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Original poster

Retail workers.. Has a customer ever made you cry?

77 replies

NotProudOfMyself · 25/11/2020 18:48

One did today. I'm not proud of myself. But they were one in a long line of customers today who decided to tell me how rubbish I am at my job (I'm not BTW, and I wasn't doing anything wrong )...and it just got to me. And I hate myself for that.

I wish people could remember that just because we wear a uniform and serve you doesn't make us less than human, or mean that we don't have feelings too.

We do. And we need kindness and understanding as much as you do. Trust me.

OP posts:

Fishfingersandwichplease · 25/11/2020 21:44

Had a lady shout at me very aggressively quite recently in front of a shop full of customers - l handled her no problem but what pissed me off is that my boss didn't stand up for me even though l had worked there for years and never had anyone complain about me. Thankfully don't work there any more. General public can be proper nasty sometimes. Try not to let it get to you OP xxx

SlippersForFlippers · 25/11/2020 21:47

Yes, must have been over 10 years ago now.

A customer bought a DVD, the store policy was to put out
empty cases and the disc needed to be collected from customer services (there were signs to say this and the checkout person should have told her too). She hadn't collected the disc after paying and then didn't have a receipt when she came back to the shop so I couldn't replace with out a stock check and the customer went mad.

My friend had a customer punch her at the checkout so I think I got off lightly.

moonlight1705 · 25/11/2020 21:57

Not quite retail but I used to work at a museum. There was a complaint sent in by email, fair enough and we dealt with the issue.

I emailed back to let the lady know what we had done to rectify her complaint. I got another email back with a torrent of vitriolic words all because I had addressed the email 'Dear Brenda'... she had signed her email as Brenda Jones but was horrified I had call her by her first name and not Ms Jones. Ignored all the rest of the stuff we had done to sort the issue.

StanfordPines · 25/11/2020 21:57

I think that everyone should have to work 6 months in retail, like some kind of national service. That’d make them think twice.

I did have many customers reduce me to tears but I had a lovely customer once.

I worked in an opticians. A woman phoned up and said that her father had died suddenly and she had to go to her family home. In the rush she had forgotten her contact lenses (this is pre internet.) Her branch was a city of London branch and closed on a Saturday. She knew she had had an eye test in our branch a few years ago and could we help. We only had the eye test on file, no contacts. She was clearly desperate so I got her to read out all the numbers on the packet and posted her some spare lenses in my lunch hour. This was not exactly legal!
She came in a week later with a gift of a little stuffed heart.
I have it still, 20 years later.

Livpool · 25/11/2020 22:01

The public are vile - I don't think I could work in a public facing role again. The customer was a shit

Holshicup · 25/11/2020 22:07

As a long time retail manager I find it disturbing that staff are dealing with this level of aggressive behavior without support, at the first indication of any potential issues I would expect my staff to refer the customer to me or a supervisor. Company's really need to do more to protect their staff, especially larger stores with security.
I have witnessed several occasions when shopping myself where it seems any type of behavior is tolerated and until stores take a hard line on this and actually refuse to serve abusive customers, unfortunately people will continue to use retail staff as verbal punching bags when they are having a bad day.
Fortunately the vast majority of people are genuinely lovely.

woodlandwalker · 25/11/2020 22:16

Working in the NHS I have had a patient make me cry. Many other patients upset me or made me annoyed. I also got physically assaulted working in a building with a day centre for people with learning disabilities.
I found it hard to understand how customers in shops don't realise that the assistant is not responsible for shop policy/staff shortages/stock shortage etc.

FannytheW0nderDog · 25/11/2020 22:22

Thewithesarehere - I wish that staff had that option but in this world the customer is always right and the manager is nearly always there to back them up rather than stand up for their staff. Shocking to read everyone's comments.

drumst1ck · 25/11/2020 22:33

I used to work in retail a few years ago and have cried a few times...

The worst was a lady on Xmas Eve which happened to be the day after my uncle died. I was already quite fragile and she wanted to return a pair of earrings which she insisted were 'faulty' as they 'hurt her ears'. No where does returns for earrings out of hygiene reasons especially when there's nothing physically wrong with them but she proceeded to scream at me for 10 minutes about my awful service in politely refusing her. After she had left me with tears in my eyes the other customers around all came over and told me how much of a cow she was and how I was right and was doing a good job. Made me feel a lot better!!

coronafiona · 25/11/2020 22:39

30 yrs ago I worked on a til in Sainsbury's. Some woman had MASSIVE go at me for processing her shopping too fast. Bloody love to see her in aldi now

MsAdoraBelleDearheartVonLipwig · 25/11/2020 23:21

Reminds me of when I was shopping in the city one day. I wasn’t in the best of moods, I think it was raining and I’d been traipsing about on errands. The man in front of me in the queue in M&S was being a complete dick to the poor girl on the checkout and said he was going to stay there till she’d done whatever it was he was after. I’d totally had enough of it and said in my poshest voice ‘oh why don’t you just fuck off you horrible little man’. I don’t usually come out with stuff like that but I’d just had enough. He just glared at me and stalked off. No apology or anything. The girl behind the desk smiled at me and I smiled back and we just sort of laughed. I hope it cheered her up a little bit. I was a checkout chick in my uni days and I know how vile people can be. I was really hoping I didn’t bump into him again though.

Cherrysoup · 25/11/2020 23:34

Working in a café when I lived in France and a customer told me he’d like to whip me. I think he meant it in a sexual way, but I was bonkers innocent and just relayed the exchange to my boss who manhandled him out. Bizarre situation.

SteveHarringtonsHair · 25/11/2020 23:45

I was a 16 year old Saturday girl, serving a man who unnerved me by not replying to my fairly cheery, innocuous chatter so I fumbled reading out the total amount to him (we used to have to add up on the paper bags we sold the items in) and he whispered over the counter so only I could hear it “stupid bitch”.
I made it all the way to the back of the shop where my manager was before bursting into tears. Seems really daft now but I was so young and innocent and I was genuinely upset by it. Just because I said a price wrong.

squeekums · 25/11/2020 23:51

A few weeks back there was an angry wanker come into my work, his crap i handled fine
When the woman who was also in store (another customer) came up and said "are you ok, well done for how you handled that" I got teary

farawayplanet · 26/11/2020 00:02

When I was a young nurse an elderly patient kicked me in the abdomen out of anger. I was pregnant and went on to have a missed miscarriage. I don't know if it was because I was kicked, but I always wondered.

SingleHandSue · 26/11/2020 00:07

When I was pregnant with DS2 I was working in a convenience store, only 2 members of staff were on at any one time and I was the most senior that shift.

My colleague refused a sale of alcohol as the lad had no ID, when he started getting arsey I had to go over to ask him to leave.

He noticed I was pregnant, looked me up and down in disgust and said “I’ll be waiting at the end of your shift to kick that fucking baby out of your body”

Why I didn’t call the police I don’t know. I just cried a bit and asked DH to meet me at the end of the night.

I’ve worked in customer facing roles for 20 years and the general public can be really fucking horrible.

SingleHandSue · 26/11/2020 00:09

@farawayplanet

I’m so sorry @farawayplanet, that seems so insensitive of me, I hadn’t seen your post before I added mine.

I’m so sorry that happened to you

Original poster

NotProudOfMyself · 26/11/2020 01:17

I'm so sorry that you all had to deal with such horrible behaviour. None of you deserved that. I would give you all a hug if I could

OP posts:

Original poster

NotProudOfMyself · 26/11/2020 07:25

Off to fight again another day. May the retails gods be kind to us all.

OP posts:

bearlyactive · 26/11/2020 07:36

Good luck OP!

User258544 · 26/11/2020 07:53

Yes. The one I find hardest is aggressive patronising men. Had one at MacDonalds Gatwick (people are EXTRA miserable when going on holiday ). The order took 5 minutes and he talked at me like crap. I console myself with thinking they must have sad miserable lives.

Peopke who are advocating for others or genuinely had bad service, I use empathy and try to make amends and agree what we will do, which has worked. All you can do is your best. It does stay with you though. Have you a supervisor you can talk to?

User258544 · 26/11/2020 07:54

Wishing you a calm and better day OP, thank you for your work!

MrsMoastyToasty · 26/11/2020 08:00

I was shopping in asda once and was loading my shopping into the bags and the guy behind me in the queue was being totally horrible to the checkout operator. I whispered to the checkout operator that I would sort him out. I walked up to customer services told the assistant that her colleague was upset. They told the guy to leave and banned him.

JimmyJabs · 26/11/2020 08:09

A couple of times when I worked in a department store, and once when I was a receptionist at a small hotel. One of the other receptionists had booked in a large hen party group and, unbeknown to anyone else, had offered them a special rate, which he hadn't recorded on their booking forms. It turned out he'd also allowed more than the usual occupancy rate for two of the rooms without telling them, so it was complete chaos when this group arrived and I was trying to take their payments. First they had a go at me for "overcharging" them, which I eventually managed to sort out, then when they went up to the rooms and discovered that there were z-beds squeezed in, they came back down and had another go at me. The thing was, I agreed with them that it was shit, but it was completely this other guy's fault and the injustice of having to take the flak for his cock-up was too much, and I burst into tears! Tbf, the customers ended up apologising and trying to comfort me...

WezWally · 26/11/2020 08:24

I used to work in a soft play centre and it was half term and very busy. Two kids came in with their grandma although they looked reluctant to be there as they were a lot older than the ones that usually came in. I told them they needed their heights checked before they could come in as we're only insured for accidents under a certain height. They were both at least a couple of inches too tall and clearly had no interest in running around a soft play area with smaller kids. The lady started absolutely screaming at me to the point where everyone in the centre went quiet and stared at us. She said lots of vile things to me and then said 'BUT THEYVE BEEN HERE BEFORE' and I replied something like 'yes, but clearly they have grown since then.' and she stormed out.
She returned 20 minutes later, still fuming and dragging the kids behind her and I was unlucky enough to encounter her again. She was so angry and loud that another customer actually came and stood by my side and was saying supportive things to keep me from crumbling. I had my first ever panic attack after that

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