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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Tell me about your worst customers

73 replies

Thegoodwitchglenda · 08/05/2024 19:40

Wondered what your worst or most memorable encounters with customers are.

Just for fun and something to remind us to be kind to people in customer facing roles......its often not actually their personal fault.

Feel free to broaden this to colleagues etc if you're not customer facing :)

OP posts:
Soubriquet · 08/05/2024 19:45

My very first proper job, and I had only been working there a couple of months. A woman came ranting and raving about the fact that the disposable camera she bought to take pictures of her daughter’s wedding, didn’t come out as nice as she wanted. Some didn’t come out at all. Did she blame the camera? Nooooo she blamed me. Get on having a go and I really didn’t know what to do. Called the manager and she tried to placate her but nothing. It’s not like we could magically make the camera work. She stormed out after that but left me shaken. This was nearly 20 years ago and I still remember it

Walkingwithdinosaurs · 08/05/2024 19:51

Working behind the bar in the hotel, man presented me with a porno on his phone and asked me if like to get some of that!! He got a short answer.

Serving a wedding dinner (silver service) and a sister if the bride started shouting across the room, about how she wasn’t given enough food, we had been around 3 times at this stage, not enough drink and then proceeded to make the 18 yo waitress cry. Said she would destroy the whole wedding if I didn’t give her the best room in the hotel and a free bottle of champagne. Then flashed the whole room with her backside.

Slightly well know radio DJ, hounded me with awful phone calls several times a day because I didn’t have any space left at the craft fair for his wife’s new jewellery business… don’t you know who I am…. I’ll get you fired for this. Went on for over a week when we finally blocked his number then the emails started. The owner had to ring him and tell him I’d be sacked so he would piss off. Same person drives off with a tank of petrol and never pays for it…. Entitled twat!

Strictlymad · 08/05/2024 19:54

Ooh where do I start…. 😂
we sell custom items worldwide, someone ordered a large order, one week later said they had changed their mind (to the states) said but it’s sent- they abused us and said you’re stealing it’s not sent… we had the tracking. 2 weeks later said it’s not arrived, we proved it had. Then they said they don’t live there anymore they moved 3 states away- wanted a refund cuz they didn’t change the address.
got bad feedback numerous times when people choose the slow free shipping, order on good Friday and say it didn’t arrive in time for Easter Sunday and they are in Japan or something…
the person who said the cookie cutters are rubbish because they melt in the oven….
oh I’m sure I have hundreds more but I’m tired my brain won’t work

CocoPopsAddict · 08/05/2024 20:11

The man who cut his bottom on a toilet seat (admittedly it was broken and not yet reported) and then loudly complained, in detail, at the main desk in front of loads of people. And insisted that we call a first aider to 'clean him up'. He was handed some wipes by said first aider.

One of the big London museums.

BadgeronaMoped · 08/05/2024 20:15

I had dreadlocks in the early 00s (thanks, Bomfunk MCs), yes, cultural appropriation, very white... Anyway! At the pub I worked in, an elderly customer, without fail, used to silently and slowly approach me at the bar then proffer his comb.

Made me laugh every time 😂 still makes me laugh when I remember him!

WiddlinDiddlin · 08/05/2024 20:18

Why I don't do commissioned work very often:

Client 1 - Insisted on a very cartoony style, asked for several tweaks to colour and cartoony-ness.
Decided it was too cartoony didn't like it, wanted a full refund and, like a DICK because I vaguely knew them, I hadn't done the usual non refundable deposit etc etc. Had to pay it all back and had a useless cartoon portrait of someone elses bloody animal.

Client 2 - Kept changing the brief. This time I took a deposit, set out the terms very clearly (initial discussion - provisional idea - room for client to tweak - more work - room for client to tweak - final product, rest of payment due)..

She kept throwing in new elements, trying to give me chapter and verse on why her business logo needed to include 15 elements all personal to her that had zero bearing on what she actually did. Persuaded me to extend the brief for extra payment then kept finding reasons why she hadn't paid yet. More changes. More irrelevant drama. Then coming on to FB and behaving as if she were my parent (posting on my feed, responding to my posts, food shaming me!!!)...

I did complete it to her satisfaction (not to mine though, it appears no where in my portfolio and never will!), and when I FINALLY got payment I blocked her totally, everywhere.

Fortunately its two in a very long line of happy customers and I learned from each one (mainly 'if the alarm bells are ringing before you take them on, don't bloody touch it with a barge pole') and now have sufficient customers queuing that I can pick and choose who I want to work with and who I do not.

igomeow · 08/05/2024 20:23

High street retail store, we don't have customer toilets. Customer walked in to the fitting room, took a shit in a Tupperware container, left it in the cubicle and walked out.

IDontLikePinaColadas · 08/05/2024 20:26

Two when I was a florist years ago:

  1. Woman who let her child grab and pull off the heads of flowers whilst quietly and politely saying “don’t do that sweet pea” to her and got really aggressive with me when I said (as politely as I could) that I would have to charge her if her child did it again.

  2. The woman who encouraged her dog to pee on the plants we had for sale outside and got pissed off at me when I asked if she could take him over to lamppost instead. Apparently we shouldn’t have them out if we didn’t want it to happen. She stomped off when I asked her if she would want to pick them up after that.

IDontLikePinaColadas · 08/05/2024 20:27

igomeow · 08/05/2024 20:23

High street retail store, we don't have customer toilets. Customer walked in to the fitting room, took a shit in a Tupperware container, left it in the cubicle and walked out.

OMFG!!!! Surely you must win!!!!

Aaron95 · 08/05/2024 20:29

Worked in Sainsburys while at university. One afternoon was on customer service desk when a woman comes in and asks to return a lasagne as she didn't like it. Normal policy was just to issue a refund for small amounts.

Asked her for the product so I could scan the barcode and she produced a lasagne from her bag. Only problem was it was an Asda branded product. Explained we couldn't refund as she hasn't bought an Asda lasagne in Sainsburys.

She started kicking off. After a couple of minutes she was screaming at me. Customer service manager comes over and tries to sort it out but no chance. Crazy lady is screaming at her too. Eventually the store manager heard the commotion and tried but no joy this woman was hysterical and adamant she had bought her Asda lasagne in Sainsburys.

After about 5 mins security and staff chucked her out of the store just as the police arrived and took care of it.

Babyandmexox · 08/05/2024 20:30

Used to work in fast food the same customer would come in and order the wrong burger all the time, and she's complain and say she'd ordered a different one so she'd keep both.. got wise to this made the correct burger she then came over and said it was to greasy so took it off her and binned it and made another she never did it again. And honestly her voice used to go through me she was just so rude and annoying, once seen the bus drive off without her though 🤣
Also same place, older lady used to come in and order a coffee never said please or thank you, handed coffee over with milk sachets.. 'Well put the milk in then' and I said say please and I will.. she just went off it! Same lady was in local paper for calling emergency services over 100 times giving them loads of abuse she went to court for it and even said she couldn't promise she wouldn't do it again 🤣

lovemycbf · 08/05/2024 20:44

A very elderly lady came up to my till with 2 different size batteries and loudly asked which ones for her vibrater I must have looked horrified she then winked at me and said well a girls got to have some fun 🤣
Second a old man in another branch was acting odd in the corner shaking his leg ,suddenly dashed out the shop as he'd been shaking a big poo down his trouser leg and left it in the corner

Sosbanfachtheresatellyinmybath · 08/05/2024 20:49

Used to work in a sport shop. We'd have this weirdo come in to buy socks almost every week, and then go in the fitting room...
He was wanking in the socks 🤮 This was only discovered when a colleague done a spot check after he'd been in there and found a sticky sock! He wasn't allowed to use them again 🤮

VenetiaHallisWellPosh · 08/05/2024 20:58

I was a teenager working weekends at a local shop to me in the last decade 🤯. I was wearing shorts, it was a blistering hot day, they were board shorts (as was the fashion at the time) and I was stocking up using a stool to reach the top shelf. An old man came into the shop and made a comment on my lovely ankles! 🫤 I didn't lknow whether to put him in the perv category or take the compliment!

I work on the Tube in London and two customers stand out. One obviously hated women. He asked for a ticket to a national rail station (ticket offices were open at the time) and I said he had to go to the "big" station upstairs. He got really mad at me because he'd waited about 15 minutes on the queue, and started calling me useless, and pointless and stupid. He was really laying into me. I can take most things but when I'm trying to be helpful and people say I'm stupid I get very upset. In the end 2 of my male colleagues had to "advise him" to leave before they called the police. He has a go at them too but one of my supervisors was a big man with a mean look in his eye (he's actually very nice if you know him) and this man left with hus tail between his legs.

Another man went through the barriers using his (platinum) credit card, saw that the train was 5 minutes away, changed his mind and tapped out again. He had his son with him m, who I'd say was about 8. This man asked me for his money back but I explained to him that he needed to go online, make an account, and claim it back that way. He was INCANDESCENT with rage. It soon became obvious to me he didn't use the Tube often because he didn't know how contactless payment worked. He shouted at me virtually with our noses touching. He demanded to see a manager (I showed him my badge, I am one...) and then he screamed at me, like proper ear splitting screaming. All I could think about was his boy, and how embarrassed he must have been (I was suffering EA at home too, so it was very upsetting for me). I sheepishly gave him the customer services card and he stormed off. I was shaking for the rest of my shift.

Another one was two people in Muslim dress who wanted to take a massive unit of shelves onto the tube. Our limit is two metres, because of safety reasons, but thus unit was far bigger. Anyway, I said, sorry, the limit is 2 metres. They were annoyed but left the station. An hour later, a journalist from a well-known rag turned up, asking why I was turning down service to Muslims, and did I know that was against the law? Colleagues of mine have been targeted by journalists before so I kept shtum but said, go and speak to the Press Office. In the end CCTV showed I'd taken the right course of action which had nothing to do with the customers' religion.

I gave more but London is batshit and I haven't the time!

VenetiaHallisWellPosh · 08/05/2024 20:59

VenetiaHallisWellPosh · 08/05/2024 20:58

I was a teenager working weekends at a local shop to me in the last decade 🤯. I was wearing shorts, it was a blistering hot day, they were board shorts (as was the fashion at the time) and I was stocking up using a stool to reach the top shelf. An old man came into the shop and made a comment on my lovely ankles! 🫤 I didn't lknow whether to put him in the perv category or take the compliment!

I work on the Tube in London and two customers stand out. One obviously hated women. He asked for a ticket to a national rail station (ticket offices were open at the time) and I said he had to go to the "big" station upstairs. He got really mad at me because he'd waited about 15 minutes on the queue, and started calling me useless, and pointless and stupid. He was really laying into me. I can take most things but when I'm trying to be helpful and people say I'm stupid I get very upset. In the end 2 of my male colleagues had to "advise him" to leave before they called the police. He has a go at them too but one of my supervisors was a big man with a mean look in his eye (he's actually very nice if you know him) and this man left with hus tail between his legs.

Another man went through the barriers using his (platinum) credit card, saw that the train was 5 minutes away, changed his mind and tapped out again. He had his son with him m, who I'd say was about 8. This man asked me for his money back but I explained to him that he needed to go online, make an account, and claim it back that way. He was INCANDESCENT with rage. It soon became obvious to me he didn't use the Tube often because he didn't know how contactless payment worked. He shouted at me virtually with our noses touching. He demanded to see a manager (I showed him my badge, I am one...) and then he screamed at me, like proper ear splitting screaming. All I could think about was his boy, and how embarrassed he must have been (I was suffering EA at home too, so it was very upsetting for me). I sheepishly gave him the customer services card and he stormed off. I was shaking for the rest of my shift.

Another one was two people in Muslim dress who wanted to take a massive unit of shelves onto the tube. Our limit is two metres, because of safety reasons, but thus unit was far bigger. Anyway, I said, sorry, the limit is 2 metres. They were annoyed but left the station. An hour later, a journalist from a well-known rag turned up, asking why I was turning down service to Muslims, and did I know that was against the law? Colleagues of mine have been targeted by journalists before so I kept shtum but said, go and speak to the Press Office. In the end CCTV showed I'd taken the right course of action which had nothing to do with the customers' religion.

I gave more but London is batshit and I haven't the time!

Decade should be century

Soubriquet · 08/05/2024 21:15

Customer facing jobs is the worst

DorisDoesDoncaster · 08/05/2024 23:36

Ladies of leisure expecting their 6 bedroom 8 bathroom homes to be deep cleaned by one worker in just 5 hours a week. Whilst they “go to the gym” aka go for a lunch piss up.

”Oh but I just wanted a light dust around the spare bedrooms, gym, sauna, pantry, cinema, orangerie and laundry room…”

MissingMoominMamma · 08/05/2024 23:46

Working in a florist’s on Valentine’s Day, a very charming man came in to order flowers for a woman who worked in an estate agency around the corner. He spent a lot of money on a large bouquet of lilies, and specified that they must be delivered before 4, when she left work.

I took them around myself before 3, and she’d already left because she wasn’t feeling well. Her colleague said that she’d drop them off on her way home.

Charming man came back in at around 4:10 to ask what her reaction had been to the bouquet, so I explained what had happened. It was like a switch flipped- he spoke to me with absolute venom because I hadn’t got there in time.

They weren’t a couple- her colleague alluded to that fact. I hope she never went out with him.

Rockthecasbah1 · 08/05/2024 23:57

We ran out of large cups so a customer couldn't get his large latte. After he screamed at me and threatened me he tried to force his way through our drive-thru window to get to me.
I was 7 months pregnant at the time and he knew this as he was a regular customer.
He genuinely wanted to hit me.

The bloke was always a dick but this time he went way too far. This is just one story of many.

OnlyLoveCanBreakYourHeart · 09/05/2024 00:04

igomeow · 08/05/2024 20:23

High street retail store, we don't have customer toilets. Customer walked in to the fitting room, took a shit in a Tupperware container, left it in the cubicle and walked out.

Shitting in fitting rooms is sadly not uncommon.

Mine was the one who bought a white trouser suit back for a refund. Took the jacket out of the bag and it was obvious it had been worn. Stunk of cheap perfume, creased etc. She MASSIVELY kicked off and in the end we refunded her to get her out of the store. Then we got the trousers out of the bag. Period stain in the crotch. People never fail to amaze/disgust me.

PeonyAndBlushSuede · 09/05/2024 00:10

Worked in Hollister when I was early 20’s. A girl about 14/15 came in and bought an underwear breif set (that came in a box), when serving her I explained “underwear is non returnable” and she said that’s fine.

20 minutes later her dad marched into the shop shouting at me saying we shouldn’t be selling underwear that costs £20 to teens and he would like a refund. I politely told him that underwear was non-returnable but as she’d only just bought it and clearly not worn it as it was still in the packaging I’d have to get a supervisors permission to authorise a refund.

Supervisor was busy on the phone for about 10 minutes. This dad was getting more and more irate and getting aggressive. I kept politely explaining without the authorisation on the till from a supervisor I couldn’t process the refund.

Supervisor finally came to the till, authorised the refund and told me to put it through. Dad put his bank card into the machine and I explained he should receive the refund in 3-5 working days.

Well, he hit the roof and couldn’t understand why we could take his money immediately but took up to 5 days to get it back. After another 10 minutes of shouting and swearing at me, telling me I was incompetent he finally left.

Luckily he didn’t hear me when I muttered “cunt” under my breath as he left.

OnlyLoveCanBreakYourHeart · 09/05/2024 00:14

Same store. A woman brings a pair of trousers to the counter and asks if we have them in a different size. I found a pair in the stock room but they were dusty on the bottom where they had brushed the floor. I said to her she could take them as they were or I could give her 10% discount but if she accepted the discount she wouldn't be able to return them. She decided to go for the refund and I wrote on the receipt that they were non-refundable. I got called out from my lunch break half an hour later as she'd bought them back for a refund and my manager had refused, having seen what I had written on the receipt. She was screaming at me that I'd lied to her, what a bitch I was and then spat in my face. I can't remember if she got her refund or not, but I do remember that I spent the rest of my lunchbreak going round the local employment agencies. I got an interview the next day, handed my notice in and would NEVER work in retail again.

0sm0nthus · 09/05/2024 00:41

Has anyone ever lamped one of them?
Once when I was a cleaner the owner of the premises was extremely rude & abusive, I fired back with both barrels (then legged it-in my car)

TheSandgroper · 09/05/2024 00:52

Worked a cellar door in a winery. Lovely rustic building with a verandah around it, tables and chairs for the best views etc.

One busy long weekend, a couple bought two bottles of wine in gift packaging, walked out of the door (never to be seen again, you think). Er, no.

They walked out, put the wine on a picnic table then wandered off into the vines. Wandered back after I don’t know how long and the wine was gone. They came into me and complained and were very disgruntled when I told them that we gave refunds when our product was faulty in some way and theirs wasn’t. Also, we didn’t own the wine any more - they did.

Idiots. But most people were lovely. DC is now doing customer service and is proud that her boss says she tells customers how to fuck off most politely.

UsherPusher · 09/05/2024 01:07

Mostly just shouted at for telling them they can't buy drinks now the show has started

Or claiming another member of staff said something they wouldn't have because it's against policy (and also I was stood right next to them when you brought that and know what they said)

Had colleagues kicked, called slurs, threatened..

And more than one of us has cried because of the abuse.

Oh and, in the vein of many others, had shit smeared on toilet walls

All in a theatre. Where you'd think people had some class...