PERU, IL — Walgreens cashier Brent Hillside took a hiatus from his job this week after dealing with what he described as a strangely emotional customer who began sobbing uncontrollably when he asked him if he was a Walgreens Rewards member.
"He just broke down, and nothing I could say would convince him that it was okay," Hillside said. "I didn't know what to do. It was just too much. Some customers are just so weird."
The incident was caught on CCTV cameras. The unidentified man approached the register to purchase a scented candle and a greeting card, presumably for his wife. When Hillside casually asked him about the membership program, he lost all composure.
"No... no, I'm not a rewards member," the unidentified customer said before softly sobbing. "I'm so sorry. What a wretch I am. I'm worthless. Half a man."
Hillside tried to comfort the customer and get on with the transaction, but he wouldn't allow it. "No! No! I'm not a member! I'm not a member!" He then stormed out of the store without his items.
Hillside said he had never had a more uncomfortable moment in customer service, and said he was considering going back to school to become a social worker. "Maybe, in time, I can find that man and really help him become a Walgreens Rewards member."
At publishing time, Walgreens had introduced a support group for customers struggling with the knowledge that they were not members of the rewards program.
Liberal Brynnleigh witnesses a communist utopia in action!
