Today at the Customer Service desk a woman came up and wanted to buy a mall gift card. I asked her to fill out our form, which has spaces for the amount she wanted on the card and her name, while I logged into the computer. She indicated she wasn't the purchaser, but was doing it for her boss with his corporate card. Whose name should she write?
I told her that per mall policy, the name on the form has to match the one on the card, and the ID that she'd have to show me. Hers wouldn't, so I couldn't sell her the card. She tossed a business card with her name and the company logo on the counter, saying that proved she actually worked at the company-as if that would be good enough. It wasn't. I repeated our policy, but said I’d call my boss, who was at lunch, and see if we could make an exception for her (even though I knew what the answer would be).
The answer was no. I relayed the information, and she said I should call the mall facilities manager, who would recognize her boss’s name and OK the purchase. When I repeated AGAIN I couldn't do it, she snatched everything up and said it was a shame…they tried to support local businesses, but she guessed she’d just go somewhere else where they WOULD let her make a purchase.
I politely smiled as she walked away.
Five years ago today: New Thing #61--Comic Commentary
oh good grief!
ReplyDeleteYep--what I thought too.
DeleteHmm, sounds stupid to me. There are rich busy ceos all over the country who send out their secretaries to do their errands for them. If all the documents matched up then you could have taken the money easily. 90 prevent of the time when i use my credit card the people don't even look at or the name on it.
ReplyDeleteI didn't make the rules...I just do what the boss tells me to do :-)
DeleteI'm thinking the mall could change their policy can't see what difference it makes, certainly more business for the mall. However, it's certainly hard on you to be in the middle of all this!
ReplyDeleteIt's my understanding that on a corporate level they've been hit with a rash of fraudulent activity, so if anything they're being even more picky.
DeleteIt's not your policy; you can't change it; you used up all your authority. What part of NO didn't she understand.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU!
DeleteShe really shouldn't have caused such a fuss about a policy over which you have no control, but I do understand her feeling. She was trying to do as her boss had instructed her to do, perhaps with limited time to do so. Now, she would have to go elsewhere to make the purchase. Hopefully, her boss will be understanding of the situation when she has to tell him.
ReplyDeleteI got the distinct impression she was trying to throw her weight around--a "Look how important I am" attitude; especially when she tried to run up the management chain to get what she wanted.
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