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Being yelled at by customers!

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by RayXxx, Aug 19, 2014.

  1. RayXxx

    RayXxx Guest

    So I work at the ups store which my dad owns. I was feeling more grumpy and tired than usual now that college has started. It was twice in one day where where I irritated two customers, and I almost started arguing with one about shipping and signing things. Okay so that wasn't so bad although it left me feeling more irritated. So anyway, I go back down to finish my chemistry homework at the back desk as there were no customers at the moment. A half an hour later my dad went to use the restroom and the ups store was empty so I was just doing my homework. Then I vaguely heard a noise of somebody but since I was in the middle of a problem, I just ignored it kinda feeling annoyed. I know that was bad of me and I should have got up to help the person. Needless to say I think I learned my lesson because the lady looked over to where I was sitting. I got up as she hollered a second time and just as I did this she had this astonished look on her face. Then she started raising her voice at me. It sorta went like this:

    Lady: "Hello, I can't believe you. What are you doing? Why arn't you helping me?

    Me: "I apologize, I wasn't entirely in focus as I was hyper focusing on some work so I didn't hear you". I will admit that was partly a lie.

    Lady: "Do you even work here? I can't believe this"

    Me: "I'm really sorry will you please calm down. How can I help you?"

    She asks for a Xerox, which I didn't know what that was at the time, so I told her I'm sorry I'm not sure how to do that can you wait a moment. Then she looked at me like I was a freaking moron and said,

    Lady: "Okay that's it, where is the adult around here I need to speak to one because clearly you're not one"

    At that moment my dad came out and it turns out that xerox is just making copies*face palm* I'm embarrassed but have never heard that term for copies. She yells at my dad saying, did you hear me yelling for help. Then as my dad went over to make her a couple of 12 cent copies, she comes back to me and asks how old I am. I tell her I'm 19 and then this is what she says. "Okay well hon let me tell you something, you have some seroius growing up to do". At the moment I was feeling pissed and wanted to strangle her. What didn't help was that I was wearing a power ranger t-shirt at the time, haha. This why I hate retail and asshole people with sticks up their ass.

    What about any of you, any interesting experiences with customers?
     
  2. BreezyB

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    I work at a restaurant/bar and sometimes people will come in and get really drunk like about a week ago one guy got drunk and poked up his dentures and then passed out and couldn't get up one of the employeeswent into the throw up and got the dentures and put them in a cup of water we called an ambulance for him but the cops showed up with so that kinda killed the business for the rest of the night
     
  3. AlamoCity

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    Sorry to hear about your experience.

    I sometimes work with my best friend's parents' hole-in-the-wall restaurant when they need help during very busy weekends (I get paid with brisket :lol:slight_smile:.

    On a very busy night, there was a long line of customers and there was a drunk man who was very complaining that his food was taking forever (at the order window). If I recall correctly, he said something along the line that he deserved something for his troubles, to which I told him in front of everyone, "here sir, this is the only dollar that I've gotten as tip and I'm giving it to you, so I apologize and I hope this helps." (We don't ask for tips but a person actually let me keep the change LOL).

    The man looked visibly embarrassed because I told him this in front of a very crowded window.

    However, I did respond to him a bit more harshly than I would have if I had been at a real job. I really was not gonna get fired for doing anything because I am very good friends with the owners and I'm not really even getting paid. I actually work there just to hang out with my friends when they are too busy to go out because they have to work with their parents. It's actually fun when your coworkers are all like a family and you get to drink a beer and eat some brisket after a hectic night.
     
  4. Kaiser

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    Oh man...

    Where do I even begin?

    When I used to work at Wal-Mart, it was during the Graveyard Shift (10 PM - 7 AM), we tended to get a lot of drunks, young punks, and those under the influence of narcotics. They seemed to flock there, like it was a magnet for stupidity.

    I was stocking in the chemicals aisle, and a group of 4 teenagers (3 males, 1 female) was coming down the aisle. This happened before, so I wasn't thinking much about it. All of a sudden, I hear a crashing sound and look up to see, these assholes had knocked over my pallet of bleaches and detergents.

    Kid 1: 'Ey mane, you gon' pick dat up?

    I'm dumbfounded for a second, because this fellow was implying, that this was my mess and I had to pick it up. I then tell him, if he had any respect for me, he'd apologize and, at least offer to help me pick the mess up.

    The response?

    Kid 2: That ain't his job -- that's what you get paid for!
    Kid 1: Yeah, mane! Do yo' job; pick dat up!

    The other two are just snickering, behind them. So, I'm starting to get agitated, because they aren't leaving their general area. I realize, they're banking on me giving them some kind of show.

    Me: You're right. It is my job, and part of that job, is being able to lift heavy boxes.

    The first fellow feels he is being challenged, and he starts shooting off at the mouth. I just begin picking the boxes up, and he keeps at it. Finally, I get the last one back on the pallet, but I'm not acknowledging him anymore...

    ... until he goes to knock them back off. I grab his wrist with one hand, and the collar of his shirt with the other, then pull him in and say:

    Me: You knock that shit off, again, and you'll be picking them up -- as well as your face -- from off the floor.

    They all left after that, but not before filing a complaint. I was called in about it, but the manager let it slide, because those guys had done similar things before. I actually was given a $25 gift card for it, so, it worked out in the end.



    When I was working in a smaller retail chain, I had a few experiences with customers.

    One was courtesy of a young lady and her two kids. She would always come into the store, and leave her kids up front, while she wandered off to shop. She was expecting us to, for whatever reason, babysit her kids. These kids were always opening candy bars, smearing their hands onto the windows and glass doors, and would sometimes run around, just being out of control.

    My co-workers, who had been there much longer than me, would say, they have tried talking to her, but nothing works. She still does it. I figured, whatever, it was what it was. Eventually though, this woman was being sure, to let us know what the deal was. In her own words:

    Woman: The least y'all can do is, watch my kids. It ain't like your jobs are harder than mine; I need a break.

    I just start cracking up. Keep in mind, my manager is in her elevated office, watching and listening, and there are a few other customers. I, broom in hand, am just sweeping the floor and laughing. This catches the attention of the woman, and she cops an attitude, asking what is so funny.

    Me: Of course your job isn't harder than mine. I actually do mine, Mom.

    She explodes into a cussing frenzy, but storms out, a kid on each arm. The second the glass doors close, my co-workers crack up, and several high-fives were had.

    Those should suffice, for the moment.
     
  5. Yosia

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    I was helping out by stocking and pricing items because the worker didnt turn up and these obnoxious loud-mouthed teenagers picked something up and shouted at me. It went like this.

    Person 1: Hey! Why doesnt this have a price on?

    Me: Because believe it or not i havent got round to there yet.

    Person 2: Well hurry the fuck up then!

    Me: I will be there in a sec (trying to stay calm)

    Person 2: Now! I want my fucking food!

    Me: How about you have a bit of patience and wait.

    Person 1: We dont want to wait now price and give us our food.

    Me (really annoyed at this point): Theres a shop further down the road, if you cant be arsed to wait then fuck off there please.

    Person 2: Are you beeing cheeky with us?

    Me: Maybe i am.

    Person 1: Please just give us the food!

    Me(getting bored): i will literally be like 30 seconds.

    And then they just waited and left, i was so pissed off at them, why do they think they are allowed to be so rude?!
     
  6. Incognito10

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    Minor annoyance from a customer when not being helped can be expected in this situation; however, it sounds as if she kept on and on about it. Once help arrives, they usually calm down and forget about it. She seems rather over the top and like she would have found a reason to be mad at anyone helping her.
     
  7. AAASAS

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    Deal with it everyday. Slowly kills your soul
     
  8. Blossom85

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    I work in customer service and to make matters worse sometimes, I work in a government contact centre so I am basically a public servant.. I get customers being upset at certain things, but then to take it out on you, the person simply being paid to relay the information, then I think that is a little unfair.. We get abused and shouted out and thrown insults or swear words and that is only on the phone.. I instinctively go into that flight or fight mode where my adrenalin pumps through my body, but I always need to pull back and just keep my game face on, be polite, calm and not by into their petty comments.. Been working in this job for over 10 years and about the same age as you are now, 19.. So I have gotten used to it and it usually just goes over my head now but occasionally get one where your shaking and need a 5 min personal break afterwards.. Just don't take it personally.. They have obviously had a bad day already when they are in this kind of mood and they sometimes like to place the blame on someone else, not themselves.
     
  9. Young Blood

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    Soooo many stories...Don't even know where to begin!!
     
  10. ahardlife

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    All the time by various tradesmen who seem to think they can shout abuse at someone who`s just trying to help them I just grin and bare it .
     
  11. changetheworld

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    On my sister's first day of work in a fast food restaurant she was verbally abused by her first customer because he was stuck in a traffic jam caused by a serious car accident. Apparently it was her fault.
     
  12. MindvsHeart

    MindvsHeart Guest

    I used to work in retail and it was the suckiest 2 years of my life. Most important job (amongst many) were to answer phone calls on the little store mobiles we had and answer the questions of the customers both on the phone and in the store. Politely with a friendly disposition.

    I've actually been yelled at by a customer, and I've always heard of stories of customer service peeps getting verbally abused but...actually being on the receiving end was terrible. I just had to clench my jaw and block out the hate (Gods, it was suffocating) and hurt...cuz fuck, it hurt like a bitch. :x I know I sound like a kid- but man, he hurt my feelings. T__T I was on the verge of both crying and slapping that asshole to kingdom come.

    I felt even worse after the dude finally stomped off and a little later a workmate came by and tried cheering me up, telling me that they told the manager what had happened.

    Me: What's that gonna do, huh?! Don't talk to me. I hate you. I hate humanity. *stomps off*
     
  13. Candace

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    I worked at a refugee center, which saw a lot of people a day. Geez, I have stories :confused:.
     
  14. asdfghjk

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    i always make sure to end an interaction with a rude customer with "have a blessed day ma'am/sir"

    ---------- Post added 20th Aug 2014 at 08:45 AM ----------

    pronounced bless-ed
     
  15. One Man Army

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    I used to work in the head office of a nationwide Estate agent - we dealt with lettings. We had to communicate with landlords and prospective tenants, and make sure that all the admin went ahead smoothly so that the tenants could move in on the right day.

    Of course, if anything went wrong, it was our fault. If the landlord was uncontactable because he/she was out of the country, it would be our fault. If the tenants had to pull out because were too poor to afford the first month's rent, it was our fault. If the house was in a disgusting state, it was our fault, and not the local branch staff's fault.

    Luckily, we didn't have to deal with people face to face, but we had to deal with some very irate people on the phone.
     
  16. AAASAS

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    I'll throw in some anecdotes.

    At 6:15 in the morning 15 minutes in my shift, I was called a fucking idiot for not helping someone who didn't ask for help.

    The same day some MILF came in yelling at me because her garage door order was wrong.

    I had a customer run into an area that I was watching because it was unsafe to do so; I could loose my job over that, I told the customer he had to wait, he said he couldn't, I told him I'd loose my job if he goes in, he said he doesn't give a shit and went in.

    and a crazy old Italian lady wouldn't leave me alone when I was trying to get her help she wanted me to help her and no one else for some reason; turns out she had already asked everyone else and they gave her same answer as me.

    All this in the same day, I'm sure there was a bunch of little crap that didn't have to do with customers.

    But people are crappy, and you don't realize it till you are the bottom serving them. That's when peoples true colours come out, when they feel they have the upper hand.

    The fact someone was willing to get my fired because they couldn't wait to get something is ridiculous. I didn't think anyone would ever try to physically go into a blocked aisle being guarded, but they did, and I was too slow to react. So if anyone ever sees that happen on camera I will be terminated immediately. I'm still worrying about it because it happened recently.

    The funniest part of my job is I'm not allowed to bring things to peoples car; they hire people for that, so I love it when I get to tell an asshole customer that they need to wait for someone to load it, and then I walk away and never call. I've seen people I served waiting 30 minutes because I didn't call. Nothing like passive aggressive pay back. I load anything for anyone that is nice to me.
     
  17. vendettaxo

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    I work at a gas station... self explanatory. At least they don't make me cry anymore and the customers that know me stick up for me.
     
  18. Young Blood

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    I had one lady who began yelling at me about her groceries and stuff and I said something back. The conversation/argument after went as follows:

    Bitch lady customer: "Are you talking back to me?!"

    Me: "Well yeah, that's generally how conversations work."

    Yeah, she really did not like that one :lol: Began yelling at me so much and I just kinda laughed. Don't why I find it funny, but I do. No real point getting upset about it in my opinion.

    I also had a guy at Starbucks order a 200 degree latte (I literally mean 200 degrees!!), and he had the audacity to come back to me after and say that he burned his tongue. So what the fuck do you want me to do?! Don't be going around ordering 200 degree lattes then!! I swear so many of them do it to try and get free drinks...it's stupid.

    I have so many more, but I can't think of any others at the moment.
     
  19. AwesomGaytheist

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    Working as a phone agent, I amassed So. Many. Stories.

    "Why do I have all these international roaming charges? I didn't leave the US, I only went to Canada!"

    ":***: you, you mother:***: mother:***:ing :***:sucker! You stupid jerkoff! You'd help me if I was a foreigner, right? (Carries on like this for the next half hour)"

    "You're going to send me a charger and I'm not paying for it. (Decides to provoke her)" "That'll be $25."

    "I :***:ing told you I'm not :***:ing paying for a mother:***:ing charger..."