Bad Customers!

[ms.marymac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MAC_Whore Ummm...the fact that I've stopped applying your makeup should be telling you it's not "OK", huh?

That and the wails of your distraught child!

Lara, are you sure your counter isn't near a zoo?

 

[maxcat]

I love the customers who assume I'm a babysitter... that my job is to entertain little whozits so they can have their "me time". I've had women try to hand me their babies. Um, NO.

Had two little demon boys under five horking on our demo stations the other day. They thought it was HILARIOUS.
Mom was at the other side of the counter, out of sight, pretending to be oblivious. Dragged them on over to her, told her to please watch her children because they're not only spitting all over everything... which is a health hazard to our clients... but "more importantly" there are lots of things on our counter that could seriously harm a child...

To which she responded Oh Yeah? Like what???

(Considering calling child protection at this point if she's this stupid -took a deep breath...)

"Let's start with Isopropyl alcohol -which even in small quantities, less than an ounce could kill them outright, cause brain damage - coma due to alcohol poisoning would be your best case scenario with that... Nail polish remover which containes acetone... which might not kill them as fast but will certainly land them in intensive care.... Nail polish could blind them... Spatulas and mascara wands are small enough to be choking hazards, which again could kill them outright or lead to severe brain damage from oxygen deprivation... and they're yours, not mine. We're not responsible if they get hurt here. We can't be expected to watch them. It's simply not our job."
Dirty look ensued and she left without saying another word.

Not that I'm reccomending listing ways a child could die if left unattended at a counter for every circumstance, but it sure works on those gals who think the world is their daycare.

 

[Carmen75]

Quote:

Originally Posted by maxcat I love the customers who assume I'm a babysitter... that my job is to entertain little whozits so they can have their "me time". I've had women try to hand me their babies. Um, NO. Had two little demon boys under five horking on our demo stations the other day. They thought it was HILARIOUS. Mom was at the other side of the counter, out of sight, pretending to be oblivious. Dragged them on over to her, told her to please watch her children because they're not only spitting all over everything... which is a health hazard to our clients... but "more importantly" there are lots of things on our counter that could seriously harm a child... To which she responded Oh Yeah? Like what??? (Considering calling child protection at this point if she's this stupid -took a deep breath...) "Let's start with Isopropyl alcohol -which even in small quantities, less than an ounce could kill them outright, cause brain damage - coma due to alcohol poisoning would be your best case scenario with that... Nail polish remover which containes acetone... which might not kill them as fast but will certainly land them in intensive care.... Nail polish could blind them... Spatulas and mascara wands are small enough to be choking hazards, which again could kill them outright or lead to severe brain damage from oxygen deprivation... and they're yours, not mine. We're not responsible if they get hurt here. We can't be expected to watch them. It's simply not our job." Dirty look ensued and she left without saying another word. Not that I'm reccomending listing ways a child could die if left unattended at a counter for every circumstance, but it sure works on those gals who think the world is their daycare.

 

[MisStarrlight]

At my location we have a huge problem with people being cheap & they will get a full makeover to go out & then return everything the next day. It is such an issue that we have been told to write "Makeover" across the top of the receipt & they can only exchange those items.

I write across the return barcode so that they cannot rip off the top of the receipt (cause I've seen that a ton too)...can you believe that this girl ripped off where I wrote makeover-a distinct diagonal across the barcode-& then sent her friend into return the stuff for her...and of course, came to me.

Thankfully the friend didn't fight with me, but really, I hate people (the girl who got the makeover) who are so sleazy like that.

 

[MisStarrlight]

I'm sorry to keep reviving this thread (I guess I'm too much of a pessimist...or maybe I have too much anger. I think it may be time to find a new job-I'm really not able to handle retail much longer...at least not at my location anyway)

Anyways....so on Saturday we were stupid busy with makeovers-as usual. I was having issues with my eyes (they were all blurry & I couldn't see straight & couldn't really see color differences), so I stayed free from a makeover & helped all the non-makeover, regular customers. I had about 5 customers lined up & waiting for me to help them & this one girl was standing by the foundation. I said hi & asked how she was & told her that I would be with her as soon as I could. She (rudely) asked how long the wait for a makeover was. I looked at the time-it was 9:20, so I apologized & told her that we wouldn't be able to do her makeup tonight, that we had several people waiting and that I could book her an appointment for next week if she'd like. She shot back at me "Well, I'm going out tonight." I informed her that we were closing shortly and it was not possible to do her face, that next time she should come earlier-by at least 8-just to be safe. She just glared at me while I excused myself to go help the other customers who were there before her.

She proceeded to go over to my 3rd key, who told her the same thing, but then she lied to my 3rd key, telling her that she had an appointment & had been there since 8pm...so one girl took her (staying on an extra 45 minutes so there wouldn't be an issue with this chick). She did her face & then this chick was having issues with her eyebrows, wanting my co-worker to pluck & trim her brows (WTF?!?!). At this point, it was well past 10pm & Macy's was turning the lights off on us.

She finally made her 5 item purchase & left....and then around 5:30 today the girl shows up at the counter with her MAC bag in hand. I mouth to the girl helping her not to do a return & as it turns out, the MA that did the original makeover had written "makeover" across the receipt, so it wasn't even a question. We tried to get her to just do an exchange, but she started to throw a fit so as per Macy's policy, we, of course, had to take the stuff back, but apparently she has done this several times, my ARM recognized her & added her to the front of our appt book so that we know how to deal with her the next time she comes in (read:we don't do makeovers for her any longer).

This girl wasn't even my customer, but her lying & conning got me soooo angry I really wanted to jump across the counter & punch her in the face.

 

[MsButterfli]

sigh...thats crazy..that would been a day i woulda followed her to the parking lot and well....never mind u get the idea lol

 

[amoona]

Damn I guess I'm lucky haha. I've luckily never had too much trouble in retail which I guess is why I don't mind working retail. I had worse customers at the bank ... you wouldn't believe.

The only thing that sorta gets me is every girl sitting down and asking for a "smokey eye" yet not telling me their idea of a smokey eye. I've told a million girls it seems like that everyone has their own idea of what a smokey eye is and for me to help her I need to know what her idea of a smokey eye is. Then my fav response is "idk jus make it smokey" haha.

The only issue I've had so far is today when I was on the floor alone in the morning. These two girls wanted me to do an eye demo because they scheduled an appointment for prom and wanted tyo see what they wanted. They didn't have an appointment with us and they flat out said they weren't going to buy nething which is fine is its dead. I had three customers waiting for products so I just explained to these girls they'd have to wait until I finished ringing up these customers. They threw an attitude real quick and waited around with their hands on their hips. Then I looked up and they were gone but they managed to leave a mess of eyehshadows.

 

[calbear]

I always come back to this thread because I read the other threads on the chat board and realize that some of the threads started are from the 'bad customers' we speak of in this thread. I am sooo frustrated by the lack of compassion that some people display when talking about a retail experience.

I think of the day that I went to work after having a serious root canal but I was the only person opening with a manager and I didn't want to leave the crew in a desperate situation. I thnk about the day that I got hives from my neck to my knees from an allergic reation but I hid it and came to work only to have to leave to go to the hospital. I came to work just cause it was a prom saturday and I didn't want my crew to be short.

Yet in still I see threads cause some poor MA didn't remember one product that MAC has. For every customer who thinks I should know about every current product, there is another who thinks I should know about every past product they ever put out or things I haven't even seen in update yet.

For every thread that says MAC MA's suck and how the MA's are not as good as they used to be - I have to say that the customer has changed as well. I never went into a MAC five minutes before closing and demanded that someone play around with some colors for me after telling them that I wasn't going to buy something. Try that mess on a slow Tuesday.

Amoona: you will shortly run into the scammers and mean people we speak of here. The ones that lie and say you didn't put stuff in their bag and we generously accomodate them, only to see them come in 10 minutes later and have them try to pull the same thing with another MA. Or the day you turn your back and now you are missing at least 20 eyeshadows off the wall and you can't say anything to the large group of girls who are huddled around that area and won't move, only to have the little heathens come back and wave at you as they pass by your store after making out like bandits.

I'm not saying that there aren't bad MA's but there is two sides to this.

 

[ms.marymac]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MisStarrlight I'm sorry to keep reviving this thread (I guess I'm too much of a pessimist...or maybe I have too much anger. I think it may be time to find a new job-I'm really not able to handle retail much longer...at least not at my location anyway) Anyways....so on Saturday we were stupid busy with makeovers-as usual. I was having issues with my eyes (they were all blurry & I couldn't see straight & couldn't really see color differences), so I stayed free from a makeover & helped all the non-makeover, regular customers. I had about 5 customers lined up & waiting for me to help them & this one girl was standing by the foundation. I said hi & asked how she was & told her that I would be with her as soon as I could. She (rudely) asked how long the wait for a makeover was. I looked at the time-it was 9:20, so I apologized & told her that we wouldn't be able to do her makeup tonight, that we had several people waiting and that I could book her an appointment for next week if she'd like. She shot back at me "Well, I'm going out tonight." I informed her that we were closing shortly and it was not possible to do her face, that next time she should come earlier-by at least 8-just to be safe. She just glared at me while I excused myself to go help the other customers who were there before her. She proceeded to go over to my 3rd key, who told her the same thing, but then she lied to my 3rd key, telling her that she had an appointment & had been there since 8pm...so one girl took her (staying on an extra 45 minutes so there wouldn't be an issue with this chick). She did her face & then this chick was having issues with her eyebrows, wanting my co-worker to pluck & trim her brows (WTF?!?!). At this point, it was well past 10pm & Macy's was turning the lights off on us. She finally made her 5 item purchase & left....and then around 5:30 today the girl shows up at the counter with her MAC bag in hand. I mouth to the girl helping her not to do a return & as it turns out, the MA that did the original makeover had written "makeover" across the receipt, so it wasn't even a question. We tried to get her to just do an exchange, but she started to throw a fit so as per Macy's policy, we, of course, had to take the stuff back, but apparently she has done this several times, my ARM recognized her & added her to the front of our appt book so that we know how to deal with her the next time she comes in (read:we don't do makeovers for her any longer). This girl wasn't even my customer, but her lying & conning got me soooo angry I really wanted to jump across the counter & punch her in the face.

Don't feel bad about bumping this thread up. It is actually helpful to me to be able to vent here and see that I am not the only one dealing with frustrating situations at work. Even though I know it happens to other employees-just being able to read about everyone's experiences helps me deal with it, believe it or not.

I get soooo frustated at the "I am going out" girl. I can understand wanting to try out things and waiting to see how your skin reacts, wanting to go home and show it to your DH or whatever, but the "going out" girl is just trifling-especially the ones that come in in with a horrible attitude. The ones that have no intention of buying or learning, the ones that nick pick everything, the ones who are rude to other customers. If you know so much, why don't do you do it your damn self? I'll even let you use my brush.

I am very patient and (try to be) understanding, but man that frosts my cookies!!

 

[Ella_]

Not my experience with a bad customer, but I witnessed it today...
I was at a department store browsing the cosmetics and waiting for a friend to finish up with her purchases while this horrible troll of a woman was antagonising the sole MA at the counter.

This woman demanded a makeover - it was 10 mins to close at that point but MA aggreed. So I stand by watching this troll swear at the MA, call her a cu*t and pretty much every other name under the sun for no reason at all.

It got to the point where I had to intervene. This troll woman had a hissy fit because she didnt like the blue that SHE picked out, she demanded the MA go and get another blue which was still in the display at the other side of the counter. While the MA had her back turned the troll stole 3 brushes and several eyeshadows from the brush belt and products that were sitting on the counter beside her. I walked up to her and said loud enough for the MA to hear "Those brushes and products dont belong to you and if you dont put them back Im going to have to go get security" The MA came over asked what the matter was, I told her what the troll had taken and she asked for her items back. The troll started swearing at us both and calling us liars etc then noticed the security camera that was trained on us and saw a security guard walking over.

She threw the stolen stuff at us and bolted, the security guy chased her down. I bought the MA a coffee and when I left the center I saw the troll woman being escorted out by police.

 

[calbear]

Let me be the first to say thank you Ella - you stood up for that poor MA which many don't do.

 

[CaraAmericana]

Yesterday, it was 15 minutes to close and another customer, who did arrive before me but only by seconds, asked the only MA working if she could have her eyes done and the MA said sure. Then quickly asked what I needed before she started on the other girl's eyes. I told her I already knew what I wanted and told her the shade name. The other girl started to huff loud and mumbled something. I looked at her and the little snot rolled her eyes (can't believe women still do that). I ignored her. So as I am getting rung up (which was ike a ONE stupid minute later) the snot now mumbled so I could hear. "Dang, I thought I was here first, why she getting done before me" I ignored her.
NOW, I can see how a customer and a Employee should respect each other and continue to be professional even if one is starting to be rude to the other. But as a fellow customer, I have no responsibility to be nice to you. Especially if you call me a stuckup racist. ????? I guarantee you race was not an issue. But stupidity was because as she is latina, so am I, but she was too ignorant to see that. Anyway I won't go into specifics, but the exchange of words was not pretty.

Did she think I had to wait for my minute transaction for her 15 minute makeup to be done. The MA was just trying to manage time and tasks. And she did what most would have.

 

[lara]

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS.

I'm *this* close to snapping.

 

[GreekChick]

Has anyone ever had this happen? Oh my god, if it happens one more time, MAC should downright stop it's return policy:
A woman comes up to me wanting to exchange a product. "Hi, I came to buy Metaphysical Chromeglass yesterday, and all of a sudden when I opened the box, there was an "Oh Baby" lipglass!!
...Please...I've has this happen to me before. Do these people think we're stupid? She just wants us to give her another Metaphysical for free. When it had previously happened, we still did the exchange anyway.
This time...I went to get my manager. I explained to her the situation. My manager takes the box, opens it and starts examining Oh Baby. In the meantime, the woman is glaring at me because I didnt do the exchange myself. Hum wonder why? My manager says " This is an old batch of Oh Baby, probably from 3-4 yrs ago, you can see this if you flip the lipgloss upside down, the stickers aren't the same anymore. It's impossible this came in the box. For today I'll do the exchange but I doubt you'll purchase a product like this again"
No!!!!!!!!!!! I was *pissed*. Why can't someone just respond that no, we cannot do the exchange? It's called theft.

 

[MisStarrlight]

All the time..or even better, people who try to return empty things-like, they used up their old product, bought a replacement & then put the used up package into the new box to return it...expecting that we won't check the box.


But the absolute best is when one lady tried to put an empty Revlon bottle into a SFF box...are you kidding me?

 

[GreekChick]

Haha are you serious??? Seriously, I don't understand some people.
I do have to say though, the absolute best "bad" customer I have ever seen until now was this one lady who wanted to return a blush brush that, according to her, was "shedding". The Kodak moment was when my coworker examined the brush only to find that there was purple nail polish coloring the handle. And purple is the color of someone's brushbelt at our counter. That's how we identify them, and what brushes go to whom. This lady has been *banned* from the counter. A thief stopped in her tracks.

 

[ms.marymac]

About the worst return scam I've dealt with is someone returning a powder product they dropped "and for some reason, it just shattered!"

Of course now that I've typed that someone will bring in a WnW bottle inside a MAC box.

 

[calbear]

Yeah we get people all the time trying to pass off non MAC items for B2M as well. You get stuff in a bag and you go to count it and there is something that is soooooo obviously not MAC that you get annoyed cause they think you are just soooo stupid. IT'S GOT SOMEONE ELSE'S LOGO ON IT!!!!!!!!

 

[MACForME]

I'm so glad I freelance. I was in MAC in Wayne Nj the other day. The place was packed. I always know what I want before I get there, usually because the SA's are super busy. I hate it when i go and there are like 20 teens in a pack, you cant get near anything, they take things off one display, put them in another so some of us can't even see the new items. I always try to go to the same MA/SA when i can usually they seem relieved to see someone they "recognize". I dont' know how you guys stand it.. "the customer" can be the meanest type of person out there.. I never abuse anyone in a service type job, because I know I couldn't do it.. and the kinder I am, the more happy the person is to help me out...

 

[lara]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MACForME ...there are like 20 teens in a pack, you cant get near anything, they take things off one display, put them in another so some of us can't even see the new items.

Now you know why I'm ready to go ballistic at work.

Only a few more days until school holidays are over and everything can go back to normal.