Requiring your workers to complete work-related tasks while off the clock presents a range of moral, ethical, and legal issues. Still, it's incredibly common with different policies, making this intention incredibly overt to more subtle. At the end of the day, the design of these policies is to keep costs down, reducing labor costs by shaving off “unnecessary” time at the end of shifts, which means that workers are completing those “unnecessary” necessary tasks on their own time. A great exampl…

Usually, immoral irrationality and disrespect towards others go unpunished, making those perpetrating that behavior to be more encouraged since, well, they got away with it already. Occasionally, though, the universe will react in kind and drown them in a karmic ocean of their own making. In these instances, the world feels like it is in balance, with just deserts having been served in ample portions. Working in customer service, you'll seldom get to see this play out, with the irrational getti…

These are the moments that retail workers hold near and dear. No, we aren't just talking about fond memories with coworkers. These workers got to witness as their worst customers got instant karma for their terrible behavior. Meltdowns aren't just for babies and toddlers. Retail workers have to deal with grown adults having tantrums every day. There are lots of folks who are led to believe that the only way they'll get what they want is to be aggressive and demanding about it. Technically, this…

The thing about making a mistake is that you kind of have to just own it. At this point, you're already suffering whatever negative effects and embarrassment have resulted from that mistake, and then you have to be able to rub salt in that wound and accept that you have no one to blame but yourself. It's no surprise that a lot of times, people seem to be completely unable to consciously or subconsciously accept that their mistake is their own fault. Instead, they come up with some way to explai…

Employees should always be allowed to stand up for themselves. In many workplaces, employees are expected to let customers do whatever they want. “The customer is always right,” is the motto. But as you know if you've worked in retail lately, customers aren't always right---instead, certain customers are riled up and ready to take their frustrations out on the next employee they see. This woman took her anger way too far in this video recorded by @davenewworld_2. While the video leaves out a lo…

Rules usually exist for a reason. Generally, they come into being because someone did something and learned the hard way that the way they chose wasn't the way that it should be done, so it's decided that this way should never be attempted again by either them—or those surviving them—depending on how poorly their attempt went. There is another type of rule, though, and these rules are generally made up by a bored busybody middle manager on a random Wednesday afternoon because they need somethin…

It's no secret that working in customer service exposes you to all kinds of bizarre behavior that wouldn't be acceptable in any other place in society. What is it that makes people think it's okay to treat someone any differently just because they happen to be wearing an apron or a name badge? Unfortunately, the act of being served gives petty tyrants the opportunity to feel as if they are better than the person serving them, with some individuals exhibiting levels of malice and cruelty that ma…

Two can play this game.

As a grocery store employee , this part-time worker is known for taking on additional work to make the store run smoother. You'd think that would make them the ideal employee! But at this grocery store , that's just not how things work. As the OP explained in their story, they work very hard at their job, doing tasks that honestly sound like managerial work, like adjusting inventory or handling deliveries. Despite that, they still did all these things happily, until a new boss decided to step i…

Some customers won't ever be happy with the work your company does, no matter how well you actually do on their project. Take this woman, for example. She decided to take a broken electronic to an electronics repair store. The OP writes that this customer “didn't like the bill. She didn't like the work. She claimed that we'd broken something else.” Nothing they did was good enough for this cantankerous customer.

No amount of wealth should excuse any customer from the rules. Unfortunately, there are plenty of entitled rich folks out there with “influence” who seem to think otherwise.

What do you do when your manager is a thieving fraudster, and their boss refuses to listen because, on paper, your manager is getting good results? This is something you'll likely come across during the long course of your career, and you might be dismayed to find yourself powerless in the position. Heck, most bosses will be willing to look the other way for someone who is performing high in whatever KPI upper management is currently prioritizing… Just as long as things look good and people are…

Specialists exist for a reason. For this retail worker , jewelry is their career. They're a diamond specialist who works at a privately owned business. Even though they have impressive expertise at their job, there are always customers who think they know better than a trained professional. Something customers don't seem to realize is that expertise matters. As a customer, you go to see someone who's spent 10,000 hours learning a trade because they have knowledge that you require. That's the wh…

This dude got the deal of a lifetime , and he did it completely by accident. One day, this guy went to wander around a big box hardware store to check out their lawnmowers. When you're making a big purchase like that, it helps to see the machines in person, instead of just relying on the internet. This guy found an especially great deal, because the store's display lawn mower was up for sale. As with lots of big purchases, usually you have to check out several stores and be prepared before buyi…

Quite some time has passed since I've last been fired, but the mortifying memory remains carefully carved into my awkward brain, still causing me to shudder when I think about it. I'm sure I have told this story before, but for those of you who are new, I shall suck up the embarrassment and retell it. Back in my tyrannical teenage years, I was looking for a job. Sixteen at the time, I wasn't actually all that tyrannical. I liked to think I had the guts to do anything, but the truth is I was act…

Whenever you write the phrase “The customer is always right” online, there's always someone showing up to show you up in the comments to confidently proclaim that this utterance is actually a shortened version of the original phrase, “The customer is always right in matters of taste." Attributions for either version normally go to one of several pioneering and successful department store retailers who reshaped the trade in the late 1800s and publications on the retail philosophy emerge in the e…