Dealing with a demanding customer can be a nightmare—ask anyone in customer service. It's not as straightforward as you might think either—the more you bend and break for them, giving in to their demands, the more they will ask for in return. It's like a lion attacking a herd of wildebeest; the hunter can sense the weakness, and showing any will make you a greater target. Plus, if you actually manage to close a sale with these people, there is an infinitely greater chance that they will become…

When you deal with customers, no matter how big or small your operation is, there's the inevitable risk that, at some point, you'll stray across an unreasonable one. It's incredibly likely that your experience with this someone with culminate with them blaming you for problems and unhappiness of their own making while gesturing wildly in a manner reminiscent of a wacky waving inflatable arm-flailing tube man—just to be sure they've gotten their point across. If the experience doesn't end in an…

It can be incredibly frustrating when you repeatedly ask someone to do something, only for it to remain still undone or incorrectly finished… (or so my girlfriend tells me, at least.) Most of us will also agree that an incorrect or ruined food or drink order can ruin the one thing that was going to be great about your day. Now, most of us will probably be too diffident to do or say anything about our spoiled beverage, instead be resigned to our cup of overheated milk that has just the slightest…

Anyone who has worked retail or otherwise dealt with customers knows all too well that customers generally will try anything and everything to get their way. This includes (but is not limited to) quoting irrelevant pieces of legislation, being generally aggressive, hurling insults, demanding a manager, and name-dropping the owner (or some other executive.) In the case of name-dropping, if you actually bother to bother the person whose name is being dropped, they'll usually have no idea who the…

Often when we see stories online about customer service people, it's regarding the abuse they receive from customers. But, since service industry workers are people too, it should be expected that there are plenty of examples of the worker themselves being unreasonable or entitled. These stories don't fit the popular narrative, so they often don't get upvoted as frequently, getting shared less overall as a result. It's no surprise to anyone that ‘upscale’ trendy establishments can have a bit of…

A hasty and rude retail worker quickly corrected this woman when she pointed out a pricing error on a chef's knife she was interested in. She relented in revealing the mistake to the worker and ended up with a deal on a great knife. This story was shared to the r/MaliciousCompliance subreddit by u/TIL_eulenspiegel , the woman in the story, where it earned 19k upvotes as of the writing of this post. When she went to the department store, she was greeted by an "older man" who was extremely helpfu…

We've said it once, and we'll say it a thousand times: When making a demand from an underpaid retail worker who would probably rather be somewhere—no, anywhere else than standing here listening to you, you'd better choose your words wisely. You might end up with exactly what you wished for—just… not quite how you pictured it. (The monkey's paw curls .) That's what happened in this classic case of malicious compliance, which was shared to the popular Reddit sub of the same name by Redditor u/Lai…

It's important for all you perfectionists out there to remember that not everything always has to be exact. Sometimes it's ok, better even (for everyone involved) if you just leave things to a little bit of healthy approximation. Sometimes the best answer is the one that is delivered quickly. Although, engineers, surgeons, and scientists need not heed this advice—you guys just keep doing your thing. This is the logical purpose behind measuring rice by the cup, water by the gallon, and crickets…

Customers are easily the worst part of any customer service job, followed closely by arrogant unqualified managers. The two make a dynamic duo when you're unfortunate enough to endure them simultaneously. The Karen, an unstoppable force of rage and fury, and the manager, an unmovable brick wall of utter density. Like Batman and the Joker, they are eternally locked in an endless struggle—and you're stuck in the middle. (It's no wonder that, in these industries, you spend most of your time off ju…

This person who worked at a steak and seafood restaurant had to deal with the crankiest and most entitled of customers.

In one small town, there is drama going on at the local gas pump — but not for the reason you might think. As one poster on r/IDOWORKHERELADY wrote, his mother has some pretty wacky customers at her job as a petrol station manager. This one stubborn Kevin really tested her patience as he demanded to speak to the manager. But luckily, this manager got a handle on the situation and she really had the final revenge ! Next up, read about this family who declared their Thanksgiving meal was BYOC - b…

There are times in life when temptation is just too great and leads us toward doing something that we probably shouldn't be doing… Take, for example, serving a customer a calzone containing entire chicken wings (bones and all) after they obstinately and repeatedly request it as a special order. When you've been working in the service industry, retail, or customer service for long enough, you get a growing itch to pull off something like this. With every entitled customer interaction, you can fe…

You need only ask —and you shall receive. It's baffling how many people still think it's ok to be rude or abusive toward retail workers —you might think they'd learn after all these posts. Those working in the retail space are often some of the hardest working, most under-appreciated people you've ever met. Let's be real here, being on your feet all day is exhausting, and these employers often want nothing more than to ignore your minimum entitlements and work you until you're a bare bag of bon…

In contrast to the other interactions we see posted online by customer service persons, this one is pretty innocuous. It does a great job of providing insight into the sheer number of bizarre interactions you have — week in and week out — when you work in a public-facing role. Not all of them are Karens losing their marbles over the slightest inconvenience — but they will still leave you scratching your head and wondering what in gods name you have just witnessed. I used to sell bikes, and some…

Buying a used car can be a mixed bag of experiences…