Adventures of Angry Man

[Erika]

This could have gone into the annoying customers thread, but I think that it's epic enough to deserve its own.

First, some background on Angry Man (AM): Angry Man is angry. He is cranky and has a mustache. He drinks an iced coffee with a shot of espresso, which is generally how we identify him to each other at work. Usually, he's just quietly cranky, and manages the bare minimum of courtesy necessary to complete his transaction. Needless to say, we don't engage him in conversation beyond OUR necessary courtesies.

One week ago, it's evening, and being a good corporate drone, I'm passing out samples. I had a whole bunch of them, and I went to all the tables, plus the guy smoking outside. OR so I thought.

I get back inside and behind the counter, and AM is standing across the room glaring at me. I can't remember the conversation verbatim, but here's the gist of it. Mind you, this conversation is taking place ACROSS the store. His voice is raised and I'm just kind of stunned by the absurdity of it all.

AM: You skipped me!
ME: Oh, I'm sorry, I missed you. Would you like one?
AM: I'm NOT INVISIBLE!
ME: ...I'm...sorry. Would you like one?
AM: Well come over here and offer me one!

My hands kind of clench on the tray I'm still holding. Do not kill the customer. Do NOT kill the customer. Lately I've been trying to work on not letting jerks get to me. Sometimes I find myself being pulled into stupid arguments and getting defensive over stupid stuff that just isn't worth it.

So I smile. Walk ALLLL the way across the store. Take him the tray, and in my softest, sweetest voice, explain what drinks I have samples of, and proffer the tray.

AM: No, thank you!
ME: . . .
AM: That's ALL I wanted!

That's right. He didn't actually WANT a sample. He was just pissed that I had not offered him one. And he made me haul my ass all the way over there so that he could snap at me that he didn't want one. I was PISSED. But since MY mother raised me NOT to be a raging hosebeast, I did not yell and scream. I just smiled again, wished him a pleasant evening, and went back behind the counter.

A few minutes later, he's up at the counter, demanding that T, my team member, get him the manager's name and number and raging about how horrible I am, how I've done this before (uh, nope, I'm pretty sure I'd remember if this scene has happened before), and rabble rabble rabble!

I get one of S's cards, write her schedule for the weekend on the back and hand it to him, explaining with my smile firmly affixed that he could reach the manager at those times.

He decides to go off on my again about skipping him, basically insisting that I did it on purpose. Then stomps BACK to his table and sits there for probably a good hour. that's right, after all that, he didn't even leave.

So I write my note of explanation to S, like I always do when someone blows a gasket in the store, and figure that it's over. But I am wrong, for there is one final act to this comedy.

The guy that had been sitting at the next table over was just about to leave. He had already given T his card, saying he wanted to be a witness if AM caused trouble with corporate. He gets up and SLAMS his umbrella on his table and starts yelling at the guy.

The gist of THAT was that he pays $50 an hour for tutoring and doesn't like having it wasted. His parting shot was asking if he wanted to pay for his tutoring, but by the looks of his clothes, he doesn't think he can. A bit of a low blow, in my opinion, which kind of takes some of the awesome out of it. And yet, I cannot bring myself to be too upset. AM never once even turned around. Seems he's fine with yelling at women behind the counter, but can't cope with a man bringing the fight to him. Tough guy.

The good bit about all this is that I'd say a good half dozen people came up to me later to say that the dude was way out of line and volunteering to vouch for me. One lady actually called in to say what a good experience she'd had. S knows this guy is crazy and not to take anything he says seriously.

Epilogue: It's been a week, and as far as any of us know, he has neither called to complain, OR come into the shop. I'm hoping he's decided to take his business elsewhere, but I'm not holding my breath.

Oh, and the reason we know he's crazy? He's gone off on people before. Not quite this loudly or angrily, but he has also...

Gotten pissed at me for not understanding his question about the pictures on the gift cards.
Gone off on L (another supervisor) during a staff meeting because she wasn't giving in to her preschooler's whining for attention.
Gone off on Lore over an exceptionally stupid bakery promotion.
Gone off on a customer because he'd left wet gloves by the fireplace to dry, and the other customer thought they were lost and turned them in at the counter.

I also think he's gone off on S over a mistake with his drink or some such. There may be other instances of him being pissed off over imagined slights as well. So basically, he's an angry dude with a persecution complex.

Here's hoping he stays away.

[nefariousdro]

Wow, that's an amazing story. That's terrible that you had to put up with that kind of treatment. What's sad about people like that is that they feel nobody likes them, yet they are so horrible to everyone that nobody does, in fact like them. They're making their own misery. I just wish that people like that would go huddle in a corner and leave the rest of us alone while they're making themselves so unhappy.

[Erika]

There are also people who derive thgeir greatest happiness by being UNHAPPY. These are the people who love nothing more than to complain, or pregnant dog about how they were treated so poorly, or who keep arguing after you've tried to offer them a solution to their problem. These people WANT to be angry. They would rather think they are right than get what they want.

[mayhemeffect]

you are more polite than I. After any two of those staff incidents or the single incident with the customer, I would have told him to leave and cited harresment to enforce the point.

[Erika]

Yeah, if it were up to us, he'd have been booted awhile ago. Unfortuantely, in a corporate environment, it's a lot more difficult. Leave and don't come back is reserved pretty much only for people who do illegal things int he store, or actually get threataning, not just nasty.

If he had been more DIRECTLY abusive (ie, called me names, swore at me, etc) I could and would have asked him to leave.

[nefariousdro]

It sucks that people have to put up with that kind of treatment. I hope he hasn't returned.

[Erika]

And he hasn't! I'm not going to hold my breath and hope he never comes back, because those sorts generally DO come back, but I'm all kinds of happy that none of us have seen hide nor hair of him since it happened.

[Miya]

Oh man...you have the same curse I do! The curse of being nice to customers who are dickheads!

I've had a few experiences with rude customers, but I don't think anything comes close to the summer I decided to work for the campus dorms... especially when it's check-in time at the beginning of the semester. Parents have a REALLY hard time when they realize that just because their kid is in college, we can't give the parents their personal info, room number, keys, etc... boy have I had my share of moms and dads shouting "I'm their parent! I have the right to know *insert silly things here*.

The worst was a man came to the desk at about two in the morning and asked me to give him a key to get into one of the dorm buildings. When I asked him for the number of his RA to get them to unlock the door for him, he told me he didn't live in the dorms, "But the other girl lets me in all the time". I asked him what girl, and he didn't know. I asked him what color her hair was and he didn't even know that...red flag. I even asked why he needed to get into the dorms, and he told me to mind my own business. When I tried explaining that it was against our rules to let someone into the dorms who didn't live there, or to check out keys without ID, he actually yelled, "What are you, some kind of b*tch or something? The other girl lets me in all the time!"

Being there all alone at 2am, I was pretty scared to say the least. Luckily someone walked in to let me off shift and recognized him, and he took off. Turns out he had some anger management issues and whatnot. And nope, turns out no one has EVER let him into the dorms before

I did see him a few times after that, but he always blushed and walked the other direction

[Miya]

LOL, modified because I didn't know the forums would insert "pregnant dog" in where I had put b*tch

[nefariousdro]

I had a friend back in college who worked the late night desk in her dorm, too. She used to have the craziest stories of people who'd try to get in. I always worried about her being alone at a desk while these guys were trying to pull something. Luckily nothing bad ever happened. Dealing directly with the public sucks, even though most of the people are actually decent and considerate. The few real jerks manage to make alot of people miserable around them. Why can't they just keep their misery to themselves and leave the rest of us alone?