Anyone who has ever worked in the retail sector probably knows the age-old motto: “The Customer Is Always Right.” While this is a well-intentioned piece of advice for good customer service, it doesn’t mean it’s true! In fact, there's a whole website devoted to exposing the truth behind the myth, aptly named Not Always Right.
Some customers, because they are people like any others, make mistakes. They might have had a bad day, feel overly emotional and take it out on the nearest person, who just happens to be their waiter. Some people are just unrealistic in their demands, and expect the impossible. And of course, there will be a few customers out there that are just idiots, plain and simple.
The guys from Not Always Right have compiled a list of stories from times when customers got it very wrong indeed, with hilarious results! Scroll down below to check them out, and don’t forget to vote for your favorite!
More info: Not Always Right
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I'm glad the caller got genuinely laughed at. Some people just deserve that as a response to their stupidity.
and she thinks a scammer would be happy? those jerks are always jaded
You got my respect for saying this that SHOULD be obvious but sadly doesn't seem to be.
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i wonder how many "you people" she's tried to "help"?
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This customer was definitely out of line, but it is hard to know when you should help somebody out. For example, I try to open doors for people with walkers or wheelchairs (if there is not an automatic door). Usually people really appreciate it, but I always have to do mental calculations to determine whether I will be helpful or meddlesome.
It's very nice of you to care and consider whether your attempt to help is actually going to help. Too often there are people who try to do 'nice things' which end up more problematic than anything, and then they get angry when people aren't happy with it. If it really was about being helpful, and not about feeling better about themselves, they wouldn't.
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People in wheelchairs can also punch people. Really hard. Their arms are super strong. Just sayin'...
Unfortunately I encounter this at work all the time. I have a disability that is largely invisible except for my weird gait. People often talk to me very loud and in tiny words as though my limp is an indication of an intellectual disability. My favorite is when customers offer unsolicited advice/comments: "You should really see a doctor!", "Have you tried yoga/herbs/crystals?", "What's *wrong* with you?!" I've worked in the same bakery for ten years, and while my responsibilities mostly pertain to service and logistics, I also receive and store our dry goods i.e. repetitive heavy lifting.
That's sounds so annoying. Luckily they don't talk loud or baby talk to me. And I am hardly asked if I need help. So I don't have these problems much. But I have had a few occasions. So I know how it feels. Must be terrible. The only thing that happens regularly, is my taxi drivers pushing (wheelchair) me to the taxi when they pick me up at the front door (the taxi parks at the back of my house because in the front there is a bicycle-path, and we have a few steps in our backyard). While I am very capable of pushing myself around, some of them just do it without offering. But that's not so bad. Even though it's a small distance, sometimes it is nice being pushed around, especially when I have very low energy.
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What's horrible too is when you have a non-visible disability and people slam you for "claiming to be disabled". I speak from experience.
Oh yes. I have heard many stories about for example people using their disabled parking card when they have CF (example). You can't see anything “wrong” with them, but they are out of breath in a few yards. They get comments all the time, because there is nothing visibly “wrong” with them. I'm in a wheelchair so I don't have this problem. But I've heard many cases when at the rehabilitation center, in the beginning of my disease. I only had 1 problem while talking to someone official of our city to make a request for getting my disability card. That woman said I could only get it, if I could not wait alone the moment when someone (I do not drive myself) put me out of the car (out of the parking space), parked and came back to me. Later applied for a disability parking card online and got it immediately. So it is not only people outside or customers or something. Even people in the care of us.
Load More Replies... As a disabled person myself. Indeed, most of us do not need any help, and if we need help, we'll ask. There are a few (like I was at the very beginning, still insecure in a wheelchair) afraid to ask help. But mostly they are easily recognized by their looking around at people. In this way they try to ask help, seek contact, but are afraid to help. So if you see someone looking insecure and/or looking at people around them, you can offer help. This is my view at least. But like Jef Bateman said, sometimes it is hard to spot.
That's just rude. :( This person needs to be restrained or something...
My mom's been in a wheel chair since she was 18. This sort of thing happens constantly and it is rather annoying and ignorant. Or people often try to "help" when my mom clearly is doing fine on her own. Rather demeaning.
As a person born with mild cerebal palsy, I relate. The second somebody finds out, I'm treated completely different. Like, can you just treat me like a human, not a glass vase?
My mother is quite short. In her teens she was 1/4 inch too tall to be medically identified as a dwarf. She shops w an extendable back scratcher in her purse. One day at the grocery a tall man entered the aisle just as she knocked a cereal box off the top shelf. He looked at the back scratcher in puzzlement. She said "Well, you weren't here a minute ago!"
I don't understand, Blue. Also, she might do better with one of those sticks with a gripper on them. Can be found at medical supply stores. I'm very short, and have used them around the house. Otherwise, I have to grab the stool.
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If they say they don't need help, they don't need help, ya dumb b***h!
Agreed... I’m deaf (though I use cochlear implants to help me hear) yet I still could do a lot of things myself w/o help
"You people"? What does that mean? Are we aliens or something? I would like to b***h slap this woman.
Abled-bodied people should consider themselves Temporarily Able Bodied (TAB) because if disease or accidents don't get them, old age will. If they had this attitude they might be less patronizing to people with handicaps.
and see here the reason I always ask if they WANT help not if they NEED it. (my local grocery store has the very annoying habit of put all the cheapest brands on the top shelves. I'm able bodied (ish) and I need to climb the shelf very often, so every time I see someone on crutches or in a wheelchair look at the shelf in annoyance I ask If they want help, usually they say "yeah can you hand me x" and i hand it to them but if you ask if they need help it sounds more like you don't respect them as a person and they get annoyed.)
Had it been me, I would've said something like "Excuse me, but you don't know me or my life. Disabled doesn't mean I can't do anything. I clearly have done okay for myself this far. Also, why are you so upset that I don't want your help?"
‘You people’... seriously! I’m stunned. From.. one of those people
Politely offer help/ ask if it's needed/wanted then walk away ( not moodily) if they turn your offer down.
One of those two REALLY need help. Hint: it's not the person in the wheelchair.
Woah, blaming this person for a low IQ on his response and you guys are flinging poop. Just let the person share its dumb opinion and move along. Damn...
Agh s**t, this was supposed to be replied on another comment, not on the original post. I AM NOT REFERRING TO THE DISABLED PERSON, DO NOT EAT ME. I repeat, this was meant to be a reply to someone else in the comments.
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Run over their feet next time. Its ok to offer help but if someone declines they should accept that
She tried by offering, that is nice. But to keep pushing is not nice anymore, and especially not her statements, that we people in a wheelchair can't do anything ourselves and we do not accept help. That is the opposite of the truth.
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I worked as a glass collector in a bar when I was 14. A man actually bit my a*s once when i was clearing his table, then his wife had the audacity to shout at me and blame me for 'encouraging him' because I was wearing tight pants.
It's sad to say that every woman has at least one story similar to this, and most, if not all, men. Sexism just sucks. Period.
Kudos to the customer for not only realizing his error, but also understanding the OP comeback!
The amount of stereotypes someone uses is inversely proportional to their level of education.
I get annoyed at people who don't ever tell off their children. Even if they are punching your legs nonstop. (happend to me)
Useless trivia: in France we use first names instead of NATO phonetic alphabet. B as in Brigitte, D as in David...
And this is why I never use those b******t terms at coffee shops. I either say Small/Med/Large, or I specify the size in ounces if they happen to have it listed. That way The size name is always accurate.
Reminds me of my lost baby blanket that they threw out immediately upon finding :(
Wow. Sounds like the sandwich wasn't for her but she felt the need to spew out how vegetarian she was anyways...¿?
Yeah, come back later. Like, about 50 years later; maybe then you'll find all the holograms you want.
I dont get people who spend 100s of dollars and then get so f*****g cheap over some 5$! Keep the coupon and try to use it next Saturday!
Count yourself lucky. I used to deal with an elderly woman with Alzheimers who would come into reception, tell us about her appt, wait, pay, request a receipt etc.... all for in an organisation she had nothing to do with. We'd just do what she asked, make her a cup of tea while she was waiting, call her son and quietly refund him the $ she's paid. She was always very sweet, just confused.
Something similar happened to me, but the other way around. We went to a supermarket to get something twenty minutes before closing time and were told that they had already closed the registers... Not cool. It's not like we showed up one minute before closing.
Um... I think that's how it works when you compliment a baby. Or did the other costumer expect an answer from your daughter?
True story: I used to work with a Graphic Artist who could only work with the mouse turned backwards.
OP was talking to the cashier in the burning building from a few posts back
my mum would have dragged me out of there (after paying) and scolded me so hard. Prob would have gotten a little leg slap and it would have been well deserved too
Maybe you should hold a picture of a cow in your store for showing such people... Sadly most people REALLY do not know what a cow looks like. Some people in germany do believe they are purple because of our Milka ads...
they can be used for christmas decorations if you worship Satan, maybe ?
lol "that's just sick" like people have some weird sliced cheese fetish. lol
So... Mr is upset because you are more concerned for his daugther safety tha he is. Interesting.
Not all of these are 'customers from hell'. Some are just downright funny
Some, I would say, were summoned from Hell to test the people's Religion... LOL!!!
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Wish I could add to this post, I have a crazy one from when I was a pharmacy technician back in the day.
You could share it here in the comments. I for one would like to read your story.
Load More Replies... lol - Where I work we prepare the exams for Cambridge English, enroll the candidates, supervise the exam day, etc. Once, a woman was enrolling for an exam and she reached the part of the (very short) form that said "date of birth." She looked up at me and asked: "What's that mean? My birthday? Or the day I was born?"
If it was Dutch it would make sense. We have our 'geboortedag': the day we were born. And a 'verjaardag': the day we age another year. So geboortedag includes date, month and year. And verjaardag includes only day and month. So the words specifies if you need to include the birthyear or not.
Load More Replies... My motto when dealing with customers quickly became, "The customer is not always right but they are always important." Sometimes that was hard to live by.
I had a customer come in to return a radio. Our policy states she has 30 days to return it. (our policy is 90 days with exceptions, stated on the back of the receipt) She bought it dec 1st. (it's feb 12th). I ask a manager since it's only $30 and we make an exception. I let the customer know about the policy and that we will return her item this time, but remember for next time. She still gets angry! She demands to see where it says this, and starts yelling in line for a good 5 mins. Even though we returned her item.
I'm happy I don't have to work with customers anymore. Worked several years in a small grocery store myself and I just started hating some of the regular customers at some point... Our store had a deal for loyal customers with our store-card and a coupon to get 1 free item every saturday. Ofcourse sometimes we'd run out of that item so we'd just offer a different one. Had a customer come in "uh weren't we getting -1st item- for free today?" Me: "yes sir but we ran out, so now we're offering -other item-." The man scoffed and said "I just came out of work so I couldn't come earlier, you shouldn't run out of these things" Me: "well sir I can't do anything about that, it was a busy day and we ran out early" Man: "I don't care. I demand to see your manager, I'm a loyal customer and I want my free item!" I called the manager, explained what's going on, she told him the exact same thing and to take the other item that was offered or get nothing. Customer is NOT always right.
Or some other fun ones: an older woman who had clipped coupons from the paper for discount on a 500grams pack of butter. She tried to use the coupon on 2 packs of 250gram. And yes, even though it is the same amount (price isn't the same though), we can't use the coupons that way. Took so long to explain this to the woman who kept on complaining that WE shouldn't make those coupons (which we don't...). Or customers coming in to exchange items, that we didn't even sell... Or at the cold cuts section, asking for meat cut at a certain thickness, show the slice, they say it's ok, 6 slices later, "oh wait could you make it a bit less thick, I don't need those first slices though" ... And my absolute favorite, customers coming in at less than 5 mins before closing, which we tell them, and they agree saying "it'll just take a minute" and they try to fully load their cart with groceries.... *sighs*
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As a Server. Me: Hello, can I get you something to drink? Customer: Yes, do you have coffee? Me: Yes, would you like decaf or regular? Customer: Do you have any flavor coffee? Me: No, Sorry Customer: Do you ever read your customer request or comments? Do you even care as to what we would like? [knowing very well I can not do anything about this] Me: Okay, I'll call corporate and tell them. So they can have this Huge meeting about your flavored coffee... Customer: It was just a question...
I was not the employee, just fortunate enough to be in the midst of this exchange: I was in line at my local non-member big box store (whose initials are the same as my own) when I saw the following and fell in love with a lovely woman of advanced years. C- poor overworked cashier BRAT- Basic Really Annoying Teen M- yours truly SG- a Senior Goddess This place can never seem to keep enough people on staff, at least they always have up 'Help Wanted' signs and lots of young people come and go. There was only one register open and the line was long which was no big deal. At least until the BRAT got in line. She pushed her full cart up, hurrying the last 10-15 feet to beat out two others approaching and proceeds to whip out her cell and share her conversation, full of complaints about having to wait, about how they don't know to run the place, etc. That, while a bit annoying, is, these days, just par for the course. But she added a special twist- she started tap-tap-tap-tap-tapping her k
keys against the steel cart. Okay, not too bad for the first 5 minutes but by the time I finally reached the cashier I was ready to see if I could throw those keys across the parking lot. The cashier and I exchanged a look and I softly whispered, for his ears only, "Boy, that is pretty annoying, don't you think?" He agreed enough to say to the BRAT, "Miss, that's a very annoying sound. Would you please stop doing that?" Of course this set off the mini-EW and she exploded: "Who the F--K do you think you are? I'll do whatever I want and there's nothing you can do about it!" (It was a few months ago so I hope you'll excuse my inability to recall every word of her rant.) When she finally ran out of steam the kindly little SG leaned forward and said, just loud enough for the rest of us to hear, "Sweetie- remember, you never want to be a b***h by accident."
Load More Replies... All of them are really funny. I think that’s these situations only happen because they don’t know how some things work—for example, the guy with the black-and-white print outs who wanted them in color. I love them 😂
#3 infuriates me because it doesn't fit with the premise of this list
I work as an admin, but sometimes have to help with IT so I've got a lot of these. I think the most WTF moment was when I got a call from the VP asking me to go help a manager who couldn't open a link (it was a text string instead of a hyperlink). The manager also called me very irritated about it and none of the guys in his office could figure it out. I had to walk across campus to right click on a link.
When I was 19 I worked at a video store, and we had the birth date of all our account holders listed...well one day I notice it is a customers birthday and wish him a happy birthday. He proceeded to tell me off, and finished with how much he hates his birthday. I just stood there dumbfounded.
And I thought I was around idiots all the time ... One of my friends wanted a micro Sim for her phone ... And so she thought it would be right to cut her Sim card with scissors . she came over to me to smooth down the edges of the sim card😂😂😂she's a 16 year old
Except you can do that easily. I used the same SIM for years just reducing the size each time by cutting as I changed phones... I only ended up getting an actual nano sim when I lost my phone and had to replace everything. The connector size is the same, it’s just the plastic surround that’s different.
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no point me even reading these, NAR is one of my favourite sites and i have read all of em mostly, about 90% at a guess. do yourselves a huge af favour, go bookmark that site its brilliant, look up this DE TING IS BLUE AND BLUE ON DE TING
You are right! We actually had a link to their website below each photo. However, as some people might not notice it we have also updated our article to make sure everyone sees the source.
Load More Replies... Dont need to put the word "real" in the headline.We all know the stories are real.
I'm sure many of them are, I've dealt withcsome of the situations described here.
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Not all of these are 'customers from hell'. Some are just downright funny
Some, I would say, were summoned from Hell to test the people's Religion... LOL!!!
Load More Replies... Wish I could add to this post, I have a crazy one from when I was a pharmacy technician back in the day.
You could share it here in the comments. I for one would like to read your story.
Load More Replies... lol - Where I work we prepare the exams for Cambridge English, enroll the candidates, supervise the exam day, etc. Once, a woman was enrolling for an exam and she reached the part of the (very short) form that said "date of birth." She looked up at me and asked: "What's that mean? My birthday? Or the day I was born?"
If it was Dutch it would make sense. We have our 'geboortedag': the day we were born. And a 'verjaardag': the day we age another year. So geboortedag includes date, month and year. And verjaardag includes only day and month. So the words specifies if you need to include the birthyear or not.
Load More Replies... My motto when dealing with customers quickly became, "The customer is not always right but they are always important." Sometimes that was hard to live by.
I had a customer come in to return a radio. Our policy states she has 30 days to return it. (our policy is 90 days with exceptions, stated on the back of the receipt) She bought it dec 1st. (it's feb 12th). I ask a manager since it's only $30 and we make an exception. I let the customer know about the policy and that we will return her item this time, but remember for next time. She still gets angry! She demands to see where it says this, and starts yelling in line for a good 5 mins. Even though we returned her item.
I'm happy I don't have to work with customers anymore. Worked several years in a small grocery store myself and I just started hating some of the regular customers at some point... Our store had a deal for loyal customers with our store-card and a coupon to get 1 free item every saturday. Ofcourse sometimes we'd run out of that item so we'd just offer a different one. Had a customer come in "uh weren't we getting -1st item- for free today?" Me: "yes sir but we ran out, so now we're offering -other item-." The man scoffed and said "I just came out of work so I couldn't come earlier, you shouldn't run out of these things" Me: "well sir I can't do anything about that, it was a busy day and we ran out early" Man: "I don't care. I demand to see your manager, I'm a loyal customer and I want my free item!" I called the manager, explained what's going on, she told him the exact same thing and to take the other item that was offered or get nothing. Customer is NOT always right.
Or some other fun ones: an older woman who had clipped coupons from the paper for discount on a 500grams pack of butter. She tried to use the coupon on 2 packs of 250gram. And yes, even though it is the same amount (price isn't the same though), we can't use the coupons that way. Took so long to explain this to the woman who kept on complaining that WE shouldn't make those coupons (which we don't...). Or customers coming in to exchange items, that we didn't even sell... Or at the cold cuts section, asking for meat cut at a certain thickness, show the slice, they say it's ok, 6 slices later, "oh wait could you make it a bit less thick, I don't need those first slices though" ... And my absolute favorite, customers coming in at less than 5 mins before closing, which we tell them, and they agree saying "it'll just take a minute" and they try to fully load their cart with groceries.... *sighs*
Load More Replies... As a Server. Me: Hello, can I get you something to drink? Customer: Yes, do you have coffee? Me: Yes, would you like decaf or regular? Customer: Do you have any flavor coffee? Me: No, Sorry Customer: Do you ever read your customer request or comments? Do you even care as to what we would like? [knowing very well I can not do anything about this] Me: Okay, I'll call corporate and tell them. So they can have this Huge meeting about your flavored coffee... Customer: It was just a question...
I was not the employee, just fortunate enough to be in the midst of this exchange: I was in line at my local non-member big box store (whose initials are the same as my own) when I saw the following and fell in love with a lovely woman of advanced years. C- poor overworked cashier BRAT- Basic Really Annoying Teen M- yours truly SG- a Senior Goddess This place can never seem to keep enough people on staff, at least they always have up 'Help Wanted' signs and lots of young people come and go. There was only one register open and the line was long which was no big deal. At least until the BRAT got in line. She pushed her full cart up, hurrying the last 10-15 feet to beat out two others approaching and proceeds to whip out her cell and share her conversation, full of complaints about having to wait, about how they don't know to run the place, etc. That, while a bit annoying, is, these days, just par for the course. But she added a special twist- she started tap-tap-tap-tap-tapping her k
keys against the steel cart. Okay, not too bad for the first 5 minutes but by the time I finally reached the cashier I was ready to see if I could throw those keys across the parking lot. The cashier and I exchanged a look and I softly whispered, for his ears only, "Boy, that is pretty annoying, don't you think?" He agreed enough to say to the BRAT, "Miss, that's a very annoying sound. Would you please stop doing that?" Of course this set off the mini-EW and she exploded: "Who the F--K do you think you are? I'll do whatever I want and there's nothing you can do about it!" (It was a few months ago so I hope you'll excuse my inability to recall every word of her rant.) When she finally ran out of steam the kindly little SG leaned forward and said, just loud enough for the rest of us to hear, "Sweetie- remember, you never want to be a b***h by accident."
Load More Replies... All of them are really funny. I think that’s these situations only happen because they don’t know how some things work—for example, the guy with the black-and-white print outs who wanted them in color. I love them 😂
#3 infuriates me because it doesn't fit with the premise of this list
I work as an admin, but sometimes have to help with IT so I've got a lot of these. I think the most WTF moment was when I got a call from the VP asking me to go help a manager who couldn't open a link (it was a text string instead of a hyperlink). The manager also called me very irritated about it and none of the guys in his office could figure it out. I had to walk across campus to right click on a link.
When I was 19 I worked at a video store, and we had the birth date of all our account holders listed...well one day I notice it is a customers birthday and wish him a happy birthday. He proceeded to tell me off, and finished with how much he hates his birthday. I just stood there dumbfounded.
And I thought I was around idiots all the time ... One of my friends wanted a micro Sim for her phone ... And so she thought it would be right to cut her Sim card with scissors . she came over to me to smooth down the edges of the sim card😂😂😂she's a 16 year old
Except you can do that easily. I used the same SIM for years just reducing the size each time by cutting as I changed phones... I only ended up getting an actual nano sim when I lost my phone and had to replace everything. The connector size is the same, it’s just the plastic surround that’s different.
Load More Replies... no point me even reading these, NAR is one of my favourite sites and i have read all of em mostly, about 90% at a guess. do yourselves a huge af favour, go bookmark that site its brilliant, look up this DE TING IS BLUE AND BLUE ON DE TING
You are right! We actually had a link to their website below each photo. However, as some people might not notice it we have also updated our article to make sure everyone sees the source.
Load More Replies... Dont need to put the word "real" in the headline.We all know the stories are real.
I'm sure many of them are, I've dealt withcsome of the situations described here.
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