I think it’s safe to say that having that I am confusion moment every once in a while is part of what makes living fun.
Sure, it greatly depends on your attitude and how you’ll handle it once confusion hits you square in the face in a public setting and everyone else capitalizes on it. But, if you can laugh at yourself, you’re golden.
But if you can’t, well, then you’re gonna be hamulated humiliated in a store full of people because you asked a manager to fire someone who doesn’t even work there.
More Info: Reddit
Being confused for an employee is an interesting opportunity for some to get mischievous in, and even more so if the customer is asking for it
Image credits: F. D. Richards (not the actual photo)
This Redditor shared how they were mistaken for a local farm supply store employee, a situation that led to public humiliation in mere minutes
Image credits: Own_Row_9101
The customer just would not stop with her pestering, so the author of the post had to be “fired” just to prove the point that she goofed up
Image credits: Maarten (not the actual photo)
The story goes that OP, Reddit user u/Own_Row_9101, used to work at Kroger. After work, OP went to a local farm supply shop—because his family owned pets and farm animals and he needed something from there—and he incidentally also wore his Kroger uniform.
It wasn’t long until some other store patron approached OP and started asking for help with some clothes. At first, OP was polite and directed the shopper in the general direction of the clothes aisle. It also didn’t take long for her to come back and start asking for him to unlock the changing booths so she could try something on.
It didn’t help that the store patron gave OP a bit of an attitude, so OP gave some attitude back and shooed her away like Jack Sparrow shoos whatever this is. Yet again, it didn’t take long for the woman to appear in the flesh, this time with a manager.
She demanded OP apologize to her. The manager, seemingly a tad bit confused, prompted OP about it. OP refused to apologize and continued with what must be one of the most sincerely funny things you could ever say in front of someone annoyingly rude in the store: “What for? She’s rude, obnoxious, and irritating as hell. No, I don’t want to apologize.”
The back-and-forth continued for a bit until the shopper demanded that OP be fired. The manager tried to explain why that couldn’t be done, but OP prodded him to just save everyone the hassle and to just fire him. And so he did. OP quickly leaned in and sarcastically said “Are you happy now ma’am? That’s the third time he’s fired me this week. Have a nice day. Thanks for shopping Smith’s Food & Drug,” and then walked away. The store burst into laughter. The shopper also burst a vein and stormed out.
Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)
Aside from the teeny-tiny spelling mistake, brought to us by auto-correct, that OP left and then everyone had to make note of it (spoiler, it was the word humiliated, for some reason it got spelled as hamulated), folks enjoyed the story.
Some were surprised at the lady’s sheer attitude, singling OP out every time she approached him, which lays testament to how questionable their intelligence is sometimes. There’s also further proof as OP is quite straightforward with his remark about the lady just not getting it that he ain’t no employee.
Another Redditor shared a story of how they went to annoy their friend where they worked and happened to start helping an old lady with some gardening-related matter when another patron showed up and absolutely demanded services from this person. Long story short, their friend had to come over, listen to the patron being upset, then hire and then fire the friend on the spot.
And yet others were wondering if this was the third time… what about the other two? We need to know now. They might have had something to do with being more straightforward and OP could have just been the same in this situation, explaining he doesn’t work there. But that would’ve been boring, right? Also, it’s not their fault folks can’t read the name on the uniform.
The post got nearly 5,000 upvotes (with a 94% approval rating) and a good handful of Reddit awards. You can check out the post right here.
Image credits: cottonbro studio (not the actual photo)
It goes without saying that what OP did was not the correct way of dealing with an annoying customer, but they weren’t employees either, so no judgement there. However, folks should not forget that this is retail—of course it’s gonna be frustrating because the floodgate for ignorance is open to everyone and it just naturally comes with the territory.
Folks in retail stores are usually one of four things (or a mix of several): angry, indecisive, demanding or critical. In any case, it can be frustrating for the retail employee to handle it. However, there are some tactics to defuse these kinds of customers.
If a customer is getting angry about something, kick it off with an apology—politeness and humility can go a long way in stopping one’s anger dead in its tracks. Then proceed to talk them through it with a calm tone. Whatever you do, don’t reciprocate the anger as it only begets more of it.
If a customer is, say, demanding, clients of this caliber often have a misunderstanding of how the employee can help them. In that case, just reassure them that you will do your best to ensure they get what they want, and get ready to make a compromise if need be. Calling the manager is a possible solution as they usually have more decision-making power.
There are also critical customers, who might actually have some good insights in what they say, so active listening can turn out to be useful in more ways than one. Say you appreciate their honesty and input, and assure them you’ll get the word across to the decision-makers in the store.
In any case, it’s key to stay professional, remain calm, listen and then speak calmly, all the while striving for a solution and meeting the customer’s needs. And if you’re not an employee and you do end up getting yourself into some mischief, then at least share the results on r/IDontWorkHereLady.
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Folks enjoyed this I don’t work here, Lady story, and even more so the author’s autocorrect mishaps
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