hi there! im 20 and am a lead at my current job at an amsuement park. we have a membership program that people pay month to month so they can come in and enjoy the attractions. we do not accept cash either.
a lady and im assuming her grandson walk in claiming they have a membership. i find their details and see that its canceled. i tell them they can either renew or pay for a day pass. i try to move quick bc i can tell the kid is excited. she votes for the day pass and she gives me 50 bucks cash. i tell her we dont accept cash and she says she doesnt have a card because allegedly someone had stolen it. the only option for her is to get a prepaid card and pay with that.
shes says shes been a membership holder for a very long time, and the system is able to verify that as well. so she asks me if they can just get in for the day until they want to do the membership when she gets her card. under normal circumstances, i wouldnt have hesitated and just let her in. but people are getting let go left and right for really small things, and letting someone in for free even as a lead can get me in trouble. i tell her im not able to do that, and she tells me how theyve given us so much business and we cant even do it for one day. the kid is devastated and they walk out.
after i felt really bad because i probably ruined that kids day. but someone legit just got let go for letting someone in for free under similar circumstances about a month ago. im in no position to lose my job, so i really dont think its bad. one of the other leads though expressed that it wasnt that big of a deal and she wouldve just let them in and i was wrong for turning them away. aita?
edit:
after reading some replies its clear theres some miscommunication. heres some clarification:
there is no "supervisor" that was there for me to call to come talk to this lady. i opened the park, and didnt get another person until later that day (same person who said it wasnt that big of a deal). because of this, i was the highest authority currently available to make a decision. additionally, one of my managers quit abruptly, leaving the other to pick up his slack on top of the work he already has to do. today was his day off, and i dont want to bother him especially with all the stress hes been dealing. hes been telling me how hard it is to work without someone to help him out, and trust me i would but i dont have the clearance to. i didnt want to call him on a day he finally gets a break from all the craziness happening to ask about a lady. also the amusement park is small with a few roller coasters and booths. more of a local attraction
NTA
Lady was 100% trying to scam you into getting in for free.
nta, it sounds like job security is a concern to you and based off of your retelling, it doesn’t sound like she went nuclear on you for it anyways. it definitely sucks though! but with some sleep you’ll get over it
NTA- you followed your work policies, maybe next time call over a supervisor and they can make the decision so it’s not your job that’s at risk
Also you didn’t ruin the kids day, the grandma did, she was unprepared (not checking the membership was valid, payment options etc)
NTA
Too often, people take advantage of kindnesses like this and they don’t get in trouble for it, you do. Even if someone wasn’t recently fired for doing this, by giving one person freebee, you are setting yourself up for disaster. Nothing will force them to follow through on their end and if/when they don’t, you won’t be able to defend yourself to your boss. You weren’t rude, you weren’t cruel, you weren’t mean. You simply held your ground.
NTA you did not ruin the childs day, grandma did. By not informing herself about the no cash policy, or just showing up without a membership. Her lack of planning is not your fault.
At least she didn’t make a scene when you didn’t let her in for free, so she kind a knew anyway.
im glad she didnt make a scene because it wouldve been wayyy more difficult especially with how busy we were