29 Rude Customers Who Learned The Hard Way That Service Workers Have Their Limits

I work in retail and one of the things that really annoys me is when a customer can't move a little bit closer so you dont have to reach over the bench to take their money.

A customer I had today was being particularly annoying, not only was she standing a good two metres away in front of the other till, but she was also standing in the way of another customer being served at that till.

She handed me her money, so that I had to stretch over the bench to get it. She had change so I put it very deliberately close to me, so she had to either stretch or actually move her body.

Context: my 1st job was at a large (international operations) call center.

I did not love this job, but I genuinely tried my best to be helpful and do it well. This was a technical support account.

We were *severely* understaffed (this account had specific language requirements) always back to back, dealing with (righfully so) angry people. To be fair, service and policies were kind of bad. This company acquired other smaller companies in the same line of business, so the transition was not that smooth either. On a normal day, the waiting time to speak to a rep was 2-3 hours. Again, I understand why people were upset but it was not our fault (as agents).

Anyway, I was not passionate about this position but I couldn't affort to quit. So I started applying to other positions, hoping I'd find a way out.

Fast forward, I land a position with similar responsibilities (actually the load was much more manageable), + much better compensation and opportunity for growth. The email offer comes in the middle of my shift, and I accept immediately. I need to start asap, so I quit on the spot, but commit to at least finish the day.

As mentioned before, I was used to talking with angry people but didn't take it personal so just did my best to help and deescalate the situation. So, this call comes in and it's a classic one "I changed my wifi password and all my devices disconnected, I want a technician to come fix it." Ok, before sending someone out we were required to offer to help guide the cust on how to do it. If they insisted, we could dispatch someone but needed to inform the cust it would be $$$.

So, I tell him that and he agrees to try and connect things himself with my help. At this point, I had already worked there for almost 2 years, so I knew my way around. I could tell this dude was not actually trying and being difficult. Ok, maybe he had a hard day. Maybe he's frustrated he had to wait so long and the service is crap. Whatever, it's my last day.

I never hung up on cust before (believe it or not lol) on purpose, solely because I believe on treating others the way you'd like to be treated. Well, this individual starts being rude **to me**. Normally, we'd be required to give people 3 warnings and be allowed to hang up if there's no attitude change. At this point, I was fed up. I looked at the queue and it said that the waiting time was 4 hours. So, surprise surprise (you can probably tell where this goes based on the title lol). I hung up on him. I had already quit. What did I have to lose?

It was oddly satisfying to me, I literally told him "I'm sorry, I don't get paid enough for this." *line drops*. I think about that sometimes and laugh. Anyways, thought it was worth sharing. I hope my writing makes sense. Take care and don't be rude to someone who you need help from.

I worked at a subway that didn't have any authority/managers, just a couple minimum wage base level workers. I don't remember what this particular customer was mad about but she was arguing with me and didn't like the answer I gave her. She asked to speak to the manager, and there not being a manager I decided to promote myself on the spot and replied with "manager speaking, how can I help you." This did not make her very happy because she realized she was not going to get a different answer and asked for a phone number to call. The owner has specifically told us never to give his cell number to customers so i gave her the store number. She gives me a grin thinking about how much trouble she's about to get me in when the phone behind me starts to ring. I will never forget the face she gave me as I answer the phone, look her in the eyes, and ask her how may I help you.

So recently a customer at my work told us that they were no longer going to use us to manufacture their products for them - we felt this was quite out of the blue, as they had used us for 40 years without any problems. We got over this, however they then asked us to give them the recipe for their product so they could take it to a competitor to make.

Now for context, when they started using us in the 70/80’s the provided us with their recipe to make their product the right texture, firmness, and look just how they wanted it. Over the years we’ve spent time and money finding new chemicals when certain ones have been discontinued, altering the mix of chemicals so that the products are still how they want them, and developing the recipe further to make it more efficient and provide better results. The way we were making their products now is completely different to how we were at the start.

Because of this, my boss was unhappy with what they were asking of us. But, complying with their request, he gave them the recipe to their products… the original recipe that is. It’s fair to say they’re not that happy that they’re going to have to spend their time and money to update it as we have over the last 40 years.

Edit: it’s not food lol (but I’m loving the guesses)

Edit: man you guys really like your dildos don’t you…

Edit to be clearer: We make X. We’ve made X for over 100 years and, expect for small orders, it’s always to customers specification. For example, a matt blue colour, with a soft texture. We don’t have contracts to supply X to customers, they just order it like you would order something online. This, ex, customer had come to us 40 years ago and asked to get X from us, and had given a recipe for how they had gotten it previously from someone else.

Over the years they kept coming back to us for X, but this recipe was no longer used. We still made X to their specification, but with different chemicals, dyes, pigments, and processes. Everyone was happy.

Now that they’re going to another business, they wanted to know exactly how we make X for them. We didn’t want to give this up, and instead gave them back the recipe they gave us 40 years ago and said that was all they’d get, as everything after was us. Because X is our main product, if we’d told the ex customer how we made X for them they could give it to a competitor who could figure out how we make all of our X, and run us out of business.

Edit: I did not know X meant MDMA lol

Some people are particular about their iced teas. Ours has a tropical flavor, which this woman didn't care for. "Can I just get a diet soda instead?"

Not a problem. Trying to hunt down a manager to void out an iced tea for a soda isn't worth the effort, especially for a negligible 25-cent difference between beverages, so I just let it ride.

When the check arrived, the party spent a good deal of time poring over how to split the bill. My manager had swung by to run their cards, and they apparently gave him the same lecture about how we should just have regular black iced tea and said I forgot to take it off the bill.

When he voided it off and checked with me, I told him, "Oh, that's right, and they switched to a soda," and rang it in. He just shrugged his shoulders like his time had been wasted.

I figured the table were either being cheapskates or dumb, so I happily dropped off the new bill and said, "So we took off the iced tea and corrected it with her diet coke."

The guy took another 10 minutes staring at the bill and probably felt like the biggest ignoramus.

Back when I was a cashier in a grocery store, I was going about my business checking, when a guy approaches with only a can of Mikes hard lemonade.

Right as he’s getting ready to put his card in the reader, the check stand phone starts ringing and it’s my manager on the opposite side of the front end. She tells me she saw him eating a donut earlier.

He didn’t mention any donut, so as a punishment for his dishonesty, I charged him for three. Unfortunately right after his card processed he walked off, so he didn’t get his receipt and couldn’t see what I’d done.

Not the most hectic of stories but I thought I’d share it anyways.

So I’m a delivery driver at Dominos and had a I got a delivery that was in a street in a small suburb out of town and got to the place but it looked dark and uninhabited. I decided to ring up the guy and ask if he could come outside and said yes. Waited about a minute, then two, nothing. I then wondered if I was even at the right place and thought maybe the address on the receipt was supposed to be another street nearby that had a similar name and so I rung him up again to try and confirm this but then he became rude towards me like “Mate, ya turn right on so and so street! It’s not hard to find, I’ve been waitin’ a long time for my pizza, now hurry up!” After that I decided his place was only a minute from where I currently was. So I did the most the responsible thing.

I took the pizza back to the store in the main part of town. I explained what happened to my manager and he said it was fine and he’d take care of it. I then took a different delivery (customers this time were much nicer) and we never spoke of that little incident again. That initial delivery either got cancelled or delayed even further. Moral of the story is don’t mess with the people who handle what you eat. XP

So a long while ago I worked at a popular fast food restaurant, in a town that’s mixed with travelers and locals. I had worked for this chain for close to three years and had just transferred to a new location because of a better pay scale.

About a month after this change, I’m getting in the swing of things and getting used to how this new location works, I was learning the regular dinner customers orders during the evening as I was often the closing manager. One week I was put in charge of a random 12:30-21:00 shift, nothing I haven’t done at other locations but a nice change for this new store.

Things are going as the lunch rush is progressing, sales are on track but my drive thru is moving a little slower than my lobby. I ask the person running orders in drive thru how I can help, she tells me that this customer refuses to move his truck to a waiting spot even though he has a two minute wait on his fries.

Me, being my very calm, cool, and collected self proceeds to try and ask the customer my self if he would move, to which he responds “my truck is too big for your tiny parking lot, I don’t have insurance that would cover getting hit... besides it’s not my fault you’re so slow.”

Once again keeping a very calm demeanor, I try to explain that there are orders ready behind his that are smaller, and by him not moving it’s messing with other people getting their food.

This is the point where he rolled up his window on me mid sentence.

I had three orders ready behind him, and had already explained to him that he had a two minute wait regardless, if he refused to move then there was no reason the customers behind him had to wait for their meals. I took each order out that was ready behind his, four total, explained why they had such a long wait, and gave them free meal coupons for their next visit.

Once I was done Mister I-won’t-move’s fries were up and I happily handed him his ordered. He angrily asked why the other customers got their food before him, to which I told him I already explained their orders behind his were smaller, that he had to wait regardless, and to have a nice day.

Service with a smile

I look after the maintenance of 70 convenience stores, some with Quick Serve Restaurants as part of the site/business. This particular QSR has recently gone from crappy automatic coffee machines to barista made coffee machines.

As part of the fit out, a steel frame with a rubberised bar, Knock Out, is fitted into the counter to knock the "puq" from the group handle... the disk of used coffee grounds from the handle you put into the machine, and the coffee comes out the bottom.

The problem was, the rubberised bars were weak and would break within a week so site would just use the edge of the frame.

This pissed me off because I would have to fix it when the site complained. It wasn't too much of a problem but took a few emails for a warranty claim. After I had replaced one a couple of times in a month or so, I asked what was going on. The Project Manager told me there was a Knock Out V2 that was much stronger so I got them to supply that on the third go round.

I knew there was a couple of sites that were older and their knock outs were messed too. These guys just didn't complain so much.

With 70 sites to manage, I had more important things to worry about, but I still like to look after my sites, and it was at the back of my mind and the bottom of my to-do list.

Today I grabbed it to get it done. Because I like to help the contractors I use, I put in the leg work with the supplier. I got part numbers and pricing as well a contact details so my contractor just had to order the parts and go and install them. The units were only a couple of hundred dollars each, all in the greater scheme of things, and easier to just buy and install. I checked, and the contractor had ordered from this supplier before so this was going to be simple... right?

Well no. The supplier, incorrectly, said the contractor couldn't order it and the store had to submit some request nonsense. I check with the QSR Ops Manager and they had no clue what that was about so I went back to the supplier, still no.

Time for the PR. I replied to the final refusal email as follows:

Alright, there is a simple solution. The original units were not fit for purpose hence the need for you to supply the Knock Out V2. Can you please supply, as WARRANTY replacement, two units, delivered to Site 1 and Site 2, and i gave the delivery details.

The supplier called right after that email. He checked, and one site had the install less than 12 months ago so it was a legit warranty. The other was closer to two years, but I used the "not fit for purpose" and "we spend loads with you" arguments and they relented.

The jobs to the contractor will still be needed, but for install only, no supply.

TL;DR

Won't sell my contractor the parts they need? Fine. You can give them to me FREE as warranty.