No, I am not kidding with you.

You know, I can't help but wonder sometimes if the people I know are attempting to get me fired. Its a question that comes to mind when your own aunt attempts to scam your store, and then the next door neighbor? Honestly, I am under the firm belief that you never really know someones morals until you go with them into a store or restaurant and see how they treat the people that are there to serve them. Those people do not have to be there, and they have the right to turn away and refuse you service. If my cashiers choose to do this, I will back them up (unless it was completely uncalled for).

My handheld starts going off like crazy on a moment when I am the only CSM over the front end while the other is off on her lunch. I look down and see that one of my Service desk associates has thrown in about eight training questions, all within three seconds of each other. Now, when this happens, it usually means that the associate is being faced with a very difficult customer, so I hurry up there to run interference to resolve the situation.

When I round the corner, though, I am greeted with a surprise: My neighbor Juan is up there, and he's less than pleased. He calms slightly when he sees me around the corner, and says something to the man at the desk to the effect of: I watched her grow up, she will understand. I hate it when they do that, my own family has attempted it once.

So, my SD man gives me the low down on the situation: My neighbor is attempting to return an 80 dollar microwave, no box, no receipt, heavily used without a receipt. Why, oh why do people attempt to do this? We have a store policy that we try to enforce, which works sometimes, where we will not make a return over fifty dollars without a receipt. We offer exchanges in this case.

My neighbor explains that the microwave is throwing sparks. That's fine. He's going to need a new one, so I offer for him to exchange the microwave for another one. Something is up with him. His wife works over at the other Walmart in town, why isn't he returning the microwave there? He doesn't want to exchange the microwave, so I explain to him that is the only thing we can do for it.

It becomes apparent that he just wants cash when he asks if he can just have fifty dollars then, since we'll only do up to that. I explain that we can't do that. I end up talking him into exchanging for a new microwave, and leave the desk after handling the situation. When the call for an override comes over the handheld, I sent the other CSM up there, since the man is my neighbor, to turn the key.

Its pretty sad when your own neighbor tries to scam the store.