40 Stupid Customer Complaints These Employees Had To Deal With And Facepalm While Staying Calm

Bored Panda reached out to the author of this post, Jing_Yuan_Lu, to talk a bit more about their experience, difficult clients, and how to deal with them. According to the user, there are plenty of reasons why people have so many stories of customer entitlement and their lack of empathy.

In retail and customer service, "you are dealing with the general public and we have this mentality that 'the customer is always right', the user explained. "Unfortunately, a lot of people use this as an excuse to try to get whatever they want."

There’s also the problem with certain people assuming that working in a retail store or at a restaurant is not a "real" job or that the employees "exist to serve the customer and get a sense of self-importance and entitlement that they might not normally have." 

Besides, there's always the possibility that customers are having a bad day and are looking for someone to take it out on. Jing_Yuan_Lu mentioned that, typically, they enjoy helping people but every so often, the interactions can become a bit overwhelming: "Sometimes customers can get to be too much and I don’t think that they realize that we are people too, with thoughts and feelings and emotions."

"I tend to try very hard to help customers out but sometimes they just try to take advantage of that. They get so wrapped up in how they feel about the product/service and expect us, as the representative of whatever brand, to be able to fix everything right away," the user said. "When we can't, it’s taken as a personal affront rather than an objective policy or procedure."

When it comes to dealing with rude customers, it can get quite tricky since often you don't know how to react to their demands and all the emotions that come with them. The user has a few tips to share and mentions that everything depends on the situation. "Sometimes you just kind of have to say okay and nod your head and say 'I understand.' In these cases, the customers really just want to vent and feel heard," Jing_Yuan_Lu said. 

However, if you sense even the tiniest bit of violence or aggression, involve your manager. "If you are the supervisor in the situation, you have to be firm (which is hard sometimes) and say something along the lines of 'I would like to help you but I am unable to do so until you stop yelling.'", the user advised.  

"It's always difficult though because you never know how they're going to react. Having a good relationship with your supervisor or knowing that your supervisor will back you up in those situations is probably the best way to help handle anxiety."

The author of the post would like to remind you, dear Pandas, that not all customers are terrible, some of them are actually really great: "We tend to just get heated and riled up by the awful ones and we can all commiserate having dealt with certain types of customers but it's not all bad." 

"I still really like helping people. I think if everyone had to work in the retail or food industry for even a few days at least once in their life, people might be more considerate and empathetic when they decide to go out shopping or dine out."

We also reached out to Alexander Kjerulf, author of The Chief Happiness Officer Blog and founder of Woohoo Inc., a training company specializing in happiness in the workplace. When it comes to thinking about ignorant customer demands and complaints, he said that it’s partly because some customers have been getting worse.

"Especially in America, there's been an increase in entitled belligerent jerks who think they can get whatever they want if they yell loudly enough about it." Kjerulf provides another reason: "It's also because employees finally have online forums where they can share their stories and support each other." 

If customers are being completely irrational or throwing insults at the employees, it’s the boss’ job to deal with them. And one advice Kjerulf gives to the supervisors: kick those customers out. "They're bad for business, they cost a lot of time and money and they will never be happy no matter what you give them," he explained. "In fact, if you give in this time, they'll be back soon with even stupider demands."

Often, unreasonable buyers can really take a toll on your emotional and physical well-being. Even in the most stressful situations, it's the worker who tries to remain calm and has to take in all the negative reactions. "We know for a fact that having to fake emotions is stressful. And on top of that, it feels deeply unfair to see the worst customers get the most benefits through the brattiest behavior," the author and speaker told Bored Panda. 

Alexander Kjerulf leaves us with a couple of thoughts: "It's about time that companies realize that coddling the worst customers is a terrible idea. It costs time and money AND it frustrates your employees. Stop doing it."