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The customer service industry is not for the faint-hearted, and yet most Americans, 107.8 million people, work in private service-providing industries. 16.7 million of them work in the leisure and hospitality sectors, meaning they handle customers’ orders on a daily basis.

And if you've ever worked in a restaurant of some sort, you’d know this is not a walk in the park. Although you do meet lovely people and locals you can call by their name, and the loyal clients who always get their usual, sometimes things are not that pretty. Entitled customers, spoiled kids, and clients who don’t even know what they want are also part of the job.

So when the Twitter user @Kealy22 posted the question “Customer service workers, what is the complaint that broke you?” on her thread, people had a whole bunch of stuff to share. So get ready for stories about customers from hell.

Shouting, complaining, calling corporate, speaking to the manager, acting aggressively, wasting everyone’s time—these are some of the most dreadful real-life client incidents that will change the way we look at customer service workers for good.

Image credits: Keally22

Image credits: Keally22

Image credits: Keally22

Image credits: Keally22

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Raine Soo
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I love your response! Was the customer clever enough to understand it?

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Bored Panda reached out to Tay, who goes by the Twitter handle @taylorkiwi, who joined the viral thread to comment on her experience working in the customer service industry. Tay’s tweet read: “customer where I work at a golf course. I kindly asked a member not to move the patio chairs around as it was a Covid rule. She proceeded to lick her hands and touch ALL the chairs on the patio as a 'joke.' Her friends did not laugh. I did not laugh.”

Tay said that she always loved working in customer service, but it’s been challenging. “I mean I hate it, but I love it. As frustrating and irritating as people can be, finding out ways to work and relate to different types of people is a learning curve.”

In fact, Tay confessed that she has been “yelled at, talked down to, and personally insulted.” But “learning how to handle these moments has helped me grow,” she added.

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Tay said that when it comes to dealing with entitled, impolite, and challenging customers, she takes on a “killing with kindness” strategy. “Typically if it’s someone much older or much younger, I ensure I do everything right and everything perfect. It’s a very satisfying feeling knowing that they are having a mental struggle trying to come up with something to complain about.”

But the best moments are when “you have an awful customer sitting with a friend who really isn’t so bad. By being kind to them when they are clearly trying to belittle me, I know they feel foolish and their friend is embarrassed.” Tay said it’s the perfect way to ruin their day while making their day the best it can be.

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Ty Stratton-Quirk
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some people, you just wish would find a Huntsman spider in the front seat of their car.

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Samantha Lomb
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's nice to see managers stand up for employees instead of throwing them under the bus

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Raine Soo
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How does one not know the difference between a fingernail and a slice of onion?

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When asked if she agrees with the saying that the customer is always right, Tay replied: “Hell no, the customer is usually never right. I am paid to be an expert in what I’m doing, even if it’s just an expert in the menu and serving.”

She added: “Oh really, last time you were here you were allowed to substitute chicken for shrimp? Well, I’ll have you know the protein is cooked into the sauce and you can’t change it out.” Although Tay agrees that the customer should be accommodated as best as possible, it doesn’t mean they’re right.

If you’re thinking of working in the customer service industry, Tay said you have to be able to adapt to each person you interact with. “The correct answer for one person might be insulting to another. They have different personalities, different ways of interpreting information, and different ways of socializing.”

There’s no one copy-paste way to behave with clients, so you have to be extremely versatile to be able to handle both pleasant and not-so-much situations that happen daily.In the end, Tay revealed that smiling through a painful customer is also a part of the job. “There’s nothing I can do during a shift that’ll make me put on a real smile if I’m working with an awful customer.”

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On the other hand, “the thought of me complaining and having my friends and coworkers agreeing with my struggles during our after-work glass of wine makes it all worthwhile.”

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Samantha Lomb
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hate people with ill behaved children who don't bother to discipline them.

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Samantha Lomb
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How do adult humans NOT know coffee contains caffeine? Though good move quitting rather than strangling her

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Samantha Lomb
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Were they fried in lard? That is possible though unlikely and some shortenings contain pork

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BusLady
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Lady, they are not going to buy a round table and put your name on it.

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Samantha Lomb
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The worker likely had to know before entering the rest of the order because of the ordering system. Some people are just insane

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BusLady
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I would think that legally, the money belonged to you. The police would have regarded it as a nuisance call. And what a lousy boss.

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Raine Soo
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Do you ever get the feeling that some folks just wake up angry at everything and everyone?

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BusLady
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Personally, I prefer beer in the bottle. I'm sure she lost a lot of respect for her prof after that.

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Samantha Lomb
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If that is not done right and very carefully, it constitutes child abuse as kids don't get the proper nutrients.

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Toujin C'Thlu
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

*sighs* What is with men thinking that women don't understand machines, simply because they're women? Especially these days.

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Note: this post originally had 92 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.

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