Day No. 3

To add a little more back story to my thought process, these first few rants that I've posted so far have all been notes that I made in my cell phone before I began writing them out and sending them in texts for my friends to enjoy. I may have mentioned them to a few people, but I don't believe these ones ever made it into text form. I really only kept them saved because they were amusing enough to remember for later and possibly make into a comic strip or something along those lines.

Overall this whole blog thing seems to be working out better than a comic, so I'm happy. I'm also proud to announce that, even though I'm still pretty far from getting up to the current date on these crazy work experiences, this first one coming up is the last one that I had saved in note form before I started texting them. I had also been moved to the service desk by this time.

~~~

~I can understand, when people buy expensive electronics, that they want to get the best deal possible. If an item goes on sale shortly after a customer purchases it, depending on the length of time involved, we can sometimes honor that drop in price to keep people happy. This one woman expected way too much.

She called in because she had purchased a PlayStation3, that it had gone down considerably in price since then, and she was wondering if she could get the difference back.

I asked about how much the drop was, expecting something around $15-$20.
Her answer: About $100.
I asked if she still had the receipt.
She did.
I asked the date when it was purchased.
Her answer: Almost a year ago.
At this point I'm thinking, "This woman can't be serious," but... she was.

So I get to explain to her that there's nothing we can do about a drop in any item's price that was purchased such a long ago and that the console was well beyond its return period to boot. Gaming platforms, just like any electronics, will always end up gradually dropping in price over time as new, bigger, and better technology is developed. Luckily she wasn't mad or anything like I might expect some crazies to be, but she still sounded like she was loosing out on her $100 when we ended the call.

~~~

Now on to the first of the text messages!
(This also happens to be the first situation noteworthy enough
to set motion my drive to share and save these beloved tales.)

11/21/2009
~A guy walked up to me at the service desk one day wanting to return a $22 set of padlocks without a receipt. Without that little thermal paper proof of purchase, all I need is a valid, state-issued ID to process. He was aware of this fact and already had his wallet in his hand. Once I get to the end of the transaction where the ID is required, he promptly took his driver's license out and handed it to me. Just a glance at it and I knew I was in for some fun.

The picture on the license had a beard scribbled over the face from the nose down, as well as horns on top of the head, all drawn in thick, black sharpie. It also wouldn't have taken a forensic scientist to notice that even the visible parts of the picture didn't look like the gentleman standing in front of me. Before I can mention that the drawings blocking out the face make the ID invalid, I look down at the bottom of it and get to say the best thing I've ever gotten to say to a customer so far:
"Sir, besides the sharpie, I see here that it states your sex as... female?"

Its obvious by his reaction that I caught him trying to pull one over on me, and most likely stole the locks in an attempt to bring them back them for a profit. His own ID was probably maxed on no-receipt returns, but still tried to cover his rear by saying that he, "must have picked up his girlfriend's on accident." That is, of course, all just speculation on my part, but I'd be willing to put money on my assumption that I'm right.