A bit scared of my job now:(

half_life_man · 08-07-2008 08:22PM #1

I work in a newsagent and I've only been working there a few weeks. A short while ago a customer came in and he looked preety dodgy, like a scumbag I mean. He came up to the counter and I added up everything he was buying on the cash register. then he decided to get a couple of bars and I then I added them on. Next thing he was like "what are ya sayin? Its not that much." Then he started squaring up to me over the counter. I got so scared that I said sorry to him even though I was 100% with the price of his products. Then I gave him his change and he walked out of the shop. I feel really weak as a person now, that I just let him get away with that. I was just afraid of getting a dig. He does come into the shop regualarly but he seems to be nice to all of the other workers. Now when he comes in I avoid serving him. Anyone ever been in a situation like mine? I dread work everyday now.

Sephiroth_dude · 08-07-2008 08:46PM

Next time the ****er comes in and if he squares up to you,you square up to him,and dont back down,hate ****ers like that :mad:

TripleAce · 08-07-2008 08:56PM

Scumbags are not worth your attention...just ignore him.

Unfortunately you have everything to lose if you try to stand up to a scumbag you could find yourself with a knife on your back....they are cowards and unpredictable, you can't imagine how delighted I would be to take one of them on a 1:1 fight and beat the hell out of him...problem is they have no idea what a 1:1 fight his, the cowards.

Think about this: he will probably has a sad life anyway, you have more to lose that he has.

Pj! · 08-07-2008 08:58PM

Are there cameras in the place??
If so, say something like, " Listen mate, your items cost €-.--. If you give me any less, you're stealing. I personally don't really care but there are cameras in the place and I doubt the boss will be too impressed by stealing"

Make out like you don't care what he does, might be safer for yourself! And on that note you shouldn't really care what he does anyway. If he steals, tell the boss when he goes.

pookie82 · 08-07-2008 09:17PM

Aw you poor thing. used to work in a similar situation a while back - my part time job was in a shop where we happened to get a fair few undesirables in on a regualr basis. Some of them could be very intimidating and always did the same thing as you describe - the shop i worked in was actually really expensive anyway but they'd lose the cool with me over prices that i didn't set etc and get very aggressive. You can't let this put you off your job. You'll probably meet all sorts during your time there. it's easy to take abuse like that personally but I'm sure that the guy forgot what you looked like as soon as he walked out.

If it happens again with him or anyone, I find the simplest thing to do is to calmly apologise that he has a problem with the prices (it'll hurt to be nice, I know, but customer is always right etc and you've got to be polite - to a point) and explain that as you are just an attendant you don't decide on the prices. Invite him to speak to the manager or leave a written complaint for him/her, thereby taking the flak off yourself. if a manager is in attendance when this happens always call him/her - it's their job to deal with hassle like this. if not make a note of the incident and inform them asap. i wouldn't try to square up to these poeple - much as you'd love to, it's not worth getting hassle or having them wait for you when you leave (that's extreme, i doubt he would, but don't take too many chances just in case). Be polite and ask them if they'd like to lodge any complaints you'll hand them over to someone else. it's not your job to stress over this. If there are cameras and managers around, you're not alone in defending yourself.

If it's a quiet shop and you're regularly left alone and this happens a lot, mention it to your boss. You're not supposed to be left in a situation in work where you feel at risk, be it from a machine or a customer, so if this is the case, you're within your rights to speak up.

And don't hate yourself for not standing up to him - you were better off apologising and letting him on his merry way. In fact, you did the right thing and shouldn't feel like you have anything to fear from work.

Good luck :-)

girl2 · 08-07-2008 09:42PM

I feel so bad for you. Is there any way you can discuss this with your manager or some of the other workers? Its terrible that you feel intimidated by this bastard, but would it be an idea for you to simply make sure you serve him the next time and be as calm and confident as you can.....I know it might take every ounce of your strength but it might let him see that your not scared of him. He's clearly a bully and gets off on picking on the new guy.....the world is full of dicks like this.

Be brave, and dont let this asshole make your life a living hell.

Hope it works out for you.

Fanny Cradock · 08-07-2008 10:30PM

First off, you didn't do anything wrong. Getting into an argument with a customer is never a good idea. Furthermore, if this guy seem a little threatening (remembering that he may, after all, be all bark an no bite) it wasn't worth going down the road of potentially endangering your well-being for a couple of bars. In this regard you were perfectly correct to not cause a fuss.

However, Girl2 and pookie82 give excellent advice. If you ever have the chance to severe him, do so. And do it with as much confidence as you can muster! It will be great for your confidence. If he tries to pull the the same trick, politely inform him that you will get the manager to assist his enquiries.

Turnip2000 · 08-07-2008 11:00PM

Man up and smack him with a crunchy!

RealistSpy · 08-07-2008 11:07PM

Dude this is bullying and stand up for yourself and use people around to your advantage if you have to.

Deadeyes · 08-07-2008 11:12PM

I used to work in a petrol station as both a cashier and later a supervisor. We'd get all sorts in. Got held up at gun point, that was easy. Junkies came in quite a bit and even they weren't too bad, but the nasty scumbags and people who were drunk used to scare the **** out of me.
The guy has probably forgotten the incident, it was a big deal for you, but it might be nothing to him. A couple of days after I got held up I seen the guy on the street coming towards me, just the two of us on the road. He didn't even look at me twice when he passed me by.
Your manager/supervisor should have been on the ball and come to your aid. I think you might want to take him/her to task for that. While not belittling your job, spent long enough doing it myself, your just cashier you don't have to take crap from anyone. That's the managers job.
If this should happen again, stay calm, expressionless and only say the bare minimum. Then fob him off on your supervisor while you serve the next customer. Serving the next customer gives you something to do and puts the other customer between you and the scumbag, not pleasant for the other guy but he'll be out of the shop soon enough.
If some starts to argue the total, just print a receipt and hand it to them and tell them to look at it. If they argue more again fob them off on the supervisor.
I've had some scary moments working nights, which made me anxious for the next time I was working that or a similar shift, but you do get over it.

Wagon · 09-07-2008 08:05AM

Had a job that was similar. One particular time i had a bunch of knackers start a fight in the middle of the shop and i told them to leave, some of them did, the one who was being attacked told me to call the guards :mad: Told him to get out and he screamed at me to call the guards and held a blade up to my face. And the security system was broken (6 months prior to that) so there was no evidence. You could have had my job

People are telling you to man up but I can completely understand where your coming from. Next time this fecker comes in, don't be agressive really just very firm. He tries this **** again, tell him that your sure of the prices and that he has to pay or put the stuff back. If he wants a fight, get the manager. This is simply because a manager has more authority and will intimidate him more and will be able to bar him from the shop properly. It's not like ti may have been a few years ago, where a firm "get out" and a fair fight wouls have ensued. Now it's a bunch of overconfident and agressive little bastards who travel in droves with knives. Not worth laying your life down for.

unreggd · 09-07-2008 12:54PM

How old are you?

I take it ur a guy

Did you tell the others in the shop??

I was the same when I started. Im supervisor so hafta be on top of this stuff. Once ye get over the first hurdle its grand

good luck!

A bit scared of my job now:(

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