When you’re fresh out of college and looking for ways to gain work experience, just about any position will do. Often, one of the most common places to turn to is customer service. Unfortunately, it comes together with nightmarish customers, their nonsense demands, and huge emotional pressure. Whether you worked there yourself or know a friend who has, we’ve all heard at least one horror story.
This Twitter user asked people who work in the service or food industry to reply with the weirdest/rudest experiences they’ve ever dealt with. From ordering something made up, getting furious when it’s not what they expected, to downright insulting the people serving them, more than 14.4K shared their terrible customer interactions.
Bored Panda has collected some of the most ridiculous tweets from this viral thread. Forget the saying "the customer is always right", some of these comments will make your head spin. Scroll down and check them out yourself!
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If you have ever worked in customer service in the food industry, you know that it’s a thankless job. Especially if you encounter a rude customer who flips out when you ask them the simplest questions. So even if you deal with clients on a regular basis and already know the nooks and crannies of the job, some of them can be so irrational that it’s difficult to know how to react.
The author of this tweet @phantomparades shared her own experience. Three years ago, she was dealing with a customer that had an attitude with how she folded the clothes. The buyer asked her to stop and @phantomparades assumed that “she would fold them herself like she said she would. Instead, she asked ‘are you gonna help me?’”
The author was left feeling confused and reminded the customer that she specifically asked her to stop folding. Then the woman “got super heated and said ‘Oh no. Get me a manager. I am NOT dealing with this attitude.‘” This story only shows that some customers get mad for no real reason and it’s the worker who has to take it all in. Sometimes it’s hard to manage your feelings and remain calm. And even the widely known American smile might not be able to save you in intense situations like these.
In fact, research shows that faking emotional expressions all day long drains your personal resources and can take an emotional and physical toll once you head home. We’re not talking about smiling at the customers because they are genuinely kind and respectful. We’re talking about the ones that make you feel stressed and anxious while talking to them.
“When [employees] put on that happy face but don’t really feel it—that’s when we start to have problems,” lead researcher David Wagner, Ph.D. of Singapore Management University, explained to the Huffington Post. They observed 78 bus drivers who worked in the U.S. over the course of two weeks. Drivers answered surveys before and after their shifts and also right before going to sleep.
Mainly the questions were about the quality of their sleep, their mood during and after work, and whether they had to fake their emotions while dealing with the customers that day. Research showed how emotionally draining it is to wear a fake smile. Those drivers that felt the need to put on a “mask” were more likely to suffer from insomnia than those who didn’t. “Emotional acting was also linked to reports of feeling anxious or distressed, and also increased the likelihood of feeling emotionally exhausted at the end of the day. These people even reported more family conflict at home.”
Now let’s talk about the very common saying “The customer is always right.” This phrase is often attributed to Harry Gordon Selfridge, the founder of Selfridge’s department store in London (though some think it was originated by John Wanamaker or Marshall Field—it was a popular mentality among the business magnates at that time). Businesses often use it to make the customers feel special and ensure them that they will get high-quality service.
However, these days more and more companies are turning away from this point of view. According to Alexander Kjerulf, the author of the Chief Happiness Officer Blog, this belief ironically leads to bad customer service and there are a few reasons why. First, it makes employees feel unappreciated. Companies should trust their workers over unreasonable customers because doing otherwise could cause resentment among employees.
Also, it gives annoying customers an unfair advantage. If a business is using this slogan, “abusive customers can demand just about anything – they’re right by definition, aren’t they? This makes the employees’ job that much harder when trying to rein them in.” This also means that such clients will get better treatment than they actually deserve, and that just seems wrong.
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Or "Did you have to work at being an a**hole or does it just come naturally to you?"
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Of course it was a man. I worked the service counter at Sears. A man walked by and stopped. Looked at me and my coworker and said " she's just mad because you have cantaloupes and she has fried eggs" while pointing at our breasts and smiling. Then he just walked away. Not funny and so creepy and perverted. We had never had any previous interactions with this guy and were just standing at the counter waiting for customers.
"Oh, your father got me pregnant. Now, how may I assist you today?"
I had something like this happen but not at work. I was going into a store when I was approached by a young guy who asked me to go to the ATM machine and get $20 for him. From MY account. Never met this dude before. Naturally, I said no, he got super angry and asked me if I was pregnant or just fat. I don't look even remotely pregnant nor am I heavy (there's nothing wrong with being heavy, either, in my opinion) so I just laughed it off. That seemed to make him even angrier, the fact that I didn't get upset or angry myself.
It takes away the power they perceive having over you when you don't get upset.
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My best friend works in customer service. He was on the phone with a guy and the guy yelled, "Are you stupid or just incompetent?!" My best friend said, "Well, what's the difference?" The guy hung up
I would have said "actually, I have a gigantic malignant tumor in my stomach that I'm having removed next week. but thnx for the reminder..." a few years back I had a few spots of on my face that my doctor was worried about being cancerous so to be safe She Had me do this intense month long treatment which made me look like Someone threw acid on my face. I did take a few weeks off of work to heal, but I still had some patches of dry/peeling skin, which you have to let it heal without makeup, creams etc. this stupid dude came up to me at the shoe store I was a manager @, on a busy sunday, in front of about 30 peoplec he said "omg lady, havent you looked ina mirror lately? What are you? One of those reptilian people? Are you molting? Or do you just not use lotion?" he said all of this while giggling n looking around for other ppl to laugh.. I then explained the situation n the guy was mortified n left w/out his items. I was embarrassed.But he was mortified. I hope he learned his lesson
This happened to me at an old job, this creepy lady asked if I was leaving because i was pregnant...I told her i was just fat and that shut her up...I wish now I could find her since I am pregnant and slap her in the face with my bare stomach
My answer would have been, "Have you always been a wanker or did you have to study to become one?"
Were you a failed abortion or your mother didn't love you enough to slap the rudness out?
I am so glad I had great managers when I was a teller cause neither of them would've put up with that.
"Expecting..... Expecting you to wise the f**k up, or are we going to be waiting awhile, like yourself in this line"
Expect a bloody & broken nose, PISSANT FUCKTARD UNNATURAL DISASTER!!!
But the bank would probably placate the hell out of him if you complained. Anything for money.
Nope. I would hand him off to a manager and have him wait longer.
Got asked when i was due when i was most definitely not pregnant. Made me feel like s**t
You should of closed your windows and walked away. and if the bank didn't back you then quit that bank
This is a stupid takeaway. Did you actually think fat comes off overnight? How embarrassing for you.
Load More Replies... Perhaps, this customer was on the spectrum? Maybe they didn't realize it was rude?? That's a hard maybe though, we'll never know
I appreciate comments like these. It's nice to feel intelligent by comparison.
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Had a similar situation with an owner not realising what testicles were.
Yeesh we should arrest those people for assault. Who would even treat servers that way?
Can we please develop a minimum human decency requirement for breathing already? I swear, some people go out of their way to just be the most awful and detrimental individuals in existence, and somehow we just let it happen...
So if you ever end up in a situation where a customer is being rude to you, try to remain calm and don’t take it personally. It sounds hard but remember—they are probably not angry at you. Maybe they have some issues at home or work that keeps building up and even the smallest inconvenience can throw them off. Take a few minutes to yourself, talk to your co-workers and try not to let the stress linger inside of you after the situation is resolved.
What a disgusting human being! Who would even think to do something like that? We had a guy who defecate in the fitting rooms once a week till he was caught, but he said that he did it for the sexual gratification. He liked to imagine the clerks cleaning up his feces as he masturbated.
The very short time I made coffee drinks, I had several customers telling me how to make a proper coffee "The Italian Way". I am Italian and grew up there, most of my life was spent drinking coffee (Caffelatte, cappuccino, macchiato, etc.). My accent is not as pronounced now, but back then I sounded like Supermario or Father Guido Sarducci (for those old enough to remember). It never occurred to these people that maybe, just maybe, I knew how to make Italian coffee better than they learned during their 2 weeks vacation in Italy.
Should have walked in on the proposal and ask the girlfriend if she also finds it annoying when he unexpectedly unhooks her bra.
Crazy bitch, you stole someone else's food! Not our fault! Repeat as needed.
ohmigod!!!!!!! how dare u brush my feet? sir...they r filthy n i have been asked to clean trash......n shoes like those come under trash
she being d jerk but the poor helpers being terrified of losing their jobs
Should have told him you only sell them as flatpacks and sell him some MDF boards and a jig saw.
I begin to understand why the 2nd amendment is so vital in the US. Combined with "Stand your ground" it's a good way to deal with customers.
Note: this post originally had 64 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.
The one especially nasty customer I had to deal with in retail was a woman who quite clearly had no control over her toddler. When said toddler started making a mess of the checkstand area and I (quite rightly) expressed concern, she exploded at me, called me an a-hole (which shocked every one of my co-workers in earshot as customers regularly came to my lane specifically because I was one of the nicest cashiers) and complained to my manager. A true "Karen" if ever I saw one.
None of these are as bad as having to kick out a customer for jerking off in the store, and in another case having a knife pulled on me (not to rob me, just because customer was psycho).
jesus I am so glad i do not live in the states and have to deal with this level of entitlement. I've literally seen this sort of behaviour 2-3x in my entire life. Here we have a culture of show basic respect and if you act all entitled you'll be bodily evicted by security. You don't f-around here.
These are the exceptions, not the rule. And take anything you read here with a grain of salt.
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The "customer is always right" isn't applicable when a customer is abusive, rude or overwhelmingly demanding. Why do people think that gives themselves a right to take advantage of them.
Totally agree. They are right...."in matters of taste". Only taste. It's convenient how many customers omit that part when demanding a right to be abusive
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I once took calls for a company that sells jewelry on television - cough - and wow, I have some doozies: * the woman who screamed at me because I asked for the security code on the back of her card * the drunk woman who said “I’m so glad you’re an American and not an invader from the south”. * the teenage crank caller who called me three times and tried to convince me her phone number was 877-CASH-NOW. * the guy who screamed at me because a show hostess was talking too fast. * the woman who went ballistic because I told her she would have to contact a different department about her ring order that was lost in transi (I was sales and didn’t handle any of that). She said in a nasty mean girl voice “You just keep going bluh bluh bluh bluh, now get me your supervisor because you don’t know how to act!” So I transferred her to the supervisor…who told her the same damn thing. I hope that b!tch choked on her ring.
I used to sell small molecules to laboratories, including controlled substances (opioids, cannabinoids, other scheduled drugs). If someone wanted to purchase a controlled substance, they needed to furnish their research license from the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) for each order. This one purchasing agent at a CRO (contract research organization) told me that his boss “didn’t deal with all that red tape,” so couldn’t I sell them benzodiazepine without the paperwork? He was very pushy about this. Weird thing is, these orders would ship from a secure warehouse. It’s not like I was driving around with drugs in my car.
20 years ago at the supermarket, the male customer at the next till over puts his hand in something sticky on the till belt. So he proceeds to wipe it off on the uniform of the girl who was serving him. Then paid and waltzed out like he was king of the world... (UK btw)
When I worked as a cashier one man got some bottles of beer, which he put in a bag in the trolley. He came to the register and told me how many bottles he has. I told him I had to count them myself, so he steps back, pissed and I have to come out behind the counter to pull them out of the bag so I can count them. Then he goes on to complain that he has to put them all into the bag again. He did that all the time
USA - Some people seem to think that if you are being yelled at or someone says something inappropriate, the police need to be called. In some cases, yes. *it’s called a verbal fight* Many of these verbal arguments will be resolved when a business owner or manager or security steps in to trespass someone off the property. To trespass someone means that person can be banned FOR LIFE from a business. When someone says something inappropriate to another person, it is disgusting and sickening, but it isn’t illegal. Unless someone has threatened you with harm AND you have proof (proof is important otherwise it’s just considered heresay), only then cal the law step in. As sick as it is the old disgusting man who said he wanted to take an employee home to “bathe her” is not a threat, it does not mean he is a child monster, it means he is a narcissist POS (add as many slurs as you like here), but he has done nothing to prove he is a molester as someone claimed. 1/2
2/2 There must be proof on an accusation, that’s the law. If you say you heard something, that’s not proof otherwise everyone could put anyone they hated into the legal system. I just wanted to make that clear, as unpopular as it is, it’s the way things are set up.
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It just shows how many people are unhinged in this world. There's so much going on behind closed doors and then they get in front of someone in public and don't know how to control their anger. It's sad and scary.
When I was a teenager working at a nursing home I couldn't serve dinner anymore as my acne was thought to be contagious by the residents... Also at that same time I had a kid ask their mom what was all over my face.
Neither of these people were assholes tough. Older people can forget things or be confused and children still have to learn. Better they ask then point and laugh/ scream/ insult.
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This one time a woman threw a can at my coworker because our EBT machine was down.
The one especially nasty customer I had to deal with in retail was a woman who quite clearly had no control over her toddler. When said toddler started making a mess of the checkstand area and I (quite rightly) expressed concern, she exploded at me, called me an a-hole (which shocked every one of my co-workers in earshot as customers regularly came to my lane specifically because I was one of the nicest cashiers) and complained to my manager. A true "Karen" if ever I saw one.
None of these are as bad as having to kick out a customer for jerking off in the store, and in another case having a knife pulled on me (not to rob me, just because customer was psycho).
jesus I am so glad i do not live in the states and have to deal with this level of entitlement. I've literally seen this sort of behaviour 2-3x in my entire life. Here we have a culture of show basic respect and if you act all entitled you'll be bodily evicted by security. You don't f-around here.
These are the exceptions, not the rule. And take anything you read here with a grain of salt.
Load More Replies... The "customer is always right" isn't applicable when a customer is abusive, rude or overwhelmingly demanding. Why do people think that gives themselves a right to take advantage of them.
Totally agree. They are right...."in matters of taste". Only taste. It's convenient how many customers omit that part when demanding a right to be abusive
Load More Replies... I once took calls for a company that sells jewelry on television - cough - and wow, I have some doozies: * the woman who screamed at me because I asked for the security code on the back of her card * the drunk woman who said “I’m so glad you’re an American and not an invader from the south”. * the teenage crank caller who called me three times and tried to convince me her phone number was 877-CASH-NOW. * the guy who screamed at me because a show hostess was talking too fast. * the woman who went ballistic because I told her she would have to contact a different department about her ring order that was lost in transi (I was sales and didn’t handle any of that). She said in a nasty mean girl voice “You just keep going bluh bluh bluh bluh, now get me your supervisor because you don’t know how to act!” So I transferred her to the supervisor…who told her the same damn thing. I hope that b!tch choked on her ring.
I used to sell small molecules to laboratories, including controlled substances (opioids, cannabinoids, other scheduled drugs). If someone wanted to purchase a controlled substance, they needed to furnish their research license from the DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) for each order. This one purchasing agent at a CRO (contract research organization) told me that his boss “didn’t deal with all that red tape,” so couldn’t I sell them benzodiazepine without the paperwork? He was very pushy about this. Weird thing is, these orders would ship from a secure warehouse. It’s not like I was driving around with drugs in my car.
20 years ago at the supermarket, the male customer at the next till over puts his hand in something sticky on the till belt. So he proceeds to wipe it off on the uniform of the girl who was serving him. Then paid and waltzed out like he was king of the world... (UK btw)
When I worked as a cashier one man got some bottles of beer, which he put in a bag in the trolley. He came to the register and told me how many bottles he has. I told him I had to count them myself, so he steps back, pissed and I have to come out behind the counter to pull them out of the bag so I can count them. Then he goes on to complain that he has to put them all into the bag again. He did that all the time
USA - Some people seem to think that if you are being yelled at or someone says something inappropriate, the police need to be called. In some cases, yes. *it’s called a verbal fight* Many of these verbal arguments will be resolved when a business owner or manager or security steps in to trespass someone off the property. To trespass someone means that person can be banned FOR LIFE from a business. When someone says something inappropriate to another person, it is disgusting and sickening, but it isn’t illegal. Unless someone has threatened you with harm AND you have proof (proof is important otherwise it’s just considered heresay), only then cal the law step in. As sick as it is the old disgusting man who said he wanted to take an employee home to “bathe her” is not a threat, it does not mean he is a child monster, it means he is a narcissist POS (add as many slurs as you like here), but he has done nothing to prove he is a molester as someone claimed. 1/2
2/2 There must be proof on an accusation, that’s the law. If you say you heard something, that’s not proof otherwise everyone could put anyone they hated into the legal system. I just wanted to make that clear, as unpopular as it is, it’s the way things are set up.
Load More Replies... It just shows how many people are unhinged in this world. There's so much going on behind closed doors and then they get in front of someone in public and don't know how to control their anger. It's sad and scary.
When I was a teenager working at a nursing home I couldn't serve dinner anymore as my acne was thought to be contagious by the residents... Also at that same time I had a kid ask their mom what was all over my face.
Neither of these people were assholes tough. Older people can forget things or be confused and children still have to learn. Better they ask then point and laugh/ scream/ insult.
Load More Replies... This one time a woman threw a can at my coworker because our EBT machine was down.
