I was just in this establishment tonight, Monday January 26, 2009, to purchase a Cash 5 lottery ticket. While I was at the lottery station I heard the sales clerk arguing with some older man who seemed to be buying beer. I didn't think anything of it until I got in the line to make my purchase. The customer at the register was buying a 40oz of beer and paying with change. The clerk appeared to be frustrated with the customer.
As I came to the counter I said "Hello, I'd like to get a lottery ticket" and I handed the clerk my Cash 5 lottery form I filled out. He ran it and it didn't work....he looked at the card and began berating me for the pattern of numbers that I used saying "you picked 5 numbers vertically.....no computer in the world is going to understand what that means....you messed up the card". I apologized and asked if he could run me an "easy pick" from the machine and give me the pick 5 form back so that I could see what I did wrong later. He did not want to give me an "Easy Pick"...he kept talking about how the card was all messed up....so I said "I'm sorry if I messed the card up, I didn't realize that you couldn't use that pattern" (I picked 3,11,15,19,27). I again said..."Sir can you sell me an Easy Pick or not?" He finally turned and gave me a ticket with one play....I had filled out my card for 5 plays. I paid and walked out the door....as I walked out I started looking at my form I filled out initially and read very clearly "Pick 5 numbers out of 34 numbers"...It said nothing about illegal patterns.
I turned and went back in and said "I was just reading the instructions and it said just Pick 5 numbers of 34...it's Cash 5....can you please just run it again..." He yelled "it's gibberish the computer is not going to understand that...you can't pick numbers in a row...the computer is the arbiter...your card makes no sense". However, he turned and ran it again to prove his point....and what do you know....it gives out the tickets. He turned around as if he didn't see them come out....I said..."Can I please have my numbers?"
He turned and angrily threw the tickets on the counter and said "$5 bucks"...I only had $4 in cash since I just bought the $1 "Easy Pick" 5 minutes before...So I said "Excuse me I have to get 10 bucks out of the atm because I just spent the 5th dollar on the easy pick". No one else was in line so there was no one waiting and the ATM was right next to the counter. I take three steps to the atm and the guy says..."It Figures!" I turned to the guy and ask "what is that suppose to mean?" I said "You go off on me and belittle me about how I filled the ticket out, you talk disrespectfully to me since I got to the counter and it turns out that you were wrong not my card....and you have the nerve to continue to talk to me like that?" He yells "Get out!"...I ask to see the manager on duty....He says "I am the manager!" I said "Well who is your supervisor because you have been acting very unprofessionally and I have done nothing to warrant your attitude. I don't have anything to do with the drunk guys who come in here and it does not give you the right to talk to me any way that you want to..."
The guy then yells again..."Get out before I call the police!"...I said "for what..being yelled at by you or trying to buy a lottery ticket?" He said "you are trespassing..I told you to get out!" I said "look I just came in to buy some lottery tickets and you started going off...and I am trying to pay for the tickets and you keep talking down to me even as I go to the atm here and you have the nerve to now threaten me with trespassing?" He then yelled..."I'm gonna void the tickets get out!"
I said "Sir what is your name because I intend to file a complaint to the owner about your behavior....and for the record I should be calling the police on you!" I walked out and left.
I felt totally disrespected. Whether it was racism, a guy having a melt down, or just a bad manager..I hope the owner deals with this... If not I will file a complaint with the better business bureau... read more