GET OUT!!!!!!!

On Friday I got the privilege of kicking someone out of my store. This woman and her mother came in. She was probably 60 or 65. Her mother was good 80..and caused no trouble.
So the woman came up with one of those iron garden crooks and a large metal basket thing and an old shoe last. She asked what was the lowest price I would take on the crook. It was marked $10 but I told her $8. Then she asked the same about the other things. The basket was marked $8 and the last was $7. I told her that I wouldn't come down on those. And I guess that pissed her off.
She asked if all the stuff in the store was mine...then she asked if those items were mine. Then she told me to call the people that the stuff belonged to and find out the low price. I told her I wouldn't do that, that those were the prices. So then she goes on about how if a price is firm it says "firm" on the tag. I told her again that those were the prices. At some point I also told her twice that the basket had just come in and the price would not be lower. She walked off saying that I was loosing a sale. I told her I didn't think so.
She left the things on the counter right in the way. They took up about the whole thing.
In a little bit she came back up with another thing she wanted.

So I asked her if she would take those things she didn't want and put them back.
She said "No", "That is your job".
I told her she was rude. She said in other stores.....blah blah blah.
I told her to leave and not come back.
She called the stuff junk.
I told her it was junk that she wanted.
(I guess there was other conversation in there...I don't quite remember everything..I was getting madder as it all progressed)


****I also want to interject here that the one thing about me that I would say is a problem, that I've never really been able to get a handle on is assertiveness. I don't have it. I will do about anything to not confront someone. Even if they really really need to be confronted. I get all tingly inside and hot and funny. So this whole interaction was bad for me. I wish I could do this more easily...but it is what it is, I guess.****


Unbelievable. I can't get over at how rude she was. And of course I've been mad for 2 days....because that's how I am. :)

It's interesting to me that people think that they are doing me a favor by coming in and buying something (for less than it's marked). I actually think that I am doing them the favor by having the store and sitting there all day providing things for them to buy.
Most of the things in my store you can't find in my town. You have to drive an hour or so to get it.

After thinking about it, and my mom suggested too (she was also there at the time)....this woman probably has a booth herself in a flea market....and she was trying to buy stuff to put in her booth. This has been very difficult around here lately. There are very few consignment auctions going on. In the winter there are fewer auctions in general and no garage sales. I'd say for the last couple years, it has been very hard to find stuff to stock booths.
I've talked to other shop owners and they are really struggling and many shops have closed.

Also when this woman left...it happened that my friend Martha was coming into the shop. This woman stopped her on the parking lot and asked if there were any other places in town. Turns out she's from a town south of here. Martha thought she was on something.... Hee.


It's too bad that the bad people make such an impression.
I've only had a few of these the 8 years I've been in business but I can tell you about all of them.

But every day (really....every day) I have people telling me how nice my place is. I get new people coming all the time and they go on and on about the stuff I have. I've had several people actually thank me for having my store and the stuff in it. I don't know if this happens in other stores but it's really awesome. It lets me know that I'm on the right track....and it's a nice ego boost.

So the bottom line is that I shouldn't let these losers get under my skin....but they still do. It makes me want to punch them in the face.