Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Oh...retail, yeah. Yuck. I thought I'd take an easy summer job last year and worked at a gallery. It was in a rather touristy little part of the state. What bothered me the most was the constant intrusive questioning on the part of the...clientele. One of them started demanding to know if I grew my own food and made clothing from Polar bear hides. I said no.
There was also a good deal of them who wanted a "bargain" and would try to negotiate prices, even though we had prominent signs that stated that it was not our policy to do so. We were dealing in fine art and not in trinkets made in China.
I became the hard and cold person I am now as a result of exposure to that "mindset", and I am quite sure that should I ever happen to see another cruise ship, I will need Xanax and a visit from Captain Morgan.
In the mall I worked in we had a Taco Bell that had free re-fills on soda. I used to drink my weight in Dr. Pepper when I got stressed. I know caffeine is a stimulant but when I got really stressed, I would chug some Dr. Pepper. Some days it was the only way I got through it.
I hated christmas when working retail. One year I quit in october before christmas. Just could not face another one. Love it when these people abuse and scream at the cashiers, then they go home and get into the loving holiday spirit with their family members... hellooo - is that was the Lord meant for this season to be about? What hypocrites. At least it motivated me to finish college, I vowed I would NEVER work retail big box ever again.
Oh yeah, when i worked in the lingerie dept at a store, there was the transvestite that wanted us to do a Bra fitting on him - I was only 16 at the time, made my manager do it.
I hated christmas when working retail. One year I quit in october before christmas. Just could not face another one. Love it when these people abuse and scream at the cashiers, then they go home and get into the loving holiday spirit with their family members... hellooo - is that was the Lord meant for this season to be about? What hypocrites. At least it motivated me to finish college, I vowed I would NEVER work retail big box ever again.
Oh yeah, when i worked in the lingerie dept at a store, there was the transvestite that wanted us to do a Bra fitting on him - I was only 16 at the time, made my manager do it.
Oh I know what you mean, the guy I spoke about in my previous post, when he got done raving and ranting, I told him "Have a Merry Christmas." That made him even madder.
Once had the sheriff of a neighboring town show up and get drunk and rowdy in my theatre, had another inebriated customer manage to throw up onto and BEHIND some artwork that was attached to the wall, and a LOT of stuff I'd rather not even think about, including but not limited to, an armed robbery where after getting a gun stuck in my face, I learned that the company policy was that any manager who was robbed got fired.
About that Bombay asking for addresses if a credit card is used - that is absolutely verboten by the credit card issuers, and could have cost the company the ability to take the cards at all. I would have been a ticked customer too, but I've learned to keep the street address of the local landfill handy, and pleasantly provide it in response to such requests.
Once had the sheriff of a neighboring town show up and get drunk and rowdy in my theatre, had another inebriated customer manage to throw up onto and BEHIND some artwork that was attached to the wall, and a LOT of stuff I'd rather not even think about, including but not limited to, an armed robbery where after getting a gun stuck in my face, I learned that the company policy was that any manager who was robbed got fired.
About that Bombay asking for addresses if a credit card is used - that is absolutely verboten by the credit card issuers, and could have cost the company the ability to take the cards at all. I would have been a ticked customer too, but I've learned to keep the street address of the local landfill handy, and pleasantly provide it in response to such requests.
Well I don't know who you are dealing with but they ask for addresses all the time, especially when your doing online charges to confirm the billing address of the credit card.
AND anyway, I told him that it wasn't necessary after I saw how upset he was, in spite of the fact I knew I could get in trouble for it.
Visa merchant agreement excerpt:
http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/rules_for_visa_merchants.pdf (broken link)
When should you ask a cardholder for an official government ID? although Visa rules do not preclude merchants from asking for cardholder ID, merchants cannot make an ID a condition of acceptance . Therefore, merchants cannot refuse to complete a purchase transaction because a cardholder refuses to provide ID . Visa believes merchants should not ask for ID as part of their regular card acceptance procedures . Laws in several states also make it illegal for merchants to write a cardholder’s personal information, such as an address or phone number, on a sales receipt .If you are suspicious about the transaction or feel you need additional information to insure the identity of the cardholder, make a Code 10 call.
Mastercard:
http://www.mastercard.com/us/wce/PDF/MERC-Entire_Manual.pdf (broken link)
section 9.11.2 has essentially the same restrictions
I'd do Discovercard and American Express, but I'm sure they are the same.
Anyway, the customer was an informed customer, even if he was hotheaded. Bombay wasn't the only company with this idiocy. I've provided Radio Shack mailing list entries for landfills, cemeteries, empty fields, and other Radio Shack stores.
I had this discussion a few days ago on another board and posted a few of my most horrific anecdotes there:
I worked at grocery store in high school and college and learned the joys of handling sweaty money. I especially loved it when I was handed damp bills fresh from a customer's bra.
We had a few nutters that shopped at the store. One strange man asked me to button his pants for him. I refused. While I was bagging his groceries he tried to hug me. At that point I called the manager and he finished the transaction for me.
My scariest customer was a man that came into the store several times a day and only checked out in my line. One day he bought a rose for me and then disappeared to the back of the store. Later, I saw him being escorted out and found out he was caught masturbating in the store.
The most disturbing incident I witnessed involved a woman that was angry because she picked up the wrong sale item. After throwing the item at the cashier, she walked down one of the aisles, dropped her pants and defecated on the floor. I felt sorry for the poor guy that cleaned up that mess.
That job helped me choose my major in college because I realized that I did not want to deal with the general public for the rest of my life.
Visa merchant agreement excerpt:
http://usa.visa.com/download/merchants/rules_for_visa_merchants.pdf (broken link)
When should you ask a cardholder for an official government ID? although Visa rules do not preclude merchants from asking for cardholder ID, merchants cannot make an ID a condition of acceptance . Therefore, merchants cannot refuse to complete a purchase transaction because a cardholder refuses to provide ID . Visa believes merchants should not ask for ID as part of their regular card acceptance procedures . Laws in several states also make it illegal for merchants to write a cardholder’s personal information, such as an address or phone number, on a sales receipt .If you are suspicious about the transaction or feel you need additional information to insure the identity of the cardholder, make a Code 10 call.
Mastercard:
http://www.mastercard.com/us/wce/PDF/MERC-Entire_Manual.pdf (broken link)
section 9.11.2 has essentially the same restrictions
I'd do Discovercard and American Express, but I'm sure they are the same.
Anyway, the customer was an informed customer, even if he was hotheaded. Bombay wasn't the only company with this idiocy. I've provided Radio Shack mailing list entries for landfills, cemeteries, empty fields, and other Radio Shack stores.
Well maybe I wasn't clear or maybe your THE person who behaved in that way that day but we never asked for additional ID, we asked for verbal confirmation of the address, thats IT. AND if you do any kind of ordering online, you will see that they not only ask for the credit card number, exp. date and the code on the back, they also ask for the billing address from the card.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
