I work at a popular East End liquor store. We have sales often over holiday weekends, and quite often are very very busy. One weekend this summer, I was alone at the store because the other employee had gone home sick. I normally run the register and help people with selections while the other employee does all the lifting (I am recovering from spinal fusion surgery). Our system worked great, and I had spent the better part of the day alone and fully capable of cover the store alone. At least until about 6pm.
The store was pretty crowded, I was ringing up customers. This woman, who is a regular customer, and not the nicest, was milling around. I offered to point her in whatever direction she needed, and she shook her head and walked away. I have a line about 4-5 deep, and she walks up to the counter, clears her throat until I look at her, ”Excuse me, I’ve been walking around for 15 minutes, waiting for someone to help me,” I look at her flabbergasted and ask how can I help you, she tells me she wants a case of our popular cheap rose. I finish with the customer I’m ringing up, I let her know I’m going to check the stock on the computer real fast and if we have it she will have to wait online to purchase.
She tells me not to bother she found a case of it, I ask if she is sure, that sometimes the empty boxes are used in case stacks, or that sometimes, just because one wine is displayed on top of a stack of cases, doesn’t mean all the cases are that same wine. She states she is sure and huffs to the back of the line. I continue helping customers, until its her turn. She complains how she had to wait, how shes going to be late and its all my fault. I smile apologize, and point out that there was a line, and I must help people in the order of the line. I ring up the 12 bottles she’s assured me we have, she pays with her Black Amex of course.
My line at this point is 6-7 people deep, I ask her where she saw the case of the rose, and she turns around and says there is a stack of it right by counter, mind you this rose, that she has previously bought case of comes in a blue box… the case stack is all white boxes. I know when I rang her up, stock said we had 1 case left, but with the store being rearranged a couple days before, the location wasn’t listed.
I am now trying to run around looking for the case, my line is piling up, I ask her if she can wait 5 min so I can help a couple more customers, and she says “No, you’ve waisted to much of my time already.”
Now just in case the one citidiot isn’t being bitchy enough, now all the other citidiots (probably more than half the line) are all getting snippy too.
One guys hands me a fifty, shows me 2 bottles and informs me he is taking these and that this should be enough to cover it. Others are getting nasty.
I located the case (no more then 5 minutes after starting to look) push it into the middle of the aisle with my foot, she looks at me, and says, “my car is parked next door,” I look at her, her female friend and the guy with them who looks to be in his mid-twenties, and say, “I’m sorry, I’m not supposed to be lifting anything, but I can carry this out for you in a few minutes on the dolly, but first I must check out all the people on the line.”
“We’ll I just paid for it, you have to put it in my car for me.”
I was astonished, no please, no thank you for finding it, nothing. I informed her, (my patience really starting to run thin, and the citidiots in line are all bitching and whining) I will bring it to your car as soon as I’m done ringing all these customers up, but if you cannot wait that long, perhaps you or one of the people you are with will carry it out for you.
She huffed about me being rude and having no customer service skills, how I am ripping her off on a 11 dollar bottle of rose, and yelled at the guy to carry the box out.
My line, now almost to the door, full of fidgeting and bitching people, start commenting, as I begin to help them, poor service, that the woman is probably right about the prices, they can get it cheaper in the city.
Finally when I get to the last person, its a regular YEAR ROUND customer. And all she can say is, “I’m not sure how you or any other person working in the hamptons during the summer can stand these people, they treat you like you are their personal slaves and only here to serve their needs.”
Thank god, the summer is over, and the citidiot invasion is almost over for a few months, this year seemed to be the worst out of the past 15 years I have worked in the hamptons over the summer.
- JR
