I Survived
Had an issue with a suspicious and rowdy customer yesterday, but otherwise Victoria Day went very well. Did about double the sales I was expecting - no particularly huge purchases, just INSANE volume! More than I’d ever seen at my little shop.
That suspicious customer, tho - he came in with his hood pulled so tight you couldn’t see most of his face, and he looked young. So right away one of my staff - Kevin - asked him for ID, because we can’t sell to anyone under 18.
The guy was like “Fuck off, I’ll show ID if I decide to buy something” and Kevin tried to explain, ‘No, you can’t be in here unattended if you’re a minor, please prove to me you’re 18′ and the guy started getting nasty. I can’t remember his exact words but ‘fucker’ and ‘asshole’ were definitely in there.
So I stepped in.
“Sir, I can’t let you shop unless I know you’re of age. Can I please see some ID?”
“Fuckin’ bitch I ain’t showing you nothing, what right you got to speak to me? Fuck off”
“I’m the manager and I have the right to uphold my store’s rules. If you can’t show ID to prove you’re 18, you have to leave.”
“You can’t make me leave, you ain’t got no authority, stupid bitch” and he continued, but frankly I stopped listening. I pulled out my phone
“Well, if I can’t make you leave I’ll call someone who can, Hello Mr 911″ and I started dialing such
You shoulda seen how fast he turned around and started heading for the exit. I followed, cheerfully shouting, “Feel free to shop with us when you’re of age! Have a nice day!” as he continued cursing me out.
I’m proud of how I handled the situation, but - WOW DID I EVER HAVE AN ANXIETY ATTACK HA HA HA. I had to leave my staff in charge for a few minutes while I went outside to calm down. Luckily there was a nice person with a husky outside, and we chatted a bit, and I got to pet the husky and I mean... nothing cures anxiety quite like petting a beautiful, happy dog.
So yeah. It was a wild and hairy day - but my staff and I got through it and did our jobs as well as could be expected. So yay. Nico and I didn’t get to leave the shop until almost 11:30 even though we closed at 9, cuz there was so much clean up and closing paperwork to do - but hey, we get paid for that time so whatevs.
The next rush is Canada Day. The 150th anniversary. That should be... interesting.
