Horrors Of Bad Customers

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Having worked in the retail business for over almost two months now, I realize how important customer service is and how hard is it to satisfy customers. Working almost thirty hours a week at a local department store, I get the chance to deal with numerous types of buyers. Thankfully, most of the customers I deal with are generally friendly and agreeable people. Sometimes, there are customers who I sincerely wish would just drop dead to make my life easier or at the very least shop at a different store.

Last week, I happened upon two of the most annoying and ignorant customers I have ever seen. Standing at y till, I cheerfully greeted a middle-aged couple as they came up to me and put four packages of socks on my counter. On the brightly coloured plastic wrapping, there was small sticker that said: 1 for $5.38 or 2 for $9.98.

The woman looked at me and told me they were on sale for 35% off the $5.38 price. She confusingly looked at me and asked me why it wasn¡¦t 35% off the $9.88. The woman looked at me and told met hey were on sale for 35% off. I smiled knowingly at her and said it would be no problem.

I scanned the socks one by one and told her came up as a promotional price of $3.49, which was 35% off the $5.38 price. She confusingly looked at me and asked me why it wasn¡¦t 35% off the $9.88 price? I explained in my friendliest voice that we don¡¦t do what is called a double sale, and the most she can get is was 35% off the $5.38. The woman angrily complained as I tried to tell her that $3.49 was already a pretty good price. Not believing me, she ordered her husband to go out on the floor and ask the manager in the socks department. Starting to feel annoyed, I smiled a fake sweet smile at her and tried not to look too irritated as I glanced at the huge line-up. We both stood there waiting for her husband to return.

When he came back, he told his wife that I was right. I smiled once again and asked her if she still wanted to the socks. She reluctantly nodded and I proceeded on with the sale. When it was rang up, she paid with a fifty-dollar gift certificate. I accepted it, then validated it on the register. Afterwards, I bagged everything up gave her her change with her receipt. She glanced at her receipt and defiantly told me there wasn¡¦t supposed to be PST on the socks. I asked her in a most forced friendly voice how old the person she was purchasing the socks for and she replied that her daughter was sixteen years old. Ready to tip her head off by then, I put a big smile on my face once more and explained that sixteen years old was considered old enough to charge PST. Then outrageously, she said since we were both Chinese, that maybe I could just take off the PT off for her. Amazed at what she just asked, I told her I was not allowed to do that and I could get fired for it. She glared at me and told me her daughter was actually 13 years old. In no mood to argue with the woman even though it was quite obvious she was lying, I agreed to it and refunded her previous purchase and rang it up again even though it was a long process.

'Feeling enraged and defeated, I handed the woman the measly 97 cents that she saved from taking off the PST with my sickly sweet smile still plastered on face and invited her to comeback and shop again like any good cashier girl would have said. After she walked away I glared at her furiously, trying very hard to keep that smile on my face as I greeted my next customer and prayed desperately that maybe she would be nice and friendly. Later on, I would berate myself for being such a idiotic little pushover, but I guess that¡¦s the way it is going to be if I ant keep my job. Good customer service is not an easy thing.