Needed to vent frustration to people who understand

AlauraBorealis

AlauraBorealis

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I work at a gas station and I'm HOH, I wear HAs and rely on speech reading. (I wish I knew more ASL) But anyway, I am relatively new at my job and still learning where all the different cigarettes and everything are, the main frustration that I have is when people look out toward the gas pumps to figure out which one they are at while talking but that is relatively easy to deal with. But there is this one customer who is in almost every day who is really rude, he mumbles when he talks and when I ask him to clarify what he said he gets really short and rude. My first day running the register he asked for a few different types of cigarettes and I couldn't understand him very well so i asked him to clarify and he said it again and i still couldn't understand him so it took me a minute to find the cigarettes he wanted, I apologized and told him that I was new and still learning where everything was and he make a rude snarky comment about my supposed inability to read. I really wanted to just yell that I'm not only wearing hearing aids and could not hear him very well but that I'm well on my way to a PhD. I just ignored his comment but then a few days ago he was in again and my co worker was cleaning something and it made some loud bangs which my HAs picked more than his voice so I dropped a comment in about why I couldn't hear what he said and he said he would try to speak up in the future but the next time he came in again he was just as rude as before, I'm really frustrated and I know working retail I'm going to run into rude customers and the inability to hear people but I'm just really frustrated, I need this part time job because I'm in grad school and can't work full time right now but I'm so irritated and just needed to vent to some people who may understand my frustration.
 
Feel lucky it's just "one" customer. You probably deal with 50+ customers during your shift so 1 out of 50 is pretty good in retail. As hard as you may try, you just can't please all the people all the time.
 
Angel1989 said:
Feel lucky it's just "one" customer. You probably deal with 50+ customers during your shift so 1 out of 50 is pretty good in retail. As hard as you may try, you just can't please all the people all the time.
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That is true, most people are very polite when I ask them to clarify what they said, this guy is just such a jerk about it. It really irks me.
 
My guess is that *HE* is hard of hearing, so he's pissed off because he fears he's not able to express himself properly.

Try to explain him that you have a hearing issue. If he is still holding the grudge, then at least you tried to make it better.
 
I agree,but I usually ignore the ones that are rude. like next time you come bring a note and i can get it for you much faster.. then you haveing to waite.. I had to quit working i couldnt deal with all the rude people .and they are out there. they think it is better for you to adapt then them to help by useing a note that says what cigerates they want.. Say HERE"S YOUR SIGN>> then go on with what you are doing. slow down and enjoy you are young and will in time change them..
 
I worked for the Government for 15+ years in the Civilian services, I worked with the public ( Park and Forrestry, Health and Hospitals, Water Division and lastly Building Division ) I worked in some really bad, low income/high crime areas, and its amazing that they get free services ( home improvements/etc...) yet they will deal drugs, smoke and shoot up in your presence without a care in the world, they dare you to say something.
I am hard of hearing, and now nearly deaf... and they would get irritated that I couldnt hear them or everything they said and the more they had to repeat the angrier they got. Some people are just straight up asses, no matter how much help/free help they get, I could have just as easily denied them services based on their hostality and mentality, but Karma will find its way to them.
One home I worked at ended up in a shootout with the police ( while we were there) and another was a drug deal gone bad. Since I got injured and have since became disabled, I do not miss it one bit.
So, dont let one customer spill your beans... If you cant hear him, state your reason/explain your situation, then let your boss know this individual is causing you problems ( in other word cover your ass ) so next time he mumbles just say pardon? and stand there till he speaks up.
I am bold and I have done it and not afraid to stand my grounds for some retard that cant get it in their thick skull, make them learn a new trick.
 
There was recently a discussion on another thread, and us HoH folks agree that there is a lot less tension when you repeat back what you thought they said, for an accuracy check. It can get funny, and show them their articulation errors/the sounds you have difficulty with. That way they don't think that they have to yell, or repeat the same thing in the same way all over again.

And remember, you will have customers who are rude because they are always high/drunk. :shock:
 
MCB said:
There was recently a discussion on another thread, and us HoH folks agree that there is a lot less tension when you repeat back what you thought they said, for an accuracy check. It can get funny, and show them their articulation errors/the sounds you have difficulty with. That way they don't think that they have to yell, or repeat the same thing in the same way all over again.

And remember, you will have customers who are rude because they are always high/drunk. :shock:
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So true, I answer my friends and they ask me... What did you think I said... always the life of the party here.
Now I just say crazy stuff to make them think I didnt hear them even when I did, just to keep them on their toes...lol
 
I understand your pain. Maybe the solution is look for something part time that does not require so much customer interaction?

It's tough. We all have to go through things like this.
 
What is your phd in? This guy seems to have social, emotional problems. It is worse when someone like him runs into someone with a disability. Most sane and intelligent people have enough social maturity to deal with the unexpected such as a hoh cashier. Maybe you can do your thesis on him? Lol
 
AlauraBorealis said:
I work at a gas station and I'm HOH, I wear HAs and rely on speech reading. (I wish I knew more ASL) But anyway, I am relatively new at my job and still learning where all the different cigarettes and everything are, the main frustration that I have is when people look out toward the gas pumps to figure out which one they are at while talking but that is relatively easy to deal with. But there is this one customer who is in almost every day who is really rude, he mumbles when he talks and when I ask him to clarify what he said he gets really short and rude. My first day running the register he asked for a few different types of cigarettes and I couldn't understand him very well so i asked him to clarify and he said it again and i still couldn't understand him so it took me a minute to find the cigarettes he wanted, I apologized and told him that I was new and still learning where everything was and he make a rude snarky comment about my supposed inability to read. I really wanted to just yell that I'm not only wearing hearing aids and could not hear him very well but that I'm well on my way to a PhD. I just ignored his comment but then a few days ago he was in again and my co worker was cleaning something and it made some loud bangs which my HAs picked more than his voice so I dropped a comment in about why I couldn't hear what he said and he said he would try to speak up in the future but the next time he came in again he was just as rude as before, I'm really frustrated and I know working retail I'm going to run into rude customers and the inability to hear people but I'm just really frustrated, I need this part time job because I'm in grad school and can't work full time right now but I'm so irritated and just needed to vent to some people who may understand my frustration.
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totally know where you are coming from since I used to work at a gas station and drug stores back in the day. I used to have customers that would just mumble and point instead of repeating what they said when trying to buy cigs.

Most of the time the customers feel like sh*t when I say, "bear with me I am hard of hearing" after they get angry if I asked them to repeat themselves for the 2nd or 3rd time. I realized that no matter what you will have to deal with customers that are just immature and rude no matter what because of whatever problems they have. Eventually I start to remember what brand of cigs certain customers buys all the time and they don't even bother to ask what they want because by the time they get to the counter, I already got the pack of cigs they wanted to buy.

Man, I am never going back to those jobs and worst part was they were graveyard jobs. I have seen some serious sh*t go down at gas stations and drug stores with a 24 hour pharmacy that is a few miles away from a nearby hospital lol

Just hang in there and just don't let those customers ruin you're day because in the end no matter what you will have to deal with customers that are just a pain in the ass or flat out rude.
 
i find people ok when tell them i deaf..You should not have to put up with people who got manors of a baboon but he just one person and if you only get one baboons arse in the course of a day,just think of your wages end of week..
be firm and polite and maybe shout across the shop for collegue come serve him you dont need keep justifying yourself to him
best of luck
 
Isadora said:
My guess is that *HE* is hard of hearing, so he's pissed off because he fears he's not able to express himself properly.

Try to explain him that you have a hearing issue. If he is still holding the grudge, then at least you tried to make it better.
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What a load of crap! So very person that rude to a HOH person is also HOH??
 
From the half a year I worked at a convenient store / gas station, I've learned that the kinds of people who show up on a regular basis to buy cigarettes and lotto are not exactly the cream of the crop, if you know what I mean.

There's a reason why they're stuck in this tiny town with just enough money for food, rent, lotto, and cigarettes -_-

I never considered any of them seriously, and I'm sure none of them meant anything they said.
 
There is one thing I don't understand is that you were not using the paper and pen for him to write it down on what he wanted to buy from you. Trying to read lip was bad enough when he was mumbling and you had to ask him to repeat over again but still not being able to understand what he was trying to say to you. You never mention one word about using the paper and pen to get across what the only one customer was trying to say.

What did he mean when he was rudely remarked that "your supposed inability to read" which mean that he expect you to read his lips or he was not writing properly on the paper that you could not read his handwriting? Anyway, that is not bad when you only have one rude customer to put up with. If you are fine with other customers, then you are okay. Just remember to use paper and pen to let that person know that you did not understand what the person say because you are hard of hearing. It is not the same like normal hearing. **sigh**
 
mumblers suck. my father tends to mumble too, there's not much we (deaf/hoh) can do about it, even lip reading doesn't work too well as they don't really form their words.

my advice is to just be up front and honest about it, but in a humorous way. such as, "heh would LOVE to hear what you said but my hearing has gone, can you repeat louder?" most people aren't going to attack when being honest.
 
Would it be possible to print pictures of the cigarettes packs onto a sheet of paper and let him point to what he wants? Keep the sheet laminated for other customers you may not fully understand. Just a thought. Dont know if this would help, but it may be worth a try.
 
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