I used to work at a coffee bar in a grocery store. One day a lady got in line behind a co-worker I was ringing up. She seemed very impatient, to a point were she started to order before I was done with my co-worker. I get her some coffee and still she is being rude to me. Treating me as if I was an idiot and she was a queen. After she was done, she went over to put cream in her coffee. I start to help someone else. Once I was finished, I saw her reaching around the plexus-glass to steal some cups. When she notices that I was watching, she demands I give her lids. I politely tell her that next time she wants more cups she should ask because customers are not allowed behind the glass. At this, she starts yelling at me about how she is a regular (yet I had never seen her in the whole year I worked there) and that the manager said she could do whatever she wanted. She then proceeds to tell me that I am extremely rude and that she will be reporting me. The lady storms off, leaving her keys because she was so focused on being rude to me. I call someone over to take the keys to the lost and found. Not even a minute later, she storms back in accusing me of stealing her keys. She is yelling at the top of her lungs, embarrassing me in front of customers. Finally, when I get a word in, I tell her that they are where all the lost items belong, at the front desk.
This situation taught me to be patient not only with angry customer but also situations in which someone is emotionally lashing me. The lady clearly came from a different background. Maybe she felt I was not treating her with the same respect that elders are treated in her country. Whatever the cause, yelling back at her would have done nothing. Instead I chose to stay calm and let her yell. In the end she was the one that made a fool of her self. This is something that is hard for me. I am naturally an impatient person, after this situation I found my self not wanting to be like her. She was rude and pushy for no reason. I served her to the best of my abilities yet it was not good enough for her. Had she come in with a better attitude she would not have forgotten her keys. Later I found out that my manager had to ask her to not come back due to harassment of the workers.
Hi Melissa! Wow this woman sounds like a real piece of work. It is amazing to me how people can be so rude to another person and not feel like a complete jerk afterwards? There have been times in all of our lives where we have been a little rude to someone but I always feel terrible afterwards and feel the need to find that person and apologize to them for being such a jerk! I think you did the right thing in just letting this woman go off. With someone that unhappy and miserable there is nothing else that you can do. If you had yelled back at her she would have probably been worse and that would have just made your job even harder! I wonder if people like that want people to fight back with them. You know the kind of person who just wants and likes to fight for no reason? Well I hope she never comes back in and gives you more trouble!
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