Work - The pros and the cons... - The Bear and Badger

Diluted Dante

If you're going to moan about not having the right glass when all the glasses are on your table, you're a cunt.

cockbeard

That isn't what I said

Wookienopants

Tempy is perfectly valid in his feelings here, I think we can all agree that when you spend ages doing a particular job, especially a customer facing/public serving role in which you are routinely criticised and have to tolerate shitty attitudes and abuse, being criticised or questioned about your frustrations is incredibly frustrating.

Hands up if you’ve done a shitty customer service job?
I bet most of us.

I spent years working in an off licence serving the Public and it was awful but taught me so much about dealing with difficult people that I’m now thankful for it.

regmcfly

I wish I could get my last day rant from the Edge forum about the 5 years I spent in a bar in a hotel in Glasgow, because aside from gin in goblets, fuck all has changed. Particularly when it's that "entitled" atmosphere.

Never forget the man who said the champagne bubbles burned his tongue because it was served too war.

Never forget.

Kazuo

War is hell.

regmcfly

War never changes.

Wookienopants

Besides, if we’re gonna tell stories about dealing with absolute cunts I bet I can offer a few (I won’t because, ya know, nobody needs details).

What’s your worst chaps?

afgavinstan

Guy that came in the day after hmv announcing their first brush with admin and asking me, all confused and annoyed look on his face, "here mate wheres aw the reduced stuff?"
"I'm sorry?"
"aye, a thought you'd have everything pure cheap since yer shutting down*"

* we weren't, and didn't. But at that time I don't think I've ever been as angry at a random member of the public.

Kazuo

My brother got a lot of that while working for Oddbins when they went into admin. All of a sudden the kind of customers who could have been keeping the branch afloat crawl out of the woodwork. He was raging.

tigersgogrrr

Is it just me that thinks that seems fairly reasonable?

You hear someone is shutting down, so you go in looking for a bargain. Hardly monstrous.

The Daddy

Insensitive though.

Wookienopants

When working behind the counter at the offy I had a guy come in with a girl who looked 12 or 13. She walked round pointing to things she wanted (mostly Lambrini) and then left. He picked it up and put it on the counter.

I refused to serve him as I told him I just saw a young girl who’s obviously very underage select them and I believed he was buying for her.
He yelled at me “FUCK YOU, MY GIRLFRIEND WANTS IT SO IM BUYING IT FOR HER!! “
I replied (to this known druggy in his 30’s) “well your girlfriend is obviously underage so I’m not serving you”

He screamed at me, called me a cunt, told me he was gonna wait for me to step outside and then threw a bottle of Lambrini at my head (which missed).

My manager had to hold me by the collar as I dove over the counter to break his face with my my fists

Wookienopants

The Daddy wrote:

Insensitive though.

Just a bit yea

cockbeard

tigersgogrrr wrote:

Is it just me that thinks that seems fairly reasonable? You hear someone is shutting down, so you go in looking for a bargain. Hardly monstrous.

Could easily be heard as "hahaha, unlucky you unemployed twat, but before you actually hit the dole queue, can you help my dole go a bit further"

Wookienopants

cockbeard wrote:

tigersgogrrr wrote:

Is it just me that thinks that seems fairly reasonable? You hear someone is shutting down, so you go in looking for a bargain. Hardly monstrous.

Could easily be heard as "hahaha, unlucky you unemployed twat, but before you actually hit the dole queue, can you help my dole go a bit further"

Yes I agree

tigersgogrrr

I guess it is a bit insensitive. Far worse if you have a family to support too.

But if someone being insensitive is anything close to your worst retail experience, then you've lived a fairly charmed life in retail land, surely? I had people literally throw things at me.

tigersgogrrr

Not saying it was a pleasant experience, obviously. And sympathies to those who went through it.

tigersgogrrr

Maybe I'm a monster.

afgavinstan

The next day, Tigro. Less than 12hrs after my phone blew up and didn't sleep a wink due to worry.

tigersgogrrr

Well you wouldn't want to go once the stock was all gone!

afgavinstan

Oh and I've had many acts of aggression too. That particular story always sticks out due to the timing, though.

Wookienopants

It is insensitive to those working there, but then nobody ever gives a thought to the employees do they

cosmicjellybean

Telling any customer they can’t return x without a receipt always ended up in rage I remember. I believe that in a service-based job, everyone is in fact, a complete cunt. If I’m unhappy or anything in a shop/bar/restaurant, I smile politely and leave. I’ve definitely run into issues and a polite word to whoever else works there or CS usually solves an issue, no use screaming about it.

At Apple I was in a slightly better position, I had one older guy screaming at staff about this laptop he got 4 months before, being shit and not doing all these things he wanted (which we told him wouldn’t work, and in fact said a PC would be better but he wanted the bloody logo). Third time he came in screaming at someone I went over and said simply ‘ok I found your receipt in our records, give it back and here’s your money, we don’t want your business’. I had the money in my hand, and asked him to just give us the laptop back, job done. He wasn't pleased, but it did throw him enough to make him speak more rationally and actually tell us what he wanted. It took some 22 year old in a shop to tell him to get lost before he realised though.

...Think he did actually come in again screaming about something else and security marched him out with his money back. That happened more than once, especially with iPhones. But a simple ‘cool take your money and piss off somewhere else then’ was becoming the natural response to unreasonable people.

cockbeard

But once again that no receipt no return thing is realistically bollocks, especially when implemented as a "policy", it says that it's your "policy" to assume all customers are liars

afgavinstan

Like clockwork, this!

Wookienopants

Yes but if that's the companies policy then yelling at or being abusive towards individual staff members isn't going to help. Its just gonna make the customer look like a cockbag. The staff can't change it, they have to go with the policy set by those in charge.

LivDiv

There are actually money laundering laws around it.
Things must be returned to the account they were bought on, or cash if paid by cash. If they dont have a receipt the staff member cant know for certain that is being returned to the correct account

I was always fine with a bank statement but if the customer had neither the most I would offer was store credit.

HawBawJaws

Tempy, I feel your pain. Macsoreleys on Jamaica Street was an absolute cunt of a place, especially Saturday nights when it was 5 deep all around the bar, because apparently that's when all the tone deaf people came in to listen to Jamie Barnes and cochise, the regular Saturday night band. I used to fuck with people, I'd finish serving, and instead of saying 'who's next?' I'd say 'who's last?'. Then serve whoever wasn't still trying to figure that one out.

And regarding shitty customers - hands up anyone who's worked anywhere in the gambling trade? Bingo biddies are the absolute worstcunts, fight me.

Oh, or in cinema, when you ask a kid that's clearly 12 for id to see a 15 rated film, they don't have any, so then they call their mum to come down to the cinema to 'vouch for them'. Conversation usually went like this:

Why you no letting my wean in?

Because it's a 15 rated film, and the staff member asked your child to verify their age.

Aye, but, I'm his maw, I'm vouching for him!

Sorry madam, for all I know you're just someone off the street he asked to vouch for him.

But I'm his maw and I'm telling you he's 15!

Ok, so if you told me he was18, should I serve him alcohol?

Naw, but.... That's different!

How is it different? Tell you what, go to that pub across the road and tell the bouncer you're vouching for your son. Let me know what they say.

Aye, but...... This is ridiculous!! We won't be back!!

No worries.

Another thing: ridiculous is the most over used word when people are complaining. Me and a cashier at the bingo used to bet with each other over when we'd hear the first ridiculous of the night.

HawBawJaws

And don't get me started on returns, carecos returns policy is entirely designed to piss off customers and give me grief.

cosmicjellybean

cockbeard wrote:

But once again that no receipt no return thing is realistically bollocks, especially when implemented as a "policy", it says that it's your "policy" to assume all customers are liars

‘How much did they pay for it, and was it from this business?’ Are two very fucking valid reasons!

If you bought from amazon, and refused to show them your order number, would you expect them to give you your money back as well?

Edit: and to make more of a point, I would regularly ignore most other store policies, like I will gladly return this thing which I shouldn’t do, along with proof you bought it here at said price and not from Tesco across the road for half the price trying to scam. Or better yet, something you took off the shelf just now and never bought in the first place. yes that happened a lot.

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