Had a customer come in and demand i got her two clownfish right away, straight away she got my back up... but i got on with it, most fishkeepers seem to be rude anyway (not forumites, would hope you know better!...maybe
).
But I got a bag and followed her over to the marines with a bag and started the usual spiel of "So.. is this a new marine set up?" leading onto the maturity, size, stocking of the settup etc...
To get the answer "Oh for goodness sake, i am NOT going to answer all these ridiculous questions, I've been keeping fish for 15 years and i deserve better treatment than this!"
I replied with "Look, I am really sorry, to ask questions is my job, this is my second day here and I dont know if you are a regular customer or not... If you want to buy fish, I need answers..."
"Oh for fs sake my tank is 300L and over 10 years old etc etc... Now are you happy?!"
Me: "certainly... a pair of common clowns was it?" (we had 4 species)
"Oh for goodness sake I could get them faster myself, yes the common clowns, i said i wanted clowns didnt i, i thought you were meant to listen to my answers!"
I kept my patience
though admittedly i was shaking like a leaf at this point i was so angry and she was one scarey woman!
We got to the till and i put in the price for the fish and then she had an absolute spac at me because they were £3 more expensive than they were priced up as 3 weeks ago....
I tried to explain that this was a new batch and unfortunately with the Rate Of Exchange so poor and getting worse, the price had to go up a bit...
Whilst this was going on she had been entering her pin number to pay by card...
Her trolly was about 2 meters away at the end of the desk and she snatched the carrier bag with the fish bag in it and chucked it hard into the trolley from where she was...
If she hadnt already taken her card out, i would have refunded the money and taken the clowns back off her, or better still, just taken the clowns off her but she stormed out effing and blinding at me.
----
Another time i had this HUGE bloke... over 6ft by a good way and built like a bouncer... ask me if i would like to "take this argument outside" as he punch one hand into the other...
Me... I am 5ft and a woman... not that it makes much difference but seriously!? All because I told him he couldnt put a goldfish in a bowl and then when he changed his story and suddenly 'remembered it wasnt a bowl, its a smallish tank with a filter' I told him that unfortunately I didnt believe him and without proof, he wasnt going to be leaving the shop with fish from any of the staff...
I said "Sure, lets take it outside then!"
He wasnt so sure of himself then was he LOL his girlfriend dragged him out the shop