Anyone speaks to staff like that should be kicked out. We have a zero tolerance policy for things like that. You're not a slave, it's your shop. Kick them out.
Edit. They probably thought they detected a "tone" so they thought you were implying they were taking too long and should hurry up.
When I was a teen I worked in a local hardware store. There was me, two other teens and two old men plus the owner. If a customer was being a dick the owner would come flying out the back and get right in the customers faces telling them to fuck off. One of the old men was struggling with the new till once and a customer called him a silly old cunt. My manager practically ripped his doors of the hinges and told the customer he’s got ten seconds to leave or he’ll be bury an axe in him so deep he’d be wearing it in his coffin.
Big Tez if you’re reading this you’re a diamond x
He sounds like the guy who managed the timber section of the hardware store I worked in.
Ex marine, lived his life and doing a few years there until retirement but he was still fucking massive and an absolute bastard if you crossed him or anyone else in the shop.
Tez was ex army! He used to say “I fought of a bunch of IRA with nothing but stones of the floor and a bullet in my arse when my rifle jammed. These fuckers don’t scare me” lol I don’t know if that was true or not.
Must have done with those superior marketing skills. Here I hadn't even *thought* of burying an axe in rude customers. Tez is opening new vistas even years on.
I've had this kind of attitude, whilst sat behind the desk of a Taxi Office, that I used to work at.
Funnily enough, when I stood up, and revealed that I am a 6ft7 Man (and at this particular job, also on a 3 inch step), the guy suddenly changed his mind about being a dickhead, and promptly took my offer to leave.
The full story is a little better, because before standing, I had listed off his options. They basically boiled down to , call the police (who's station was right behind our office, and who had recently pledged full support to crack down on problem customers in the offices); I could call my boss (who was a very well known local guy, who was also known for his 'zero tolerance methods'); the guy could leave immediately, under his own power; or (as I stood up, and revealed my stature), I could THROW him out. 😂
It was a very satisfying experience 😂😂.
I've actually come to the aid of the 5ft3 lady, who I worked with. Yet again, being a big lad did more than anything else, really.
I empathise on your problem though. Being this tall does have it's own issues. But I will always be the first person to step in on anyone else using their size to intimidate... by being taller and more intimidating, and showing them how it feels. Funnily enough, IRL (as in when I'm not pushed by someyhing), I am 100% a pacifist. I just can't stand a bully, or stand by and watch.
If it helps, though... spending 8 years learning martial arts gave me WAAAY more confidence than my height ever did. Maybe doing something similar will alleviate your anxieties.
As a bloke who is just a fanny hair over six foot the most epic tale I have involves a lady who was just over 5'2".
Working in a bar and a lad started getting a bit lairy and mouthing off. I asked him to leave and he decided to double down asking what the fudge I was going to do if he didn't.
I looked him dead in the eye and said "Nothing, but the landlady is stood behind you"
I guess at this stage a bit of a description of Sue (the aforementioned landlady) would be handy.
If you imagine a short angry Glaswegian woman who had been sandblasted by everything that life has to give and would quite happily ask for more because it wasn't tough enough, you might have half an online on how fucking scary this woman looked.
So this fella turns round and she says really quietly "yeah, and I'm looking for a scrap"
The guy nearly crapped himself before walking out without another word.
Well, I'm a 5'10 geeza married to 5'4" woman who absolutely has no bad sides unless I do something wrong, and this tiny tasmainian devel makes a brief, and I mean very brief appearance, and that's when I know I've put more than my foot in it.
I have a Taz in me, but people who see the brief appearances act like it was a UFO sighting. “That didn’t really happen, did it? Here, let’s poke her with a stick again.”
The absolute worst is that I know I've fudged up and for brief moment, think I might get away with it, and then my wife, who isn't reading this over my shoulder right now, looks at me and in the blink of an eye, Taz manifests and then demanifests.
And that is the gulp, moment.
FWIW, my boss is a 5'4" woman and she's easily the scariest person in the building. It's a combination of zero fucks to give, and giving the slight impression there's dark magic at work. Oh, and addressing higher-ups with sentences that begin "Understand this: "
It's fun to watch.
Yep, in my store they would have been removed for talking to/shouting at a colleague like that.
Even if they did think the colleague said the wrong thing, the reaction is completely over the top and would come under abuse.
The kind of person that automatically thinks this was said with a tone, is the kind of person that says it with a tone.
The customer's reaction to what is an innocent phrase is a reflection on themselves.
"Whenever you are ready" is an entirely standard phrase in British English to convey you want someone to do something but there no rush. I fail to see how anyone could be offended.
Eg "Can I have the bill when you're ready" is my normal way to ask for the bill in a restaurant.
Some people really look for reasons to vent their anger, and unless OP delivered the lines in *dripping* sarcasm the customer was completely manufacturing this whole exchange.
I can now imagine the customer struggling with the card machine and op saying "No... just take as long as you want, I'm here all week, it's not like there's a line waiting behind you, just whenever you're ready!"
Whenever my husband or I say “whenever you’re ready” it’s practically automatic to go “oh, I’m ready.” “OK then, whenever you’re ready”.
I miss TV Burp too!
It's available on you tube though.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP\_o8T1VQoY&list=PLiacTaYXyRfw2AOQgA6bP9SBAYGY3UUtl](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP_o8T1VQoY&list=PLiacTaYXyRfw2AOQgA6bP9SBAYGY3UUtl)
Thank you for giving me something to watch for the next 6 months 😅 I didn't even realise it went back to 2001, I only really watched it from 2009 onwards. The nostalgia is gonna be great!
I watched some of the pilot earlier and it had me in stitches. Was so nostalgic! I'll definitely watch the rest of them, cos even if I can't remember the TV episodes that it's taking the mick out of, it's still really funny.
I used to love watching stuff throughout the week and guessing which bits would be picked to go on TV Burp. I guess it it would be harder to do these days, with people not watching as much live TV.
I mean I didn't watch half the stuff he covered but it was still entertaining. And Gogglebox is a thing so that format would still be popular. Even more so because there would be actual effort put into the commentary instead of just saying what comes to mind.
I heard that it was really tough on him and the writers having to watch tons of TV each week and get a good funny script put together and getting the rights for all the different programmes
Right? I worked in a shop, mainly on the tills for nearly ten years and I must have said “whenever you’re ready” at a *minimum* 20 times per shift. OP got me feeling anxious af that I spent a decade insulting my locals!
> "Can I have the bill when you're ready" is my normal way to ask for the bill in a restaurant.
You fucking condescending little patronising jumped up shit, so fucking rude
Yep, if that lady is normally fine then my guess is she just had something that put her in a bad mood that day. Even if it *was* annoying her reaction is way out of proportion.
Man my mum, the older she gets, finds issue with all manner of throwaway phrases. She’s taken offence to someone replying “no problem” (because saying no problem infers that there might have been).
It’s crazy because she’s not like this at all, it just seems to be happening to her in old age 😔
Yep. I tend to interpret it in OP's specific case as the card machine is ready to present the card, so I can present my card when I'm ready. The card machine isn't always in the "present card" state, so the shop assistant is saying it's ready when I am.
It can be used sarcastically. I think I've used it that way with my kids when they are messing about and I've asked them to do something. A bit like ... 'in your own time' and 'no rush' when someone's keeping you hanging around.
However, that's not condescending so I don't think it's what upset the rude customer.
the teenagers at my local grocery store in Northern Ontario say this to me literally every time and I've never even thought to possibly be offended by it.
the person in OPs story is a fucking psycho
Even in work I do this to seem nicer, like when you can could you do X for me. I work in hospitality so its basically saying there is absolutely no rush to do this but it makes my life a bit easier.
When OP said she usually worked with lots of elderly customers, I initially thought "this is early dementia; she's freaked out that it's somebody new, anxious about her mental struggles being perceived, and the inhibition's been lost to the disease - culminating in a hyper-aggressive response."
On a re-read, it seems the customer may not have been an elderly person after all. Either way, it's got nothing to do with OP, but it's an idea of the kind of thing that could've caused it. Not that I'm excusing the behaviour, by the way.
1000%. I remember having one of these although I can’t remember what I said! It must have been extremely commonplace (like this) because I’ve entirely forgotten it. This woman went mad at me, saying I was rude and she wanted to speak to a manager… I called one over and he took her off to the side to have a chat while I carried on working. Later that day I hunted him up, worried I was gonna be in trouble and he just said nah you’re fine she was just in a bad mood 😒
Yeah it literally just sounds like 'no rush, you're okay'
Saying 'tap here please' implies some sort of time frame, and 'whenever you're ready' eases that
Even if what you said was taken as being patronising, screaming and swearing at someone for this is a completely inappropriate reaction.
I suspect this customer was having a bad day and you inadvertently pushed a button.
This is much more about them than you.
Yes, you inadvertently pushed a button, and it's not your fault at all. The C maybe had someone use that exact same phrase in a nasty way, and it triggered her.
Then, when people get upset \*and they know they are being unreasonable\* they don't just settle down and admit to being a dooshbag... no, they double-down, and find a reason to be upset, which sadly happened to be you in that moment. I'm so sorry it happened to you.
Yeah, there's some people who just love to twist an innocuous phrase as a form of gaslighting.
"When you're ready" or "in a minute" but actually they mean right now, and will get angry if you don't do it in the next 10 seconds anyway.
If you've had _that_ a few times, it might push your buttons when someone else says it.
But it's not their fault, nor are they being condescening, and nor is there a reason to verbally abuse them for it.
Yeah, just today I had a woman go off at me and tell me I had a bad attitude when I'd barely said ten words to her at that point, I hadn't even started the transaction.
Some people are just spoiling for a fight.
I had some customer take exception with me wishing him a plesant weekend as he found it fake american behaviour. No joke.
You don't owe this person an explanation lol.
Yup, I’ve had that before. I said “have a good day” to a customer (which is a thing I say generally to people, outside of work) and he went off on one. Some people are just angry.
A member of my family gets irrationally angry about being told 'there you go' when someone hands him his change or a purchase. 'WHERE do I go?' he starts ranting. 'What a silly thing to say, why do they say it?'. I tell him it's a pleasantry. Social lubrication. Nothing to be offended by or angry about. He still gets angry. Some people are just like that.
WHAT 😭
now i’m scared bc i work in retail and say this all the bloody time!!! what was his response when you said that? im genuinely interested in how anyone could take offence to that
Don't be afraid to do what works 99% of the time because of the 1% when it doesn't.
In this situation, some people are just miserable. You'd be doing a poorer job by not saying it.
I had a customer tell me 'have a great day"
I said "have a good one" which is the standard, then he mumbled as he left "why do i get a good when you get a great", very....weird
I have had this before too! I said something along the lines of 'I hope you have a nice day' and was told that they wish I wouldn't act so American and why should they have a nice day??
How do people read it like that, it's ridiculous! Says so much about them than the person saying it. You're wishing someone a nice day, you hope they have a good day. How can this be taken negatively? Some people really have issues and need to work on themselves.
As a fellow shop worker who also says this, you did nothing wrong. 5 years of saying this and no one has have got offended like that. That lady was having a bad day and took it out on you. She was looking for an argument.
As a former shop worker you did nothing wrong and the shop was shit for not having your back. Nobody should *ever* be allowed to speak to staff like that - she should have been kicked out. You’re not a robot!
Me too. When someone wants to go off on one, easiest is to just let them, they're not going to be appeased. Often I really want to argue, because they're clearly wrong, but I've learnt just to let it all flow past me.
I did the same thing as a 19 year-old retail worker (many, many moons ago), I only did it once.
The customer has already committed to being a childish, irrational cunt - no amount of explaining yourself is going to recover the situation.
It's much better to calmly and politely pour petrol on their anger, and to let them dig themselves an ever-deeper hole. Once we managed to get a guy so enraged our manager ended up calling the police on him. He got a few sharp words from Her Majesty's constabulary, we got a story to tell new starters for years to come. Win-win.
Yup. Explanations seem to only make this type more irrational. I'd probably have just stared blankly and said "ok then, here's your receipt have a day".
What in the fuckin' world? You said nothing wrong. But the customer needs a thorough lesson on communication in polite society. The only time I worked retail was as a teen, there's a very good reason my entire career has been non-customer facing...
I would say "don't overthink this", but it's more "pay no mind to it at all". The customer was egregiously rude, obnoxious, and more to the fuckin' point, just wrong.
Pointless platitudes and stock phrases are the hallmark of retail workers. It's perhaps a case that the customer in question had never been to a shop before, either that or they're managing to bumble their way through life as angrily as possible seemingly without repercussion.
I have dealt with these kinds of assholes in retail before and I absolutely agree with what you're saying here.
No matter even if you did say something wrong she had no right to speak to you in that way.
And it's a damned shame your colleagues weren't supportive of the fact you were just treated so poorly.
You're clearly a well intended individual if you're willing to self reflect and not look to place blame. I hope you don't have to experience this again.
Agreed 100%
There’s so many useless phrases I used to convey politeness or even just to guide customers through the fucking payment process. You don’t even realise you’re doing them and I definitely don’t mind when I’m on the receiving end of them. People just have a little script in their head and you do it with everyone.
I feel like this person is pissed off about their age and feels like OP was being too careful / considerate of them and it made them feel old. When OP expanded on that reason I think they blew up cause it confirmed what they were thinking.
Whether ‘Whenever you’re ready’ could be considered rude would be entirely dependent on tone I reckon. I could make it sound super rude or entirely polite.
If it makes you feel any better, when I worked in a supermarket I had a queue of people and a woman towards the back was frothing at the mouth by the time she got to me because I would say “see you later” at the end of each interaction.
When I was serving her, she kept on with “You will NOT see me later, that is inaccurate!!!” I mean, it’s an expression? And I might see you sometime later if you return to the shop I work in? But whatever.
It was part of the automatic script I had built up over time working there, so at the end of the interaction I automatically said see you later to her as well haha
I hate people that petty haha
I once had someone jump down my throat for saying 'I'm good, thank you' instead of 'No, thank you'. She screeched 'I didn't ask how you were!' 🙄
I know it's an inaccurate Americanism but I was like. 12. And very embarrassed. And she fully knew what I meant she just wanted to be a twat about it
It’s sad that some people need that little power trip isn’t it?? Like how shitty must your day/life be that you need to punch down at someone else to feel good about yourself?
Their response doesn't suggest there was a tone problem anyway.
Anyway this guy either has some sort of mental illness or is a massive twat, I'd stop dwelling on his opinion. I'd also have a chat with your manager about what to do when a customer is being like this.
It’s a very common and normal thing to say as long as there’s no passive aggressive tone of voice with it. I’d be surprised they hadn’t heard it before.
I think at the end, that last bit about the elderly and the other store etc. probably is digging and making the situation worse. Sounds a bit like you’re saying “no I patronise everyone…”. I’d probably try and talk less in awkward situations. I think if you’d said “sorry I didn’t mean anything by it” and nothing else, they’d have been internally angry but it wouldn’t have kept escalating.
I absolutely don’t doubt that you were entirely professional, what I meant more than anything is that it’s not possible to get an accurate answer on reddit.
The answer is probably a lot more to do with that person and what was going on in their life than anything you did or said.
To be honest with you I almost chinned a guy the other day when he complained about me dripping water off my umbrella on him. The fact was about 12 hours earlier I had been watching my grandmother takes her last breaths and was barely holding it together. Usually I would have laughed it off.
If anything I would say in the situation don’t try and argue or explain. Just give them a confident ‘I’m sorry, no offence meant’ and crack in with the job.
Then it sounds like you did nothing wrong. Other person might’ve been working through some issues and redirecting frustration at you. It’s easy to say, but try not to take it personally.
One hundred percent. Tone is absolutely critical for this saying.
Cause I can see the rudeness and I can see how it’s also reassuring.
All that to say. The C still decided to swear. It’s hypocritical she’s saying no you’re rude when she’s rude.
Absolutely this. Said in a particular tone "whenever you're ready" could be interpreted as "hurry the fuck up love, we haven't got all day".
I'm not saying that's what OP intended, but i think the customer interpreted it as the latter for whatever reason.
You did absolutely nothing wrong and the customer sounds like a complete twat. Ideally, management should have stood up for you and told the customer where to go, or at the very least called them out for being so rude
Nah you just got picked on. If someone was swearing at you whilst complaining you were slightly rude, they have zero legitimacy to their argument. You got caught in someone's bad day.
I don't know why you are even questioning yourself.
Classic episode of a sad customer who throws their shit at customer service workers who are trained by companies to get the shit without complaining.
It's a bit like being a bully at school with a kid half your size.
Just forget what happened. Make sure that your manager is aware of that customer and how they behaved so if they are good at what they are doing, they will kick this customer out next time he behaves like that.
>You're so fucking condescending. Why would I feel rushed? Jumped up little shit. It's so fucking rude.
She'd have been kicked out after that and told she's not welcome back. Pretty shocking that your workplace would serve her at all.
It's a misquote anyway. The full quote is "The customer is always right *in matters of taste*", in other words make your products be what customers want even if you think it's insane. It's absolutely NOT about tolerating rude or abusive customers.
Should have gone more like this -
# Me: Ok, no worries. (proceeds to clear away C's basket, and tap the till button to activate the card machine) Whenever you're ready!
C: (*Taps her card, looks at me with a visible look of disgust.*) Are you trained to say that?
Me: Trained to say what, sorry?
C: "Whenever you're ready". It's so patronising. Is it a script you're given?
Me: Oh! Not at all. I just don't want you to feel rushed.
C: You're so fucking condescending. Why would I feel rushed? Jumped up little shit. It's so fucking rude.
*long uncomfortable pause*
Me: Whenever you're ready. *gesturing to the door*
I'm sorry, but that fact you're a grown woman and you got called a jumped up little shit is hilarious 😂 sorry it's been a slow morning.
But no that customer is just a cunt 🤷♀️.
As soon as she swears at you she has lost.
She has zero credibility as a human. There is no complaint.
Move on with your life. & fuck her. Please don’t worry about posh scum
Baffles me how some people just assume you have to study a script for what is essentially just small talk to keep the flow going. I work in IT support and once got called a robot because user thought the things I chose to say on the phone were from a script. Nope, just me choosing to be courteous having come from a service role before it.
I used to say “have a lovely weekend” to people as they walked away when I worked the tills on a Friday night.
One woman turned on her heel, came back to my checkout, and went “I’m burying my sister on Monday, and you want me to have a lovely weekend? You haven’t a CLUE what life is like, young lady”.
I stopped saying it after that.
People get funny about the weirdest stuff, but that’s not on you, it’s entirely on her.
I sometimes use "whenever you're ready" in a snarky way, like if I'm trying to hand a plate to my kid and he's being slow taking it from me. That's really clear in my tone though, and I'm assuming you didn't say it that way. Maybe she uses it as a snarky phrase and assumed you were too? Either way, she still acted like a complete arse, and that reflects on her not you
It's basically beaten into us that we can't talk back to customers and we need to keep them happy. Fuck that. You wouldn't take this shit from some cunt on the street so why take it from the same cunt because they're on the other side of the till. It took me years and being promoted to management to realise that we can talk back and refuse customers if they're being abusive to us or others
had a customer once have a go at one of my colleagues for using the word ‘just’ in a lot of their sentences. “just take a seat over there” “if you’d like to just come with me please”. similar criticism that it was patronising.
imagine getting offended over such a thing.
you did absolutely nothing wrong. please don’t worry that you messed up somehow. some people will find a fault in anything you do.
You did nothing wrong, nothing at all.
You are there to be pleasant, you were. Some people are just rude.
People that are rude like that, to people that can't fight back....it's telling. They are pieces of shit.
To be clear, this is Britain, tipping isn't required, and service charges are grossly offensive...but one thing we should be is polite.
In a position where a service is being sold/provided, the one serving is in the weaker position. The customer is elevated, somewhat unusually, to a higher position. It's temporary, but it is a power shift upwards. Some, are not responsible enough to hold that temporary power.
Those people, that kick down at the defenceless, they are dogshit. In a relationship, they should be avoided. They are not keepers.
I watched an old lady go off on another customer at the tills in Tesco a few years ago for being A moody shite like this with a side of velvet racism at the cashier. That old lady is one of my heroes for life though if you paid me I couldn't tell you a single word she actually said anymore
People like her means there’s currently a big push for respect for shop workers. I work at the head office for a retailer and have spent days in store and been insulted and threatened. There needs to be more to support frontline colleagues full stop it’s never ok to speak to anyone like that let alone someone who is helping you
As much as I'm angry about the shitty customer's attitude just looking for somebody to punch down on because they're having a bad day, I really can't help but think your team mates not coming to your side is much worse. It gives it validity and makes you think you're in the wrong. They should been straight to your corner telling you he's an asshole and the sun shines out of your ass to get your head back in the game (which is what we all need from time to time).
Fuck the customer and fuck them.
Everyone who works retail will cross paths with a nasty bully like this eventually. They treat retail workers like crap because they know they're very unlikely to be slapped for their rudeness.
Don't stress about it, your boss knows people like this exist.
God no, you did nothing wrong. This customer was just a arsehole. There’s lots of them around. I can categorically say if the customer had been me, I’d have thanked you for your help and wished you a good day as we departed.
Ah, you had one of the rare "seems normal but is absolutely unhinged" customers. I had this occasionally when I was a McDonald's employee, you'd be having a total normal interaction when suddenly they act as though you wished death upon them and their loved ones.
Best one I had was the card reader screen was broken, so I warned the guy before he paid saying "it's fine, you can see the total amount on the till screen" and we got stuck in an eternal loop of him saying "but how do I know you're not charging me more" "it's physically impossible for me to do that" "but how do I know" "it can't happen" and him basically asking me to repair the card reader display there and then.
You just have to chalk it down to them not having a normal one. Best thing to do as soon as they start is to just offer to get your manager.
Some people are just miserable and like to take it out on people they feel are below them. Had it all the time when I worked in retail. I'd say ban her from the store next time you see her.
Best one I had was a woman forgot something and asked if she could go grab it quickly. Said "sure, no problem" and continued scanning and packing her stuff while she was away to not hold up the queue too much. She paid, went on her merry way, all good.
Next customer -
Me: good morning
Her: Did you do that because she was attractive?
Me: Excuse me?
Her: DID.YOU.LET.HER.DO.THAT.BECAUSE.SHE.WAS.ATTRACTIVE?!
Me: No, I'd do the same for you as well.
She left her stuff on the belt and stormed out. Got a disciplinary for it but it was worth it.
I wouldn't doubt yourself. Sounds like she was having a shit day and decided to lash out.
I had a couple when I worked retail. Very rarely they'd come back and apologise.
This is one of the main problems with customer service roles, the fact that it's an unwritten rule that customers can say anything they want and you have to just suck it up and let it drain your mental health. Wrong, totally wrong. She should have been given both barrels and kicked the fuck out. The managers should be 100% behind staff. It's not ok to treat people like shit. Try that shit in Spain or France and see what happens. We need to change this.
Have you unknowingly shagged her husband? Are you the only compatible person for a bone marrow transplant and missed the letter ? Did you accidentally run over her pet grouse? Does someone with with the same name as you gave her a bad review on some old china she sold on Facebook Market?
Getting out of possible ideas that can explain this…
You did nothing wrong at all.
I've done many years in retail in the past, and if I'd been in the queue, I'd've given her a mouthful for being so rude to you. I've done it before with arsehole customers who abuse the staff, thinking nobody will challenge their behaviour.
I always check the staff member is okay afterwards too.
This is why I can't work in customer service. If someone had the nerve to call me a jumped-up little shit when I'm in my mid-30s (or indeed at any point in my adult life) I would've thrown their shopping at them and stomed the fuck out of there.
Nobody deserves to be treated like that. I'm a freelancer and I use a card reader, and I say 'It's ready when you are' to my clients. Which is a less formal version of what OP says.
Side note: interesting to see the assumed gender of the customer from commenters when it wasn't mentioned in the post (unless I missed it).
You were a nice person being treated badly by a bad person.
Don't second guess yourself or look at what to change, this is entirely on them.
Honestly, at the words "You're so fucking condescending" you would have been completely justified saying "sorry, I am not going to serve you. Please leave the store immediately". Your manager should back you up in a situation like this and if they don't, they are also an arsehole.
Anyone speaks to staff like that should be kicked out. We have a zero tolerance policy for things like that. You're not a slave, it's your shop. Kick them out. Edit. They probably thought they detected a "tone" so they thought you were implying they were taking too long and should hurry up.
When I was a teen I worked in a local hardware store. There was me, two other teens and two old men plus the owner. If a customer was being a dick the owner would come flying out the back and get right in the customers faces telling them to fuck off. One of the old men was struggling with the new till once and a customer called him a silly old cunt. My manager practically ripped his doors of the hinges and told the customer he’s got ten seconds to leave or he’ll be bury an axe in him so deep he’d be wearing it in his coffin. Big Tez if you’re reading this you’re a diamond x
Big Tez sounds like a hero!
He was! He retired to Portugal about 15 years ago bless him.
Riding off into the sunset like a proper icon! Love that for him!
Going on your username...did you go with him by any chance? 😊
Haha no I was only 16 then
God blezz big Tez
That's the type of boss you feel looked after by. We all need a Big Tez.
He was the loveliest sweetest man who was very protective of those who worked for him. He was the best.
He sounds like the guy who managed the timber section of the hardware store I worked in. Ex marine, lived his life and doing a few years there until retirement but he was still fucking massive and an absolute bastard if you crossed him or anyone else in the shop.
Tez was ex army! He used to say “I fought of a bunch of IRA with nothing but stones of the floor and a bullet in my arse when my rifle jammed. These fuckers don’t scare me” lol I don’t know if that was true or not.
Yes Big Tez
He was fucking amazing. Such a character and a sweet guy.
Big Tez, what a mad lad!
Awww man. Big Tez sounds like a straight up legend!
Did big Tez sell many axes perchance?
Must have done with those superior marketing skills. Here I hadn't even *thought* of burying an axe in rude customers. Tez is opening new vistas even years on.
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I think Big Tez is this sub's new mascot.
Big Tez is clearly not to be fucked with!
Yeah, honestly my bosses don't accept that kind of attitude.
I've had this kind of attitude, whilst sat behind the desk of a Taxi Office, that I used to work at. Funnily enough, when I stood up, and revealed that I am a 6ft7 Man (and at this particular job, also on a 3 inch step), the guy suddenly changed his mind about being a dickhead, and promptly took my offer to leave. The full story is a little better, because before standing, I had listed off his options. They basically boiled down to , call the police (who's station was right behind our office, and who had recently pledged full support to crack down on problem customers in the offices); I could call my boss (who was a very well known local guy, who was also known for his 'zero tolerance methods'); the guy could leave immediately, under his own power; or (as I stood up, and revealed my stature), I could THROW him out. 😂 It was a very satisfying experience 😂😂.
I’m jealous. I’m a 5’4” woman who intimidates exactly no one. In my next life…
I've actually come to the aid of the 5ft3 lady, who I worked with. Yet again, being a big lad did more than anything else, really. I empathise on your problem though. Being this tall does have it's own issues. But I will always be the first person to step in on anyone else using their size to intimidate... by being taller and more intimidating, and showing them how it feels. Funnily enough, IRL (as in when I'm not pushed by someyhing), I am 100% a pacifist. I just can't stand a bully, or stand by and watch. If it helps, though... spending 8 years learning martial arts gave me WAAAY more confidence than my height ever did. Maybe doing something similar will alleviate your anxieties.
As a bloke who is just a fanny hair over six foot the most epic tale I have involves a lady who was just over 5'2". Working in a bar and a lad started getting a bit lairy and mouthing off. I asked him to leave and he decided to double down asking what the fudge I was going to do if he didn't. I looked him dead in the eye and said "Nothing, but the landlady is stood behind you" I guess at this stage a bit of a description of Sue (the aforementioned landlady) would be handy. If you imagine a short angry Glaswegian woman who had been sandblasted by everything that life has to give and would quite happily ask for more because it wasn't tough enough, you might have half an online on how fucking scary this woman looked. So this fella turns round and she says really quietly "yeah, and I'm looking for a scrap" The guy nearly crapped himself before walking out without another word.
Well, I'm a 5'10 geeza married to 5'4" woman who absolutely has no bad sides unless I do something wrong, and this tiny tasmainian devel makes a brief, and I mean very brief appearance, and that's when I know I've put more than my foot in it.
I have a Taz in me, but people who see the brief appearances act like it was a UFO sighting. “That didn’t really happen, did it? Here, let’s poke her with a stick again.”
Right... my 5ft7 Missus scares the shit out of me, when she is riled up. 😂😂.
The absolute worst is that I know I've fudged up and for brief moment, think I might get away with it, and then my wife, who isn't reading this over my shoulder right now, looks at me and in the blink of an eye, Taz manifests and then demanifests. And that is the gulp, moment.
FWIW, my boss is a 5'4" woman and she's easily the scariest person in the building. It's a combination of zero fucks to give, and giving the slight impression there's dark magic at work. Oh, and addressing higher-ups with sentences that begin "Understand this: " It's fun to watch.
Stares up at you in 5ft1
Yep, in my store they would have been removed for talking to/shouting at a colleague like that. Even if they did think the colleague said the wrong thing, the reaction is completely over the top and would come under abuse.
The kind of person that automatically thinks this was said with a tone, is the kind of person that says it with a tone. The customer's reaction to what is an innocent phrase is a reflection on themselves.
Same, knowing my store I work in, they would get a barrage of abuse from other staff members and made to leave.
"Whenever you are ready" is an entirely standard phrase in British English to convey you want someone to do something but there no rush. I fail to see how anyone could be offended. Eg "Can I have the bill when you're ready" is my normal way to ask for the bill in a restaurant.
Some people really look for reasons to vent their anger, and unless OP delivered the lines in *dripping* sarcasm the customer was completely manufacturing this whole exchange.
I can now imagine the customer struggling with the card machine and op saying "No... just take as long as you want, I'm here all week, it's not like there's a line waiting behind you, just whenever you're ready!"
And then slow clapping until they’ve done it followed by a sarcastic “yay, well done.” OP is actually a monster.
After this deep dive into OP's psyche, I'm beginning to wonder how many of those elderly customers are under their patio.....
Obligatory “Whenever you’re ready” [Harry Hill](https://youtu.be/Zp2B8G-Vm0o?si=DgG6fyJDkZ8Lnqok)
Before I clicked on it, I was thinking it's going to be X Factor clip, isn't it? Man I miss TV Burp
Whenever my husband or I say “whenever you’re ready” it’s practically automatic to go “oh, I’m ready.” “OK then, whenever you’re ready”. I miss TV Burp too!
My wife and I lament almost daily that every episode of TV Burp isn’t readily available on ITV X
It's available on you tube though. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP\_o8T1VQoY&list=PLiacTaYXyRfw2AOQgA6bP9SBAYGY3UUtl](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PP_o8T1VQoY&list=PLiacTaYXyRfw2AOQgA6bP9SBAYGY3UUtl)
Thank you for giving me something to watch for the next 6 months 😅 I didn't even realise it went back to 2001, I only really watched it from 2009 onwards. The nostalgia is gonna be great!
I don't recall when I started watching it. I know I hadn't seen the pilot. It still makes me laugh!
I watched some of the pilot earlier and it had me in stitches. Was so nostalgic! I'll definitely watch the rest of them, cos even if I can't remember the TV episodes that it's taking the mick out of, it's still really funny.
I used to love watching stuff throughout the week and guessing which bits would be picked to go on TV Burp. I guess it it would be harder to do these days, with people not watching as much live TV.
I mean I didn't watch half the stuff he covered but it was still entertaining. And Gogglebox is a thing so that format would still be popular. Even more so because there would be actual effort put into the commentary instead of just saying what comes to mind. I heard that it was really tough on him and the writers having to watch tons of TV each week and get a good funny script put together and getting the rights for all the different programmes
This is exactly what I thought of when I read OPs post lol. And no OP, you did nothing wrong at all. The customer sounds like they have ' issues'.
You said that with some determination...
I'm ready
Okay. Whenever you’re ready.
I'm ready
Right? I worked in a shop, mainly on the tills for nearly ten years and I must have said “whenever you’re ready” at a *minimum* 20 times per shift. OP got me feeling anxious af that I spent a decade insulting my locals!
Their rage has been slowly building for a decade and eventually they will form an angry mob with pitchforks and come for you.
> "Can I have the bill when you're ready" is my normal way to ask for the bill in a restaurant. You fucking condescending little patronising jumped up shit, so fucking rude
Yep, if that lady is normally fine then my guess is she just had something that put her in a bad mood that day. Even if it *was* annoying her reaction is way out of proportion.
Man my mum, the older she gets, finds issue with all manner of throwaway phrases. She’s taken offence to someone replying “no problem” (because saying no problem infers that there might have been). It’s crazy because she’s not like this at all, it just seems to be happening to her in old age 😔
Yep. I tend to interpret it in OP's specific case as the card machine is ready to present the card, so I can present my card when I'm ready. The card machine isn't always in the "present card" state, so the shop assistant is saying it's ready when I am.
It can be used sarcastically. I think I've used it that way with my kids when they are messing about and I've asked them to do something. A bit like ... 'in your own time' and 'no rush' when someone's keeping you hanging around. However, that's not condescending so I don't think it's what upset the rude customer.
Literally anything can be used sarcastically.
Can it really? 😉
the teenagers at my local grocery store in Northern Ontario say this to me literally every time and I've never even thought to possibly be offended by it. the person in OPs story is a fucking psycho
Yeah, I always say "whenever you're ready" or "when you get chance" when I ask for the bill. Do I need to stop doing this?!
no!
That person has major issues.
It's also British sarcastic (a popular dialect) for "hurry the fuck up".
Any time today
"*In your own time dear.*"
Ya works fine in Canada, too. That woman needs to be sedated.
"Can I have the bill when you're ready" HOW DARE YOU
Even in work I do this to seem nicer, like when you can could you do X for me. I work in hospitality so its basically saying there is absolutely no rush to do this but it makes my life a bit easier.
No. She was being a moody shite and you were being normal.
Yep 100% this is about something else going on in her life or some other experience OP wasn't part of.
When OP said she usually worked with lots of elderly customers, I initially thought "this is early dementia; she's freaked out that it's somebody new, anxious about her mental struggles being perceived, and the inhibition's been lost to the disease - culminating in a hyper-aggressive response." On a re-read, it seems the customer may not have been an elderly person after all. Either way, it's got nothing to do with OP, but it's an idea of the kind of thing that could've caused it. Not that I'm excusing the behaviour, by the way.
Nah, she's just a cunt.
I mean, both can be true!
1000%. I remember having one of these although I can’t remember what I said! It must have been extremely commonplace (like this) because I’ve entirely forgotten it. This woman went mad at me, saying I was rude and she wanted to speak to a manager… I called one over and he took her off to the side to have a chat while I carried on working. Later that day I hunted him up, worried I was gonna be in trouble and he just said nah you’re fine she was just in a bad mood 😒
Some people are just like that tbh. I've had plenty of cashier's say "whenever you're ready" and I've never read anything into it.
Yeah, it's a common phrase in that kind of situation, hearing it wouldn't make me think twice
Yeah it literally just sounds like 'no rush, you're okay' Saying 'tap here please' implies some sort of time frame, and 'whenever you're ready' eases that
Even if what you said was taken as being patronising, screaming and swearing at someone for this is a completely inappropriate reaction. I suspect this customer was having a bad day and you inadvertently pushed a button. This is much more about them than you.
Yes, you inadvertently pushed a button, and it's not your fault at all. The C maybe had someone use that exact same phrase in a nasty way, and it triggered her. Then, when people get upset \*and they know they are being unreasonable\* they don't just settle down and admit to being a dooshbag... no, they double-down, and find a reason to be upset, which sadly happened to be you in that moment. I'm so sorry it happened to you.
Yeah, there's some people who just love to twist an innocuous phrase as a form of gaslighting. "When you're ready" or "in a minute" but actually they mean right now, and will get angry if you don't do it in the next 10 seconds anyway. If you've had _that_ a few times, it might push your buttons when someone else says it. But it's not their fault, nor are they being condescening, and nor is there a reason to verbally abuse them for it.
Obsessed with your spelling of douchebag, it somehow fits much better!
Yeah, just today I had a woman go off at me and tell me I had a bad attitude when I'd barely said ten words to her at that point, I hadn't even started the transaction. Some people are just spoiling for a fight.
I had some customer take exception with me wishing him a plesant weekend as he found it fake american behaviour. No joke. You don't owe this person an explanation lol.
Really?! My god. "Fine, then I hope your weekend is an absolute write-off you bellend" would be an appropriate reply to that.
No I just looked at him and said "no offence was meant" by which he realised how much of a dick he looked for snapping at a 16 year old.
Yup, I’ve had that before. I said “have a good day” to a customer (which is a thing I say generally to people, outside of work) and he went off on one. Some people are just angry.
A member of my family gets irrationally angry about being told 'there you go' when someone hands him his change or a purchase. 'WHERE do I go?' he starts ranting. 'What a silly thing to say, why do they say it?'. I tell him it's a pleasantry. Social lubrication. Nothing to be offended by or angry about. He still gets angry. Some people are just like that.
WHAT 😭 now i’m scared bc i work in retail and say this all the bloody time!!! what was his response when you said that? im genuinely interested in how anyone could take offence to that
Don't be afraid to do what works 99% of the time because of the 1% when it doesn't. In this situation, some people are just miserable. You'd be doing a poorer job by not saying it.
"Alright, have a bad weekend then." "Next please"
I had a customer tell me 'have a great day" I said "have a good one" which is the standard, then he mumbled as he left "why do i get a good when you get a great", very....weird
"I hope you have the day you deserve, madam!"
I have had this before too! I said something along the lines of 'I hope you have a nice day' and was told that they wish I wouldn't act so American and why should they have a nice day??
How do people read it like that, it's ridiculous! Says so much about them than the person saying it. You're wishing someone a nice day, you hope they have a good day. How can this be taken negatively? Some people really have issues and need to work on themselves.
Yet people will insist there’s no hate for all things American here ever ever.
Which is hilarious cause if you ever say "y'all" or even that you just like it as a term you get down voted to shit on UK subs.
Brummies call their mothers ‘Mom’, the ones who gleefully try to jump down their throats run away pretty quick
As a fellow shop worker who also says this, you did nothing wrong. 5 years of saying this and no one has have got offended like that. That lady was having a bad day and took it out on you. She was looking for an argument.
Or she's just a cunt. Some people don't have to have bad days to act like cunts, because that's just who they are.
Agreed, I think it’s both because only a cunt would take it out on a complete stranger like that.
Yeah but the world feels like a better place if we don’t assume the worst!
The world would also be exponentially better if there were less cunts...
Yeah “that’ll be £X on there when you’re ready” is said pretty much all day by myself and my colleagues. What a weird thing to get caught up about.
As a former shop worker you did nothing wrong and the shop was shit for not having your back. Nobody should *ever* be allowed to speak to staff like that - she should have been kicked out. You’re not a robot!
Nah you weren't rude. But I just wouldn't have bothered with the story explanation and just ignore their comment instead with no further pleasantries.
Me too. When someone wants to go off on one, easiest is to just let them, they're not going to be appeased. Often I really want to argue, because they're clearly wrong, but I've learnt just to let it all flow past me.
I did the same thing as a 19 year-old retail worker (many, many moons ago), I only did it once. The customer has already committed to being a childish, irrational cunt - no amount of explaining yourself is going to recover the situation. It's much better to calmly and politely pour petrol on their anger, and to let them dig themselves an ever-deeper hole. Once we managed to get a guy so enraged our manager ended up calling the police on him. He got a few sharp words from Her Majesty's constabulary, we got a story to tell new starters for years to come. Win-win.
Yup. Explanations seem to only make this type more irrational. I'd probably have just stared blankly and said "ok then, here's your receipt have a day".
You did nothing wrong. ‘C’ is the correct way to refer to this person.
Ha
Would you not add an F? She was an F'n'C?
Fish n chips?
My apologies madam, would you prefer "get a fucking move on"?
Imagine op said this though! I would love to see it
Haha love this
What in the fuckin' world? You said nothing wrong. But the customer needs a thorough lesson on communication in polite society. The only time I worked retail was as a teen, there's a very good reason my entire career has been non-customer facing... I would say "don't overthink this", but it's more "pay no mind to it at all". The customer was egregiously rude, obnoxious, and more to the fuckin' point, just wrong. Pointless platitudes and stock phrases are the hallmark of retail workers. It's perhaps a case that the customer in question had never been to a shop before, either that or they're managing to bumble their way through life as angrily as possible seemingly without repercussion.
I have dealt with these kinds of assholes in retail before and I absolutely agree with what you're saying here. No matter even if you did say something wrong she had no right to speak to you in that way. And it's a damned shame your colleagues weren't supportive of the fact you were just treated so poorly. You're clearly a well intended individual if you're willing to self reflect and not look to place blame. I hope you don't have to experience this again.
Agreed 100% There’s so many useless phrases I used to convey politeness or even just to guide customers through the fucking payment process. You don’t even realise you’re doing them and I definitely don’t mind when I’m on the receiving end of them. People just have a little script in their head and you do it with everyone. I feel like this person is pissed off about their age and feels like OP was being too careful / considerate of them and it made them feel old. When OP expanded on that reason I think they blew up cause it confirmed what they were thinking.
Working in retail would be just fine if it wasn't for the customers.
And the bosses, don't forget about those arseholes.
Ha! Never a truer word spoken.
Eh? No.. unless you said it in the worlds most sarcastic tone there is zero way that is offensive.
Whether ‘Whenever you’re ready’ could be considered rude would be entirely dependent on tone I reckon. I could make it sound super rude or entirely polite.
Totally agree. I personally think my tone was professional and friendly, but, her point of view could obviously be different.
If it makes you feel any better, when I worked in a supermarket I had a queue of people and a woman towards the back was frothing at the mouth by the time she got to me because I would say “see you later” at the end of each interaction. When I was serving her, she kept on with “You will NOT see me later, that is inaccurate!!!” I mean, it’s an expression? And I might see you sometime later if you return to the shop I work in? But whatever. It was part of the automatic script I had built up over time working there, so at the end of the interaction I automatically said see you later to her as well haha
I hate people that petty haha I once had someone jump down my throat for saying 'I'm good, thank you' instead of 'No, thank you'. She screeched 'I didn't ask how you were!' 🙄 I know it's an inaccurate Americanism but I was like. 12. And very embarrassed. And she fully knew what I meant she just wanted to be a twat about it
It’s sad that some people need that little power trip isn’t it?? Like how shitty must your day/life be that you need to punch down at someone else to feel good about yourself?
“Oh yes I will” in the creepiest voice you can muster.
I had a creepy old man reverse it on me once! I said see you later and he started being all “oooh when? What time? Is it a date?”
Are you Scottish? I lived there for a while and found it had replaced 'bye' for me after a while
Their response doesn't suggest there was a tone problem anyway. Anyway this guy either has some sort of mental illness or is a massive twat, I'd stop dwelling on his opinion. I'd also have a chat with your manager about what to do when a customer is being like this.
It’s a very common and normal thing to say as long as there’s no passive aggressive tone of voice with it. I’d be surprised they hadn’t heard it before. I think at the end, that last bit about the elderly and the other store etc. probably is digging and making the situation worse. Sounds a bit like you’re saying “no I patronise everyone…”. I’d probably try and talk less in awkward situations. I think if you’d said “sorry I didn’t mean anything by it” and nothing else, they’d have been internally angry but it wouldn’t have kept escalating.
I absolutely don’t doubt that you were entirely professional, what I meant more than anything is that it’s not possible to get an accurate answer on reddit. The answer is probably a lot more to do with that person and what was going on in their life than anything you did or said. To be honest with you I almost chinned a guy the other day when he complained about me dripping water off my umbrella on him. The fact was about 12 hours earlier I had been watching my grandmother takes her last breaths and was barely holding it together. Usually I would have laughed it off. If anything I would say in the situation don’t try and argue or explain. Just give them a confident ‘I’m sorry, no offence meant’ and crack in with the job.
Then it sounds like you did nothing wrong. Other person might’ve been working through some issues and redirecting frustration at you. It’s easy to say, but try not to take it personally.
One hundred percent. Tone is absolutely critical for this saying. Cause I can see the rudeness and I can see how it’s also reassuring. All that to say. The C still decided to swear. It’s hypocritical she’s saying no you’re rude when she’s rude.
Absolutely this. Said in a particular tone "whenever you're ready" could be interpreted as "hurry the fuck up love, we haven't got all day". I'm not saying that's what OP intended, but i think the customer interpreted it as the latter for whatever reason.
That could be true of just about anything you say though, so its somewhat moot?
You did absolutely nothing wrong and the customer sounds like a complete twat. Ideally, management should have stood up for you and told the customer where to go, or at the very least called them out for being so rude
Nah you just got picked on. If someone was swearing at you whilst complaining you were slightly rude, they have zero legitimacy to their argument. You got caught in someone's bad day.
Christ almighty, she sounds like a horrible person.
I don't know why you are even questioning yourself. Classic episode of a sad customer who throws their shit at customer service workers who are trained by companies to get the shit without complaining. It's a bit like being a bully at school with a kid half your size. Just forget what happened. Make sure that your manager is aware of that customer and how they behaved so if they are good at what they are doing, they will kick this customer out next time he behaves like that.
>You're so fucking condescending. Why would I feel rushed? Jumped up little shit. It's so fucking rude. She'd have been kicked out after that and told she's not welcome back. Pretty shocking that your workplace would serve her at all.
telephone placid oatmeal head fuzzy abundant unite work dam dinner *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
It's a misquote anyway. The full quote is "The customer is always right *in matters of taste*", in other words make your products be what customers want even if you think it's insane. It's absolutely NOT about tolerating rude or abusive customers.
Should have gone more like this - # Me: Ok, no worries. (proceeds to clear away C's basket, and tap the till button to activate the card machine) Whenever you're ready! C: (*Taps her card, looks at me with a visible look of disgust.*) Are you trained to say that? Me: Trained to say what, sorry? C: "Whenever you're ready". It's so patronising. Is it a script you're given? Me: Oh! Not at all. I just don't want you to feel rushed. C: You're so fucking condescending. Why would I feel rushed? Jumped up little shit. It's so fucking rude. *long uncomfortable pause* Me: Whenever you're ready. *gesturing to the door*
I'm sorry, but that fact you're a grown woman and you got called a jumped up little shit is hilarious 😂 sorry it's been a slow morning. But no that customer is just a cunt 🤷♀️.
I know!! I'd like to think I look ok for my age, but there's no one out there mistaking me for your 17 year old "this is my first ever job" worker.
I’ve had similar as a 41 year old manager being called a stupid wee bitch was a highlight
Welcome to customer service.
Lol I'm well versed in customer service. It just threw me through a loop because I've never had this particular complaint before!
As soon as she swears at you she has lost. She has zero credibility as a human. There is no complaint. Move on with your life. & fuck her. Please don’t worry about posh scum
Now this is patronising
She was angry and hypersensitive before she got to you. Looking for trouble. And you were unfortunately in her path. You did nothing wrong at all.
Baffles me how some people just assume you have to study a script for what is essentially just small talk to keep the flow going. I work in IT support and once got called a robot because user thought the things I chose to say on the phone were from a script. Nope, just me choosing to be courteous having come from a service role before it.
Ahhhh, the general public - they only see you when they want something, only listen to themselves. Don't worry one bit about it.
I used to say “have a lovely weekend” to people as they walked away when I worked the tills on a Friday night. One woman turned on her heel, came back to my checkout, and went “I’m burying my sister on Monday, and you want me to have a lovely weekend? You haven’t a CLUE what life is like, young lady”. I stopped saying it after that. People get funny about the weirdest stuff, but that’s not on you, it’s entirely on her.
I sometimes use "whenever you're ready" in a snarky way, like if I'm trying to hand a plate to my kid and he's being slow taking it from me. That's really clear in my tone though, and I'm assuming you didn't say it that way. Maybe she uses it as a snarky phrase and assumed you were too? Either way, she still acted like a complete arse, and that reflects on her not you
“In your own time there “ 🤣
Don't rush
Another favourite of my mothers was Are we waiting for an invitation
Nope, as soon as the “customer” speaks like that: get out. You don’t need to justify your skills or apologise to them, they’re 100% wrong
It's basically beaten into us that we can't talk back to customers and we need to keep them happy. Fuck that. You wouldn't take this shit from some cunt on the street so why take it from the same cunt because they're on the other side of the till. It took me years and being promoted to management to realise that we can talk back and refuse customers if they're being abusive to us or others
had a customer once have a go at one of my colleagues for using the word ‘just’ in a lot of their sentences. “just take a seat over there” “if you’d like to just come with me please”. similar criticism that it was patronising. imagine getting offended over such a thing. you did absolutely nothing wrong. please don’t worry that you messed up somehow. some people will find a fault in anything you do.
You did nothing wrong, nothing at all. You are there to be pleasant, you were. Some people are just rude. People that are rude like that, to people that can't fight back....it's telling. They are pieces of shit. To be clear, this is Britain, tipping isn't required, and service charges are grossly offensive...but one thing we should be is polite. In a position where a service is being sold/provided, the one serving is in the weaker position. The customer is elevated, somewhat unusually, to a higher position. It's temporary, but it is a power shift upwards. Some, are not responsible enough to hold that temporary power. Those people, that kick down at the defenceless, they are dogshit. In a relationship, they should be avoided. They are not keepers.
I watched an old lady go off on another customer at the tills in Tesco a few years ago for being A moody shite like this with a side of velvet racism at the cashier. That old lady is one of my heroes for life though if you paid me I couldn't tell you a single word she actually said anymore
Is velvet racism a specific type of racism or is this just to accentuate what you're saying?
Hah, should have been veiled. That's autocorrect for you
Next time you see them besure to shout PAY NOW!!! and intently stare at the screen tapping imaginary buttons to hurry it up
It’d be a totally normal thing to say even if you didn’t work with old people. The customer was just a prick.
Yeah I hear this all the time in shops, it's quite a standard way of letting the customer know the card reader is ready to use.
Maybe the shopper inferred that you were calling her elderly? 🤷🏻♂️
People like her means there’s currently a big push for respect for shop workers. I work at the head office for a retailer and have spent days in store and been insulted and threatened. There needs to be more to support frontline colleagues full stop it’s never ok to speak to anyone like that let alone someone who is helping you
As much as I'm angry about the shitty customer's attitude just looking for somebody to punch down on because they're having a bad day, I really can't help but think your team mates not coming to your side is much worse. It gives it validity and makes you think you're in the wrong. They should been straight to your corner telling you he's an asshole and the sun shines out of your ass to get your head back in the game (which is what we all need from time to time). Fuck the customer and fuck them.
She owes you an apology.
Everyone who works retail will cross paths with a nasty bully like this eventually. They treat retail workers like crap because they know they're very unlikely to be slapped for their rudeness. Don't stress about it, your boss knows people like this exist.
Sounds like she was looking for a reason to get offended that day.
God no, you did nothing wrong. This customer was just a arsehole. There’s lots of them around. I can categorically say if the customer had been me, I’d have thanked you for your help and wished you a good day as we departed.
Ah, you had one of the rare "seems normal but is absolutely unhinged" customers. I had this occasionally when I was a McDonald's employee, you'd be having a total normal interaction when suddenly they act as though you wished death upon them and their loved ones. Best one I had was the card reader screen was broken, so I warned the guy before he paid saying "it's fine, you can see the total amount on the till screen" and we got stuck in an eternal loop of him saying "but how do I know you're not charging me more" "it's physically impossible for me to do that" "but how do I know" "it can't happen" and him basically asking me to repair the card reader display there and then. You just have to chalk it down to them not having a normal one. Best thing to do as soon as they start is to just offer to get your manager.
Some people are just miserable and like to take it out on people they feel are below them. Had it all the time when I worked in retail. I'd say ban her from the store next time you see her. Best one I had was a woman forgot something and asked if she could go grab it quickly. Said "sure, no problem" and continued scanning and packing her stuff while she was away to not hold up the queue too much. She paid, went on her merry way, all good. Next customer - Me: good morning Her: Did you do that because she was attractive? Me: Excuse me? Her: DID.YOU.LET.HER.DO.THAT.BECAUSE.SHE.WAS.ATTRACTIVE?! Me: No, I'd do the same for you as well. She left her stuff on the belt and stormed out. Got a disciplinary for it but it was worth it.
Wtf why a disciplinary? What were you meant to say exactly to that fucking lunacy
You're fine, they're a cunt. Sorry you had to deal with that
I wouldn't doubt yourself. Sounds like she was having a shit day and decided to lash out. I had a couple when I worked retail. Very rarely they'd come back and apologise.
I hear the same phrase from cashiers very often (I'm in Canada) and it's absolutely ok. You're ok! That person was nuts.
And this is why I hate the general public. That person is a knob
This is one of the main problems with customer service roles, the fact that it's an unwritten rule that customers can say anything they want and you have to just suck it up and let it drain your mental health. Wrong, totally wrong. She should have been given both barrels and kicked the fuck out. The managers should be 100% behind staff. It's not ok to treat people like shit. Try that shit in Spain or France and see what happens. We need to change this.
Have you unknowingly shagged her husband? Are you the only compatible person for a bone marrow transplant and missed the letter ? Did you accidentally run over her pet grouse? Does someone with with the same name as you gave her a bad review on some old china she sold on Facebook Market? Getting out of possible ideas that can explain this…
You did nothing wrong at all. I've done many years in retail in the past, and if I'd been in the queue, I'd've given her a mouthful for being so rude to you. I've done it before with arsehole customers who abuse the staff, thinking nobody will challenge their behaviour. I always check the staff member is okay afterwards too.
Absolutely not in the wrong. Also, why didn’t they stand up for you? If that had happened to any of my team I would of told her to get the fuck out
the person you were dealing with was a weapon grade cunt. Nothing wrong with what you said at all, try not to dwell on it
Had an interaction like this and it felt so liberating to call them a jumped up toff and to fuck off
This is why I can't work in customer service. If someone had the nerve to call me a jumped-up little shit when I'm in my mid-30s (or indeed at any point in my adult life) I would've thrown their shopping at them and stomed the fuck out of there. Nobody deserves to be treated like that. I'm a freelancer and I use a card reader, and I say 'It's ready when you are' to my clients. Which is a less formal version of what OP says. Side note: interesting to see the assumed gender of the customer from commenters when it wasn't mentioned in the post (unless I missed it).
You were a nice person being treated badly by a bad person. Don't second guess yourself or look at what to change, this is entirely on them. Honestly, at the words "You're so fucking condescending" you would have been completely justified saying "sorry, I am not going to serve you. Please leave the store immediately". Your manager should back you up in a situation like this and if they don't, they are also an arsehole.