The scene: A shop, with a chair sitting in the doorway leading to the stairwell. The chair bears a sign that says something about the upstairs being closed due to painting and other renovation.
A customer (Mr. B) enters, I greet him, he looks around for a while, and a short while later he walks over towards the doorway, indicating something about how he has a bag to give to our assistant manager, who is upstairs somewhere. I intercept, telling him that it’s closed.
The back-story here is that a few months ago there was an incident in which Mr. B attempted to stash some purchased items in the back of the shop, in the consignment room, where they are not supposed to go. I told him no, but it took a bit of convincing. I was genuinely afraid of getting chewed out by my managers for breaking the rules.
So, back to the present:
Mr. B.: “I’ve been coming here for 40 years, I’ve donated tens of thousands to the Society, I know the way.”
Me: “But it’s closed right now.”
If I had a little more time, I would have said something about how I could maybe haul it up there, or go get the assistant manager and bring her down, all in light of the previous incident. Instead, my manager has noticed, and walks over.
Manager: “Hello Mr. B, how are you?”
They shake hands.
Mr. B: “Tell [him/her] that I can…” I don’t remember exactly what he said, but I remember clearly what my manager said next.
Manager: “We try to tell [her/him], but s/he doesn’t listen.”
I walked off; thankfully there were other customers to help.
This really, really pissed me off. I got in trouble for trying to do as I was told, as usual.