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Author Topic: Crazy Customer, Bad Manager? Steve Kraus Film God Posts: 4094 From: Chicago, IL, USA Registered: May 2000 posted 07-13-2003 09:16 AM                    You would need to consult the merchant agreement as to what the policy is when presented with an unsigned card which the customer offers to sign then and there. It certainly would make logical sense to request a photo ID but I don't know what the official rules say.  |  IP: Logged Randy Stankey Film God Posts: 6539 From: Erie, Pennsylvania Registered: Jun 99 posted 07-13-2003 09:55 AM                     If the merchant wants to get paid for the sale, it has to be shown that the employee in charge of the transaction did all the things that the credit company asks the merchant to do... Including getting ID from the purchaser if there is any question as to the identity of the person. If the merchant (employee) doesn't do those things, the credit company can refuse to pay off. One or two of those won't be big problem but they can add up.  |  IP: Logged R. Andrew Diercks Expert Film Handler Posts: 232 From: Marion, Iowa (In the middle of everywhere) Registered: May 2003 posted 07-13-2003 12:17 PM                     The owner of my company showed me first hand how to deal with this. At one of our video stores a man flipped out regarding late fees and as soon as a curse exited his lips, Bob Fridley who was 86 at the time, came out of the back room where he was organizing merchandise. He said nobody talks to his staff that way and as soon as they are unreasonable and swear they are no longer a customer. The man continued his rant and asked for the owners number... he felt a little sheepish when informed he was speaking with him. That gave me the courage as a manager to know I can back my staff 100% and the corporate office will back me. As soon as a customer cusses I tell my staff to end communication and get me or an assistant. I won't even say thank you or goodbye after they are asked to leave. When a person is at that point, they will only escalate more if allowed to continue. If they won't leave, call the police.  |  IP: Logged Manny Knowles "What are these things and WHY are they BLUE???" Posts: 4247 From: Bloomington, IN, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 07-13-2003 03:10 PM                     Well, what can I say..? You're gonna encounter jerks at the box office every once-in-a-while and there's nothing you can do to prevent that from happening. I wouldn't get too bent out of shape about it. Those kinds of things used to enliven my day. Still, I don't believe your manager(s) were correct to minimize the effect it had on you. I think you did all the right things in terms of checking for a signature and refusing to sell if you didn't find things in order. The guy flipped out and that's that. Hopefully, you won't get so shaken by it after it has happened a couple of times but it's certainly understandable. I've had my fair share of run-ins and I'm a tall but very thin guy -- a total lightweight -- so I tend to avoid feuds wherever possible. You have to ask yourself whether you feel reasonably safe in the box office enclosure: This guy successfully got hold of a highlighter. What else could he have grabbed onto? What could he have inserted? It's unlikely that a theatre will change the design/layout of its box office if you complain or refuse to work there. So you're either willing to work under those conditions or you aren't. Things I remember doing when I worked in the box... 1. Serve one customer at a time -- but be aware of who else is waiting in line. Be mindful of people who are constantly looking at their watch or tapping their feet (with arms folded) or throwing their hands into the air and stuff like that. Those are potential problems and require extra-special handling, in my opinion. 2. Eye contact and smiling helps to avoid problems -- there's an element of sincerity that short-circuits people feeling like a number and getting a good look at a customer also makes it easy to identify troublemakers later. 3. Serve people quickly -- most angry customers I dealt with were upset by having to wait in a line. They're angry at themselves for improper planning, but that doesn't make your life any easier. This requires mastering whatever box office system you are using and also a streamlining of customer handling. 4. Repeat the order before printing tickets. I've solved many problems this way. Keep payment on the counter until they are satisfied with the tickets and change they received. Keep your hands visible at all times and make efficient, deliberate movements. It could help if security video playback ever becomes necessary. (A tip from a casino worker.) 5. Use a drop box (or slot) for $50 and $100 bills. During busy periods, drop batches of $20 bills, too. 6. Unless you are in a very secure box office, avoid standing within "reaching" distance of customers. I always stood about a foot away from the counter. Stand, don't sit -- Standing gives you a greater sense of presence and also tends to make you more alert. If you are short, then get something to stand on. 7. Do regular "radio checks" if you are working alone in the box. See what happens if you go silent for a while. Let people know the rhyme-and-reason behind your radio checks. That way if they don't hear from you they might consider that a problem has occurred. 8. Believe it or not, I worked several weeks in a box office without ever knowing that there was a phone inside of it. That's because the box office extension never rang -- kind of odd, now that I think of it -- and I never needed to call anyone. It's a good thing there were no emergencies during that period or we could have had an avoidable tragedy. Know what's in the box office with you. 9. When presented with a credit card, feel free to use the person's surname (last name) when addressing them. Personal touches like this don't necessarily slow down the process and they go a long way. I'm not suggesting that Kristen was unfriendly or unprofessional. I think she did the right things (as I have said). It's simply a case of not getting to talk about the box office very often. So I'm getting it all out of my system. Hope nobody minds. Bottom line: you have to be a real jerk to attack the employee who's going the extra mile. Fast, friendly and professional service short-circuits a lot of problems. [ 07-13-2003, 04:46 PM: Message edited by: Manny Knowles ]  |  IP: Logged William Leland III Master Film Handler Posts: 336 From: Charleston, SC, Registered: Aug 2002 posted 07-13-2003 04:09 PM                        Kristin, I'm sorry that you managers didn't back you and help you when you needed it. But it sounds like you co-workers are your friends and care about you. What I have learned from watching many managers is never argue with your employees in front of customers. If the customers sees the manager arguing with the employee, then the customer knows something is wrong and will continually persist that he or she is right. Manager should always back employees, if the employee is wrong, then at a later time discuss what he or she did wrong.  |  IP: Logged Don Bruechert Mmmmmmmmm, bird! Posts: 340 From: Manitowoc, WI, USA Registered: Jan 2003 posted 07-13-2003 10:50 PM                        Scott, Oridnarily when you receive your credit card you are supposed to sign the back of it immediately. When you make a purchase with the card the clerk is "supposed" to flip over the back and compare your signature to the one on the card. Some do, some don't, but I have noticed it getting better lately. Some stores will go so far as to have the clerk key in the last 4 digits on the card, or the 3-digit confirmation code on the back (varies - 3 digits for visa) just to prove they at least LOOKED at the card. In the case of this example the customer had not signed the card. It would then be appropriate for any clerk doing their job to request some form of ID, preferably a photo ID, to prove that you are the person who's name is on the card. I would take the extra step at this time to inform the customer that if they sign their card this nuisance will not be repeated. Many customers just do not pay attention and do not realize they have to sign their card on the back - it is for their own protection that they do. Yes, the cardholder's liability is limited in most cases if the card is stolen, but the card company may come back to the vendor during their investigation and want to know why the clerk did not verify the card somehow. It is very easy to use a credit card without signing as well. You could steal a credit card and go on a nice trip across the country. Stick the card in the gas pump, choose credit, fill 'er up and go - no questions asked. If you choose debit you have to enter a PIN, but not when you choose credit. Yes, there are limits. People with large RV's will find it very annoying that the pump will automatically shut down when your fuel total reaches $50. Most RV's hold much more than this. You will also find that you cannot re hit that pump to finish the fill-up, and sometimes you cannot pull up to the next pump either - you may end up going to the next gas station up the road to finish the job.... This big long winded explanation just basically shows that there are a lot of steps going on to insure the safety of your cards, and those clerks are just doing their job trying to protect you from fraud. Be glad they care!  |  IP: Logged Joe Redifer You need a beating today Posts: 12859 From: Denver, Colorado Registered: May 99 posted 07-13-2003 11:02 PM                        I never sign the back of my credit cards. Instead, I write in clear print "SEE PHOTO ID". Very rarely am I asked for photo ID, but sometimes I am. This just proves that less and less merchants (that I visit) are checking the back of credit cards.  |  IP: Logged Kristin Wahlund Film Handler Posts: 92 From: Eagan, MN Registered: Jul 2001 posted 07-14-2003 12:32 AM                     Well I am what is known as the "Box Office Supervisor" at our theatre and I am basically responsible for what happens during my shift in there and thats where I work every day. I have an answer or ever question and believe me, my employees check for ID, if we didnt I wouldnt have had that problem. Thanks for all the help it is much appreciated, I have yet to even get an "i'm sorry" from my GM who was working that night! But I guess you cant expect that from some people, I suppose this means our management has something to work on.  |  IP: Logged Carl Martin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1424 From: Oakland, CA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 07-14-2003 01:30 AM                        when the card says "see id" i ask for it, and without fail the customer gets a surprised look and says "wow, thanks, nobody ever asks to see it." so much for that. i've been asked to stand while selling tickets, but it just doesn't work for me. i'm on the tall side and it's not ergonomic. when you're sitting, one size fits all. carl  |  IP: Logged Leo Enticknap Film God Posts: 7474 From: Loma Linda, CA Registered: Jul 2000 posted 07-14-2003 02:10 AM                        The pubs in the city where I live have a 'banned from one, banned from all' scheme. It works like this: if a customer misbehaves, refuses to leave when asked or is abusive to staff then wherever possible his/her picture will be taken. The picture is then circulated to all the licensed premises in York and (s)he is banned, for life, from ever setting foot in one of the city's pubs again. If such a scheme applied to entertainment venues (e.g. cinemas and theatres) as well, you'd have the ideal way of dealing with arseholes of the sort Kristin encountered.  |  IP: Logged Hillary Charles Jedi Master Film Handler Posts: 748 From: York, PA, USA Registered: Feb 2001 posted 07-14-2003 03:32 PM                     Like Joe, I do not sign my cards. I write, "DEMAND PHOTO ID" on the signature strip, and like Carl noted, am very surprised the few times those instructions are actually followed. Reasonable people should be happy you're looking out for their (credit card) interests. Once someone flies off the handle like that, they shouldn't be allowed into the theater. Imagine the disruption someone like that could have caused during the movie.  |  IP: Logged Dennis Benjamin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1445 From: Denton, MD Registered: Feb 2002 posted 07-14-2003 05:42 PM                        One point of interest in regards to the credit card thing: I have had to deal with chargebacks at the theatre level for the past couple of years (I love Credit Cards oh so much!) Every single one of my employees ask for a picture I.D. when accepting a credit card for a purchase (no exceptions). Out of the million+ people that I have dealt with in the last few years, I think I have had 4 total that got upset over the ID thing and that was because they did not have a picture ID on them. (Of course I ask them how they got to the theatre, when they say they drove a car, I ask them for their driver's license, when they say they don't have one, I tell them I don't sell tickets to criminals). Anyways, banks are getting better with including a photo ID on the actual Credit Cards now, so less pain for us.  |  IP: Logged Darryl Spicer Film God Posts: 3250 From: Lexington, KY, USA Registered: Dec 2000 posted 07-14-2003 06:33 PM                    My Debit/credit card has my picture on it. Tellers are happy when they see it on there.  |  IP: Logged Tom Fermanian Expert Film Handler Posts: 101 From: Sainte Adele, Quebec, Canada Registered: Dec 2001 posted 07-14-2003 06:51 PM                     We don't get much problems with credit cards as filmgoers HAVE to go to the Theatre ATM ticket dispensing machine, They do all the transactions themselves, card swiping etc., The machine electronically approves, if the card was reported stolen, machine will refuse transaction. If not it will approve. We have had disputes on some cards weeks later, but everytime, mastercard & visa Had to fork over to us, once the card is swiped, & approved, too bad... This is in Canada by the way, don't know if it applies to USA.  |  IP: Logged Scott D. Neff Theatre Dork Posts: 919 From: San Francisco, CA Registered: Oct 1999 posted 07-15-2003 06:47 PM                        It seems to me that people check IDs mostly in shopping malls and around the holidays. Every other time people could care less what my signature looks like. My favorite thing to do is hold my ID out and see if they check it... some people do it when they realize "Oh yeah... right... I'm supposed to check IDs." But I'm sorry Kristin, that you got one of those customers. And I'm sorry you have one of those managers.  |  IP: Logged

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