Work Stories
Working in a video store, you get to see people at their best, and at their worst. Working as a manager at a video store, you get to see people when they try to get freebies from the store. I am a pretty gentle person, in that I don't verbally argue with customers and I never strike them- no matter how much I want to, or how much they really, really deserve it. There have been a few close calls though, one of which I'll relate here.
I was working at the video store for about 6 months when I'm on shift with "B", the guy who trained me. For being a shorter, thinner man, "B" didn't realize how vulnerable he could be if someone started attacking him. What's more is that he didn't realize when he was pushing it too far. A tall, medium build man entered the store with a "damaged" DVD. He handed me the DVD, and sure enough, there was a large 1/4 inch straight indentation in the middle of the movie. This was way too perfect to be just an "accident." Since "B" was senior, he took over for me. He checked it in the computer and noticed that it was 11 days overdue. This is what we figured had happened.
A. He rented the disc and forgot about it for 15 days.
B. He watched the movie then took a flat head screwdriver, pushing the head into the disc- thinking that we would void the late fee and give him a couple free movies.
C. He returns the movie to the store with an attitude thinking we will bend and he will get freebies- after having the movie for 16 days.
The customer started up: That DVD is busted. I want credits for that.
"B": You broke our DVD. You're not getting any credits. Besides, why would you keep a movie that was damaged 16 days?
At this point the customer is starting to get really angry. He raises his voice calling us names I shouldn't repeat here. Finally "B" tells him to leave the store. This only provokes the customer, who begins shouting for B to take it outside with him. B calls the police. I'm standing between them off to one side. My hands are cupped together in front of my chest. If he started moving behind that counter, I was going to take him down. The man actually started to help B give a description of himself to the police from his shoe size to the color of his hair. After B hung up with the police, The man continued to shout, with B only fueling this guy's temper. So I walked next to B and told him to go to the back office and wait there, where he could monitor the cameras behind a locked door. After B left, I talked to the man in a respectful tone and posture. It worked. He calmed down after I told him that while my hands were tied as far as helping him, I would pass his concern on to someone who could actually give him what he wanted. I gave him a card for the store and told him it would be best for him to leave before the police got there. Sure enough, 5 minutes after he left, two police cars with 4 large officers pulled up. The cops interviewed B and I, as well as some of the other customers in the store, who pointed out that the dumbass' car was still parked outside. All they had to do was wait for him to return to his car and he was arrested. I never saw him again, and 3 years later he has yet to settle the fee for the disc that he damaged.
I was working at the video store for about 6 months when I'm on shift with "B", the guy who trained me. For being a shorter, thinner man, "B" didn't realize how vulnerable he could be if someone started attacking him. What's more is that he didn't realize when he was pushing it too far. A tall, medium build man entered the store with a "damaged" DVD. He handed me the DVD, and sure enough, there was a large 1/4 inch straight indentation in the middle of the movie. This was way too perfect to be just an "accident." Since "B" was senior, he took over for me. He checked it in the computer and noticed that it was 11 days overdue. This is what we figured had happened.
A. He rented the disc and forgot about it for 15 days.
B. He watched the movie then took a flat head screwdriver, pushing the head into the disc- thinking that we would void the late fee and give him a couple free movies.
C. He returns the movie to the store with an attitude thinking we will bend and he will get freebies- after having the movie for 16 days.
The customer started up: That DVD is busted. I want credits for that.
"B": You broke our DVD. You're not getting any credits. Besides, why would you keep a movie that was damaged 16 days?
At this point the customer is starting to get really angry. He raises his voice calling us names I shouldn't repeat here. Finally "B" tells him to leave the store. This only provokes the customer, who begins shouting for B to take it outside with him. B calls the police. I'm standing between them off to one side. My hands are cupped together in front of my chest. If he started moving behind that counter, I was going to take him down. The man actually started to help B give a description of himself to the police from his shoe size to the color of his hair. After B hung up with the police, The man continued to shout, with B only fueling this guy's temper. So I walked next to B and told him to go to the back office and wait there, where he could monitor the cameras behind a locked door. After B left, I talked to the man in a respectful tone and posture. It worked. He calmed down after I told him that while my hands were tied as far as helping him, I would pass his concern on to someone who could actually give him what he wanted. I gave him a card for the store and told him it would be best for him to leave before the police got there. Sure enough, 5 minutes after he left, two police cars with 4 large officers pulled up. The cops interviewed B and I, as well as some of the other customers in the store, who pointed out that the dumbass' car was still parked outside. All they had to do was wait for him to return to his car and he was arrested. I never saw him again, and 3 years later he has yet to settle the fee for the disc that he damaged.