Be Nice to Your Retail Workers

They say you don't know a person until you've walked a mile in their shoes.

Likewise, you don't know how tough some workers have it until you've worked a job like theirs.

Granted, my experiences at work haven't been that bad; I'm sure there are loads of people in a myriad of different jobs whose lives make mine look like a fairy tale.

And I love the job I have now, by all means. At any rate, it's better than my previous jobs and my current boss is among the best I've ever had. Pay is certainly loads better, although I still can't afford to make it on my own yet.

And most of the customers are perfectly friendly...but there's always that select few that's not quite so friendly.

There's always that one person who makes your job way, way more complicated than it has to be. And today, I was unfortunate enough to run into six such people, all in the same day.

The first three came about around breakfast.

We're known for our Chunky Cinnamon French toast (I had it myself a few times and it's really good stuff, but also really rich and very filling), and you're allowed free refills up to a certain time (11:00 AM, to be exact), but you can only get a refill for yourself or for that one person who's having the French toast. For example, say you're on a breakfast date with a friend and you get the French toast while your friend gets an Italian omelette. You can get a free refill for yourself, but not for your friend; if your friend wants the French toast, too, your friend will have to pay for a separate order.

Unfortunately, people misunderstand the concept of "free stuff" and it often gets to the point where we lose more merchandise and profits that way.

So, we do have a line to draw.

This morning, three teenagers (all boys) showed up for breakfast and only ordered two plates of French toast that they divided amongst themselves. From what management told me later, these three boys come in here quite often and try to sneak free food without making a "scene" about it. Typical kids who think they're being super clever and don't realize what they're doing is actually quite serious.

Two of my workers told them they couldn't have any more free refills, but apparently they waited until those workers had walked away and then one of them came up to me and asked for two refills, and not knowing what was going on at the time, I got those refills for them.

One of my workers caught that boy joining his companions at the table with a rather smug smile on his face, and it didn't take her long to figure it out. So she took the liberty of going up to them herself and telling them off, and since she's one of the managers (which makes her one of my bosses), she could have kicked them out then and there. I wasn't there to see it but the smug boy visibly deflated, and the trio left the place rather quickly after that.

So, those boys tricked me on purpose.

They deliberately took advantage of me and my "ignorance," and luckily for me, management took my side and they were even angry on my behalf.

This isn't the first time I've seen teenagers behave like this, either. I well remember one girl asking for a water cup, but when I passed by her table a few minutes later, that clear cup was filled to the brim with a suspiciously dark, bubbly liquid. I told my boss about it later in private, and she admitted that she does see people steal soda from time to time and it rubs her the wrong way, too.

I was also told that a guy once filled a water cup with soda from McDonald's (without paying for the soda at all), and he spent the next 30 days in jail.

Some people may wonder what the big deal is, but stealing is stealing, and even a little soda can go a long way.

Even if a place allows free refills, you still have to pay for the drink to begin with, and the only reason I can drink all I want is because I'm one of the employees. We don't get lunch breaks; we don't even have a break room, so they make it up to us with free drinks all day and an employee discount whenever we shop there ourselves. Sometimes it makes a world of difference to just step into the back for a bit and have a refreshing swig of Dr. Pepper or even orange juice.

Anyway, back to my story of less-than-savory customers.

After those three little tricksters, a man who came in for lunch gave me an earful about the menu. For lunch, you can get a gourmet salad with a cup of soup, or a sandwich with a little bowl of a deli salad, and apparently he confused the "gourmet salad" with the "deli salad." When I tried to explain the difference, that a gourmet salad and a sandwich can't be sold in a "bundle," he went so far as to ask me if the menu itself was wrong. He hardly let me get a word in edgewise and spoke to me in a painfully condescending tone. By the time he finished his order (or changed it) and went on his way, I could feel my face burning and I couldn't look him in the eye anymore.

Then there was a lady who wasn't really rude, but she came in after breakfast had been over for more than three hours, and she expressed disappointment that we didn't have breakfast "all day" like some places do, like IHOP.

One of the things that always puts a sour taste in my mouth is when people are constantly comparing our store to another store; they claim this place does things this way, and it's like, "Hello, we're not them! We do things our way, not their way! They have their policies! We have our own!"

Like the time I worked at a thrift store (my first job) and people would always compare us to Wal-Mart, and I'd ask them in my mind, "If you think Wal-Mart does it better, why are you shopping here?" But, of course, they wouldn't dream of shopping anywhere else because where else will they get such fabulous deals? Where else can they find something so nice at such a cheap price?

So, yeah, haggling and unnecessary comparison to other places have never sat well with me.

If you like another store better, that's cool. If you think our business would be better if we mimicked other businesses, that's not.

And finally, we have reached that time in the year when our customers can start placing orders for Thanksgiving stuff: breads, rolls, pies, cheesecakes, cookies, the works. We have these long yellow order forms for the holiday goods, but under no circumstances are we allowed to allow customers to fill out that order form themselves. We're the ones to mark the boxes, list the quantity, and write down the general information.

We don't give these papers to the customers to even look at; we tell them what's available and they tell us what they want.

Well, one lady decided she wanted to check out the list with her own eyes, and she actually pulled my entire pad out of my hand (right there at the register) and ripped the top sheet off with a deliberate flourish, in a "there, you're too late to stop me" kind of fashion.

I just stood there in complete disbelief. Like, "Did that seriously just happen?" Once again, management was sorry for me and mad on my behalf, much to my good fortune. All they could tell me now was that if that lady came back with the paper all filled out, we wouldn't accept it.

That wasn't the end of it, either. When she did come back (I kind of ducked away so I wouldn't have to deal with her again), she hadn't filled out the paper, but she thought she wouldn't have to pay for the holiday goods that day. She thought she could make some kind of reservation and then hand over the money on the day of pickup. We had to tell her that wasn't how it worked; she would have to place an order and pay now, and then she could get the goods later, when they were good and fresh.

So she gave up and walked away. Can't say she was a happy camper, nor was I.

Did it ever occur to this lady that her actions could have gotten me in trouble, even if management did see what happened for themselves? Maybe not very big trouble; likely enough, I would have just gotten a verbal warning. All the same, this lady should have known from the start that we have certain rules for a reason, and all I'm doing is my job at enforcing them.

I've been told more than once, "Well, it's a stupid rule, or a stupid policy!"

Maybe so. All the same, people, rules are rules, and with all due respect, keeping my job sort of takes priority over making you happy.

Bottom line: be nice to your retail workers. For that matter, be nice to everybody. It shouldn't be that hard but we're the ones who complicate it so much.

At least one good thing happened today. My next-door neighbor came in for lunch (naturally, we told each other hi, and I got the honor of taking her order) and I met up with an old school chum. She recognized me first and mentioned our old elementary and junior high schools, then it all clicked. I told her, "Yeah, I was that girl who drew and wrote a lot! And I still draw and write a lot; this is just a job that keeps the bills paid!"

Always nice to see a familiar face, even if it takes you a minute or two to recognize that face!