Here are the stories of cashiers, customer service reps, delivery drivers, service people and retail workers of all stripes who had to deal with the dumbest, most irrational, and outright furious customers to grace the planet. Man, these people suck. We understand why you'd be mad if a company actually wronged you, but to make impossible demands and turn into an abusive monster is completely out of the question. Here's a story of a cashier who talked back to a Karen and lived.
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Working retail, you get to see an amazing number of characters stroll through the front door. There's always something new around the corner, ready to completely derail your day, make you miss your lunch break, and in rare cases, actually make you sort of happy. This Tumblr user documented their first few days of working at a Target, and the world did not disappoint. For more retail stories, check these horror stories from Hot Topic employees.
Anyone who's worked on the floor of any kind of store is gonna be reminded of a time when there was a customer they just couldn't deal with. Thank god for the good managers out there. This one is weirdly reminiscent of that old story, The Three Billy Goats Gruff. For a triumphant retail story of someone in customer service who actually got to speak their mind, check out this cashier who told off a Karen and lived.
We're a fan of any story where a rude customer fails to get away with being miserable to a retail employee who's done nothing wrong. We're also fans of surprises and drama where people get super pissed, double-down and make even bigger asses of themselves. For a strikingly similar story where a customer bad-mouthed an employee in a different language before having the tables turned, check this out.
"Can I speak to your manager" type customers get the full ire of the internet, and even their own children. This instance in particular sure is a rare sight to behold. In all of the crazy stories we hear of massively entitled people being complete jerks to anyone in retail, almost never do these wild customers ever get a piece of someone's mind. And not only that, this employee actually got away with it. Amazing.
Weird customers! Mean customers! People trying to trade in obviously stolen games! What may have been a haven during your own childhood, and a confusing maze for grandmas trying to find a game in time for Christmas, was a wild land of weirdness and misfortune for the employees who worked there. Here are some more customer service stories from GameStop Employees.
"The customer is always right", they said. No, no they're not. Sometimes they are impossibly far from being right. Sometimes they are buried deep in a rabbit's hole of their own stubborn self-encouraged delusion. The following Twitter thread celebrates the times the customers were wrong, and actually forced to confront that fact.
If you're feeling like more customer service content, check out these memes that capture the soul-grinding struggle of working retail, here!
Lord help the customer service representative who has to deal with the customer who thinks they're always right. These stories are a mixed bag. Sometimes the insane customer gets their comeuppance, and sometimes they just benefit from their frustrating behavior. If you wanted to read more manager stories, then here you go.
Sometimes testy customers push employees past their breaking limits, and petty acts occur. As long as the employees are at peace with these modern times and the fiery (delusional) Yelp reviews that can come of their actions; well, then f**k it.
Sweet, could be a stretch here, but the point is that this customer service rep. stepped up in a helpful way, when they encountered a dissatisfied customer, who didn't get that good 'ol watermelon rancher they were looking for. And helpfulness is a whole different kind of sweet. Good on them.
There's no amount of training that can prepare someone for these kinds of requests. Nothing like some clueless customers with shameless demands to remind you just how weird people can get.
