Sales don’t last forever, but some customers think exceptions should.

So, what would you do if someone got a special exception to a sale but then came back later demanding even more?

Would you give in to make her go away? Or would you stand firm and refuse to let her take advantage?

In the following story, one retail employee and his boss deal with this exact situation.

Here’s how they handled it.

‘I missed the sale!’

I work for a toy company. We recently had a super exclusive sale that ran for one day only, online and in-store.

We only run this once a year, just before ‘Retail Christmas’ starts. We did really well, and happy customers, yadayadayada…

It’s been two weeks since the sale. Head Office calls out of the blue. “We’ve got ‘Customer’ coming into your store sometime over the next few days. Please honor the sale pricing we had a few weeks ago.”

I’m not really one to question; I agree.

She arrives the next day.

Customer arrives the next day. She announced herself to the register.

C: I’m ‘Customer,’ I believe you will be giving me a discount today?

Me: I have your name written down here, so I believe so. It’s a discount of your final transaction price, so please keep all your items together and pay at the same time.

It turns out, she simply missed the same due to being out of town.

She shops for 20 minutes and brings everything up for me to scan.

C: Your company is so nice! I was so upset when I missed the sale!

Me: You missed the sale? That’s unfortunate.

C: Yes! I couldn’t make it into the store as I was visiting family. I’m so glad I can get my Christmas shopping started.

He decided to remind her that they have an online store as well.

Knowing the wonders of the Internet, I decided to remind her about online shopping.

Me: Did you know we also have an online store? We were running the exact same sale for the whole day, so if you couldn’t make it during store hours, there would’ve been more opportunity online!

C: Yeah, but I didn’t want to wait for postage

I’m bewildered. She didn’t take advantage of the sale because she didn’t want to wait for postage.

Apparently, the lady thought she had the discount for the entire day.

I finish her $300 transaction and send her on her way. My boss is upset over our willingness, and I’m upset, too. She comes back(!!!) 2 hours later.

C: I think I forgot to buy some items. Would you discount for me again?

Boss: We stated before that the discount was unique for one transaction. I’m sorry, but we won’t honor the sale pricing again. It’s unfair for other customers who missed out as well.

C: But your Head Office said I could get whatever I wanted today on sale!

The boss refused to accommodate her any further.

B: And you did. We’ve been more than happy to accommodate you today, but we have to draw the line somewhere, I’m afraid. Your loyalty membership has enough points for a discount. However, you can use this within 24 hours. If you would like a discount, I recommend you come back later this week.

She looked awful and sour, said “Okay,” and left.

A few other customers were waiting in line behind her. “Are we getting a discount too?”

Just another day in retail…

Yikes! That’s one entitled lady.

Let’s see how the folks over at Reddit relate to her behavior.

When this person misses retail, they read stories like this for a reminder.

Some people prefer to shop in person.

Here’s someone who’s happy she didn’t get her way.

According to this reader, the corporate folks should have to work in the stores for a month every year.

Good for them! It’s great to see that she couldn’t bully management and get her way.

If you liked that post, check this one about a guy who got revenge on his condo by making his own Christmas light rules.