Holiday Customer Service Hell.

[Argent Silvermage]

I'm beginning to think we Customer Service People need an official outlet away from EN World and Eric's Grandma.

The tales I could tell about the 2 years I worked as a clerk at an Adult Bookstore... OY!

 

[Warrior Poet]

Had a woman physically threaten me because we rented "R" rated movies to her kid. When I showed her the signature on the ticket was hers, she got even madder and told me I was not doing my job to police what children watch, because she was too busy to keep up with their viewing habits.

My mind, my mind is . . . staggered by this.

 

[Warrior Poet]

Of course, had he called at 2:30, he'd indeed have caught all eight of the night duty officers in the area, coming in for their nightly break...

That guy gets points for ingenuity and adaptive thinking at least.

Warrior Poet

 

[Warrior Poet]

I caught my boss and his wife in the meat locker in the Wendys I used to night manage. They even used the frosty machhine greese for lube. UGH!

The hygiene and health safety issues on this one -- for all parties concerned (including and perhaps especially potential customers!!) -- are, well, not pretty to think about.

Whew. That's the last time I stumble into a thread drunk.

Warrior Poet

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

LOL! Florian that was great. I caught my boss and his wife in the meat locker in the Wendys I used to night manage. They even used the frosty machhine greese for lube. UGH!

I seriously just threw up a little in my mouth. That is HYPER-DISGUSTING.

 

[Umbra]

Working in a general bookstore seems to mean that you are the font of all knowledge. The number of people who used to come in saying "Do you know Joe Blog? He lives around here somewhere." or an equivalent was staggering.

My favorite was the young woman who came in...

Her: I saw a book in (far away suburb) about Egypt and I was wondering if you have it.
Me: Do you know the title?
Her: No.
Me: How about the author?
Her: No.
Me: Do you know what it was about in particular?
Her: No.
Me: Have you looked through the books on Egypt we have?
Her: Yes but I couldn't see it.
Me: Do you remember what it looks like? Was it text or photos? Novel or Coffee table? What was on the cover? etc etc.
Her: No, I don't remember.

Me: I suggest you go back to the store you saw it.

The tales I could tell about the 2 years I worked as a clerk at an Adult Bookstore... OY!

Ditto.

 

[Alzrius]

I'm currently working at Customer Service for Nextel, so when people call in to either complain about their cell phone, troubleshoot it, or pay a bill, they talk to my department. I haven't been working there very long, so the stories I have aren't quite as amusing as other people's:

On November 3rd of this year, I got a call, but no customer was on the other end of the line. Instead, to my surprise, I heard the concession speech of John Kerry. Needless to say, I was quite surprised, as was my supervisor who I waved over.

I had one customer whom I had to explain her bill to while she was sobbing her heart out. As it turned out, it was because the last representative she spoke to about it made her feel stupid...when she called in the previous day.

I've also had my share of angry customers threatening to sue, change carriers, etc. But none stick out enough to warrant mention here.

 

[Ao the Overkitty]

I caught my boss and his wife in the meat locker in the Wendys I used to night manage.

I am very glad I don't eat fast food. Especially after hearing some of my current manager's special sauce stories about when he used to manage a local Taco Bell. He speculated that such activities were common at the Taco Bells. After Argent's story, it seems they're common at other restaurants as well.

My 'good' stories from tech support days are too numerous to mention.

 

[Nellisir]

It may be done, but I don't believe they may not have the right to do so. I beleive different states have differing laws on the rights of store employees to detain, and especially to search a suspected shoplifter. Detaining them might be OK, but you should wait for the police before searching, unless you are willing to risk a lawsuit, which is sometimes exactly what they are looking for.

I don't know the legality, but companies have to be pretty strict-- I worked retail in a department store and had gotten acquainted with the regular security job. He had witnessed a customer pocketing a pair of sunglasses and walking out, and stopped the customer. The customer claimed to have left the sunglasses on a different shelf. They checked the store, found the sunglasses, and the security guard was fired. They weren't allowed to make mistakes.

Unless you have overwhelming proof that a crime was committed, it's better to not do anything. Detaining someone against their will is a crime.

Cheers
Nell.

 

[Ice man]

i live in a small town, only 1 wal mart and few convenience stores. one of the convenience stores is called Wally's and is listed right before Wal mart in the phone directory. Of course they get about 3 calls a day for Wal mart. As I was talking with a friend who works there the other night he got a call asking for the hardware department. Without missing a beat he hands me the phone and says tell them we've got AA batteries and light bulbs.