Store employees aren’t the ones who create store policies. It’s important to remember that when you’re shopping at a store. It’s some executive in an office somewhere who creates the store policies. The store employees simply have to enforce them.

Imagine working retail when a customer is furious about one of the store policies and starts yelling at you. Would you try to calm the customer down, bend the rules to appease them or call over a manager?

In this story, a manger gets involved, but the customer still doesn’t get his way.

Keep reading for all the details.

Dad becomes irate

This happened a little while ago, not to me but to my coworker which I witnessed the whole thing.

So in our store for returns or exchanges we need an ID. Even if a teenager comes in and they don’t have an ID we need them to bring in a parent to provide one.

Inconvenient, yes but it’s just how it is.

One parent was pretty angry about this ID rule.

So my coworker gets this girl who’s around 13 doing a return.

Of course she has no license so she left to bring back her parent.

When her dad came back he was so irate the whole store became quiet, with me awkwardly trying to ring up customers next to them.

He was a huge guy, very intimidating. He’ll be angry dad.

Here’s how the conversation went.

AD: This is absolutely ridiculous! Why can my daughter not return something at your store she’s 13!!

C: I’m sorry I understand that, but it’s just mandatory for our store.

AD: No! I refuse to give my license and you are going to do my return anyway this is freaking ridiculous! I don’t want you taking my information and scanning it! I demand to speak to your manager!!

At this point my scared coworker pages a manager, and she comes over to save the day.

This dad sounds crazy.

AD: You need to do my return without a license. I refuse to give it. My daughter is 13, does it look like she has a license?! And what so now that she can’t return anything here that means she can’t shop here?!

M: Sir, I understand you’re upset and your daughter can absolutely shop here. But it is just store policy. I would get in trouble from corporate if I were to do a return without a license.

AD: Do you always just do everything you’re told? If corporate told you to take out a gun and shoot everyone here would you do it?!

M: That is just absolutely ridiculous and I am not even going to entertain that statement. Now you can either return your items with a license or leave.

They finally left.

This arguing goes on for a few more minutes, and finally the guy reluctantly handed over his license, the whole time still going on about how our policy sucks and how he’s never going to shop here again.

AD: I want the name of you and her (my coworker). I am going to report you two, this is freaking insane!!!

M: My name is (manager), but you do not need to know the name of my associate.

The guy left in a huff. All of the customers were scared quiet and my coworker was shaking and close to crying. I’m glad we haven’t seen him since.

Yikes! I hope they really don’t come back!

I feel bad for the teenage girl though. Her dad sounds crazy.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a cashier who was rudely confronted by a teenager, only to have the teen’s father step up in an unexpected way.

Let’s see how Reddit responded to this story.

This is a good point, but it was the coworker’s name the manager refused to give out. OP was just an observer.

This is another good point.

Another person thinks someone should’ve called the police.

It really is pretty ridiculous to threaten to report them.

Some customers really need to think before they speak. I hope this guy went home and later realized how he was completely out of line to make such a big deal out of nothing.

If he doesn’t like the policy, sure, complain to corporate, but it would be ridiculous to complain about the employees for enforcing the store policy.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a mom who homeschooled during the day and worked at night, only to have her employer try to change her schedule.