Friday, January 14, 2011

Does not play well with others

It never ceases to amaze me that adults fail to act like adults most of the time.  Simple things like waiting your turn, sharing, and manners go right out the window when it comes to their food.  It's really quite disappointing.  Here are a few examples of adults acting like pre-schoolers:
  • One sunny afternoon a woman came in with the intention of buying one of our ice cream pizzas.  She selected the one she wanted, my employee handed it to her and rang her up.  During this process, I was sweeping the dining area due to the after school rush.  My employee handed her the receipt.  Have you ever been in the grocery and gotten coupons with your receipt?  That's what we have here.  The coupon just happened to be $3 off any ice cream pizza or ice cream cake.  The woman looked at my employee and said she wanted to get her $3 off.  Kinda hard to do since you didn't get the receipt/coupon until you purchased the item.  It's called a "bounce back coupon;"  it's intended to bring you back.  She started getting fussy with the employee, so I explained the coupon was for a future purchase to which she turned around and said, "WHAT?!"  Let's not fail to mention that she was picking her nose as she was talking to me.  Not just wiping her nose, or brushing it with her finger; we're talking finger inserted into nostril and digging around.  I was appalled.  I couldn't believe this woman had her finger up to her knuckle in her nose as she tried to argue that she deserved the discount that she received after her purchase.
  • Another ice cream pizza story, involved a very rushed little woman.  She had called that morning as we opened and order 2-3 ice cream pizzas.  Then during the after school rush, she pulled her car up to the door (didn't park it in the lot) and bolted inside.  My employee and I were serving 3 customers at the time.  She looked at me as I was mixing someone's ice cream and informed me that she had called ahead for pizzas.  She also said I could get them whenever I got a second.   Oh, thanks for letting me know that.  I politely said, "When we're done serving these customers in line, we'll grab your pizzas."  There were only 3 people, and 2 of us, so it wasn't going to take long.  The woman waited ten seconds, and repeated her story to other employee, as if she were in charge, or as if she was going to stop serving the customer who was there before this pizza lady to meet her schedule.  After my employee finished serving customer #2 and I was on #3, she went to get the imperative pizzas.  We were ringing up the customers who were there before this pizza fiend, and as we were trying to ring them up, she was shoving money in our faces.  I'm sorry, but it's called waiting your turn.
  • This story is fresh from yesterday:  A woman and her 3 kids came in and one child wanted strawberry ice cream with gummy bears mixed in it.  I put the appropriate amount of gummy bears in the ice cream, to which she responded, "You must be the owner's kid.  You're awfully stingy with those bears."  And then burst out laughing at her idiotic comment.  I didn't respond at that moment, but before she left I made sure to give her my business card, which says "Manager" on it.
  • My first customers of the day were divas, and one of them was a man!  I over heard the man say to the woman, "Is this even frozen?"  as he looked at the ice cream.  The woman demanded that I give him a sample of a certain flavor (instead of asking) and when I handed it over the counter, she took it and put it in his mouth for him and got it all over him.  He didn't like it and asked me where our cookies and cream ice cream was.  I explained that we didn't have cookies and cream, but I could mix cookies into any ice cream he wanted (what an option!).  To which he responded with a pouty lip and said, "Well then I don't want any!"  Um, ok!
  • And last but not least is the woman who was determined to be insulted and have a bad experience.  She came up to our ice cream and said, "It look melted."  I said with a smile, "Well, it's at 2 degrees in there right now, so it's not melted."  "Well I said it look melted!"  "It's not, would you like a sample of anything?"  (to prove that it's not melted). "It look melted" she muttered.  Yeah, I got that.  But since it's not,  let's get over it and decide what we want!  She was rude during the ordering process and her little boy was rude as well (surprise, surprise).  They sat down, and I went back to the line to serve the next customers, who had a complicated order (who knew ice cream could be complicated!).  When I had finished serving them, I went to the register and the customer and I began reviewing their order (so I could enter it correctly).  Enter the little boy.  He stands at the register and says, "I need a spoon!"  Not "Could I please have a spoon?"  Let me say that I had given him a spoon in the first place, but he dropped it.  And instead of picking it up and taking it to the trash, he left it on the floor and came to demand another.  I put my hand up for a second, because he was interrupting the conversation I was having with another customer and needs to wait his turn.  I said, "I'll get it in just a second."  To which his mother responds with a smouldering look in my direction.  Really?  Your kid can't wait his turn?  I wonder where he learned that...
So I feel like I work at a pre-school most of the time.  I think my job description should include "baby-sitting."

1 comment:

  1. Unfortunately, I have a plethora of these same stories under my own belt. I don't think I got the memo that approves treating people in the service industry rudely.

    I am smoldering for you--especially because you're a courteous, efficient, on-top-of-it manager.

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