To hate customers

[rahjama]

Somewhat lighthearted.

Working in hospitality/retail, what things do customers do that really, really annoy you when you're working? I'll start

• Booking for 6 people and then saying "Hope it's okay we're now a party of 194"

• Paying in cash but they're 1-20p short. "Can you cover it?" No I cannot

• Sitting on tables that are dirty/unset/in the process of being cleaned when there are clean and set tables literally next to them. Then complaining about the lack of cutlery.

• Buying the cheapest pint, saying it's flat/doesn't taste right, then swapping for the most expensive pint.

• Picking up an allergen menu and then saying "is this all you do?" No that's all we do GLUTEN FREE it says at the top!!!!!!!!!

Exactly. When I did this the lady on the reception asked me who grandma was. I then twigged what I’d said. Duh. She laughed about it and said I’d be surprised how often she gets smashed that……

Asked…

There was a toy shop opposite my place of work.
And the amount of people who asked could they leave their child while they popped across the road was unbelievable.
They where most put out when I told them no.

I was rude to a customer in writing once.

Long story short, I worked for a telecoms company in High level complaints. Said company had sold a load of PAYG phones to Avon and they were given free to their customers if theyb bought a certain amount of cosmetics whilst stocks last. Literally nothing to do with my company other than they provide the network.

Bloke writes to the CEO complaining that his wife can't have a phone. I write back advising take it up with Avon. Seven letters back and forth each and I'm sick of him.

He gets a seven paragraph letter (apologies that I can't remember the exact first word of each paragraph)

Further to your recent letter...
Unfortunately...
C...
Knowing this...
When...
I trust this is explanatory...
Thank you for your patience...

Nothing ever came of it so I assume he didn't notice. Had loads of little victories over customers in that job.

Customer: I bought a Nokia from Carphone Warehouse and you won't replace it under insurance.
Me: Do you have insurance?
C: No, but I pay you every month for my phone.
M: So, if you bought a Sony TV from Currys and it didn't work, would you ring the BBC for a replacement because you pay your licence fee?
C: No, that would be stupid.
M: Indeed it would, but can you tell me the difference between that and what you're asking?
C:......<click>

In the 60s and 70s my grandfather owned a corner shop and for several weeks he had managed to get square luncheon meat however this particular week he’d had to get the round luncheon meat again. A customer came in and on being told they only had round luncheon meat again this time she said “For that I won’t buy” and walked out.

Had a guy get stroppy with me because I couldn’t locate the results of something he took five years ago. After five minutes of him telling me I must be doing something wrong, I asked if he was sure it was under the name he gave me. Light bulb moment - the reason why I couldn’t locate his name was because he legally changed his name a few years after taking the test and gave me the name he went by now. Found it immediately after he gave me the previous name. No apology, of course, but f**k me, I wanted to shout “I’m not an oracle or a mind reader, how was I suppose to know what name you went by and that you changed it.

Made me never want to answer phones to help a team out again.

I worked as a barista in a large office, when getting the coffee machine fixed or serviced and there would be signs up along the corridor they had to walk down to get to the canteen & again on the door & the front of the machine, we should still have people ask for coffee, we'd state the machine wasn't working, and get oh can I just have an Americano? No, you can't, the machine isn't working. Or if we had no hot water they used to ask for tea 🤦🏻‍♀️

I was away in Scotland last week. Surgery called after my blood tests a couple of weeks ago and tried to send a prescription to a local pharmacy but couldn't as it was outside England. Prescription sent to my local Boots to pick up upon my return.

Didn't go near the surgery.

I was a bus driver for about 7/8 years. Similar problems to retail I guess but these were the common annoying things that happened and probably still do.

Customers paying £1.20 fare with a £20 Lund note. And people wonder why we quickly run out of change.

Not having their pass, money ready when they board this bus, holding everyone else up.

Women taking money out from their bras.. erm, thanks for that, I really want to touch that money don’t ?!

People saying that they’ve been waiting an hour for the bus.. erm no you haven’t, the bus ahead of me is 30 minutes ahead of me and I know it’s running.

Asking what happened to the bus in front- I don’t know, I can’t say what happened to the bus in front.

This is a terrible / shit service- that maybe true but you really need to tell the company management that… it’s above my pay grade to make changes the bus service.

People trying to stop you, jump in front of you whilst driving when you’re not in service, with all the lights off…

People moaning when your changing drivers- yes that ok folks, I’ll just drive the bus continuously shall I? Because I really don’t need a tea break, go to the toilet, have a drink, have something to eat , you know like most human beings do..

As a general rule. Most jobs that involve the public are terrible.

For the posters saying that in a decent restaurant servers should know who ordered what. I work in a pub where you order on an app or go to the bar and order so there is no way of knowing when I take the food out who ordered which meal.

I had a woman being really aggressive last week because she kept saying I'd taken her the wrong food when it turned out she had ordered wrong on the app and it was her mistake. There was no apology she just demanded I take it back and tell the kitchen to make her something different.

I said no because we had cooked exactly what she ordered and we would lose money throwing perfectly good food away and making her a whole new meal.
Thankfully it was time for me to clock off so I left her waving her arms about and shouting "ridiculous!" at my manager!

Again as a bus driver. People would let their children run up and down the stairs whilst the bus is driving 30 mph ! Common sense FFS parents!
Or people could see the bus was literally full to the rafters and still customers would expect you to let them in ? Like how exactly?

People didn’t understand or care , that bus drivers could get sacked or even prosecuted, get points for breaking the law/company policies.

Thank you! @DoItAfraid! 😊

It doesn't sound like it but I actually do really like my job and I promise I am very smiley and welcoming and helpful 😄

It's a letting off steam thread so I haven't mentioned the regular who brings me veg from his allotments or another one who brings the staff bags of haribo or ice lollies in heatwaves. I like the customers with friendly banter who make me laugh and chatting with the kind, friendly customers.
I also do go out of my way to try and solve people's problems and make sure they have a good time.
And the other staff who make me laugh and keep me sane.
I'm not a total, people hating ogre 🤣🤣

For anyone doubting what hospitality staff have to put up with, go & have a look at the McDonald’s thread!

When they want cashback and ask for 2 £10 notes 4 £5 notes and some change. Sorry, you get what's in the till. It's a shop not bloody Natwest!

Something I've noticed since working with the public again (supermarket) is just how poor personal hygiene is generally.
So many customers absolutely stink, I'll wonder why there's a big gap in my queue and then realise...

Had someone today who said "don't you think I can count" when they gave me a handful of coins.

I just have to blindly trust that what you're giving me is right?

you'd always get customer INSISTING we 'check the back room' for more of the product/specific shade. I'd explain, very clearly and politely, that we had DEFINITELY run out as multiple customers before them had tried to buy the same product so we'd checked very thoroughly and could see on our system that we were out. They'd still insist.

If you ever do this, please know the shop assistant NEVER actually checks. They will always walk into the back room and stand around for 30 seconds or so before walking back out and declaring they couldn't find more. The smug 'well, at least I made you check' look really does just make you look like a stupid twat!

This I have had so many extra breaks because customers always think you can't be arsed looking. No I know what we've got and if I didn't I would ask someone who did know.

Oh forgot the hygiene thing. Fortunately we only have one regular customer who is absolutely rank. He walks round holding his trousers up (which doesn't always work🤢) one of my colleagues asked him why he didn't buy a belt he said he didn't need one she told him "you absolutely do".
I remember an occasion when he was queuing down an aisle and another customer shouted to him "soap's on this shelf mate" the rest of the queue were in fits and I could have died.
He still comes in and if I spot him before he gets to the till I try and spray a cloud of air freshener around me.

Oh god, you’ve made me remember the guy cutting his toenails at the table 🤢

I went onto the McDonald's one to tell them they were unreasonable! Why do people look down on staff that work in retail or fast food restaurants etc? I'm always polite even if there is a problem, it's just being polite and basic manners isn't it ? Costs nothing.
Where did it all go wrong eh?

Apparently the McDonald's post was written by a previously banned person , so probably made up I suppose!

Having worked in retail on and off since I was 15 (almost 15 years) I could easily believe someone could think like that though. It's not wildly different from many of the experiences of people on here. I don't know if the pbp was just trying to create a nice example for everyone on here?

I have a few more though (supermarket perspective):

• asking if I'm marking hot food down even though it's a whole chicken (best seller) on a Sunday at 1pm and we don't close for 4 more hours.

• invading my actual space that I'm currently occupying (way beyond personal space) rather than saying excuse me.

• inappropriately dressed, this is my workplace, I know it's hot outside but I don't want to see bare chests, bums hanging out and be in danger of being flashed. I'm still expected to wear my full uniform, you can manage 30 mins in a cooler than outside supermarket with your shirt on and not wearing beachwear.

• invading clearly non customer areas. Ignoring multiple 'soft' signs like change in floors or thresholds or actual signs saying staff only. Normally scaring the shit out of me because I'm alone and not expecting anyone else in my kitchen (2 thresholds) because you can't wait less than a minute for me to get this fresh food out of the oven. As a young woman it also makes me feel unsafe, once had a man come back there and raise his voice that he'd been waiting 10 minutes (sure? I was only out there max 2 mins ago) and someone should always be available to serve. I was alone during early covid doing a 10 hour shift, if you want any hot food (he did) I occasionally have to move away from the service point.

I also support the blaming staff for out of stock items. Had a woman last week who came to my department complaining there were no frozen counterparts to my fresh items and that in another nearby store (go there?) there's always staff working that area and now she HAD to buy the fresh item instead. I must've repeated 3 times explaining we're chronically short staffed and we're trying our best but covid is also still causing some absences due to illness (it's also Ramadan in a highly Muslim area). She just kept repeating herself that she was forced to buy the fresh (these are also available elsewhere by other brands), in the end I told her to go and complain if she wanted to as clearly she had no problem complaining to me over and over again. I heard a few days later that after I walked away she went and found a colleague on a completely unrelated department to complain about the same thing to.

Yes that McD thread was deleted but like PP having worked in that type of role before I can more than believe that can / could happen. Having said that it also works both ways; I once got a bollocking from my manager back when I worked for a chain hotel for giving a woman a cup of hot water to use to heat her baby's bottle.

Lol, some of these are horrific.

My first job in 1997 was in retail, working on the deli counter at a local large supermarket, I loved it, although we did get some odd customers.

I think everyone should work in retail/hospitality as a rite of passage. It might stop some people being so nasty and rude.