Funny Night

Okay, I just wrote the story entitled BINGO, and then there were suddenly ads for bingo supplies, etc. on my editing page. I just have to mention that tonight, I saw the woman in the red coat! I saw her coat, recognized her, saw that she was shopping in my store, made eye contact with her, then looked away and took off in another direction through racks of clothing. One of the biggest and most frequent complaints I had today was from people who'd already gotten store credit for items for which they had no receipt. Their complaint was stickers/and or signs with larger amoutns. There was even a customer who called me from the other end of the store to complain that an item was now selling for more than what she was refunded I explained that without a receipt, she could only get whatever was the lowest amount the item was ever priced in our store. She claimed that didn't make any sense, and so I told her she could come to customer service and I'd have manager come talk to her there. I was thinking how there was a long line forming at customer service, because I was the only person working there, and I was talking on the phone to someone who was actually in the store! The other person who had a similar sentiment about the lower price credited to someone without a receipt claimed that the gift basket was from her son, and she insisted he paid the higher price that was on the tag! I wanted to ask her how did she know what he paid? But, instead, I just told her I needed a receipt to be able to give her that amount. Oh, and one of my worst "cases" tonight was a guy who brought up a receipt and said he'd been double charged for everything. He said he'd pulled out his WIC card too soon, and that this had caused the problem. Well, all I could see on his receipt was evidence of his having used a credit card, and that some things were rung up 2 and three times. At first, I thought I would try to just refund the whole order, and then I'd start from scratch and ring it up again. Well, I was trying to use the actual items in the return, and mark them off of the receipt. However, while I was doing this tedious exercise, the guy kept apologizing with a tone of laughter, and worst of all, he kept staring at me like he was trying to burn a hole in me. It was very unnerving, and I had to restrain myself from asking him to please stop staring at me. Anyway, at the end of the "return" everything had rung up to a total that was $10 more than he'd been charged to his credit card. I tried to get someone to come help me, and another person came and told me I really needed to take my last break. No kidding, I thought. Anyway, even though I'd done all of that work, it was obvious I needed to start all over again. There was a little clarification from the point that an employee noticed the milk had been voided from the order, and I was still trying to refund it. The second time I tried to refund the entire order, I just typed in the numbers off of the receipt. This time, I ended up with the exact total that had been charged to his credit card. Hurray! Then, as soon as I rang everything up, minus one item he decided not to get, he announced he didn't have his wallet. Well, looking at the long line of people, and my coworkers who had to come up to help all of these people, I was thinking,oh brother.

Bingo!

A man and his family went to Dingo to return a Geo Console they'd received for Christmas. They didn't have a receipt, but they were going to get store credit for it. Two Dingo employees checked the serial number on the box and on the console itself. Well, everything seemed like a "go" until the serial number was typed into the register, at which time a slip popped out saying the console had been purchased 12/23/09 at Bingo! The customer seemed compliant about taking the the console to the other store, the correct one, but the matriarch of the family said, "Is that a regular Bingo, or a Super Bingo?" The Dingo employee told her there was only a regular Bingo Store in town.

Woman in a Red Coat

This woman who always comes into the store wearing a red and white coat came in today, wearing, you guessed it, a red and white coat. Let's see, today she first wanted to tell me she had the flu. She was obviously trying in every way she could think of to try to push my buttons. I told her I'd had my seasonal flu shot, and the h1n1 shot. She told me that I could still get the flu, and that she didn't get her flu shots, because they make her sick. I remembered this customer from the last three times she was in the store complaining, but she wanted to argue with me even about how many times I'd helped her. She was name dropping again, saying what manager she talked to today. She did this the other times too. She wanted refunds on things she claimed didn't make it home with her. She said that the people at my store who worked in Customer Service were rude, and she said they made her feel like she was lying. I said I wasn't responsible for how she felt, and I couldn't make anyone feel anything. She told me she worked in law enforcement and then she dropped the "f" word a couple of times, and I said I didn't need to hear her cussing. She apologized to me. I kept thinking how much I disliked this woman, but I just wanted to keep my cool. It helped that people kept walking by me and saying friendly things to me, like "Hi," and addressing me by name. I don't know if this woman is a "secret shopper" or a bat out of hell sent to torment me. Maybe she just wants attention. Plus, she probably wants money. I'll bet she doesn't even work. I'll bet what she does for law enforcement is she keeps the police in business by shoplifting when she's not scamming stores and businesses. Okay, I'm writing in first person, and I have an angry tone. So shoot me...in the arm with a flu shot, or one that keeps red bats away.

Secret Shoppers

I have this friend whose therapist says she's mildy paranoid. Okay, honestly, I am talking about myself, and I obviously work in customer service. Luckily, it is not the kind of paranoia that's severe or where I think someone is trying to kill me. Usually I think someone is tricking me, setting me up, lying to me, or just testing me. In my personal life, this has often been the case! Ever since I started in retail, I've had bouts of thinking customers were secret shoppers. I mean in a stream of 15 customers I will feel like they don't feel real at all, and they can't be "real" or authentic. Every single person in a long stream of customers will feel like a secret shopper! I mean, nobody could really be that rude as to yell obscenities in public, or nobody could be that careless as to leave behind 17 movies, and then expect the store to replace them one month later, right? Or would a woman have a fit over three cents to which she felt entitled? I've seen that happen more than once. Both times it was three cents, not two cents, or a penny. Or when I had to return and resell an entire order totaling close to $300, that seemed like a setup, especially since I knew the person. My friend's therapist, oh, I mean my therapist, says that possibly what is happening is that my extreme sensitivity is picking up on something, but then I misinterpret the something. For example, I'm recognizing there is something "off" with each person, but I am thinking "secret shopper" when it is just someone who is having money troubles, is embarrassed, or is angry at himself and taking it out on me. Another thing my therapist taught me is that when anyone is angry, whether we are talking about a customer, a significant other, or myself, there is always at least a little part of that person angry at himself or herself. I really believe this to be true. Another thing is that there is always a part of myself that knows my employers, past and present, are not going to be spending the kind of money it would take to hire dozens of secret shoppers, especially not every day. It is not like I don't recognize my thinking is a little paranoid. So, part of me is thinking, secret shopper, and another part is saying I'm just overthinking everything and being my sensitive self. I also think that though I wouldn't return very worn, oil stained, torn, and duct taped shirts and pants, that there are other people out there with their own emotional issues which would bring them to feelings of entitlement to replacement clothing, and thus, this would bring them to me!

Don't Let the Door Hit You...

Today, the 27th of December, at Dingo Department Store, this nice boy explained how his mother had bought the right game for the wrong game system. He understood the copyright laws, and understood the replacement game needed to be the same title, and that the Dingo's store employee was allowing the different game system component of the exchange. He went to get the other game, but instead got his father (or was it his grandfather?) who marched up in front of other people to the customer service counter and demanded that the electronic games department bring up the correct game. He said the store's major competitor, Bingo, would handle the matter in that way. The employee almost burst out laughing, but then tried to call the department on the phone. The phone line was literally busy, and there was nothing the employee could do, except to call for management on his register. Management came up, and told the man there was nothing that could be done, that he'd have to go get the game himself. A while later, the man returned to the counter, rudely cut in line again, and was saying that the whole reason the wrong game was purchased was because an employee from the games department told the boy's mother (the man's wife? or daughter?) that a newer game, for Machine 3 could be played on a Machine 2. Even a child knows that a Machine 3 game can't be played on a Machine 2, though a Machine 2 game could be played on a Machine 3. The newer technology won't work on an older machine, though a game for a Machine 2 would work on a Machine 3. Anyway, despite this being common sense, the man maintained that at Bingo the employees are more knowledgeable and wouldn't have mislead the woman. He was really carrying on and when the employee of Dingo asked him to sign a piece of paper, he angrily asked, "With what?" the Dingo employee suggested he could use his middle finger... or a pen. The man was still praising Bingo, and cutting down Dingo and was oblivious to the fact that all around him people thought he was a jerk for cutting in line and yelling nonsense about which only he cared.

My Favorites

Today, the 26th of December, was not as bad as I'd anticipated. My favorite customer was the one who was charged too much for a combination pack of shampoo and conditioner. I quickly refunded her the difference, but then discovered she wanted all of her money back for the combo pack. I told someone else that I guess she realized she didn't want to wash her hair anymore!

Oddly enough, another one of my favorites was one of the meanest individuals. She had a total cow because I had refunded the money to her credit card before hearing that she'd rather have store credit. I guess I just didn't see how it was the end of the world, and I really didn't feel my actions were cause for somebody to yell at me. Later, I realized I could have just started over with the refund, but at the time I was just thinking how I thought I was doing what I was supposed to do. Sometimes I have trouble problem-solving when someone is yelling at me.

Speaking of that, it makes me remember the people who said something was labeled one price, and rang up about thirty dollars more. Well, instead of refunding them the difference, I called the department where the thing was from and found out it was the right price. I think if they hadn't been so grumpy and yelling at me, maybe I wouldn't have even called the department. When they heard that they were charged the right amount, they just wanted to return the $200 thing. Part of me was thinking, I should have just refunded the thirty dollar difference to them, but another part was thinking this is what people get when what they express is a bad attitude.

Xmas Eve, Falalalala

Before you say you hate it that I wrote "Xmas" Eve, you must understand that I don't celebrate this holiday, and in my religion we are not supposed to write the names of anyone's g-ds, including our one G-d. So, I write this with respect to those of you who do celebrate Xmas. Okay, that out of the way, I'm on my lunch hour on Xmas Eve, and I've only had one customer use the F-word today. No, it wasn't "Falalalala," but that's a nice guess. She was mad because she wanted her money (actually, I guess technically it was her dad's money, since she said he bought it for her) back for the movie "Orphan" which she'd opened. I explained that since she'd opened it, and there were copyright laws, she could only exchange it for the same exact title. She said, "You mean then I could bring that back and exchange it, because it wouldn't be opened?" And then I explained that no, because that would have to be opened since what she brought back was opened, and that was another law. Well, that's when she cussed me out and stormed out of the store. Someone who was standing in line and had witnessed her tantrum asked if everyone was like that about movies. I explained that not usually to the cursing extreme. And, I think that's a cool movie anyway.

Not from Our Store, Part II

Today, there was a man who was trying to return something I thought he'd received as an early Christmas gift. This thing makes me laugh, and it makes my kids laugh. I would never in a million years buy this thing for anyone I know, even if he or she begged me for it. But, I do love teasing everyone about it, saying I'm give those to everyone. Anyway, for this reason, I laugh when I see that's what he's trying to return. He immediately tells me he bought it for someone else, and the person didn't want it. Imagine that, I think. Anyway, I try scanning the item, and I determine it is not from our store. The man starts to get agitated, and says how we sell those things in out store. I try to go get one from a nearby display, but they are not the right size. I come back and tell him, I'm sorry but that's not from our store. I try to move on to helping the next customer. I begin the next person's return, and she does have a receipt, but the guy just runs up to the counter and interrupts. He has two boxes of the brand of thing he brought in, that are closer in size to the one he claimed to have bought from our store for someone else. I briefly exit out of the transaction with the woman, and I don't think she'll mind, because I'll make it quick and entertaining. I scan the things he brought up, tell him the price, which is less than what he said, and I then scan his again. I say, those two are from our store, this one is not. You can buy these at different stores, and that one is not from here. He then asks if I'll keep his non-returnable item while he shops. So I do, and everytime I see it until he picks it up, I want to laugh. Because it's a funny thing.

Policy

If a policy isn't followed, does it exist? In the case of customer service, if a company or store has policies, these can only survive if individual employees understand them and practice them. Should a person be denied a refund just because another individual can't imagine someone buying that many high-priced do-hickeys, and not saving a receipt? Or, should a refund without a receipt only be allowed within a certain price range? At first, I was following suit of other customer service employees who turned people without receipts away. Then, after talking to management, I realized I can just follow store policy up until the point where my superiors have to override or approve things. At that point, the decisions are up to management. If I handle things this way, I will be more objective, and less judgemental.

You Get What You Paid

Sometimes, someone will bring back an item that has gone up in price, and he or she will want the refund to be the larger amount. But, as I told two people in a row today, "You get what you paid." Apparently, movies go up in price on Sunday if there are no new movies out on video. And yes, I am following copyright laws and only refunding money for unopened movies. This guy was trying to tell me his reason for returning the unopened movie was he realized it was not in English and had the words scrolling across the bottom of the screen. I prompted, "Oh, subtitles?" Another person, coincidentally the mother of my partner's ex, brought back something from her freezer, and said there was no expiration date on it. Since she had the receipt, I was able to give her a refund, but she asked me why the price changed, just like the guy who didn't like subtitles. So, two times in a row I said, "You get what you paid." Then, my partner's ex returned a webcam. I didn't even realize or look at this person, until after the two people had left and I looked at the receipt. In other words, I can do one or two returns with receipts and never really look at the person, I am just examining the items and the receipts.

Oh No She Didn't!

A woman came up to the Customer Service Counter tonight, and said, "Do you remember me?"
I said, "Yes," and I thought, vividly. I remembered her complaints from the previous night. There was something wrong with her brand new thingamajigger, and on her initial purchase, nobody had given her a pamphlet to go with the thingamajigger warranty. Funny thing was, she was holding a warranty pamphlet, and she had the warranty coverage on her receipt, so that didn't really matter. She didn't need the pamphlet to get a replacement thingamajigger.
Tonight, the customer simply said that she didn't remember the manager's name, but that he said to give her a $50 gift card. There was a line of people behind the woman. She seemed not to notice, and just stood there texting on her phone, as though she had all of the time in the world. I called the management office and verified what the customer had told me. Plus, I found out which manager(whose name I mispronounced on the phone...way to go)had sent the woman up there, and I found out, or was reminded of the customer's first name. Well, so I gave her a $50 gift card. I thought that would be the end of her.
A few minutes later, the phone rang. The employee next to me answered it. She said that the woman who'd been given the $50 gift card went back to the Thingamajiggers Department and lodged a complaint about my being rude.

Later, when telling this story, I commented, "All I did was verify that I was supposed to give the woman a $50 gift card, and then I did it. I wish someone would be that rude to me!" The only other thing I could imagine might have happened is that she had made complaint earlier rather than later, and that the reason she was getting the gift card was because she'd lied and said I was rude. I wasn't rude to anyone last night or tonight. She had bad vibes, as well as being a bold-faced liar.

Can Give it, but Can't Take it

At our store, if you return something or exchange something, you have to sign a piece of paper at the end of the transaction. So, I always have lots of pens handy. However, sometimes someone insists on using her own pen. I have no problem with someone who wants to use her own pen. But why do I feel like it has to do with her not wanting my germs after I've just taken back all of her items with hair and who knows what on the returns. So, she can use her own pen, and not become immune to my germs, but I will become immune to hers!

Bag O' Socks

One minute a woman is very concerned about her missing bag of socks, and then the next she is saying she will worry about them another day. Why doesn't she care about the socks anymore?

A man returns a bunch of little things, and he has opened everything, seemingly just for the sake of opening them. Why does he open everything, and then return it all?

OTC Bikes

There was a woman who wanted to return two bikes she'd bought for her kids, because her mother had bought bikes too. Well, the woman didn't have a receipt, and she'd also ripped half of the barcodes off each of the bikes. The customer service employee, upon thinking what is normally done when there is no working barcode, asked the woman to go get the same bikes with barcodes. Yes, a bike is bigger than say a coffee maker without a box, but at the same time, nobody was forcing this woman to return the bikes. Incidentally, at least three times the woman said she wanted the bikes back, because she wasn't going to return them after all. So, they were repeatedly handed back to her over the counter. So, they quickly became OTC bikes, instead of BMX bikes. When she came back up to customer service, she'd ripped a barcode off of a bike in the store, not considering at all what problems this would cause anyone wanting to purchase that bike. For the second bike, she ripped off a sign that did not have a barcode that would scan. The customer seemed to conclude that the employee was incompetent, because he couldn't get the sign to scan, though he knew it wouldn't work just by looking at the sign. The employee called management, who called him back, and pretty much indicated that the bikes couldn't be returned without a receipt, but the manager also said she was sending another manager over to explain this to the customer. The manager that came over said the woman could get store credit. The woman repeatedly criticized the employee who'd previously tried to help her, saying he was the one who told her to go get a barcode way in the back of the store. By the way, he had worked up a sweat, and was very glad management was taking care of the OTC Bikes, so that he could help customers who were more considerate and wouldn't keep waffling about whether or not to even make a return.

Hanging in There

Thank you very much to the person who told me to keep writing, because it is really nice to know someone out there is reading my blog. I still have the stories in my head, and it helps to write about things.

4:20 AM

I guess I am the one who needs a sleep aid. Or, if I took one I was unaware, and it was obviously the nondrowsy formula. Right? I am up doing laundry that I promised one of my sons I would do before bed last night. Then, I got tired and went to bed forgetting about the promise. When I was down in the basement folding laundry, I think I saw a little mouse run under the couch. This is the first one I've ever seen in the house. I'd seen one in the garage, but I didn't care too much about that. I'm a vegetarian, and I don't believe in killing animals, but at the same time I don't want uninvited ones in my house. I used to have pet mice, but I'm not sure if I want to pick this one up like it's a pet, because maybe it will have a disease or something.

Looking around on the floor down here in the basement, the food containers left by my kids have now been discarded, but I noticed they didn't even leave a crumb for the mouse (notice I'm being positive and not saying plural.)

I've only been blogging for a few days, and this was my first one ever, though a few years ago I'd create little websites, not knowing what in the heck I was doing. But, even though I only have 2 blogs now, I think I'm going to quit keeping them, because nobody follows them. I guess one or both could sort of be a journal or journals, but to me, I wanted someone out there to read them. At least on Facebook, every once in a while a friend will read my updates.

If you (my nonexistent reader) are thinking this post has nothing to do with customer service, I don't believe you are completely right. I say this because I am not sleeping, partly because of the laundry, and partly because I feel pretty stressed, and part of that is thinking about my customer service job.

I've only been working at customer service for a few weeks, but then again, my last few years in retail were very related. I think what I'm learning is that this job dealing with people is like any other job I've had dealing with people, and most of my jobs I've had to do that at least a little. I've had a lot of different kinds of employment. Anyway, my conclusions are pretty much that no matter what, sometimes a customer will really push my buttons, and other times I'm pushing his or hers. At those times, I am sometimes not really caring that I am, I am just doing my job. It's hard to say why one person will drive me crazy inside and make me feel like losing control, but then another person will annoy me, and yet I just want him to leave with his $72.05 and I want him to stop talking to me. By the way, I think I pushed his buttons too, and he took his time putting away his money, and then he left the nickel on the counter.

Sleep Aid

Okay, this is more a consumer story than a customer service one, but the other day I was shopping (somewhere else than where I work). I saw a sleep aid, and for whatever reason, possibly because of it's proximity to candy, I examined the box. I could not believe my eyes when I read that it was a "non drowsy" formula!

People Who Call Customer Service

Some people who call Customer Service on the phone do not seem to care if there is a very long line of people that need to be helped by the person answering the phone.

Pineapple Woman

A woman said she mistook 4 cans of crushed pinepple for the much larger cans of pinapple juice by the same company. Juice cans don't have a pull tab on them as do the cans of crushed pineapple.

Holiday Spirit

Did you hear about the woman who went into a store and said she'd purchased a live Christmas tree there the previous week? She claimed it was completely dead, and that she didn't have the receipt. She wanted to exchange for another tree or get store credit. She asked the customer service employees if she'd need to bring in the dead tree in order to get credit for it. One person told her she absolutely would if she couldn't find the receipt. Well, to that she said, "You mean I have to take off all of the ornaments?" After she walked away, a person listening to the conversation pointed out that if it was a completely dead tree and she wanted a new one, she'd have to remove the ornaments from the first one anyway. What a good point!

Not From Our Store!

Why, when I tell someone something isn't from our store,does she feel the need to lie and say she only shops at our store? I don't even only shop at the store where I work! Plus, I think she found those Xmas lights in her attic, because I'd never seen any brand like it!

Sneaky Returns

Sometimes, it's not the merchandise that turns up time and again at the Customer Service Counter, it's those sneaky individuals who return. When someone tells such a person he can't get even store credit, he waits until that person has gone to lunch or something. Plus, while the guy is at it, he might as well completely change his story and tell another lie about why he's returning an expensive item he could have easily stolen. I told someone today that I really didn't want to give him store credit since he didn't have a receipt. I told him some others wouldn't have done anything for him. After he left, I found out a manager had told him "no," because she has seen him returning these same kind of high value, high theft items without receipts. Believe me, I've seen him in the store before, and that weird thing he has on his ballcap is imbedded in my memory, so I will not give him a refund without a receipt in the future!

A Time When I was the Customer

Okay, as I mentioned in another story, sometimes I am the unsatisfied customer. Like back in 2007, I worked at a shoe store, and I knew how my boss would "damage out" shoes that people had returned for an exchange or a refund, and this eventually led me to an exchange I did as a customer at another store. Incidentally, I'd never missed a day of work at that shoe store, but one time I had to have my boss cover for me while I met with a school social worker, a prinicipal, and the girl for whom I was the primary caregiver for approximately four months of my life. Anyway, one day that girl needed help with her coat zipper, and she was whining that it was stuck. I tried to fix it, but then the girl yelled at me that I'd broken it. Well, I knew that the coat and some new school clothes were some of the few things the girl's mother had actually paid for before school started that year. Otherwise, her hand seemed to get stuck in her jeans pocket, if she even attempted to look like she might try to pay for something. I was the person paying for plane tickets, strep test, doctor fees and mental health therapist for the child, food, utilities, and last but not least the new house "we had to buy" because my townhouse wasn't big for 5 people. However, the mother and the receipt were in the St. Louis area, and we weren't. Anyway, after discovering the repair of the zipper at the dry cleaners would be $20, I remembered the condition of some of the shoes returned to the store where I worked. So, I decided to kind of go against my personality, and I took the coat back to the store where the it had been bought 3 months prior. The woman at that customer service counter was very friendly, as I hope I am. Even though I explained that the receipt was in St. Louis with the mother who purchased the coat, I was wondering if I could exchange it for a coat with a working zipper. I was a little embarrassed that the coat needed washing, but at the same time I knew it didn't really matter if it would be "damaged out". Anyway, I found an identical coat, completed the exchange and for once that seemingly ungrateful child said "thank you".

Dog Harness and Blue Jeans

Do I believe you when you tell me that you only used that dirty torn dog harness only once? You may have a receipt for one, but you aren't getting me to believe that a dog did that by pulling it. I think you tied the harness to your truck, and to a tree or something similar, and that is how you broke it. However, you have a valid receipt, so I'll just say "I'll be darned," and do the refund.

I also will say "I'll be darned" when it comes to some of the blue jeans that get exchanged. I thought I'd possibly done something wrong when I did an even exchange of a really nice pair of dark blue work jeans for an oil stained, worn, faded version of the same jeans. Then, a few days later, there was a similar exchange with a veteran coworker standing by me.

No Refund

The reason we won't refund an expensive item without a receipt is because someone probably stole it instead of paying for it. Maybe the theif is not the person who actually comes to the Customer Service Counter with valid forms of ID, but it is this person's friend, who has lied to the friend.

On the other hand, we do refund inexpensive things that we know you bought a decade ago from the look of the box of a game with play money and dice, but if you want your ID put into our system, we will give you store credit. However, you don't have to waste everybody's time pretending you think you might have the receipt in your purse! I know I returned a game once that literally contained a piece of graph paper and some plastic discs. This was within a week of purchasing it, and I had my receipt, plus I'd used a purchased discount card to that store. In other words, I was a loyal customer of that bookstore. However, that manager gave me a hard time, because I'd opened the game! Well, I don't know how I was supposed to know it wasn't worth what I paid for it!

As long as we are talking about refunds, I might as well tell you what I need to know at the Customer Service Counter where I work. I don't really need to hear a long detailed story about each thing you are returning, I just need to know a few things, which I will ask you. The people waiting in the line behind you just want us to get through the return as quickly as possible!

Scammer Dude

If I tell you what Scammer Dude does, then someone out there might follow in the footsteps of this unethical lump of moving coal people mistake for a human being. I just want to say that we know what you are doing when you are returning all of those things, but there isn't anything we can do but give you a full refund. Scammer Dude, we call you something else, but it might give away how you scam the world, the economy, and fellow humans with your backhanded ways. However, I just want you to know you aren't fooling anyone. I don't know how you sleep at night. I see all kinds of scams, but for some reason you really push my buttons. I just want to ask you one question, if you bought all of the same stuff your wife bought, why did you return it all? Didn't you need any of it? If you both bought the same product, why didn't you keep any of it? I think you could use some of those hygeine products, though in all honesty, if I saw you on the street, I wouldn't think you were a crook. I would think you were a hardworking surgeon or something.

The Basket Case

Things were kind of slow at the Customer Service Counter where I work, and that was okay with me, as I was all alone. Then, this woman who ultimately turns out to be a basket case pushes up a cartload of stuff. The first thing she pulls out that she wants to return is a "gift basket". She says, "This is a nice gift, but it's missing the basket!" I examine the shrink-wrapped lotions and dried grass that are in a sense "planted" in an egg carton container that most likely used to have a basket around it. I want to ask the customer if she expects me to believe she picked up the item without the basket intact. Instead, I go through the process of refunding her money.

Next, "Basketta" has men's clothing, about 49 pieces of it. Apparently, this very unobservant woman also didn't realize she was in the men's clothing section, and she purchased a bunch of things for her female friends from there. I want to mention that men and woman's clothing is sized very differently, but she's just saying that she'd never wear men's clothing. I tell her I would, and as I am returning all of her stuff, people are piling up at the Customer Service Counter.