Awkward Customer Situation

This may be relatively normal to people in other occupations,
but I find it strange that I have an admiirer where I work.
I expect bartenders (and maybe even waitresses) to get hit on,
but I cannot picture asking a cashier to go out for drinks
while the person has a long line of customers.

That is exactly what happened to me tonight before my shift
ended. The guy had gone through my line many times before,
but I have a lot of different customers that I consider to
be regulars.

I know I must get to the point and be evident that I'm not
interested, but I don't want him to stop shopping where I
work either.

Who knows, we'll see if I end up having a work stalker on
my hands...
TO BE CONTINUED.

Fun Times at Customer Service

Yesterday was not just a typical busy Saturday,
because for some reason I was scheduled to work my
whole shift at the customer service desk. I don't
particularly enjoy being scheduled over there because
of the additional job responsibilities (doing money
orders, cashing payroll checks, etc.) and it's also
a slightly higher pay rate than the one I am currently
receiving.

More work for less money...joy.

Anyway, on the plus side...I do get to witness even
more crazy customer situations over there than when
I am ringing register.

For instance, my most interesting customer yesterday
was a little boy who must have been under the age of
10. He came up to customer service by himself with a
container of live fish bait! He proceeded to tell me
that he went fishing with his friend, who provided them
bait, and therefore he did not need the fish bait that
he purchased.

The only thing that made this believable enough for
me was he brought in a receipt that was dated for
yesterday.

I don't know whether or not the bait was still
alive when he returned it, but I was not interested
enough to find out. I just did what I always do when
I have a questionable scenario, go to my supervisors
that approve almost ANY return.

It seems as though I am scheduled at customer service
most of next week, so maybe there will be more amusing
(and strange) tales to come...

Easter: A Day for Retail?

My initial response to this question is an
enthusiastic "NOOO!" But this Easter, I guess
I'm a bit of a hypocrite...

After ringing up endless amounts of Easter
baskets and candy, I was thrilled to have
Easter Sunday off to relax. And it was a relaxing
day...my boyfriend and I went to the small church
he attends, then we had to drive to his parents'
house to feed their cats (since they were away).

Before we got to West Newton, we ate at a quaint
little Chinese restaurant that provided us with
leftovers for Easter dinner. That was fine by me,
since I do not eat the traditional ham dinner anyway.

What did surprise me though, was when my boyfriend
informed me on the way home that we needed to stop
at the store briefly. It is not exactly the place
where I work, but similar. We did not need to go
to the store as an EMERGENCY, just to get band-aids,
but it makes me wonder what types of places SHOULD
be open on holidays such as Easter...

"I'm a DIVA...."

With how beautiful the weather was yesterday,
going to work in the afternoon was the last thing
I wanted to do. Money is always a good motivating
factor though...

I'm always glad when I have a chatty customer that
makes my day interesting (as long as the person appears
to be normal!)
Yesterday, shortly after I started my shift,
I waited on an older woman. We were talking about the
clothes she was buying, which were similar to her youthful-
looking outfit (a dress with leggings, something a college
student may wear).
Well, she said to me, "I'm a diva! I'm
pushing 70 years old! I'm like Samantha from Sex in the City.
Never get old!"

She didn't look her age, but one thing I'm sure of is that
her positive attitude definitely helps her stay youthful as
much as her appearance.
When I told her that she had a good attitude, she told me
to always keep the "stay young" attitude.

One thing's for sure...I hope I can look and think like
that woman when I am her age!

Another Lunatic Saturday

Fun, Fun, it's always a blast at my job on Saturdays!
I think I mention this in every Saturday post....but
each Saturday tends to be strange in one way or another.
I think the "Strange Customer of the Day Award" goes to the
man that started loudly yelling: "There she is again! I must
have E.S.P.! I knew it!"..etc...etc...

I was ringing up the customer ahead of him, and so I occasionally
looked back at him and smiled and laughed lightly. When I began
ringing up his items,I realized that he was the type of customer
that feels like he or she knows the cashier personally after seeing
them once or twice before.

I said "What's new?" and we proceeded some small talk.
He told me that he used to drink, but he did not eat
when he did so. "Don't do that," he said. He then told
me "what pretty green eyes" I have (although my eyes are
clearly not green).

After the awkward small talk after he was gone from my
line, the woman behind him said "Yeah, he seems like he drinks
a little too often! He must be drunk now!"

My job can be an interesting place to observe all the
colorful customers, for sure!

A Pleasant Change of Scenery...

Friday was a fun-filled day for me...I enjoy the
occasional change of scenery when me and my
boyfriend go to his parents' house in West Newton.

After we were done visiting, we decided to visit
the same thrift shop that we went to the last time
(the Salvation Army near Irwin). This time we went
early in the afternoon, the last time that we went
there the store was about to close.

Of course, I had the experience from the last time
fresh in my mind (witnessing the crazy lady rambling
on loudly and swearing). I jokingly said to my boyfriend,
"Maybe we'll see the interesting lady again!"

While I was browsing the racks of clothes, I heard
a loud, distinctive woman's voice..."It couldn't be
her," I thought to myself.

Sure enough, the same woman that I saw the last time
was only a few feet away from me, talking to herself!

Needless to say, I had to hurry away from her in order
to restrain my laughter. I know that I get plenty of
amusement from the customers where I work, and I'm
probably not the only one!

Buyer Beware: Please Know How to Read Before Buying!

Yesterday was yet another typical Saturday in retail heaven!
I would like to say that I do have a word of advice for
shoppers, advice that I learned from a not-so-fun
experience with customers at the registers where you
ring up your own purchases:

PLEASE BE AWARE OF THE PRODUCTS YOU ARE BUYING AND BE
SURE THAT THEY MATCH YOUR COUPONS!

A relatively simple concept, yes, but it can cause a
lot of wasted time, effort and irritation when not
followed!

Case in point: The customers I were "helping" had
a coupon from another store that did not scan when
they tried it. I came over to them and said that the
reason it doesn't scan is because our store does not
accept coupons that are evidently from other stores.

The 2 customers then proceeded to have me void the
item that was not honored by the coupon, in addition
to 2 other items that they thought they had valid
coupons for.

Another piece of advice for when you decide to
ring your own items out: Please have an idea of
how to use the machine that you are about to use!

This also saves unnecessary irritation that
sometimes results in customers yelling at machines!
(Believe me, I've seen that happen multiple times.
At least it provides me with slight amusement.)