When you work in a retail store, part of your job is helping customers, and sometimes that means helping customers who are rude.

What would you do if a customer was insulting you and being rude, but then when another person came to assist, she was very kind?

That is what happened to the worker in this story, and he couldn’t figure out why she was so mean to him.

Read on for all the details.

Then out of nowhere…

For context, I am a supervisor at a membership-type grocery store that requires you to use an app for “digital-application” coupons.

I will be changing a few key words, due to their ability to put a name to the company I work for.

Working hard will take you a long way in life.

I may not look it, but I can work laps around most of my coworkers, and often do, I am rarely still.

I also move quickly and silently, and often scare my coworkers when I pop up out of seemingly nowhere and vanish without a trace ( not my words, but described as such by others often enough it left an indelible impression.)

We are always short-staffed, so it is normal to work several positions during any given shift.

Wow, he is good at multitasking.

I had a few minutes left before my co-worker was scheduled to return from break, and was watching three separate areas, waiting to step in if any section needed attention, or assistance.

Everything was calm, then out of nowhere this little old woman with a bob cut appears as if materializing directly from a fairy tale.

I wonder what was wrong with her receipt.

Back facing me, squinting at her receipt, scowling as if the thin slip of paper she held had secreted some noxious vapor directly towards her sharp nose, she thrust her hand skyward so abruptly that a grown man passing her flinched out of her way.

In what I can only describe as the briefest shifting of her fingers, as if an errant draft caught them for a moment, she summoned me.

Walking towards her briskly with my customary customer service smile plastered to my face, I ask ” how can I help?”

Oh boy, you know she isn’t going to be happy.

After a tick or two she slowly turns around to face me clutching her receipt tightly as if it may sprout legs and make a break for it, which due to the draftiness of our store is a distinct possibility, she asks rather abruptly ” Are you the manager?”

Smiling a little apologetically now due to the important distinction between manager and supervisor in our company, I explain ” I am a supervisor, and would like to help, if possible.”

Errors on a ‘digital doohickie’ are actually pretty rare.

She waves her receipt at me as if bidding farewell to a knight of yore and claims ” one of my digital doohickies didn’t ring up properly.”

Cue programmed response one: “did you add your coupon to the cart?” I ask out of habit.

I’m guessing that she, in fact, did not.

“Yes, yes, of course I did” the little old lady replies, exasperated by my canned response.

“ok, awesome. Do you have your app with you?” I ask still following my problem solving script.

“Right here on my phone. ” she states with no motion towards her phone of any kind.

He is being very patient.

“May I please see it?” I ask with placid smile intact.

No verbal response, simply a frantic search for her mobile device, followed by a swift opening of phone and app.

Mind you, I’ve yet to glance at either receipt or product in question, simply following the prescribed troubleshooting steps.

After initially allowing her to attempt finding the coupon herself I ask again politely “May I see it?” gesturing towards her phone.

At least she isn’t arguing with him.

She obliges without thinking, as most do when asked politely for the item they’re holding, regardless of the items’ importance.

After a few clicks I ask which product she was using the unapplied coupon towards and pull up the corresponding deal description.

“I see, it looks like the item you purchased isn’t one of the offered products for this deal.”

I say as I try to show her the coupon details I’ve pulled up, and which products are offered ( with pictures to alleviate any confusion).

It seems like she already knows the item shouldn’t qualify.

Without pausing a beat she rebuts my statement with “I got it from a spot labeled with the coupon on it”.

Now, I’m slightly confused due to our price tags clearly describing the product it’s meant to pair with as well as recognizing the item she’s holding is not only a new addition to our chip section, but also, due to its adage of “healthy” maintaining a loftier price range than their less healthy cousins.

It is good that he is remaining cordial.

With every intention of double checking the tags before refusing, I ask “Was the product name on the tag, or was it possibly in the wrong spot? Were there any similar products surrounding it?”

Our chip section is often times a headache and a half to traverse if unfamiliar with our price tags, fortunately the section was reorganized the evening before by one of the managers. Any issues should have been mitigated.

Wow, so much for being a nice customer.

This question was met with a click of her tongue and a rejoinder that about knocked me over out of sheer disbelief. ” Well, if you’ll walk your fat little legs over there, I’ll show you where I got it. It’ll give you some work to do.”

Completely gobsmacked, befuddled, and incredulous at this tiny lady’s’ casual cruelty, I watch as she begins to shuffle around the check stands towards the product aisles muttering to herself “Now where is that chip aisle.”

I’m surprised he followed her at all.

As my brain begins to reengage with reality, rebooting after receiving an unexpected shock, it fixates on the simple fact that I was just insulted with an oxymoron.

Typically while acting in a professional capacity I strive to remember not to take insults or abusive words to heart due to the frustration clause: “People may lash out when frustrated, It doesn’t truly exemplify the person, only that a requirement, perceived or otherwise, isn’t being met.”

At least he had a nice little comeback.

To achieve distance and remove my personal feelings I quip quietly “Wow, that would’ve hurt my feelings. If I had any.” Which never fails to remind me of the ridiculousness of any given situation.

Back to my chipper self I glide swiftly to the chip aisle, her phone resting in my hand, passing her silently and guiding her to the proper section.

He is really putting on a show for her.

I make a show of reading the labels out loud for her benefit, even squatting and resting my hands on my knees, scratch my head for effect, and say “Unfortunately none of these labels match the product, and there aren’t any similar items nearby, is this where you found it?”

She then points at one of the shelves that has the offered items and says “I found it right here.”

Did another customer put it there? Or did she?

To which I repeat, “There aren’t any similar products nearby. Unfortunately since it wasn’t a mis-shelved product (our products are shelved by brand, and there would be several here if they were meant to be part of the deal) and there isn’t a corresponding tag with the coupon price listed, I’m afraid I can’t honor it at that specific coupon price.”

I pull out her phone and get ready to show her how to check if a product works for a deal so that we can mitigate the frustration in the future. I begin the tutorial I’ve been trained to supply in these instances. “If you ever aren’t quite sure if an item works with a coupon, there is an easy way to check, first you-.”

Hey, she is the one asking for help. Why is she so upset?

She cuts me off with a venomous ” I don’t want to take your class.”

I slam my mouth shut. “Then let’s get you set up with a refund.” I say as patiently as possible. I start to turn toward the front.

She says “I still want to buy the chips with the coupon.”

I half turn back an say as upbeat as possibly “once you’ve chosen your item, we’ll get you all set up.”

A perfectly executed handoff.

Then I hastily retreated and asked the returning supervisor to help the little lady in the chip aisle with her product exchange.

He reported back that he had no trouble with her, and that she was kind through the entire transaction.

I told him about our interaction after she left and he seemed as shocked as I was.

Well, that was nice at least.

She made a point of stopping by me on her way out to let me know that “He got me all set up, just like you said.”

I politely said “Awesome, glad to hear.” followed by “That exit is locked, please use the other one.”

She looked at me strangely and kept walking, one of my cashiers had to run and catch her and reiterate that the doors were locked, and she couldn’t use that exit.

I think she was expecting more attention than she was given, or she was completely oblivious that her words were caustic. Too much vinegar in that one.

Wow, its almost like this lady had no idea she was being rude, which is crazy. At least she was nice to the other people.

Let’s see what the people in the comments on Reddit have to say about it.

This really was a great story.

Sadly, this commenter is right.

This is exactly right.

This was a great response.

He handled this like a champ.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.