So You Wonder Why I Had a Bad Day: The Trials and Tribulations of a Retail Employee

By Christopher Tremblay

Every day, thousands of people go to work in some sort of retail establishment, from convenience stores, fast food restaurants, supermarkets, to pharmacies (just to name a few) in either a full or part-time capacity to serve and provide great service to their customers. Once the customer enters the establishment,the customer service dance begins.Dancing is a partnership,and it’s true when they say it takes two to tango. Sometimes your dancing partner (a.k.a.the customer) is not on the same wavelength and can make the dance less than pleasurable.Found on the pages within this book are numerous real-life stories of said dances with difficult customers,detailing their head-scratching moves and behaviors that have left employees with their heads spinningand asking themselves what just happened.Not every customer is a bad dancer. In fact, the majority of them are fantastic! They know when to lead and when to be led. They have great footwork. But there are some dancers who believe that they are the best dancer,and they can do no wrong. They believe that anything they say or do in a retail store or to an employee is right,and employees know this is the furthest thing from the truth. The customer is notalways right,and these stories will give you a glimpse into the other side.I hope these dances make you laugh or possibly give you insight on how to be a better dancer yourself.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Nov 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9781640966338

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So You Wonder Why I Had a Bad Day

The Trials and Tribulations of a Retail Employee

Christopher Tremblay

Copyright © 2019 Christopher Tremblay

All rights reserved

First Edition

NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING

320 Broad Street

Red Bank, NJ 07701

First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2019

ISBN 978-1-64096-632-1 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64096-633-8 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Nut Bags

Sticky Fingers

Illegal Parking

Fun with Pharmacists

Customer Privileges?

Some People Just Don’t Get It

They Don’t Know What They’re Saying or Doing

Money Order Problems

Thanks for Nothing

Order Up

Grab Bag

You Never Know What You’ll Find Out Back

It’s Not All Fun and Games

Gas Station Frenzy

Manager Abuse

District Managers are Not All that Smart Either

Acknowledgments

Thanks to all of the employees who worked for me through the years as well as all my coworkers who have all had the opportunity to see customers in rare form.

And last but not least, all the customers who helped make this book possible.

Introduction

Everyday, people have to get up and go to work for one reason or another. Unfortunately, the vast majority has no choice in the matter—they have to go to work and more times than not, they drag their bodies into a job that they really don’t enjoy.

To make matters worse, these people are forced to endure the wrath of the customers. Customers who not only think that they are the only ones who need help and you are to give them you undivided attention immediately, but are also some of the rudest people to walk the face of the earth.

Not all customers come across as rude and ignorant. In fact, there are a great deal of customers that just don’t have a clue—whether it be something they said or something they did, it just makes you wonder.

Here, within these pages lie some of the stories that people have had to endure while trying to do their job at work. After reading this, hopefully you will have a better understanding as to why people can return home after a hard day’s work and be in a bad mood. And then maybe you’ll empathize with what they are going through and comprehend And you wonder why I had a bad day.

Nut Bags

A woman walks into the store and asks the cashier for a pack of cigarettes. Upon doing so, the cashier then asks the woman for an ID. Almost immediately, the woman goes into a screaming fit that she doesn’t have it on her. The cashier politely lets her know that she must show a photo ID in order to sell her the cigarettes. The hysterical woman then starts screaming that she was just hit by a car down the street, and she doesn’t have her pocketbook, so she can’t show an ID. The cashier once again apologizes and tells the woman, without an ID, she cannot sell her the cigarettes. The woman continues her tirade by yelling at the cashier, Didn’t you hear me? I was just hit by a car, and the police took my pocketbook. My ID is in it. Just call the police station—they’ll vouch for me.

A woman walks up to an employee in a store and says she was just raped by a young black male in the store. While one store associate stays with the woman, the manager walks up the store only to find a ten-year-old black male in one of the aisles, picking out diapers for his mother. When the manager returns, he finds that the woman, who is beyond inebriation, is barely able to stand. He helps to escort her to the door. The woman then starts screaming and refuses to leave the store, all the while, drooling all over herself due to the fact that she’ll get raped again. The store then calls the local police department to help escort the drunken woman off the property. While on the phone, the woman walks out of the building and down the street about one hundred yards or so. It is here that she decides to stumble into the street without looking and almost gets hit by an oncoming car that must swerve to avoid the vodka-smelling woman. Despite the car squealing around her, the woman keeps on walking like nothing ever happened. When the police arrive, the manager gives them a description of the woman and in which way she was headed. The police than ask if she was wearing pink shorts? When the manager said yes, the local boys in blue muttered, It figures, a store across town called us about her a while ago.

People get crazy with lottery tickets, especially the not-so-privileged ones who are hoping to strike it rich with that one magical ticket. A woman walks into the store with some winning lottery tickets and wants to purchase more. For some strange reason, while she’s standing in line, she rips up the winning tickets by mistake. Upon realizing what she has done, she starts stating she’s a fuckin’ idiot. She then proceeds to turn to the woman behind her and the gentleman in front of her, asking them if they think she’s a fuckin’ idiot for ripping up the winning lottery tickets.

Another customer came into the same store to cash in a lottery ticket. Upon his handing it to the cashier, she notices the ticket is ripped in half. She then explains to the man that she needs the entire ticket to validate it. She cannot do it with only half a barcode. The man quietly takes back his half ticket and leaves the store. About ten minutes before the store is to close, he returns with a bag. He proceeds to the counter where the cashier is stationed and dumps hundreds of ripped up lottery tickets on the counter and then asks the girl to find the piece he needs so that he can cash in the other piece.

An elderly woman wants some information on Depend undergarments, so the store employee walks the woman over to the incontinence aisle. Once there, the customer says she is looking for the underwear type. The employee then shows her what she is looking for. The woman once again asks the employee if these are the type of undergarments that she can wear while out with her friends. When the employee assures her these are what she is looking for, the woman then confides in him by saying, Good, because I had a mean case of diarrhea the other day that just came shooting out while I was out and wanted to make sure these would hold it in this time.

Sticky Fingers

Theft is another big thing that store personnel have to deal with on a regular basis; and when caught, the sticky-fingered customers