!! And don't tell me you've had one for years either, because we just started them LAST FALL. Take an extra 4 seconds out off your day to please just be a courteous human being....

I actually thank people who take the time to listen to me before rejecting me because they were nice enough to take time to listen to me in the first place.

So thank you, those few of you that are good in the world. I wholeheartedly appreciate it. Everyone else...

STOP BEING SO DAMN STUPID.

With retail hell love,

--Jit

 

 

Jit's Douche Bitch Encounter

Okay. So I've been on hiatus for a while because my Christian college blocked RHU. -_-() Anyway. Story time. Gather 'round, chillen's.

To start  - quick background on the day.

I was tired, sore, and quite thoroughly yelled at from previous customers. Nothing too noteworthy... the usual complaints and bickering that we cashier slaves get every day and pass off as normal.

I'm standing out front at the checkouts greeting people and offering to ring them out if they're ready.

A middle-aged lady riding an electric cart came through my line and told me to start unloading her stuff onto the belt for her.

I'm irritated by her comment, but whatever. Life goes on.

As she unloads her stuff, she stands up and attempts to put one of the gallons of wine onto the belt. The wine is in a glass jug.

So of course she can't seem to lift it and consequently drops it.

On my foot.

YEAH.

While I'm grimacing in pain trying not to cry out, I bend down to pick it up for her. This is when she proceeded to make her snarky-ass comment.

And I quote, "It's a good thing your foot broke its fall because if it would have broken on the ground I'd have been pissed to have to go back and get another one."

COME A FUCKING GAIN?!?!

Yeah, don't go back and read it, I promise ya read it right the first time.

What. A. Bitch.

I ignored the comment as best I could and rang her things up grudgingly. I was short with her, but not terribly unpleasant - more robotic than anything.

When she left, I had to try to compose myself cause I didn't want everyone to see me crying. Augh.

Just... what a day.

 
With retail hell love,
 
Jit

 

Jit On Making Mistakes in Retail Hell

This happened before I was even clocked in.

I got to work about fifteen minutes early and visited garden shop where I would be cashiering that day.

A woman came into garden shop knowing exactly what she wanted. She came up to the register and said, "I need 20 bags of 40 pound Hyponex soil." I promptly apologized and said that I wasn't on the clock, but I would let the person working in garden shop know that she needed to be rung up in case he was available before I got the chance to clock in. I left and returned about three minutes later. 

My co-worker was still helping a lady in patio. I walked back to the register and apologized to the customer for her wait to which she said, "It's not that hard to ring someone up, you know. I just need my soil rung up and to get it loaded into my truck."

I sighed mentally knowing it was just going to be one of those days.

"I'm sorry I couldn't clock in sooner." Then I looked up what she had asked for on the register. "Twenty bags of 20 pound Hyponex, correct?" 

"Isn't that what I just said?"

I didn't even bother responding, so I just rang her out.

By that time my co-worker had finished with his customer and I asked him to start loading her bags of soil onto a flatbed so we could load it into her truck. She left the store to pull her truck around to the back of garden's fenced in area where we keep the soil and flowers.

Then she got out of the truck and stomped up to me, pointing to the receipt and yelling, "You rang me up wrong! I told you I needed twenty bags of 40 pounds of soil, and you rang me up for twenty bags of TWENTY pound soil. You need to fix this."

I didn't remember her saying that she needed 40 pounds of it so I looked the receipt over.

My heart dropped in my chest because I knew I'd have to send her to customer service which was in an entirely other part of the store and I knew she'd be mad.

"Ma'am, I am SO sorry, I really thought when I asked you if you needed twenty bags of twenty pound soil that you said that's what you wanted. I can't fix it, I'm not authorized to. You'll have to go to customer service at the front of the store."

"You mean you can't fix it here."

"No, I'm so sorry for the mistake."

"No, you're not."

....Excuse me, I'm not sorry? I'm not fucking sorry?!?! I know I made a mistake. I admit it. I know it stinks. It's times like these when I know I'm in the wrong that I feel terrible and guilty and kinda want to cry. I shake and I spaz (less now that I'm medicated) but still.

My co-worker even told her "Yes, she is sorry."

She kept walking. Then I told her, "Actually, yes, I am sorry. I know it stinks that you have to go through all that work. I know I messed up and I AM sorry."

She stopped for a second and then kept walking with her back turned to me.

We loaded the soil onto the flatbed and waited till she got back with the corrected receipt, loaded the soil into her truck, and sent her on her way.

It's times like those where I really do want to slit my wrists and say, 'Wow, look, blood comes out when I do that. I'm a human after all. So please don't treat me like a machine that's supposed to be perfect. I have feelings. I realize you might just be having a bad day, but if I'm making an effort to be nice and/or apologetic, at least give me the courtesy of neutrality. I know life sucks sometimes but that's no reason to make it harder on other people. Yes, I messed up, but did I deserve that? I don't think so, at least, but I'll leave it up to you to judge.

Oh, and for those who are constantly here to criticize people... this site is meant for retail slaves such as ourselves to rant. We don't claim to be perfect, we have bad days and it's a good outlet to release our pent-up anger so we don't go freaking postal one day. If you don't like reading our angry, upset rants... then don't read them.

Bah.

That is all. =) 

--Jit

Jit: Custy Turns Into Bitchzilla Over Zhu Zhu Pet

Hi, it's Jit here again, here to answer Postal Slave's question, which is as follows;

Whats a Zhu Zhu pet?

Why, I'd be happy to tell you what a Zhu Zhu pet is... a pain in my head.

I was collecting strays at my store one day, just minding my own business, when a lady came up to me.

You know how when people carry themselves with their head held high and a hand on one hip, how you know there's going to be trouble? Yeah, it was one of those people.

She comes up to me with this box.

She turned it around and I saw that it was a Zhu Zhu pet, a very popular children's toy in the midwest right now.

They're apparently interactive somehow.. I don't know much about the stupid hamster things 'cause I can't stand 'em. But I digress.

She came up to me and showed me the box, then turned it over to a corner that was slightly damaged. A little triangular piece of cardboard was torn from the box and the box was slightly bent.

"How much of a discount can I get on this because it's damaged?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, it's store policy that we don't give discounts on items like that."

She looked at me over the rim of her librarian glasses (ooh so intimidating.. yeah whatthefuckever) and talked to me in that condescending teacher voice.

"Excuse me. So what you're telling me is that your store expects me to buy this damaged toy for ELEVEN DOLLARS?!"

"Ma'am, the only thing that's damaged on it is the packaging and I know for a fact that we have two more on the shelf just like it that most likely aren't damaged. They're so popular right now that even though it's damaged, someone will buy it." 

"You have got to be kidding me. This is absolutely RIDICULOUS."

"If you don't want it, I can take it for yo -"

At this point she threw the Zhu Zhu pet at me and hit me in the head with it.

I caught it in my hand and watched the new girl that a co-worker had been shadowing on the nearest register start to shake.

I turned to her and reassured her that everything was alright and not to worry about it.

I put the Zhu Zhu pet in the cart of strays and once all of the strays were collected, put them in the stray room to be put back on the shelves later.

Then the same woman came back literally two minutes later and said nicely, "Can I have that hamster thing back?"

"Are you going to throw it at my head again?"

"Did your mother ever wash your mouth out with soap when you were little?"

"My mother died when I was three. One minute and I'll go get the pet for you."

I went to the stray room, handed it to her without a word, and walked away. Low? Probably. Worth it? Oh hell yes.

--Jit

 

Hell Spawn Gets Told at Craft Store

This story is brought to you by the letters W, T, and F.

Jit here.. after a very, very long time of being extremely MIA. It's not that retail hell hasn't happened to me, I think it's just that I've become so numb to the atrocities that they seemed more like normalcy.. save for the woman who threwthe Zhu Zhu pet at me. Which is a story for another time.

This happened Tuesday. Spritzy and I went to a craft store to buy beads and whilst shopping, a husband, wife, and their three children were also in the store.

The parents and children seemed to only speak Spanish, which didn't help matters. The main thing that didn't help matters was that the parents let their hellspawn run rampant in the store unsupervised.

The first sighting of them was just of them running wild in the store. Spritzy noticed their mess-making first. I tried to ignore them so I turned my attention towards the beads on the wall. A screaming fire of small child shrieks came from the oldest one's mouth. Keep in mind these kids were anywhere from 2-7.
 
The clearance beads were right down the aisle from where Spritzy and I were. Spritzy noticed the children tearing the beads off of the clearance rack and I sighed in disgust and immediately went to pick up the beads.
 
Spritzy meanwhile disappeared while I cleaned the beads (she had two full hands) and was apparently talking to the woman who worked there. We'll call her Reika. Reika was complaining on her work phone to another employee about how the kids were getting on her last nerve. Spritzy overheard.
 
The child that looked to be about two then took the opportunity to walk over to Spritzy and slap her leg. Yes... the two-year-old had just slapped a stranger on the leg. 
 
Reika then came up to me and said, "Thank you for cleaning up the mess even though I know it wasn't you that made the mess." Her voice was loud enough that the parents knew that the employees had noticed their children misbehaving and disappeared for a little while.

Just when we thought all was calm... they came back. Damn. The little girl that must have been about four pulled more beads off the rack, but before she could run away, I said, "Hey! You put those back." She looked at me. "Yes, put them back now and I won't tell your mommy and daddy that you were a really bad girl."

She then put them back looking at me all the while and walked away.

As Spritzy and I were being rung out, Reika profusely thanked us for picking up after the 'heathen children' and told us that if she could give us two coupons, that she would, and if we were ever at the store and needed a coupon for something but didn't have one, to go find her.

I told her, "Yeah, I feel your pain, I work in retail too." She laughed.

Being nice does have its advantages... and so does being a good parent and leashing your freakin' children that don't know how to behave! Bah!

--Jit

 

Outdated Technology Tries Custys Patience

From Jit:

Yanno, I realize that some people are better at things than others, and that some people get frustrated really easily. I understand that not everyone wants to wait in line for an extended amount of unnecessary time, and I get that people have lives, places to be, people to see, whatever. I get it. I'm a human, too.

I don't think they understand that, though.

When I say that my register is being slow, that should be a signal to anyone with a brain that if they're in a hurry, not to come through my line, correct?

"But there's only one person ahead of me!"

Yes, and that person will take at least an extra minute to two minutes because of my slow register. Which is why I warned you in the first  place that my register was slow.

I can only be as fast as my register. As Spritzy likes to say, our registers are probably from the early Reagan administration, and are crappy pieces of junk that my store received used. Not new - used. 

So what happens after I ring up the patient person with the impatient person standing behind me (who, by the way, expects all of her 80 items to be rung up in two minutes)?

I get bitched at.

Who saw that one coming? Anyone?

"What's taking so damn long?"

"I'm sorry, ma'am, as I said before, my register's running a little slower today."

"Well what's wrong with it? Can't you fix it?"

"The only way to fix it would be to reboot the entire thing."

"How long would that take?"

"Five minutes."

"I don't fucking have time for this bullshit."

"I apologize."

So I continue ringing up her stuff.

Then I have to wait two minutes at the end of her order for the computer to catch up and add on the items I'd rung up.

The entire time we wait, she sighs, paces, and grumbles, after I'd warned her that my register was being slow.

Have patience, people... it's a virtue all should have.

--Jit

  

 

Customer Reject

One custy's card return laziness could be the answer to another custys dilemma. Perhaps there is a special boy somewhere who likes pink horses and sparkly rainbows....

--From Jit