Excuse me?

Work has been, well, work. It seems as though every customer watched Andy Rooney on 60 minutes and decided to come in and act like the crotchity ass that he is!

I remember a few years back, Andy was taking on insurance and extended warranties in the consumer electronics industry. He said they were a bad idea, and how could you accept a company will give you a 'refurbished' or 'reconditioned' phone or ipod as a replacement to the device you paid your hard earned money for? Is this acceptable? No. Read the fine print before you buy.

I am not here to debate this topic. What I am here to talk about is the person who listens to Andy Rooney on 60 minutes, and takes his word as, 'The word of the Lord'

*congregation says in unison* "Lord, hear our prayer"

If you are this person, you need to stop, and think about how you talk to people. Obviously when you listen to Andy Rooney, his segment is meant to get you to act, get pissed off, or see the other side of an issue. His segment is not a license to walk into your local retailer to be an asshole.

A customer walked into my store and before you could say hello they were in your face telling you how this transaction was going to go down. They said that they wanted a new phone, even before you had a chance to look at anything. They said that they wanted a brand new device and refurbished phone is just unacceptable. They said that they would not leave until this happened.

What the hell am I supposed to do? Since when is it ok to walk into a store and talk to me like I'm a little child? Since when is it ok for YOU to tell ME what to do? Since when is it ok to be a douche bag?

So I look at the phone. I don't see what her problem is. Her phone works great. It works like it should. But why is this woman acting like this? Why on Earth is her husband cowering like the cowardly lion in her shadow, and her daughter taking notes on why it is acceptable to talk to people this way.

I have watched the television show Snapped on Lifetime. This woman is going to get killed by her husband one day.

I grab a manager, and he explains what we can and cannot do. My patience for this sort of thing is nil, and he is paid to deal with customers like this. Plus I am just skipping a step in the process for the sake of efficiency, because this woman will not listen to a single word I say anyway.

My manger explains that we can replace the phone with a warranty replacement. He is doing this woman a favor, as we have both determined that this phone she is presenting is working exactly as it should.

I can't remember exactly what she said, but it was like, "..blah blah blah, you WILL do this because I have already talked to your customer service department, and boy is your store under scrutiny..."

Why do customers feel the need to call our customer service department and bitch about us here in the store? At least in a court of law, the accused has the right to cross examine their accuser. In the retail world, customers think that they are getting the stores in trouble when they call and gripe about us. That is exactly NOT the case. So if you are one of those people, stop. Either deal exclusively with the customer care department, or deal exclusively with the stores if there is a problem.

My manager explained what he CAN do for her, and she shoots back with, "...didn't you hear me, your store in under scrutiny from your customer service department.."

No, he heard you, and so did I, but apparently YOU did not notice that we don't care about our customer service department.

The customer draws that line in the sand. "You will do this or I will file a complaint with the attorney general."

Stop. We just hit the emergency button on the subway to stop the train on the tracks. We are done talking now.

The fastest way to get exactly what you DON'T want is to tell me you are calling the attorney general. At this point to you're turning this stupid little transaction into a legal case, and everything we said BEFORE this point cannot be used, but everything we say AFTER can and more than likely will be used against us. So we are done now, continue on your way. I can no longer help you. We can talk with a mediator called the attorney general.

Why do people feel the need to be complete assholes? I can understand the economy being bad, but again, it doesn't give you the green light to be an asshole. Think before you act.

Don't be a dick to someone who is in a position to help you. This is a motto to live by.