All retail stores have rules in place to ensure their operations work well for everyone involved.

What would you do if a customer refused to follow a very simple rule, and started yelling at you and even threatening to get you fired?

That is what happened to the retail worker in this story, but he held his ground and remained polite until she drove off screaming.

“I know you and your family well.”

Here’s a bit of the back story:

I always thought it was weird that self-service is illegal in some places.

I work at a gas station in Oregon, where it is illegal to self serve.

It’s not too big, but we get a lot of business because we are part of a large grocery chain and have a main store in the same parking lot, and have better gas than the others in the immediate area.

We also have pretty good service from the feedback I get about the other stations in the area.

Why would they have arrows for a gas station?

In the past people have been allowed to go against the arrows that are painted on the pavement because it’s been too much of a hassle to tell them to turn around.

Recently my store director has told us that we must make them face the right way.

People complain on both sides of the argument, either people are cutting the ones who are patiently waiting or they just don’t want to wait.

This is pretty reasonable I guess.

I’d rather get complaints and have people go the right way then still getting complaints and letting the customers do whatever they want.

So far, we either have people just drive off spewing profanity, or we get those who are patient and wait. Which leads us to the altercation with one of the customers today. Let’s call her EB:

He seems very polite so far.

Me: “Ma’am, I’m sorry I’m going to have to ask you to turn around, we can’t have anyone facing the wrong way.”

EB: “What?”

Me: “We can’t have people go against the arrows anymore ma’am, I’m sorry.”

EB: “You, you’re Jared right?”

Me: ” Yes, my name is Jared ma’am.”

What does this have to do with anything?

EB: “I know you, I know you and you’re family well.”

Me: “Really? You don’t look familiar, what’s my last name?”

She mumbles to herself for a few seconds.

EB: “I don’t remember…”

Me: “Ok, what’s my mother’s name?”

She is just wasting everyone’s time.

EB: “uh, well um, her name’s Mimi.”

Me: “No ma’am, that’s not my mother’s name.”

EB: “Your family works at Ruby Tuesday!”

Me: “No ma’am, I haven’t been to that restaurant for years.”

What? Clearly that is a lie.

EB: “Well I own this gas station.”

Me: “Ok, well can you prove that this is indeed your establishment?”

EB: “Just pump my gas!”

Good for him for standing up to her.

Me: “I’m sorry ma’am, you cannot be facing the wrong way.”

EB: “I’m not going to argue with you about this!”

Me: “Ma’am, I’m not arguing with you, I’m having a discussion with you.”

EB: “You’re giving me funny business!”

Why is she making such a big deal of this.

Me: “Ma’am I’m doing no such thing, I am simply telling you what the rules of the gas station are, and that you, as a customer, must follow said rules.”

EB: “Who’s your manager?”

He makes a good point.

I think to myself, if she owned the gas station, she’d know who my manager is. For now, we’ll call him Bob.

Me: “My manager is Bob in the Main store right there.”

EB: “NO! Your manager out here.”

I’m impressed with how polite he remained.

Me: “My main boss, is the Store Director, I have a supervisor out here who does not work on the weekends. Ultimately, I answer to Bob in the main store.”

EB: “Well what do we do here then?”

It really is this simple lady.

Me: “Well, it seems you have two options. 1, you can either turn around and face the right way and I can service you, or 2, you can leave. If you’re not willing to follow the rules put in place, I do not have to serve you.”

By this point there are other customers getting out of their cars and wondering what the hold up is.

Me: “I’m sorry ma’am, but I have to serve these other customers, I have a job to do and you’re preventing me from doing it.”

Oh, what a threat.

EB: “Not for long you won’t.”

She then speeds off out of the gas station leaving me feeling pretty accomplished.

He handled it very well.

I was able to tell a customer off without actually getting violent or using profanity and just remaining calm.

Ultimately I didn’t hear anything about it the rest of the day.

It is always funny when a customer thinks they are above the rules of a store, especially when they get put in their place so well.

Read on to see what the people in the comments have to say about it.

Who claims to own the business itself?

LOL. This would have been funny.

Yikes, that would be weird.

I was wondering this same thing.

Oh, this would be very annoying.

Just let people self-serve, problem solved.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.