This was a lovely establishment but I will likely not return and this is why…read more
I found four prints that were listed as "SPECIAL SET OF 4 / SPECIAL $40.00". Next to these two stickers was a third sticker that stated "Complete set of 4 $160". As I checked out at the front of the store, I wanted to make sure that the vendor was getting paid what they were owed. I didn't bargain down or argue for the $40, I made sure the cashier knew that there were two conflicting prices and that I didn't want to shortchange the vendor. Upon first asking if the $40 was the correct price, she stated loud and rudely, "IT SAYS SPECIAL FOR FOURTY DOLLARS." This was all she spoke while making direct and antagonizing eye contact. I acknowledged her words gently and kindly, that I indeed saw that sticker but also noticed that there was a conflicting price tag NEXT to the $40 one. The more expensive price was not crossed out or written over, they were listed next to each other. What I didn't say, but was hoping to clarify, was whether the store was okay being on the hook for the extra $120 if they were only going to charge me $40. The cashier simply repeated the same words, louder this time, and very condescending in her tone and manner, "IT SAYS SPECIAL FOR FOURTY DOLLARS" and pointed to the sticker to make her point even clearer. She said nothing else. I paid without further comment.
As she bagged up the four prints, she included the additional document with the price stickers on it. I inquired if she wanted to keep the ADDITIONAL document with the price tags and booth label (for her records), making sure she didn't slip it in by mistake. Her tone, still very loud and now even more condescending, resounded as she said, "I WON'T BE REMOVING THOSE STICKERS BECAUSE THEY WILL DAMAGE THE PAPER." I wasn't asking her for a lesson on how adhesive works, I was simply trying to allow her the opportunity to keep the documentation for the vendor and the store to prove that she charged me for the discounted price. I've grown up in antique stores. My grandmother and mother both currently own/have owned their own antique establishments, so I'm familiar with the protocol. Maybe their protocol is different. My bad. I did not respond further and took the bag gently from her hands.
It could have been the simplest and most pleasant interaction though. "Oh I see that there are two conflicting prices here. Let me call the vendor and verify that this one is correct." Or perhaps "We are told to take the lowest price listed on each product, so I can guarantee this is the correct price. Thanks for the concern though! I appreciate you looking out for the vendor!" Something, ANYTHING, more pleasant in terms of tone and word choice, would have been a better experience.
I have also been in her shoes. I have worked in marketing and customer service for the past 20 years. I have worked a front desk, many, many times. I have been a cashier. I have been the rep who answered tweets at 11pm where a customer needed toilet paper sent to their hotel room. I know what it's like to deal with belligerent , arrogant people, with people who actively try to make your life a living hell because you work behind a desk, behind a screen, behind a uniform. That was NOT my intention, and that's what I think stung the most. In being kind, in being thorough, I was treated with contempt.
Maybe she was having a bad day. Maybe I caught her in a moment where she had just dealt with someone difficult and assumed I was the same. There are a number of reasons why this transaction was so unpleasant. "Give her some grace!", the masses might cry. And I might agree with you. Normally, I would. But she was old enough to know better. The job she holds is not one that is difficult to execute, nor difficult to execute PROPERLY.
Maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill. Maybe I shouldn't have let this seemingly small incident make such a huge impact. Or maybe, just maybe, this could've turned out so drastically different if this young woman had exercised the bare minimum and just been kind to me in return.
