FAIL Blog
Advertisement

retail

customer support customer service talesfromretail petty-revenge-reddit retail revenge customers revenge-stories petty revenge tales-from-retail revenge-stories-reddit - 23755525

'She avoided eye contact with me': Customer gets back at presumptive sales associate for judging them based on appearance

We're silently judging each other all the time. Like it or not, it's a part of being human. Most of the time, these are calculated judgments, and they're made for good reason in order to avoid conflict and preemptively determine whether or not it is a good idea to broach particular topics of conversation with the person you're talking to—like deciding whether or not a political conversation is appropriate at your family's Christmas gathering. Even the most tolerant saint-like individuals among…
View List
Top 20 Workers who had just one job and still made mistakes (December 31, 2023)

Top 20 Workers who had just one job and still made mistakes (December 31, 2023)

Every job comes with responsibilities, but that's just a suggestion. Who says you have to complete the job you're paid to do every single day? That seems like a lot of work. And since many people don't even like their job, and are underpaid, you get results like the ones below. Sometimes, employees just can't be bothered to do their job correctly. I'm sure they have their reasons. Maybe they're resentful of their boss, perhaps they're tired or distracted, or maybe it's an elaborate performance…
View List
Advertisement
'This cappuccino feels like it's half foam': 20+ Customers who brought their most confusing questions to employees

'This cappuccino feels like it's half foam': 20+ Customers who brought their dumbest questions to baffled employees

The only people more confused than these customers were the befuddled employees trying to help them. If you've ever worked in customer service for any amount of time, you already know that some customers just need to rant and vent and get all their anger out. You can offer them solutions to their problems, and that's not good enough for them. Sometimes they'll just reject your ideas outright and demand a manager. As you can read about in one story about a block of cheese, some customers have no…
View List
'He stole a bunch of bananas. Seriously.': 25+ Managers who had unbelievable reasons for firing an employee

'He stole a bunch of bananas. Seriously.': 25+ Managers who had unbelievable reasons for firing an employee

Managers never want to have to tell an employee they're being let go , but sometimes their hand is forced. If the employee is talking back to customers or caught on camera stealing money out of the till, sometimes the manager will have to fire them for the good of the company. When u/edge231 asked, “Managers of Reddit, what is the stupidest thing an employee did that forced you to fire them?” there were over 15,000 people who chimed in with their craziest stories. Folks, today I learned a fasci…
View List
'I am actually the manager on duty': Customer gets his card frozen after messing with the wrong employee

'I am actually the manager on duty': Customer gets his card frozen after messing with the wrong employee

Have you ever demanded to speak to a manager, only for the employee to turn on their heel and come back with, 'But I AM the manager'? Because I have not had the pleasure of experiencing that level of awkwardness. But this dude did… And he was not happy about it. What happened is the following: One employee by the name of OP was working at a toy store back when they were in college. You know, trying to make a buck or two while they studied furiously the rest of the time. A customer decided that…
View List
Advertisement
‘She expected us to chase him’: Karen leaves her purse outside a store, then blames entire staff inside when it's taken

‘She expected us to chase him’: Karen leaves her purse outside a store, then blames entire staff inside when it's taken

Do people just leave their valuable belongings at random places hoping no one will take them, or is it just this one Karen? When I worked in retail, I had a few regular customers who would occasionally ask me to put some shopping bags behind the counter while they went to get their car. Some even asked me to keep an eye on their kids while they ran to a different shop or took a phone call outside. Either way, I am no stranger to weird requests from customers. But I have to say that when I read…
View List
reviews review 1-star-review customer support customer service workplace-stories job malicious compliance retail work customers customer workplace - 2287367

'Why am I not surprised you wrote this?': Karen's undeserved 1-star review gets picked apart by the restaurant's owner

Dealing with entitled customers is one of the most challenging parts of customer service jobs, especially when those entitled customers continue to come back despite insisting they're not going to. Handling their behavior just isn't worth it, no matter how much money they spend. That's why we love to see when a business owner stands up for themselves and sets the record straight—responding matter-of-factly to an unjust 1-star review from an entitled customer.
View Article
'I can't fire him, because he's my boss': Customer lets her kid wreak havoc in store because she's 'the owner's daughter'

'I can't fire him, because he's my boss': Customer lets her kid wreak havoc in pool store because she's 'the owner's daughter'

Some customers will look at a sign that says “Don't climb on this” and then let their kid crawl all over it anyway. It's not that they can't read the sign, it's not that they didn't see it. They just don't care. Lots of customers are entitled, and they think that any mess they make in a store is not theirs to clean up. They believe that since they're the prized customer, all employees need to bend to their will, and bring out a broom to clean up any mess they make.
View List
Advertisement
'[I] caused a 30,000+ order backup': 30+ Employees who had strange and unexpected days at work

'[I] caused a 30,000+ order backup': 30+ Employees who had strange and unexpected days at work

Some days at work will stick in your head more than others. If you're working hundreds of days each year, you probably won't recall what you were doing on some random Tuesday in April. What you'd definitely remember are the days that caught you off guard . Maybe you walked into the office and suddenly saw that the big boss chose that day for a surprise visit. Perhaps you'd recall the day that a customer made a giant deal with your company, leading to a huge celebration. When u/Voraxia had an un…
View List
'He walks away with $150 out of the register': 25+ Employees who got fired during their first shift at work

'He walks away with $150 out of the register': 25+ Employees who didn't make it through their first shift at work because they were fired on the spot

If you can't even make it through the first shift at a job, maybe you just weren't cut out for that role in the first place. Or maybe you were right for that career, but you actually dodged a bullet by avoiding a bad place to work. Either way, these kinds of circumstances happen once in a blue moon--- but the people below were there to witness it and share the story. Everyone makes mistakes at work, but usually, they're pretty minor. Maybe only your boss knows about it, or maybe you botched som…
View List
'The customer is king': 20+ retail workers share the craziest demands customers have made on the job

'The customer is king': 20+ retail workers share the craziest demands customers have made on the job

Many people say that working in retail builds resilience and character, but perhaps it just exposes you to the worst kind of people in this world. I guess in some sense, that builds resilience and character, but that has to be the only silver lining that comes with having to deal with entitled Karen customers on a daily basis. Otherwise, these workers deserve the kind of prizes and medals that heroes and soldiers receive because I'm sure it feels like every shift is an almost Sisyphean fight fo…
View List
Advertisement
customer support customer service karens workplace-stories entitled parents hotel job malicious compliance retail karen-customer work customers customer karens in the wild workplace entitled karen entitled people - 23564037

'Sold out means sold out': Entitled hotel guests refuse to check out of their room, staff forcibly remove them

"You can't always get what you want..." Mick Jagger and the 'Stones famously taught us, before then going on to elaborate that “If you try sometimes, you'll find you get what you need.” While that's all well and good, and while this serves as a great message of inspiration about how one should never give up when the going gets tough… There are actually plenty of times in life when you might want something from someone else, and upon being told “No,” you should just take the “No” at face value a…
View List
'I won't leave this store until I get my refund': Customer faced with strict returns policy finds a way to get full refund

'I won't leave this store until I get my refund': Customer faced with strict returns policy, finds a way to get full refund

Anyone who ever worked in retail knows how frustrating it is to have to explain to a customer the policy of the store and what they can or cannot do if they want to return an item. I once had a 30-minute conversation with a guy who wanted to return an item that was bought in a completely different store, and he simply did not accept ‘no’ for an answer. Being on the other side of the counter is no fun either. I can't tell you how much accumulated random stuff I have in my house simply because a…
View List
boss workplace-stories jobs job malicious compliance retail bosses retail worker work coworkers customers malicious-compliance-reddit customer computer workplace malicious compliance reddit - 23395845

'You want me to intentionally break a client's new computer?': Employee insists coworker give 'bad customer service,' coworker breaks customer's computer with new software

This sales associate was perfectly fine with breaking a customer's computer just to make his own life easier. While buying new technology, things can get confusing pretty quickly if you aren't the most tech-savvy person . If you're buying a computer in person, for example, you might go into the store knowing exactly what you're looking for. But then a sales associate starts talking to you, and suddenly they're telling you that computer won't work for you. Instead, they say, you should get one t…
View List
Advertisement
customer support customer service malicious compliance retail retail worker customer - 23365637

'I still got [it] for a cheaper price': Cashier refuses to honor "online only" price, dude orders it online right in front of them

Working retail is the experience of permanently being wedged between a rock and a very angry place. The rock is the obstinate management structure above you that is setting and enforcing policies that make no sense—but that they refuse to change. On the other side are the perpetually angry customers who are often upset about those exact same policies. Unfortunately, you, the lowest-level employee, take the brunt of the customer's dissatisfaction, which then becomes management dissatisfaction as…
View List
karens games talesfromretail holiday season grandkaren retail demanding video game holiday karens in the wild entitled grandparents video games tales-from-retail karen story wii karen holidays entitled people - 23376901

'Then came the Karens': Video game store offers too-good-to-be-true offer on gaming console, store floods with confused customers

“I immediately wanted to call in sick,” this video game store employee wrote. What made them feel so ill? An advertisement! For those who have spent time in the trenches of retail work around the holidays, you know exactly how this person feels. No matter how much you enjoy your retail job during the year, when the holiday season comes around, customers begin to act feral.
View List
Advertisement

Hot Today

Advertisement