For those who work retail.. what are some customer horror stories?

Question

I have so many, one that happened the other day though that really got to me. I had a cart full of fruit I was about to take to the back room to cut and this guy came up to me with an empty lunchable box and said I cant find a trash can you can have this and he threw it into my cart and walked away. God, i just went to the backroom and cried cuz all I am to those people is a walking freaking garbage can!

Answer 1

Yes, the rude customers are bad. I always listen to them and smile and then say "have a nice day" after they are done ranting, then they just end up feeling foolish and looking pretty stupid.
BUT, the absolute worst story Ihave is when I worked in a hardware store and somebody actually took a bucket off the shelf and pooped in it!!! The owner of the store was so mad, he said that the employees who worked in the housewares section were not waiting on the customer fast enough!!!!.... Yep, I would have to say that was my worst story.
Glad I don't work retail anymore by the way!!

Answer 2

I used to work at a Christian bookstore. It was my very first job and I hadn't started too long ago when this happened. We were extremely busy and I was working at the register. Of course, there were tons of people checking out, and we had our three registers open. People were kind of just scattered around and not really in a line, which made it more complicated. When I finished with someone, I just looked towards the closest people I could see and said that I could help someone. A man (who I later found out was a pastor at a local church) and his wife and this other lady both started coming towards my register and the lady happened to get there first. The pastor then went ballistic and said how it was ridiculous that I was checking out that lady after I had said I would help him. Again, all I had done was say I could help SOMEONE, which meant whoever was ready and came up to the register. I don't know if I had looked into his eyes when I said I'd help someone or what, but he was convinced that I had told HIM that I would check him out right away! And if these people had just formed a line, things would have been a lot easier! But anyway, he just yelled at me while he waited for the lady in front of him. His wife just stood there meekly giving me a sympathetic look. It made me think that he must beat on her and/or verbally abuse her at home too since it seemed like she was too afraid to say anything! Because if my husband were acting like that in a store and treating an employee that way I would lay into him! But anyway, the guy then started yelling at the manager. He still had me check him out, but he then stormed out of the store telling the manager how "unprofessional" we were. Needless to say, we (me, my coworkers, and the managers) all made a vow to never step foot inside this man's church.

Answer 3

I used to work at a discount store in the Bronx, and I had some weird experiences:

This guy used to come in all the time, and just hang out for hours in the women's clothing section. After 2 weeks of this, my boss asked me to follow him. I followed the guy around, and all he did was lean into the clothing racks. After he left , I told my boss that I didn't see anything. She wanted to make sure, so she went to go check the rack. About a minute and a halve into her checking the clothing, I heard her scream; the clothes were wet; the bastard was pissing into the racks.

There was this other guy that used to come into the store once a week to buy a nine volt battery. Me and a few of the people I worked with would try and guess what the guy used it for. Anyway, one day I left the store right after the guy did. I had to call my sister for a ride, but the guy was in the phone booth. After waiting for 15 mins, I went up to the booth to let the guy know I was waiting. As I got closer I realized the guy wasn't on the phone at all; he was in the booth, licking the top of the nine volt battery, thoroughly enjoying the little shock it produces.

Answer 4

They do it to servers too!!!!

Most are really nice, but the bad customers are REALLY bad. They treat me like I'm stupid and have absolutely no regard for anyone but themselves. I especially hate the business people who come in 10 minutes before we close and order a bottle of wine and sit there and have a business meeting while I'm trying to clean up. These are usually the same people who ignore me when I come to the table and ask them if they need anything and then they snap their fingers and flag me down when I'm busy. Then, they pay with their business credit card and leave me a hella sh!tty tip!!!!

And not that it matters, but I have a bachelor's degree and a good day job working for Social Services. I'm only working the second job to pay off student loans and to save for grad school. My point is that people just assume you're a stupid nobody if you work these kinds of jobs and that's disgusting.

Some people can be SO rude and condescending. Just ignore them, honey. You are the better person.

Answer 5

I used to work at Lane Bryant (If you're not familiar with this store, it's a plus-size women's clothing store). They have a very nice line of lingerie that rivals Victoria's Secrets. Well, one day, this woman called and said she needed a bra. She talked for about 5 minutes and then said she couldn't physically come in to get one but that she'd be sending her son in to try one on. When I got off the phone I told my manager and she said it was probably just a prank. Well, about 20 minutes later, this young man walks in and asks to be fitted for a bra. He reminds us that his mom called about it. Lol...And I sent him over to my manager to fit him because I was afraid I'd start laughing. I know, its not really a horror story, but I think it fits as pretty weird!!!

Answer 6

I know exactly what you mean! I work in retail, too, and I just hate how people often look at us as though we're lowly servants and as if we don't deserve respect! I especially hate it when people ask me to throw their trash away for them! If they're too f*cking stupid to find a trash can or too lazy and/or disrespectful to ask for directions to one, then perhaps they have no business shopping!

By the way, don't let those bastards get you down!:)