Create and Foster Trust (with the client):
Last summer, I was working at a retail store located inside of a mall. And due to constant use of illegal substances in the bathroom, the store decided it would no longer have a public unlocked bathroom. We were told to refer to people to the next closest bathroom which was in the food court. As the cashier, I was only allowed to let people into the restroom if they had just paid for something or if I had noticed them browsing through the store. But we were not allowed to let people in who had immediately came in and asked to use the bathroom. And we were especially not allowed to give the code to anybody, we had to personally let them into the restroom. These rules were a tad strict but when someone did use substances in the bathroom, it would make the whole bathroom smell terrible and we would have to close it to everyone until it was cleaned. Sometimes this would take hours depending on the damage done so it was easier to only allow paying customers or people who are clearly shopping into the bathroom. One day, I was working at the register closest to the mall entrance and I noticed a women come in and head straight to the bathroom. Like I stated, it was locked so she came back to ask me for the pin code. It was busy and I also did not want to be rude so I asked if she had a receipt. She said no and I said that I was sorry but that I was only allowed to let customers into the bathroom. She immediately got very defensive and started saying she had just shopped with us last week. She said she was a high paying customer and did not understand why I was ostracizing her. I told her we changed our policies and no longer have a public restroom but that there was one in the food court. She then asked me why there were girls standing outside the restroom, I told her I did not give them the code to the restroom. She did not believe me. I explained we are not allowed to give the code out and have to personally let everyone in ourselves. She did not believe me and asked to speak to my manager. My manager eventually came over and gently told her the same things I had already told her. My manager did not let her into the restroom either. As she walked out she told me that “my manager is going to tell me how to do my job right.” My manager came over briefly after and teased me about it but ultimately did not care since I was just following our policies. Sometimes I look back at this and wonder if I could have worded things differently. Perhaps I should have been more direct and specify I saw her dart to the bathroom and for that reason alone I was not allowed to give her the code. Or perhaps she was already having a bad day and needed to release it in some way. This is one of the most recent times a customer did just not believe anything I said until they heard it confirmed from someone else.