Sunday 27 November 2011

Shopkeeper's Prayer


Lord of Retail...
Grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change....

The patience everyday,  to deal with the heavily medicated/alcoholic/fuckwits who have showed lack of manners and the inability to recognise soap as an aid to cleansing their bodily excreations.

Grant me a keen eye and the knowledge to spot the ones, who intend to leave my shop without paying for the items they have put in their Aldi carrier  bag and think that I havent noticed.

Grant me the breath and a fast pair of trainers when the feckers make a run for it out of the shop.

Grant me, courage to deal with agressive assholes and the wisdom to hide the bodies of the ones who piss me off...

Shed a little light...

I mainly can't wait to shut the bloody shop door today:

Customer:   Do you sell shallow tea lights?

Me:  No Madam, we just stock standard size tea lights like these... * smilingly points to candle display.
...
Cust: You SHOULD sell them, these are shit, they just spill all over the place, I want shallow ones!!!

Me:   I'm sorry, I dont know anywhere that stocks shallow tea lights, I assume you mean tea lights with a very thin base...

Cust:  I know what I mean! YOU obviously dont!!!!

She waltzes out of the shop and promptly buys exactly the same tea lights that we sell, from the shop nextdoor.

On passing my shop, she comes back in waving her new tea lights and interrupts me serving another customer, to shout -
 
'This is what shallow tea lights look like, for YOUR future reference'...
..I needz a new job...

One of those days...

One of those mornings in my shop so far:

Customer: "Is your Dad in?"

*Thinks, what am I, like 12 years old??... but I smile sweetly and says "He's not, can I help you?"

Customer: "YOU won't know, I want panel pins, but you won't know what I'm asking for, will you??"

"What size panel pins?" I ask, trying not to lean over the counter and punch his patronising head in...

"Paaanellll Pins!", he shouts in my face, "Wheres your Dad, he will know, is he not working today?"

*reaches for the cattleprod under the counter....

Monday 21 November 2011

Window licking good...

So this Monday morning, the dress code for the Village appears to be, slippers, pjama bottoms, football shirts, orange tan and an entire collection of Elizabeth Duke jewellery...

It must be finally getting colder, as today, there were no mid riffs showing and the peasants were cramming themselves into the phonebox to scratch off their instant win cards and wait for the local drug dealer.  They did, of course, leave their screaming kids outside strapped to various pushchairs in the biting wind, while they filled the phonebox with the smell of Benny Hedgehogs, chip fat and wet dog...

Latinus Twatius - was in a hurry today, so he just stood in the doorway and waved his bits of paper, shouting "PERAMBULATORY!" at me...then telling me that the clue was in the Daily Mail crossword...When I pointed out that I was too busy to read the bloody paper, he just shrugged and left the slips of paper on the counter, with a threat to come back the next day and test me.

This morning, Magic Padlock Man, is actually wearing a tea cosy on his head, on top of the grubby hat he normally wears!.  Looks like there is a possibility it could be one he has stolen from the charity shop next door. A charming little number with little flowers and huge amount mangey unwashed curls of hair sticking out of the hole at the back.  He looks quite fetching and has only been in three times so far, twice to bring me a handful of rolled up fags and to ask if he can have the pound back that he donated to the Butterwick box last Friday.
  
I am beginning to wonder what the feck is the matter with people these days?   My last customer just called me a lying pig, cos I told him that opal lightbulbs have been taken off the market and shops no longer sell them.   Apparently, HE has never heard of the new energy bulbs and told me that the EU legislation doesnt apply to us, cos the UK doesnt have The Euro!?!?

Basking in his ignorance and screaming at shop staff must make him feel a lot better, fffsss!

Just finished doing the Christmas window display...in time for the chavs to smear Greg's pastie and finger prints all over the glass...

Tuesday 8 November 2011

The Great Escape...

So, I've been back from my jollies for a couple of weeks now and in the last few days, I have detected an unusual odour coming from a cardboard box behind the counter.

Today, I finally grabbed a moment to open the box for further investigation...

It seems that while I was away, it was business as usual with the Melange of Nut Jobs bringing in love tokens, latin classes and batteries.

The smell, turned out to be one of Magic Padlock man's famous cloths, in which he had lovingly wrapped half an old necklace, some loose tobacco, a half eaten pasty and then possibly dipped it rancid milk, before putting it in a carrier bag and bringing it the shop for me.  Scared to open it, the staff put it in the box and closed the lid.

 - Latinus Twatius, was deeply troubled that I had fled the country and initially said that he would delay my Latin instruction till I got back.  However, in a twitchy 'Cat on the Hot Tin Roof' - obsessive kind of way, he couldnt stay away from the shop and insisted on testing all the shop staff on their verbs, while I was gone. 

He left reams and reams of paper with carefully written latin on, and the translations on the back. The staff were instructed to tell me that I was to study them and he would test me, the week I got back - Oh Feckin Joy!!!!

- In the bottom of the box, Batteries Woman had left 11 brand new batteries, which, as usual, she had stuck a label on, which stated the date she bought them and the hair colour of the person who sold them to her...

She had written 7/10/11 - Bald

Dad must have been working that day!

There was also a stray bag of Wild Bird Sunflower Hearts, which Snotty Pram Woman, had brought back for a refund.  She complained that they tasted differently to the ones she bought the week before.  The staff had pointed out that they are not for human consumption, thats why they are clearly labelled as such...she still wanted a refund...

Magic Padlock Man had obviously been robbing from the Methodist church down the road again, as there were three hymn books, an empty plastic cup and bits of broken ginger snap biscuits...Must have been a great coffee morning.

A note from the staff was stuck to the top of the box, stating that Helicopter Man wished to see me about fitting a communications mast near the tower at the local airport.  Pretty interesting, considering we are a gardening shop!!!!  No doubt, I'll hear all about that when Captain Cock comes through the door later this week.

The only thing right at the bottom, was a piece of paper, with my dads hand writingon it. Apparently he has been accused of lying to a customer, who didnt believe him, when he told him that the hoover bags for his hoover were not longer available. The customer had continued to argue for 20 mins after my dad had told him that that  hoover model was made obselete in 1982. 

My dad had written the manufacturers number on the piece of paper and obviously called them for the customer to confirm that it was true.  They had confirmed that and the customer had continued to rant...

...under the telephone number, my dad has written OBSELETE 1982

at the bottom of the page he wrote - PRAT!


Got the Blues

Customer:  Have you got any indigo coloured candles?
Me:  No,  I'm sorry Madam, the only ones we stock are pale blue in colour.
Customer:   Can you show me?
Me:   Of course, come this way...

We walk over to the candles area and I show the customer pale blue candles...

Customer: These are NOT indigo!
Me: Yes, I know, I'm afraid we don't have indigo coloured candles, just pale blue...
Customer: These are NOT indigo, did you think these were indigo?
Me: Not, at all, we only stock these pale blue ones.

*Customer screws up her face and with a long dramatic sigh says...
Are you colour blind???? - These are clearly NOT indigo!

Me: (wanting to slap her), Thats right, they are not.
Customer: You said they were indigo...
Me: I think I said they were pale blue...

....tumbleweed moment....

Me: I'm sorry, they are the ONLY candles that we stock in a blue colour.
Customer: Well, these should have a note on them saying - 'light blue NOT indigo'....

**** Yup Madam and YOU should have a note attached to you which says -

"Danger - I'm Fecking Hard Work"

Toilet Water

Local Peasants must have been drinking the water out of the Village Pond again, as it seems to have caused 'Manners Amnesia' this morning...



I smiled and wished my first customer of the day "Good Morning", she promptly ignored me and barked:

"Toilet Water"

Not knowing exactly which product this scowling misery was asking for, I smiled and said:

"I'm sorry, can you be a bit more specific?"

"Toilet water, that goes in the toilet!!!!!..." she grunted.

"Ah!" I said, "like a toilet cleaner, something like Domestos or Harpic?"
"Whatever", she barked.

So, off I went up the back of the shop and brought a bottle of Domestos back to the counter...

"Open" she barked...
"I'm sorry?" I said...
"Open!"...

"You want me to open it for you??????"

She didn't reply and started to put endless shrapnel on the counter to pay for it...

On closer inspection, this misery wasnt much older than me and didnt seem to have any disability, or apparent reason why she couldnt open it herself, when she got home.  None the less, I opened the top for her and took the mountain of change off the counter.

"Bag", she barked...

I said nothing, took a carrier bag out and put the Domestos upright in the bag.  It then occurred to me that though she didnt look foreign, may be she didnt speak English, so I gave her the benefit of the doubt.  I continued to smile as she snatched it off the counter and went to leave the shop.

"Thanks a lot,"  I said really slowly, clearly and politely, just incase she was from warmer climes, because, surely, noone could be that rude.????..

"Have a nice afternoon" I chirpped...

I was still smiling at her, when she stopped in her tracks, turned on her heels and said:

"What the *ecks the matter with you, you stupid C**t - are you retarded???   Just to do your *ecking job and mind your own business"...She shouted...

Quality peasants in the Village this fine day then, she must have had at least two pints of pond water... 



Need a Hug Mate?

Dear Customer...

Why have you specifically come in my shop to complain that The Post Office won't accept a photocopy of your insurance policy, so you can renew your tax disk??

This is a gardening shop mate and while you clearly have'nt got the guts to argue about it while you were in there, complaining to a shop keeper four doors away is pointless.
 

Are you lonely???    Do you need a hug, a cup of tea perhaps for your anger management issues???

These are things we CAN do for you...

We CAN also smile and give a sympathetic nod and make 'ohhhh and ahhh' noises while, red faced, you rant and hisss about the service you received in there..

BUT...that ALL we can do!!!!!!

Screaming at the staff in a gardening shop, is like getting a haircut which you are not happy with and complaining about it in the Cobblers... Its makes no bloody sense at all mate!

So, while you may think, in your agitated state, that its perfectly fine to walk out of the Post Office blazing, barge in to the next available shop and get on your soapbox. You may find that our shop staff find your screaming and shouting irritating.  They may even appear a little hostile in their customer service skills, while you are waving your documents and slamming your hands on the counter, especially if they have'nt had their first coffee.

In your fury, could you please refrain from added sarcasm, when I ask you if you have come in to purchase something????  Afterall, its not an unreasonable question, as 99% of people who come through my door buy something. I'm not being rude to you Sir, not half as rude as YOU are being to the queue of people that is forming behind you, patiently waiting to pay for their goods.

Please also refrain from looking at me incredulously, when I ask if you actually complained while you were at the Post Office counter.  Any person, having their marbles in place would have considered that.

Shouting in their shop, may prove a lot more productive in resolving car tax issues, than shouting in mine....

Now, bugger off, take your bloody photocopies and waste someone else's morning...  TWAT!!!!




Monday 7 November 2011

Fancy a pint?

Muppet Monday again... Thanks to Magic Padlock Man this morning, who it seems, rather than leaving me little piles of two and one pence pieces by the electric box for the shop shuttering every day. Today has left me an unopened can of Stella... It didnt actually look too shabby, but I may have to ascertain if the damp on it, is morning dew or dog piss...

Sunday 6 November 2011

Back from Holidays

First morning back at work after my holidays:

Customer: Where did you get your spray tan done?
Me: Mexico....

Followed by passing tumbleweed...then silence...