Curiosities,Economy & LaborMAR 8, 2023

40 People That Had The Audacity To File Complaints For The Most Stupid Reasons, Only To Be Shamed Online

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There you are, casually going about your day, sipping your coffee, reading the news, when suddenly like a bolt from the blue—your boss calls you into their office or you get a letter summoning you to court. Apparently, someone has filed a complaint against you. But you’re confused beyond belief! You have no idea what this is about.

As it turns out, it was something utterly ridiculous. So ridiculous, in fact, that people couldn’t help but share their experiences with coworkers and customers online. Redditor u/InfiniteCalendar1 asked people about the strangest reasons someone had a complaint filed against them, and wow, did they deliver! Scroll down to read their full stories.

Bored Panda got in touch with the author of the thread, redditor u/InfiniteCalendar1, and they opened up about the real reason why they asked the question online. As it turns out, the inspiration was an awful interaction with a mean customer. Read on for our interview with the OP.

#1

40 People That Had The Audacity To File Complaints For The Most Stupid Reasons, Only To Be Shamed Online

I’m a firefighter an have had the following citizen complaints:
1. Kicked down a door to help an elderly woman who was on the floor. Her son wanted us to wait until he arrived with a key. He was 5 hours away.
2. I wouldn’t let a guy store his motorcycle in our station for winter.
3. I wouldn’t repair her stove.
4. We took too long to respond to replace a guys battery in his detector that had been beeping. We were performing CPR at the time.
5. I wouldn’t take my boots off while entering a lady’s house. It is against our protocol to take off any of our safety gear. Her house was actively on fire when she made the request.

anon, Mandie Inman

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335points

Bored Panda wanted to know what had inspired the redditor to create the thread on r/AskReddit in the first place. "I posted it as I was thinking about how I had a complaint filed against me during my first week of one of my jobs," u/InfiniteCalendar1 told us.

"A lady made up a false story that I berated her for wearing a Confederate flag shirt. This 100% didn’t happen so I assume the customer made it up for validation. I found the situation ridiculous mainly because it’s weird someone went out of their way to try to get me in trouble over something that didn’t happen."

Meanwhile, they shared what they did next. They started off by explaining their side of the situation to the boss. Specifically that what the customer had said happened never actually happened.

#2

I have one. Looking back, it was very silly but boy did this p**s me off. Here goes: My coworker asked me if I could cover her shift on sunday (I always only worked on saturday, since I was very busy with university. The place where I worked knew this and happily agreed with it, too.). I said that I could do that, but only if she would take my shift on saturday since otherwise, I would not have time to study. She agreed, only to tell me a day later that she wouldn't be able to cover my shift on saturday. I promptly told her that if that were the case, she would have to find someone else to cover her shift. She told me I was being childish and told management that I was being rude. Management told me to work both shifts and being a 17 year old, I agreed since I needed the job to cover some expenses. I came to work on the saturday shift and the manager tried to tell me off. I told the manager what really happened, but he still sided with my coworker. I promptly told the manager that I had been very clear in my communication to my coworker and that she was in the wrong. The manager said that "I should be more flexible in helping others out". I then told him I wished him luck on working my shift that weekend and walked out without saying another word. The look on his face was awesome. I found a new job as a tutor the next week, at which I was much happier.

BickeringPlum

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317points

#3

I once had a coworker file an HR complaint against me for reading books at lunch. I told HR that he’s probably just offended I’m not reading hardcore pornography magazines on the clock like he does.

anon, Maisie Kane

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298points

"Although, apparently, the person who filed the complaint sounded very believable based on the emotions she had. Luckily, the situation was dropped though. In my case, the complaint was defamatory so my first instinct was to defend myself, especially since I was worried about a violation of privacy as the customer claimed to track down my Instagram," they opened up to Bored Panda.

"I just expressed that the situation made me uncomfortable given it was false, especially considering someone claimed to track down my social media. With complaints over small stuff, they’re usually addressed then swept under the rug."

We also wanted to get the thread author's opinion on why some people file complaints for such weird or even made-up reasons. "In my situation, the woman wanted validation as she knows many people today view the Confederate flag as a racist symbol given the history, so she made up a false situation to try to ruin someone else’s day and probably threaten their source of income," they said.

#4

Had a customer call corporate on me because I told her we didn't carry a certain brand of dog food. I worked at a big pet retail chain. The brand she was looking for was our biggest competitors store brand food. I told her this, even showed her the dog food on the competitors website that clearly said "You'll Only Find X Brand At X Pet Store!" As part of the add.

She didn't want to go to the competitors. So I offered to show her a similar brand; though I did advise her to get the food her dog was used to so she could avoid making her dog sick at its stomach. After arguing with me about "how you should make this right!" I just told her I couldn't help her. She screamed I was rude and unhelpful, then stormed out of the store.

Her reason for calling a complaint to corporate? I wouldn't go to the competitors store (which was about four blocks away from my store) to get the bag of dog food for her since she had already stopped at our store.

Yeah. Her whole "you should make it right" argument was that I should leave my store, use my money to go buy her dog food, then apologize for wasting her time.

My manager pulled me into the office my next shift to tell me the lady had called corporate and why. We both had a huge laugh (apparently the corporate office also found the situation hilarious and told her to get stuffed) and he bought me lunch for not losing my cool on the entitled lady.

Jesskamess, Chewy

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256points

#5

In gradeschool I was sent to the principals office for lying about my name to a substitute teacher. I gave her my real name and the sub just couldn't believe someone would name a kid Wolfgang.

WolfghengisKhan, cottonbro studio

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231points

#6

Got a complaint filed against me by a customer for unnecessary rudeness because I turned down a guy's offer to take me out on a date. He asked me (repeatedly) while I was working. Dude was at least in his mid 40s; I was 16

Bayonethics, Wiktor Karkocha

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218points

"I remember making a Reddit post about this same situation on another subreddit and a lady told me the same thing happened to her but with a customer in a MAGA hat. The commenter was nice to her when using the fitting room then the next day the customer with the MAGA hat made up a false story that she denied her and her daughter service and a bra fitting when the store didn’t even do bra fittings. With that situation, there was an obvious lie so her manager blew it off."

According to u/InfiniteCalendar1, it's probably people who are "pretty unhappy" and want validation who file wrongful complaints. "They're following the philosophy of 'the customer is always right,'" they said.

"I will add that I am pretty left leaning so I definitely don’t support the use of the Confederate flag, but when I’m working I’m focused on my job and not my views. I’ve had customers hold views I disagree with, but I don’t engage on that with them. And I definitely believe that if someone gets fired over a ridiculous complaint—especially if it’s defamatory—they should seek legal action."

#7

Old lady said I spray painted some garages near my house, I did in fact not, after a while security footage came out that showed her youngest spray painting the garages….

anon, Fonsi Fernández

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202points

#8

When I met my fiance she lived in a rented house. One date we were at her place and at some point we watched a random YouTube video of a raven saying the F word. We laughed a lot for around 5 minutes unable to talk or do anything but laugh. It was in the middle of the day.

The neighboor wrote an angry letter to the owner of the house telling him "to put us back in line, laughing so much in the middle of the day".

What kind of psycho writes a letter of complain for someone laughing for 5 minutes.

Antieque, Priscilla Du Preez

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195points

#9

In a 4 person HR meeting (the other guy, our manager, HR and me) the other guy said I was always angry. The 3 of us looked at him. I asked "why do you say that?". And he said "your face is always red...and angry!".

I'm British, I don't tan well.

jallison1234, Redd F

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189points

The most important thing in these sorts of situations is not to panic! If you did nothing wrong (and odds are that in these cases you’re just a confused victim), then you have nothing to worry about. Of course, it’s yucky and mucky to have someone try and ruin your job or life with false accusations, but the world can be extremely chaotic at times.

Slow down. Breathe. Detach yourself from the situation. What you need to do right now is to figure out what the heck is going on. Go talk to your direct superior, your boss, your HR reps and put all the puzzle pieces together. Explain the situation and be honest. Once everyone’s on the same page, they’ll realize that someone’s just trying to provoke you with weird complaints.

In some cases, however, the situation gets totally out of hand. If someone genuinely has it out for you at work, for whatever reason, then odds are that they’ll go to practically any lengths to try and hurt your career.

In some fringe cases, it’s actually a good idea to seek legal help. Especially if someone’s trying to destroy your reputation and hurt your financial stability. It’s possible to get some free legal consultations. And some lawyers actually do take on cases on a pro bono basis. Know the law. Know your rights. Have someone solid in your corner. And, hopefully, this entire ridiculous situation will be receding in your rearview mirror.

#10

Years ago, back when I worked at a video arcade, there was a kid that had been asking me for free tokens one day. I gave him a few, because we were allowed to give some out each day as "refunds" and it was a slow day so I had extra. He came back a little later for more and then got upset when I didn't give him any more. The next day he came in with his mother and she said that he told her that I took one of the fake plastic guns from one of the "shooter" style video games and threatened to kill her son with it. She told all this to my manager and I was instantly fired on the spot without the chance to say anything. It really sucked because I really liked that job. I got to spend all day around video games, watching people play, repairing the cabinets, which was awesome because I am an avid gamer and it was like a dream come true to work with video games. Ever since i've worked in offices and well... life has been a little more grey since.

Sardonnicus

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179points

#11

I was at work and a man wanted to use his membership card to get a discount on his popcorn. I asked him for the membership card and he said he didn't have it. No problem, we can pull it up by phone number, but he refused to give it to me. I asked for his name, but apparently that wasn't on the card. Neither was his email address (Which I thought was required) he started getting mad that I was "taking too long" And started screaming about "If I made him go back to his theatre Just to get his card" he was calling corporate.

I told him I could look it up from his ticket but needed to go over to my other terminal, but he kept screaming "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE MAKING ME WALK BACK TO MY THEATRE TO GET MY F*****G CARD" I told him I wasn't and I just needed the ticket stub, but it fell on deaf ears nd he kept screaming and carrying on. He was throwing an absolute tantrum and said I was "Wasting his time and taking too long" even though I was ALREADY STANDING AT THE OTHER TERMINAL.

He complained that I made him show his membership card to give him the discount that was only on the card, and just use the card even though he refused to let me look it up for him.

It was the dumbest f*****g thing ever. People will seriously just come out in public just to start s**t with cashiers. I really want to know what goes on in these people's heads to purposefully make themselves angry.

dawrina, Meg Boulden

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171points

#12

Out of the blue, a complete stranger who had just been released from state prison sued me in family court asking for visitation with our 10 y/o non-existent child. Apparently he had gone to a party at “my” house and “we” had a one night stand in my basement bedroom (my basement is not finished). When “I” got pregnant I promised to have an abortion but did not, and now he was ready to step up and be a dad! How did he find me? He couldn’t remember an exact address so he went through my neighborhood on Google Maps and was “sure” it happened in my house. For weeks he refused to believe he had the wrong person until I went to the police station and had an officer email a family photo to him while he had him on the phone and vouch that it was me in the photo.

jenel2583, Saúl Bucio

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164points

While these stories shared by redditors are amusing and confusing, they also highlight an important problem: taking up everyone’s time with these weird complaints means that genuine complaints can get lost in a pile of documents for a long, long while.

And, let’s face it, there are real things to complain about at work and as a customer. If someone’s harassing you, making inappropriate jokes, and bullying you in a workplace setting, it’s essential to put a stop to this. Filing an official complaint is a good initial step, Chron writes. First, put it in writing, submit it in person, and schedule a meeting with the head of HR.

Meanwhile, if you’re complaining about unfair pay, bad working conditions, and unequal treatment, then it’s best to contact a government organization about what’s happening. If you’re a member of a union, they can help you with this.

From a boss’ perspective, it’s essential that you don’t immediately dismiss an employee's complaint right out the gate, according to Traliant. Don’t be too quick to make judgments either way. Take the time to understand the situation so you can respond appropriately.

#13

My husband is a dentist. A new patient reported him to the board of dentistry for recommending that she get her teeth cleaned. I still laugh when I think about it.

QueenMargaery_, Atikah Akhtar

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157points

#14

I once was told there was a high-level (manager and up) meeting being held about me… on account of my emails being written too well.

I can write quick, well-worded emails, and someone in upper management thought that I must have been spending too much time writing my emails, possibly as a means of appearing to be superior to others.

FormoftheBeautiful, Thought Catalog

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156points

#15

A girl reported my son for assaulting her in school. She claimed that her neck was still hurting her the night after the "assault." Now, my son is autistic and at the time had an aide that followed him around everywhere. Even setting aside the fact that my son isn't violent (he's more likely to break down into tears than actually fight), why didn't his aide see this assault?

Upon looking into the matter we had our answer. The normal aide was out for the day and the substitute aide left our son to get his lunch in the cafeteria while he (the aide) got his own lunch. Now, our son's IEP specifically stated that he was not to be left alone in the cafeteria. The noise and chaos wreck havoc with him. So the aide leaving him alone in that situation was a breach of his IEP which could mean we could initiate legal action if we wanted.

Furthermore, our son claimed that he saw the girl, walked up to her and tapped her in the shoulder to get her attention in order to say hi. This was corroborated by security camera recordings.

We were told that technically our son broke school rules with the shoulder tap. We countered that they were free to punish him for a shoulder tap but then we'd go after the school for violating his IEP that put him in the situation to begin with. In the end, he was simply reminded not to touch other people even if he thought it was a friendly manner.

Meanwhile, I don't think the girl was punished at all even though she had been going around school telling people that our son assaulted her. (Including telling her sister who was mildly friendly with my son, trying to break that up.) She was brought in for a meeting where she reiterated that she was assaulted and her neck still hurt. Then she was shown the shoulder tap video. At most, she might have gotten a warning, but that was it.

TechyDad

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149points

Something else to keep in mind is discretion. Try to keep the information contained for the sake of everyone’s privacy. That way, you’ll prevent gossip from circulating in the workplace. Lastly, keep in mind that complaints are simply one type of communication (albeit carrying some potentially serious consequences). So don’t actually punish employees for filing them! Otherwise, you’ll end up creating a massive gap between management and all the other workers. And that’s not something that leads to a healthy workplace environment.

#16

Working in retail I once said "you guys have a great day" I was reported by an elderly women who objected to not being addressed as "mam" she also objected to "have a great day" because she had come into the aquarium store because her fish was dead and she was upset that someone would tell her to "have a great day" when her fish had died.

vile_lullaby, RODNAE Productions

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143points

#17

Actual feedback I got from a customer:

>Was your request completed to your expectations? 10/10

>Did you feel valued? 2/10

>Comment: This should have been handled by an older member of staff.

F**k me for being young and good at my job. Cost me a good chunk of my bonus.

PlaySomeKickPunch, iam_os

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143points

#18

A woman ordered a cappuccino and got upset that the one I made her had foam. I explained to her what a cappuccino is, she got angry and said “I know what a cappuccino is!!!”, and lodged a complaint with my manager.

SquiddSyd, Chevanon Photography

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133points

#19

I once had a complaint filed against me for calling someone a slur in the elevator. My boss called me in, and we watched the camera footage from the elevator. Me and the other person were talking and having a good conversation and laughing with each other. My boss just said "yeah I watched it earlier and I have no idea what they are talking about." So someone tried to get me fired for no reason

damnyoutuesday, Meruyert Gonullu

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130points

#20

I got sued in small claims court by a mentally ill man who said I stole $1000 worth of roast beef and 2 sun tanning lights from him. It got continued twice and by the time we had our day in court, he forgot what he sued me for and just went off on a tirade about me being an a*****e.

SteveMcQueef81, Kelly Sikkema

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127points

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