I had a encounter with a rude and misdirected customer that I thought warranted discussion.

A woman stopped at my U-Check-Ur-Own-Damn-Self-Out podium, mistakenly thinking I was a manager. She barked, “Your store is poorly staffed.”

I replied, “Okay.”

Taken aback, she asked, “Well, what do you plan on doing about it?”

“Nothing.”

She stormed off in a rage. I was amused at her misdirected anger.

If you are in a business and you need assistance of some sort make sure you are speaking to the right person. Just because an employee is standing in the clothing section does not mean they work in that section. Maybe they’re just walking through it on their way to somewhere else or maybe they were browsing while they’re on break.

The question you should ask is “Do you work in this department? If not, could you get an employee from this department?”. If you need to speak to a supervisor, don’t assume it’s the person behind the desk or the oldest person or the one with the nicest clothes. Ask the question “Are you the manager or supervisor? If not, could you get him or her?”

Just be polite about it, damn it!