I think everyone should have to work in customer service at least for a little while in their lives.
That way, if you end up moving on to another job in another industry, you’ll know what it’s like to wait on people…and you’ll realize that you shouldn’t treat them like sh*t.
It’s a win-win situation!
But, of course, we all know that a lot of people are gonna be terrible and annoying customers no matter what, so here we are with these stories.
Let’s see what AskReddit users had to say about really ridiculous customer complaints.
1. Disappeared.
“Many years back, worked for a store chain which sells all products related and connected to Nature.
Among them, the Himalayan salt stone lamp. It’s a stone made of salt that encases an electrical bulb. It is supposed to help for regulating ions in your home/office.
A customer called us to complain that their stone disappeared at home, and asked for a refund. As open mind as I can be, I however tried to understand what she meant exactly by “disappeared”.
Story is, customer removed the stone from the bulb and put it in her dish-washer to clean it…
I had to be super nice with her to make her realizing that salt dissolves in water.. Specially in hot water.. Without her getting upset and getting offended… It was a lonely moment…”
2. Not too bright.
“A guy asked if I was the manager. I said,
“Yes, can I help you with something?”Angrily: “Yeah, three Saturdays in row now I come down here at 4:30, and every Saturday you close at 4.”
“Uh…yeah. We close at 4.”
“F*ck you.”
At least he left then. The worst ones don’t leave. They just keep going.”
3. You have a choice.
“I work for a popular roadside assistance company and had a guy call in wanting to get roadside assistance for his daughter who was stranded.
His daughter was not on his membership and there was no room to add her because he already had his wife added. So I suggested he remove his wife for now and add his daughter so she can get roadside assistance and then switch them back afterwards.
Apparently this was the most outrageous suggestion. He went and told my supervisor that I was “making him choose his daughter over his wife and no father should have to make that kind of decision” LOL.
4. Weird.
“I was working at OfficeMax during back to school season. This woman comes up to my register with a few things and I start scanning it in. She notices the one item rang up less than she was expecting.
She actually got an attitude with me because we hadn’t had a chance to print new shelf tags for that aisle yet. I told her I would wait if she wanted to get more. She declined and continued complaining to me about it.
I said “well I can override the price to what the shelf label said.” I realize now that I was being a bit of a b*tch by saying that. She politely declined that as well, paid with her card, and rushed out the door with her things.”
5. Hahaha. Wow.
“Had a woman call me racist because I asked her if she needed utensils for her take-out.”
6. Touched a nerve.
“I was running register at the grocery store and this couple got in my line. I could tell they were together because they were talking and interacting with one another. However they had two different baskets and left a small gap between their respective items without placing down the divider.
So I wasn’t sure if they were paying for everything all together or separately. I say the generic things, hi, how are you, did you find everything okay, etc and then politely asked, “together or separate?” The lady gave me a death glare and said “why on earth does it matter?”
I gave her a blank stare and slowly said “so…. that I know whether to keep ringing you up…or cash out the order….” All I can think is they must have been having some relationship problems because she jumped right to that, haha.”
7. Some people…
“Worked in an electronics store in the computer department.
An old lady comes in, asks where the dairy section is, and needs help finding the milk. I told her, kindly, that we weren’t in a grocery store. She looks confused and leaves.
A couple of minutes later her son walks in, and starts chewing me out because I wouldn’t help her find the milk. When he was done, I slowly waved my arm across the store and asked him which one of those aisles looks like they might have groceries in them.
He stares for a good few seconds, and then starts b*tching me out saying that I’m an *sshole, and he wants to see a manager.”
8. Unprofessional!
“The store manager was walking by my register as a customer was walking up to check out. My manager said I had to take my break in 15 minutes to which I said, “Okay”
The customer complained that it was unprofessional for the manager to speak to me and that I was unprofessional to respond when a customer was approaching the register because I needed to be focused on her and greet her appropriately.”
9. Too hot? That’s the point!
“I used to work at a pizza place with a small dining room. So many people would complain that their pizza was too hot to eat. Of course it is. It just came out of the oven.
This is why you chose to drive yourself here to eat instead of having it delivered. Because it’s fresh!
Fresh pizza is hot!!!”
10. Please stop doing that.
“I owned a computer biz for a few years. The one that always got me was this chick that brought in her computer slammed with viruses, spyware, etc. so bad it wouldn’t boot.
Got it all fixed up and she picked it up. Brought it back the very next day with the same thing. I asked what sites she visited since she picked it up and she, completely unashamed, said “oh my bf and I are on p*rn all the time”.
Um, ok. I told her I would go ahead and clean it again for free but if she visited those sites I couldn’t do it again without charging. Picked it up same day. Back in the next.
Me: “did you get back on the p*rn sites” Her: “of course”. I could not make her understand why this kept happening and would continue happening so I just asked her to go somewhere else.”
11. A Taffer tip.
“I’m a bartender and just last night a came in and I knew something would happen.. they are sitting at their TABLE and ask for some margaritas. I go make them and bring them out to the table.
He proceeds to tell me “here’s a TAFFER tip; if someone orders a cocktail you should make it in front of them” I replied, well if you were sitting at THE BAR I could do that… Do you want me to bring the blender out to your table and make your frozen drink for you there!?
One of the dumbest things I’ver ever heard.”
12. Dummy.
“Working pizza delivery.
One time a guy called in, threatened to kick all our *sses and more because we put sticks in his pizza. I told him I would be happy to come pick it up and examine it (we got a LOT of fraud calls, people trying to get free sh*t every day).
When I got there his tone changed (I am 6 foot, 270 pounds) and he showed me the “sticks” in his pizza. You know what they were? He ordered thin crust, and some of the crust broke off onto the pizza. He was nice as can be after I pointed that out.”
13. Ridiculous.
“I once had a customer come in and the following ensued:
Customer: “Hi I am here to return this power washer”
Me: “Sure you have your receipt?”
C: “Well I bought it “As Is” two years ago. I used it for the first time last year and it didn’t work. I saw it this weekend cleaning the garage. I’d like my money back”
M: “Ah yeah we can’t do that. This product is 3 years old and was sold as is”.
C: angry tone “Oh yeah buddy? What kind of f*cking store is this then? Let me talk to a manager.”
Manger proceeds to give them store credit for the amount of a brand new one. I put my two weeks in shortly after.”
14. Call the health department!
“I work at a bakery and we sell pigs in a blanket for breakfast. A few years ago one of the kinds was a spicy blueberry sausage (it had blueberries inside the sausage link).
One day some lady got one (knowing it was a blueberry sausage link), bit into it and noticed some dark looking things inside the sausage link (surprise, it was a blueberry) but for whatever reason she thought that a flake of black gunk from inside our oven somehow managed to get inside the sausage link (even after said link was rolled in a croissant). She called the health department on us and tried to get $50+ of free food.
My boss asked her what she ordered, he brought out a link of the sausage to show her and she immediately shut up and left the store. Unfortunately we stopped selling that kind because “if one idiot is gonna think that then others will”, which is sad because they were pretty good.”
How about you?
What are your nightmare customer service stories?
Please share them with us in the comments. Thanks!
