Why are customers so mean?

Question

I work in retail (been in it 3 years). I just want to know just why many customers are so nasty over the most trivial things? I've seen it in every race, both male & female. Why? Why the need to be so aggressive & so rude? Is that many people so miserable and frustrated that they cannot even hand the clerk money or even be reasoned with? I had a man last Sunday scream at me for ten minutes because he waited in line (the customer in front of him took long), I could only offer that he could speak to the manager & he just went into a tirade of how he doesn't care & just kept yelling regardless. Seriously, if you are a customer, please show the salespeople some respect, we're people too (same goes with salespeople and being nice).

Answer 1

May God bless you for standing strong against the enemy.

Too often, people walk around in public with a chip on their shoulder. They have frustrations at work and at home, but they can't change their situations there.

So, what else can they do to take out their frustrations but to attack a person who is at work, who cannot slap the spit out of them. Of course you may not want to handle customers that way anyway, but you are trying to be civil and they are rude and arrogant.

Thanks for opening the eyes of many of us whom take advantage of someone serving us and dump our "mental/verbal trash" all over their workplace. You should be proud to work in retail and your customers should be proud to have you assist them. No matter how terrible they treat you, your response should always be polite and positive. If your manager doesn't get a chance to notice your professionalism, God will reward you later. You can rely upon Him for that!

Peace to you always

Answer 2

If you're a cashier, you get the worst of it. You see us after we've spent 30 minuets trying to find help on the salesfloor, gone for 5 items that you're out of, waited in a ridiculously long line for the dressing room or customer service desk, and now have to wait in line behind some idiot.

There are some simple things you can do to make the customers happy.

1. Smile and say hello. Ask if they found everything.
2. Politely give them their total.
3. Politely ask people with full carts not to use the express lane.
4. When a customer complains, apologize and tell them you'll speak to the manager yourself and hand them a comment card that can be mailed in to the store.
5. SPEAK UP in company meetings. Let managers know what the common complaints are. Nothin will change unless you start communicating.

Answer 3

You don't have to put up with rude customers. call the manager yourself and they will ask the customer to leave. There's no reason to serve someone who is disrespectful. I worked for a while in a shop and I was shocked at how the staff were treated.
Next time, do not serve him. Call the manager, explain that the customer is abusing you and leave him to deal with him while you serve the next customer.

Answer 4

Maybe that's just how some people are,mean or they could be having a bad day or life,the world is full of badness and many people are confused and don't know how to control their anger.I always try to be patient and instead of being mean back I think" Poor thing,they must be having a bad day."

Answer 5

Because they can be. They look down on you because you're nothing more than a cashier. You can't yell at them or be snippy, or they can get you in a hell of a lot of trouble, and they know that. Also, some people just have short wicks, are in a rush, or are just plain mean. These people get set off at the slightest little thing. I have had so many customers be bitchy at me where I used to work, it's unbelieveable. I had my greats, though, too. I had my 5 favorite customers, and seeing them would just make my day, despite having been yelled at by the bastard demanding that his Fritos were on sale at the 24 hour store (which they weren't), or the lady wanting to return stuff she bought from another store out of town, which we couldn't return b/c we didn't carry half the merchandise she bought.

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Eh, I love retail, though. Interacting with people is the best!!!
(Because everyone at the store hears about it within minutes of the mean customer's leaving the store. Heheheheh! :) )

Answer 6

Because unfortunately they see the retail or customer service personnel as someone that they can be superior with. They may have frustrations that they can't deal with, but they can take it out on you because they know you can't tell them off.

Answer 7

You know what they say, the customer is always right. Customers behave rather obnoxious simply because they know they are there to purchase articles, and without them the store will evaporate. Since the customer is spending his time and his money, the customer expects immediate service, immediate attention, immediate goods. There is no warning hint as to how the attitude of the customer is before entry into the store. What if the customer didn't want to be there and was forced to, or the check was short, or purchases must be limited. You know, you've been there already. The only solution is to refer the complaint to the manager but that's passing the buck, isn't it? To be a good customer service agent, you have to perfect your people person skills and believe it or not, it's a challenge, but satisfying.

Answer 8

Some people are just mean and nasty. It's nothing personal - they're like that with everyonoe about everything.

Answer 9

Guess this is one of the reassons the saying just Grin and Bear it was invented. I weren't know why they are all grumpy maybe they just are in a hurry or just having a bad day and feeling stressed out.

Answer 10

Low self-esteem and low IQ's