Customer service is never easy, but some customers are on a whole other level of terrible. From idiotic questions to outrageous outbursts, these Redditors reveal their craziest experiences on the job.
1. Fire In The Hole
I was working the drive-thru one day when a woman ordered a large orange Hi-C. She got to the window and I saw three other people in the car with her laughing pretty hard. I took her money, gave her the drink, and about two seconds later, I suddenly heard someone say "FIRE IN THE HOLE".
As I was turning back to the register to take the order of a car that had just gotten to the speaker, I saw the drink flying at me, and I reached out with my left arm to redirect the drink back out the window and into her car. The lid came off and it exploded everywhere.
She even had the nerve to ask my manager for her money back. Needless to say, she didn't get her money back and was told less-than-kindly to leave.
Shutterstock
2. Rushing Dinner
I worked in a popular restaurant for a while. We usually have quite long 30-40 minute waits during dinner service and people are told by the hosts about this. But there was this lady that got fed up with the wait after only 10 minutes.
She stormed into the restaurant, stood next to a table of four people and literally asked them, "Are you guys done? We've been waiting for a long time now and would like to have the table if you guys are just chatting..." I was completely mind-blown about how people are able to not care and pull something like this in public.
3. Flying Footlong
A seven-year-old girl came into my store to get the sandwich with a note listing the ingredients she wanted on it. At the cash, I rang in the sandwich, and the little girl passed me one filled-out Sub-Club card, which used to be good for a 6" sandwich with a purchase of a 28 oz drink. I cleared the cash and rang it in again, discounting half the sub.
I told the girl how much she owed me and she just stood there, looking at me. I asked her what was wrong and she said that her mom never gave her any money. I asked if her mom was outside and if she could go get her. This is where the nightmare started. The girl left and came back in crying, getting towed behind a raging mammoth of a woman who was demanding to talk to my manager about how she was being disrespected.
I explained to her the usage of the card and pointed out where the details were printed. She screamed, reached over the counter, grabbed the sandwich, and then threw it at my head. My manager later saw the security footage and called me laughing his butt off about it.
4. A Mess In The Aisle
I was working at Circuit City as a computer tech. The mother of this child let the demon run rampant in the store. No control over it. She had it dressed in only a diaper and some ratty shirt covering. After browsing the iPod section, seeing as she had properly cared for her child and deserved a reward, I see her grab the kid and hurry off to the restroom.
I walked over to where she was to make sure she didn't take anything, and there was her child's gift to me: a runny pile of poop. All over. No one wanted to volunteer to clean it, so we gathered some cleaning spray, and had a quick round of rock, paper, scissors, where it was decided that I should clean it up.
Midway through the cleanup, Mother of the Year comes walking out. I was thinking that she would apologize, offer to clean it up, etc. Oh no. She was carrying the child, scolding them about "what it had done," pointed to me, and told the kid off on how this "poor man has to clean up after you".
She then bails out the front door never to be seen again. A girl goes to the back to inspect the bathroom, where the baby changing station is also covered in poop. I got out of cleaning that one at least.
5. They’re MY Wings
I worked at a grocery store that had hot food to go and pre-prepped meals. I worked in that department for four years and had a lot of messed up customers. We used to joke that even the craziest have to grocery shop. We had a glass-covered counter with heat pads and lights to hold the food.
The counter allowed two people to be served at once which was handy in a rush, but could cause some issues. On this night, I started serving a lady who ordered something and the rest of the chicken wings. My coworker started serving the second customer in line who had heard the first order.
She wanted chicken wings as well, so my coworker told her she would have to wait about 5-10 minutes for the next batch to come out. She immediately flipped out saying that she ordered them first when she hadn’t and that her kids were hungry at home. She insisted that the other lady wait instead.
I finished packing my customers' wings and began handing them to her. The rude lady was saying something like, "Wow you couldn't leave ANY for me!?" But then she became even more deranged. She proceeds to shove the first lady into the counter in an attempt to reach for the wings.
She pushed her so hard that the glass case rattled and the baby the first lady had in a carriage began to cry. The second lady kind of snapped out of it and went to pay and leave. The lady I was serving was so stunned she didn't know what to do. We told her to call for help because she seemed to be in shock.
She agreed and went outside to see if she could get the other woman's license plate. Apparently, in the parking lot the lady who'd stormed out almost hit her as she was leaving. Authorities arrived and took everyone's statements. Afterward, I saw both ladies and after asking them, the lady who was shoved dropped the charges. What a crazy day though!
6. Fast Food PTSD
I went through a McDonald's drive-thru once and the place was slammed inside and out. After ordering, I was asked to park next to the curb and someone would bring my order to me as soon as possible. A girl walked up to my car visibly shaken and as she handed me my food, she said something that made my heart sink.
"Please don't slap me". I said, "What?" Apparently, the last lady she delivered food to yelled at her and slapped her across the face because it took so long.
7. From Hero To Zero
I was working at a gas station a few years back on the graveyard shift. It was around 1 am when a really heavy guy walked into the store with a brown bag on his head. He came up to the counter and showed me the brick he had in his hand. He said that if I didn't give him the money in the register, he would beat me with it. Now, I am a pretty big dude, so I just smiled at him.
This set him off and he chucked the brick at me, but it flew right past me to the side. He then ran out of the store. I called the authorities and my manager. I told him what happened, and his response floored me. I ended up getting fired for not giving him the money...Apparently, it was policy to just give robbers whatever they ask for. I was a liability because I didn't follow the procedure. What made it worse was that my son was just born and I was the only one working in my family at the time.
Shutterstock
8. The Wrong Drink?
In high school, I worked at a Dunkin Donuts, and iced coffee was brewed in large five-gallon containers. It’s similar to what they are brewed in now, but they were larger and sans plastic bags.
Anyway, it was busy at both the drive-thru and front counter, and the only other person on my shift with me was a new hire who didn't know anything. A lady was unhappy with her iced coffee that my co-worker made, so I made it for her again. Apparently, it wasn't made right, so she decided to cause chaos.
She threw the full cup on the floor and then walked over to where the counter barrier was, reached over it, pushed a freshly brewed five-gallon container of coffee off the countertop, and then walked out.
9. Fishing For Pills
I worked at a pharmacy during the summer. The pharmacist was one of the nicest people I've ever met. He took pride in his job and made sure patients understood their medications well. In his spare time, he was always reading about new medicine and staying up to date in his career. We had a 30-year-old woman come in and she started to talk to the pharmacist really nicely.
The pharmacist talked to her for about 10 minutes and asked if she had a prescription. Then her real motive showed its ugly face. She said she was in a lot of pain and the doctor wouldn't write a prescription. She wondered if the pharmacist could give her 20 pills of a strong narcotic.
Obviously, he said no he couldn't, but he was nice and gave her suggestions to consider. The woman flips out. Calling him a pill counter who couldn't get a real hard-working job. She continued to rant before he said, "I think you should go". She left and knocked a bunch of items off the shelf.
I felt awful for the pharmacist because I knew how much pride he took in his work. He was still the same friendly person but it's clear that woman's words took a toll on him.
10. Don’t Break The Glass
I was working at one of the busiest bars in a major city in the Midwest, and this jerk can't stop pounding his empty glass on the bar, rolling his eyes, and yelling, "I'M EMPTY OVER HERE". It was 11 on a Saturday night and the bar was packed. There was a literal line around the block.
I told him I would get to him as quickly as I could and not 20 seconds later, I hear him slamming one of my glasses on the bar, AGAIN. I lean over the bar to tell him if he can't stop abusing my glassware, I'm giving him a plastic cup. His reaction shocked me.
This jerk proceeds to hock a loogie in my face. One of my regulars grabbed him by the back of his head and slammed his face into the bar, and a fight breaks out. After all that, at least 20 of my glasses ended up broken!
11. Feeling The Heat
A lady from the real estate agency next door ordered a chicken box, and then proceeded to drive an hour to her next showing. In the middle of summer, where it probably sits right in front of her AC unit in the passenger seat. Surprise, surprise; the food gets cold when left in the cold. Who knew.
Upon the shocking discovery that food doesn't stay warm, she called us to scream at my boss that we tried to serve her undercooked food. Because my boss is a pushover in the summer, he agreed to give her a new free meal when she came back. She came to get her free food—but things did not improve.
One of our chefs came to collect her cold food. While still in front of the window, he opened the box and fished out the uneaten biscuit. He threw the rest away but walked away with the bread. I presume he meant to eat it, but he went about it all wrong.
She started screaming about how we were "recycling" food, that she was good friends with the health inspector, and that she was going to see us in court. The histrionics brought my boss out of his office, and after chewing out the idiot chef, he tried to smooth things over.
I don't remember much, we were super busy, and since he'd taken over the drive-thru, I hopped onto another task. She wouldn't move forward, and the line was piling up. My boss was starting to get annoyed. They had stopped talking to each other. Her hot, fresh meal is up, and he goes to hand deliver it and tells her to get the heck out of the line.
I'm not entirely sure as I was halfway across the store trying to make drinks—but all I remember is a surprised gasp from our food runner. I looked up to see a box of steaming hot chicken come sailing through the window and scatter across the front.
My boss had barely stepped back in time. We could only stare as the crazy lady roared out of the parking lot, and my boss snapped at the first person stupid enough to still be making eye contact to clean it up.
12. Battery Powered
I was working at a car battery store, when a customer came in with a receipt for a battery he had bought a couple weeks ago, asking for a refund. I asked him if he had the battery with him, so that we could take the battery back and refund him the money. He said, "No, I don't have it anymore, I put it in a car I just sold".
Confused, I replied, "You want us to refund you for a battery that you don't have anymore"? He responded, just as confused, "Yeah well I don't have the battery anymore, so why should I have to pay for it? You need to refund me". He did not leave the store happy that day. I’m still confused by this interaction to this day.
13. You've Been Framed
I used to work at an Applebee's. One of my tables was an elderly couple and what I assumed was their granddaughter. They ordered their food (steak, salad, and chicken fingers). In the kitchen, a random server, let's call him Matt, was running people's food because everyone was busy. Well, the table next to mine belonged to a server named Ashley.
Matt accidentally ran Ashley's food to my table. He asked the elderly couple if they were at the table that had ordered a chicken penne pasta, onion rings, and a chocolate dessert, all of which were completely different than what they had ordered. They said yes, then. proceeded to yell at the manager about how their food was wrong and how bad of a server I was.
I hate people.
14. I Should Go Elsewhere!
I worked at McD's in high school. It was about 10 minutes before closing, and our drive-thru was packed. At closing, there were usually only two or three people working. So we were on the run. A guy about mid-way in the line gets to the window. I'm a nice person and a human, so I understand waiting sucks.
I apologized to the guy about the line and asked him what I could get him. He wanted something that had a wait. Chicken probably. I very apologetically explained there was a four-minute wait on that and would he like to order something else or pull forward. He just laid into me like I ran over his puppy or something.
He then quips, "I should just go to Burger King!" I said, "I understand your frustration, if you make a left out of here, it's about a mile down the road on the left side. Have a nice night". Then I shut the window on his stupid face. My manager came over, asked what happened, then high-fived me, and the guy peeled out.
It was so validating in the face of his utter rudeness to a 15-year-old girl.
15. Drive-Thru Drama
I had a guy that was a germaphobe and had really bad OCD. He came through before and my coworker didn't want to deal with him. So, I went to the drive-thru window after washing my hands. I cashed out the order that was on screen and he reluctantly handed over his card. I then gave him the coffee that I cashed him out for.
He started yelling at me saying that it was wrong. Apparently, the person that took the order forgot to type something in. It’s unfortunate but it happens. He started yelling at the coworker that didn't want to take his order at the window.
So instead of just saying that it was the wrong order, getting refunded, and being on his way, he stayed in the driveway for 20 minutes telling my coworker that she was stupid and unprofessional and was unfit to be a supervisor.
He kept demanding that we get the phone number of our franchise owner, but apparently, the number was wrong and he kept yelling at us. When we came back to the window after 20 minutes of this, he left. My supervisor went into the back to cry. I felt so bad for her, she's the sweetest person.
Fast forward to less than a month later, he called the store to apologize and the manager made sure that my coworker never dealt with him again. He told the manager that his therapist told him he should apologize.
He spent a combined total of three hours on the phone with the manager, where he apologized and also blamed us for making him late to his appointment that day. But that's not the best part...At the end of the phone call, he asked if we were hiring.
16. Making Recommendations
I'll never understand why people make their dislike for a restaurant's food into a bizarre personal grudge against the server. I worked at a place that had good food except for this one dish: steak frites. It was a small hanger steak, cut into strips, served with fries. That's it.
The steak was always tough, under-seasoned, and wasn't a lot of food for the money. One day a guy asked me for some recommendations, so I made a couple. He apparently wasn't impressed by my suggestions, so he asked about the steak frites and said, explicitly, that I wouldn't recommend it. So that's what he ordered.
After taking a couple of bites, he pushed the plate away then asked me to call over the manager. He then complained to the manager. But I couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. He whined, not directly about the food, but about me for giving him an awful recommendation.
17. When In Doubt, Smile
I worked in retail for a bit during my senior year of high school and sometime after. I once had a customer rudely ask me if I had gone to high school. She even had the audacity to say that I was probably a dropout towards the end of a transaction. I was so stunned, I didn't know how to react...then I just gave her an exaggerated shrug, a big, dumb smile, and I crossed my eyes as I handed her her bag.
18. The Hair Scare
I was a hairstylist at a salon when this lady in her late 60s came in. She said she wanted to go a shade darker than she had, so I picked out a medium blonde. When she left, she was happy. That was around 3 pm. Then, around 6 pm she called us and said she didn't like the color...She wanted to know if she could come back in at 8 pm to get it fixed. I told her she could come in first thing in the morning since we closed at 8:30 pm.
So the next day, at 8 am, she came in...but she was totally tipsy. Yet it was even worse than I could have imagined. While I was finishing up her highlights, she started screaming at me, telling me I made her look like "a freaking dog" and that her husband told her she couldn't come home until she got her hair fixed. The latter part was weird because she told me earlier that her husband was blind...
Anyway, I was seven months pregnant at the time and she pushed me up against the wall, telling me I better fix her hair or her son-in-law, who is a well-known lawyer in Houston, was going to sue me. She was acting so crazy that the other stylist was freaking out. The guy that was in her chair even got up and told her to screw off or he was going to call the authorities.
She got in his face and started yelling at him, and then she went over to my client and told her that her hair color was beautiful and that she wanted her to be the same color. My client's hair was actually darker than the lady's, and it was still blonde. Anyway, I ended up fixing her hair and she thanked me at the end of the night. I sat in my car crying for an hour.
I regret not calling the authorities on that witch. I also wish I was able to thank the guy who stood up to her for me.
19. Coupon Conundrums
I used to work at Kohl's department store. The bane of my existence was Kohl's Cash. For those of you unfamiliar, some weeks Kohl's will give $10 Kohl's Cash to customers for every $50 they spend. Unfortunately, some months, KC would overlap, meaning a customer could use their KC, have $10 taken off their totals, and if the total was still more than $50, they would receive another $10 to be used at another date.
However, KC is still considered a coupon, not a form of payment. So, hypothetically, if a customer were to use their KC and the total dropped below $50, they wouldn't receive more. I would get screamed at for these five to seven times weekly.
On one occasion, a woman began to call me "incompetent" and every other name in the book, because the KC took her total down to $42 and another KC didn't print for her. She then proceeded to take her change, just the coins, and hurl them at my face. And, I mean, she really whipped them hard. At this point, I began to cry because coins hurt, and my manager got involved. In the end, my manager printed her $10 Kohls Cash.
20. Over A Dollar
One of my delivery drivers took a run to this women's house. She was supposed to get like $17.61 in change. She wanted to tip $1.61, but since my driver had taken an order previously, he didn't have $16, he had $15. Needless to say, she was furious. He got back to the store and asks, "Has that lady from 'address' called yet?"
She apparently screamed at him for five minutes about how it was outrageous he didn't have that other dollar, and how terrible he was for trying to take money from her. Even after he told her, "I have no intention of taking your money from you, I just need to go get change, and I will be right back with your dollar".
So, five minutes later, she calls the store, "I NEED TO SPEAK TO THE MANAGER!" Well... here we go again. She yells about how “YOUR DRIVER DIDN'T HAVE THE CHANGE FOR THIS ORDER (blah blah blah)” for a good five minutes. I listened patiently, apologizing and trying to calm the situation down.
However, when she said, "Your driver can go around not having the right amount of change so he forces customers to tip more," I almost lost it. I said "Maam, I'm sorry he didn't have the change for you, but he wasn't trying to take from you or rip you off, he just nee-" And she interrupts with: “I NEVER SAID HE WAS RIPPING ME OFF!!!!”
Yes, you did... You literally just said it. At this point, it was a lost cause. I said, “Well, I'm sorry everything was so terrible for you. He's bringing your dollar to you, please don't ever order from us again”. I made a note in the computer under her address and phone number to that effect.
I will do whatever I can to make an order right or keep the customer happy, but sometimes people just can't be reasoned with. Cut your losses and move on at that point.
21. Grin And Bear It
I worked at REI a few years back—a large outdoor sporting goods co-op, just in case you haven't heard of it—and we sold bear spray which is like pepper spray for bears. A woman came in with her two kids one day and bought a canister because they were going camping. What happened next left me utterly horrified. She got to the front door, then came back to the register as an afterthought, and asked if she was supposed to just spray her kids from head to toe with it.
22. Get Me Out Of Here
I used to work at a Level 1 support center for a major healthcare company. Basically, we would help anyone who needed assistance logging in or registering on the website, but would often get many calls from people who dialed the wrong number and had questions about their plan. I had one woman call in and demand information on her ex-husband's prescriptions.
I tried to tell her that she had the wrong support center and offered to transfer her, but she SCREAMED, "Don't waste your time, they won't give me the information because of HIPAA laws. If you don't give me the information, I will personally drive down there and get you fired".
This was an empty threat of course, but she would've been doing me a favor. That job sucked.
23. All On My Own
I worked at a bakery for two years, and I had to deal with honestly the most heinous and rude customers ever. I've worked in the food service industry my whole life and lived in Toronto up until three years ago, but I have never dealt with such entitlement.
One day, one of our staff members quit by text message five minutes before her shift, and 30 minutes before we were set to open at 8 am on a Saturday. We were hard-pressed finding someone to cover, so I was alone until a front-of-house person was able to come in, about an hour later.
I had one of the kitchen staff helping me, and all they could do was grab things and bag them as they weren't trained on cash or coffee. So here I am running around trying to help customers, make coffees, ring people through, and am clearly stressed.
This awful man was clearly annoyed that he had to wait, huffing and puffing, and eventually loudly exclaimed, "I'm not waiting for this," and proceeded to throw his bagged muffin at my head and storm out. I legit almost chased him down, I was livid.
24. Swimming With The Fishes
About a decade ago, I used to work doing customer service for a power company in Texas. As you can imagine, a great number of my calls involved late bills and disconnections. And it's not like the company was ruthless. Due to Texas regulations and the general PITA of disconnecting/reconnecting someone, it generally required being three or more months overdue to actually get shut off.
So it was hard for me to work up much sympathy for anyone who was disconnected for delinquency. But the absolute best response I had was the guy who called up screaming at me about his power being off. He was asking why I couldn’t just turn it back on, because he'd just bought a whole load of rare exotic saltwater fish which had to be kept temperature controlled. And, of course, he was totally unwilling to pay anything towards his bill either, because he'd spent his money on the fish.
So yes, I DID say exactly what any reasonable person would be thinking at that point. I feel bad for the fishes though.
25. Waiting For The Doc
I'm a receptionist. A patient shows up without an appointment and throws a fit. I tell her, "Wait until the doctor finishes with the patient he's seeing right now, and I'll ask him if he can see you today". There’s a rule in the office: I can't add anyone to the schedule once the day's full, without the explicit approval of the doctor.
She then calls her daughter, who calls the office to chew me out, calls me inconsiderate, says I'm toying with her mother's health, etc. I tell her the same thing: You gotta wait for the doctor's approval, because I'm not allowed to add her mother to today's list. Meanwhile, she throws another fit on the phone.
Doc finally exits his office and I ask him; he agrees to see the patient. I put her at the end of the list, but she and her daughter via phone complain about making her wait. My boss just goes along with them and she gets to cut in front of the patients who already had appointments.
After that, she was all sweetness, calling me dear and sweetie, etc. I just gave her the coldest shoulder I could, while still being civil. It made me so mad. And I can't stand the fact that my boss states, "the patient's always right," because they are NOT! Half of them are horribly rude, and his attitude is just fomenting that.
26. Cilantro Complaints
I worked at a Vietnamese restaurant back in high school and I had a Viet family come in to eat. They gave me snobby vibes the entire time especially after I told them I couldn’t speak Vietnamese. They ordered regular pho but asked for no cilantro, so I rang the order in with “no cilantro”.
It came out with cilantro in it and I told the kitchen what the family asked. The kitchen told me they couldn’t do anything about it, so I told my manager and they told me to ask the family if they still wanted it. The family said yes, so I brought it out and they took out the cilantro and ate the entire thing.
At the end of the meal, they spoke to the owner and complained how I got their order completely wrong, got the food for free, and got their bill taken out of my pay. The owner told me I should’ve removed the cilantro myself.
27. In Her Defense
I was in a McDonald's during the lunch rush. This old guy in front of me started harassing the girl at the register who was obviously fairly new. He asked her where she was from and then asked her if everyone from her town was as dumb as she was. He turned to me after saying this and was just like, "Am I right?" I flat out told him right then and there that she was doing her best (during the busiest part of her shift, mind you) and that his jerk behavior wasn't making things any better or easier.
When I got up to the counter, I told her I was sorry she had to deal with pricks like that at her work.
28. Out Of Change
I worked at Chick-Fil-A when I was 16. I was a cashier working the counter during breakfast. The manager hadn't come back from the bank, so I didn't have a lot of change left in my drawer. I had a line of a few people in front of me and so did the other girl next to me. I let the guy know that unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to take his order at my register because I didn't have any coins to give him as change.
I told him that the girl next to me would have to take him. Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. He got super upset and started screaming at me, telling me how horrible and stupid I was. Apparently, I ruined his entire morning. He totally created a scene in front of everyone. On top of this, I was super emotional and I burst into tears. The owner came out and asked the guy to leave, telling him he wasn't welcome at that Chick-Fil-A anymore.
I moved over to the end of the counter and started portioning out cheesecake while trying to compose myself and a few ladies came up to me to tell me I was doing a great job. That kind of restored my faith in humanity.
29. The Handsy Manager
I used to work at HomeGoods where I set up furniture and rugs. I was a portly young lad, and I liked the lifting aspect of the job. I had one bizarre manager though. She was older and wore real fur coats with ridiculous eye makeup and lipstick that always smeared off the pink of her lips...like a plump and messy Cruella De Ville.
She creeped everyone out with the way she carried herself. She greeted people with a very slow and deliberate, "Oh. Hello". This was always followed by a lipstick-stained tooth smile. So one day I'm hanging a fairly heavy rug, one of the biggest ones we have.
I have to climb these mobile stairs roughly 20 feet to get this bulky beast onto the hanging rack. I'm kind of struggling with the awkwardness of the rug, but I'll get there eventually if I take my time. The oddball comes by and asks, "Do you need any help?" I'm thinking, 'Yeah if John or Billy were here, that'd be awesome'.
So I say, "Yeah, could you-" And before I could finish my sentence she goes, "Yes, let me spot you". And now both of her hands are firmly planted on my behind. It was everything in this world that makes you shake your head vehemently sounding out "BBBLLLUUUUHHHHHH!!!!"
I threw the rug off the side of the stairs with some new-found adrenaline. The tapestry landed with a bang. Every customer turned their heads in our direction. Fight or flight had surfaced in my being. My wide, confused eyes were fixated on this woman while my hands clenched to white.
Silence permeated the air. I stared her down for a moment that felt like a lifetime. To break this silence, she had the audacity to smile and say, "Keep up the good work". And with that, she left for her office. A co-worker of mine came up and comforted me with a bro hug. I think I'll always be slightly tormented by that memory.
30. All You Can Eat
I worked at a local chicken joint. Guy was trying to start up his wing restaurant. To help drum up business he made an “all you can eat” deal. The only stipulation was you couldn’t order one all-you-can-eat for multiple people. Seemed reasonable enough, I thought, and often it wasn’t an issue.
One evening as we were near closing, a couple of guys wandered in and one of them ordered this all-you-can-eat deal. He started sharing it with his friend and we told him that he couldn’t do that.
Since we were getting ready to close anyway my manager told him that we wouldn’t cook anymore for him because of it, but rather than throw out what we had already cooked he could just have that. This guy threw a tantrum after we turned our backs.
He threw the food across the entirety of the restaurant. French fries and ketchup everywhere. He kept the chicken though. My friend opened the next morning to find that they had vandalized the windows of the restaurant. Nothing serious, it was just giant toilet paper wads and stuff like that, but my friend said it was a huge pain to clean off.
31. Let Me Downgrade You
A young woman walked into the cinema I worked at, and as always, I was at the ticket office. I sold her tickets to the show she wanted to see. She then proceeded to the 'Candy Bar' and ordered a cup of coffee—black, not too hot—and I offered to take it into her theater for her, to which she said, "That would be great!" Before I took it in, I decided to upgrade her cup to a mug, which was the larger of the two containers we offered, as we were pretty much out of cups.
I made her coffee and headed up the theater stairs to give it to her. I handed it over to her and she stared at me as if I'd just ended her firstborn. She shrieked in the packed theater, yelling: "DID I NOT ORDER A CUP?" I was shocked, but I rolled with it and said pleasantly, "I upgraded your coffee for free," to which she replied, "I ORDERED A CUP AND IT'S WHAT I BETTER GET, MAKE ANOTHER ONE!"
So I grudgingly made her another coffee and brought it back to her. She then offered a snide remark: "Looks like you finally did it right!" Now, I know she ordered the cup and I was obliged to carry out her order for her, but for heck's sake, isn't a free upgrade a GOOD THING?
32. Sketchy Parenting
I worked at a local sports bar and I had two men come in with their dates...and their children. The eldest child was running around the restaurant picking food off of people's plates, while the middle child was changing the TV stations in the middle of baseball playoffs. The youngest child was sleeping on the table while the adults proceeded to drink margaritas.
I served them their food and as soon as the youngest child woke up to take a bite, he proceeded to vomit, covering the table completely. I attempted to be a hospitable server and I cleaned it up, expecting that the customers would be appreciative. Nope. They simply ordered more margaritas. At that point, I refused to serve them anymore (they each had two margaritas) because they were extremely disrespectful and I was not comfortable serving drinks to people who are responsible for getting children home safely.
That's where everything hit the fan. These women proceeded to stand up and scream at me from across the table, saying, "You don't know me, you want some?" Thankfully, I had my manager come over and kick them out. The kicker? Before they left, they poured out two full ketchup bottles underneath the table and left no tip.
33. Fighting Back
One time, I had a customer come into my workplace complaining that her breadsticks were cold. After putting up with about five minutes of vicious verbal attacks (she called me every terrible name under the sun), I finally told her that she couldn't talk to me that way. She responded with this absolute gem: "I can talk to you however I want, you're just a pizza girl". Well, snap. I lost it.
I was paying my way through university and I was holding down two jobs at the same time. I was tired and stressed. I didn't know until that point that "seeing red" was an actual thing. I literally saw red (I think it was probably my blood pressure). I proceeded to tell her that she was a small, spiteful, stupid woman, who would never amount to anything in life I also explained to her that work is work, and the act of trying to support myself was honorable in itself.
She ran away and sent her husband in. He threw the bread at me and a napkin holder off one of the tables. The security guard saw this, and he grabbed him while the manager called the authorities. He got taken to the station, but he was released later because I decided not to press charges. It just wasn't worth the stress. I'd never been so angry in my entire life.
34. Watching Their Backs
I was the night manager of a grocery for years. Over the years, I worked with many teenage girls who were checkers. Creepy guys were always coming in and lingering around their check stands when it was slow but they always seemed to scurry away when I walked up. I never had to even tell them to leave or act tough.
Just another adult male presence would keep the creepy stuff away. So, I would always have a code word for my checkers. If they called the office or got my attention as I walked by, they just had to say "platypus" and no questions asked I would casually slide in and start talking to the checker and have her go do something or just start chit chatting with the creepy guy until they left.
There’d be no big scene, I would just make it seem like I was doing some good customer service. The weird part is, most creepy guys would catch on and just get that sort of "you win this round" smile. My checkers really liked it because the thought of calling a manager and making a big scene can make anyone nervous, especially a 16-year-old girl.
35. The Messy Mattress
I work in customer service in a furniture store. This lady calls in and wonders what we're going to do as we sent out our tech to inspect her mattress because she said it was sagging and she hasn't heard anything in a while. Anyways, I look at her account and all this happened almost six years ago.
When I read the comments, the awful truth became clear. They said, "Customer is too big to get off of the bed and cannot predict her time of the month, also stained with other bodily fluids, called the customer and advised that we cannot return".
Well, I tell her that any stains void the warranty, and then she yells, “They're all liars, I didn't even have a phone then! It's your fault it's stained! I'm going to sue you!" And then she hung up on me. I was literally sitting there in shock thinking to myself "...The heck just happened?" She's now a legend in the customer service department here.
36. Dino Dinner
Working at a museum where the main attraction is the dinosaur exhibit, we sell a lot of cheap products aimed at children. And we sell a lot of them, especially "Dino Eggs". A grandfather (I presume) and his granddaughter (once again, I presume, and hope) came into the shop, which is always busy, always cramped. And he picked up a Dino Egg for her.
He handed it over, and paid quickly. "No bag, no need". It was a lovely, simple transaction. But just as the till drawer had closed and I was pulling out his receipt to hand him, I saw him in the corner of my eye—and when I realized what he was doing, I was horrified. He tore open the packaging of this "egg", smashed open the lovely plastic shell took take a big shard to his mouth.
He began to chew, turned slowly to me, and only then did he think to ask, "Is this edible"? "No," I gasped, "No, sir. That—that's not edible. You really shouldn't eat that". The little granddaughter's face sank further watching her grandpa spit out bits of plastic into her broken dinosaur egg. It was a fake dino egg designed to be immersed in water so that the rubbery dino toy on the inside can "grow and hatch".
I gave him another. Well, I gave it to his granddaughter. Best to keep it away from him, he was clearly ravenous.
37. Buckets Of Toppings
I worked at a pizza, ice cream, and sandwich shop in a small rural town. I was on delivery. We had this guy who ordered maybe once a week or so. This customer lived a solid half an hour outside town. None of us knew why the owner ever agreed to deliver to this guy in the first place, being that far out, but we used to wonder if the owner was being threatened into doing it.
The level of trouble the customer would raise if you didn't bring him cheese and peppers for his pizza was absolute madness. There was an incident where a delivery driver found the customer waiting on his porch, and the first thing the customer did was loosely point menacingly toward the driver and say, "Did you bring my cheese and peppers?"
We fully believe the customer would have hurt our driver if the answer had been no. As it was, the driver didn't have as much cheese and peppers as the customer would have liked. The customer called the restaurant and threw a fit. From then on, when we delivered to this customer—because the owner didn't cut him off —we were told to take a bucket of cheese and peppers with us.
I'm talking like one of those bulk ice cream buckets you buy at the supermarket. We all kept on in our trucks. But we had to start taking an extra just for this one customer. I wonder if the guy was even in it for the pizza.
38. Different Kinds Of Glasses
Used to be a bartender at this hybrid restaurant, bar, and movie theater. On big movie releases, the bar would get absolutely slammed and on this particular night, we had run out of glassware completely. The only glassware I had at the time were regular pint glasses that you would normally serve water in. It was a recipe for disaster.
This guy and his wife got lucky and caught a seat at the bar and he ordered a Jack Daniels. Having no other glassware, I put it in a pint glass and explained that we were running low on rocks glasses, assuming he would understand since it was absolute chaos everywhere you looked.
He took it and said “I’m not very happy” in a smarmy way and gave this annoying little grin. I apologized again and said, “Unfortunately we’re not making any more glasses back here,” and him and his wife acted like I reached across the bar and slapped him.
I just got my manager and told him to deal with them. He told them the same thing I had told them regarding the lack of glassware and gave them a free drink which they seemed happy with. I would’ve felt bad if there was something else, I could have done for them, but there wasn’t.
39. With A Side Of Sass
When I was 17, I worked in a fast-food restaurant. An elderly man came up and placed his order which included french fries. We needed to drop some more in the fryer and it was going to be about a two-minute wait. When I informed him of this, he called me an offensive slur, then took the rest of his order and sat at a booth in the restaurant. I was stunned, to say the least.
When the fries were done, I walked them over to his table and just said, "Here," semi-slamming the food on his table before walking back to the counter. He sat there and ate his food for about a half-hour, then he got up and left. The real shocker came when I went to go clean his booth. This crotchety old jerk had smeared his food all over the booth and left a handwritten note on the back of a placemat that read: "Since you can't get your orders right, I won't be coming back to this horrible place!"
Well, good riddance. The only thing that makes me smile about the whole incident now is that I can take comfort in the fact that he's lifeless and rotting.
40. Grandma Gone Wild
Where I used to work, a grandmother came in with her granddaughter to purchase a bathing suit. They came up with a green, stripey swimsuit the young girl had on. The price was $18.99. The grandmother swore it was on sale, so I had an employee check the price on the other suits just in case that suit had gotten missed in the markdown. It was not on sale. When I told the lady this, she flipped her lid.
She paid for it anyway because her granddaughter was already wearing it and I wasn't about to be nice. As she was leaving, she stopped, turned around, looked at me, and said, "I do not wish you well in life". I was completely and utterly baffled that someone would go so far as to say something so cruel over a $19 bathing suit for a grandchild.
41. Café Customers
Oh, where to start. I worked in a cafe for a few years and while there were some bad one-offs, the WORST people were difficult regulars. There was one who would order the most popular thing on the menu but with a list of modifications a mile long, right down to what fruit to include with the side of fruit and how many inches tall to pile the turkey on the sandwich.
She would always get it to go and then would about 50% of the time, call the restaurant from home saying that the order wasn't correct and that she wanted a refund. However, my least favorite was this woman who would come in about an hour before closing and then stay until past closing—bugging you for little things piecemeal all the while.
I get that at sit-down restaurants, customers can generally come in whenever they want as long as the doors aren't locked yet, and then stay as long as they want. However, we were a small cafe, and I would kick everyone out when I locked the doors. She just wouldn't leave.
Once she was on the phone when it was time for her to leave. I ended up just shouting at her, loud enough for whoever was on the other line to hear, "IT IS TIME TO LEAVE THE CAFE NOW". People not wanting to leave was relatively common, although most people would leave right away when you asked.
Once a woman just wanted to "finish up one more thing" on her computer. One more thing turned into one more thing, which turned into one more thing. She was sitting by the open window, and there was no air conditioning in the cafe. So, finally, I just went and closed the window.
She gave me the dirtiest look, but she got out. The first customer I described was my coworker's worst nightmare and he always made me deal with her since, while she was super annoying, I didn't mind as much. The people who wouldn't leave at the end of the day made me so mad though.
42. I Need My Appointment Now!
I worked at a doctor's office, and this horrid woman came over an hour late for her appointment. She got told she had to reschedule, she threw a fit at the receptionist, and the nurse came out and told her she still had to reschedule. I couldn't believe what she did next.
She then stood at the door and tried to "buy" other patients' appointments from them as they walked in the door. Entitled much?
43. A Bad Example
The worst I've ever had was a customer telling me he was going "tear this freaking store apart" if he didn't get his way. I looked him in the eyes, looked down at his grandson standing by his pant leg who couldn't have been older than four, then looked back in his eyes. He ran a hand through his hair and calmed down enough to finish the transaction and get the heck out of my store.
44. Pizza Frizbee
My brother and I were working at Pizza Hut in high school. A lady rolled up to our drive-thru to pick up an order. He passed her the pizza, and when she looked into the box, she apparently wasn't satisfied with her order (I can't remember the specific problem). She passed it back through the window to my brother. While she was doing this, she told him she was going to get him fired.
That did NOT fly with my brother. He launched the pizza box back through her car window and told her to get the heck out of here. She bobbled the box trying to catch it and it careened off into the passenger seat. Now she was shaking like freezing a puppy. She started to yell, but she was not really sure what to say; just babbling really. She slammed the gas and peeled out of the parking lot.
She called later to complain to the manager, who apologized to her. Then he told my brother not to worry about it: "She's a witch anyway".
45. Zero Tolerance
A lady walked in with a phone in hand and slammed it hard on the table in front of me and my manager. We asked her, "How can we help you?" She yelled, "You can fix this dang phone. I have been in here three times and this piece of garbage still doesn't work thanks to you idiots!" He pointed at the door and just said, "Leave". Her face dropped. "What?" "Leave, and never come back". "I pay my phone bill here".
Not anymore you don't. Leave or I'll call security". We ended up having to call security on her. They came and told her she wasn't welcome in our store anymore. She sat outside of our store for nearly an hour talking to a security guard. She's not been in the store since.
46. What Do You Mean?
Years ago, I worked at Abercrombie and Fitch. So many parents came in there and complained. The music is too loud, it smells in here, the prices are way too high. Everyone complained. I get it! It sucks in here and you’re angry your kids want this.
One day we had an extra obnoxious woman come in and start complaining to the point where we needed our manager. At the end of the ordeal, as she walked away, he said to her, "See you next Tuesday". She WIGGED. She turned around and demanded the number of the regional manager.
She kept saying I know what that means!! I think the manager ended up giving her a fake number and nothing ever came of it.
47. The Line Cutter
One dude would come into the cafe with his dogs that would hop on everything and bark at people. Even if there was a line, he’d just raise his hand and yell “coffee!” and just walk past the line and wait for his coffee, where he’d pay cash at the pick-up area.
One day, after he skipped a particularly long line, I refused to make his coffee. He started shouting at me and saying he’d get me fired, but eventually, he went to the end of the line and he had to order his coffee from me. Nobody clapped, but I felt like the people in line were clapping in their hearts.
48. The Wrong Number
Back in college, I was working my first job as a front-of-house staff for an on-campus locally owned burger place. My main job was to call the order numbers out to customers and pass their food off. Easy enough. Well one night, we get absolutely slammed with to-go orders at closing.
I’m the only person out at the front and there were two cooks behind me working on the food. A man ordered two burgers. Cool! Well, we’re so busy I’m obviously not aware of what number goes with what customer off the top of my head, and I call out a number. A customer takes it and heads out.
Turns out the wrong customer grabbed that man’s order. Chaos ensued. He proceeded to yell profanities at me, calling me an idiot, demanding his food be free and that he gets free fries. This was all in front of other customers. I started crying. It held up everyone else’s food in the process. The manager had to remake his food.
49. Exchange Of Fists
I used to work in the bakery department at Kroger. There was this one guy who was trying to order a steamed plate lunch. He wanted a certain piece of chicken and I kept getting it wrong every time I picked up a piece. He got mad after my second attempt to help him. I even grabbed a pen and paper so he could write down exactly what he wanted, but he declined. He then came behind the counter and hit me in the shoulder.
Let me tell you, he had this special strength. His punch sent me back a few steps, and right before I was about to take a swing back at him, security tackled him.
Pexels
50. The Wrong Crowd
In high school, I was heavily involved in a local church youth group. We gathered together for bible study every Thursday night. After service, a large group of us would drive to a nearby restaurant. They specialized in making anything that was greasy or grilled and could fit in a plastic basket. Well, one night, our group was larger than normal, so we split into two groups and for some reason, we chose tables on separate ends of the restaurant from each other.
We got our food, good times were had, and we stayed until closing time. The people at my table cleared our trash and left through the front door to the parking lot. I didn't really think about the other group standing around their table—they were in a corner, and in hindsight, they were acting suspiciously. After a few minutes, they joined us in the parking lot and we all started making plans to go to someone's house to watch a movie.
Suddenly, one of the employees burst out of the door extremely upset. The group from the other table ran to their cars and drove away. The employee walked the rest of us back into the restaurant. My jerk friends had filled up several paper condiment cups with ketchup and placed them face down on the table, so when you picked them up, the ketchup went everywhere.
They also littered napkins all about the floor and table, and as a coup de grace, they unscrewed the light bulbs just enough to make the lights go out. We offered to help clean up, but the employee was so angry she just told us to leave and never come back. I returned a week later and apologized again, but the manager was there and said that he had told his entire staff to call the authorities if we ever showed up again.
51. Just Leave Him
I used to work for my parents in a cafe they ran in our extremely tiny town. Since it was so small, everyone knew everyone. This one guy came in with his wife, who a few years earlier had been in a car accident, so she could hardly walk or talk. It was strange because I had known her for a long time previously and she was the nicest lady, but it was hard to even recognize her afterward.
Anyway, everyone in town, including his wife, was aware that this jerk had been cheating on her since the accident, but he still tried to keep up appearances for whatever reason and she couldn't do anything about it because he had control of her assets. So they came into the cafe for dinner one night and I waited on them. I took his order first, as he insisted, then I turned to his wife to take her order.
I asked her if she wanted the special that evening because I knew she had gotten it before and liked it. Before I could finish my sentence, this jerk exploded: "WHY DO YOU EVEN BOTHER ASKING HER, DO YOU THINK SHE KNOWS WHAT SHE WANTS? SHE CAN'T EVEN PUT HER OWN CLOTHES ON, JUST BRING HER A SALAD, SHE WON'T EVEN KNOW THE DIFFERENCE!"
Keep in mind that nothing was wrong with her mentally—she could understand everything anyone said—she just couldn't really respond. So I calmly told him that the week before she wanted the special and we had it again, and I asked her if that's what she wanted. She nodded, and this really ticked him off. He said once again to "just bring her a salad".
When I brought the food out, I did not have a salad, and instead, I served her exactly what she wanted. He was furious. He picked up her very hot plate and threw it at both of us. She started to cry and I began picking up the food that was now all over the floor. At that point, my mom came out and told him to leave and that he was not allowed to come back, so he stormed out the door, leaving his wife behind.
She had to sit there for about an hour while we tried to get another member of her family to come to pick her up. I have never in my life been so angry. The worst part is, after that, he started having his new girlfriend spend the night at his house...with his wife in the other room.
52. Dropping Off The Kids
I was standing behind the register looking up a price for a customer when a young boy said to me, "Sir, my brother needs you". I politely asked him what he needed. He then tells me with the most serious look in his eyes, "I pooped". Confused, I asked him to repeat what he said.
He then says to me, "I pooped, it just came out". I look down to see that he had indeed pooped. It was a runny one too and it was all over my floor and everything. We then asked him where his parents were and I find out that he was dropped off by his mother. When we tried calling her, she wouldn't answer.
For two hours, this kid was in my store with poop all down his legs. Did I mention that he was wearing shorts? Because he was totally wearing shorts. I eventually asked him and everyone else in the store to leave so we could clean it up and get rid of the smell. To top it off, the kid was around 13 years old too.
53. Those Dang Kids
I worked as a server in a 24-hour diner in a small Massachusetts city. There's a prestigious school, Williston Northampton School, around the corner. Wealthy kids, but almost all of them were awful. The school does this thing called "button bucks," it's a pre-paid card, and many of the businesses in town accept them, including the diner.
Those kids treated us like we were subhuman. Snapping fingers, interrupting me while I was taking another customer's order, making a giant mess, cracking jokes about us—all sorts of awful things. THEN THEY DON'T TIP!
I had one group of boys order about 70 dollars worth of food, paid with a $100 dollar bill, and I brought them their change. As they walked out the door, they made a point to tell me, "Your tip is on the table". I could tell by the way he said it that there was something going on.
They put the 13 cents in a cup full of water, napkins, ketchup, half chewed fries, just a nasty cup they made just to be mean. The 13 cents on the bottom of the glass were my "tip". That's the only time I threw a glass in the trash because I refused to degrade myself further by picking through it.
It's been years and even now I feel rage just thinking about those Williston kids.
54. A Horde Of Karens
I delivered an EXCHANGE pizza since the first pizza had the wrong toppings. I gave them the correct order and asked for the incorrect one back. The whole family came out to the front yard and started yelling at me about how they deserved to keep the first, incorrect pizza, as compensation. THEN, they brought out two Pitbulls and threatened to send the dogs after me.
I told them to go screw themselves, then I got in my car and called the authorities. I now keep a lead pipe in my car, even though I don't deliver pizzas anymore.
55. Learn To Read
A customer came up complaining about the shoes that were supposed to be on sale for $29.99. I walked over to the fixture and showed him the sign which said the jeans were on sale, not the shoes. I then said, "Sometimes you have to read the whole sign". My coworker had to turn around and walk off so he wouldn't hear her laughing. I am really surprised I didn't get talked to about that.
56. Your Problem, Not Mine
I was on a call with a customer who was complaining and being absolutely ridiculous. I had only been on the job for a few weeks and I was becoming flustered. There was literally nothing I could do to calm this person down or get him to accept my answers. I was finally about to get him off the line when he made a sarcastic comment to the extent of "Wow thanks, you've been such a great help".
In my rush to say "No problem" or "You're welcome," I ended up saying "Your problem" and then hanging up. He called several times after that and I just ignored the calls because I was so exhausted.
57. Toeing The Line
I served an old ex-military man around 80. He constantly tells me how pretty I am, not in the sweet grandpa way, but in a really slimy predatory way. He thinks he's got a right to pull this stuff because he's four times my age. Right before quarantine hit, he had the audacity to straight up put his hand in my face while I was minding my business clearing a table.
I know how ridiculous it must sound. but being a waitress for a couple of years, I can deal with stupid pick-up lines or some jerk reaching for my butt. With those people, you can either shut them down really quick verbally or kick them out. However, you can't just kick someone out for something as innocent as this guy does.
He knows that well and is always riiiight on that line where he could still defend his actions as innocent.
58. Tipping Troubles
There was a group of little old ladies that would come in every Sunday after church. All four would get the same thing. Every week. Iced tea and a half-grilled Asian salad with a senior discount, $4 and 19 cents. Every time they paid with four dollar bills and two dimes. The tip? Four cents.
While this sucked enough on its own, the fact that they were always super sweet to everyone made it burn even more. But on top of all that, on Sunday morning/afternoon, a really busy shift, they would sit there for several hours. So, on a busy day when you only had three or four tables, having one of those tables taken for hours with a guaranteed four-cent tip really sucked for your income for the day.
59. Is This A Joke?
Once I had a family of four come in. I work at a sushi restaurant, so of course, there's the open sushi set. And logically each person gets charged for it. The dad started joking around, trying so hard to make me charge him with two sets instead of four. I apologized and said that I can't do anything about it.
He got mad, and said bitterly, "Some respectful staff this company has. I want to speak to the manager". I told him there is no manager at this branch. So, he laughed like he didn't believe me then he said, "Gonna ruin your life for this".
Two days later, HR calls me and tells me that a man came in and said that I yelled at him, and that I was very disrespectful towards him and his family. They said I wasn't helpful or welcoming and I refused to be nice to him. I stood up for myself and told him what really happened.
HR proceeded to say, "I really don't know who I should believe," and hung up. Two days later, I'm fired.
60. One-Stop Shop
A customer walked into our tiny bike shop jammed packed full of bikes. Bikes are hanging in the window, off the ceiling on the walls, all over the floor. There is not a square foot of space in the shop that is not occupied by a bike or various parts of one. This still led to the cringiest interaction of my life.
Him: "This is the bike shop right"? Me: “Yes”. Him: "Do you guys sell bikes or fix them"? Me: “Both”. Him: "If I brought my canoe in could you fix it"? Me: “Is canoe the name of your bike or is it a boat"? Him: "It's just a canoe for the lake. Do you guys fix them"? Me: “What? No, we're a bike shop”. Him: "Oh".
61. Serving The Chef
My worst customer was the assistant chef, who after closing the kitchen bought a bunch of drinks and tried to pick a fight with me. He actually took a swing at me. I brought him in the next day and we had a long chat about his conduct. I let him keep his job provided he gave up drinking when on the premises.
A couple of weeks later, I showed up unexpectedly and he was at the bar drinking. The other cooks, knowing he should not be there, saw me coming through the parking lot, shuffled him off, and hid him in the kitchen before I could find him at the bar. I did find him, however.
He was passed out, standing up, in the kitchen, leaning against the prep table. His pants were around his ankles and he had messed up the kitchen. I fired him instantly and as punishment, the other cooks had to stay through the night to disassemble, deep clean, and disinfect the kitchen.
62. I Owe You Nothing
I used to work in the H&M call center and this woman's package didn't arrive on the day our website said it would. By the way, this was an order for H&M basic items which came to about $50. She said that because she had to take a day off work, we now owed her lost wages which amounted to $850. I said to her, "So...you took a day off work where you would have earned $850 to wait at home for a package that is worth $50. Do you seriously expect me to believe that?"
Long story short, she hung up when I saw through the obvious lie.
63. I Don't Make The Prices, Lady
A woman got mad at me after I didn’t tell her that one of the items I rang up was full price. I told her, “Well, I can’t read your mind, can I?” She was so mad, like actually livid. But I wasn't about to act like I knew her budget or how much she wanted to spend. The screen was right there, and it showed her all the prices. And I would have been glad to take something off if she didn’t want it.
Anyway, I just quit my job in retail after five years yesterday, so cheers to that.
Shutterstock
64. That's NOT Okay
My girlfriend used to work at Dunkin Donuts in Miami and as you can imagine, she had to deal with many jerks. The customer that takes the cake is the guy who was unsatisfied with his coffee. When he got his coffee, it wasn't sweet enough, so instead of putting more sugar in it as a normal human being would, he opened it up and threw the boiling hot coffee at my girlfriend's shirt.
The guy then left and drove off. Her burns weren't too bad, but all she got out of it was the day off.
65. Caught Red-Handed
I work the customer service desk in a grocery store. Our policy says that we can return items without a receipt for store credit. I had this one cracked-out woman come to the counter to return about five recipe books without a receipt. The only issue was there were ripped out pages in all of the books. People do this all the time with stolen items.
I was unsure what to do so I called the manager. The manager politely refused the refund, which would have been about $100. The woman started screaming and called us all kinds of foul names. My manager asked her to leave or law enforcement will be called. With much hesitation, she finally left.
A few hours later I get a call from our store in another part of town asking if someone tried the same return. I said there was. Now, she is not allowed in any of our stores and we have security camera pictures of her all over the breakroom so we know not to let her in.
66. Please Eat OUR Food
We have a strict "no outside food or drink" policy in the cafe where I work. This woman bought a coffee and then proceeded to set up a meal with food from three other restaurants in the area. I kindly asked her to either put the food away or leave, which is our policy.
Her response was to scream at me for 10 minutes about how unfair it was, and that we don't live in Beverly Hills, causing other patrons to leave and me to almost break down and cry.
67. A Family Affair
I once worked at a gas station that served pizza. That night, I was the one making the pizza. It was only me and the person upfront working that night, so when it got busy, I was on my own. I got a bunch of calls for like 20 pizzas all within a half-hour. I got to making them, and after a while, people came to pick them up. But since there were so many in such a short time, and only so much oven space, not all of them were done on time.
One lady had her son come and get their pizzas, and when I told them it was going to be another five minutes, she CUSSED me out, saying: "Why are you such an idiot?" I politely told her that the sooner I could get off the phone with her, the sooner I could box her pizza up and get it to her son. Anyway, I boxed it up, went out to find him, and he was gone. So I set it up in the oven to keep it warm.
About 15 minutes later, I got another call from the same lady, yelling at me again! When I found out why, I wanted to SCREAM. Because her daughter, who I had never even seen, had been waiting to get the pizza. She was walking around the store and didn't tell me or anyone else she was there for pizza.
68. Piercing Comments
When I was still at my old job, I was a cashier. I remember one shift when it was rush hour and VERY busy. I was ringing a man through and he didn't pay much attention to me until I told him the total that he owed. He glanced over and immediately made a horrified face. I had a fair amount of piercings on my face, but nothing over the top. He just screamed at me: "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO YOUR FACE?'
And he just kept going and going and going. I just stood there, staring at him. He finally paid and left. I was about ready to cry.
69. The Dollar Dilemma
I used to be a shift manager at McDonald's. I was standing at the front counter and I watched a girl walk into the restaurant with a large cup, fill it with tea, and head towards the door, without buying anything. I called out to her and told her that it would be $1.07 for the tea she just got. First, she acted like she was just leaving, until the other manager working at the time got on the phone and called the authorities (it was just a dollar, but it was still stealing).
The girl walked out to a car, came back inside, and held her hand upside down over the counter. As soon as I got my hand under hers to take the money, she flung the $1.07 (in dimes and pennies) at my face. I almost threw my job away to get my revenge, but a crew member I was pretty close with was standing behind me saying, "She's not worth it; she's not worth your job". So I really couldn't do much but wish her a good day.
70. Betting On Bags
I currently work in retail and it is an absolute pain. During the Christmas 2012 rush, I had a customer buying two notebooks and two lightbulbs. I asked her if she needed a bag. She replied with, "Well what do you think?" I said, "I don't know ma'am. Some people want bags and some people don't".
She went on for a minute about how I was being "ridiculous" and finally just told me to throw it in a bag. I mean, I've seen people want a bag for less or not want a bag for more. I always ask if it seems like something that is in the gray area for needing or wanting a bag.
I never thought in my life that I would get yelled at for asking a customer if they wanted a bag or not.
71. The Bathroom Mess
I had a customer who would come in right after we opened and he'd order his coffee and then go to the restroom. This was the problem. Although he was friendly with us, he would leave a large puddle in front of the toilet.
Even though I knew it was him doing it because the restroom is cleaned and mopped at closing time, I wasn't comfortable with having this conversation with him. I had the idea of going in there myself when he came in and staying in there until he left. This worked a few times but he started to wait until I was done.
Finally, one day when he went in there, I quickly grabbed the mop and waited, in front of the restroom door, so he could see what I was doing. He still comes in, but he hasn't made a mess on the floor since.
72. Changeroom Trauma
My friend was working in the changing rooms in Target. This cranky old lady came in to try on some outfits and my friend informed her that the maximum amount of items she could try on at a time was six. The woman flew into a rage, threw all of her clothes at my friend, and screamed, "WHAT THE HECK DID YOU SAY?" My friend was shocked and just repeated herself.
The woman said coolly, "That's what I thought you said, you dirty witch". Then she continued trying on clothes. My friend did not report her. The woman had already left the store before she could really act on it.
73. Serving Up Stupid
I used to be a barista at a coffee shop. I was working the register when a middle-aged man came through. He asked for a cup of decaf coffee, which we didn't have because company policy was to stop brewing anything but our light roast after a certain time in the afternoon (kind of ridiculous, but I just follow directions like the good little employee). He went ballistic on me, angrily asking if we were "in a kitchen," and if "I was serving up stupid".
I'm a really passive person who likes to avoid confrontation, and I even took his laced words in stride with a smile and apologized for something that really wasn't my fault. I then proceeded to patiently give him all the decaf options. No matter how much of a jerk this guy was, I wasn't ready to stoop to his level. The other barista on duty served him his drink at the bar (the irate customer begrudgingly settled for a decaf Americano) and winked at me when the guy made off with his drink.
I later learned he made him a heavily caffeinated drink with like six shots of definitely not decaf espresso. I actually got upset and told off my coworker it doesn't matter how much of a jerk someone is, it's just childish and petty to try and get revenge. And what if the guy had some condition that made him unable to have caffeine in his system? Not cool. There's no way that guy slept that night.
74. I Scream For Ice Cream
A rather large woman told me I was stupid and would never amount anything because I didn't make her large ice cream cone big enough, even though I followed our store's guidelines. I reacted by giving her a huge ice cream cone because you know, the customer is always right. I assume if she does that everywhere, she'll die of obesity soon enough.
Shutterstock
75. Driving All The Way ‘Thru’
I work at a coffee shop that has a drive-thru on the south side of the building. In the middle of work one day, this woman who comes through at least twice a day and makes the same order decided to get her usual. However, when she reached the drive-thru window she handed me her money, and before I could give her back her change or any of the food she had ordered, she began to drive off.
Not wanting her to leave without all of her things, I put my head out the window and began shouting for her to come back, so she throws her car in reverse and almost backs into the guy behind her. She then begins screaming in the drive-thru window about how I tried to take her money and how if I am not fired, she is going to call head office and try and get our store shut down.
She refused to leave the drive-thru until we called the authorities and they escorted her off of our property, charging her with being a public disturbance.
76. Unlimited Samples
I work at Costco and there is an old Armenian woman who would come by daily to gorge herself on free food samples. Now, as the person giving the free samples, I don't really care how many you take to be honest, just don't clear my entire tray more than once.
This lady would come and grab every piece of food she could reach on my table, sometimes up to two to four times a day. She would do this to EVERY SINGLE DEMO, which could be up to 40 samples! It drove us nuts, she wouldn't talk to you much but if she did, it would be to complain or to ask for more.
77. Quick, Boy!
I was at the till serving a huge amount of people and rule one of customer service is that you take your time with them and make them feel like they're special. I got to this customer, a gentleman of 50 give or take a few years. I greeted him and asked if I could get him anything, and he replied with, "How about you just get me a coffee and make it quick boy".
I've been working in this place since I was 15 and got pretty tired of these people over the years. I replied with, "I'm afraid that due to the number of people, you'll be waiting for 10 minutes for your drink and also, I'm 18 so I'd appreciate you not calling me boy". I knew it was going to ignite him.
Queue a whole bunch of insults, classics such as "I'll have your job" and "I earn more than your family does in a week". I was so disgusted that these people exist that I put down my tag and just walked away
78. When Push Comes To Shove
I work in a waterpark. We have a minimum height requirement for many of our slides, and most of the time, the parents get a little annoyed if their child isn't allowed on, but they generally accept it and move on. Just not this one time.
The dad came up with his son wanting to ride our biggest slide, and his son was short by about two inches. He went into a rage when I told him that his son wasn't tall enough, and talked about all the money he spent to get in there, etc. At that point, I blew the signal for the supervisor on my whistle. The dad continued his rant and then started insulting me, saying that I was going nowhere in my life and that I'd be working there my entire life.
For the record, I was a 17-year-old girl, and I was working that job to save up for university. He kept puffing his chest out like a teenager and moving forwards, so eventually, my back was to the slide with only a couple of inches of ground left. Just as my supervisor rounded the last flight of stairs, the man decided it would be good to give me a shove. I lost my balance and fall backward headfirst into the slide. Then everything went black.
I hit the slide with my head so hard that I totally blacked out, and only woke up about ten seconds later when I hit the water at the bottom. I was obviously very disoriented and the guard at the bottom jumped in for me and grabbed me. The staff was concerned about my neck, so I got the fun experience of being put onto the spinal board and having an ambulance come to pick me up. I had a concussion but nothing worse than that, thank God.
The man was apprehended by officers for assault, and he tried to countersue the waterpark. He lost. I didn't get any money, but I did get a nice promotion. I still work there, but not at the slides anymore. Now I'm just a lifeguard.
Shutterstock
79. Right Back Atcha
I used to work at a fast-food joint called Culvers. It's pretty much only around in the midwest. On my last day, I started my shift at the drive-thru. The customer was waiting at the window for a quart of ice cream with her order, which I made before she got her food because the food always takes a lot longer to make. I opened the window and tried to hand her the quart which she refused to take. She then started to yell at me.
"What are you doing? What are you, stupid? It's hot out! You can't just hand me my ice cream now, it'll melt by the time I get my food. Did your parents drop you on your head repeatedly when you were born?" Note: it was only around 80 degrees out. Seeing as this was my last day, I proceeded to say "Screw it" and I whipped out my thick southern accent. It was time to teach her a lesson.
"Why yes, I was, ma'am! How did you know? But ya see here ma'am, this here pint of custard comes in these handy dandy refrigerated bags, so they don't melt when it's blistering hot out or when it gets stuck in your rolls of fat, where your love life must have disappeared into". By this time, her food had been prepared and I threw her entire order into the passenger seat.
"Well, would ya look at that, yer grub is already here. Now ma'am, you can screw off and have yourself a wonderful day". She stared at me dumbfounded and drove off. It felt so good.
80. Do You Know Who I Am?
I was working in the clothing section of my campus store in college. An alumna came in with her band of seven children and asked me to find clothes for all of them. Of course, everyone wanted something different and specific. So I started helping, and all of the kids started running around, pulling clothing off hangers and racks, causing a lot of totally unnecessary chaos and destruction.
I asked the mom to keep her kids close to her and to ask them to put stuff back or at least stop touching stuff. Boy oh boy, this woman totally lost it. She started swearing at me, then she stormed out of my section with a huge amount of clothes, threatening to tell my manager about my attitude. She then proceeded to say, "Do you know who I am? I could buy and sell you! Don't make me take my business elsewhere". Shocked, I started to clean up my section.
An hour later, I was finishing up and found a piece of notebook paper folded in half with my name on the outside. She had gotten one of her kids to write "You can die" in crayon and leave it for me to find. And that's the meanest thing a customer has ever done to me.
Shutterstock
81. The Traffic Jam
I worked at the front desk at a country club. We had a roundabout in front with two little roads branching off. It looked like an uppercase L with a loop where the lines meet. Anyway, the night was almost over and the valets had brought up the last two cars and left the keys with me.
This old member drives up behind the parked cars and lays on his horn over and over again, shouting, demanding we move the cars. All that spoiled jerk had to do was back up 10 feet and he could get around the other way. Instead, he honks, shouts, curses, and of course we oblige him, scrambling to move the cars. I hated working there.
82. Two For One
I have a few stories but this lady at the cafe was the only one that actually made me cry from being so angry. At the cafe I worked at I was making the drinks one day and a coworker was at the register. We were very busy so she missed writing down the specific instructions for one of the orders.
All I knew was that the customer wanted a small black tea. So, I make it and call it out. The lady tells me she wants it in two cups very rudely, so I split it up and put it on the counter. She then says she asked for extra hot water in both cups and tells me I’m terrible at listening to directions.
I realize she is basically asking for two teas for the price of one, but I don’t have time to argue so I just do it and put it back on the counter. She then spills it on her hand while picking it up from the counter and yells “Ow!! Why did you do that?!” As if I handed it to her myself and intentionally poured it on her.
She then proceeded to go on a tirade about how she would sue and I’d lose my job. I was so mad that I started crying and I guess that made her feel kind of bad or something because she came back after she finished her tea to tell me her hand was okay so there was no need for recourse. As if that was supposed to make me feel better?
83. The Older Problems
I worked in a restaurant that was in a 55+ community while I was in high school. During our busiest night of the week, Thursday night Karaoke, I was bussing tables to get empty glasses that the bar desperately needed. When I grabbed a clearly empty glass from in front of a woman, I felt a sudden rush of pain.
She'd stabbed my hand with a fork to the point of drawing a fairly significant amount of blood, screeching "I'm not done with that!" Mind you, the only thing left in this glass was a droplet at the bottom that had dried up 30 minutes ago.
84. Picky Packer
I worked as a cashier for Wegmans. It was about 10 at night when this lady came through my line. I was express, so I could only ring up seven items, but she had about 10. I took her anyway. She had one of those burlap bags with her, and some frozen goods. Now, being a good cashier, I asked if she wanted the frozen goods in plastic. She said yes.
I made the mistake of putting her ice cream with frozen peas. She FLIPPED OUT! She started calling me nasty names and she reached over to fix the bag. I was so scared I didn't know what to do! I had to call my manager over to finish.
85. Veggie Confusion
I used to work at my parents' Japanese take-out restaurant. Some women ordered hibachi and thought the zucchini was cucumber. She walked up to the counter and started complaining about how she doesn't eat cucumber. I proceeded to tell her four times that it was zucchini, not cucumber, but she persisted. Finally, to end the argument once and for all, she tasted the 'cucumber' and found out it was zucchini...in front of 20 people who were staring at her.
They all gave her nasty looks. Instant karma, witch.
86. Not My Problem
I used to be a cashier at a department store. It seemed that whenever a customer was in a bad mood, he or she felt entitled to dump on the poor girl at the checkout. At one point, our store decided to add some reserved parking spaces for pregnant women, and one crabby male customer was checking out at my register. He snarled, "First you have handicapped parking, and now you add parking for pregnant women? What's next?"
I had the PERFECT response: "Parking for jerks. You can be the first one". I was so happy to leave that job.
87. Are You Sure You’re Clean?
I used to work at Nordstrom. For those of you who don't know, Nordstrom is known for their amazing customer service most of the time. So, the whole "the customer is always right thing" can sometimes get taken to the complete and most disrespectful level. I worked in the Ebar, which is like their version of a coffee cafe.
I had years of experience as a barista and have seen my fair share of rudeness. One night, I had a woman order a regular cup of coffee. I grabbed the cup and went to pour it and she interrupted me and asked me to wash my hands. Of course, I couldn't say no. I was completely caught off guard and confused as to why she would be led to believe that my hands were dirty.
For those of you who don't know, people in food service wash their hands almost every 15 minutes at least. It was so embarrassing and felt really degrading. Now, I don't know if she was a germaphobe or what, but it made me so angry!
88. Changing The Channel
We had a regular at our restaurant named Larry who would come in every night, watch baseball, drink makers, and just be an all-around great guy. I later had another gentleman that came in and sat down at my bar and asked me to change the channel on the TV from the Nationals game to Fox News.
When I refused, he became very irate with me and I simply responded with "Larry is watching the game so I can't change it," which Larry quickly followed me up with, "Yeah I'm watching something worth it!" Needless to say, Larry got a free Makers Mark and I didn't get a tip; but it was worth it.
89. The Food Fight
I worked in a Japanese restaurant and it was a small restaurant, so I was usually working as a cashier, waiter, bus boy, and delivery driver. Basically, it was me handling everything and the owner would come out from the back and take over if there was a delivery. Anyway, one day we had a family come in.
Mom and dad got sushi rolls for themselves and then got chicken hibachis for the kids. The hibachi came with a side of rice and I watched as these kids started throwing rice at each other. Mom and dad did absolutely nothing to stop them, not even a "Cut that out".
When they left, the place all around their table was an absolute mess, and to make things worse the floor was carpeted. Cleaning rice out of it was a huge pain normally, but this was on a whole different level. We didn't even get a "Sorry about the mess" from them.
90. The Quarter Lady
I worked at a grocery store for my first job. On one of my first few days on the job, a co-worker came over to me and said, "The Quarter Lady is here—make sure you count the quarters when she comes to your line". I didn't have much time to react as apparently she was already in the store for a while. She had a cartload of groceries and was coming to my line.
I proceeded to check her groceries and bag them (we had to do both) and I gave her her total (it was around $60 or $70 if I remember correctly). Then, my eyes got huge, as I couldn't believe what she was doing. She proceeded to lay out all her quarters onto the belt, counting them out quietly to herself. After she counted them out, she said, "Here you go" and then started walking away.
I replied, "I need to count this before you leave and get a receipt". Cue her temper tantrum. She got upset and proceeded to chew me out for not "trusting" her counting. Once again, I told her I needed to count her coins and give her a receipt, otherwise I would keep the groceries. Needless to say, I took my sweet time counting every quarter and putting them into piles.
My co-worker told me she would often come in, get quarters from the desk, rip them open, pay short, then leave without paying the full amount. She would apparently try this with every new employee and then rotate between the rest if she doesn't pull it off.
91. Last-Minute Altercation
I had to close my lane back when I worked at Target. This was when I was 16, and labor laws didn't allow me to work past 10 pm. So I rang up a lady even though my light was off and I checked my watch only to notice it was slightly more than a minute until 10 pm. As I turned away, a man dropped his electric razor on the conveyor belt. I turned around to give a polite "I'm sorry sir, but I have to punch out". Then I saw the large box fly past my head.
92. Officer, It Was That One
I work at a Baskin Robbins. We had this "usual" customer who was never devastatingly mean, but definitely most unwanted every time she came in. She was an old woman who quite frankly looked like Dolores Umbridge. She always ordered the same thing and would make snide comments about how her daughter would never work at our store because "that's where poor people work" (her daughter actually worked at a Pizza Hut).
One day, she ordered her usual shake. Jamoca almond fudge with Oreos blended in. she didn't like it, so I made it again. She didn't like it that time, either. I made it a third time, and after she took a sip, she looked me in the eye, tilted it, and poured it on the ground without breaking eye contact. She then threw the cup at me, calling me dumb for not being able to make a simple shake.
She did this while there was a line of people waiting behind her, and I was the only employee there as it was the early day shift. Luckily, one of the people behind her was an officer, so it was handled pretty well.
93. Again And Again
I work in a fish and chip shop, there’s a regular who comes in every Thursday or Friday. One time he came, I accidentally charged him for slightly more than he bought. I eventually noticed, fixed it, and life went on.
Now, every time he comes in, whenever I ask him for payment, he makes a point of counting how much his order comes up to, and how much change I gave him really loudly under his breath. And he doesn’t stop after one count. He just counts it over and over again while I’m trying to wrap up his chips, all the way up until he leaves.
He doesn’t do this when he gets served by my coworker. I hate that guy.
94. Buy It Yourself!
We ran out of romaine lettuce during lunch on our busiest day. First of all, literally nobody ever asks for romaine lettuce over our normal house salad anyway but this one guy was so upset when I had to tell him we were out. He kept asking me to drive to the grocery store half a block away and pick up more lettuce.
At first, he implied he was joking albeit very frustrated, but then he was full-on like, "No really I could drive to the grocery store and be back in five minutes". I think I was 19 and rebellious and all the managers loved me anyway, so I was just like, "Alright dude, you totally can and I'll even hold the table for you, but I'm not doing that. I've got other tables so either order something else or go then," and then he got really mad.
95. Do You Know Who I Am?!
Years ago, I sold computers at my college's student bookstore. A very well-known law professor with political aspirations came in to buy a new computer. I spent at least an hour with him going over the various models we had to offer and the benefits of all of them as well as their components. He decides on a very expensive Dell.
I know, I know, but this was a while ago and Dell was a totally different company. Anyway, it's a special order and takes a few weeks to arrive. It finally does and he comes and picks it up. I load it onto a dolly and even walk it over to his office with him. About an hour or so later, he calls up and unloads on me.
Every curse word in the book. He's angry because the computer won't turn on. Then he wants a manager so I get one. It becomes a series of don't you know who I am, etc, until finally, he says he's coming down to the bookstore.
He comes in so red in the face you would have thought he was on fire and unloads some more and demands that we go to his office and pack up the computer and give him a refund. The computer manager says it’s no problem and heads over there with the dolly to get the thing. I am spared this embarrassment.
About 10 minutes later the manager shows back up with the dolly but without the computer and monitor. I look at him and he smiles and says, "He forgot to plug it in". In the professor's defense, He called and apologized profusely about everything, but I had already gone home.
96. Woozy On Wool
I had a shop selling luxury menswear. One day, a customer came in and bought four suits with shirts and ties. This was fairly normal since most lawyers and businessmen need to look good. Anyway, he was really pleasant until he came back a month later, clearly upset. He opened a shopping bag, took out a suit he bought in my store and demanded a full refund.
I asked him what the problem is and he says the trousers are ripped at the groin, the fabric wrinkles so much that was and it looked as though he had been sleeping in it. The jacket was impossible to iron. First, 100% pure virgin wool is not something you just iron, especially if the thread count is above 160... I had been doing this for 20 years, so I knew what to look for.
The suit had clearly been worn, if not every day, then at least three to four times a week. Nothing suggested it had ever been dry cleaned or even pressed. I pointed to his attention the enormous wrinkles everywhere, saying that they were made from him, not the fabric. I just happened to be wearing the exact same suit that day and I showed him the difference.
He wasn't having any of that. I then went on to the groin area, where the trousers were in fact ripped. However, I also noticed that he had cut the area a lot larger—the incisions were clearly made with scissors and on the back of the jacket, he had tried to make the wrinkles bigger. I refused to give his money back to him, mainly because he was blatantly lying to me, but also because he bought the suit on sale.
Store policy is never to refund a sale item, and I even gave him a huge discount on the suit. He reacted like a child. He stormed out of the store and screamed at me on the street while pointing toward me, yelling at me and the store. I then proceeded to the doors, closed them, and walked away; at which point he then smashed open the doors, yelling at me not to close the doors in his face (he was standing a good ten feet away when I did).
Shutterstock
97. Don't Try It
I work at a Moe's Southwest Grill, which is a lot like Chipotle. If you don't know what that is, it's essentially a burrito version of Subway. Anyway, a customer was getting rather angry about the way his burrito was being made and he said, "You work for me, you make the burrito the way I want it, no questions asked". My very critical manager was on site and later on, said he saw nothing wrong with the way the burrito was being made.
Anyway, my co-worker was working on the line with me. When the customer gave him sass, he said this: "This ain't no Burger King, you saying you want it your way? I'm going to hop over this counter and smack the heck out of you". Then he casually fist-bumped me and waited to see what the guy would do. He left.
Shutterstock
98. A Parting Gift
I work at Walmart. On my first week there, some lady went #1 in the dressing room. Then, she took the clothes she was trying on, put them on the fitting room desk, and walked to the register to check out everything else she bought. She also left her soaked undergarments in there as a gift. I should've just quit right there because it should have been a warning for the other crazy stuff that was going to happen there within the next month...
But that's for another time.
99. Just Got Canned
I was working at McDonald's back in high school. A guy came through the drive-thru and started yelling at me and throwing trash from his car into the window, without provocation or reason. I noticed that he was drinking an open can in his car, and I knew there were some state troopers eating in the lobby, so I closed the window and let them know what was up.
As he pulled up to the food pick-up window, he was put in handcuffs on open-container charges.
Shutterstock
100. Well, Nobody Came
I used to manage a restaurant and hated those couple of times in five years of my working there when some entitled customers left without paying because "the waitresses didn't come to pick up my money". That's an awful move and a poor excuse when all you need is to grab a waitress's attention by simply talking!
Once it was a family of four who left the restaurant during a busy evening and we realized that the bill wasn't paid after some 10 minutes had passed. I checked the cameras and saw the father taking the bill, putting the money in, sitting there for just three to four minutes, looking around and taking the money back, and leaving with the whole family!
Luckily, our owner was a great guy and told me to simply ban the guy and his family. And to my surprise, that man came back with friends on a busy evening in a couple of months! I was very excited watching his face be embarrassed in front of his friends and customers sitting outside when I told him that he is banned.
When his wife started to get upset, I told them I remembered them and told them the whole story with me checking the cameras and seeing him taking the money back and all!
101. Thank You, Next
After the standard customer temper tantrum, which ended with "And I am never shopping here again!" I gave her a smile and said, "Thank you, we sure would appreciate that". She stood there with her mouth open while I moved on to the next customer.
102. Poor Connection
Someone threw a PHONE at my brother when he worked for Sprint. Luckily, it didn't...connect. *puts on sunglasses*
103. Decked Out
I worked the front desk at a hotel on the beach, and we had to close the pool at night due to the lack of a 24-hour lifeguard. So if you rented a poolside room, you had to stay off the pool deck after dark. Night swimming could get the hotel fined. Well, this middle-aged woman was in a group that rented a poolside room. When night fell, I went around the pool deck, locking things up.
She was on the deck, so I told her the deck was closed and that she needed to leave. She asked if she could finish her smoke and I said sure—I just made sure to close the deck in a way that it would be locked up behind her. Well, about an hour later, I got a noise complaint. People were apparently being loud on the pool deck, which no one should have been on at that time.
I went out and the woman had propped open the door to the deck. She was joined by the rest of her group and they had a stereo going while they smoked and drank. I told them the decks were closed and that they had to leave in the most polite but firm way. It was unlawful for them to be out there, so I was just looking out for them.
That's where the woman absolutely lost it. She wanted to smoke, but she rented a nonsmoking room, and if I didn't let her smoke on the pool deck, she told me she was going to smoke in her room. I told her that if she wanted to smoke in her room, I wouldn't be able to stop her, but the hotel would charge her a $200 dollar cleaning fee if she did.
She did not like that, so she said she was going to stay put on the pool deck. I then told her I'd have to call the authorities. She eventually gave in and went into her room. I thought that would be the end of it. Foolish me. About an hour later, she stormed up to the front desk, obviously tipsy. She was yelling and screaming at me for violating her right to smoke.
She claimed the cleaning fee was unlawful and she had called the authorities on me. She started banging on the front desk, claiming I was being prejudiced against females and "getting off on spraying my testosterone all over the place". Keep in mind that I was the only staff member in the building at this point. I started getting noise complaints from people that could hear her from their rooms.
Her friends came out and cheered her on; two or three guys, with open beers in their hands, encouraging her. This went on for most of an hour. Then the officers showed up. She actually did call the authorities. She started yelling at them to cuff me for some unclear reason. The officers were cool, but they had no idea what they'd just walked in on. They tried to calm her down to figure out what she wanted.
I couldn't explain anything because whenever I tried, she started yelling at me. Things were starting to get even more heated. The officers tried to get my side of the story, and they asked the woman to hush for a minute. And that's where she messed up. In her tipsy stupor, she decided that it was a good idea to scream "pig" at an armed and obviously frustrated cop.
And then she slapped him...fast enough to make his head spin. She was subdued, handcuffed, and stuffed in a squad car. We didn't see her ever again.
104. Midnight Madness
McDonald's always seems to bring out the worst in people. I used to be a manager at one right off the interstate. This was before they went to 24 hours or open late, so we closed at midnight. Around 11:45 pm, we had a family come in—three adults and one child that looked to be about seven or eight years old. When we saw them come in, we were all naturally dismayed (as we had already started cleaning everything for closing), but we still served them because, well, it was our job and we were still technically open. Turns out, I'd made a horrible mistake.
When I handed them their food, I already had it bagged up (so they'd take the hint that we were about to close) but they just took the bags of food to a booth, sat down, and started eating. Okay...no problem...maybe they'd been driving a good bit of the day and just needed a few minutes to relax. That was understandable. Midnight came around and I went to lock the doors.
As I went to the ones nearest to them, I told them as politely as possible that the store was closed and that we needed them to finish their meal as soon as they could so we could finish our closing routine. 12:10 pm rolls around and they were still eating. At that point, I really needed them to leave because I could get into trouble if one of my bosses or the owner decided to drive by (they were weird like that).
12:20 pm rolled around. Most nights, we were out of there by then, yet these people were still taking their sweet time. It seems as if they were doing it just to be jerks, and I was starting to lose patience. I went up to them, explained why I needed them to leave, and asked them as nicely as I could to get going. I can't remember what they exactly said, but the gist of it was "Screw you, we're customers, we'll leave when we want".
I took a deep breath, counted to 5, and calmly informed them that if they were not gone within five minutes, I'd have to call the authorities. They instantly went nuts—they started cussing at me, saying "Call em, we don't care" and so on. I felt bad for the little girl there, as you could see it in her eyes that she was scared and her parents were acting horribly.
So while they were in mid-rant, I turned around, walked back behind the counter, and waited for five minutes. Right at five minutes, that poor little girl came up to the counter and said, "Please don't call the authorities, we're leaving". My heart went out to her, but I could see that her family was finally leaving.
105. Polar Opposites
Just last week, at the restaurant where I work, I was serving a table of three people; two girls and one guy. I had already taken out the food to the girls, and I was bringing out the curry dish that the guy had ordered when I slipped. My shoes are flats that have next to no grip, and when one slid on the floor, I stumbled. His food was on the floor.
Of course, I apologized right away and said the chef would make him another immediately. The dish he'd ordered was also one of the easiest things on the menu to prepare, and I knew the chef would have another one ready in about two minutes. The guy said that was fine, and that he understood accidents happen. I was thanking my good luck that I'd gotten a friendly customer. I was so, so wrong.
But then, one of the girls said that if we were re-making his food, we'd have to re-make all of theirs because they weren't going to sit around "for half an hour" and let their food get cold while they waited for us to make another dish for the guy. I started explaining that the new dish would only take two minutes, and the guy started saying that they could go ahead and start eating without him.
That's when the two girls flung their ceramic plates loaded with hot noodles and sauce at me. One missed and shattered the glass cover on the table next to them, the other struck me in the forehead. I have a bruise from the plate now, mild burns on my face and chest from the hot food, and my nicest, most expensive white work shirt was ruined from being hit with a full serving of noodles.
The guy got furious with them. He was also nice enough to shout for my boss right away, call an ambulance, help me up, and make sure I wasn't seriously injured. He even offered to pay for all the damage that the two girls had done. My boss refused that offer after listening to what happened, insisting that the guy had done nothing wrong and that the girl was the one who would have to pay, not him.
Those girls got banned from the restaurant and had to pay a fair bit for all the damage they did. They're also paying my salary during this week off for recovery. The guy got his replacement meal free, and my boss told him to come back any time (without the girls) and we'd give him a nice discount on future meals.
106. Winner Winner Chicken Dinner
I worked at a fried chicken place. A lady called and said that her daughter was going to order. Her daughter sounded about five years old and ordered 500 pieces of chicken. I said okay, laughing. The mom got on and asked how long. I told her that her daughter just ordered $1,000 in food, and I asked her, “Does she really want that”?
The lady went nuts screaming at me, asking if I think her daughter is dumb. Me: "So you want 500 pieces of chicken”? Her: "My girl wants what she wants, make it and stop making fun of her". Me: “It is going to be at least an hour and $1,000 dollars". She said something about not making fun of her and her daughter and asked why I thought I was better than them.
She told me to place the order. She showed up ten minutes later, looking for her chicken. I explained to the manager about the call, and she freaked out when the cashier told her it was over $1,000. The lady refused to tell us how much chicken she really wanted while the little girl stood there screaming she wanted 500 chickens.
107. Check Out This Piece Of Work
This happened a couple of times over many years when I was a cashier. Every time, I would scan her 1,000 items and hit total, then she decides to start digging in her purse to find her checkbook. After a few minutes, she finds it, and then starts to slowly fill it out. Of course, a line has built and people looked like their life was slowly draining out of them. I felt it too.
I ran the check through the register (it scanned it or whatever) then put it in the bottom of the cash drawer. I hand her the receipt then she held her hand back out. I am not entirely sure why, because I wanted her to go, not give me a high five. She just went ahem at me and said "Where is my check"? I looked at her confused, "In the drawer, where I just put it after the transaction".
"I want my check back," she yelled. "Ma'am we have to keep the check in to deposit in the bank, in case there are any transaction errors". She was shaking her head no the entire time, "No, I have to get it back, otherwise somebody could steal my identity”. I tried to assure her that from the register we put it in the safe at night, then in the morning, and the armed guard takes it to the bank for deposit.
She would not accept it and said that if she could not get it back then she would return her purchase and get it back to buy things elsewhere. This must have been a power play for her, but she messed up. You see I was on my last week at that job. I asked for her receipt, which I got, pulled up her transaction, and hit void previous transaction.
I grabbed her check, the receipt, and the void receipt, then handed it to her, "There, I have voided the transaction and returned your check. Good luck at the next store”. I then started removing her items from the bags and making a stack beside me on the floor. She looked dumbfounded, jaw dropped. "NO, I purchased those, those are mine”.
I kindly, with the most customer service voice I could muster replied, "You told me that if you could not have your check back, you would buy things elsewhere, and I had already told you we were not able to give it back, so I voided your purchase and now you have your check back. " I looked at the next person in line, "I can help the next person".
That beautiful customer stepped forward, right next to the lady, and started a conversation about some cereal she bought. By that time the manager had come over, and the lady began yelling at him. He ended up ringing her items back up in the aisle next to mine and she paid by check but was again unable to keep the check. I could hear it all well, in fact, half the aisle was watching their show of an interaction.
The BEST part was when she was demanding her check back (again) he asked if she wanted him to void it out so she could go elsewhere. She nearly exploded, ripped the receipt out of his hand, threw the bags in her cart, and breaking things by the sound, and stormed out yelling. The cherry on top was that on her way out she turned back to yell more at us and ran into the door frame with her cart.
Laughter erupted from a few kids nearby. What a great day.
108. So Many Bottled Up Emotions
I'm a Sommelier, also known as that jerk who tries to sell you wine in a restaurant. Several months ago, a table full of middle-aged women wanted to know what our sweetest wine by the glass was. The alpha whiner of the group had her heart set on asserting herself and putting on a show for her crew. Keep in mind, I was new to the job and wasn't really keen on the idea that "the customer is always right" just yet.
Our interaction went as follows. Me: “Our sweetest by-the-glass wine? That would be our (insert brand name here) Riesling from Mosel, Germany. Low alcohol content level, with lots of residual sugar that's balanced by a strong acidic backbone". Her: "Riesling's not sweet". Me: "Not all Riesling, correct. But this one definitely is". I had no idea what I was getting into.
Her: "No, I spent six months in Germany once and didn't have a sweet Riesling the entire time". Me: "That may be the case, but Mosel is world-renowned for their sweeter style, and the other benefits I mentioned, ma’am". Her: "You know what, I don't think you know what you're talking about because I actually lived there. Have you"?
Me: "No mam, I have not". Her: "Exactly. You know what, I see that you have a Gewurztraminer by the glass. I KNOW that's a sweet wine, so I 'll just have that”. Me: "The Riesling is far sweeter, ma’am. The Gewurztraminer is barely off-dry. It's more dry than it is sweet". Her: "I know what I'm talking about, just get me the wine please".
Me: "Absolutely". At this point, I'm ready. I'm going to prove this woman wrong in the best way possible. I go up to the bartender and tell him to pour me a Riesling instead of the Gewurztraminer. I hand deliver the glass of it to the table and announce: "Your Gewurztraminer, ma’am". I walk away and watch from a distance with a Grinch-like eating grin.
She falls into my trap and takes the first sip. I return to the table. Me: "How is it?" Her: "It's delicious. Very sweet. Much sweeter than Riesling. Just like I knew it would be". Me: "Glad you like it, but I did just talk to the bartender and, as it turns out, he accidentally poured you the Riesling". She instantly turns beet red. Her: "So this isn't Gewurztraminer?"
Me: "No ma’am, my apologies. Would you like a glass of that instead of the one you currently have?" The grin on my face has at this point been upgraded to a full-blown maniac smile and a twinkling of the eye. She responds tersely, with bitterness oozing from her mouth. Her: "No, this will be fine". Me: "Lovely, enjoy the rest of your evening".
The moral of the story? I don't know everything about the drinks I sell. That much is true. In fact, I hardly know anything in the grand scheme of it all. Especially compared to some real experts out there. But when I do talk about the products I work with, you can guarantee I'll know what the heck I'm saying is correct.
109. Tell The Truth
I was in a chain beauty store that has a hair salon in the back. I was looking at a display that happened to be right next to the salon, and I overheard the woman in the chair finishing up with the stylist. I was there for a few minutes, so I heard a decent portion of their conversation. A little while later, I got in line to pay and recognized the woman in front of me as the woman from the salon.
There was only one cashier working, and she was currently helping someone else. When they finished and the cashier called her over, the woman dropped her items on the counter and handed the cashier a coupon. Cashier (C): “I’m sorry ma’am, but this coupon can’t be applied to the items you’re purchasing". Salon Lady (SL): “What do you mean?”
C: “There are some restrictions to what this coupon can be used towards. They’re listed down at the bottom of the coupon here,” and she attempted to show her. SL: “That’s absolutely ridiculous. I’ve used coupons on these items before. I buy them all the time". C: “I’m sorry ma’am. The previous coupons you used may have had different restrictions, however, this one specifically states that it cannot be used on these items. The coupon actually mentions this brand by name in the restrictions".
SL then began screaming at the cashier about her horrible customer service and the fact that last month they wouldn’t give her a free birthday gift even though she’s been a rewards member for over 10 years just because she tried to redeem it two months after her birthday. She demanded the number for corporate and the cashier’s name. The cashier started to write down the number.
SL: “No, tell it to me right now. I’m going to call them right now to make sure you aren’t lying to me!” She pulled out her phone and the cashier told her the number and her name. SL proceeded to dial and stand at the register. C: “Ma’am, if you could just step to the side so I can ring up the other customers...” SL: “NO! YOU WILL FINISH MY TRANSACTION! I AM GOING TO TELL CORPORATE HOW HORRIBLY YOU’RE TREATING ME AND THEY WILL COMmAND YOU TO HONOR MY COUPON AND GIVE ME MY BIRTHDAY GIFT!”
The cashier attempted to flag down another employee and drew even more screams from SL for “attempting to leave". By this time, the manager had overheard the yelling and come over, but SL refused to speak to her, refused to let the cashier open another register, and refused to move from where she was standing. She stood at the register fake crying to the rep on the phone.
It was total lies, all about how she came in to get a haircut and it turned out horribly and the stylist refused to fix it and how her mother was dying in the hospital and she just wanted to see her one last time and now she looks awful and the employees in the store were treating her horribly and she couldn’t believe how such a loyal customer was being mistreated and publicly humiliated “all over a free birthday gift".
The manager, having no other option, opened up another register to try to move through the massive line that had backed up and called me over. At the end of my transaction, I said, “Thank you. I would also like the number to corporate, your name, and that employee’s name, so that I can tell them how calmly and politely you attempted to deal with this completely irrational woman. I was here for the whole thing, including when she told the stylist she liked her hair and her mother had been released from the hospital last week. Hopefully I can counteract whatever damage she may be doing".
The manager thanked me and gave me the number and their names. I got in my car and called, telling the rep who answered the entire story and insisting that the cashier and manager did nothing wrong and that the woman was lying to get what she wanted. She thanked me and said she would make sure that my message got to where it needed to go. I sure hope it did.
110. Karen Versus Carl Jr.
My mom is a Karen. She thinks the world is supposed to cater to her and that everyone else is wrong. Once, we went to Carl's Jr. and she ordered four burgers for the four of us. What she did next made me so angry—she pulled one burger out of the bag while the guy was getting our drinks and hid it. She complained that he forgot a burger, pulling out the remaining three in the bag one by one and counting them in front of him.
He keep swearing up and down that he put them all in the bag, but she threatened him, saying, "If you don't get me another burger, I will call your manager". I was stunned speechless, but it happened so fast. She got a free burger and laughed as we drove off. I just stared at her and she opened it up to eat it on the drive home. She ate her actual burger like the fifth one never existed.
I can't even explain how she is when she's in the hospital. She treats it like a luxury stay in a hotel.
111. Fusion Food
I worked at an Italian restaurant, and this guy ordered a salad. It seemed straightforward enough, but I was so, so wrong. When I asked what dressing he wanted, he kept going back to the pasta sauces and asking, “Sugo, that would be good on it, wouldn’t it! I’ll get that”. I tried to explain, “Sir, those are for pasta. You got the Mediterranean salad”. He responded, “You’re right; maybe carbonara,” another pasta sauce.
I couldn’t get what he wasn’t understanding. He seemed like a normal smart dude, but he couldn’t comprehend the difference between the dressings and sauces.
112. The All-Seeing Pie
Several years ago I was running pies for the Hut. We had a particularly nice house that I always seemed to get. It was a nice couple with three kids and a big house. They had money and always had large orders and tipped well. One day, I get routed to their address but I notice the order is very different than normal. It’s about double what they order and the name on the order is not the father’s name.
Interesting, so I take the order to their house. The house is literally bumping. Mom and dad’s car is nowhere in sight. I get their oldest daughter, roughly 15, to answer the door. Now mind you, I don’t care at all if the kids are having a good time, but she made an enemy of me that day. She proceeds to complain that I took forever in a condescending tone, make fun of my uniform, and stiff me on a $100+ order.
I didn’t say anything at the time, but I got my revenge. About two weeks later the house orders again. Normal order, normal name. And I magically get their order. When I arrive, her father is at the door and I can’t help myself. I ask him if they had a good time at the party. He’s clearly confused, so I remind him of the great party they had two weeks prior.
He sits and thinks for a minute. Then he hands me a freaking $50 tip and says, “Thank you very much, I’m sure we enjoyed the party a lot". After he closes the door, all I hear is him yell “Brooooookk get your butt down here right now". It was a jerk move sure, but nah, be nice to your driver—and tip them.
113. Every Office Needs An Otis
A while back I was working in an office that allowed dogs. It was an open floor plan and since customers never came into the office, we kept the dog food and water bowls right by the front door, just because it was the most convenient space and no one else would see them but us who worked there. Of the six of us who worked in the main office area, I was the only one who didn’t have a dog and I always felt horribly left out.
To make matters worse, across the way was a doggie daycare. One day, a very frantic woman came in and she had an absolutely massive Basset Hound with her. Usually, the only people who came into the office were associates who had appointments with someone working there, but it was rare they brought their dogs. She ran up to me and said, “Do you work here?”
I said, “Yes, how can I help you?” And she said, “I wasn’t sure if you took walk ins but I read online I could just drop him off? I tried to call but no answer”. I didn’t know what she was talking about at that point and I said, “Come again? Who did you call exactly?” Thinking if I could just saddle her off to whoever she came to see, I wouldn’t have to decipher her problem.
She said, “Well it doesn’t matter now. Look, something urgent has come up and I really need to leave him here. Here’s his food he likes and I’ll be back in a few hours and—" At this point I wasn’t thinking of the doggie daycare. I thought maybe she was a friend of someone here. I said, “Well alright, can I get your name please?” And she said her name and then asked if I needed her to sign anything.
I was so confused at this point I just said, “Why would I need you to sign something?” And she left almost immediately. So I took Otis (the dog) to the back and showed him to my coworkers and no one knew the woman or dog. I was worried she wouldn’t come back, but at the same time, my wish for an office dog had been granted! And Otis was supremely chill.
All he did all day was lie around and drool onto his own ears. I just freshened him up every now and then, took him out every couple hours, and he was happy as a clam on a big cushy dog bed we thankfully had an extra of. He just loved attention from anywhere he could get it. At the end of the day the woman, thank God, came back. She said, “Thanks, you’re a lifesaver. How was he?”
I said, “He was a champ". And was about to say “But why is he here” when she said, “That’s a relief. Most kennels say he gets anxious around other dogs. I heard you operated at a much higher capacity, I was thrilled to see you had so few clients in the room at one time. So, how much do I owe?” It honestly took me this long to realize what had happened.
She thought we were the dog daycare. Now, I probably should’ve corrected her. But I loved my day with the office dog and I did want to get paid for supervising this strange dog all day. I just threw out the number that sounded fair and appropriate “That’ll be $20". I said. She replied “Reaalllly?!” In this very high tone, and I couldn’t tell if I’d overshot or undershot.
But she paid me and left. My coworkers were laughing hysterically when they realized what had happened and we thought it would just be a good story for the future. Wrong. The next week...she came back! She said we were so much more affordable and less overcrowded than her other place, and that she was happy to use us. I was glad for the company so just took him.
I didn’t think there was any way she couldn’t have at least some idea we weren’t a dog daycare. The whole ordeal was so strange I just figured, “don’t question a good thing". I was much younger and dumber then. Not long after, Otis started getting dropped off two, sometimes even three or four days a week. I was in heaven. He was such a love. And he made fast friends with the delivery guys and visitors.
One day, we took our office Christmas card photo and Otis was over that day, so we included him. In a Santa hat. It was pretty great. But it turns out Otis’ owner was friends with one of our clients who I guess happened to have the card out on her table or was kind enough to display it alongside her other holiday cards. Because one day, Otis’ owner came in holding the card and walked up to me and said, “I can’t even believe I’m asking this but... is that my dog in this photo? This isn’t a dog daycare at all. This is just an office, isn’t it". I froze in my tracks.
She said it with a note of surprise, as though she was looking around and putting it all together for the first time. No coincidence that this was the first time she wasn’t in some crazy rush either. She was like, “Then who are all these other dogs?!” And I explained. I was terrified she was going to demand her money back, or worse, take some sort of action against us for misrepresenting ourselves as a dog care business, or complain to corporate.
Instead, she basically said, “Why didn’t you ever say anything!” And I explained we just really liked having Otis around. She stopped for a minute and seemed to be thinking and said, “Is that right?” And I said yes and told the story of how I was the only one in the office without a dog so loved the company. She seemed a little flummoxed or hesitant, understandably, because the whole thing was so weird.
She turned to my coworker and asked if I was telling the whole truth. I don’t know why she thought my coworker, also a stranger to her, was any more trustworthy than me, but hey. Strange times. Coworker backed me up. So she said, “Well, I wish you’d said something sooner. Could’ve saved me a lot of embarrassment with my friend back there. Alright, I have to get going. See you at 4:00". And she left Otis!
I couldn’t believe it! I said, “So he can stay?!” And she replied, “Where else could I find someone to watch him one on one all day for $20?” And off she went. Otis stayed my office dog until his family moved away, luckily right around the same time I took a new job.
