It Happened at Work

One of my duties is to either deny or approve returns at the Customer Service desk, so I am called over to the desk a few times a night. Sometimes these are quite unbelievable.

We had a customer that insisted that she didn't have to pay Maine Sales Tax because she is from New Hampshire. It took me and another CSM to get her to understand that when you are shopping in Maine you have to pay the sales tax.

There was the customer that brought back a home blood pressure tester that she had bought 4 years ago and insisted that she could return it because it had quit working and had a warranty. The Customer Service Associate and I had a difficult time getting her to understand that she had to contact the manufacturer, that the warranty is through the manufacturer, not through Walmart, and for most items we have a 90 day return policy.

I have had customers tell me that we should have every single policy that the company has regarding returns posted through out the store, even though they are clearly posted at Customer Service.

A couple of weeks ago I was called over to a register for a price check, where the customer was saying that an item was on clearance. The item in question was one that we had just started carrying a week early. I went and did the price check any way and it was marked for the price that the register rang it at.
Sometimes people get angry because we have to do a price check.
I think they just don't realize that we can't take their word for it, we have to go and check the price. Sometimes they are right about the price, but more often than not the price rang up turns out to be correct.

I have had customers chew me and the cashier out because their credit card gets denied. I'm sorry, this isn't our fault, when it comes up credit provider denies the charge, there isn't anything that we can't do anything about.


I think the best one that I have heard though is this one. We have a very short cashier. She was covering customer service one night when a customer came in to cash a paycheck. This man Said to the cashier "You are short. I bet you give good sex." She tried to ignore the statement, then he noticed that she wasn't wearing a wedding ring when she handed him is money. "Oh I see you're single." Just at the time the phone rang and she went to answer it and the man left without any further comments.
The poor cashier was so embarrassed, and now she wears a ring when she comes to work to keep men like that from hitting on her.


Now I do have to say that I have seen some very good things happen.

I had an elderly couple pay for formula for a young mother when she tried to use a WIC check early. If you aren't familiar with WIC, the checks have a starting and ending date of when they can be used.

I had an older customer help a young father pay for his groceries when he didn't have enough money for them.

People like the last two examples help to restore one's faith in the human race.

That overwhelmed feeling

Have you felt overwhelmed and that you didn't have time for anything? That's how I have been feeling for a month and a half now. I probably wouldn't have time for art except that I take it to work with me and work on it while I'm on my lunch hour. I get this way once in awhile and it is hard to shake. It seems to happen any time there are changes in my life. The most recent change is a change in my schedule at work. I used to work 2:00 pm to 11:00 pm, however due to changes in the scheduling I needed to open up the hours I am available in order to get my hours. So now I am available from 12:30 pm to 11:00 pm. Since I don't sleep well, due to night sweats, I sleep as late as possible in the morning, this leaves me feeling rushed to get ready for work. I just need to adjust but it seems to be taking too long this time.

Anyway, this is part the reason that I have not been here much and why I haven't been visiting you all at your blogs lately, well, that and internet issues.

Hopefully, I'll be seeing you all more regularly soon. Until then, take care.

Baker's Butterfly

Last month I asked Baker Watson at Fish and Frog - Turtle and Blog if I could use some of his photos as reference photos for art. I just completed the first one, pastel, 9x12, on Canson paper. I call it "Simple Beauty".
If you would like to view the original photo you can find it Here.

Thank you very much, Baker. I hope you like it.