Some customers will say anything to skip paying on the spot.

What would you do if a customer insisted you let them take their groceries and pay the next day, just because they “know the owner?” Would you take their word for it? Or would you stick to the store policy even if they threw a fit?

In today’s story, one employee finds himself in this exact situation and stands his ground. Here’s what happened.

“I know the owner. He would be fine with me paying tomorrow.”

The Farm Store is a community of employees, vendors, and customers. It is in a small town, so most people (save for tourists) know each other and either know or have met the farm owner. That’s cool, but people try to take advantage of that fact, especially the mere acquaintances of the owner (who will be named Farmer John for purposes of this post).

I have encountered my fair share of dumb people who pretend they know the owner better than they do, to which I always want to say, “Yeah, I know him, too.”

One night, this woman (“FP” for “Fancy Pants”) came in ten minutes to close and started doing serious grocery shopping. Annoying enough on its own, but we’re used to it, so we just close what we can. She finally makes it up to the check out counter, I get everything rung and bagged, but her credit card isn’t working:

She asked the most ridiculous question.

Me: It looks as though your card isn’t going through. Would you like to try again or use another form of payment?

FP: I don’t have another credit card on me, and I don’t have any cash.

Me: We can take a check if you have one with you.

FP: No, this is all I have with me. Can’t I just go home and come by to pay tomorrow?

He tried to reason with her, but she was adamant about not paying right then.

Me: I’m sorry, I can’t do that. If you live nearby, I can hold your groceries here while you run home to grab payment. We are okay with that.

FP: It doesn’t matter if I live close. I don’t have time to do that – I’ve got a conference call. I know Farmer John, and I’m sure he’d be fine with me coming back to pay tomorrow.

Me: Ma’am, I don’t have the authority to approve that, and there is no manager onsite currently. Either you’ll have to produce a way to pay or come back tomorrow when we open. I can store your items, so you don’t even need to re-shop.

As it turns out, Farmer John didn’t know her.

At this point, FP lays into me about how ridiculous this is and how she’s going to complain to Farmer John, and all I do is repeat the “pay or leave your bags here” line.

Suddenly, FP gets that I am not just letting her leave with $80 of groceries and MAGICALLY PULLS A DIFFERENT CREDIT CARD OUT OF HER POCKET. It works, she gets her stuff, and hates me from that point on.

The best part is that two weeks later, she comes in, and Farmer John is there. She says hi to him and tries to engage him in conversation, and he clearly does not know or recall this woman.

Wow! Some people have such nerve.

Let’s see what the folks over at Reddit think about what happened.

You’d think they knew such an “old friend” had retired.

Apparently, people will make up anything for a favor.

As this person explains, no store is going to allow that.

Here’s someone who dealt with this, but worse, because the owner was equally as bad.

It’s best to follow protocol. Even if she were his friend, he should understand that the employee was just doing his job.

If you liked that post, check out this one about an employee that got revenge on HR when they refused to reimburse his travel.