CUSTOMERS! (rant)

Harmony · Nov 21, 2008

As a part time job after school, I work at McDonalds.

So this person comes in, and he buys food, and he wants it "for here". So I get his food, stick it on a tray. there's nothing to prop his fries up, so they half fall out of the box.
He pays.
He picks up the tray, and looks at it. My first thought is "oh, maybe he wanted it to go". He slams the tray back down onto the counter SO hard that his drink falls over and I have to catch it from hitting the floor and he starts yelling at me about how I presented the fries. He wants to know why the fries are like that.
I am not pleased. And I will NOT be walked all over just because he is the customer.
Our dialogue proceeds as follows:
"Because they're lying FLAT, sir."
"I don't like them like this! This isn't how they should be like!"
"Sir, would you like them in a BAG?"
Now he looks be right in the face, and sounds for all the world as if he's my dad, and he's reprimanding me.
"You don't SPEAK to me in that way!" (he's yelling) "You treat me with respect!"
Now up until now, I have been very very angry, but I've been talking with a relatively normal voice. Now it's all I can do to contain myself - like heck I'm gonna let him get away with this!
I'm shaking now, and I said with a (against my better judgement) respectful voice, but he could TELL that I was PISSED: "Sir, if you respect me, I will respect you. This is a tradeoff, but I will not let you treat me as if I'm not a human BEING! just because I am serving you, you are the customer, and I am young does NOT mean that you can walk all over me!"
"I'm NOT!"
"Yes you ARE, sir. Now do you want them in a BAG or on a TRAY?"
"Put them in a bag! I don't care."
"FINE, sir. Please wait a moment."
(Now I should mention that every customer in the store is watching, and all the crew are watching too, and I can tell they're enjoying it. My manager didn't even step in, (which I appreciate. I would have gotten no satisfaction if he had said sorry (for what?!) and given him new fries).
So I got him new fries and stuck them in a bag. At this point I am still VERY VERY angry.
I put them on the counter and said, "SIR! if you want to report me to the head manager, please be advised that my real name is Megan, and not what it says on my name tag. Have a good day."
He stormed out.
I went to the back, sat on a garbage can, and slowly settled down.
But I was royally pissed.

/rant

Sigh.

Big Mike · Nov 21, 2008

You can take solace by realizing that he probably has a rather unfulfilled life because he probably find fault with everything around him.

K_Pugh · Nov 21, 2008

Good for you for standing up for yourself... He'll be away hopefully reflecting on what an ass he's been, he could have asked nicely for his fries to be put in a bag in the first place rather than going off on one.

Over here in the UK the fries are always over the tray or spilling out of the container into the bottom of the bag.. I don't see what the big deal is. I guess you just get people like that.

Seems like you handled it well! chin up, people suck :lol:

but karma will get them, eventually.

epp_b · Nov 21, 2008

Sounds like you handled it well.

I know the feeling. The customer is always right, except that they're not.

Andrea K · Nov 21, 2008

Unfortunately that happens a lot. Being young and working a service job, I've come to expect that and learn to get excited/appreciate when people treat me with respect. I've also learned to be more patient myself with food service workers and other folks working low paying low skill jobs. Take it for what it is and move on, no use letting it get the best of you. Chances are it will happen again, sooner than you might think. At my job at a theme park, I've had to walk through lines of people (40 or more customers) waiting at the customer service window. As a supervisor, I get stopped and yelled at by one person (or 5) about every 5-10 people I walk by, and I don't even work customer service. You try to help the best you can and move on, I think most times people just want to be listened to when they're complaining. Most people are respectful and courteous.

Harmony · Nov 21, 2008

Yeah.

I can't help but wonder if something happened to make him that way. Like, what if his wife just announced that she was divorcing him? What if his daughter had just miscarriage-ed? What if?

Curse me and my philosophical thinking! :lmao:

But thanks everyone! I told my mom, and said that she was proud of me for standing up for myself. Said I'm just like her :er:.

Chiller · Nov 21, 2008

There is a saying we use down here in the darkside. Something like...they will get what is coming to them. :lol:

I would love to put this arse behind the counter for one day....see how he deals with all the peckerheads that come in.
My daughter used to work at the automotive department at Wal Mart...yep...you heard that right. She fixes cars. There were many times she would come home with stories that made me want to just come up there and tear a head off a customer or two. She had one guy said..."get that broad off my car, I dont want a woman changing my tires" She politely responded..."it will be an hours wait till another technician can look at your car" He waited.
Just remember, you are the better person in this situation. This guy will have his day, when things will turn.

I would have personally grabbed the box of fries and tossed it directly at his face. There is nothing like he sound of something like that bouncing off a human head. :lol:

MikeBcos · Nov 21, 2008

You have my sympathy, my daughter just left McDonalds after two years of after school and weekend work, she used to come home with similar stories regularly.

Synnove · Nov 21, 2008

People can be awful but they're few and far between. I always feel these people have something else going on in their lives to make them lash out at the smallest things. Instead of being angry, I end up feeling sorry for them.

Synnove · Nov 21, 2008

Chiller said:
She had one guy said..."get that broad off my car, I dont want a woman changing my tires" She politely responded..."it will be an hours wait till another technician can look at your car" He waited.

HE WAITED?!? I can't believe that! What a jerk!

I'm glad your daughter's strong enough to deal with people like that.

K_Pugh · Nov 21, 2008

I don't feel sorry for these folk, they shouldn't lash out at folk no matter what they're going through really.. IF they did lash out at someone because of what they were going through they should have the decency to even just say "sorry, i've got a lot on my mind at the moment, I didn't mean to lash out".. no need for it imo.

Chiller · Nov 21, 2008

Synnove said:
HE WAITED?!? I can't believe that! What a jerk!

I'm glad your daughter's strong enough to deal with people like that.

I could tell you a ton of stories about a young female working in an automotive department. Rude comments,and things. Im sure your imagination can figure them out, without me having to post them. My daughter told me some doozies.
Our planet has change, some for the good, and some for the bad. On the good side, she is now an operations manager at a company, probably making more then the guy who was being a dork, and ....is definatly making more then me. :lmao::lmao:

clarinetJWD · Nov 21, 2008

http://notalwaysright.com

You are not alone.

Synnove · Nov 21, 2008

K_Pugh said:
I don't feel sorry for these folk, they shouldn't lash out at folk no matter what they're going through really.. IF they did lash out at someone because of what they were going through they should have the decency to even just say "sorry, i've got a lot on my mind at the moment, I didn't mean to lash out".. no need for it imo.

It is absolutely no excuse for lashing out at people by any means. I guess I was just saying that because it's my way of coping with mean people. If I let them make me angry, they win. If I pity them, they don't.

K_Pugh · Nov 21, 2008

Ah I see! Yeah you do what you can to not let them make you angry.

I was just saying that I wouldn't feel sorry for anyone that was shouting in my face. :lol: