Customers Suck

[Nebulous]

Have you ever worked somewhere where you had to deal with customers (clients, etc)?

What types of things did those customers do to really get under your skin and irritate the hell out of you?

How do you handle a problem customer?

 

[csc4]

I work in a grocery store, what bugs me more than anything is when people have a nasty attitude about things that are out of our control. I could go on all day with stories about such customers though..

 

[Sinon]

Every single fucking day.

Especially today. Our internet at work went down, which meant no credit cards, no cellphone topups, no gas/electric, no TV licences, no Collect+, no lottery... very annoying. And many, many people getting snarky with bullshit like "I don't carry cash"

Not my fucking problem asshole, eat a dick

>_>

 

[Dee]

I work in a retail shoe store as a cashier/sales associate, so yes, I work with customers. I quite often have to deal with people coming in with issues like:

1. Trying to return worn shoes "because they don't fit right". Our policy is no return on a worn pair of shoes unless it is damaged or not working properly. Fair enough, right? It's your responsibility to try it on and see if it works before walking outside on the street and scuffing it up, which means we can't resell it and have to send it out as a damage.

2. Flipping their lid over things like expired certificates and offers. First off, this is free money given to customers regardless of what the rewards program says. Rewards certificates are different since they are something we give to members for being loyal to the company by giving us their business.

The offers, however, are a little different. They are sent out randomly based on how customers shop with us, and these ones do have an expiration date that we're more strict about considering the computer won't read it as valid anyway. People tend to flip out because of these things for two reasons: (1) If a customer uses an offer on a purchase and decides to return it, they don't get that offer back. Why? Because it's free money they didn't earn. They can, however, have it transferred to another item if they do an exchange, which is nice because sometimes you can find a different shoe for the same price and have it just be a straight up exchange.

The (2nd) reason customers get upset about expired offers is just that: we rarely accept them, unless it looks like the customer is going to pitch a hissy fit. This is why I don't like dealing with customers regarding certificates/offers. They act self entitled, as if they're being robbed of money they never earned in the first place. In fact, I had a woman accuse me of stealing her money because I told her the return policy for returns/exchanges. In that example, actually, the reason she got the money off was because we were doing a tiered offer for all rewards members on any purchase over three specified amounts (ie $10 off $30, $20 off $60, etc) Again, rewards is a little different, but I'm mostly referring to offers.

3. Not carrying many different sizes or certain brands. We aren't a large store. We're the biggest one in the state, but we're not as big as the ones in LA or NY. That means that we don't carry everything on the website in the store. And with each box, we get about 1-2 sizes of each style of shoe they send us. If that shoe is selling well, we get replenishment of it. We can also find it online and ship (for free for rewards members), or find it nearby.

People, however, come into the store quite often complaining we don't have their size, which is understandable. I am not in charge of handling the shipments, though. I don't make the decision to stock a certain amount of sizes or brands, but I do get the brunt of the customer complaints when it becomes an issue. Here's the great part. Many of our customers often confess and say they've waited until the last minute to shop for shoes.

Here's the thing: retail is about a month or two ahead on the calendar year in terms of seasons. In mid-July/August, we already received lots of boot shipments. This isn't a new thing, and it certainly won't change in the future. In fact, if things continue on the trend they're going, chances are you'll see stuff in stores earlier than usual. If you've ever shopped in a store, you may have heard about this so don't act too surprised! Plus, it isn't my fault the customer waited until the last minute to find something they should have been looking for at least a week prior. I had a woman come into the store today to look for a pair of shoes for her sister's wedding. She was looking for sandals, and, believe it or not, since we're coming into the end of the summer season, there weren't any more of her size available in the store. She wasn't upset, which was nice, but she did have to go a half-size smaller.

Anyway, that's all I can think of for now and I have to go to dinner anyway. I'll come back and add more later!

 

[Bluezone777]

I just love when I get someone who thinks they know the department i work in better then I do as if the six to seven years I spent working in that department and in the same store isn't enough to know what the store does or doesn't carry. People have this idea that all stores carry the same stuff but it's not the case. I can't really blame them for it as I can understand how they came to that conclusion but it's safe to take the word of a guy who works in the department when they say they don't carry something.

Then you have the people who clutter up the department so you can't do your job which is fun too especially when it is clear they have no clue of how much they are blocking everything up with their carts.

Most people are decent though so I can't complain too much though I work nights so it lessens how many customers I see because of that which is nice.

 

[MrDawn]

I cannot stand, demanding customers. Demanding as in telling me that I'm going to do everything they want me to do because for some stupid reason....they believe thats my job. They also believe its my job to hunt down someone at the dealership when actually, that isn't my job either. But yeah. I handle invoices that are printed over to the billing department.

I've had customers refuse to pay their bill after their vehicle has been worked on.

The general manager just tells them that he'll have the mechanics remove the parts and they can call a tow truck to have it hauled to their house or another place, but they still have to pay labor.

That normally makes them change their mind.

Some times people get so pissed off about their vehicle and have to pay over 3,000 dollars and I'm called over to the service office to see a complaint. I'm dealing with some ass hole who I wish would just fuck off.

 

[Dee]

Last Sunday, a young boy was shopping with his mother in our store and he had thrown up in one of the aisles near the back of the store. When the girl who cleaned it up was done, she said to me that it was pure snot and the boy must've been very sick. We could hear him coughing up a storm, but you know what his mother did? Nothing. She kept shopping. She didn't take him to the bathroom or leave the store, didn't even ask us to put her things on hold. She just went about her business as if it never happened.

 

[Jewel]

For 5 years I worked at Walmart on the salesfloor. I basically had a neverending cart of ripped open packages, people would even rip open the ones with ziploc!

Customers not believing you when you say something's not in the back. The backcannot fit every darn thing!

Customers demanding displays.

 

[WhoFlungpoo]

The sense of entitlement some customers have.

The using their "race" card as an attempt to gain advantage/ entitlement.

The using "I'm disabled" card to also gain an advantage/ entitlement. This is a tricky one.

The" I'm a single parent " or have a disabled card.

Whilst I appreciate everyone has reasons and issues in this life. They are rarely relevant and to be used as a form of blackmail be it emotional or intimidation.

 

[Wonko]

A couple of years ago I was driving a lorry for oak furniture land (bunch of crooks) and me and my co driver arrived at a drop to exchange a damaged wardrobe when my co driver came back to the lorry to say the customer refused us entry unless we removed our boots, we have to wear our boots as they are safety boots to protect ourselves from the extremely heavy furniture we deliver, so I went and had a chat with the customer he agreed to let us in to exchange the wardrobe. So I make my way back to the lorry to bring in the replacement wardrobe unaware that the bloke was right behind me, as I got to the lorry he shoved me from behind grabbed the wardrobe screaming he was going to inspect it on the road side, my co driver just back from Afghanistan was not impressed and neither was I , my co driver had to hold me from behind while this arsehole customer screamed abuse at us literally in our faces, the customers partner/wife came out holding a very young baby and tried to calm the bloke down whilst having a go at us as well!!!! she got him back in the house and we loaded the wardrobe back on the lorry no way were we going that house with that arsehole because one of us would not have left it walking and I don't think it would have been me or my co driver, so we get in the cab and talking to the office to let them know why we would not be making the delivery when arsehole comes back out and tries to get in the lorry screaming he's going to hunt us down, I have absolutely no doubt in my mind that if he had been armed as his "right to defend himself" me and my co driver would not be alive today, I have condensed this story down as there was an awful lot more to tell about what he did and said but basically he was not happy with the company we worked for and took it out on us, he was a big old unit and so am I and my co driver for the day so it could have got very ugly, the co driver never came back he said he would rather dodge the Taliban than deal with pricks like that.

 

[Mercedes01]

I work with customers I look at it like this.

Those customers pay my wages.

Never bite the hand that feeds you.

 

[Sinon]

I work with customers I look at it like this.

Those customers pay my wages.

Never bite the hand that feeds you.

That's a shitty way to look at it. Nowhere in the job description does it say 'receive unwarranted abuse from idiots who probably dropped out of school because they're scum'

 

[Mercedes01]

That's a shitty way to look at it. Nowhere in the job description does it say 'receive unwarranted abuse from idiots who probably dropped out of school because they're scum'

Yeah my way is a shitty way that's why I'm yet to have a rude customer.

That's why many ask to speak to my boss to give me the thumbs up.

As far as I'm concerned your shitty attitude is all to do with you
not your customers!~

 

[Wonko]

Yeah my way is a shitty way that's why I'm yet to have a rude customer.

That's why many ask to speak to my boss to give me the thumbs up.

As far as I'm concerned your shitty attitude is all to do with you
not your customers!~

I beg to differ, customer expectations are way higher than they used to be plus they sometimes spend more money than they can afford (I get this a lot with kitchens) and some of them are rude by nature and some become rude when stressed combine that together and I don't care how much arse you lick you will still have rude and unreasonable customers.
In the case mentioned by me where both myself and my co driver were verbally attacked and threatened we had not done or said anything at all to receive the abuse we did, the company we worked for probably did deserve some comeback but still did not justify this idiots abuse and threats.

 

[Mercedes01]

I beg to differ, customer expectations are way higher than they used to be plus they sometimes spend more money than they can afford (I get this a lot with kitchens) and some of them are rude by nature and some become rude when stressed combine that together and I don't care how much arse you lick you will still have rude and unreasonable customers.
In the case mentioned by me where both myself and my co driver were verbally attacked and threatened we had not done or said anything at all to receive the abuse we did, the company we worked for probably did deserve some comeback but still did not justify this idiots abuse and threats.

From my experience I've had no problems.

 

[Savona]

I work with customers I look at it like this.

Those customers pay my wages.

Never bite the hand that feeds you.

Being in real estate for 26 years I know this WELL. Sometimes you just have to swallow you pride. After all pride does NOT put food on the table.

When you are dealing with a persons most important and largest asset they own, they can get VERY testy. And I understand it. When dealing with a couple divorcing, fighting, or losing it all it is a huge challenge and you must know how to sooth and smooth things out.

 

[mrldii]

Being in real estate for 26 years I know this WELL. Sometimes you just have to swallow you pride. After all pride does NOT put food on the table.

When you are dealing with a persons most important and largest asset they own, they can get VERY testy. And I understand it. When dealing with a couple divorcing, fighting, or losing it all it is a huge challenge and you must know how to sooth and smooth things out.

The man who taught me this business told me 30+ years ago: "Always remember: you're fucking with people where they live. People don't like to be fucked with, where they live."

Moving is a major life stressor, whether it's for bad reasons (divorce, empty-nesting, foreclosure, etc.) OR good reasons (marriage, a job promotion, to get more space for their family); people are rarely at their best when stressed.

runk:

 

[cali]

I managed a drug store in the deep hood for years and one time and one time only I had to call cops on a black couple who came in demanding something not available and proceeded to verbally and racially abuse me and threaten me. When the cops came they were gone but that one time in the hood I was scared.

 

[Jewel]

I managed a drug store in the deep hood for years and one time and one time only I had to call cops on a black couple who came in demanding something not available and proceeded to verbally and racially abuse me and threaten me. When the cops came they were gone but that one time in the hood I was scared.

That's terrible! Would have scared me too!

 

[Mercedes01]

Being in real estate for 26 years I know this WELL. Sometimes you just have to swallow you pride. After all pride does NOT put food on the table.

When you are dealing with a persons most important and largest asset they own, they can get VERY testy. And I understand it. When dealing with a couple divorcing, fighting, or losing it all it is a huge challenge and you must know how to sooth and smooth things out.

Exactly ^^^^^^^^^

 

[MrDawn]

Yeah. I got my ass chewed the other day by an inconvenienced old bitch because the debit machine rejected her card stating code 208. Which was on her side as in the bank had a limit on her card. So she bitched at me as if I was the reason it got rejected. Than she bitched at my colleague for telling her the exact same thing. People amaze me with their ignorance.

 

[The Dragon Master]

Have you ever worked somewhere where you had to deal with customers (clients, etc)?

What types of things did those customers do to really get under your skin and irritate the hell out of you?

How do you handle a problem customer?

Oh God, problem customers are a daily part of my work life. They seem to forget that you, as a sales assistant, have rules a regulation's that you have to abide by and can't change. A higher up member of staff can, but I can't and when things don't go their way, they threaten and shout at me.

What irritates me the most about these types of customers is that they are incapable of looking at things from a sales assistant's perspective. I know that they haven't had the best of days and they would rather be elsewhere with their working product, rather than in store trying to get a refund for their faulty item, but if we can't see the fault there is nothing we can do. We can't change any of the policies, as much as we would like to, or we would lose our jobs. They don't listen to reason or logic. You suddenly become the enemy, and they start swearing at you, shouting at you, calling you names and in the worst of cases threatening you. They just seem to lose all reason, and become incredibly aggressive.

Most of the time, I try to kill them with kindness. I repeat everything twice, never stray from the policy and when they go away and threaten to complain to the company, I tell them to have a nice day.

 

[Ravenfreak]

Thank god I no longer work in retail, I hated dealing with bad customers! I used to work in the Dairy department at Walmart and had this regular customer come in looking for Cage Free Eggland's best eggs and every time we were out he would throw a fit. One time he was throwing a fit and I told him I'd go check the back, of course we were out so when I got back out of the cooler he was gone. I didn't see him so I went back to doing what I was doing, he came back and accused me of not helping him when I told him "Sir you walked off and I couldn't find you. So don't accuse me of not helping you." There was one day he was actually in a good mood and wasn't rude to me when we were out of the eggs he usually got, and he went with the store brand.

 

[Nebulous]

Thank god I no longer work in retail, I hated dealing with bad customers! I used to work in the Dairy department at Walmart and had this regular customer come in looking for Cage Free Eggland's best eggs and every time we were out he would throw a fit. One time he was throwing a fit and I told him I'd go check the back, of course we were out so when I got back out of the cooler he was gone. I didn't see him so I went back to doing what I was doing, he came back and accused me of not helping him when I told him "Sir you walked off and I couldn't find you. So don't accuse me of not helping you." There was one day he was actually in a good mood and wasn't rude to me when we were out of the eggs he usually got, and he went with the store brand.

I used to work at a store and had the same experience! Except it was Reeses Puffs this lady was after. She accused me of hiding it before she got there one time. I thought that was funny.

 

[Crys]

Have you ever worked somewhere where you had to deal with customers (clients, etc)?

What types of things did those customers do to really get under your skin and irritate the hell out of you?

How do you handle a problem customer?

1.) Customers that try to bring back clothes from the last five years without a receipt and clearly the clothes have been washed and worn.

2.) Customers, during Black Friday, who show up well after the deals are done and blame me for them not getting that 65inch television.

3.) Customers who come into the store with an attitude already.

4.) Customers who don't work here but think they know everything.

Direct them to the manager.

 

[MrDawn]

4.) Customers who don't work here but think they know everything.

The worst kind. I hate it when people tell me how to do my job. I've been working at my position since 2013, minus one year, and it pisses me off when I get some random jerk off telling me how to go find the general manager, who is in a different building, when that's not my job.

 

[Crys]

The worst kind. I hate it when people tell me how to do my job. I've been working at my position since 2013, minus one year, and it pisses me off when I get some random jerk off telling me how to go find the general manager, who is in a different building, when that's not my job.

Don't you just want to say, "Excuse me, do you work here? Seriously do you? No? Well shut the hell up and let me, the employee, do my job!"

 

[MrDawn]

Don't you just want to say, "Excuse me, do you work here? Seriously do you? No? Well shut the hell up and let me, the employee, do my job!"

I just yell out over the phone like I'm talking to someone that I'm going to screen their call. That normally puts them in their place. I actually did that to a guy who was being a smart ass to me. Every time he'd call, I'd shoot his number over to the manager's office, who wasn't picking up. I wouldn't even pick up the phone anymore, I'd just auto send him. I did this 6 times before he called back and I answered. He apologized for being a douche bag.

 

[Nebulous]

Direct them to the manager.

Would you want to be the manager one day?

 

[Crys]

Would you want to be the manager one day?

Absolutely...not.

 

[Nebulous]

Absolutely...not.

What if it paid $150,000 a year?

 

[Crys]

What if it paid $150,000 a year?

Hmmm....no.

 

[Nebulous]

Hmmm....no.

Really?

Its a shame that the people who are managers at your store probably make a fraction of that amount then.

 

[Crys]

Really?

Its a shame that the people who are managers at your store probably make a fraction of that amount then.

For my own sanity, it's not worth it. I'm not going to put myself through that at least in the retail.

 

[MrDawn]

For my own sanity, it's not worth it. I'm not going to put myself through that at least in the retail.

People think if they're buying something off of you, they think it gives them the right to be abusive. Does not work well with me.

 

[Webster]

Would you want to be the manager one day?

 

[Dee]

People think if they're buying something off of you, they think it gives them the right to be abusive. Does not work well with me.

I'm really glad I got out of retail when I did. People still yell and argue with me in healthcare, but at least I have more control over the situation. We don't accept that shit in our clinic.