Today was a little more promising than the past few days.  We got firewood and duraflame logs in, just in time as the temperatures dip into the 30s at night.  We're able to keep flashlights in stock and have C and D batteries - though we finally ran out of AAs.  We're seeing different brands than we're used to on some things, but that doesn't matter.  What matters is that the supplies got here.

What people are buying is subtly changing, too. I'm starting to see water heaters, power washers, dehumidfiers instead of flashlights, chainsaws, gas cans.  More cleaning/replacing/rebuiding is starting to happen instead of just plain survival.  Customers are clearly exhausted, but there's fewer completely shell-shocked people.

But now we're starting to see customers getting angry and making threats.  I had one this morning who thought it was the funniest thing in the world to say he was going to break a crowbar over my head, and laughed even louder when the only thing I could manage to say in reply was "Please don't."  If I hadn't already finished the transaction, I'd've voided it and refused to ring him up for that.  Another pair were trying to return chainsaws to buy heavier-duty ones...when the ones they were returning had been used enough to scratch the brand name off the blade.  They got angry when it took a while for anyone to respond, furious when the guy who came up told them no way, no returns on heavily-used equipment.  They tried to quote the sign at returns that basically said "Not satisfied?  Return it!"  I was SO tempted to point at the small-print sign next to them with the highlighted "We reserve the right to refuse any return", but all I did was say "If he says no, I can't do it".  They looked like they wanted to do something, and sat there steaming for a minute before grabbing the chainsaws and walking out.

One of the girls at the service desk has taken to carrying a heavy-duty utility knife (which several associates use anyways because the company-issued safety knives are crap, so she can get away with it) because she's been threatened there, too.  Once I heard that, I thought about it and moved the mallet we have for closing paint cans to right under the counter where it's easy to grab.  A deadblow mallet might not do as much damage, but it'll still hurt.  A heavy utility knife might not be a bad idea...

I guess I should really repeat that I only had two customers out of a four-hour shift that were nasty.  But in all the years I've been working customer service and retail, that's only the third or fourth time I've been threatened with actual injury like that.