Here is a bit of context: I work at a grocery store that requires us to scan (or enter manually if they cant be scanned) everyone's ID for any age restricted item (Alcohol, tobacco, cold medicine, etc) regardless of age. Annoying I know...

Story Starts Here:

I had a guy come up to the register with some cold medicine which triggered the prompt to scan ID. Me: "Ok sir, I am going to need to see your ID?" Customer: " Why do you need ID for cold medicine? Plus I am in my 30s..." At this point it was no longer about store policy asking for ID but state law which dictates we ID anyone 40 years or younger. Me: "Well there is ingredients in cold medicine that are used in the making of some of the hard drugs, which is why its a age restricted item. Also it is company policy to ID everyone regardless of age." Customer: "I don't do drugs." Me: " Sir, I didn't say you do just explaining why an ID is required." The guy didnt have an ID on him but he had a picture on his phone of the temporary ID you get from the DMV while you wait for the card itself in the mail. Me: "Sir, I'm sorry, but I can't take this as I need the physical ID as a photo can be altered." Customer: "Ok I have it in my car just let me go get it." Customer returns a few minutes later carrying a piece of paper and hands it to me. Me: "Sir, I need the actual temporary ID not a physical picture of the temporary ID. As again a picture can be altered." There was a little more back and forth with him questioning why we couldn't accept it, and I decided to call for the acting manager on duty. Who told him exactly what I said and to come back with the actual documentation.

TL/DR: Customer brought in a printed out picture of his temporary ID when told we can't accept pictures of IDs.

Last season, I was working at a little winter gear shop in a ski town, one of those places where everything from snowboards to mittens is stacked to the ceiling. One snowy Saturday, a couple came in with their two kids. The kids went straight for the helmets and ski boots, eagerly pulling their parents around, begging to try on every single item. While the mom was distracted, the dad came up to me, casting a quick look over his shoulder. With a grin, he whispered, “Don’t let my wife see, I’ve been eyeing this hat for weeks.” He slipped me €30, and I rang him up, casually chatting about the powder forecast as I tucked the beanie into his bag. Just as he finished, his wife approached, wrangling the kids. She made her way over to the same rack of hats and leaned over the counter with a knowing smile. “Don’t let my husband see, but he’s been needing this hat.” She handed me the cash, winked, and went back to gathering up their gear. They left with a little secret smile on each of their faces and I knew they’d just bought each other the same hat!

This retail experience was kinda funny. A couple years back, when my coworker was 17, she asked me to help ring up the alcohol she had. She told me ahead of time that the group did not look old enough. It was a group of like 6-8 teenage boys. The excuse they told my coworker was that they were college. (Really bro? I was in college at 18.) For something like this I would have to check ALL of their IDs. I decided to start by asking if I could see ONE ID... They said they ALL left their IDs at home. I smirked at them and took the case of beer away and said "Then you don't get this!" and walked away. 🤣 They all left without buying anything after that. 🤣💀

Apologies this is kinda long cuz there's a lot to tell... I've worked at a grocery store for about 2 years now. My first bad customer experience was a couple weeks after I started working there. Basically a lady refused to show me her ID for the alcohol she was buying. She said she was "3x my age" (which would've made her like 66, so she was probably underestimating how old I was 💀), and told me that she wanted a manager to bypass the ID check. (Btw it's TN, no matter your age we HAVE to check ID.) I was panicked and didn't know what to do so I talked to one of my friends who was a manager, and she told the lady that we needed ID. I had a pretty long line of people behind her, so she paid for her order and my friend said they could help her at customer service when she came back (She went out to her car to get her ID). So I continued with the next customer and a couple minutes later, the lady came back in trying to show me her ID when I was in the middle of helping another customer. My coworker was trying to get her to come to customer service for assistance, but the lady just blew up at us and said "Oh nevermind! I guess they don't want our business! We'll take our business somewhere else!" (She was talking to her husband). My coworker and I were just kinda shocked and went on with our day. I was still pretty shaken up from the whole interaction. The customer I was taking care of during the whole blow up, was very kind to me and told me that lady was over the top and told me to ignore her. Later in my shift I was telling another customer about the interaction cuz I was still shaken up about it, and she opened the fancy chocolate she had just bought and gave me one. 🥹 Always so lovely when you find the compassionate customers 💕

I woke up thinking of this story and I figured this was the perfect place to air it.

Years ago I was managing a certain gag gift store in the mall, yes that one.

I had a couple with a stroller come through and as they were checking I was dealing with the lady of the couple.

She had purchased a few random items, t-shirt, jewelry, and a couple of other small items.

As I rang her up I grabbed a bag and start placing her things in a bag.

She says: “I don’t need them in a bag”

I say: “okay” and put the bag back

She says: “but I want the bag”

We make eye contact and I look confused. I slowly grab the same bag from under the counter and gently place it on top of her stuff without putting anything in it and say “Here’s your bag” still confused..

THE NEXT DAY.

The same couple comes back into the store, approaches my assistant manager, where the lady proceeds to ask to speak to the manager, my assistant comes to get me, I walk over to the couple, who I didn’t know was the same couple at the time.

The lady sees me and says “NEVERMIND!” And leaves

And honestly, to this day I am still just as confused.

What was your complaint? I would have liked to hear it. My only thought is that I didn’t read her mind?

I don’t get it.

For context, this happened about 2 years ago when I worked at a boba shop. It was located in a mall and 1/2 of the only locations in our city. All employees, except managers, were teenagers or college students, ages ranging from 14-19.

Okay, the story:

This day was pretty slow and it was just me (15F) and my coworker (17F) working that day. These two women come up and are starting to order, asking a few questions, but it’s normal.

I was on cashier and one of the ladies asks me if she can get extra sugar in the matcha milk. I tell her that our matcha powder is already a formulated powder with sugar in it, so we really aren’t allowed to put more sugar in it. (You’ll see why, it’s two different sugars. It’s stupid, but it’s our rules.)

She starts getting an attitude, rudely asking why. So I politely explain that our sugar is a thick, syrupy cane sugar and we aren’t really allowed.

She starts throwing a tantrum and makes a big deal out of picking a new drink. Panicked, me and my coworker, trying to people-please, tell her that we can put the sugar in for her and put it in our shakers, but the milk might turn out a little frothy.

She says “No. no. It’s whatever.”, all curt. Her friend is literally laughing at her tantrum at this point and trying to tell her to just compromise but she’s getting a bigger attitude with her friend.

So she settles for another drink and it’s time to pay. The tip question comes up on our tablet and I really don’t expect her to tip, or care if she does.

But she does this dramatic snort-laugh and goes “Tuh!” before dramatically clicking what I know is the 0% option.

Bet she felt so nice leaving with her drink knowing she made two teenage girls’ jobs harder!!🤗 Probably added more flavor to the drink!

So this happened almost 2 years ago but I remembered it when joining this subreddit.

For context, I worked at a well known boba shop in a busy mall. All the employees were either highschool students or college kids, ages ranging from 14-20 and the 2 managers were married. The owner almost abandoned this location to focus on another one.

Our managers were very cheap and never wanted to waste a single drop of product or give a refund unless really needed.

Now the story, my (at the time, 18F) coworker and I (at the time, 15F) were working on a mildly busy day. This woman comes with her three kids, her oldest daughter, middle son, and youngest daughter. They ordered their 3 drinks like normal and some of them got slushes instead of milk tea, whatever pretty normal.

When we hand them their drinks on the other side of the kiosk, they try it right there. Could have moved for other customers, but okay.

A little bit later she comes back in line and starts asking my coworker for a refund because her youngest daughter didn't like the slush. Not an exchange for something she might've liked, but an entire refund.

So, my coworker tells her that since we didn't make her drink incorrectly we cannot give her a refund, as we have a policy to only give refunds when it is a mistake on our part.

She argues with her for way too long before asking to speak to the manager. My coworker tells her that our manager isn't here at this moment, but we can get her on the phone.

At this point, I can't remember if there were other customers behind her or if we had finished the line.

Anyways, my coworker goes in the back and calls our boss to explain the situation. She comes to the front, puts her phone on speaker, and the woman explains her side of the story. My boss then says the same thing, "Since it was no mistake on our part & they did not mess up your drinks, we will not be able to give you a refund.".

She basically storms off after that, with all her kids, to a sitting area right in front of our shop/kiosk, practically vibrating with anger as her kids look sad or maybe embarrassed.

Eventually after some time, they leave and I see she left all of the drinks in a circle around the edge of the garbage bin where they were sitting.

Like, okay? You wasted your own money, not ours.

So I've been working at my local grocery store for more than a year now, and this happened in the first 3 months after I was hired. We have a store card where you can only receive sales from our store card, which we call the "Bonus Card", and we offer to use a designated "Store Card" For customers who don't yet or don't have one. I had a customer who wanted to get 2 boxes of shaved ice cups that were a 2-for-something sale. when I pressed total he asked me about it, and I asked him if he had a bonus card, and if he didn't have one I could offer him our "Store Card", I also mentioned that the sale wouldn't come off without it. Before I could even push the number for the store card, he ran out of the store, leaving the groceries on the conveyor belt. I haven't seen him since, and I told my coach what happened. She just offered to take the shaved ice back to the freezer section. to this day we still like to laugh about the experience because of how unexpected it was lol

To premise this, I am a Shift Supervisor for a retail drug store chain. Like a lot of retailers we are having a very bad shoplifting problem. Thieves will come and fill bags with hundreds, if not thousands of dollars of merchandise and walk out. (We are well aware that these are apart of much larger crime rings) Most are repeat offenders to the point where we have nicknames for them. We are told by our higher ups to please tally up what was stolen, save the surveillance footage and file a police report along with store security report. Due to the repeat offenders I created a file system in the office where we have the multiple reports filed under each nickname.

For a few months we had a repeat offender who we nicknamed Tall. He was very tall, think 6’4” to 6’6”. He would come in and steal expensive skin and hair care. Usually several thousand dollars in one go.

One day we see a man walk out with a large pillow case full of merchandise. A customer tells us she saw him in the hair care section waiting for her to leave. I check the cameras and immediately recognize Tall. I get on the phone with police. While I’m on the phone my employee gets a call from a customer. It’s a man stating that the thief is at the park near the store. You hear a little girl in the background yelling “Daddy the bad man is in the bathroom.” I relay the message to the dispatcher. I don’t know if the customer had followed Tall or just happened to go to the park as well. Fast forward 30 minutes later I get a call from a police officer asking if I could text him a picture of our thief. They have detained someone matching the general description. I comply. Fast forward another half hour and we have 2 police cars in front of our store and an officer asking who would like to make an eyewitness identification. My employee volunteers. After confirming the officer comes in with a large drawstring bag full of merchandise. We are tallying everything up as the officer keeps removing stuff from the bag. It felt like a bad game show as the total went up. In total nearly $2000 worth of stolen merchandise. I grab Tall’s file and give the officer all the other police reports we have on Tall. But this is only the beginning.

A few days later I receive a call from an investigator with the police department. She has a few questions about Tall, she also mentions his girlfriend. A few days later she sends me an email stating that other retailers also have cases open with a suspect matching Tall’s description and his girlfriend. Some are confirmed, others are in the process of confirming. Everything is slowly piling up.

This week the investigator paid us a visit. She told us that Tall and his girlfriend have been charged with multiple felony counts. I won’t say the exact number but it’s in the double digits. Their bail has also been set at a 7 figure mark.

Two prolific thieves got arrested and multiple cases were solved all thanks to an observant customer who decided to call and let us know. Not all heroes wear capes or have martial art skills. Some are armed with a phone and their superpower is being observant. As for the customer, he has never come forward so we’ve never had the opportunity to thank him.

I work as a supervisor at a small convenience store. In my area, there is a law where if we sell a product that is eligible to be returned for a bottle deposit, we must take it back if asked to. However, we are also directly across the street from a large grocery store that has redemption machines.

The other day, an older woman comes in with her husband to buy some stuff and return some bottles. She is notorious for doing this, usually when we are busy.

When my cashier saw her come in the store, she asked me to stand behind the register with her in case there was any trouble. Of course, I said I would and pretended to be looking over the schedule.

She rings the lady up for her purchases and then starts counting the bottles and cans. It comes out to be worth $2.40. My cashier tells the customer that she will process the bottle return today, but that if she comes back next time with over $1 worth we will refuse to do it and send her across the street because they are better equipped.

As expected, this woman starts throwing a hissy fit. She brings up the fact that it is illegal to refuse her and that, if we do, she’s going to call the state police to report us and we’ll all be fired. My cashier apologizes and mentions that the only reason she suggests for her to go across the street is that it will be quicker for the customer. She hates this idea too. She says that, obviously, we hate her and don’t want her business.

My cashier tries to explain but the customer keeps cutting her off, talking about how nobody cares about her anymore. Eventually, she starts yelling about how everybody she ever loved is dead now because she’s so old.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I felt a little bad about that. However, I also felt it was unnecessary for her to try and use that against us. After a few minutes of this, the transaction is over and she eventually leaves. I still don’t understand why she doesn’t just go across the street but I guess we’ll never know.

I am a shift supervisor at a thrift store in the US.

The other day at the registers there was a woman who was waiting in line while on her phone and didn't notice when my cashier called her turn so he called her again.

Apparently she took great offense to this and started doing the whole Karen routine while my cashier was trying to explain that he didn't mean any offense and I ended up stepping in after about 10-15 seconds of her increasingly rude nonsense.

She decided to wait and use a different line instead, me and the first cashier just looked at each other confused.

I’m a Shift Supervisor for a retail drug store chain. One if the services we provide is photo. Like a lot of places our main type of photo is digital. We do offer film development however it is a send out service and could take 2 to 3 weeks. Usually when people call asking if we provide film service I tell them of the wait time. If they sound upset or ask where has faster service, I let them know that it is illegal to process film in our state. That way the customer doesn’t waste their time calling other retailers. It’s illegal due to EPA violations and corrosion to pipes. Usually a customer is still upset but thanks me for saving them a lot of time. Depending on how the conversation goes I do inform customers that if a hobbyist has a closet darkroom one could technically get away with it. However I do not know where to find them.

So one day I’m in the photo department when I receive this Karen phone call:

Me: Photo department! OP speaking. How can I help you?

Karen: do you do disposable cameras?

Me: Yes! However it is a send out order and it takes 2 to 3 weeks.

Karen: 2 TO 3 WEEKS!!!! My son needs these pictures next week. Know anywhere that has one hour photo?

Me: It is illegal to process film in this state so all places will be send outs and have a significant wait time.

Karen: ILLEGAL TO PRINT PHOTOS!?!?! My son needs these photos for his project next week or he will fail. Can’t you just print his photos?

Me: in order to print film, first the film needs to be processed in a bunch of chemicals. Then the film is run thru a light machine. We no longer have any of that stuff. The chemicals harm the environment and cause pipe damage, which is why film processing is illegal in this state.

Karen: if it’s illegal where do you send them.

Me: to a state where it’s still legal.

Karen: which state?

Me: (mentions state)

The state I live in is on one coast of the USA, the state where we send them is on the other coast.

Karen: (STATE)!!!! No wonder it takes so long. Don’t you have anywhere closer?

Me: the company that we have a contract with is in that state.

Karen: my son needs these photos next week. Can’t you just do them.

By now I’m juggling whether I should tell her about closet dark rooms but I decide not to.

This goes for several rounds of it’s illegal and we don’t have the equipment.

Me: I don’t know what to tell you.

Karen: thanks a lot for failing my son. (Hangs up)

Hate the law, not the messenger.

Edit: just a clear up. There’s no specific wording in my state that says film processing is illegal. However disposal of the chemicals used to process film are an EPA violation in my state and the chemicals are known to harm the pipes. If one were to come up with a more eco friendly way to process film then one could legally process film in my state. However given that the current chemicals are illegal in my state. One can say it’s illegal to process film in my state.

Some background. I’m a Shift Supervisor for a retail drug store chain. One service our store offers is pick up and drop off for one of those package delivery companies, DC. If a package has an age restricted item it’s usually dropped at our store. So are packages where the recipient wasn’t home for a few days. Sometimes customers ask for their package to be rerouted to our store so porch pirates can’t get to them. We strongly emphasize that we are only associated with DC, not any of its competitors and due to us being third party we have a very limited service and a lot of restrictions. Whenever a package is picked up or dropped off we must scan into DC’s system.

A few weeks ago we received 2 packages addressed to our DC service however they weren’t scanning. We first brushed it off as a glitch. We noted it had the same name, Karen. Karen came and got her packages. I got suspicious when a third package came but it was delivered by Amazon. Due to it being the rush hour I just took the package.

Two weeks ago an employee received the mail from the post office and along with the store’s mail there was a package for Karen addressed to our DC service. Employee showed me the package an hour later. I attempted to scan it in to no avail. I showed it to my store manager. Store manager said if a package does not scan to give it back to the delivery person and to let employees know that only management will take mail and deliveries from now on.

Well last week we got our answer to the mysterious Karen packages. I’m working a late shift when I get a call.

Customer: Hi I had a package delivered two days ago to your store. I have another package being delivered tomorrow. However I won’t be able to come get it for another few days. Will you hold it until then.

Me: (thinking she’s talking about DC) DC has us hold packages on site for at least a week. Longer if we ask.

Customer: it’s not from DC.

Me: we’re a third party pick up and drop off site for DC. We only accept packages from DC.

Customer: can you check if my package it there? My name is Karen.

Everything clicked.

Me: actually we are no longer accepting your packages. They do not scan. If they do not they will be given back to the delivery person.

Karen: I was told I could store my packages at your place.

Me: we’re are a third party DC location. We only accept and store packages for DC.

This went back and forth for a while. I told her at least 3 times we’re a third party pick up and drop off site for DC. I did check for her packages, none were here. I informed Karen of that.

Karen: so how do I get my packages?

Me: You’ll have to contact the delivery company.

Karen hung up and I sent a bulk text out to all of management stating the mystery of the Karen packages has been solved. She is using our DC service for her personal package storage and to not receive any and to make sure employees don’t receive any.

I had the next 2 days off, however when I returned my colleagues had a crazy story to tell.

Karen had come in looking for her packages claiming that I, specifically mentioning my name, stated she could and that I could print out a DC label for her. She even described me as a white woman which almost caused one employee to burst out laughing. For the record I’m an oriental Asian woman. One look at me and it’s unmistakable. I was born and raised in the USA so I speak perfect English with no accents. I do have an American first name which is used at work. My last name is also American sounding due to marriage however it’s seldomly used with customers. My colleagues also know I don’t take s*** from anybody and I’m a pretty strict follower of the rules and can be quite tough when others don’t follow them. Pretty much I would have never made a promise that to Karen. It got so bad that my store manger had to get involved. He tells Karen the same thing I told her. Somewhere in the conversation Karen mentions a friend or something online telling her to do this so her packages won’t get stolen.

We reported Karen to our District Manager and to all the other stores in the area. It’s been a week and so far no more packages addressed to Karen have come in. Let’s hope it stays that way.

Welcome to /r/TalesFromRetail's Express Lane - your quick stop for short tales, pithy observations and general retail chat about how things are going with your store, your customers and yourselves.

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Happened two days ago:

Customer: "Hey! Can you help me? I'm looking for [famous brand] spicy tomato ketchup! The shelf label says there should be some but it's not where it's supposed to be!"

Me: "Yes of course, let me check with you."

It's a bit strange because that aisle was being restocked two hours ago, but what do I know. I walk up to the aisle with the customer and she starts gesticulating towards the shelf.

Customer: "See, it's not where it should be and I can't find it."

I look and see a dozen bottles of [famous brand] spicy tomato ketchup, exactly where they're supposed to be. The first one in the row, though, is turned backwards and the label faces the back of the shelf. Probably someone took it and put it back the wrong way. I turn it the right way and show her the label, but instead of thanking me she goes on a rant.

Customer: "How was I supposed to know what it was? I KNOW you people turn the bottles the wrong way ON PURPOSE to confuse people!"

Me: "Ma'am, no we would never do that, we try and limit interactions with angry customers like you!"

Well... that's what I wanted to say.

What I said for real was more like "Sorry for the inconvenience, can I help you with anything else?

With Halloween coming up, I thought I'd share this cautionary tale for anyone planning on carving pumpkins.

Last year, I was working at a place that sold pumpkins at Halloween. By October 20th, our pumpkins weren't really in good shape. We would get all of our pumpkins in early to mid-September and they were kept outside in our garden section. Some of them were kept in places where they were covered, but some of them were not. Which in hindsight was probably a poor idea. The place I live has very erratic weather. It can snow one day and be very warm the next day. It also tends to start snowing here around October. This means the pumpkins would get snowed on, maybe even get frozen, but the snow or ice would melt pretty either that day or the next day and they'd be wet while in the sun all day. A lot of the pumpkins we had at the very end of October were pretty rotten and mushy.

This story happened the day before Halloween. By that point, we didn't have a lot of pumpkins left because most people get their pumpkins weeks before Halloween. The pumpkins we still did have could be squished. On that day, it was really cold and it had snowed fairly recently and some of the pumpkins were actually frozen solid. Quite a few people were buying last-minute pumpkins that day and a lot of them were pretty unhappy we had no good ones left. There was this one woman who came in with a few kids to get pumpkins. They were outside looking at the ones we had left for a while before they came in. Each kid had their own small pumpkin.

The woman seemed a bit frazzled. While I was checking her out, I asked the woman how her day had been and she looked at me, looking really upset and mad, and said "I've been going on a wild goose chase for moldy pumpkins since I got off work". She told me she and her kids went to a local pumpkin patch to get pumpkins earlier that evening, but there were none there and they'd gone to another store before us where there also were none. She started ranting to me about how her even had been and about how she expected it'd be easy to go grab pumpkins and I just let her because this woman really did look she'd had a tough night. I can't quite remember, but I'm pretty sure I did give her and everyone else getting pumpkins a discount because they were so past their prime.

I felt bad for her, but at the same time, you really cannot expect it to be easy to find good pumpkins the day before Halloween.

I don't know how I haven't posted here sooner. I've been working at my local liquor store for a year and some change now, and in my time there I have had to deal with some really stupid people. No one is more stupid or infuriating than this one man.

When I started, our store did price matching to other liquor store chain and a local, state specific grocery store, amongst a couple other places. "Josh" would come in every couple of months to get 2-4 bottles of a specific wine and price match it to Local Grocery Chain. I have dealt with this man at least 10 times in the last year (and he was somehow always my problem) and it was the most infuriating experience each time.

First Encounter: I was still new, so I was watching my coworker, whom I'll call "Alex" deal with him. Josh gives Alex a receipt from LGC showing the price of the wines. Alex tells him that we're no longer allowed to accept receipts (I assume because people were bringing in sales prices from months ago) but he'll do it this time. In the future, he needs to just show us the price online. Josh isn't happy about this, but accepts it and moves on. I get to learn how to do price matching.

Second Encounter: Josh remembers that we can't take receipts anymore and shows us the price online. I watch as my coworkers Alex and "Blake" explain to him that he's not on LGC's website but on Google, and he needs to click on what he's pointing to to actually get in the website. Josh doesn't like this and insists that he's correct. The item he had looked up wasn't even the same item he was trying to buy. While Alex argues with Josh, just trying to get him to click onto LGC's website, Blake just pulls up the website on our register (which is just a normal computer with our POS program on it) and is like "I got it. In the future, you should consider downloading the LGC app to make it easier." This man refuses to believe he's incorrect and that Google IS LGC's website. He gets his price matched wine and leaves. I'm pretty sure Alex did finally get him to click on it. I watched the whole thing happen and just bit my tongue cuz after 5 years in a different, toxic retail environment I didn't think it was my place/appropriate to step in.

Several encounters ensue in which he shows us the app and every time he feels the need to mention that he "Can't use receipts anymore" and that "we told him to download the app." Cut to a shift in management and now we cannot accept people showing us apps to get price matches (presumably because people were screenshoting sale prices or because of in-app user coupons) and now we need to look up the prices ourselves via the registers. I'm sure that'll go over well.

Third Encounter and every subsequent one: I've been there for about a half a year now and Blake no longer works the registers, working a wholesale position in the back of the store. I have the displeasure to inform Josh as he shoves his phone in my face that we no longer accept the app and that we have to look it up ourselves. He's flabbergasted. I explain what I think the reasoning is behind it (screenshots) and he's confused. "What's a screenshot? You can do that?" For the record, this man is at most in his 50s. He is not that old. He then proceeds to go on and on about how we "told him he had to get the LGC app" and now we're not honoring that??? To add insult to injury, for some strange reason no one understands, the LGC website says the wine is a dollar more than it is in the app and in store (I checked).

I get to argue with Josh every couple of months for the next year about how our policy has changed and how I don't know why the app and the website have different prices but I have to go by what the website on my own computer says. He's talked to every associate in the store, including the manager who's told him at least twice herself, and he gets the same answer. And he continues to insist that this is messed up cuz "we told him to download the app" and "he tells all his friends and family" to come to us.

At this point, I don't even put on a customer service act with him because I'm so fed up with repeating myself. One time, Alex saw him pull into the parking lot and proclaimed "not it" before hiding in an aisle so he didn't have to deal with him (tbf, I don't blame him...). It was always, "As I told you last time, sir..." And this man baffled the hell out of me. "Why doesn't he just GO to the LGC if we're robbing him or whatever he thinks?" No one had any clue. In fact, one of my coworkers told me that there was an LGC closer to his house that we were to him, and he still made the drive to our store to argue about price matching. It got to the point where he once said "Well, I'll remember that for next time" and I almost looked him dead in the face and replied, "I look forward to having this conversation a seventh time."

UNTIL JULY OF THIS YEAR. We received the BEST news. WE WERE NO LONGER DOING PRICE MATCHING.
I was ecstatic and prayed that I'd be the one to tell him. And I was.

Josh comes in to get his wine. I ring him up. "Oh, and let me just pull up the LGC app that you guys told me to download..."

"I'm sorry, sir, but unfortunately we no longer price match as of two days ago."

He was so upset. He experienced the entire spectrum of human emotion. He went from happy to confused to sad to angry. Pretty sure he went through the stages of grief. But finally he relented, accepting that shit changes and at least he was getting 10% off for an in-store promotion we have. The other day, I passed by that wine was stocking and thought, "Huh. I haven't seen that guy in a while... Maybe he finally stopped shopping here."

NOPE! He came in the store today and asked me about price matching. My manager was on the register next to me, just watching me like she couldn't believe this was happening. I politely and happily told him again that we stopped price matching a few months ago. He looked so shocked, as if he hadn't heard this before. But at this point, I was just so glad I was never going to have to argue with this man again that my petty ass just enjoyed the look of disappointment, of utter betrayal on this man's face. He once again tried to say something about us telling him to download LGC's app and I politely reminded him that the last time I saw him, I informed him that if he wasn't using the app for LGC products, he was free to delete it off his phone because we weren't taking it anymore, ever, at all. I had to tell him twice. "But I told all my friends and family... I just told my two neighbors! Aww, well I guess I'll have to tell them the prices went up at The Liquor Store." ... They didn't, but okay. Here's your wine. He left in a good mood, if not a little heartbroken maybe, but whatever. My manager praised me for handling that well and then we joked about having to have this conversation again in a couple months and that I summoned him.

To be fair, in my 6+ years of retail experience, Josh is by FAR not the worst customer I've had, and he's never left the store in a huff. By the end of 99% of the interactions I had with him, he was chipper, and only once did he get angry enough to yell. I still dislike him tho...

There was even one time we were out of his wine but he insisted I check the magical realm that is "The Back" and he realized after a year of interactions that I had the same name as his mother. I said I'd "go check the back" and he laughed and said "Okay. Thanks MOM." I texted our work group chat immediately and said I would never help him again.

UPDATE: "Josh" came back in today. He didn't say a WORD about price matching or LGC or anything. We talked about the porkchops he was cooking and how some people use wine in cooking (a concept that seems to escape him). It was refreshing and I feel like a cycle has been broken lol

This was a couple years ago, but is still one of my favorite stories to tell about working in retail for a grocery store. I(21m) as an assistant manager was moving around the store putting out fires as we were just getting out of lunch rush and were still pretty busy. As some background knowledge, we often have vendors set up their stations in our store to offer samples and sell product which can include alcohol. One such vendor was setting up his station for whiskey towards the back of the store and happened to leave some of the product out as he was talking with some customers. Now normally this isn’t an issue and most alcohol products come with sensors or locks to help prevent theft/unlawful use, but since this vendor intended to use them for sampling they were unlocked. This Vendor also happened to choose to set up their sampling spot up next to one of the blind spots for the cameras. Now as I’m going from different points of the store trying to bring about an order to the chaos I get a call on my radio from a fellow assistant manger to meet him at the self checkout. I make my way over to find them with a customer who is buying a few items and a slightly less than full treetops apple juice gallon jug with the cap off. Now I know this fellow manager very well as he wouldn’t call me over for anything he couldn’t handle or on the off chance he found a situation incredibly funny. Now for those not paying attention this customer had decided he was gonna come in, empty the apple juice in the bathrooms, take the sample bottles of whisky while the vendor wasn’t looking, empty them into the container in the blind spot next to the vendor, and try to buy the gallon jug of “apple juice” at self checkout. We had a quick laugh about it and had the customer escorted out and went about our day.

I was reminded of this interaction that happened a month or so ago and thought you all would appreciate it.

I was scheduled to open the store and had arrived 15-20mins early. As I head to the bathroom to change, I hear someone try to open the locked door followed by knocking on the window. I ignore it and change. There's knocking again when I come out of the bathroom. I still ignore it and wait in the back until it's to open.

I've barely made it back to the counter when a customer comes in holding a plastic bag of papers. "I need these shredded and I need you go fast. I have an appointment at 10am." It is currently 10:01am.

I have them set the papers on the scale and I get the weight. I ring the total up. "That'll be $5.25."

They make a scandalized gasp. "So expensive! Can you give me a discount?"

"No. Have a good day."

I work at a gas station/grocery store, it is actually my first time working in this type of environment and most likely will be my last.

I have become completely mentally drained by how dumb people truly are, I mean I knew people were dumb, but I had no idea just how dumb.

It’s like there is a stupid contest, and every 30 minutes a new contestant shows up and is like… hold my beer.

Just today alone, I had 2 transactions that have blown my mind and I’m not even half way through my shift.

Contestant number 1 - the guy looked about 30 years old, looks pretty normal, has a few things to ring up and we do so as normal. When it’s time to pay he swipes his card and is just blankly staring at the pin pad. He looks at me, I look at him, there is a good bit of awkward silence. He then finally says to me with the most blank expression “it’s asking me if I want cash back but I don’t want cash back”. I tell him to push the button that says “no” there is literally only 2 button options, yes or no. He keeps staring at me in complete radio silence. I reach over the counter and push the button for him I don’t have time for this there are people waiting. Again in silence he stares before saying “now it’s asking for my PIN number” at this point I’m just in disbelief, as I tell him… so…enter your PIN number…. He does without hesitation, we finish the transaction and he leaves.

This simply can’t be your first time using a debit card or seeing a cash back prompt or entering in your PIN number.

Contestant number 2 - walks in the front doors, sees me checking someone out, and blurts out “are y’all open?” The store I work at is famously open 24 hours a day. I try as hard as I can to not say, no we are closed, and I’m just here for funsies. I reply with a simple yes because he is staring at me like he wants a genuine reply to what just feels like an extremely dumb question within the context of where he is and what he sees happening. I just know he is going to get up to the counter and be the most annoying person of all time. And yup, he starts asking me questions that I can’t answer with a simple yes or no, like forcing me to talk to him in a way. We get to the check out portion with me trying to minimize conversation as much as possibly can. And I see him pull out his drivers license and start trying to swipe it like a credit card. I let him do it a few times before I tell him that’s your drivers license, he doesn’t say a word does a full 180 turn and completely walks out out of the store, leaving everything he grabbed on the counter, and doesn’t come back.

It’s not these two interactions alone, it’s these types of interactions repeatedly and more frequently than you would believe that becomes exhausting. Like someone looking at me and blurting out “how much does this cost” from the other side of store. I don’t know, you jelly filled donut. There is probably 1,000+ different items on the shelves and each one is typically labeled, plus I can’t even see what you are referring to.

I don't know if my job counts as retail as it's main service is shipping packages for customers; but we do sell stuff as well so I think it qualifies. Please let me know if it doesn't.

I had just finished shutting down the computers and running end of day on the POS and was in the bathroom changing out of uniform when I heard someone try to open the locked door. I didn't think much of it and continued changing. The phone started ringing but since it was after hours, I ignored it. After it went to voicemail, they called again. I again ignored it.

Once I finished changing, I took my stuff up front and started to pull the gate out and sliding it into place. The customer sees this, and knocks on the window. I look at him and shake my head. He goes back to his car.

I finish locking up and leave the store, ensuring the door is locked one last time before leaving. The customer walks up to me and starts trying to tell me that "online it says you're open until [insert later time here]." I inform him that during the week we're open to that time but on Saturday close early. He tries again to argue that "it says otherwise online" thing and I tell him that whatever website he got that from is wrong.

"So you won't help me?"

"Nope." And I leave.

The lights are off, the gate is shut, the door is locked, and the sole employee is LEAVING THE BUILDING. How many more signs do you need to understand that we're closed? Also, don't come up and expect service from off shift employees.

I used to work in a service station (NZ) way back. I quite enjoyed it, most of the time. There were quite a few genuinely funny moments. Here's one. Although it did start out frustrating....

So, when the station first opened the price tags were these ridiculous little squares with the numbers on them. They slid on a bar that ran the length of the shelves. They were easily moved and often popped off altogether. Were the station was situated was across the road from the heart of our town. The pubs closed at about 2pm so from then on the shop was chocker full of drunk idiots. Those bloody price squares got moved around all the time. They thought it hilarious to make little items extremely expensive, lol. Anyway...

Sparrows fart Sunday morning I'm behind the counter. It's not my day on, somebody's sick, so I'm sleepy and a bit grumpy. In comes our delightful customer, gets a juice and a 50gr bag of chips, good healthy breakfast, I approve. I scan the juice $2.50, customer squares "it says $0.50c on the price bar" I sigh the internal sigh we all know so well and go into the whole spiel above. Nope, not having it, I need to charge the listed price, blah blah.

"OK sir, you got it" I go and check the listed prices, then manually override the till price

"That will be $2,000,000.50 please, cash or credit?"

Customers face was awesome! He checked the prices himself, came back laughing and agreed to pay the till price. Wise choice.

At work yesterday (clothes and homeware shop) I hopped on the tills and was serving customers. About three customers in a women returned an online purchase and then said to me ' I really think you just need be a bit nicer to your staff'.
Me " Im Sorry...what?" Customer " You should really be nicer to your staff" Was gobsmacked.
Literally no idea where this came from, the only interactions I had with other staff while she was there were the following : " Hi Josh can you pop that in the bin please?" - for actual customer information that could get us sued under gdpr rules And "Hey Sarah love your jumper!"

I'm not even full management and I didn't need to hop on tills I did it to help out the staff on tills. I was passing through another department and saw there was a queue. Really pissed me off as I have pushed towards a nicer work environment where I am because I have worked under proper horrible militant managers who were borderline bullies and made working life hell. Seriously why say that? And for the record they are not "my staff" they are my colleagues. Honestly, worst part about working retail is the general public

A couple of days ago, the system for paying by card failed. It failed completely. We couldn't accept any form of payment except for cash. We put signs in front and inside the store, apologising for the situation. Still, some people failed to read the posters and looked at poor me sitting at the register like a deer in headlights. I've only been at retail for little over a months, sitting at the register for even less time. It was overwhelming to say the least.

But this story isn't about people complaining about having no cash on hand. It's about the couple who paid in cash and then helped out another woman. She came next in line, didn't read the posters and was in absolute shock when I told her she couldn't pay by card. So the couple looked at her and asked: "how much is it?" It was around 25€, maybe less. So the couple paid for her. They exchanged contact details afterwards, so she can paypal them the money back.

I was surprised. I've read of similar stories like "pay for the next one in line, too" but I never thought I'd experience it myself, too. No less in a situation where everyone was already frustrated about the situation

So, several years ago I worked in a service station situated on a busy highway between two cities. For context I'm in New Zealand. It was a job I absolutely loved, most days. The locals were great, mostly. My co-workers were hilarious. I have sooo many stories, a lot of them quite funny. Here is a funny one.

In the early years we were a depot for a local courier. There was a huge shed out the back of the shop that the couriers used for storage. It had mice, we had food so very occasionally we also had mice. There were plans in place to "re-home" the mice but it hadn't happened yet.

I got to work in the morning and the boss called me out the back to look at the security tape. It was like a comedy skit. The evening shift girl was behind the counter serving a customer. She's a teeny little thing, only just 5ft and maybe 50kgs soaking wet. She takes the money, till opens and out jumps a mouse. She screams and leaps straight up onto the counter. It was a great jump, for her size that's Olympic selection right there. The customer was laughing so hard he was doubled over. She was quite famous for weeks, lol.

We looked inside the till and still can't figure out how the hell it got in there in the first place.

I have had Karen's all day long, while dealing with truck. This one takes the cake so far (I'm on lunch so hopefully it doesn't get worse from here).

I had a woman and her daughter come to check out. They separated their orders and the mom went first. She paid for her air fryer and then after paying, asked "what if it doesn't work can I return it?"

Ma'am, the appliance says flat out on it "item is sold as is, no warranty or guarantee" in HUGE letters directly under the price tag. Also note: we are a second hand store.

Me: Ma'am we do not allow returns, items are sold as is

Her: Oh

Daughter: THAT IS NOT TEXAS LAW YOU HAVE UNTIL YOU LEAVE THE STORE TO RETURN

Me: we do not allow returns

Daughter: IT IS THE LAW. I KNOW MY RIGHTS AS A CITIZEN.

1. We have outlets scattered throughout the store to use

2. We test the items before they go out out on the floor

3. Texas law does not have a policy regarding returns, other than it is at the stores discretion.

Been a while since I’ve made a post, because thankfully nothing of note has happened in a while until today.

So for reference, the gas station I work at also sells lottery tickets. We’ve got two “official” packs, the 9 pack, which is one of each ticket, no extras, and the 13 pack, one of each with all the extras, named as such because they cost 9$ and 13$ respectively. You don’t get any discount for them and it’s not some special deal. It’s just a quicker, easier way of saying what tickets you want.

But we’ve a lot of customers who come in with their own unique, unofficial packs. For example: one customer always asks for a “6pack” which is just three powerball tickets. Another has a 6 pack which is one of each of our 2-dollar tickets. Usually for regulars you know immediately what they mean when they ask for a specific pack, and for customers you’re unfamiliar with, they’re generally nice and will tell you which tickets they’re referring to.

Well this guy was neither. He came in already in a visibly foul mood, stalked up to the counter and very aggressively demanded a “10 pack”

Okay, we don’t have an official 10 pack, gonna need him to be more specific. And I say as much. “sorry, sir, we have a 9 and 13 pack but we don’t have a set in stone 10 pack. Which tickets would you like?”

He immediately was hostile, demanding to know why I can’t sell him a 10 pack and I’m trying to explain that we don’t have a ten pack, we have like half a dozen different versions of it. I can sell him his version of the pack but I need to know what his version is! and he just kept trying to argue that I shouldn’t be making this difficult while refusing to just say what tickets are in his version of the pack. Like sure, maybe the employee who is working when you usually come in knows what your pack is, but that doesn’t mean everyone in the store knows your specific ticket combo!

Eventually he just stormed out. Not another word, giving me dirty looks as he leaves like I spat on his mother’s grave or something for how much I’ve somehow offended him. I still don’t think he understood that the only one gatekeeping him from his tickets was himself.

Welcome to /r/TalesFromRetail's Express Lane - your quick stop for short tales, pithy observations and general retail chat about how things are going with your store, your customers and yourselves.

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This is a story my boyfriend told me today, and he works at a small appliance store. He was on the phone with an older male customer (sounded early to late 50s) who was trying to order a refrigerator for his new place, we'll call it Brand A. Since this was all over the phone, the quote and contract (Which are sent together) was emailed to him to review. About 45 minutes after the quote was sent, the man calls back to ask about a couple alterations he'd like to make to the fridge, specifically swapping what sides the doors open on and making sure it wasn't more than 6ft tall. Which is all fine and dandy, can do with no problem, it'll just be an extra charge, and he gives the okay for it.

Well, he calls back maybe 20 minutes later asking about his warranty. My boyfriend explains that per their contract, all appliances sold there are given a year from delivery to be fixed or replaced without extra charge. Anything after the first year isn't covered under warranty. They cover all appliance brands that they sell, except for Brands W, X, Y, and Z which they DON'T sell at all. Apparently they used to sell those brands over a decade ago, and stopped because they had continual problems with them. Its all written in the contract, which is attached to his quote for the fridge and modifications. The man asks if that covers his fridge as well. "Yes Sir," my boyfriend explains, "Because you have a Brand A fridge it is covered by our year warranty, the only brands we don't cover are W, X, Y, and Z, as the contract says." Well this apparently wasn't good enough for the man. "It mentions it vaguely, I need it in writing that you guys will fix my fridge within the first year."

So my boyfriend, again, explains that it's written clearly in the contract that ALL STORE PROVIDED BRANDS are covered, EXCEPT for W, X, Y, and Z which they DO NOT SELL. Again, the man demands, "I need you to put ON MY QUOTE that YOU will fix my fridge if it breaks within a year. I want it IN WRITING." So my boyfriend, who is now almost 2 hours past his lunch hour dealing with this roundabout conversation of Q&A demands, just sighs and tells him, "Okay Sir." And puts on the quote "Brand A will be covered by our year warranty" and sends the quote and contract to him via email, for the 3rd time. The man says a curt "Got it, thanks." And hung up.

Hope he's ready to wait the month it's gonna take to custom manufacture his fridge🤣🤣🤣

This happened 2 days ago. I was on break and after a bit 3 more coworkers joined me in the breakroom for their breaks. 2 minutes before I clocked back in one of the coworkers got a call from another who was on the floor. The working one was panicking asking where she was.

It took a moment for the on break coworker to understand what was happening. The building was filling with smoke so it was assumed something was on fire. Sidenote: I still don't know if it was a fire or a smoke bomb since I haven't had a shift again yet.

Anyway, the on break coworker started to panic and all 4 of us exited the breakroom and left the building asap. I grabbed my purse from my locker before I left.

I saw that there was smoke coming from at least 2 places. A whole lot of smoke was coming from the Men's section.

We stood outside for about 20 minutes before the managers decided that we won't reopen that day so anyone with all their stuff can leave. I was gone within 2 minutes.

I'm waiting for my next shift to find out what happened. I know the store was open yesterday since my sister went to shop and told me.

The most exciting day I have been present since the rack of clothes fell on a customer and knocked her down too.

EDIT: no fire alarms went off at all