From this_is_balls, TalesFromRetail

One of my first jobs was at a fast casual restaurant. Our standard staff consisted of 2 people preparing food, and 3 people serving food / cashiering. Since I was a minor at the time, I wasn't legally allowed to prepare the food (safety issues).

One day we get a huge dinner rush, probably around 30 people in a restaurant that seats 20 at most. At that point there was only one woman (preparing food) and myself (serving / cashiering). I went to the back to grab my coworkers to help me, but no one was there. I look in all the back of house spaces, the seating area, and even the front parking lot. No dice. There should be 5-6 people working, but only 2 seem to be here.

So I head back to the counter and do my damnedest to serve everyone, but there are just way too many people for 1 person to serve, and more keep coming in.

And then about ten customers in, my coworker, who was preparing the food, drops what she's doing and says "I can't deal with this right now." She then goes to the back room and just sits there. When I go back to tell her I still need help, she says nothing. She flat out ignores me. So I'm on my own now.

So now I'm doing everything. Slicing up the food (which I wasn't technically allowed to do), taking orders, serving food, ringing people up. With about 15 people left in line, I run out of prepared food. I have no idea how to use the appliances to prepare more food (wasn't trained to use them), and even if I did, I'm not legally allowed to. My coworker still refuses to help me, and the rest of the staff is still MIA.

I have no choice. I tell the customers that I can't prepare the food myself and that there's no one else here to help me, so I can't serve them. They're reasonably upset, but for the most part they didn't blame me personally. They leave.

I go back to tell my coworker what happened, and then she decides that, since the rush is over, she can start doing her job again.

The rest of the staff shuffles in a half hour later with bloodshot eyes. THEY WERE BEHIND THE RESTAURANT SMOKING WEED WHILE I WAS WORKING LIKE CRAZY TO COVER THEIR SORRY ASSES. 

Needless to say I didn't come back to work there the following summer.

At 16 years old, I was still in the "don't be a tattletale" mindset, even when I got dicked over. If I could go back, I'd do it in a second.

--this_is_balls

From ThexGreatxBeyondx,TalesFromRetail

A bunch of years ago I was behind the register at Clothing Store. Not the best place to be, but I was a college student in need of funds.

One day, not long after Christmas, a woman comes into the store and to my register with a return. So far, so good.

She lays a green winter coat on the counter and tells me she doesn't have her receipt, but she wants her money back anyway.

I picked up the coat and saw that it had an Apparel Store label. To be fair, this coat did look similar to coats that we sold, but it wasn't Clothing Store merchandise.

Me: "I'm sorry, this is an Apparel Store coat, not Clothing Store. I can't return it as it wasn't bought here."

Repetitive Woman(RW): "No, I'm sure I bought it here so you need to give me my money back."

Me: "See this label? This says Apparel Store, not Clothing Store. We only sell Clothing Store merchandise here. You'll have to take it back to Apparel Store to return it."

RW: "I'm sure I bought it here so you need to give me my money back."

Me: "I can't. This isn't a Clothing Store item."

RW: "I'm sure I bought it here, so you need to give me back my money."

Me: "I'm sorry ma'am. I can't do that."

RW: "Get me the manager!"

Finally! She said the magic words. I paged a manager to the front and filled her in on what had been happening. Manager picked up the coat and inspected it thoroughly, in case it was a chameleon coat or something I guess. She then turned to the customer and told her that this coat was an Apparel Store coat and could not be returned to Clothing Store because it wasn't purchased there.

Nope.

RW: "I'm SURE I bought it here so you need to give me my money back!"

Manager: "I'm sorry, but you didn't buy it here."

RW: "Yes I did!"

Manager: "No, you didn't."

And there followed what amounted to a third grade level "yes I did, no you didn't" argument that lasted over an hour. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, the store was otherwise dead so I got to sit back and watch the whole thing unfold.

Finally, long after a sane person would have realized that repeating the same phrases over and over wouldn't change reality to suit her whim, Repetitive Woman got fed up, grabbed the coat and stormed out while yelling that favorite phrase, "FINE! I'M NEVER SHOPPING HERE AGAIN!"

After the doors failed to hit the woman in the butt on her way out, Manager turned to me with a tired look and said, "She didn't shop here in the first place."

--ThexGreatxBeyondx

--cybot2001

From adventurehunter9876, Tales From Retail:

I'm at a closing store. We are coming up near the end of our time though, but the crazy isn't. On to the story!

We recently got the go ahead to sell displays. This extends from tvs, to furniture, and now that it's after Christmas, trees. However, as many may be familiar, some are decorated, some just have a strand of lighting. Since decorated ones contain various types of ornaments, each one has to be given a UPC in order to be scanned in the system and then sold. As trees are up to 80% off however, we ran through most of our stock. Naturally, people want to buy the displays.

Now, 99% of people understand we can't sell displays when we say so. Especially when we say they can put their info down to have a chance at buying it. Like fixtures, it'll be first come first served. But it is not that time just yet. Most try to ask us once, but just accept no. Shockingly enough however, not everyone can accept this simple, one syllable word. Crazies.

This lady asked, and those of us in the area (we're condensing product closer to the entrance) said we cannot sell displays, but she could put her name down. She then asked my buddy if the one next to the first one, a non-decorated one, counted as decorated since it had lights. He cheerfully said no, that she could buy it if she wanted. She asked him for any boxes from the back to pack it up in. Off he went to the back.

Now, she doesn't wear a name badge, but our hr manager was out on the floor with us. She has quite the biting wit. She comes up, and this is after being told no, but as soon as my friend was out of sight, the crazy lady starts picking the ornaments off of tree number one. HR lady goes up to her and asks why take off the ornaments? Crazy lady replies that my friend told her it was okay, that she could buy decorated tree. Full stop.

HR lady, who was close enough to hear the conversation, says nothing like that happened. Crazy lady demands a manager. I suppose she thought manager would overrule and sell her the tree, but as a closing store, all fucks have been thrown out the window, from floor associates all the way up to store manager. And for our liquidation manager, he's seen and done it all, it's far from his first rodeo. He does walk the floor, but he seems to me to be a numbers guy, always trying to eke out the most profit from the remaining product.

So HR lady says she is a manager, and no, crazy lady can't have decorated tree. They exchange some words, crazy lady taking more ornaments off all the while. More of us come over, and we try to prevent her from taking more off. Store manager comes up, but is unnoticed by customer, for now.

Crazy lady "Kiss my ass!"

HR Lady "Should I report that threat?"

Crazy lady throws her hands up in the air "What threat?!?!"

HR lady "kissing your ass. Cause the only way I'll do it is if you force me down there"

Guys, guys, we lose it. Crazy lady gets red in the face and throws ornaments down on the ground. How dare you laugh at me she says. Then whirls around and starts ripping ornaments and ribbons off the tree she wanted. Moves fast, but I suppose the crazy is aiding her. Gets about half of the stuff off the tree before we can block her. And I kid you not, she actually says "there, it's not decorated. You better sell it to me."

Manager comes to the front and tells her to get out, that she's not allowed anymore. Next time we can call the cops, but I doubt she'll be back. She leaves, but apparently a guy standing off to the side was her husband. I don't know how he viewed things, but for whatever reason, he actually asked about the tree. Cue what the fuck from all of us. Manager said she'd do it, but his wife was still unwelcome and cops would be called if she tried to come back.

Guys, he actually starts picking at the tree. As we stare at him (group had grown to about six store workers), after thirty seconds he stops and just leaves. Guess he came to his senses. Or he figured that his wife would kill him for not leaving with her. Whatever, end of encounter. We cleaned up, and promptly moved all display trees to the side stockroom under the guise that vendors wanted them back until we can do the upc for the ornaments.

Hopefully the biting cold and lack of product will keep the craziness to a minimum for the last days of the year, and our last weeks at the store. sigh Who am I kidding, they never stop.

Happy New Year everyone!

--adventurehunter9876