Customer Service Hell

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:loopy:

Customer service in a grocery store is enough to drive anyone insane. It wasn't so bad before they redesigned our counter. We used to have a nice little protective booth around us. But then they changed everything around. Now we have only a long strip of counter to protect us, so it is not uncommon for customers to just walk back there and grab their own cigerettes from our case, which just happens to be right behind our register.

We also have a small room that we rent movies from. There is one customer who used come in about 2 or 3 times a week. She would rent a movie or two and return about 5 items to pay for the movie. The items were always expired and she never had a receipt. She also liked to watch us check her movies out to her, which involved her coming behind the counter and standing right behind whoever was unlucky enough to be there. This is very creepy and few customers do this thankfully. We ended up telling our store manager about her, so she rarely comes in anymore.

A more familiar customer is the kind who come in for lotto or powerball. Most of them take about five seconds but a lot of the time we end up with some idiot who doesn't know what they heck they are buying. They'll walk up to the counter asking for a "quick pick" and throw the money on the counter. Lotto and powerball are BOTH quick picks when you don't fill out a card, and it upsets them that I have to ask them what the heck they want. I also just love it when someone fills out a ticket wrong and are shocked when we ask them to pay for 60 dollars worth or powerball, when all they wanted was one.

Yes, even our managers can't stand handling customer service for just ten minutes.

 

[TreeHugger]

Another couple of crappy days

Yesterday wasn't too horrible. The woman who returns expired items came in. She came behind my counter and looked through my video drop box, and she also went through my cigarettes. The woman then asked if I had seen "Sum of all Fears". I said I was going to rent it, and she told me it was horrible and proceeded to tell me the ending. She also returned some ginko biloba which was expired by 3 months and commented on how she probably had some more and that she would be returning it soon. Then, about 10 minutes later she comes back it, having magically found it. What was funny, though, was that after she finally left, she came back yet again, this time her car broke down. I almost laughed in her face when she asked to use our phone.

Today was another story. They called me in two hours early, but at the prospect of going home a bit early I said yes. I ended up having to work with Brandy, a pregnant girl. She is the LAZIEST person and I literaly DREAD working with her. She stands around, while I am stocking something, and when I customer comes to the counter she screams for me. She has supposedly worked there 6 years. I have only been there 4 months, so anyone would figure she would know what she is doing, but no. She is moronic. If the spot for Camel lights is empty she'll fill it with Virginia slims. She didn't even know how to send a Money gram (wire money) untill a week ago. She is also VERY bossy, and calls me "sweetie". I think that only people who are at LEAST ten years old than you should be allowed to call you that. She is only a year older than me.

I was told to make space for an x-mas movie in a display of ours. Brandy was digging through the drawers for some bizarre reason, probably looking for her brain. Every time a customer came over, she called me. I was on the floor, probably 5 feet from customer service. So, all the movies were on the floor in a neat pile. My store manager, who is quite the ass, kept yelling for me to get them off the floor, like he was completely disgusted. I was busy helping customers, and Brandy was probably studying the ceiling. Then my manager tells Randy, a checker who was busy in a checkstand to do it. Randy, who was also getting ticked at my manager, walked up to me, and in a snotty voice says, "Kurt wants you to pick up those videos"' And at this point was ready to shove those videos up Kurts' ass, so I said in the quietest, scarest voice I have ever spoken in, with the most evil look on my face, "I was about to f*cking do it". Randy just looked at me with wide eyes and walked away. Later, when I was getting ready to leave, Randy apologized to me. I think he was a bit scared. The worst part of the day was Kurt, coming back to customer service and facing the video camera straight at our register. I think he thinks we are stealing which pisses me off the most.

THANK GOD I'M HOME!:loopy: :loopy:

 

[TreeHugger]

Ooops

Sorry, I accidently posted the above thread twice

 

[TreeHugger]

Now I'm a theif

Well, today was another fun filled day! I forgot to mention yesterday that one of the other girls back in customer service was short 300.00 dollars yesterday. We were all looking around our registers for it. There are two registers behind our counter, one behind the single cigarette case, and one at the end of the counter, next to the entrance of the movie room. I had my drawer in the register by the movie room. The register is on the counter and then there is a hole in the counter where the drawer is. There is a little space between the top of the drawer and the counter. This is where I found 100.00 dollars. I didn’t mention this, because I didn’t think of it as such a big deal until today.

Well, today I came in and one of the other girls I PREFER to work with was in. Her name is Morissa. I guess Brandy was in this morning, and she told Morissa a few nice little things about me. Brandy told her that yesterday when we were all looking for the money, she already looked all around my drawer and such, and so Morissa should be careful with that drawer, because I magically found that 100.00. (Sounds like an accusation to me.) Also, yesterday when I left, Morissa asked her why none of the videos had gotten checked back in. Brandy told her that I must have gotten lazy. Hmmm, I guess I should have told the customers they would have to wait for service until I could check all the videos in… It was pretty funny, because she screwed up Penny’s drawer today. Penny is a checker but sometimes she helps out in customer service. Apparently, Brandy activated some scratch tickets. To do this, you scan them on the lotto machine and then enter the amount into the register. She only activated 300.00, but put 600.00 into the register. Jesus, my favorite manager, fixed it though. Brandy also said that if she finds out who is opening the cartons and putting cigarettes in the wrong spots she is going to kick their ass. I don’t know how she is going to manage to kick her own ass in her state, but I think I can help her out. I even posted a lovely note for her. It reads exactly this:

PLEASE DO NOT OPEN A CARTON TO FILL CIGARETTES UNLESS THERE ARE ONLY TWO OR FEWER PACKS IN THE SPOT YOU ARE FILLING. If you do, there will not be enough space. Also, please read the label under the spot you are filling, to be sure you are putting in the correct cigarettes. This will make sure our cigarettes stay neat and fresh. Thank you.

I guess she doesn’t know how to read, because I was trying to find True kings for a customer and there were Newport 100s in that spot and 3 additional spots they didn’t belong.

I also learned that Kurt, who has only been our manager for 2 weeks, thinks that all the managers and customer service clerks are stealing. How wonderful.

I am f*cking glad that Brandy doesn't work with me all next week.

 

[TreeHugger]

Regulars

To tell the truth, I am really bad with names and such. If I have regular customers I don't usually remember them, unless they have done or said something to stand out in my mind. It's sometimes a positive thing, but VERY rarely. Mostly it is some asshole-type thing that either makes me want to A: Disappear into the wall, or say B: Jump over the counter and attack them. Attacking them probably wouldn't be the best solution, because at 5'3 I'm almost shorter than the counter. I am also very soft spoken, and it's difficult to tell people to f*ck off, which is probably why I have started writing here. Here are some of my "regulars", or rather people who come in far too much:

"Cock-Knocker"(Jay and silent bob): This man must be the center of attention the minute he walks up to the counter. It does not matter what you are doing, picking up trash, helping another customer, or recessitating a dying child. He must be helped first. For instance, my first encounter with this asshole was when I was fixing a check problem for another customer. When people bounce their checks at our store, they are entered into a data base that makes it so they can't write checks almost ANYWHERE until they give us our money. So I was explaining how it worked to this woman, and he gets impatient and starts incessently banging on the counter. And it's always the same thing. He wants his scratch ticket validated so he can go waste some more money. And when I finally acknowledge him, he tosses his ticket at me and trys to act like my buddy, making conversation with me. Let me tell all of you counter-knockers out there a little something. I am not a dog. Whistling for me is not going to make me come up running, all excited, exposing my belly to you. And knocking on the counter to get my attention is degrading. It makes me feel sub-human. Also, tossing money or objects at me just pisses me off more.

"Elastic man": Yes, this man is a superhero. I will be validating his lotto tickets, and he lwill lay on the counter, stretching himself so he can see what I'm doing. See, he seems to think that getting all up in my space will prevent me from stealing those millions he obviously deserves. Again, this is very degrading as well.

"Ehuh": This "being" likes to grunt at you. I say being because their sex is undecernable by me. I don't know if they don't know english or just don't care to speak it but every time they come this is the kind of thing I have come to expect. They will make writing motions at me while saying "Uh, ya luh." I think that means pen, but I was never formally taught gibberish. Then they point at the cigarette case and say "Uh, Mahbuho Eh" And then they shove their lotto slip at me mumbling "EHHHH EHHHH". If you say "Pardon me" Or seem to not comprehend them their grunting becomes feverish and angery. I understand some people in the US may not know english, and I sympathize, but not even learning how to say small words or politely ask for something is never going to earn you respect.

I know I write out all this stuff cynically, but these people make up the greater population of my customers. I could almost fit everyone of them into these stereotypes. It's almost sad how people can't even show common curtoesy to someone who rings up their cigarettes or makes them a money order. It makes me wonder how they get along with their families and friends.

:exp:

 

[TreeHugger]

Boring nothing

Another boring day in hell. If I had perhaps gotten a lunch or some form of break, I could have cleared my mind enough to think of something to write. But as it is, I am too stressed and wound up to focus. I'll just include today's happenings in with the crap for today. I just always give up on journals and didn't want to skip today.