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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To hate customers

541 replies

rahjama · 30/04/2022 09:46

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 cannotHmm
  • 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!!!!!!!!!
OP posts:
Redwinemaestro · 01/05/2022 10:00

squashyhat · 01/05/2022 08:40

Question for cafe staff. Why when I order a hot drink and a meal does the drink always come ages before the food so it's getting cold by the time I can eat? Why should I have to specify that they come together? Surely it's obvious?

Open your bloody mouth and ask for both to be served together!

Maverickess · 01/05/2022 10:01

HollysBush · 01/05/2022 09:43

Not customers exactly, but I worked on a hospital ward with 28 female patients, and the number of people who would ring up and say “Hello, can you tell me how my Mum is doing?….”

Worked in a care home and got this all the time, with 32 residents you would get to know faces but with most people having more than one child and only a voice to go on, identifying the correct mum or dad isn't easy!

LadyWhistldown · 01/05/2022 10:02

And, in maternity again at visiting time, they would turn up hours early to see their new grandchild. The replies I could have are as follows:
I've come all the way from Cornwall/Scotland/The outer Hebrides (really)

We didn't know the visiting hours (website)

There's only two of us (multiple people say this so it's not just 2 is it)

I'll pay (£1000 please. In cash)

And then get annoyed when I refuse entry. Mums have to rest and feed babies. You can't just come in!!!!!!!!

Burgoo · 01/05/2022 10:03

I must admit I feel for hospitality workers because not only is the pay relatively shit but you also have to put up with this nonsense.

I tend to dead pan people who ask stupid questions.

"Can you cover it, we have 20p short?"
"No" (dead pan expression, looking at them blankly)

"Can we add another two people to the table?"
"No, you booked for 6"

The key here is to make it a bit uncomfortable. They may stay away in future (which would solve your problem!) though its more likely they will get shaped into not doing that again. Make it their problem. Otherwise we end up with a society of entitled people who think they can bend the rules and people will accommodate it.

Of course if they are genuinely sorry and show a little guilt then let it slide!

D0lphine · 01/05/2022 10:04

Chica10 · 01/05/2022 09:18

In restaurants, when you have these massive families or mum groups come in, with their small kids, and by the time they leave the table they were sitting at is a complete tip. Food, wet wipes, paper, crayons, sauces, (twice, dirty nappies!!), and goodness knows what else - on the table, underneath the table, beside the table, dirty stuff everywhere. And they just leave all of this mess behind and leave the restaurant, leaving it to the poor servers to clean it up.

People who do this are entitled plebs. It’s awful behaviour and they are teaching their own kids shit behaviour. It shows complete disregard and disrespect.

Agree with this.

However if you leave a mess but also a massive tip that mitigates matters!

Burgoo · 01/05/2022 10:06

@LadyWhistldown

THIS!!!

I work in a sector where people think they can just do what they choose. They are inevitably the same people who DNA appointments without calling and then expect another one to be booked.

No... if you don't want to follow our rules then you can go privately. Then you can visit all you want. Until that time, that's the way it is.

Also the "we've travelled" thing... I am unsure why that's your problem.

SuspiciousScully · 01/05/2022 10:06

Yuck to the PP who had a customer try to hand them money from their underwear! I thought it was bad enough when I had a customer (who was very obviously a drug user and high on something at the time) hand me slightly damp money from their sock (and, yes, I took it as I worried about what he'd do if I didn't)!

The retail chain I used to work in often had coupons in the paper on a Saturday that gave discounts on a certain product (the product would vary week to week). It was always really popular and generally by the time it got to midday/early afternoon we'd be sold out of the product or at least only have limited colours/scents etc. left.

But 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!

I once had a customer scream at me when I asked if she needed a bag (for one very small item) because clearly I was trying to make her look like a shoplifter and if she didn't take a bag I would then stop her at the door and call the police. I I had given her a receipt...

It was always amusing when customers would threaten to take their custom elsewhere! Oh, no! I'm sure the big national chain of stores I work for will really notice you not buying a bottle of shampoo and tube of toothpaste from them once every couple of months anymore!

If they threatened such a thing (especially if the reason they were annoyed was because I wouldn't put up with them swearing at cashiers - I was a supervisor) I would sweetly point them towards the very similar - but more expensive - chain that had a store just up the street from us. That made them furious.

If a customer was nasty/rude I was an absolute stickler for the rules. If they came in demanding a refund on something without the receipt then I'd shrug and let them know my hands were tied as it was against our policy.

If, however, they were pleasant and polite then I'd go out of my way to help/bend rules etc. because I thought that behaviour should be rewarded! I had a woman ask for a specific shade of make-up once. We didn't have any but did have a couple of testers. I explained that the testers didn't have a barcode and we weren't supposed to sell them.

She was so nice and funny and told me that clearly I didn't need the make-up being the fresh-faced beautiful young lady I was, but that she really needed to slap in on with a trowel and she'd be soooo grateful if there was any chance I could find a way to bend the rules. I was so used to customers just screaming at me that I put it through for her and just asked her not to tell anyone! A bit of humour and flattery can get you a long way with people who are used to dealing with cunts!

Rosebel · 01/05/2022 10:09

Always at least one customer who turns up 30 minutes before closing and then complains there are no carrots or sprouts left (or even turkey).
Others who personally blame me for their favourite products being out of stock.
Or complain when the store has a refit and x product has moved. Why has it moved? Why, why why? I don't know. I didn't choose to move it.
Yesterday I had a complaint about the fact we had a fire alarm and the alarm was too noisy.
I can't wait to get out of retail.

CeratopsofthePharoahs · 01/05/2022 10:10

I did ten years in retail.

Some gems include the guy having a bit of a yell as he can't find the PVA glue, he's looked everywhere, we've hidden it, yada yada.
Me "It's right behind you sir."
Yes, a BIG set of shelves with big bottles full of white stuff with massive letters on the side saying PVA. It really, really was obvious.

I've had a trolley full of stock shoved into me so hard I fell over because it was "in the way". Well how AWFUL of me for trying to do my job of putting out products for people to buy. They could have said "excuse me" but no, straight to physical assault.

The best worst one? Here goes.
A lady comes to my till with a full basket. Goes to pay but it doesn't work. I tell her that the till says she's put in the wrong PIN. Now, this does happen, usually people have picked up the wrong card or just had a brain fart. Now, most people would look at the card and realise the mistake. Not this lady.
She put the PIN in again, till says no. I politely say that it's saying incorrect again. Lady gets angry because it IS the right PIN, it must be the till.
It wasn't the till.
I say that perhaps she should double check the card as she now only has one attempt remaining and if that comes up incorrect the card will be locked and she'll have to take the card to her bank to unlock.
She does it wrong again.
Till says card is now locked. I politely inform her of this and ask if she has another method of payment.
She goes utterly batshit at me. Yelling that it WAS the right pin, I must have done something wrong and her card couldn't be locked and why was I doing this and she needed this stuff NOW for school kids.
Card is still locked.
She then gets out about half the value of her shopping in cash and says she's taking everything anyway and she'd come back later with the rest of the money and it was my fault for locking her card.
I try to explain that she can only take what's actually been paid for which results in even more yelling.
So I call our manager who says exactly the same thing. She can take goods up to the value of the cash she has and we're quite happy to keep the rest of her shopping behind the till if she wants to come back, but she can't take stuff that's not paid for.
She carries on yelling, accusing me of locking her card and saying that it was all my fault so she should be allowed the stuff as it was needed NOW for school children. On and on she went, now gathering a little crowd of other customers to watch the crazy.
In the end I think she realised we weren't going to let her take stuff for free so walked out with nothing, still yelling. She'd complain to head office, we'd be sacked and she'd be back later for her shopping so we'd better not do anything to it, etc etc.
We did keep it behind the till until the end of the day, but thankfully she did not return.

Chica10 · 01/05/2022 10:13

D0lphine · 01/05/2022 10:04

Agree with this.

However if you leave a mess but also a massive tip that mitigates matters!

Actually these people tend to be shit tippers. And when it’s is super busy servers would rather a relatively easier mess up to clear up, so other people can sit down, rather than a few extra pounds to clear up trash and literally some else’s shit.

Seriously, a part of your soul dies when ever you are exposed to such shocking behaviour.

Chica10 · 01/05/2022 10:14

D0lphine · 01/05/2022 10:04

Agree with this.

However if you leave a mess but also a massive tip that mitigates matters!

Actually these people tend to be shit tippers. And when it’s is super busy servers would rather a relatively easier mess up to clear up, so other people can sit down, rather than a few extra pounds to clear up trash and literally some else’s shit.

Seriously, a part of your soul dies when ever you are exposed to such shocking behaviour.

CruCru · 01/05/2022 10:18

I used to work in a shop on Saturdays when I was 15 / 16. Things I hated:

  • the people who turned up after closing and gaze at us through the windows. No, we won't reopen for you, no matter how aghast you look. I've been on may feet for nine hours.
  • the men who would stare freely at my chest and then get snarky when I crossed my arms
  • the people who would get cross with me when, during my lunch break I went to another shop, because I didn't know where something was / didn't work there.
CorsicaDreaming · 01/05/2022 10:20

@duvetdayforeveryone - really enjoyed that YouTube video Smile

CeratopsofthePharoahs · 01/05/2022 10:31

@SuspiciousScully I have totally done that. Product out of stock and I know it's out of stock because I've already checked. So I'll go and stand in Goods Inwards for a few minutes, have a chat with the guy who works there, get some fresh air and then head back out. It's amazing how many people would think the answer would change if they asked enough times.
Like some sort of magic spell. Congratulations, as you've now asked me for the seventeenth time if we have an item I know we don't have, you have unlocked the special portal near my arsehole and I can mumble an incantation and pull one out!
No.
It.
Is.
Out.
Of.
Stock.

Fraaahnces · 01/05/2022 10:33

@CorsicaDreaming - no worries. I would just hate it if someone’s family member read it and wondered if that happened while CPR was being given to their mum/dad/gran/whatever and became upset. But like any customer service industry, the idiocy of people everywhere astounds me. Take them out of their own environment, and put them on a plane - we’re travelling in a small tube, people travelling for myriad reasons, all equally important to them, and all the safety, security and potential medica hazards on board, everything becomes amplified. (We’re talking people deliberately spilling hot drinks on their kids to try and get free alcohol, etc…) I became quite hard to shock.

Hathertonhariden · 01/05/2022 10:36

Theawkwardblonde · 30/04/2022 22:55

Love this..former hospitality manager so a lot of these bring back fond (pained memories).

Customers sitting on the one dirty table in a restaurant full of clean tables, that was my trigger.

Closely followed by "it's not on the menu but could I have X?"

Also hated customers making shitty jokes/puns;
Me:"Whose having the cod and chips?"
Customer: "that's a cod? It's huge! More like WHALE and chips!" Cue whole table laughing at the hilarity. I mean calm down Brenda, it's not like every bloody table says that same joke to me when ordering the Friday fish special 🤦🏼‍♀️

Asking for something off menu is supposed to be a way of finding out whether the food us freshly cooked or a ping dinner. If you're in a chain restaurant you should expect that it will be a ping dinner.

Rhodora · 01/05/2022 10:41

The shop I used to work in was on the ground floor of a Georgian building. During the shop’s opening hours the building’s front door and the shop door would be wide open. The number of people that would ring the doorbell after the shop closed often continuously believing that would make us open the door for them.

CandidaAlbicans2 · 01/05/2022 10:41

"When you've got heavy plates of food burning the skin off your fingers and you say "I've got the mixed grill, the boneless basket and the medium sirloin?"and they all just sit and stare at you"

Whenever I go out with a group from a social club they do this, and it winds me up. But worse as it seems like it’s only me who pays attention when staff arrive with food asking who’s having what. It’s embarrassing. Just STFU, stop chatting and pay attention for a moment, remember what you’re having and pipe up 🙄

FleurDeLizz · 01/05/2022 10:43

I wish you were allowed to be rude back to arsehole customers. Working in a supermarket stacking shelves and one woman wanted my colleague and I to see if we had a particular item on our very full cage. Everything comes in brown boxes - we checked the stock level and showed her it was out of stock but she wasn’t having any of it. We had to unload the entire thing before she was satisfied that we didn’t have it

CandidaAlbicans2 · 01/05/2022 10:45

"Customers who say ‘I’ve a prescription to collect’ then we both just stare at each other. There’s several hundred bags back there I need a name dammit! Something!"

@HunterAngel, instead of staring at them wouldn’t it just be more polite for the convo to go:
You: Hello, how can I help you?
Customer: Hello, I’m here to collect a prescription
You: OK, what’s your name?
No need to stare at them, just ask for the info you need

saggyhairyass · 01/05/2022 10:48

When she finally stopped clicking her fingers in my face I asked if she was ready to place her order. She wanted to complain I said order or leave nobody is going to have time for you today.

I get clicking too. Rude.

ememem84 · 01/05/2022 10:49

Maverickess · 01/05/2022 10:01

Worked in a care home and got this all the time, with 32 residents you would get to know faces but with most people having more than one child and only a voice to go on, identifying the correct mum or dad isn't easy!

I did this the first time I went to see my grandma at her nursing home. I got through the door and just said “I’m here to see my grandmother which room is she in” dawned on my quickly that the reception staff might need her name to help
me further……#moron

Beepbopblop · 01/05/2022 10:51

Worked in a small shoe shop, customer didn’t believe me when I didn’t say we had her size.

Requested me to check the back twice, the second time she actually followed me into the store room! I told her she wasn’t allowed back to the shop!

Franklin12 · 01/05/2022 10:57

Gosh, this brings back memories. All of this is true. Love the Scott video. Worked recently in a very well know posh supermarket. Honestly the late middle aged women were the worst. On their phones, looking down on you, making the comments you have heard a million times (a day!).

Particular hatred for the grey haired late middle aged man who would come in every single Saturday evening 10-15 mins before closing and take his time doing his weekly shop. Supermarket are open all the time now. The brave supervisors would go up to him when the bell rang to say we were closed to be met with, yes, I know that, do you want my business, or where is xxx product.

Selfish git.

Phobiaphobic · 01/05/2022 11:02

rahjama · 30/04/2022 10:02

Do they think we will magically have an unlimited amount of space for them? Book for the amount of people who are coming. It's not hard.

Another one:
Me: "Hi there, how are you"
Customer: "I'll have a fish and chips and a large diet coke, table 7. Thanks"

RUDE. At least say hello?????

I gotta say, OP, I hate being asked how I am by random strangers, because honestly, what am I supposed to say? You're not really interested in how I am, and I don't want to have to ask how you are either. Though absolutely customers should say hello, sure.