Customer service jobs are one of the most difficult ones out there, and anyone working one deserves at least a medal and a pat on the back for surviving. This might sound over the top, but in many cases, clients can be really that insufferable. Whether they’re aware of it or not, they can really spice up the day by complaining about nothing, wanting unrealistic discounts or using passive aggressiveness. 

More illustrative stories of absurd customer behavior are awaiting you on the list below, shared by the customer service workers themselves. They really make one question how anyone working in the industry keeps it together.

#1

When I worked in Magic and Sparkle, there were a few! A couple were -

Working on Boxing Day, I started at 6am and was in the menswear department, reducing the clothes for the sale. (My usual department was food/checkouts). We were all working fast and still not quite done 5 minutes before opening. I looked up and it was like a scene from a zombie movie! There were 100's of people all crammed up against the doors, clawing at the glass to get in!

The doors opened at 8am, people running, falling to the floor, yelling, I've never seen anything like it. An older Asian male ran over to me and started tugging on the shirt I was reducing and pulled it out of my hand, then threw it to the floor and ran over to the rails. He then came back and in really bad English, asked me to get him a "short sleeved jumper". I said I didn't think we sold them, because I hadn't seen them, but would ask. Asked a colleague, came back, said no, we didn't sell short sleeved jumpers. He started miming and demonstrating short sleeves. I'm shaking my head and saying, no, we don't sell them. He was getting more and more agitated, then grabbed my arm, pulled me across to a rail and pointed out a whole load of sleeveless (not short sleeved as he was indicating!) tank tops! One of which, he selected, picked off the rail, pointed at, held up to his chest, nodded and stomped off to the checkouts! Absolutely no idea what that was about! It was exactly what he wanted, was in the sale and he knew where they were! ?

I was on my checkout one morning, when a very entitled, well to do couple came through with a large shop. Upon getting to payment, she produced some vouchers and said, these need to be taken off the bill. I checked them over and handed them back. I'm sorry, these are out of date. No, they both said, they are not and handed them back to me. I pointed out the date, which was out by 14 months. Oh, they say, with a condescending smile, well, that really doesn't matter, it's Marks and Spencers! I said yes you are correct, they are M and S vouchers, but we still can't accept those as they are out of date, I'm sorry.

I was asked to call my manager, which I duly did, all the time they were smiling at me as though I was very simple and going to get a bollocking for a hideous misunderstanding. The manager came and told them exactly the same as I did! They then paid the full amount on a platinum card, stormed off and went to the cafe opposite my checkout, got a drink and positioned their chairs, with a little difficulty, so they could stare me out. Which they did! I took great pleasure in signing out and finishing my shift 3 minutes after they'd sat down!

I would never work in retail again and bless those who do!

Image credits: MoonWoman69

#2

A lady tried to return a pair of trousers which she had hemmed up and washed and were now too short. She couldn’t understand what the problem was!

Image credits: Takeoutyourhen

#3

When I was pregnant (the only time I worked in retail) a customer threatened to “wait for me after work” because I wouldn’t sell him Grand Theft Auto Vice City (I think it was Vice City).

I had refused to sell it because,

a) It wasn’t out yet. It came out a few days later.

b) It wasn’t actually in stock, we didn’t have it.

Apparently I was lying. We had them piled up in the stock room and I was pretending they weren’t there. And he ALWAYS got stuff early. (He didn’t, there were chunky fines for breaking release dates.)

So when people say that these Grand Theft Auto games make other people violent, I kind of think, “Yeah, maybe.”

Image credits: TheLightSideOfTheMoon

We all are sometimes misinformed or make mistakes, so it’s understandable that some customers are too. However, disrespectful or abusive behavior towards people who are trying their best to help is never justifiable. 

Despite clients driving the employees up the wall, the workers still have to treat them with patience and respect. At least that’s what good businesses teach their employees to do.

#4

I have some from my holiday rep days.
One chap grabbed me round the neck and tried to drag me through the hotel reception to the restaurant to see the ‘s**te excuse’ of an English breakfast on offer. This was in Egypt. The hotel staff wrestled him off me, it was awful, I remember sobbing for ages as I was so shook up.

However, the worst was the woman in Corfu who decided to make my life a misery for her entire holiday because we would not accept her toddler (about 18 months) into the kids club (4-10 years). She would track me down around the hotel and scream obscenities at me, I lived in the hotel, there was no escape. On the final day of her holiday, as she was about to get on her transfer coach, I was talking to some other customers who were also leaving, she threw a plastic cup of [pee] at me. She then complained about me when she got home. I still recall her full name and her (then) address 32 years later.

Image credits: maddiemookins16mum

#5

I used to work for a senator in California - part of my job was helping people, kind of like customer service.
By the time most people called my office, their problems were complicated and enormous.
One very young couple came in because they had nothing. No food, no housing, no medical care.
I spent several hours connecting them with social services, emergency housing, and the agencies that could provide them with food and medical.
The next day the husband (or whatever he was) arrived back in my office and threatened to [end] me because I didn’t get them any “free money.”
He also threatened to [end] the staff at the social services office - after he finally left, I called the state police and he was arrested at the SS office, threatening to kill the person who had helped him the day before.

Image credits: DreamTheMoors

#6

I have my own business doing dog boarding in my home. It's really successful and I love it.
Was looking after a tiny dog, who kept biting me. The customer insisted that the dog must NOT eat from a bowl, but must be hand fed, and wanted it to be fed chocolate buttons! Obviously chocolate is poisonous to dogs, but this dog had been eating them for over 10 years at this point, so was obviously used to them. Every time I tried to feed the dog it bit me. And proper nasty bites. My hand swelled up so big I couldn't drive, and I had to get a tetanus booster. If you walked past the dog, it would lunge at you and sink it's teeth into your ankles. After about 5 days of this, I e-mailed the customer who was abroad, and they called me that night. When I explained what was happening, and asked whether the dog could perhaps get collected by someone it would be more comfortable with, they said "Oh no. Buddy has been biting everyone for years. It bites my kids and my grandkids. No one will have him, they all hate him. Just go and get him put down please"

Another lady wanted to put her dog in for daycare when she was at work. She wanted to drop her dog off at 5am, and collect it at 11pm! I explained that our opening hours were 7am-7pm, but that she was welcome to board the dog when she had long days at work. She was unhappy with this, and tried over and over again with long rambling texts, to get me to accept the dog from 5am till 11pm, because she "didn't want to pay any extra for boarding".

Oh, and there was the lady who said she'd be back at 5pm to collect her dog. 5pm came and went. I really needed to go out at 530pm to drop my car in for repairs. Tried calling her. Her phone was off. She didn't come back till 8pm!

Also had a lady come along with a beagle called Lucifer. She explained that he can't be left alone AT ALL. At the last boarder he was at, the boarder had gone out for 15 minutes to get milk from the shop, and when he got back his front door had been half eaten. Then she expected me to say, no problem, when would you like him to stay (what happens when you sleep, or maybe I wasn't meant to sleep?!"

These are probably quite minor compared to some examples others have!!

Image credits: saywhatnow1

In order to better understand the customer and choose the right method for fixing their problem, it’s important to know what type of client a person is dealing with.

The first kind we are discussing is the angry one. They might start to display irritation when dissatisfied with the product or service. 

When faced with such a person, it’s best to try and understand why they’re feeling this way and tell them that the problem is being worked on. Offering them an apology might calm them down and help them explain the situation better.

#7

I worked in the same shop for 7 years and have loads but a couple that stand out...

Someone tried to return a breast pump because they didn't want it. I said that was fine as long as it was unopened and unused and she had the receipt. It was most definitely used... there was still breast milk inside it. She went mad at me when I refused to return it.

And a customer once threw a pushchair at me because I wouldn't give him a refund on it and he said it was faulty. It wasn't, it was just very, very well used and over 5 years old. He kept insisting he only got it a few months ago until I pulled out the catalogue from 5 years ago that we kept for situations just like this and showed him the exact one he had inside. (The changed the colour of them every year)
He didn't like this clearly so picked it up and threw it at me.

Image credits: notenoughcaffeine

#8

I used to be a waitress and memorably had a panini thrown at me once because it was 5pm and not 4.30pm as the customer had thought it was and she was most upset I hadn't told her the time when I served her.

Image credits: ShinyWorthKeeping

#9

A woman once came up to our customer service desk asking for a refund on a child’s item of clothing because it was ‘faulty’.
The fault? The blackcurrant her child had spilt on it wouldn’t wash out.

A store I worked for offered days out vouchers so had posters up of a certain theme park. Customer rocked up & mentioned theme park so I assumed she was asking about the vouchers.
No, she asked me to direct her to this theme park, and had actually driven a couple of hours to get to where we are. I didn’t have a clue how to direct her because we were 60 odd miles away from the place.

Another retail place where a woman in a right strop slammed a rock hard melon down on the counter and barked ‘tell me, exactly how am I supposed to ripen that?’.
I replied that maybe if she took it back to the competitor she bought it from, they might be able to tell her. The huge sticker with their name an barcode on should have given her a clue where to return it to.

As a hotel employee many years ago, asking what he would like for breakfast. “porridge”.
‘sorry sir, we don’t actually have porridge on the menu’
’But I always have porridge for breakfast, so that’s what I want’.

Image credits: WiseMenSayNothing

The second type is the impatient one. They feel like their issues need to be resolved right away, so they might show it with restlessness. Just like with the previous type of client attempt at pinpointing why they’re in such a hurry. From there, the problem should be solved efficiently. Let them know that their matter is seen as urgent and that it’s being swiftly worked on to address it.

#10

We had a customer throw a frozen chicken hard at a staff member seated behind a till (they had to go to hospital) because there was a small queue. Yes, the police were called.

I had a customer rage at me for a good twenty minutes unbroken about an issue with his car that we had in for repairs. We had phoned and left a message with his wife who had totally misunderstood what was said and told him the wrong thing. I couldn't get a word in edgeways or figure out what he was screaming about. When he eventually petered out after saying some truly venomous and personal stuff, I managed to explain what we had called about which was something extremely trivial and nothing bad -more of a personal choice question. He stormed off slamming the door without another word. He did actually come back later on and apologise but I'd imagine it was because the garage owner refused to finish the job unless he did. Calling someone a slag and a trussed up tart who pretends to know about cars is pretty over the top really.

Image credits: ToxicChristmas

#11

Had a passenger call me a c**t and try to grab me by the throat because he missed his ferry. In front of his 2 young kids as well. Demanded I call the captain of the ferry and order him to return to port so he could board. I did not do that.

Image credits: JKnight09

#12

I once had a complaint from a customer because I gave her a refund. I had phoned my manager in front of her to check, and the manager told me to go ahead and refund her, as we knew her, knew we’d made an error, and wanted to put it right. Apparently I should have ‘checked the paperwork’ first, because what if she shouldn’t have got a refund?? Presumably she thought we were idiots who handed out cash on demand to any old chancer. She then said she didnt like my attitude. My attitude was that I was flabbergasted!

Image credits: Sussurations

Another kind is the indecisive one. It’s not a particularly ‘bad customer’ but they can take up a lot of employees' time by being hesitant to decide, usually out of fear of making a wrong or a misinformed choice. To have them on their merry way quicker, the workers might want to give them all of the information they know about the product. Providing more details about it allows them to feel more confident about their purchase. 

#13

Had a customer complaining that she was queuing for half an hour. I only started my shift 5-10 mins before this and i walked past the CSD 5-7 minutes before my shift started and she was not there. Not even when i went into the kiosk to let my colleague have her lunch.

“I have been waiting half an hour”
“I’m sorry you weren’t there when I walked into work 15 minutes ago”

She had a right strop. Even a customer who was behind her when entering the store said that wasn’t half an hour. As was in the dentist’s chair then.

My colleague took me off and the then store manager asked me to go into the office. He showed me the CCTV footage of me entering the store to start work, fast forward to me taking colleague out of CSD/Kiosk for lunch. Then her entering to her shouting. Manager said look at the time stamp on footage. Her ‘half hour of waiting’ was just 49 seconds! That was the time she joined the queue of two people to her throwing her hands in the air! I do wish sometimes half an hour at work whizzes past in 49 seconds

She basically shouted at the wrong person. She was banned.

Image credits: Auburngal

#14

My aunt used to work for a well known department store in the States. People used to buy a new outfit on a Friday, wear it all weekend then take it back on the Monday and ask for a refund!!! Cheeky feckers ?? not many got refunded as they were regular returners

Image credits: shellyleppard

#15

My husband and I used to run a chimney sweeping business. One time I got a call demanding that we come out immediately. I refused, because it was 10.30pm, in November, and there was a howling gale outside (this chimney would have to be cleaned from the top, so no chance!).

I asked what the emergency was, and the customer said "Well, it's on fire, obviously!". She wasn't impressed with my suggestion that she call the fire brigade.

The following type is the critical one, always finding ways to criticize the product or the service. It’s worth noting that their remarks shouldn’t be taken personally and instead, they should be approached with a positive mindset throughout the conversation. The solution that is offered to them should be clear and assuring. They should be provided with facts and proof that make it more difficult for them to disapprove.

#16

I worked in a cafe when I was 15, (long time ago) and one day we had a customer who was determined to get shirty with us. He sent back his eggs on toast because instead of the standard two eggs on two slices of toast he’d been given.. dun dun duh three eggs! Shock, horror and also what sort of moron turns down extra food?!

Image credits: ButterflyBitch

#17

The amount of customers who don't understand that if the booking system says fully booked then that means we are fully booked and there is no table available. N, calling us does not mean we can magic up a table. And no we can't cancel someone else for you.

I had some one email and leave a bad review because we where fully booked. And I mean booked to the brim. Nothing we could do. They tried booking 10 minutes before the time they wanted on a Saturday nigh

#18

I was a teen working in a theme park in USA on a work placement thing. I was working in a candy store and one day a woman came in and was browsing the items. Suddenly she started yelling at me that I should have gone straight to her assistance and helped her as she was clearly wanting to get something.

Firstly it wasn't obvious. I was stood as I always was by my till as there were other people there and I had assumed that if someone wanted my help or anything they'd ask me and I'd have gone over. I was at that point on my own in the store. She was completely screaming at me and I was in shock. I was just thinking wtf. I didn't really say much as I couldn't get a word in edgeways but then I did something that wasn't the smartest move. I had started to go towards her to help her but as she carried on yelling, something inside my teen brain thought 'no don't run to her when she's screaming at you like that' so I literally stopped half way to her , turned around and went back to my till. I don't know why I did that

This obviously flamed the fire and she screamed even more at me, demanding a manager, wanting me to be fired, telling me she didn't pay 80 dollars to have some little kid give her attitude or something.

I think someone came in and took over serving her and I promptly was taken out the back by some colleagues and burst into tears lol and spent a good hour or so being consoled!

I was moved to a different store that day and spent the whole day worrying she'd come back.

Some customers are also very demanding, expecting employees to deliver results that aren’t possible. When faced with such a client, the employee should calmly explain what they can and cannot do for them and why. If they receive a detailed explanation, they might be able to better understand the situation and diffuse their demanding attitude.  

#19

As a teacher, a few that stand out of the many hundreds

The parent who sent in a written complaint that we were not giving her child enough one to one attention. The reason she needed one to one attention was that parents were too busy to provide it at home

The parent who complained I had talked to her daughter about the possibility of getting a job in the future, apparently without understanding that such wild talk was going to disrupt her application to get a council flat.

The online covid lesson which parents watched and 5 rang the school to say I taught too slowly, and 5 rang the school to say I taught too fast.

The fathers who won't talk to women teachers, and teach their sons to disrespect them

The parents called to pick up their stoned teenage son, and arrived stoned out of their minds themselves,

The parents who expect "room service education" after covid, and try and demand that all lessons are live streamed for the benefit of their little johnny sitting on the settee at home with a cold.

well, I could go on indefinitely really

#20

Not quite as bad but I had a customer who ordered a take away pizza and then complained that there was tomato sauce on it as she was allergic

1. the menu said tomato sauce
2. we didn't do any of the creamy sauces so it wasn't a mix up
3. she never said she was allergic
4. it would have been no problem to make up the pizza without tomato sauce if she had asked.

I couldn't understand it! Pizza! It has tomato sauce as a default

Image credits: KnittingKnewbie

#21

I once worked in a garden centre and this couple bought loads of expensive baubles. There was over 200 of them and we did not have scanners so each had to inputted by hand. When I told her the total she went mad saying I was incompetent and didn’t know what was doing and it was obviously too much. My supervisor came over and had a discussion with the women still calling me names. The supervisor then put it all through the till again with this women watching her like a hawk. The supervisor asked if she was happy she had inputted everything correctly. The women said yes- it came to £3.50 more!!!! I had obviously missed a bauble
The women went blood red, paid very quickly and left. I may have been a bit smug.

Lastly, there’s a negative customer who is never satisfied with the solution an employee is offering them. In such a situation, it might be best to outweigh their attitude with a positive one while simultaneously asking questions to understand where their negativity is coming from. 

#22

Female taxi driver here, I once had an elderly man his wife, daughter and grand daughter who was about 3 years old get in my taxi.
The man sat in the front whilst everyone else got in the back, the man then said to his daughter pass the little one to him, to which I said that's not allowed he proceeded to tell me "oh don't worry she's not going to be sitting on my lap she likes to sit in the footwell" I literally stared at him in disbelief and promptly told him absolutely not and that the taxi was not going to move till he had handed the little girl back and she was strapped in.
He then started ranting at me so I told him to get out or be thrown out to which i had a bad attitude and it was his granddaughter and if he wanted to put her in the footwell it was none of my business and that as a female I shouldn't be driving a taxi anyway.

He went straight on my s**t list !

#23

When my father was dying we had Marie Curie nurses at night sometimes. They were wonderful and meant we could get some sleep. They explained that the night cover part of the job is voluntary. They get paid for doing it but they are not contractually obliged to do nights.One of them had been to a home where the patients dog bit her because it was stressed that she was near the dogs owner. The family refused to put the dog in another room. She didn't go back. Nurses were expected to sit in the pitch dark all night because the patient was sleeping. These were people who were entering the active dying phase. A light in the corner would have been a basic minimum. No heating on in a freezing house. Told they couldn't use the kettle or microwave during a 10pm to 7am shift. People behave in appalling ways to others who are trying to make the end of life better.

#24

This happened to a relative. A customer turned up to test drive a top spec SUV. This was in the early 1990’s when dealers would let some customers take demonstrators home for a couple of days.

The SUV was returned at the end of the week, back seats laid flat, the floor, sides and back of the seats all deeply encrusted in poultry and calf s**t.

Image credits: Kovus

The final advice on how to deal with frustrating customers comes from customer experience specialist Chérie Oduwole, who said in a previous Bored Panda interview, "Remember, respect goes both ways. If the customer continues to be rude or irate, politely remind them that you're here to help and that mutual respect is necessary. If the disrespect persists, set boundaries by letting the customer know you're ending the conversation. Depending on your role, you can then escalate the issue or focus on serving other customers who are pleasant to work with."

#25

I worked in a cafe and a man waltzed in, handed me an envelope and said ‘can you drop that into the local school on your way home, I’m not going past there today.’ - it was so odd and I was young and I did it! Thing is, it wasn’t on my walk home either! No idea why he just assumed I would be walking past somewhere he needed a letter dropping in to.

I also worked in a clothes shop on Oxford St, and one day I had to cover the security guard while he went on lunch and stand by the doors. A woman walked up to me to ask me a question about some clothes she was holding and she set the alarms off, I asked her to step back away from the alarm and she spat the words ‘you stupid little girl’ at me. So odd.

Image credits: SulkySeagull

#26

I was once that customer !
I had a pair of salt & pepper grinders that had a lifetime guarantee. One of them broke.
I took them back to John Lewis - in the good old days when their Customer Service was 1st class. I was not rude, but firmly stated that I was disappointed that they sold inferior products. I was holding my JL card, expecting a refund.

Assistant went away, Manager appeared with a replacement pair. He then said he was sorry he could not give me a refund as they had never sold that particular design , but please accept these with his compliments as I was a regular customer.

I went scarlet, thanked him profusely & fled.

#27

woman comes up to the customer service desk with an opened, almost-fully-eaten box of different cheeses. The ones you get at Christmas. All that was left was about 2 inches of Brie. She said she wanted a refund because she ‘didn’t want it any more’ I was like (in my head) wtf? You’ve eaten almost the entire box and now you don’t want it??! I asked her if there was something wrong with the product, was it spoiled or something. Nope, she just didn’t want any more cheese.

I honestly could not be f**ked arguing with her and in a way admired her gall. Refunded her and chucked the Brie in the bin.

Image credits: RedFolder

#28

I was in the supermarket last week buying a few bits, one guy in front of me in the queue and I'm hoping for a quick getaway....except the card reader rejects his card for contactless payment.The cashier says oh,he'll need to enter his PIN and he completely loses it! He's never been asked to do that,he isn't going to,he doesn't trust the machine, it's all a scam to steal his bank details....on and on while the cashier stays pleasant and calm, explains this happens, and it's completely normal.
In the end he payed with cash. I have no idea how this had never happened to him before, but it is definitely going to happen again!

Image credits: celandiney

#29

I always got these at 4:30 on a Friday.

One standout. Pub owner complained that cows had eaten his hanging baskets and he couldn't get out of his house as they crowded his front door. They also got into the beer garden and shat on the picnic benches.

The pub was in the middle of a field that we rented to the cows owner. He had left his gates open, all the boundaries were his boundaries to police. He marched up to my boss at one point with a bill for the damage but we refused to take it.

#30

I used to be the manager for the trade area of a DIY store and had a few chuckles.

One man expected us to completely replace £1100 of laminate that he had installed because it turned out there was moisture issues in the property and he hadn't checked this before laying the flooring and it warped. That would be a nope.

There was the man who expected me to get a forklift out on the shop floor in the middle of a busy Sunday afternoon because the cement mixer he wanted was up in storage and he couldn't wait a whole day for us to get it down overnight. Asked for my supervisor and didn't like being told that actually I was the duty manager for the day so my decision on health and safety was final. Sent a complaint in about me, which came straight to me as it was my department, which was subsequently closed since I had already tried to deal with it on the day.

Every day going into work was an adventure

#31

Oooh I used to work in a mobile phone shop and an old man came in wondering if we sold tongue scrapers and stuck out his tongue and mimed scraping it. Ugh

#32

Had a customer who wanted to return a swimsuit. I refused to as she removed the gusset tape and there were skid marks on it.

She yelled at me. I said to her “would you buy this swimsuit in this condition?” She said no. So why would she think we should accept this refund?

Then 2 years ago a customer got a three pack of babygros from a relative and asked she needs the next size up. The logo for the clothing was the old style changed mid 10s. I looked inside one of the babygros and found the label and dating code on it was 2011! Said to her does this relative have a 11-12 year old? Yes - their youngest child.

#33

I overheard a John Lewis sales lady tell another sales lady that someone had just tried returning a toilet brush which had been clearly used.

#34

Worked as a CS team leader for a bougie online furniture store which went bust a couple of years ago. Customer called up to request a refund, got very shouty and sweary. He was speaking to my colleague, who asked me to take the call as an escalation, which I did. He explained that he had already disassembled this super king-size bed fully, and wouldn't be repackaging it for collection.
I asked him to clarify his disassembly, as that bed was well known for arriving half-built and in very bulky packages.
It turned out that he had taken it upon himself to saw apart every individual panel, in such a way that it could never be repaired. He was appalled that I couldn't accept the refund.

The reason he was trying to return it, by the way, was because it was too small.

#35

My favourite was the one who phoned up to complain that her drink was served far to hot the previous day.
When I spoke to the café manager he knew exactly who she was. She was the one who the previous day had ordered a coffee and told him to put it in the microwave to 1 minutes because "he always served it too cold." He refused because that would clearly make it far too hot, but she went on and on, so eventually he went into the kitchen, and put a cup of water into the microwave for a minute, then came and told her he'd done what she wanted. ?

A slightly more sympathetic one was a lady who wanted to bring her dogs in. It was a no dogs except assistant dogs rule ( at least partially due to having someone with a severe allergy). She was asked not to, and walked off in a huff. I got a four page handwritten (in beautiful writing) complaint which boiled down to not being allowed to bring the dogs in when "she had been to a funeral earlier in the week."
To be totally fair, the café manager loved dogs and was also very soft-hearted, so if she'd told him, would probably have found her a corner even if it had meant asking the allergic staff member to take a break until she'd finished. But she didn't and four pages about her, her dog, and a funeral (sounds like a film!) was overkill.

#36

I used to work for a small online gift company - flowers, fruit hampers, flowers etc. This was back in the early 2000s when the market wasn't quite so big.

One lady phoned to complain that the flowers we'd sent included "pink flowers".. she'd literally chosen the pink and white boquet but assumed we'd sent all white as it was for a man!

The man who phoned every day for a week to demand to know where his champagne was. Problem was he hadn't ordered any. Asked him for copy of order confirmation - he didn't have one. Asked him to show us relevant bit of his bank statement with transaction going through... he wouldn't. He simply insisted he'd ordered it and we had to supply it.... a week later he called and said "sorry I ordered it from someone else they've sent me a new one I'll use you in future"

Then there was the famous woman who ordered her friend some liquor chocolates... then phoned to complain that we'd sent her recovering alcoholic friend alcohol... turned out she didn't know what was in liquor chocolates and just thought they looked nice...

How I love working with the public. I was a city councillor for some years as well but that's a whole other post!! As a taster my phone rung at 9pm on Christmas Eve - I assumed it would by my mum but no it was a lady who wanted to talk about chemtrails.. she wanted me to write to the prime minister and take action to get them banned... I did write to the PM and his office wrote back saying they'd referred it to some department or other (probably environment) and it would be answered in due course... still waiting.. only been 15 years!!

#37

I've been that annoying customer. Shops used to allow exchanges after the refund period had expired, but at some point they stopped allowing it. I hadn't realised, and had travelled really far in the hope of exchanging an item of clothing that was just a few days past refund period (pristine condition/never worn). They refused. I was so annoyed and tired I just said fine, you have it then, and left the item at the till. I still don't fully understand why they can't just exchange something that's still completely saleable, specially considering so many of these companies are pushing for sustainability.

#38

I have worked in customer service for 35 years. I could write a book on how vile people can be.

The two that spring to mind...

I was a hotel receptionist when I was 21. We had a rugby club event one night, and I was on the bar. One guy tried to get an extension, but we couldn't do it due to licensing hours. He already had about 5 pints lined up anyway. He told me that his dad earned more in a day than I earned in a year ?and shouted at me for ages. When we left, about 2am, after clearing up, he was waiting in the car park, and he came over and knocked on the car window - I thought he was going to apologise. Silly me. What he actually did was spit in my face.

I was a taxi operator for few years, not long ago. One guy, because he couldn't get a taxi, when he hadn't pre-booked one, at about 1am on a Saturday night, said he was coming to the office to cut my throat. I was so angry, I said "come on then, I'll wait for you in the car park"... I don't know why I did that. God only knows what could have happened if he'd turned up ?

#39

I think customers have always been bats**t. I used to work for M&S and we had some horrors. The ones that stand out are;

1. the man who's collected his mothers items from the car home after she's died. He brought the suitcase straight to us, included in it were her jewellery and letters - everything she owned. He told me to 'sort out the M&S gear love and then I'm off to Littlewoods'. Dreadful man.

2. the man who insisted he's bought the trousers the week before and that I'd served him. I checked the microfiche machine in the office and they were sold in 1976! I wasn't even born!

3. lots of people bringing back dirty underwear. Thank God M&S have tightened up the rules now!

#40

I’ve worked in a vets for 15 years and had daily [aggression] for most of that time.

Usually it’s not fair that the costs are so high, if we loved animals we wouldn’t charge. It’s not their fault they don’t have insurance so we should just let them be treated for free. It’s not really their cat they have just been feeding it in the garden for 15 years so we are cruel for not treating strays. Etc etc etc The worst are the people who have bred their animals and then claim to have no money for breeding related complications (usually some type of bulldog) We’ve been slated on Facebook more than once for ‘wanting to [hurt] puppies’ ?

Last week though I did get very wrong by a client for feeding a dog a small piece of pork. It was the first thing the dog had eaten in days after major surgery but the owner was furious because the dog is Jewish and can’t eat it for religious reasons. Apparently my mind reading skills weren’t up to scratch.

#41

When I was still at school, I had a job in a chain that sold curtains, duvets etc. One of my jobs was to cut net curtains by the yard. Each design would come in on a roll and each roll was a different length, because windows obviously come in different sizes and have different drops and widths.

On a weekly basis someone would come in insisting that their windows were standard size. Or they’d tell me that they lived in a particular road, like I’d been to all the roads in our town, taken measurements of the windows and would be able to recall them from memory. And they were genuinely shocked when told that there was no such thing as a standard sized window. Mate, you’ve just driven through roads with architecture ranging from the 15th century to new build estates to get to the town centre. How can you not have noticed that the windows weren’t all the same size?!

Or there was the giant of a man who didn’t know his window measurements but knew he could just about squeeze through it, so I’m 14 years old, standing on a step ladder, wrapping a tape measure around him, trying to get his window width, while he’s trying to keep his jacket pockets kept closed so I couldn’t see what was in them.

Or the woman who didn’t have a tape measure so had measured all of her windows by cutting lengths of string for the width and the drop. Which would have been fine if she’d separated each pair of strings instead of shoving them all in a plastic bag and expecting me to know which strings went together and which were drops/lengths.

Or the woman who told me she’d made a wooden frame for the inside of her window, she’d put chicken wire over it and she wanted a few yards of net because she was going to poke it through the chicken wire, rather than hang it from a wire or rail. Ok. Not my cup of tea, but each to their own. She could not understand that net curtains came in all different drops and that if I sold her a 24” drop (which was the one she wanted because it was the shortest and therefore the cheapest) it clearly wasn’t going to be big enough if her window was longer than a 12” drop. I remember her literally screaming at me that she didn’t want a drop and why was I being so stupid. Yeah, I’m not the one sticking chicken wire in my windows, but you crack on ?

#42

I worked in a pharmacy years ago. A man came in complaining about horrendous diarrhoea and stomach cramps he'd had and how on earth could we sell diabetic sweets if they did that? I showed him the back of the packet, which had in bold 'Excess consumption can have a laxative affect'.
I said 'Oh dear, now many did you eat?' He said 2. I said, oh, maybe you are sensitive to them if 2 sweets caused that. He shouted 'not 2 sweets, I ate 2 packets of them!'.

#43

I had a bloke hiss at me that he was 'going to come back once your shift has finished,rape you and burn your corspe'

My crime?

I asked if he wanted sugar for his coffee

I was doing a run of early shifts that week-dp would drop me off and I'd make my own way home

The bus stop is about 7 minutes away from work,so I had to keep looking over my shoulder while convinced I kept seeing him

He did come back in a few weeks later to apologise to me,but I was too scared to speak to him

He kept waiting outside,so he could catch me to say sorry-i had to arrange lifts to and from work for ages afterwards

The police just said he had mental health problems so couldn't do much

F**king loon-I still live in fear of him walking in,even tho he's banned

#44

A memorable one was when I worked in a local shop. Two lads came in and went up the meat isle. I was on the tills. Next thing I know the pair of them are legging it towards the front doors. The front doors were those automatic openers but they didn't open and the pair went crashing into the doors. Before they could get up the manager and two police officers had come out of the back office. Manager had clocked them on cctv and locked the front doors remotely and then shouted to the two on the beat officers who were out the back smoking in our yard!

#45

Oh I forgot about the Christmas food. All those times I ‘ruined Christmas’ because their Turkey was off.
What, that massive frozen one you defrosted on the work top/in the garage/in the boot of the car for 3 days, instead of in the fridge as instructed, because there wasn’t enough room in the fridge? Every bloody year. We’d even hear them tell the acquaintance they’d seen whilst they were waiting in the queue that they defrosted it on the worktop ‘but it still shouldn’t have gone off’.

We had a regular that would fly over to Denmark to visit family then bring her receipt in for her expensive Christmas crackers demanding a refund ‘because they didn’t bang’. Well of course not, you can’t fly with the gunpowder coated bang in crackers so she’d have to take them out before flying. Spineless managers would give her a refund and a gift voucher ‘as a gesture of goodwill’. Drove me nuts.

#46

i used to work in customer service in quite a ‘posh’ (read entitled) city. The business was a little outside the city centre but still within walking distance. The staff car park was at the back and had the usual card entry barrier system. Chap came in one Saturday to tell us he has parked in front of the barrier but don’t worry, there was enough room for us to ‘squeeze out’. When we pointed out that not only was he illegally blocking us all in but also preventing fire engine access he said he would rather pay the fine as it was ‘cheaper than paying for parking’. He turned out to be very wrong as we called the police who towed his car and charged him a couple of hundred to get it back. Apparently that was our fault as well

#47

I worked in childcare. I had many parents who wanted me to help them falsely claim tax credits.
I had one woman text me her notice as I was driving to the airport for my week holiday. Her reasoning was she wanted to get it in quick (holidays are not included in notice periods)
I had a divorced couple, dad turned up despite there being a restraining order against him (I lived on same street) he grabbed the child from my doorstep. When I rang the police they said there was nothing they could do.

#48

A request for a cat sitter on the local Facebook group for a couple of weeks- I like cats but my dogs don’t so I can’t have one. Ok I thought, 2 weeks if cat cuddles yes please.

They arranged for me to meet puss in advance. I felt like I was at an interview.
I had instructions about heating up his various meals and snacks, how to top up his massive automatic litter tray which they then decided was too complicated for me, but most importantly was play time and cuddles - GOOD.

No, not good. Puss hated being touched, picked up, anything. He was not a friendly cat. He’d leave the room as soon as you entered.
Unfortunately the whole house was rigged with CCTV and doorbell cameras so they were watching and messaging me and saying I needed to try x, y, and z.
My hands were shredded by the time they were back. I never offered again. I don’t want a cat anymore.

#49

Ex GP receptionist here.

If I tell you we havent got any appointments) left - we havent got any appointments left. I'm not just telling you that for fun because I really want you to have a go at me at 8.20am. Its pointless ranting and raving at me as I cant magic something up. Telling me well you have chest pains so you need to see a doctor is just going to make me tell you to ring 999. Telling me they arent "those" sort of chest pains isnt going to change my mind!

If you tell me that if you die it will be my fault (a daily comment) I am hardened to it and am not going to be sympathetic. I am secretly thinking well if you die you wont need an appointment then will you!

#50

I volunteer in a charity shop, it never ceases to amaze me that people seem to think we a. Have an item in a different size, b. Have a very specific themed item and c. Think we should sell it to them for £1 then complain ... my funniest customers (who are lovely though) are the men, always men, who need a black suit, themed outfit or similar for that night and have me running all around trying to get the perfect 80's night outfit for the rugby club dinner 2 hours later!

#51

I’m a part time photographer. I always explain to my clients both before and after they book that due to time constraints, it normally takes me about two or three weeks to edit their photos and send them over. I make it very clear. For those who don’t know, editing photos can be a very lengthy process.

One customer texted to ask if I had edited her photos before I had even made the half hour drive home from our location shoot.

#52

An old colleague at an upmarket supermarket was on the deli counter. Woman asked him for some ham. When he asked her how she would like her ham sliced, she replied "thick, like you"

He was the nicest guy and not thick in the slightest.

#53

Just thought of another, a lady wanted to return a leather jacket a day after buying it ( retail not pub this time) as it was faulty and sticky and marked, tried to tell her It wasn't like them when it was sold, and that I would need the manager, I hadn't finished my sentence when her daughter appeared at the tills kicking off.
At this point I realise that her charming daughter had a fight in the club last night (seen by quite a few of us staff + caught on video on a few people's phones) Like a proper fight hair pulling pints thrown out and out brawl rolling around on the floor the works .
She didn't get the refund :)

#54

I received 2 crazy requests when I delivered milked years ago.

1st one I delivered milk to schools as an add on to my own customers, I'd told the dairy I couldn't do it anymore but they just kept leaving the milk in my fridge. I'd got to the stage I was starting work 12.30am just to get round. A schoolteacher came running at me shouting and balling that they needed the milk earlier and that I would just have to get up earlier despite it being delivered within the time stated on the contract. When I got back I told the dairy as I'd already quit and only delivered it out of concern for the kids I wasn't being abused through no fault of my own.

2nd one I delivered milk to a care home but was in hospital 50 miles away when I received a frantic phone call, they'd misordered the milk that morning and I need to rectify their mistake immediately. When she finally let me get a word in edgeways I explained there wasn't much I could do from hospital, as my relief driver had finished work and wasn't available to correct the mistake. It was long before online shopping but there was a nearby that sold milk.

#55

I work on the tills at a well known store. The majority of customers are lovely & as I’ve been there quite a few years, I get my regulars. Unfortunately you do get some rude customers. I go by the philosophy of always try to be kind because you don’t know what’s going on for someone but some people are just a**eholes! I had a guy ask for change but we’re not allowed to open the till & even if it was open, we couldn’t for example swap a £10 note for 2 fivers. I explained this politely but the guy swore at me & shouted “ Remind me not to shop here again”. Wish I’d thought to reply “If you’re not coming again then I won’t need to remind you”!
Our policy used to be that we had to honour the price on the shelf, whether it was correct or not, but now we generally go by the price on the till (with some exceptions). Again, most customers are nice about challenging a price but you get the ones that boast how they are in retail management & know the law. Sometimes they will have a go at me, even though I have nothing to do with pricing.
Very glad I don’t work on customer services as the staff there get so much abuse, verbal & even physical. An ex colleague had a boxed hoover thrown at her!

#56

Just remembered another one from when I was a student and had a weekend job as an estate agent. One couple came into the office having seen a property in the window which they wanted to view. I said no problem and pulled out the diary to organise a time. But they wanted to see it 'right now' which was not possible as all the other agents were out on viewings and it was just me in the office. I politely explained this and they suggested I close the office and take them to the house immediately. I refused and then they demanded I give them the keys to the house and that they would pop them back in later. I said absolutely not as all viewings need to be accompanied. At this point they started to get angry that I would not just hand over the keys to an £800k house (1998 prices) with an added 'who do you think we are' to which I replied 'I have absolutely no idea as you have literally just walked in off the street'. At this the bloke exploded with rage calling me a 'jobsworth little prick', he then leaned across the desk and hissed 'I'm going to get you fired' at which point I finally stood up and was about a foot taller then him (blowing my own trumpet here but I was at the time playing county level rugby and was a big fucker) and suddenly he was not so mr hard man and I just calmly told him to 'f**k off.......now" and he slithered out the door. I saw him in the pub randomly a few weeks later as he was ordering a drink at the bar, I walked up to him and said cheerily 'any joy finding a house yet' to which he took a fee sips from his pint and left. Absolute a*se of a man.

#57

I was shopping in Morrisons recently and picked up a desert and was asking DS if we should buy it. A staff member came over and took it off me and walked away. I was shocked and tried to ask her what was going on but she went into the back and I was left just sort of a bit stunned. There weren't any others left.

#58

I'm a tube worker. Batshi**ery goes with the territory.

In general customers can't understand why the information on Google is different from reality. That's because Google doesn't update when there's a disruption or planned closure. But Google is God and you can't tell people they are wrong.

I once had a man many years ago who wanted to get from London to Leeds in under an hour, and was very upset that this wasn't possible. He had an appointment. I said, I can't move the cities closer together. He went nuclear and demanded to speak to my supervisor,who pretty much repeated what I'd said!

We often get Americans upset over the fact the Tube doesn't go to Oxford, or Cambridge, or Windsor.

#59

When I worked in clothing retail I had a customer return a blouse because all the buttons had "fallen off". They had quite clearly cut them off with scissors (they handed me the buttons with the cut threads still attached). Then there was the customer returning some trousers that had shrunk in the wash. She pulled the still soaking wet trousers out of a plastic bag and dumped them on the counter, water spreading everywhere. The lady who wanted to know if several items would fit her daughter (who wasn't there) and got really s**tty with me when I asked what size her daughter was. And the countless people wanting to return things because they'd changed their minds, claiming "it's still got the tags on, I haven't worn it" when it stank of BO/perfume, had food stains, scuffed, you name it...

#60

Full restaurant, my daughter as front of house manager.. me as owner and General manager that flitted between kitchen and front of house. She came to me one day. One of our (lovely) servers had been berated as we did not have an item on menu available. It was advertised on every table what we were short on thank you covid , our suppliers could not get. It was a very very stupid thing. Not a main meal. It was deep fried pickles which we bought in from mccains. Unfortunately for the guest.. when my daughter tried to calm and recifiy..they told her, nevermind. I will call the owner , he is one of our best friends. daughter told me this. I went out in my chef coat and asked what the problem was.. "everything was fantastic , but the server refused to check for our starter. .. and' I KNOW the owner" really. you know the owner? 'yes and I am sending him a message now" ME.. ok.. let me know how that goes. "her...(it was actually the woman not man..he looked embarassed) I then said. NO man owns this restaurant. I OWN this restaurant and I do not KNOW YOU and I am sorry, I try to make great service for everyone..our employees are valued people. Leave and pay your bill. never come back please. (I did this all quietly)

#61

I’ve had a customer (didn’t speak English) pull my hair as they wanted hair dye & I didn’t understand her language, I kept saying ‘sorry I don’t understand’ then she pulled my hair, other customers ask if we sell certain things, tell them no then go in a strop & say ‘well where am I meant to buy them then?’ Like I’m google all of a sudden. We get loads of non English speaking people in store, they are on their phone on google translate asking for the most random s**t ever!

#62

I was a working milliner. Ladies brought their outfits to my shop, I designed and made them hats or fascinators to match. One lady returned after the wedding demanding a full refund because she hadn't worn the hat I'd made. Why not? It was the wrong colour. But I dyed the feathers, they matched your frock perfectly. Her reply? I know but I wore a different outfit and the hat was wrong.

Another woman wanted a very elaborate fascinator. I quoted her £X. Oh and I want extra veiling, and lots more feathers, and Swarovski crystals in the flowers and hand beaded leaves. Can you do that? Yes. That will cost £X+++
Shock horror! I don't know how you've the face to ask all that for a few bits of ribbon and a scrap of veiling! I pushed the components across to counter to her, with my compliments. 'They're no use to me', she stormed. 'I can't make a hat with those!'
Just so, Madam. She left in a great huff.

#63

Once long ago , a brand new store made a mistake, "we accept any voucher against any product" .
My sister calls says grab some vouchers, the biggest ones you can find and come shopping. I had a car with a big boot...
The store was being stripped of goods...
I had over £1500 in vouchers we had a whale of a time.
Now this little old lady was shopping, trolley with all she could afford, someone shouted and everyone hand over vouchers to the lady. Think she got £500 worth... people were asking her what wine, did she like steak ECT her dolly was swooped for a bigger one and she got things she could use as the fresh stuff was long gone...
She got to the checkout and was trying to say she hadn't purchased stuff it was being forced on her. The staff told her no it was ok. She could have it all for just the vouchers...
Someone even had a taxi and took her home....
Best day ever....

#64

My Mum was a teacher at a rough school in the NE.

At a parent teacher night about 20 years ago, she caught one of the parents walking out with the classroom television! She confronted her, got a mouthful of abuse and ended up letting her leave with it as she didn't know what else to do.