You won't believe this woman at HL!
 

Ok...I just got home and I need to vent! I stopped by a HL on my way home from work because of the big sale on paper. I was standing in line to checkout. There was only one register open, but it wasn't that busy so I didn't think it was a big deal. I'm standing in line and I hear this woman saying excuse me, excuse me! There is this lady three registers over trying to get the attention of the clerk. Finally the clerk looks over and says may I help you? The lady then says that she was there first and that the clerk refuses to help her and goes on and on. The clerk says I am sorry I did not see you over there. The clerk then says you can come over and get in line (I'm the only other person in line besides the lady being checked out) and the woman says no, you will ring me up now and starts yelling! I couldn't believe it!! The clerk looks at me and says do you mind if she goes in front of you and I said no. I definitely didn't want this woman behind me! So then the verbally abusive woman comes over and she has an exchange that she used a gift card to buy in the first place!! Of course that requires a call to the manager, ect. After the clerk exchanges this woman's merchandise, the woman goes back to shopping! She never apologized or anything. The older gentleman behind me even commented saying what was the big hurry?? I just couldn't believe this woman was SO nasty over nothing! Then on top of it she went to a register that was closed and expected the only clerk to come to her. I was just flabergasted(sp?)! Thank you for letting me vent!!! :mrgreen:

I can believe it...we have those people in PA too!!!! Oh well...gotta take the "high road" when those people come along in life!

I figure just let them get out of my way. Evidently, they feel that they are privileged. Chalk one up to selfishness. Hope that the rest of your day was good.
Joan

I used to work for a company I won't mention here but there are those type of impatient people all over the country. I think that's a problem no matter where you go shopping anymore. Some people think they are intitled to more than others just because they are there.

I always let people like that infront of me. I don't want to be on the road when they try to make up the two minutes it would have taken to be patient. Just think of the blood pressure problems they cause themselves! I once had the miss fortune of having a man cut me off then pass the car infront of me on the wrong side only to end up in the same store with him and he drove his cart the same way he drove his car. We ended up in the same line at the check out and he was just a rude there as well. I put on my best smile and told him since he was in such a hurry and I could see he must be late for something VERY IMPORTANT I would let him in front of me as I only had to go to the airport, but had planned my schedule to include a few unexpected delays. He looked shocked but went infront of me. The last I saw of him he was racing out the door. I guess he needed more than my two minutes.

I had my first trip to Joanns a few weeks ago. Some lady basically pushed my daughter out of the way to check out and then cussed the cashier out because there was some coupon or something, that she'd HEARD about but didn't have, and the cashier couldn't give her a discount without the coupon.

She kept saying "Well you f*in KNOW there is a coupon, I want that discount" the girls was like "ma'am, I cant give you the discount without the coupon, I have to have the paperwork."

I cuss, but I heard the f word more in that conversation then I cared to hear. It was bad enough the manager gave ME a little discount because I stood there patiently for the 10 minutes the woman threw her fit. LOL...

:rolleyes:

I always let those people in front of me and then I try to be super nice to the clerk. I just don't get why people have to act that way. Even on a BAD day, I never act like that. I just don't get people sometimes.

How true. I work in retail and I don't know if it is me getting older( been doing it for 23 years), or if things are changing, but we definately live in an instant self gratification society. It is all about "me" and what "I" want and I blame part of it on the companies themselves. Heaven forbid we tell a customer no! Even when they are clearly beyond regular policy, especially when it comes to returns. We have had managers that don't want any letters to go to the main office so they bend over backwards and give the customer what they want. Everyone wonders why prices are so high. Well not only fuel costs to get merchandise into the stores, but add in theft and the whiners who can abuse something and then demand their money back. Sorry for the yapping...it just bugs me sometimes. I wonder how these people sleep at night knowing that what they did is like stealing. It is one thing to have something that is defective and that deserves being taken care of, but working the system just isn't right. And then you toss in the ones like the op ran into that pull stunts like that and it just leaves you shaking your head.

Very well said. Not much to say after that just sorry we all have to put up with these types of ppl. I would really hate to be them.

One of those days at the goody store! LOL

I worked in retail for years, DH still does, and I can tell you that people are not getting more polite. I am not sure what has happened, maybe I'm getting old, but the words "please" and "thank you" are just not as common anymore, nor are the attitudes that accompany those words.

I have to wonder what these poor people do when something really awful happens in their lives.

Jackbuilt

When I see and hear of someone doing things like this to a cashier I just want to reach over the counter and give the cashier a great big hug, they don't deserve that kind of treatment, especially for the pay that they get. Most of these people think that there time is more valuable than everyone else's. I just sit back and think that we are being judged for our actions and we will have to take account of everything we did here on earth at some point and time. After all that you went through at the store I hope that you were at least able to go home vent to us here and then play with new toy's, hope the rest of your day goes well and just know that you did the right thing and didn't stoop to the level of the other person. Hugs to you.

Mm...yeah I'd believe her. I went back to work recently and chose to take a part time job in the drug department of a grocery store. People are horrible. I didn't really realize this until I started working there and then I was all..."WHOA...you people realllllllllly take the cake!" Working in retail has really damaged my hope for mankind.

And along the lines of what jackbuilt said...wonder what happens when something really bad goes wrong...I wonder how horrible it must be to walk around always pi55ed off and how little they must think of themselves to treat other human beings that way.

See...my hope for humanity...damaged...dinged...tarnished.

mrsjill - don't despair. What always helped me was human nature. What I mean is that it is our nature to remember the extremes, both awful and wonderful, but rarely do we really remember the please and thank you crowd, or the just wanna pay and exit crowd, because they don't really make the big impression that the extreme people make. It's the 80/20 rule (20% of the people get 80% of our energy).

Just feel sorry for them - there's something that they need or they wouldn't behave that way and clearly they aren't getting it from the other people in their lives, so they choose to make a spectacle of themselves in public. Kinda sad when you look at it that way.

I once worked at a craft store and got yelled at by a woman looking for the wooden parts that would transform her mailbox into an adorable cow. We didn't have them, which made me the most incompetent low life on earth. Truly, what is going on in that lady's life that makes the appearance of her mailbox that important?

I'm just saying...
Jackbuilt

Some jerk actually shoved my sister into a display of Guitar Hero games to beat her to the last Wii on the shelf at Target on Black Friday last year. He saw her walking, or rather limping, toward it as it was one of her bad arthritis days and freezing outside to boot. An employee saw what happened and helped her up. If I'd been there (we had split up and gone to different stores), that guy would have found himself wondering if he'd still be able to father children -- after he was able to walk again, of course. :evil:

When me and my kids are out at stores and we see people/kids acting like this.. like the world owes them something.. I always point out to my kids>>>> "that is how not to act in public!"


I used to be a GM at a Sonic Drive-In.. people would be ordering their food and drop the (F) word.. I was like "excuse me!" and they'd say it again.. what is wrong with some people?


Pam

People take out their rage on clerks and restaurant workers because they can get away with it.

So says the girl who got herself fired when a woman was rude to me on my first job as a salad girl at Schensul's Cafeteria. She threw a paper towel at me and I pointedly threw it away in the wastebasket she should have put it in. She complained that *I* was rude and I got fired. She just was getting her jollies by making someone else's life as miserable as her own. She knew that if I was rude back that I was the only one who would pay for it, not her.

So just think of how miserable these people must be. They take it out on people who can't fight back because they have to be afraid of losing their jobs. But I firmly believe that what goes around comes around.

I hate when people are that rude to employees and their fellow shoppers. I always think that they've obviously never had any REAL life problems; and they've probably never had to work in retail, a restaurant, or as a secretary.

And I wouldn't have let that witch in front of me. I would have made up a big old lie like, "Sorry, but I'm kind of in a rush. My sister is in a coma and her 3 kids are staying with us and they need these supplies to complete a project for school. I'd love to help you out, but it's so important for my nieces and nephew to have some semblance of normalcy in their lives right now considering their mother is likely to die soon."

(I'm a great actress. :mrgreen: )

that is hilarious.. she probably would've taken a big huff of air and said "well I never!" too funny ~ Pam

and then we could reply "that's right, honey...you would never!" LOL

ROFL You are too funny! Love it.:mrgreen:

They're just bullies, plain and simple. And I don't let them get away with it.

And I believe in karma, too! It may not happen in our presence, but they'll get theirs eventually. :twisted:

Retail frame shop manager here - people are horrible. We had some guy who thinks he is God's gift tell a cashier that we were no better than the clerks at Taco Bell. Wonder if it will EVER occur to him that neither is he...we are all people. Just people. Same guy bad mouths me to people and we have never met. I just figure he has a horrible life and can't find peace anywhere. But his actions have caused me a few early morning wakings and I don't appreciate that.

my old job was in the call center at my work. When a customer calls and is swearing at us we do tell them to "please stop swearing at me or this call will have to end". If they continue we are allowed to hang up on them. To bad you can't do that in the store.
I also have seen other people like this. Last week I felt very sorry for the gal at Michaels as they were sold out of an item and this lady went into a full blown fit. It was not on sale or anything but she wanted one right now. I don't even know what it was but after she left the poor young clerk was in tears. She said the item was only $1.99 and it was going to be in on the truck the next day.
I told her to not let that woman get to her as she was doing a great job. She is new there but very friendly and always willing to help a customer.

I swear I remember a thread just a few months ago where the situation was reversed - everyone was complaining about how rude and unhelpful the clerks at Michaels are. I think the lesson here is that people are people are people - rude people are on both sides of the counter, the phone, the freeway, etc.

I know I'm going to get flamed for this, but it's just my opinion: I think we as a society are becoming less caring overall. We use emails instead of talking face-to-face, we play computer games instead of team sports, we talk on our cell phones while out in public. I don't think the people we are describing in this thread believe they are rude; I think they don't even consider how they affect the people around them. I bet they'd be surprised, just like the man who was so impatient in the store, to find that other people are upset with them.

And, I bet you every single one of us has been on the other side of the counter when we didn't realize it. Not that I'm excusing it, mind you. I'm just sayin'......

No flames from me...I agree!

When I was in retail mangement I had a customer that would not be pleased and wanted to speak to management. I went out on the floor and the salesclerk was explaining the situation to me when the customer jumped in yelling at him and me. Before I could say or do anything another customer turned around and went off on customer 1. Telling her how rude and hateful she had been to this boy that was doing everything in his power to help and now she wouldn't even let him explain, etc, etc etc. I just stood there with my mouth hanging open for about 30 seconds trying to figure out if I was going to have to get in between them! It was hilarious!

L

[quote=meluvstampin;11412846]my old job was in the call center at my work. When a customer calls and is swearing at us we do tell them to "please stop swearing at me or this call will have to end". If they continue we are allowed to hang up on them. To bad you can't do that in the store.
quote]

I did. I had a customer upset about something. I don't even remember what. In his telling of the situation it cuss this and cuss that. After about ten cuss words I interrupted him and told him if he was going to continue talking to me with that language I wouldn't be able to help him. He actually apoligized, fixed his language, told me his problem and I fixed, no big deal.

I had a salesclerk standing behind me and he later told me that he was impressed with how I dealt with the customer.

L

I used to work in a retail pharmacy, and if customers used bad language and acted like those you've mentioned the manager would tell them to quit or he'd have to ask them to leave. If they didn't like that he would tell them that the store was private property and he had the authority to call security and have them removed. It never hurt our business. I think the other customers appreciated his actions. I realize his actions took a lot of courage, but if these people didn't get what they want as a result of being rude maybe they would think before acting.

Yes, this does take courage, and I hope the next time I'm subjected to it, I have the courage to speak up. I sat an airport once with my two little boys, and a rude businessman sat down near us and started talking loudly on his cell phone. Every other word was a cuss word, and then he started dropping the F bomb. Just as I had reached my limit, he hung up. (He was getting lots of dirty looks, but no one said anything.) I decided in the future to have zero tolerance. It's a public place and no one has the right to be offensive.

Also, it's been a long time since I worked retail, and I don't remember any horror stories from my experience, but it's just shameful when people think they can treat clerks and salespeople like dirt. It sounds like a lot of you know just how to react with dignity and courage. Bravo!

Oh yes, please speak up.. If I am every out with my kids and someone is cussing, I always look at them and kindly say "please, there are children here" ~ I have always been apologized to and never had someone say something harsh back to me. With this day and age of cell phones, people are doing a lot of speaking in public where they didn't use to and so others are forced to hear the foulness that spews fourth from their mouths. Guess their momma didn't use the soap in the mouth technique!

Pam

Reminds me of the quote:

"A person who is nice to you but not nice to the waiter (or sales clerk) is NOT a nice person."

You know what I've noticed when I worked retail for a couple of years is that a lot of the 'bullies' that come in and like to cause a big scene just need to be put in their place. This happened quite a few times to me, and to my co-workers. I noticed when I was passive and meek, just taking their abuse, they got off on it and kept going, but if I was firm and refused to accept their attitude, they would either back down adjust their attitude, or leave. One guy in particular would come in and be an absolute ogre to everyone, treating us like he was a lord and we were peasants. One day he started up on one of my good friends who is a very BIG, loud outspoken guy and that was the end of that. He told the customer off, said he was sick of him harrassing everyone in our dept. if he had a problem he could take it up with him then and there. Well, let me tell you, the customer NEVER mistreated anyone in our dept again! He treated my friend like they were best buddies from then on.
Of course, this doesn't work with everyone and the end result could be very different...or worse. LOL.

Wow. Well, she is her own worst punishment. She sounds like a very unhappy person.

what happen to manners.......I think they have gone out the window

I never had any bad experiences when I was behind the register in retail, but you do see some pretty obnoxious people from time to time. (Mind you, I did once have someone want a refund because a stately garden I was working in at the time wasn't up to his expectations, LOL.) I reckon you're always better with them in front of you - at the checkout and even more on the road, for sure. And I'm with kegbo on her point about talking on cell-phones in public. Sure, they're great for saying you'll be late, or getting directions / making arrangements, but do you really want to listen to someone's daily phonecall to her mother all the way in to work, let alone more personal lengthy calls conducted at high volume. No thanks.

'bullies' that come in and like to cause a big scene just need to be put in their place.

This has been true of a couple of customers in my experience - I have just stated plain fact to them and they calm down/shut up/move on. The trouble is, often management is so afraid of losing a customer, or losing their own job, that we put up with the carp to keep our jobs and avoid hassle from above. It is a no win situation but I love what I do - and it shows, and many customers are very appreciative.

Don't get me started on the cell phones!! Customers will wait for a framing clerk, sometimes for a long time, it finally becomes their turn, their phone rings, they answer it without an "excuse me, I need to answer this" and I move on to the next customer because my time is valuable and others are waiting. Common courtesy is almost absent in the retail world, except if a customer is rude to us, we have to use common courtesy toward them, but it is a dying custom for folks to be just plain mannerly.

I have several stories about rudeness in stores...But I want to say something about Cell conversations. I was at the gym and a woman was on the treadmill talking on her cell. The gym is a gym for both men and women and there are all ages there (Ballys). She is talking really loudly and she says
"Well, the Dr. says I have VAGINAL ATROPHY" she was probably 15 feet away from me & My DH on Eliptical next to me says... "Well if she's looking, she won't get a date here!!!!" I almost fell off my machine I was laughing so hard!!
:twisted:

What a crazy lady! Some people are just negative and rude. They get a sense of power by being rude or mean to others. It amazes me that people act like that in public. I'm sorry you had to deal with that.

Erin