People Share The Time An Unbelievable Customer Made Them Reach Their Breaking Point

Everyone has a limit, and there is a customer out there willing to snap you.

Elana

• Published in Funny
• April 15, 2020

Any job that involves working with customers has it's pros and cons, and usually the customers are a little bit of both. Building relationships with customers can be something unexpectedly amazing, you meet a lot of interesting people when you work in any sort of retail or service industry!

On the darker side, the worst, most obnoxious, rude-ass people also seek out goods and services and they're the ones that leave your eye twitching even after you've clocked off or locked the doors.

If you've ever worked in retail then you probably learned the hard way that you, too, have a breaking point and there is a customer out there who has made you snap. These 13 Reddit users responded to an r/AskReddit question posed perfectly for them:

"What was your breaking point, when you snapped and went off on a rude ass customer?"

1. Okay, Karen. We can't all just "sTaY hOmE."

One of my coworkers was feeling under the weather about midway through her shift, so I was asked to move my till over to the register she was on so that she could go home. No biggie.

I grab my till, walk over, and quietly tell Coworker, “Hey, I’m here to relieve you so you can go home. Hope you feel better.” She finishes up her transaction, pulls her till out, starts gathering her stuff up. Next customer in line starts complaining about how long she’s going to have to wait.

I put my till into the register, (“It’ll just be a moment, ma’am”) sign on (“Just give me a minute and I’ll be with you”), and start scanning her stuff. Customer complains about Coworker not ringing her up. “She should have rung me up! I’ve been waiting for ten minutes.” (A lie, since it had been slow, with multiple registers open, and coworker had taken maybe two minutes with her previous customer.)

(Still scanning) “I’m very sorry about that, ma’am. But Coworker was not feeling well, and I was asked to relieve her so she could go home.” Customer was not satisfied. “Well, why didn’t she stay home, if she was sick?”

I don’t even look up at that point because I’m just seething. Still scanning her stuff, I respond, “Maybe she was feeling well at the start of her shift and only started feeling bad after she got here. Or maybe she tried to come in and work through feeling sick because maybe, just maybe, she relies on the money she makes here to have a roof over her head and food in her stomach and can’t afford to take a sick day.” (I finish ringing her up) “Your total is $XX.”

Not another word out of her. She grabbed her stuff and got out.

2. Entitled ASF

I used to be a shift supervisor at a pet store… I once had one of the girls come up to the front, crying… Immediately my big sister instincts kicked in and I ask her what’s wrong. Turns out there is some jerk back in the dog food section that she was trying to help and he was a total ass to her, arguing with her about something that she was entirely correct about.

So I head back there. Dickhead is back there throwing around bags of dog food. So I ask if he needs help and he goes off on me about the girl that was just back there and how useless she was… So I listen to him rant and then correct him and tell him he was out of line. He gives me the favourite “Haven’t you heard the phrase the customer is always right?” line. So I give him a flat look and respond with “Yeah, and in this case he’s also a horse’s ass.”

He loses it and yells, saying he wants to speak to the manager. I give a shrug and say “I am the manager. If you want you can fill out a customer complaint card on your way out and I will make sure I get it. But you need to leave now.” I have managed at so many different retail stores… I am not even fazed by people any more. I am so glad to be out of the industry.

3. Not much worse than someone who shrieks thief!

I worked at a Party City in Minnesota, there was one night where I was working the register. It was near the end of the night, tired, still had homework and was in a bad mood. However I was still polite and friendly.

This lady comes in, grabs a few items and comes to the register. She doesn’t say anything even when I try to make small talk, she seemed like a snooty woman. She just stared at her phone, pays and leaves.

A few minutes later she comes in looking for her phone, clearly frustrated and I tell her I hasn’t seen it and that I was sure she had walked out with it. She walks out and comes back and says she can’t find it.

She then proceeds to accuse me of stealing it. I had my phone in my pocket and I showed it to her, told her I had no need for her phone but I will check out for it. She demands i turn out my pockets and she wanted to check behind the register to make sure I hadn’t hidden it.

The night manager is there at this point and just tells me to do what she says. It gets to the point where they also go through my locker in the back of the store(mind you I only had a few minutes before she comes in accusing me) and then going through my car(how the hell did I manage than when I have to walk right next to her to get to it). After proving I isn’t have it he gets angrier and says I must have stolen it because in a pathetic loser working retail that can’t afford a real phone.

Normally I’m a shy, introverted guy that doesn’t say much and is polite. But I just tilted into oblivion. Told her she was a stuck up, entitled cunt that needed a fucking attitude adjustment. That I had no need for a phone that was better because mine works just fine. And that her phone wouldn’t be fit to wipe my ass with. Lame but I was so angry I couldn’t really think. I still had the job the next day

4. The only acceptable response.

Own my own smartphone repair shop that opens at 10.

Was running late one morning, and some old dude was pacing at the door (probably 10:03), and he looks at me as I am sticking the key in the door and says something along the lines of, “well, it’s about time someone got here, glad you decided to show up!”

So before opening the door completely and letting him in, I locked it back and said, “actually I think I won’t come in today”.

And then I went surfing.

5. Screw retail, never doing that again.

I worked retail when I was in college.

A customer came to my till and one of the products he had was a large version of a chocolate bar. I scanned it and he started giving me shit because the price was wrong. I knew the price wasn’t wrong because I enjoy this particular chocolate and bought it all the time.

He walked me down to the shelf where it was and pointed out the price tag. I told him that’s the wrong price tag (it was for regular size, not large)

He asked me “are you fucking blind?” I responded with “yes actually, I’m blind in one eye, but I can still see that this price tag is for a regular size bar, and not large. Look at the small letters under the price”

He immediately turned nice and bought me a chocolate bar. But screw retail. Never doing that again.

6. It's not a bluff...

I work in sales/customer service over the phone and the following happens shockingly pretty often. Customer will ring in too late to order something and the item’s sold out.

“Well I’ll just never order with you again!”

“Okay, I’ll just disable your account with us, it’ll just take me a moment.”

“No no, that’s okay!”

7. We are obviously SO stupid.

I used to work at a Starbucks in an area where NFL owners, professional athletes and the like lived. One of our regulars was some guy who had spent his life wallowing in orange spray tan, and had the whitest hair one could imagine.

Every day he would come in and order a green tea, literally a teabag with hot water. No matter what, there was always something wrong with it. Too hot, too cold, cup was weird, whatever.

Anyway, one day during my last two weeks this guy comes in when we’re being slammed. He orders and and I call out “Green tea latte for X.” Notice I did not say “green tea.”

He comes up and snaps “Excuse me, it was a green tea. It’s literally water, and a tea bag. How stupid can you be.” I turn toward him, look him dead in the eye and loudly go “That’s not even your fucking order! Every time you come in here it’s something else, if we’re so stupid then go to another location.”

He stepped back and didn’t say anything after that.

8. I'm actually a really big deal.

I offered a VERY minor celebrity in the UK, who was in town to do a pantomime, a store card (that we have to offer everyone!) and his response was “I don’t need 5℅ off. I could pay your wages for 10 years from one job. Don’t you know who I am?”

So I decided to lie. “Not a clue.” I then called my boss (who I knew didn’t watch any soaps) and asked him if he knew said celeb. He said “Sorry no. Should I?”

Then I asked the customer behind him who said “No”. Maybe she was just getting involved or she genuinely didn’t know, I have no idea.

Then he said “Sam Cane? Brookside? Coronanation Street?!” I finished with, “Nope. Still don’t know you. So you sure you don’t want to take advantage of the 5℅ discount? It means you save £3.55…” He walked out. My manager complimented me on my store card pitch. It was a good afternoon.

9. The Most Polite Snap? We ALL have a "customer service" voice that's total B.S.

I work at a grocery store and at the time was cashiering at our express lane which was 15 items of fewer. Some lady comes up with obviously over 15 items so i politely inform her its express. She snaps back telling me she counted and its 17 items, only a bit over.

We are not allowed to fight with customers over our express lane, so I was forced to move on. Finally its her turn and I angrily scan and bag her goddamn items. She has that smug little grin on her face I just wanna punch.

Anyway, it gets to the end of the order and I see on my register the item count is 34! What happened for 17! I was annoyed but we are “encouraged” to be calm, collected, and not fight with our customers. So to tell her the total I put on my biggest retail smile and said in my best overly perky sarcastic voice,

“Your THIRTY-FOUR items will come to a grand total of $112.34″

She got flustered then walked away without saying another word to me. It was as close as I could get to “snapping.”

10. The REAL MVP, round of applause.

I work at a concert venue where I normally check bags and do security until warped tour came around…

The food vendors were understaffed so I was moved to a stand where we never had enough food and I was the only one doing food prep (which I hadn’t learned how to properly do)

About 2 hours into cutting deals with people who ordered something I ran out of saying “ohh chicken sandwich? Sorry just ran out I feel really bad but I have burgers can that work? I’ll throw in some fries.” Someone starts giving me shit.

My line is backed up like 15 customers as it had been for an hour now and this person somehow thinks that I can do anything about my current situation besides leave.

I didn’t even need to say anything I looked the bitch in the eyes, shut my own for a few seconds took a deep breath and exhausted hunched over the bar. When I look up at my line of now 20 people I make eye contact with the guy behind her in line.

He turns the girl around and says “we’re here to see a concert get drunk and have fun while this kid is stuck slaving away making food for people all day. How about you leave the fucking kid alone I’ll refund you right now what did you get?”

For every 1 horrible person I deal with there are at least 5 who keep a smile and make me happy to work there. Then there’s that guy who brings a tear to my eye by looking out for me.

11. Well???????

Worked in a “high end” hippy store. Lady came in with her dog despite the mall’s No Dogs policy. Told her “no dogs allowed” but she insisted she “knew someone at corporate”. It’s bullshit but whatever, I don’t get paid enough to argue.

Dog immediately pisses on the floor. She looked over at me with this “well?” look like I was supposed to rush over and wipe it up.

Nope, fuck you lady. I just tossed a roll of paper towels at her and went back to folding…

12. Be the good customer.

I wasn’t working, I was a customer. It was 28 years ago. I was at a fast food place (I think it was a Popeye’s) in a mall food court, and my family were seated at a nearby table. I watched the customer in front of me throw an unreasonable tantrum at the cashier to try to get a freebie, then when the cashier didn’t budge, she demanded the manager. (All the while I’m standing there waiting for her tantrum to be over so I can order.)

The manager listened to her lie about the cashier, and started to offer her the desired freebie. I was sick of her bullshit and sick of waiting, so I spoke up and told the manager everything that had happened, told him the woman was a liar and the cashier had been exemplary, and that if he gave the woman anything or punished the cashier in any way I would take my business elsewhere.

She threw a tantrum at me and stomped off, without her food. Boss tried to comp me a meal, but I insisted on paying because I hadn’t done anything special, I had merely gotten pissed off she was wasting my time and told the truth. Cashier gave me her food free (in addition to what I ordered) since it had already been made/packaged and would go to waste, and was very friendly to me every time she saw me afterward.

My family wanted to know what had taken so long and why I got so much food…

13. Just sayin'.... some people deserve mean left hook.

Oh goody, I finally get to tell the story of how I once punched somebody in the face.

This is my only story of punching someone in the face, so it’s my favorite story of punching someone in the face. Several years ago at Walmart, I am in line behind a very mean, very disrespectful and very large woman. This woman in cussing the cashier up one side down the other and complaining that she is too slow.

This goes on for a few minutes and I watch as the poor cashier who undoubtedly needed this not so awesome job, purse her lips, stay silent and continue her work while being rapid fire berated.

I only have a few things. I put those things down on the conveyor belt. I size the situation up. I am small. I have never hit a living soul except my older brother when we were kids. I know this lady will kick my ass without thinking about it if I speak up. Oh, but I am from Texas AND I am Irish, so I gotta say something. I really have no choice. I am also fast.

I was scared before I even opened my mouth and started telling the lady off but I just couldn’t stop. What did it was she called the cashier a retard. I snapped and informed everyone around me that this woman was a piece of living breathing shit.

The woman’s head swung around to look at me and when it did I landed a right hook beautifully on her lower cheek. I got a glance off at the cashier who had a look that was a grand mix of gratitude and glee on her face. Then I RAN LIKE HELL, and nobody stopped me. I mean I booked it, never looked back. I drove home shaking like a damn leaf.

Moral: Don’t mess with the ladies of Walmart here in the South y’all.

Elana