These people are CRAZY!

After reading the truck driver blog, where he wrote about driving a truck (imagine that), I got the idea to post about work.

As I'm driving to work, I am thinking about what kind of things happen that would be somewhat interesting to write about. As an assistant store manager at Lowe's, there is a lot of things I do each day. Most of these things are really nothing to write about. Things like approving a price change and checking delivery trucks are just not interesting.

Well, now that the day has ended let me tell you some of the things I had to deal with.

When I first got to work a customer was asking for the store manager at the front desk. I went over and he refused to talk to me. He wanted THE store manager. I got the manager and he listened to this customer complain that a shopping cart hit his truck in the parking lot. The manager told him we are not responsible for carts, but this guy insisted we file a claim on it. I went outside to view it with my store manager. There were two white marks on the side of this truck, and a small dent. Something certainly hit it, and a blue cart was pushed up against the truck. The white marks and dent was at least four inches higher than the handle of the cart. The store manager felt like someone was trying to get something for nothing, and told the guy the cart didn't cause the damage, there is no claim. The customer got very angry and called the police to come out. When the officer got to us, he heard the customer complaint and said, "ok, so what do you want me to do?".
I was laughing on the inside now. I was leaning on a sign in the parking lot that says, "lowe's is not responsible for carts left unattended in the parking lot". The officer pointed this out to the customer. He also told the guy, who had called his dad out to the store by now, that it is a civil matter, and he could do nothing. What a waste of time. We filled out our report and called it into the insurance company after taking some pictures.

Wow! What a way to start the day.
I went on for the next few hours doing the normal things like approving pricing, answering the phone every five minutes, and walking the store to be sure it was running smoothly. Then I get a call from a customer. He purchased a riding lawn mower last year and now he said it isn't working right. I told him after that amount of time it needs to go to manufacture warranty. He could call and take it for service, or bring it to the store for repair. At this time of year, it would take up to two weeks. He asked if I was coming to cut his grass in that two week period. He would only accept bringing it back for a refund as a solution. I would not allow that, so he told me that we don't stand behind our product. I explained that I did not manufacture that machine. I'm a retailer, not a manufacturer. I reminded him that he could bring it back to the store for repair if that was more convenient for him. He hung up on me.

After lunch an employee said that he needed to talk to me. We went into the back office where I had to become a counselor for about forty minutes. This guy has one screwed up home life, and on top of that his green card expired. He is from London, and he told me that immigration here lost his application for citizenship. He is married to an American and has lived here for almost ten years, and they lost his papers. He also said he is on medications that suppress the feeling of wanting to kill. I opened the door to the office as he told me that part.

The store manager went home, leaving me the highest ranking person in the building until close. Another call from the service desk telling me that a customer wants the manager.
This customer said that he purchased a bottle of deck wash that leaked in his trunk. We go out and look at it. Sure enough, several small bleach spots throughout the trunk. I asked him if the bottle had been opened in the store. "Nope." I asked him if a Lowe's employee loaded his car before he left. "Nope." Then I told him that Lowe's is not responsible for this, and he could complain to the manufacture about this. That is when the fun started. He told me that he is a lawyer and he KNOWS that I'm responsible for this.

me: What can I do for you then?
"lawyer": I want to be compensated!
me: that is not going to happen. If you would like, I could take some pictures and submit it to insurance as a claim.

That's what I did. As I was writing the report, he told me he WAS going to spend more than $4,000 more but that was obviously not going to happen now. I replied, "ok."
He couldn't believe that I didn't care I was losing a sale. I told him he already made his mind up to not shop with us because a bottle of bleach spilled, and that I would not argue with him about it.
He said what upset him is that I was trying to blow him off. I disagreed.
Then, as we were in the parking lot at his car, he said it's a good thing that Home Depot is in town. I said, "yes sir, they are only a few block that way." as I pointed down the road.

He got in his car and left.

Finished cleaning up the store, securing the money, and locking the doors. The day was over.

I have a headache now.