Pot plants.
I work as a part-time checkout supervisor at my local supermarket. As with any job in the service industry, I have had my fair share of wanky, obnoxious, drunk and sleazy customers. As well as the one who wet himself at my checkout. And yes, the customer is nearly ALWAYS wrong. However, I digress. This story is of the day I lost faith in the human race.

It was a typical quiet Tuesday night, and I was just about to head off to take my break. A large, aggressive-looking woman (who looked suspiciously beardy...) comes storming up to my checkout holding a pot-plant. I scan it for her and ask her if she would like a plastic bag. She then proceeds to inform me that
"This is a gift, I would like to get it gift wrapped!"
I raise my eyebrows and explain that we are a supermarket chain and we do not specialize in wrapping up pot plants in pretty paper. I suggests she visits the nearby gift store if she expects this sort of treatment.

"Well, that's just NOT good enough!! I want to see your SUPERVISOR!"

I duly inform her that I am in fact the supervisor. I ask if she would like to speak to our store manager, who was nearby. She declines and proceeds to talk at me for HOURS about how

"they should train you better, you need to be prepared to meet the needs to EVERY customer", blah blah blah.

By now I am getting VERY hungry and rather irritable. I burst out with:

"You appear to enjoy the sound of your own voice very much, but if you would just listen to ME for a moment...we are a SUP-ER-MAR-KET. I don't know where you usually shop, and what amazing gift-wrapping checkout operators you've been talking to, but we will NEVER wrap up your pot plant. I have some newspaper under my checkout. Would you like me to wrap your plant in NEWSPAPER? No? Then GO TO A GIFT SHOP."

She proceeds to slam the pot plant down on my checkout and storm out. Score: $5 of hers wasted, and I sold myself the pot plant for 50c later. It died three days later.

Moral? Do NOT fuck with a hungry supervisor. Ever.
(Captain Communism isn't any sort of communist., Wed 10 Sep 2008, 11:00, 1 reply)

Our little outfit will occasionally wrap things up nice for customers - IF:

- The customer realises that it's not actually an official service we must always provide, just something extra we sometimes do, to go the extra mile.
- We have the time, staff, and material. Asking when we're 40% understaffed, and it's the lunch rush, will probably not succeed.
- You are at least 'civil', 'polite' is even better.
- It's actually a wrappable item.
(The Incredible Sulk Finally remembered his password on, Wed 10 Sep 2008, 15:50, closed)