Yikes, working in customer service is no joke! From scams to plain stupidity, these employees share their senseless customer interactions. Take notes, you don’t want to act like these customers! Content has been edited for clarity.
“I Was Mystified By The Man’s Statement”
“I worked for ten years as a customer service phone representative at a call center for a bank. A while back, my department decided to hold a contest for the funniest customer call, and the prize won a twenty-five buck gift card. My entry won.
A common call we got was for someone needing a PIN, or personal identification number reissued for their ATM card. This was either because they lost their PIN, forgot it, or never received one in the first place.
One day, I answered the phone, and a gentleman was upset right out of the gate.
‘I need to file a complaint!’ the man screamed.
‘I’ll be happy to help you with it, sir. What seems to be the problem?’ I asked.
‘They’ve painted the outside of my branch,’ the man cried, ‘How am I supposed to get my money out now?’
Well, I was certainly mystified by the man’s statement. Who painted the outside of the branch, and why can’t the man get his money out?
I replied, ‘I’m sorry sir, but I am afraid I don’t understand. Do you mean they have painted the outside of the bank?’
‘Yes!’ the man screamed, ‘Now how am I supposed to get my money out of the machine?’
‘I am afraid I am not following you,’ I replied, ‘Did they paint over the ATM?’
Painting over the ATM seemed like a rather remote possibility, but I couldn’t see where a new paint job on the building would interfere with ATM access.
The man responded, ‘No, they didn’t paint over the ATM. I wrote my number on the wall next to the wall by the ATM, and they painted over it!’
He couldn’t be serious, could he?
‘I’m sorry, you’re saying you wrote your PIN number o the side of the building beside the ATM?’ I asked.
‘Yes!’ the man said, ‘Now how am I supposed to get my money out?’
‘They probably painted over it to cover up graffiti. I am sorry for the inconvenience. Just one moment please,’ I replied.
I had to put the man on hold for a minute so I could get my laughter under control before I verified his address and sent him a new PIN number.
As a follow-up, a few weeks after our contest, I received a strange email to my work address about some sort of contest for a company I had never heard of before. My company was very strict about not using our work email for non-work-related things, so I went straight to my boss about the issue. My boss told me she’d look into the email, and not to worry about it. I forgot about it until a week or so later when I got another email from the same address. I forwarded the email to my boss, and this time, I got called into her office.
As it turned out, the contest my company held was modeled after a larger national contest with the same theme, and my boss decided to enter my story. My workplace hasn’t planned to tell me unless it went somewhere, but I had made it into the final ten contestants. The grand prize was an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Hawaii. A few days later, I found out I had won the contest.
It was an amazing adventure, and I would love to go back someday. Had I not dealt with the insane customer, I never would have gotten to experience the adventure of a lifetime.”
“It Was A Mind-Numbing Phone Call”
“Many years ago, I worked as a level one technical support representative. Although I haven’t worked at the job in years, I still vividly remember one customer in particular. I always used this customer as an example scenario while training new employees, and the expressions on their faces were priceless.
As a technical support representative, I often received customer calls about internet connectivity issues. One day, a man called in claiming his internet needed to be fixed.
I assured the man, ‘Don’t worry sir, we would be more than happy to help you. Could you please tell me what you are seeing on your screen?’
The man sighed and said, ‘There isn’t anything on my screen.’
‘Is your web browser open?’ I asked.
‘No, I told you there is nothing on the screen,’ the man replied.
Stumped, I asked, ‘Do you see your desktop?’
‘No, nothing at all,’ the customer responded.
At this point, I thought the customer’s computer wasn’t even turned on. This was way back in the early 2000s when monitors had to be switched on and off separately. The customer would switch on the monitor, but the PC would still be turned off, so they would only see a colored bar on the monitor.’
‘Do you see a colored bar on your monitor?’ I asked.
‘The screen is totally blank,’ the man claimed.
‘The screen is blank? There is supposed to be a little light near the power switch on the monitor. Can you see if it is lit?’ I asked.
The man replied, ‘There isn’t a light.’
‘Okay, there is a light on the main PC box, too. Could you check the light on the PC box for me?’
‘There is no light on the box,’ the man responded.
I knew it! His computer wasn’t even turned on.
I asked the customer, ‘Could you please push the power button to switch on the PC?’
The customer replied, ‘I can’t, it won’t turn on.’
At this point, I was even more confused. If his computer wouldn’t turn on, it was a hardware issue, which was out of my scope of service.
‘Why can’t you turn it on?’ I asked.
‘Because I’m in a blackout,’ the customer said matter-of-factly.
I pushed the mute button on the phone, pounded my head on my keyboard, cussed the universe, and unmuted.
In my most professional and straight-faced voice, I replied, ‘Please wait until the power comes back and switch on your computer. I am sure your internet service will work. If you have any issues, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We would be more than happy to help you. Is there anything else I can do for you?’
The customer simply said, ‘Oh, okay. Thanks,’ and hung up the phone.
I was appalled. It was one of the most mind-numbing phone calls I ever had to endure.”
“You Already Humiliated Yourself”
“I was previously a manager at a retail store. During this incident, I was working a cash register during a holiday rush, filling in for one of my employees who were on their break. I was the only employee at the cash registers, so I was working alone for a little while.
The line of people waiting to check out got ridiculously long. There were maybe twenty or thirty people in line, and this didn’t even include the several dozen people browsing. Everyone standing in line could see I was working as hard as I could, so they were mostly understanding of the wait.
Anyway, a man walked into the store, and he wasn’t seemingly in a rush. After choosing what he intended to purchase, he took one look at the line, walked to the front, and physically shoved the woman I was currently helping out of the way. Then, he plopped his merchandise down onto the counter.
The man caught me staring at him, then snapped, ‘I am in a major rush, so hurry up buddy.’
So the man wasn’t just rude to the woman in line, he was rude to everyone. What a peach.
I called the man out and said, ‘Your rightful place in line is at the end.’
The man looked me in the eye and said, ‘I didn’t skip the line. I have been waiting at the front longer than anyone else.’
I knew I needed to get the man out of the store.
I took a deep breath and announced, ‘I am so sorry to everyone standing in line! I promise I will ring him up quickly. The line is only getting longer, and I am still working alone. Thank you all for your patience!’
The man angrily replied, ‘What are you trying to do? Publicly humiliate and embarrass me?’
I didn’t have to reply, because the woman he shoved replied, ‘You already humiliated yourself.’
The next thing I knew, security was escorting him out of the store. I usually didn’t hear applause in such situations, but the people in line cheered once the man was removed because he was so rude.
I couldn’t imagine behaving this way in a retail store, but some people are simply insane.”
Pet Store Problems
“I used to work at a major chain pet store as a customer service associate and pet care specialist. I loved animals, and I enjoyed helping customers get set up with new pets. I had several customers who would visit the store and specifically ask for me. Unfortunately, a big part of the job was handling returns of pets who were deceased. My job was to replace the pet and advise the customer on anything they could do to ensure success in keeping the pet.
In my store, customers filled out satisfaction surveys online. The surveys had an optional comment field, and the managers read and posted the comments each week.
One day, I was called into my manager’s office.
My manager sternly said, ‘There was a serious complaint about you in one of the surveys I read.’
My manager read the complaint to me, and I turned redder and redder as she read the long description of how a customer came in to return multiple fish which had died. Allegedly, I did not express any sympathy for the customer’s loss.
The customer claimed, ‘Her cold, uncaring, attitude and clear disregard for my emotional well-being and satisfaction as a customer made me feel too upset and traumatized to return to your store in the future. I hope the managers use disciplinary action against the employee and perhaps terminate her. She doesn’t exemplify the love of animals your store claims to represent.’
By this point, I couldn’t control myself and began crying. By the list of fish the customer described, I remembered the customer and the interaction with them. I didn’t think the interaction was unusual at all, and I even said I was sorry to hear about her fish passing away. I even spent twenty minutes with the customer trying to figure out a care plan for their new fish, and they thanked me for my help. I was confused as to what I did wrong.
Despite my great record and compliments about me from other customers, my manager penalized me for the complaint. I had my hours cut, and I had to go through extra training.
Two months later, my manager came to me and explained, ‘Do you remember the customer complaint you had? The customer came in earlier today. They said they felt bad because they put in a joke complaint about an employee, and they were worried the employee got fired.’
I was shocked. The customer put in a fake complaint about me!
The customer told my manager, ‘I had a few too many drinks, and I was just really upset about the fish. Anyway, I am sorry. The employee was actually really nice to me.’
The situation honestly terrified me. I had a hard time trusting customers afterward.”
“I Hope The Woman Learned Her Lesson”
“I worked in veterinary medicine for more than thirty-six years. I had to deal with some customers who were real doozies.
One time, we had a lady come in with her dog to get regular vaccinations. After the woman signed in, she sat on the bench and waited to be seen. One of my technicians walked over to her with a clipboard and pen to get more information about the dog from the woman. All the while, the woman’s dog had been straining at the leash trying to run out the door.
While the technician stood there speaking with the woman, her dog, without warning, grabbed hold of the technician’s hand with its teeth and began trying to rip her arm off! He shook his head, bit down harder, and dragged the technician to the floor.
Instead of trying to get the dog off of the technician, the woman began screaming at us! As we tried to break the dog free from the technician’s arm, the woman claimed we were abusing her dog.
Instead of an apology for owning an aggressive dog and being unable to restrain it, the woman screamed, ‘You people had no right to attack my dog! It is your fault for walking up to my dog!’
The technician ended up with four broken bones in her hand and a major infection. In the end, the woman had the nerve to file a lawsuit, claiming animal abuse against our hospital. She wanted more than twenty-five thousand bucks in emotional distress! We shut the hospital down on the day of the trial, and every staff member involved was in court to testify.
In the end, the woman was forced to pay all court costs and lawyer fees, the cost of the technician’s medical treatment, the cost of shutting down the hospital, and was given a fine by animal control for having an aggressive dog. The woman was also told if the dog ever bit someone again, the dog would not only be put down but she could be arrested and jailed for having a known aggressive animal in her home.
I hope the woman learned her lesson.”
“I Never Trusted The CEO Again”
“I worked in graphic design. I learned early on to not say anything bad about the company’s existing communication materials.
My stock answer, when asked about my thoughts, was always ‘Well, they’ve done a great job of getting you to this point.’
I was in a brand identity meeting with the client getting briefed on audiences and aspirations when this incident occurred.
The marketing director was there, along with the vice president of sales and the CEO of the company.
We were about thirty minutes into the meeting when the CEO turned to me and asked, ‘What do you think of our current company logo?’
I responded with my stock answer of, ‘Well, it has done a great job of getting you to this point.’
The CEO smiled at me knowingly and replied, ‘No, really. I am interested in your professional opinion.’
I basically gave the CEO the same reply in different wording, being careful not to say anything negative in my response. The CEO kept prodding me for a different answer, and everyone in the room was clearly starting to become uncomfortable.
The CEO pressed, ‘Seriously. Nobody here will be offended, we’re all friends here. Just tell us how you feel.’
So, I decided to take the CEO for his word and told him my true feelings.
I told him my thoughts, which began with ‘Well, the logo looks like it was designed by an engineer. There is zero respect for typography, and the logo itself is childish and ill-conceived.’
Everyone in the room went pale and avoided eye contact.
The CEO looked at me and sternly said, ‘My wife designed the logo.’
I still worked with the company, but I never trusted the CEO again.”
Atrocious Airport Attitude
“A couple of years ago, I had a memorably hilarious encounter with a passenger.
I worked at an airport, and the old terminal had a large general onboarding area. Once you walked out of your airline’s door, you had a bit of a walk to the jetbridge.
My team and I had completed onboarding, and we were trying to find two passengers who were missing. I was sent down to the aircraft to see if they were on board, and just as I had radioed the gate to confirm their seats were empty, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around, and a passenger was standing behind me.
I said to the passenger, ‘Yes, sir?’
The passenger hurriedly questioned, ‘Where is row eight?’
Shocked, I replied, ‘Row eight?’
‘Yeah, row eight,’ the passenger continued.
I almost thought I didn’t hear the passenger clearly. He was asking about row eight, but we were standing by row twenty-four.
‘Say it again one more time, sir,’ I pressed.
‘Are you stupid?’ the passenger angrily yelled, ‘I need row eight!’
If he was going to be rude, I was going to give him a piece of my mind, too.
I told the passenger, ‘Well sir, on most airplanes, row eight is between rows seven and nine. If you would like to verify, I can check with the captain to find out if it moved,’ as I pointed to the front of the airplane and continued, ‘As far as I know, between rows seven and nine is where eight would be located. Is there anything else I can help you with?’
He glared at me, muttered something under his breath, turned around, and walked to the front. The passengers around me were in hysterics.”
“She Was Just Trying To Run A Scam”
“I previously worked at a retail store.
One time, I had a customer who called and explained, ‘My husband purchased the wrong item for me as a gift. I want to return it for cash, but I don’t have the receipt or tag for the item.’
I had heard this too many times before. She was just trying to run a scam.
I told the woman, ‘Ma’am, we have a strict return policy here. If the tag is on the item but you do not have a receipt, you receive store credit. If you have the receipt but the tag isn’t on the item, you will also receive store credit. Without either of these, there is nothing I can do. I suggest you look for the receipt or tag.’
The woman began huffing and puffing on the other side of the phone. I knew the remainder of the interaction wouldn’t be good.
The woman angrily said, ‘If I give you my credit card number, you could just credit the purchase back onto my card. I will bring the item in tomorrow, I promise.’
I wasn’t buying her claims. I repeated our store policy once more.
The woman yelled, ‘I am a regular customer in the store, and you need to do as I ask! Doesn’t your store care about its customers?’
I responded, ‘No, I cannot refund the purchase back to your card. There is only so much I am allowed to do as a customer service representative. Have a good day, ma’am.’
I couldn’t stand customers who thought I could do anything and everything for them. I truly had to follow the rules, or else I would have gotten fired. The woman was angry, but luckily, she never called back.”
The Crazed Couponers
“I worked in a grocery store. One night, two guests decided to come into the store to carry out a common coupon scam.
You could always tell what scamming customers were planning because they would intentionally come into the store five minutes before closing. They knew it was late, and employees just wanted to go home.
The two customers came to the check lane, and they proceeded to purchase a ton of the same items but split the items up on separate orders. By doing this, they could trick the coupon limit. The customers also brought in a huge stack of coupons, and they tried to sneak in a couple of coupons for items they didn’t buy among the stack.
My manager caught on to what was happening quickly, and he came over to monitor what was going on.
My manager explained to the customers, ‘You aren’t allowed to split your transaction onto multiple orders to use all of your coupons.’
The customers became extremely upset, but my manager was telling the truth. It was the rule, and many times customers like them preyed on cashiers who didn’t know or didn’t care about the policy. Usually, they tried to spot new employees who hadn’t been trained about the scam yet. I was not one of those employees.
As expected, the customers began to cause a scene.
One of the customers yelled, ‘My father is the CEO of this company. I know the policies, do you?’
I really wanted to look at her and say ‘Yes, I’m sure you’re the daughter of the CEO. Which is why you are an extreme couponer and come into the store to harass his employees.’
Instead, I maintained a rather straight face.
My manager replied, ‘Yes, I am aware of the store policies here.’
The customer continued to yell at and harass my manager, and he managed to get away and let me finish up. I felt bad for my manager because the customers treated him so poorly. I wanted to defend him, but I also didn’t want to lose my job.
I finished up the transaction and told the customers, ‘Sorry about your experience, have a good night.’
I don’t know why customers think they can trick the system so easily.”
“I Almost Felt Bad For The Woman”
“I have had a terrible experience with customers probably every third person I encounter.
When I was taking calls for TurboTax, I got one particular call that made me believe I was being pranked. One day, a woman called, and the further into the conversation I got, the less she understood what I was saying.
All the woman needed to do was check her email for a verification code, which took two and a half hours of going back and forth explaining how to do so. It was to the point where I was drawing a verbal image of her inbox, but she still didn’t understand.
I was normally patient with customers, but I couldn’t deal with this woman. No matter what I told her, she didn’t understand what I was saying. The entire time I tried to assist her, the quality assurance department kept calling and messaging me wanting to know what was taking so long. I couldn’t get any tips on how to handle the call, nor would anyone take over the call for me. Everyone who I worked with believed if the woman was going to understand, it would have happened hours ago.
I almost felt bad for the woman, because she seemed like a spaced-out grandma who had no idea what was going on. I tried to get on her wavelength to understand her, but no such luck. I eventually had to hang up the phone, because I tried to help her my entire shift.
The woman never called back, but I still wonder about her to this day.”
