Providing good customer service is vital when it comes to ensuring that customers have a positive experience when they visit any business. This has led to many businesses adopting the motto “The customer is always right.” Unfortunately, the absolute worst members of society got wind of this and have used it as an excuse to terrorize employees without fear of any backlash. The last thing they expect is an employee to match their energy and when an employee chooses to do so, it’s amazing.
All content has been edited for clarity.
At Least He Got A New Ball
“While working on a golf course as maintenance staff, I was mowing the banks surrounding the greens with an old National Triplex mower.
As I mowed, some golfers were on their approach to the green and one hit a wedge that landed in what would be my next mower pass. I rounded the green and as I approached his ball, I swerved the mower deck around his ball and then cut back into my original course.
As the irate golfer ran up to me yelling, I throttled the mower down so that I could hear him.
‘You ran over my ball!’ he yelled.
‘No, sir, I did not. I went around your ball,’ I responded calmly.
‘Look at where it is. It’s right behind the mower!’ he yelled while pointing at his in-tact ball.
Now, I’d been driving this thing for a couple of summers and I was really good. His ball was lying behind the left mower deck, but only because I had expertly cut around it.
He continued. ‘You ran over my ball! You owe me a new one!’
‘Sir, I didn’t mow over your ball. If you look, the grass is still long where your ball sits. I did not run over your ball.’
‘You did, and I want to talk to your manager!’ he wouldn’t give up on it.
‘Very well, I’ll be happy to let you talk to him, but first, let’s demonstrate what a golf ball looks like when I actually run over it, shall we?’ I throttled up the mower again to full.
I proceeded to back the triplex up, running over his ball. The high-speed rotary mower blades diced the ball into nothing but a pile of shredded plastic and rubber bands, which ejected like a pile of spaghetti.
‘For the record, sir. That is what it looks like when I run over a golf ball.’ I said while pointing at the rubber confetti.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out a relatively new golf ball, and tossed it to him before continuing mowing around the green.
He didn’t talk to my boss.”
People Like That Deserve To Be Called Out
“I worked at a pizza takeaway for a few months while I looked for a better job, and the amount of rude and entitled customers was staggering. Luckily, the owner had our back which makes all the difference in retail. This particular incident happened on a Saturday morning. My co-worker and I had done all the prep and were taking orders, but the driver was late. Just as we were getting worried, his dad walked into the shop and informed us that the driver was in hospital after being knocked off his motorbike by a driver who was under the influence.
We were shocked and horrified and while my co-worker called the owner to explain the situation and try and get another driver to come in, I called all the customers who had ordered to explain what had happened and that their orders would be late. Most were understanding and expressed concern for the driver; not this one customer.
She proceeded to screech at me, saying that it was her kid’s birthday party and we had to get her order to her right now or else, and we should give it to her for free because of the inconvenience, etc. Not a shred of concern or pity for the poor driver lying in a hospital bed, she only cared about herself.
I lost it and told her, interrupting her tirade, ‘You know what? You can stick your order up your arse cuz I’m cancelling it,’ and slammed the phone down.
I didn’t get into trouble after she complained to the owner, because I called him up after and explained the situation and he was just as shocked and disgusted by her callousness as I was and basically told her to get stuffed. Oh, and the driver was okay, he escaped the accident with a broken collarbone.”
She Should Definitely Do It Again
Luis Molinero/Shutterstock
“In the late eighties, I was a waitress in a restaurant attached to a mall. Two women who worked in the mall came in for lunch and said they only had thirty minutes and to please hurry and bring them two orders of lasagna. Lasagna was the one thing on the menu that took the longest to make because it needed at least 15 minutes in the oven. I ran into the kitchen and told the cook to make it quick and I had their food out to them in about 12 minutes. Meanwhile, I gave them good attentive service and made sure they were able to get back to work in the mall on time.
Just after they left, I walked up to the table and saw that they had paid their entire check of around $15 with loose change. Not the end of the world since, being a waitress and all, I often paid for things with loose change. However, when I counted it out they had only left one nickel as a tip.
I was immediately piping mad, so I ran out into the mall where I could see them a couple of hundred feet away and I yelled at them to ‘keep the change,’ threw the nickel in their direction, and walked back into the restaurant.
The two of them, who were in such a hurry, found time to come back to the restaurant and report me to the manager. He called me to the front of the restaurant where the two women were waiting.
Manager: ‘Did you throw money at these ladies just now?’
Me: ‘Yes.’
Manager: ‘Why would you do something like that?’
Me: ‘Because I provided good service and gave them everything they asked for – they had no complaints; and they insulted me by making me count out their loose change only to find out they left me a nickel, which is worse than nothing. I would have rather they left me nothing.’
The manager looks at the ladies and asked if that was true.
‘It doesn’t matter if it’s true – this waitress is rude and you need to fire her,’ one of them said.
He looked at them and calmly stated that the next time they need quick service and don’t have enough money to leave a tip they should go to the food court. Their mouths just dropped (so did mine) and they turned and left with their noses in the air.
I smiled at my manager and said, ‘Thank you for sticking up for me,’ to which he replied, ‘Don’t ever do that again.'”
This Was Honestly A Polite Response
“I worked at a cosmetics store where we provided complimentary makeovers to anyone who asked for it.
One day, a woman came in and sat down on an empty chair, and gestured to her face, ‘I want to have a foundation.’
So I went through the routine of questions. ‘What is your skin type? What consistency do you prefer? How much coverage?’
She promptly cut me off, and simply said, ‘Too many questions. I’ll give you 5 minutes to make me look good.’
I was getting slightly annoyed, but I figured she was maybe just trying to get some makeup done before meeting someone. So, I went with the safe bet: a popular foundation that is highly recommended for sensitive skin (I didn’t want to accidentally break her out.) Anyway, I started to apply, and she stopped me and began to raise her voice.
‘What are you doing?! I just want to cover this one spot.’
By the way, she didn’t mention this at all and if she had I would have applied concealer, which was what she was looking for.
‘Take it off and do it over,’ she demanded.
At this point, I sat down all of my brushes and said, ‘You can say that nicely.’
She stared at me in disbelief, but after about 10 seconds, began to stammer, ‘No no I just meant-‘
My manager ran over and asked if I wanted my break, and took over. I seldom lose my temper, and I guess she knew that so I never got ‘in trouble’ for it. I certainly was not paid enough (or will ever be paid enough) to be made to feel less of a person.”
At Least He Was A Good Sport
“My father returned a birdhouse kit to the store because it did not have the chain to hang it, as pictured on the box.
‘I think it’s shameful that I have to come all this way because a simple part is missing.’
The returns lady -a crusty old gal- looks at the box, which does indeed show the birdhouse hanging from a chain, attached to the branch of a tree. Even shows a bird on the perch under the hole in the front of the birdhouse.
She looked at the box and looked at my father.
‘Well?’ said Dad.
‘Hey mister,’ she croaked sourly, ‘This also shows a picture of a bird on the box. You gonna complain because there’s no bird in the kit, either?’
I had to turn away, in mirth. Her response was definitely a bit rude and smart-aleck. But it was beyond funny, too.
A nearby manager spied the encounter, drifted over, and quietly asked me what was happening.
I steered him away, whispering, ‘You’re not going to believe this, but…’ and told him the story. He, too, found it hilarious.
Then he said, ‘C’mon grab your dad and let’s go cut him a length of chain.’
I summoned Father with a wave, and we three went to the chain department, where the manager cut off a 3-foot section of gold decorative chain made of interlocked ovals – exactly like the one on the box.
‘With our compliments, Mr. Geare,’ he added. ‘And if you’d like, I can try to catch one of the pigeons up on the porch roof.’
By then, Father had realized how truly amusing this whole incident really was, and he declined the bird capture, chuckling. We even had a kind exchange with the returns lady, who did apologize for being a bit snippy.
All was well.”
They Never Expect Attitude In Return
“One time, when I worked for a supermarket, I was on my way to my checkout station when this aggressive middle-aged woman stopped me, demanding to know where something was. As I only worked checkouts, I had no clue. so I tried to tell her, only it came out in a stutter because I was in a hurry. She went and IMITATED my stutter back at me.
My blood boiled, and I said to her quite firmly, ‘Do you think it’s funny to mock someone with a stammer? What is wrong with you? Find it yourself if you’re going to be rude.’
She looked shocked and called to her husband, who wanted nothing to do with it.
I then walked off.
Another time, when I worked at another retail shop, I was on tills and it was very busy as it was just before Christmas, and this one guy in the queue kept moaning loudly, driving everyone crazy.
I finally had enough and shouted at him, ‘Sir, we are going as fast as we can, and if it’s not good enough for you, then please leave the store and just go to our competition down the road.’
He stood there staring at me, mouth open
I repeated myself, ‘Go on, leave. The other shop is just down the road to your left.’
and he put his items down and stormed out.
The other customers all started to clap.”
New York Customer Service
“I was the evening supervisor at a New York financial services call center. A man called from a different time zone, demanding to speak to the president, who of course wasn’t there. I was the highest ranking person on the premises.
He ranted, raved, and slipped in a few obscenities. His problem was his father had passed away, leaving a large account with my firm and he wanted access to the account. He was the executor, so he thought it should be a simple matter, but there was a twist.
Apparently his father had been deemed incompetent in a court in California and his accounts were assigned to the Public Conservator in Santa Barbara County. Only they could legally act on this account.
He refused to accept this, and continued to scream at me and threaten me with lawsuits. I tried to explain that he needed to contact the Public Conservator’s office but he wouldn’t hear of it. Finally, he admitted that whenever he tries to get help from them, they hang up on him.
I shouted back at him, ‘Well if you’re as rude and obnoxious with them as you are with me, I don’t blame them for hanging up on you. You’re very lucky I haven’t hung up on you yet.’
At this point, he laughed and admitted I might have a point! I offered to call the Public Conservator myself and try to broker a solution.
When I spoke to the Conservator’s office, the woman who handled the call admitted she would not speak to him because he was so abusive. She and I worked together to transfer this account so that she never had to speak to him again.
He called me from time to time afterward to send him checks, and he was still rude, but I was New York rude right back! Over time he spent all the money and I stopped hearing from him.”
She Tried To Pull A Fast One
“I was working at Office Depot as a cashier. A lady came up to check out and told me that she had a $10 off $100 coupon from Staples and would I honor it. I said I would if all the conditions were met for it. I was trying to read the fine print. She interrupted me telling me that I said I would honor it. I repeated myself about the conditions. I was trying to read. She kept interrupting me. I kept repeating myself.
After the 3rd or 4th time, I lost my cool. I slammed my hands down on the counter and told her to shut up so I could read in peace. She stopped talking. I finally found out why she was so insistent on my accepting it. It expired by a week.
I looked at her and quietly said, ‘So I am guessing that you went to Staples and they would not honor their coupon since it was expired and so you came here hoping for the best.’
She blushed and told me no. I stared at her. She finally agreed that I was correct.
I said, ‘And that is also why you kept trying to distract me.’
She nodded her head.
I began to ring up her items. She told me not to bother. I said, why, I will still honor the coupon just as I said I would. She was shocked. I explained, hey Staples lost a customer, I gained Office Depot one for $10. She had over $250 in items.
She did a survey on me sharing how kind I was and willing to honor a competitor’s coupon. I still laugh about it. The manager did ask why I accepted it. I told him the same thing I told her. He agreed.”
This Should Happen To Every Rude Customer
“I was at Starbucks a few weeks ago to pick up a coffee for my husband. He loves Starbucks and he was having a rough week so I thought I’d treat him.
It was a long line about 4 people ahead of me waiting to make an order. I was talking to a friend on the phone when all of a sudden another customer storms to the counter pushing people out of his way. He slammed his cup on the counter and it spilled everywhere. Then he started yelling about how his coffee wasn’t bone dry and when he asks for bone dry he expects it to be freaking bone dry.
The cashier is trying to talk but he won’t let her. Just keeps yelling and swearing. Poor girl starts crying.
Another employee runs up to the counter and slams a empty cup on the wet counter splashing the customer.
He stops yelling for a second so she yells, ‘Is that dry enough for you prick?! Get out!’
He storms off. Customers clap and cheer. And I saw the manager clap the employee on the shoulder and smile.”
I Bet He Never Insulted A Waitress Again
“I was working as a waitress at a high-end private club in Oklahoma City in a nice building called Penn Square. (Some may remember the scandal in the 1980’s when the bank at Penn Square was shut down by federal authorities.) The club was always crowded and full of wealthy oilmen and their wives or girlfriends (or mistresses).
It was sometimes difficult to get a drink at the bar, so a guy standing at the bar asked me to order him his drink when I stepped up to my station to place my table orders. He said he had been trying to order a drink, but the bartender was so busy.
So I ordered his drink for him, along with my other orders from my bartender, and placed all the drinks on my tray. He assumed I didn’t order his drink since all drinks were on my tray, and just as I was ready to hand his drink to him, for free, I heard him insult me under his breath.
I couldn’t believe it. I said, ‘What did you just call me?!’
He said all he had asked was for me to get him a drink and I couldn’t even do that for him.
I don’t even know what happened next exactly, but I reached up and grabbed him by the collar and began pulling him through the crowd towards the door where the doormen and bouncers stood guard. He was so shocked he barely resisted. He kept saying he didn’t hear me order his drink.
I yelled, ‘Too late! That’s not how you treat a lady and if you say one more word I will call your mother and tell her what you did!’
Have you ever said that to a guy who’s been acting inappropriately? You’d be surprised what a reaction that gets.
There wasn’t any way I could have even called her. I didn’t even know the guy, but just by me saying that, and him thinking I would, got his attention even further. The guy was the same age as I was and he was getting really afraid of me!
I told security they better never let him back in. I actually tossed him out the door, turned dramatically around, and went back inside to work.
Let me tell you what working as a waitress at a hoppin’ popular rich-clientele place entailed. It meant two shifts of a total of 12 hours, constantly on our feet, walking and walking and walking, taking many drink orders, collecting money, giving change—all very fast paced, taking more orders, carrying heavy trays of drinks, more walking to get them made, cleaning tables of empty glasses, and then making sure each customer was well-attended to throughout the evening and treated with respect. I’d work so hard and my feet and legs would hurt so badly at night after working until 3 am, I’d cry from pain when I got home.
And the next day I’d start again.
The first shifts’ customers were the oil businessmen in the building who came for a drink after work or to entertain important clientele. I loved that shift. But when that shift ended at 7, get ready. Soon we were dealing with people who had had too much to drink, and it also meant sometimes we dealt with things that were quite the experience.
But I did love my job, and I was good at it. Let’s put it this way. I made such good money, I was able to put my first husband through college.
Regardless of the pay, I would never let anyone treat me with a lack of respect while I did such a demanding job. I’m your waitress, and without me and my pretty smile, you’re not getting served. And if you really mess up, you’re out of there! And it won’t be pretty either.”
