A Cast-Iron Chapeau
By: Linda A Robinson
Tags: Customer Experience, Retail, Life Lessons

A Cast-Iron Chapeau

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

As an 18-year-old and full-time college student, I lived at home and worked 15–20 hours per week at a store called S. Klein on the Square. The store’s building was about 7 years old, occupying three floors of clothing, housewares, shoes, accessories, and cosmetics. The store was clean, well-managed, and generally a pleasant place to work — except my department. I liked my co-workers and my supervisor.

This was my second, part-time retail position.

In my first retail job at the W.T. Grant Co., I was responsible for the women’s clothing department: set-up, re-stocking, sales, and returns. Rules for exchanging a previously purchased piece of clothing OR returning it for a refund were quite clear. The customer needed to return the item in new condition, preferably with the sales tag attached, and have the original receipt. There were also rules about returning items in a timely manner, generally within a few weeks of purchase.

Very few purchases were via credit card in those days — most were cash or check purchases; debit cards weren’t yet invented. So, keeping one’s cash drawer accurate — to the penny at the end of a shift was of paramount importance. You could be fired if your cash drawer “didn’t settle.” My cash drawer always settled, so I received glowing recommendations for my next retail position which paid a whopping ten cents an hour more!

In retrospect, the extra 10 cents per hour wasn’t worth the aggravation.

The rules for refunds were similar at my new retail job at S. Klein’s. I was experienced and knew how to politely tell a customer why I could not refund their purchase: there was a missing receipt or no receipt; the sales tag was missing; the product was obviously used as it was soiled. But at this store, returns were centralized. The department floor clerks would send customers up to the third level to process refunds.

And that is where I worked, on the third-floor processing returns for refunds.

Most department stores in the 1970s did NOT have such a set-up for the refunding of returned merchandise. So, customers unfamiliar with “Klein’s” process, were sometimes annoyed that they had to come up to the top floor carrying their merchandise for their refund.

In other words, many came with an attitude that grew in proportion to the length of time they needed to wait in line. I witnessed some of the worst of human nature as a “Returns Clerk.” Obviously worn specialty shoes or prom dresses for which a mom, strapped for cash, attempted to get a refund. These customers were often argumentative with creative stories as to why they didn’t have a receipt, or how the shoes were scuffed when they purchased them, or the dress with perspiration stains was like that on the rack and they didn’t notice….

So, for 4–6 hours of each shift, I listened attentively to such stories from some customers. The answer, after listening, was always “sorry, but I cannot return your money, as it’s against store policy.” I would then say something like, “I will lose my job if such merchandise were returned to the department.” The more such customers argued with me, the longer the waiting line would get.

One day, a customer waited a little too long in the “returns” line. She had no receipt for the used, dirty and rusty, cast-iron skillet for which she wanted a refund. I examined the skillet, asked for the receipt and she launched into one of the creative stories I had become accustomed to hearing after 4 months of working “returns.”

I explained why her cast-iron skillet wasn’t eligible for a refund. She argued with me and then asked for a supervisor (I looked like a 12-year-old to most adults at that period of my life). I called my manager to the desk with the surly customer. My manager examined the used and dirty skillet, asked for the receipt which of course was not forthcoming, and politely said she could not issue a refund. This customer became incensed and swung the iron skillet over the partition dividing us, hitting my manager over the head with it!

I rang the buzzer under the counter for security. Understand this: we had lots of cash in those register drawers as we were giving out money the entire day, and not taking it from customers! My manager was not hurt too badly. I don’t remember if the customer was taken into custody, however. I was too stunned and shocked by this “over the top” behavior.

When I went home at the end of my shift, I told my parents what had transpired and that I didn’t feel safe working there anymore. So, I gave written notice during my next scheduled workday. I was blessed to find a full-time office job for the summer semester break. I never worked retail again.

© Linda A. Robinson, December 2020