The fact that your manager refused to believe you or protect you is WILD. Regardless of whether it's a customer or a friend, someone coming into another person's workplace every time they work is a red flag, y'know?! Since it was a random customer, no one knows what they're capable of. What if they chose to sit outside and wait until you're done work? GAH.

You are allowed to set boundaries without feeling guilty about it. Period.

Don't feel bad, you gave her a necessary life lesson. People at work are not there to make friends, and they should know that.

When someone is weird and I feel guilty about it, I feel like it's their shame being projected onto me. If you're uncomfortable, then something is wrong and there no shame in protecting yourself! We do not know who people are or what they're capable of!   Stay safe everyone 🖤

Basically a baby reindeer type of thing, not saying it's the same but the hurt person who gets a bit of kindness (aka bare minimum interaction) and they see it as something else and they become obsess with you type of thing.

I used to work next to an Ulta, and I’d had the worst day. So after work, I was super down, and I went to Ulta before heading home. When I say I was down, my depression was at an all time low. Anyways, so the worker was so kind to me. When people say you literally don’t know how your small act of kindness can really help someone, this is a fact. She probably saved my life, by just being nice. I said all that to say, after this, I never went back to “hang with her”. I did see her a couple times in the store after, I never said a weird word. I cannot imagine doing this. Geez man.

The fact that always someone is obsessed with you shows how people treat alternative people

When I was 17 & worked retail, this 45 year old lady would come into the store JUST to “hang out” with me. She followed me on Instagram, asked me all the time to hang out (I always had an excuse), and would stop by to talk to me for 2 hours. Because I was at work, on the clock, DOING MY JOB, I didn’t know how to make her stop. I talked to her less and less and started breaking our retail rules to “make customers feel welcome & at home”. I didn’t care anymore lol, I removed her from my Instagram. It wasn’t until my parents came to pick me up one time  and they saw her talking to me & she wouldn’t let me end the conversation in the parking lot, that I started to realize how…weird it was that this lady in her 40’s was obsessed with this girl in her teens…I was SOOO happy to leave that store😐😅

I would've told the customer after she came in a few days in a row for a service but didn't buy anything that "I am sorry but my manager said I can't keep giving you free services anymore. That the courtesy service is designed to promote products and I am now only allowed to do a free service once per customer." And hopefully that would get rid of her.

“It’s a personal rule of mine that I do not engage in personal relationships with customers. I understand you want to be come in to the store and be helped by me. But at this point you are interfering with my ability to do my job, so I am going to have to ask you to leave the store at this time.” You can’t lead on lonely people like this hoping they will get the hint. They won’t. I’ve been through this exact situation too sadly.

1:37 i love customer service. i just wish it paid a bit more. i don't need to be rich, but i'd like to be able to afford an apartment on my own 😅

You do not even know how much this resonates with me. I worked in a make up store in the Mac section and I had a manager who would get pissy with me because when I helped people out I did not expect them to buy just Mac if someone could not afford it but wanted something like it I would take them into the more affordable make up and show them other things that they could afford. For me, it was not about selling them make up they can’t afford. It was about helping people feel good about themselves and making sure the products they were purchasing were comparable to higher end. I literally had to go above my managers head because they wanted to write me up. for not selling them make up from my section I would have people come in and find me in order to help them and nine times out of 10 they would purchase something from my make up section as well as more affordable. Not that it was my intention, but the manager that did this to me not only got written up by the general manager they ended up getting fired because I was not the only one they were doing this to

She was honestly just lonely and as sad as it is you might have been the first person to make her feel seen but she unfortunately somehow didn’t know that it’s what great CS employees are supposed to do as part of their job. She didn’t know that there is a line which is not on you at all. However your manager is completely wrong, in the future anytime you or anyone reports something to a manager verbally ALWAYS send it also in writing whether it’s email text or whatever, and if they still dismiss it, send all the receipts to HR.

This happened to me while working at a shoe store with a 74 year old man. I was very nice to him and so he would start coming in daily trying to talk to me but not buy anything. I thought he was lonely until he asked me out!!!! I said no and then he started calling the store looking for me and he would call at night right before we closed. Since I walked home, I started getting scared he may be outside. I eventually told me store manager because the guy kept calling for me the night I was working with my manager and the man called back and my store manager asked him what he wanted with me and he said I just want to talk to her and my manager said you have no business taking to her she feels uncomfortable now so stop calling and the man starts arguing back saying that I was flirting with him and acting like I wanted him and my store manager screamed at him  to stop calling and slammed the phone down. Never heard back and never saw the guy again. Mind you my store manager was a huge 6 foot 5 50 year old man that walked around like he didn’t want to be bothered so I’m sure the man got the hint. You can’t be too nice to folks when working retail AT ALL!

Yeah, that sucks on so many levels.  People are lonely out there, unfortunately.   It is a shame her feelings got hurt but it was bound to happen sooner or later.  And it needed to happen, she couldn't keep doing that, it was getting you a bunch of grief from a knob of a manager and not helping her live in her real world and find real friends.  I don't know what else you could have done, tbh.

It’s so uncomfortable when they come to your place of work.  You are their captive since you can’t leave and you’re not going to quit over it.   I think the manager actually was a great help in this situation.   He was the “bad cop”. 😊

I used to be a server and we all had customers like this. Sadly there's alot of lonely people but like your manager there's also alot of assholes.

oh my gosh I been in a similar situation. I was working at the movies and this guy comes up he wants a movie and a popcorn and drink he is short.. it was late the last showing so i charge him as a kid so what he had covered for everything... boy that act of kindness could've killed me! He comes back and gets more popcorn its a self serve and he keeps looking for me and chatting it up. I'm doing my duties and closing everything up. He asks "when you get off?".. sir not for a while enjoy your movie and I walk off and continue cleaning up. He finally goes to his movie or whatever. Its time to leave and I'm headed out. I'm 16 at this time.. paranoid asf it wasn't the best area crime happening all the time, i did not see anyone around. and this is my first car It was an old beat up car. I hop in and this guy GETS IN MY CAR!!!! GRABS MY FACE AND LICKS MY CHEEK. and runs out the car into the darkness. the same guy i charged as a kid so he could afford it. So needless to say I'm even more paranoid and I don't try to go anywhere without my husband I'm 26 now. Also I am a huge people pleaser and I probably would've been hung up on that i hurt their feelings, but you aren't wrong it was a place of work. Did they change the policy after that or no?

her coming in once or twice is fine. but REPEATEDLY for EVERY shift is not okay. and i definitely wouldve reported that situation to HR or corporate

I would just find it sad they didn't have anybody to talk or hang out with. But the manager was out of line smh