To ask retail staff your worst customer stories?

[JaneTheVirgin]

There's been an influx lately of people complaining about the most minor perceived slight from customer service staff when in reality what they deal with on a daily basis is 99% of the time worse than not kissing your backside for buying a £5 chicken or £2 nail polish.

So, current and former retail staff - who was your worst customer? What shit do you put up with daily?

*Disclaimer for the whiny and chronically offended, I'm not talking about ACTUAL terrible service, which does happen but at a much lesser rate than terrible customers treat staff on minimum wage.

@ohsuzannah He was a lovely guy the reason he threatened the customer was because he wanted a bet at a good price think special offer type thing but he was an hour late the offer had expired and we're not allowed to make any exceptions the terms and conditions are clear. The customer after trying to charm and flirt me into making an exception and failing then turned nasty he called me a fucking fat jobs worth on a power trip and a cheap whore then offered me a tenner for a blow job and told me he would deep throat me that should shut me up.

Before I could respond lovely customer grabbed him shoved him into the counter and told him if he carried on being a twat he was gonna punch his mouth off his face that should shut him up! I meanwhile was talking lovely customer down from doing just that and it was only because I said remember the camera's he let the guy go and told him to piss off. That arsehole ran out the shop so fast I was amazed he didn't burn a hole in the floor.

I made lovely customer a cup of tea and then called the area manager as technically the twat threatened sexual assault which area manager wouldn't tolerate. He wanted to call the police but I said no and explained what lovely customer did and I didn't want him to get in trouble as the camera's will show what he did and why should get in trouble for doing the decent thing. Thankfully area manager agreed and told him to let the customer have a free bet on the machine.

Lovely customer was a real gent when he heard another customer had spat in my face he came straight down the shop looking for him lol

Wow, what a thread!

20 odd years ago, when Early Learning Centre’s were stand alone stores on the high street we would get parents who would try to treat us like baby sitting services.
“little Timmy is ok here for an hour or two whilst I nip into Debenhams” whilst pointing out a toddler who is creating havoc at the Thomas the Tank Engine table and then being a dick when I try to politely refuse when really I wanted to ask them if they’d taken leave of their fucking senses or were just naturally that thick.

Maybe it's just me, but I clearly remember as a teenager assuming that ELC was some kind of government or charity-led facility - kind of like sure start centres nowadays. I don't know if it was partly the name, but they always looked to me to be deliberately designed as a place to play with toys rather than a place to buy toys and take them home with you. The one in our city at least looked very unlike other toy shops.

Apropos the bookies, it's disgraceful how many staff are treated in them; but I can't say I'm surprised that those establishments attract a high proportion of people who 'struggle' socially, shall we say. Even people who aren't by nature rough or antisocial probably become desperate when they realise just how much money they've lost and how much (more) trouble they'll be in until they next get paid.

They definitely need beefed up security, more and better-paid staff on duty and a no-nonsense approach. Then again, the owners/managers probably realise that, if they only allowed the polite, respectful customers and banned the rest, they'd probably be ejecting 80% or more of their customers.

No criticism of the workers, but the whole industry is set up to be very exploitative of vulnerable/socially-awkward people. I know there are plenty of folk who happily gamble £10 OR £20 a month that they can easily afford to lose, in return for a bit of entertainment; but I doubt they're the source of most of the profits - especially for bricks-and-mortar bookies.

A lot of these comments also seem to me to be one very clear reason why a lot of businesses don't allow non-customers to use their toilets - and are much criticised whenever we have MN threads about the topic.

With so many people around like this who feel fully entitled to use your facilities and leave them all smeared with poo and honking to high heaven, you can see why firms wouldn't want to risk one of these 'incidents' when they don't even stand to make a single penny from the person. It sounds like a lot of people who don't buy anything are more entitled (and disgusting) than many people who are actual customers.

I get that it makes it difficult for decent people who get caught short and genuinely just want to use a toilet in the normal way and leave it clean, without any drama; but with so many minging skanky people around, you can well see why the companies aren't desperate to open their toilets up as a free-for-all (not that it helps with the kind of person who never feels the need to seek out a designated toilet in which to do their dirty business in the first place, mind).

Forgotten about “pasty fart” man! I was trying desperately to hold my breath throughout the(mercifully short) transaction & handed him his receipt from as far away as possible! Never smelt anything like it!!

I too have a had a customer do a shit in the men’s changing rooms. They put loads of clothes on top and it was one of my sales assistants who discovered it. He refused to clean it up and rightly so!

Why the FUCK would you take a shit in the changing room? We worked in a big shopping centre and there were toilets on both floors. Is it that some people don’t make it to the toilet quick enough? Do some people have fetishises and enjoy humiliation? The fact that it’s so common on this thread alone is scary.

One time when I was a Manager in a store on Oxford Street, this woman went crazy because her birkin bag had been stolen. She’d left it on the seat whilst looking in the mirror to see some shoes that she had tried on. By the time she went back to the seating area, her bag had gone.

She shouted at all the staff and said it was their fault for not watching her stuff. I had to get involved and explain to her that she’s in Oxford Street. There’s thieves everywhere and that’s why we have signs in the store saying please look after your belongings! I have no clue why anyone would be so trusting to leave a birkin bag on a seat and walk off but hey ho!

I’ve never had anyone swear, shout or get physical and I’m grateful for that because that probably would have been the day I received a disciplinary. There’s absolutely no way someone can spit in my face and walk out of the shop in one piece.

I left Retail during Covid when I was furloughed and I never want to go back again

I've had a man put his hands around my throat when he was told by police that my manager had reported him for shoplifting.

I've had a Dyson thrown at me when I stopped someone from stealing it.

I've had beer thrown at me when I refused to sell it due to no id.

I've been threatened with a knife by someone who said they would wait for me after work.

I've had a man say keep the change and drop it down my blouse.

I've been called a bitch and a cunt by the local shoplifter because I watched him like a hawk and didn't let him get away with anything.

Dh was in a supermarket where some shoplifters set fire to a basket after clothes and aerosols to create a diversion so they could steal a tv.

People who work in retail need more support and protection from the legal system.

This is such a depressing thread. Post after post about disgusting behaviour. These people walk amongst us.

Why the FUCK would you take a shit in the changing room? We worked in a big shopping centre and there were toilets on both floors. Is it that some people don’t make it to the toilet quick enough? Do some people have fetishises and enjoy humiliation? The fact that it’s so common on this thread alone is scary.

It's utterly bizarre, isn't it? I can understand (obviously don't condone) people acting aggressively to get free/discounted stuff, but what do they gain from pooing in the changing room?

For me it's the same principle as that I understand the motivation for shoplifting - because you clearly want to get things that you want/need without having to pay for them - but I will never understand the wide appeal of vandalism, where the environment is made worse for everybody, including the vandals.

@FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper

Exactly!! I know this rule seems hugely unfair to the decent people who wouldn't ever think to leave a toilet in a state that has been described on this thread but unfortunately as you can see from all the many posts about people doing that it's not just here and there its happening regularly, in the bookies we had a rule among the staff, if you let someone into the toilets you are the one who will clean up the mess left behind unless of course its serious health and safety because it isn't fair that we have to deal with and clean up that filth especially when we already put up with constant abuse and real threats of physical harm.

I've seen toilets left in a horrific state one woman had clearly had her period and I kid you not there was a bloody sanitary towel down the toilet along with shit and there was blood and shit over the toilet seat! 🤢🤮🤮 I had to clean that up and I didn't even let the person in there she sneaked in after a customer and took advantage of an incident happening so I didn't see her and that wasn't the first time I saw that I've seen used tampons on the toilet floor too when there is a proper sanitary waste bin provided! Some people are just filthy and disgusting I bet they wouldn't ever clean that on daily basis. So I rarely let anyone including certain customers use the toilets I put up with a lot crap in the bookies I drew the line at that.

I do some shifts covering a live chat and social media platforms. So, fortunately I am a looong way away from the actual customers and, on the whole, they're pretty good... but..

One user was unhappy with a moderation action I took on SM - she broke the rules she agreed to on joining (the free group!), her comment removed, she was advised why.

She posted on the same thread, complaining - this was also removed. Then I put her on mute for 24 hours to calm down (knowing damn well it would not calm her down!)

She then messaged in-app to complain... typing in angry caps about how awful X (me!) was and how she'd been wronged. I politely pointed out I am X, I was upholding group rules. She demanded a refund and I had to tell her I couldn't give her a refund. Before I could tell her how to get a refund (app store!), she rang our freephone line...

I know this, because on shift, I answer the phone, as well as the live chat and SM...

She was so angry to find it was STILL ME on the phone, she swore, then hung up and then deleted her account without finding out how to get a refund, and probably thought that would cancel her pending subscription. Ah well, she'll have found out eventually!

We occasionally get people determined to hurl abuse at us, blaming us for awful advice on our specific topic that it then turns out, they read somewhere else and was nothing to do with us! I ask them to copy and paste where they got it - to date, it has never been anything we've published!

The ones that make me laugh are the refund requests that start 'I forgot to cancel my free trial'... I know we all do it, sign up intending to cancel before we have to pay... but they don't realise they're not talking to chatbots, and then they realise how cheeky they actually sound (some, not all... some couldn't give a flying fuck!).

Reading this thread, I am SO glad the worst that has happened is I've had mildly angry people on the phone or the lady who wanted to ring me for an hour EVERY NIGHT and treat me like her new best mate... I couldn't work customer facing IRL for a million quid!

Reading this thread I’m glad my customers are not living people 😂😂🙈

A lot of these comments also seem to me to be one very clear reason why a lot of businesses don't allow non-customers to use their toilets - and are much criticised whenever we have MN threads about the topic

I do agree. I am one of the ones who always says people shouldn't withhold access, but these stories have opened my eyes.

I have no idea why people can't just go to the loo, wipe their bottom, flush the loo and leave!

That said, if there aren't enough loos, you can't then blame people for urinating (or worse) outside. But that's for another thread.

I'm in the Midlands
Wasn't much better when I worked up north to be fair
I have a fish burger thrown in my face (first shift) because he wanted it without sauce (but had ordered it with the sauce)
I'm meant to be a bloody mind reader

I'm meant to be a bloody mind reader

Not even just that, as it was presumably his own mind that guided him to ordering the unwanted sauce!

You are expected to be able to read his mind into the future - and all for NMW!

About 30 years ago (eek) i was working the late shift in a little chef/ burger king restaurant. Cleaning the toilets before we shut for the night....some bloke walked into the gents with his bits out. Despite the toilets being closed and a female cleaner in attendance sign up 🤣🤣

Being screamed at by a woman as she had to wait 10 minutes in a busy queue at Christmas for a piece of tinsel she was buying

I'd be here all night if i were to list everything.

I was spat at after refusing to give a man his girlfriends bank card that he had left in a card reader.

I was sent an email by a customer telling me they hoped I died of cancer all my family suffered a list of horrible things and calling the a cunt and a whole
other list of names after I had refused to accept liability for an incident that happened in store that they caused. (I had moved to head office after the spitting incident)

I saved his email address/home address and phone number and used them to sign up to every spam/porn sites, gave it to scammers who called me etc etc

I used to work on the bakery and pizza counter. We used to operate till 8pm but they changed our hours to 6. The signage hadn't been took down as we needed the proper people to come in for h&s reasons. This woman comes up to me, by this point I'm not in my whites I'm in normal store uniform and she goes is there anyone making pizzas. Now my reply was going to be no but if you don't mind waiting I can make you what you want. I was then going to explain to her that it as changed to 6 so some days until the signage as changed their may not be anyone trained to make the pizzas or more importantly use the wrapping machine after 6pm. All I got out was no but, her eyes got wide, voice raised and she pointed to the sign. It says pizzas till 8pm, absolutely disgusting this is, you're taking the fucking piss. At this point I said the sign can say what it wants but the bases weren't delivered today (they totally were) so unfortunately we can't make any hence why the counter is empty. She backed off and left. Don't be rude to the person who can solve your problem! Be nice, we are people too. Im not being spoke over and talked to like that then helping you. Fuck that. Manners and kindness cost bugger all. Counter to this I was working on the csd and a lady purchased a card that was about 75p and paid with a £20. She was really apologetic about it cos lets be honest it is annoying. Her teenaged son went I've got loads of change I'll get it. She said I need a £10 for the card and the ATM only has £20s in it. I heard her and gave her a nice brand new not crinkled £10 note. I said seeing as it's a gift have a nice new note! She turned to her son and said hope you've learned a lesson in being nice to people, they do nice things back.
I have to say 99.9% of people you encounter in a day are lovely, but you tend to forget them. They don't make interesting stories!

Sooooo many! 1.Worked in a cinema. Found used condoms all the time. Once stood on one and the "matter" went on my shoe. I also had a milkshake thrown at me because it was "too lumpy". I also worked in a shop and got called a stupid, fat, little bitch for telling a client I couldn't do a 10% student discount for her without a student card.

There is no excuse for rudeness

I used to work in a large pet store & a customer commented on a bit of dirt on a bag of cat food she bought (easily wiped off btw) asking why it wasn’t marked down. I politely explain it’s just a bit of dirt from the transfer from warehouse that morning & I’ll get a wipe. The women seemed fairly nice, building a rapport & seemed to be happy so as she was leaving I made a passing joke like “as long as cat doesn’t eat the bag you’ll be sound”…the customer went f**king mental! Full of screaming at me. I was genuinely speechless. Wasn’t sure to laugh or smack her to calm her down. It was like Jekyll & Hyde

My DH worked security at the 24 hour Asda whilst at university. It was Christmas Eve and the shop was closing at 8pm and wouldn’t reopen till Boxing Day. He apparently ruined a woman’s Christmas as they didn’t have any turkeys left 15 minutes before closing.

Asda has two entrances a pedestrian entrance at one end and the car park entrance at the other. Both entrances can be safely reached by pedestrians without walking beside the road. At 8pm they would lock the pedestrian entrance leaving just the car park entrance open as they would also reduce the number of security staff on. A customer broke the pedestrian entrance by throwing himself against it as he didn’t want to walk round the building to the other door. They also had customers swearing at them and demanding they open the pedestrian entrance as they didn’t want to walk the length of the building.

I got sworn at by two women after the barman cut them off and I couldn’t sell alcohol on the till in the children’s play area.

We had a 28 day return policy but would allow a few days grace ie: If they bought it on June 1st and returned it on July 1st we would still refund the item. I had one customer slam his fist on the counter and stamp his feet because we wouldn’t refund something he had bought 13 months before because it no longer fitted his child.

A customer took his penis out in a shop full of customers, started playing with himself and literally nothing has been done about it. I had the mispleasure of witnessing it, reporting it and now I feel like it's not been taken as seriously as it should have been.

I worked retail well over a decade...
I have been assaulted twice working, both in coffee shops, one visibly pregnant.
I have had to clean poo out of walls, in 3 occasions
We had a regular pissing in walls until we caught him.
I have been shouted that I kill people because pinenuts were not marked as allergen (they were listed as ingredient)
I have been named in an angry complaint 2 pages long because I greeted them with, How can I help you? (I used a "tone") I kid you not HR didn't know what to say...
Then you have the usual, cold/warm drinks after hours of these being served. Spicy food that shock horror it is actually Spicy!. Theft accusations. Blatant lies to get free stuff. People complaining for getting IDd to get alcohol.

I promise there were good moments too 😅