
Pexels/Reddit
It’s never an easy sell when a store changes a beloved policy, but some customers take their disappointment to unreasonable heights.
One grocery store security guard had the misfortune of explaining a no carry-out rule to a long-time customer, which quickly spiraled into an over-the-top confrontation.
Read on for the full story.
“I’ve been shopping here for the last ten years.”
I work as a security guard at GroceryStore. I spend most of my shift at the front entrance.
The store is located at a busy downtown intersection, so we have no parking lot outside of the store. We do, however, have an underground parking lot.
The store used to have a generous carry-out policy, but it couldn’t last forever.
We used to let customers take the carts to the curb and to their home (if they left valid ID with us), but had to stop doing so because people kept stealing the carts.
They cost $300 each for us to buy, so we lost around $10,000. The wheels always locked if the carts reached a certain point. I or a grocer would have to manually unlock the wheels.
This inevitably led to some friction with a long-time custoemr.
This is week three of having the no carry-out policy, and a customer tried taking the cart out to the curb.
We put a sign up mid-April to let customers know about the new policy beforehand.
C will be customer. SG will be me.
SG: Sir, we actually cannot do carry out anymore due to a new policy.
The customer continues to protest.
C: I bought $200 worth of groceries and I can’t even take the cart out? Ridiculous. You should have a sign up.
SG: The sign is actually right in front of you. It has been there for a little over a month. The new policy was implemented as of June 1st.
Here comes the best part.
C: I have been shopping here for the last ten years! You just lost a valuable customer.
SG: We’ve actually only been open for five years.
His face got red and he stormed off.
CALLED. OUT.
What did Reddit think?
Some customers will stop at nothing to get ahead in an argument.
It’s always incredible when customer act like they know better than employees.
Customers really are a strange beast.
Rules are rules, and this guard wasn’t bending them.
Next time, this customer might want to think of a more compelling argument.
If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.