Yesterday was an interesting day at work, to say the least. Most of my customers
are really wonderful, and although I've had a handful of rude ones, it was
nothing I couldn't ignore. Until yesterday.
A customer was purchasing
beer, and I asked to see his ID. He held out his wallet to me, so I could see
his driver's license through the little plastic window. I asked him to please
take it out of the wallet for me. It's store policy, although not everyone at
our store follows it. I do, because it's really impossible to inspect it to see
if it's valid without holding it. I'm also near-sighted and having it close to
my face helps. We're not supposed to be holding customers' billfolds either,
lest they accuse us of stealing from it.
I've had some customers be
irritated that they had to take it out, but they always comply. This man started
to, and then he said, "No! You can read it through the plastic! That's what it's
there for--no one else ever asks me to take it out!" Of course, that wasn't
quite the way he said it. He used profanity every other word. I informed him it
was store policy, and he finally took it out and practically threw it at me. He
continued to cuss me out, calling me every name under the sun. There was a small
hat behind the beer, and I wasn't sure if it was part of his order or the man's
behind him, so I asked if it was his, too. "Of course it is, you (insert bad
word here) idiot! That's why it's up there!" he replied. Then he threw it at me
and I had to pick it up off the floor.
At that point I had had enough. I
told him that he couldn't talk to me that way. He yelled at me and said that was
the way he talked and that I'd better get used to it. I told him that next time,
he needed to go through someone else's line.
After he left, I was
shaking. I turned my light off and talked to a CSM to make sure I wasn't going
to get in trouble for telling off a customer. She said no, I wasn't going to get
in trouble, that I did fine. In fact she said that customers are not allowed to
abuse the cashiers, and that if it happens again to refuse the sale and call
management and they would kick him out of the store. I wish I had know that I
could have done that, because I probably would have!
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