Craziest time of the year!

Written on Sunday, December 23rd, 2007 @ 10:17am

Christmas Five ~
1. What is your fave thing about Christmas?
Listening to Christmas music and decorating the house.

2. Did you believe in Santa Clause? If so, what was the best gift from him?
When I was 4 or 5yo I got everything Little Mermaid. It was awesome. I ended up with three Ariel dolls.

3. Do you have a Christmas Tree? What on top?
I do have a tree with a pretty angel on top.

4. Best stocking stuffer you got?
Oh geez. My stockings were always full of ultra cool random stuff.

5. Wishing for a White Christmas?
Always, but seeing as I am in the Bay Area that won’t happen. Maybe at my parent’s house though.

- - -

I think this year has been the busiest of holiday seasons for me, mainly having to do with the fact I am living on my own. Last week was majorly crazy and stressful because of finals and work; this week I’ve been busy with a 40hr work week. Luckily I have today, tomorrow, and Christmas day off. Plus I don’t have to be at work until 2pm on the 27th, and I work closing shifts for the rest of the week. Very nice! High five!

Working in retail for about three years now during the holiday season has exposed me to my share of crazy holiday shoppers. And while the customers down in the Bay Area are a lot better than what I dealt with back home, I must say I’d take the holiday shoppers from my hometown over the crazy ones down here. People flip out over the tiniest things that on a normal day someone would just make a comment. Or make a face. Or just wouldn’t say anything at all. It’s why I love people who can barely speak English. Except for the Mexican moms who can’t read and force their bilingual 5 year old daughter to argue why a women’s sweater is not on sale because it was found with a sign that says, “Men’s Polo’s 75% off”.

The other day I had a gentlemen of Hispanic origin come in to purchase two giftcards with $250.00 on them each. Yup, that’s right, $500.00 in giftcards. My first thought was, “Damn, could you be my uncle?” But then I got suspicious because I do my research on identity theft, and most thieves like to purchase giftcards in big amounts and sell them. When it came time to purchase he whipped out the American Express in which I checked ID and everything seemed to match up.

All was well until I swiped the card and it gave me a screen in which I had call in the transaction to authorize it. This occasionally occurs when there is a problem with the credit card. All I would have to do was make a quick phone call to punch in the card number, enter the purchase amount, and it would give me an authorization code that would allow me to complete the transaction. As soon as I picked up the phone, the guy flipped out first telling me an authorization code and then trying to get me to go back to use a different card. He pulls out a Citi Card, another American Express card, and is just very concerned that his purchase isn’t going through as planned. I try to explain to him that I cannot continue without making the phone call and he tries to tell me he doesn’t understand my English and he needs to call his wife. I stand my ground and he finally decides to not go through with the transaction. I alert management in case he comes back but he never does.

It’s a situation like this that makes me feel better when I ask for ID on credit card purchases. Sure I have people who get mad at me when I don’t let them use a card that doesn’t match up with their ID (”It’s my dad’s/mom’s/wife’s/husband’s card!”), but the way I see it I don’t know them. Until identity theft is solved I will do my best to protect my customers.

*sigh* There’s been a lot of BS going on at work, due to the holiday craziness and some other things. I’ll be a lot happier when it’s all over.

1 Comment

1 Comment

Carolynne commented on Sunday, December 23rd, 2007, 8:14 pm

Gosh, to tell the truth, I would hate to work in retail at this time of year. You have to have so much patience. Good for you for doing it for so long. But as you said, I bet you have seen a lot of crap over the years. I try to avoid the malls and stuff at this time of the year by getting my shopping done early. It’s good to hear that you have the next few days off. It will be great to have a break. Merry Christmas to you :D