The cliché that the customer is always right has become so rooted that nightmarish buyers are often getting better treatment than they deserve. Sadly, it’s the service industry workers who have to take in their negative emotions, unreasonable expectations and ridiculous demands. And they have truly seen it all.
Reddit user Jing_Yuan_Lu asked fellow members who worked in CS, “What’s the dumbest thing a customer has gone out of their way to complain about?” From buyers who kicked up a fuss when they couldn’t find milk in an electronics store or when their Himalayan salt stone lamp “disappeared” after they put it in the dishwasher, thousands of replies started pouring in, each one better than the last.
Some of these comments are truly eye-roll-worthy, so scroll down and check them out yourself! Make sure to upvote your favorite ones and share your experience in the comment section below.
#1
Many years back, worked for a store chain which sells all products related and connected to Nature. Among them, the Himalayan salt stone lamp. It’s a stone made of salt that encases an electrical bulb. It is supposed to help for regulating ions in your home/office.
A customer called us to complain that their stone disappeared at home, and asked for a refund. As open mind as I can be, I however tried to understand what she meant exactly by “disappeared”.
Story is, customer removed the stone from the bulb and put it in her dish-washer to clean it…
I had to be super nice with her to make her realizing that salt dissolves in water.. Specially in hot water.. Without her getting upset and getting offended… It was a lonely moment..
Image source: blissbali2020, Simeon Birkenstock
#2
That our parent company said that a portion of every purchase goes towards the So The World May Hear foundation for poor kids hearing aids. He wanted that portion of his purchase refunded to him. I told him that the parent company had every right to do with their profits off every purchase that they wanted and most people were happy that instead of profiting as much they made a donation instead. He didn’t care. He was mad that his money was helping brown kids hear. F**k that guy.
Image source: EmberHands, shatishira
#3
A guy asked if I was the manager.
“Can I help you with something?”
Angrily: “Yeah, three Saturdays in a row now I come down here at 4:30, and every f**kin’ Saturday you close at 4.”
“Uh…yeah. We close at 4.”
“F**k you.”
At least he left then. The worst ones don’t leave. They just keep going.
Image source: woodenman22, Tim Mossholder
#4
Worked in an electronics store to put myself through college. I worked in the computer department but was sitting at the loss prevention desk upfront to cover while the LP supervisor took a quick lunch break. An old lady comes in, asks where the dairy section is, and help finding the milk. I told her, kindly, that we weren’t in a grocery store. She looks confused and leaves. A couple of minutes later her (presumably) son walks in and starts chewing my a** because I wouldn’t help her find the milk. When he was done b**ching, I slowly waved my arm across the store and asked him which one of those aisles looks like they might have groceries in them. He stares for a good few seconds and then starts b**ching me out saying that I’m an a**hole, and he wants to see a manager.
So I paged the loss prevention supervisor up to the front. The LP supervisor invited the guy to never come back to the store.
Image source: 2buckbill, Jason Leung
#5
It’s always “x has it cheaper”
Go there then. You are hurting literally nobody’s feelings.
Image source: Smellmyhand, Luis Villasmil
#6
Worked at a coffee shop that wasn’t Starbucks. Frappuccino is a trademarked word for Starbucks blended coffee drinks. When customers would ask for frappuccinos we would just put in the order as what we called it and let them know the name for it at our store so they would recognize it when the barista called it out. Had a woman get so upset she was screaming, all over the word frappuccino. According to her, it was the traditional Italian word for a blended coffee drink (it’s not) and we obviously thought she was stupid to tell her otherwise and how dare we insult her like that. Tried to calm her down and just say we called them something else but it would be a similar drink…didn’t even correct her about the rest. She continued to flip out and literally looked up and called our corporate customer service line in front of us, holding up the rest of the line, to have them tell her the same thing. She then started screeching to demand to talk to the president of our company and started knocking stuff off our countertop. That’s when we called security to escort her the f**k out of our store.
Image source: functionalsock, Victor Rutka
#7
I used to work at a pizza place with a small dining room. So many people would complain that their pizza was too hot to eat. Of course, it is. It just came out of the oven. This is why you chose to drive your dumba** here to eat instead of having it delivered. Because it’s fresh. Fresh pizza is hot, ffs.
Image source: BOOMkittykitty, Fabrizio Pullara
#8
Not sure if this is really a complaint but more sheer stupidity…
At my first IT job, someone was returning a computer monitor and insisted on speaking with someone from the IT department rather than just leaving it in the cage as they were asked.
So I came down to talk with them to see what was going on and she was very adamant that I “double-check” the monitor to make sure all of her information was off of it…
This lady literally thought all of her icons, files, and folders were saved directly to the monitor itself and wouldn’t leave unless I powered it on to show her.
I didn’t even bother trying to explain it to her, she seemed extremely rude and it wouldn’t even be worth my time. So I literally plugged it into the wall, didn’t connect it to anything, and powered it on.
“See, it’s completely blank. Your good to go”
She smiled, said thank you, and left.
Image source: maxdps_, Pedram Farjam
#9
At 18 I was working at a gas station. It was a busy day, I was the only one there and had a huge line. A woman comes in and skips the line and throws a $20 at me saying “$5 on pump 2.” Since she acted like that I chose to make her wait to have money put on the pump. When it would have been getting turned in line I put the $20 onto the pump since she didn’t wait around. About 5 minutes later she comes back complaining that the entire $20 was pumped.
I told her straight out that it’s not my responsibility to keep track of her money, and I placed it on the pump for a record of the funds. If she hadn’t walked away from the pump or had waited in line she could have completed her transaction like everyone else. She then tried calling the cops because I refused to give her a refund. When the cop got there and got the story he looked at her and told her to grow up and be responsible for herself.
Image source: captain-_-hindsight-, Jakob Rosen
#10
We have a drink special in the morning. Drinks are a dollar until 11:00 am.
A lady called to complain that her daughter’s drink only cost a dollar. When we explained to her about the special, she said her daughter should have been charged full price regardless.
Image source: reddit, Demi DeHerrera
#11
I once had a customer come in and the following ensued:
Customer: “Hi I am here to return this power washer”
Me: “Sure you have your receipt?”
C: “Well I bought it “As Is” two years ago. I used it for the first time last year and it didn’t work. I saw it this weekend cleaning the garage. I’d like my money back”
M: “Ah yeah we can’t do that. This product is 3 years old and was sold as is”.
C: angry tone “Oh yeah buddy? What kind of f**king store is this then? Let me talk to a manager.”
Manger proceeds to give them store credit for the amount of a brand new one. I put my two weeks in shortly after.
#12
The store manager was walking by my register as a customer was walking up to check out. My manager said I had to take my break in 15 minutes to which I said, “Okay” The customer complained that it was unprofessional for the manager to speak to me and that I was unprofessional to respond when a customer was approaching the register because I needed to be focused on her and greet her appropriately.
Image source: Unique_User_name_42, Blake Wisz
#13
That I was using a cash register instead of “using my brain” to calculate the money
edit: someone complained I was Asian and I shouldn’t be working here because of that
Image source: Godieinatoilet, Radek Homola
#14
I work for a popular roadside assistance company and had a guy call in wanting to get roadside assistance for his daughter who was stranded. His daughter was not on his membership and there was no room to add her because he already had his wife added. So I suggested he remove his wife for now and add his daughter so she can get roadside assistance and then switch them back afterward. Apparently, this was the most outrageous suggestion. He went and told my supervisor that I was “making him choose his daughter over his wife and no father should have to make that kind of decision” lol.
Image source: noodles_the_food, Aubrey Odom
#15
I worked at a shoe store and I had a guy come in and ask where he could get some books packed up for free and shipped. I said I wasn’t sure and that made staples would do it because they have an ups area there. He said he already tried there and then he called me a fat a** (I wasn’t fat. Just very pregnant) because I couldn’t be bothered to get off the ladder to help him.
I was like dude. I sell shoes. I don’t know what you want from me.
He storms out of the store and like 3 years later I’m still super confused about the whole situation.
Image source: Omfgimaweirdo, Megan Lee
#16
I work at a bakery and we sell pigs in a blanket for breakfast. A few years ago one of the kinds was a spicy blueberry sausage (it had blueberries inside the sausage link). One day some lady got one (knowing it was a blueberry sausage link), bit into it, and noticed some dark looking things inside the sausage link (surprise, it was a blueberry) but for whatever reason, she thought that a flake of black gunk from inside our oven somehow managed to get inside the sausage link (even after said link was rolled in a croissant). She called the health department on us and tried to get $50+ of free food.
My boss asked her what she ordered, he brought out a link of the sausage to show her and she immediately shut up and left the store. Unfortunately, we stopped selling that kind because “if one idiot is gonna think that then others will”, which is sad because they were pretty good.
Image source: Scamperillium, StateofIsrael
#17
I work in a library and I had a woman that was livid that we had a book of short stories in our Young Adult section about LGBT issues among teens. She was like “this is disgusting, this is giving their young minds a false impression of how normal people should live, this is awful”. My boss is a lesbian and was the one listening to her rant.
Image source: wooztheweb, Guzel Maksutova
#18
I worked for a cable company and I had people call in and complain because they got free unlimited calling to Mexico with our phone plans.
“Well, I don’t want to call Mexico!”
“Then may I suggest that you simply don’t do that? It’s not mandatory.”
Image source: Painttheflowers, ROBIN WORRALL
#19
I’m not sure if it counts as complaining but a woman once called to know the status of her case and confirm when she would be getting her money, pretty normal stuff until I said: “Yeah let me help-“ and she cut me off and said: “I don’t want to hear you talking. Don’t say a word to me, I don’t want to hear you, just do the damn thing.”
I was like “ma’am this is a call center, I can’t help you without speaking to you” and she goes: “girl bye” and hung up.
Image source: belleandblue, Israel Andrade
#20
A lady ordered a sandwich and then canceled her order because she thought it took too long. Someone else from the party she was having called and made an order. We made it and delivered it without issue. The same lady calls back APPALLED that we would allow one of her guests to order from us after she made it very clear she wanted to cancel her own order. It’s not my business if other people at her party want to order food and I had no idea it was her party anyway. I told her it was very common for multiple deliveries to go to the same house party, why wouldn’t we make them sandwiches? She then told me I would obviously never amount to anything in life and she was going to make a formal complaint against me. It was such a weird complaint. It was probably 10 years ago but it still bugs me sometimes.
Image source: ashlie_ren, Andrew “Donovan” Valdivia
#21
I’m a bartender and just last night a came in and I knew something would happen.. they are sitting at their TABLE and ask for some margaritas. I go make them and bring them out to the table. He proceeds to tell me “here’s a TAFFER tip; if someone orders a cocktail you should make it in front of them” I replied, well if you were sitting at THE BAR I could do that… Do you want me to bring the blender out to your table and make your frozen drink for you there!? WTH one of the dumbest things I’ver ever heard.
Image source: MrNatels, Tai’s Captures
#22
I never understood why people would buy spicy food and then say it’s too spicy.
Like, when I worked in the deli, it was no problem to serve a sample slice, but no, they’d order a pound of pepper jack or spicy chicken, then come back the next day wanting a refund with like half the package gone.
My manager always told them no. It was glorious to witness. People never expect to be told NO at retail.
Image source: Complete_Entry
#23
I’m not exactly in customer service, but I once had a customer call me and demand I sent a different electrician to his house because the one I sent “looked shady”, after a bit of back and forth I figured out the issue was actually that he was Cuban.
Image source: undead_opossum, Emmanuel Ikwuegbu
#24
I worked in a restaurant for years. People would always ask for broccoli as a side
“I’m sorry, we don’t have broccoli here”
Yes, you do! I get it every time I come. You’re just new
“I’ve been here 6 years ma’am, and at no point have we had broccoli “
You don’t get it, I know Mr. (Name of Restaurant). My husband plays golf with him.
“(Name of Restaurant) is a slang Italian word meaning ‘lively’. There is no Mr. (Name of Restaurant)”
Image source: BrokeBellHop, Tyrrell Fitness And Nutrition
#25
Had a woman call me racist because I asked her if she needed utensils for her take-out.
Image source: DietyBeta, Marco Verch
#26
For whatever the f**k reason, people tend to drop 50 IQ points and become chaotic evil when making purchases. This one woman will forever live in embarrassment. When I was 17 and lived in a place that had frequent and hard rain. This b**ch comes in and complains that… the parking lot… is wet. It was currently pouring.
Image source: AnarchoNAP
#27
I had a guy call in and complain that the CEO’s name sounded Jewish. I merely replied that I do not have an opinion, and I hung up.
Image source: rodeler
#28
Ah I got a great one. So I have a small retail business with my mom that’s strictly brick and mortar. Normally our return policy is within 21 days for store credit. During the holidays we extend it so that anything purchased between Black Friday and December 24th can be returned up until the end of January.
A few years ago this guy came in around the end of April trying to return Christmas gifts on DRY CLEANING HANGERS. When I told him I wouldn’t take it back, even for a store credit, he blew up on me and cussed me out in front of other customers in the store. He then proceeded to leave a 1-star review and bash the store saying how he’s “never been treated like that before at a store”. How tf do people like that exist?
Image source: alphalegend91, Waldemar Brandt
#29
When I was at DirecTV I received a call from a man whose sole purpose was to complain that this is the United States and there should not be a Spanish option in the automated call tree.
Image source: Nick_J_at_Nite, Jim Reardan
#30
I had to remake Marilyn’s caramel macchiato 3 times because the caramel “kept sinking into the foam”. CONSULT YOUR PHYSICS TEXTBOOK, MARILYN. IT IS CALLED GRAVITY.
Image source: julieCivil, Jason Witwicker
#31
Somebody called head office to complain that they heard a Michael Jackson song in our store.
Image source: PersonMcNugget, michaeljackson
#32
I was a lifeguard for 2-3 years in high school. Every day I would get people complaining about the pool temperature as if I could do something about it. “Ma’am, the pool does not have a heating system, I’m sorry. Larger bodies of water hold their temperature longer, which is why it’s so cold”. And they would complain ALL. THE. TIME. “This is your job, you need to fix it!” I’m sorry lady. This isn’t the 4 Seasons Hotel, this is a f**king community pool. It was never young people, always the old ladies who would come in at 5 am to do water aerobics.
Image source: queen_in_the_north17, Megan Bucknall
#33
We sold bonsai trees which can be kinda tricky to keep so you got a care leaflet with them. The leaflet said to water the tree you should immerse the pot entirely until soaked and then allow it to drain completely (disclaimer: I have no idea if this advice is actually correct). Anyway, the customer comes in with a dead tree in a pot with zero soil left, ranting how the advice was terrible and demanding a refund.
Turns out rather than fill a bowl and immerse the pot she’d run a bath and immersed the whole damn tree, right to the tips of its poor little branches. Soil dispersed, the tree died.
Seriously at what point during this process are you not thinking “I have to run a damn bath every time? I know bonsai are high maintenance but this seems extreme”
Image source: TrypMole, Sarah Dorweiler
#34
I guess this wasn’t really an official complaint but it was pretty dumb. I was running the register at the grocery store and this couple got in my line. I could tell they were together because they were talking and interacting with one another. However, they had two different baskets and left a small gap between their respective items without placing them down the divider. So I wasn’t sure if they were paying for everything altogether or separately. I say the generic things, hi, how are you, did you find everything okay, etc and then politely asked, “together or separate?” The lady gave me a death glare and said “why on earth does it matter?” I gave her a blank stare and slowly said “so…. that I know whether to keep ringing you up…or cash out the order….” All I can think is they must have been having some relationship problems because she jumped right to that, haha.
Image source: mermaid744
#35
I owned a computer biz for a few years. The one that always got me was this chick that brought in her computer slammed with viruses, spyware, etc. so bad it wouldn’t boot. Got it all fixed up and she picked it up. Brought it back the very next day with the same thing. I asked what sites she visited since she picked it up and she, completely unashamed, said “oh my bf and I are on porn all the time”. Um, ok. I told her I would go ahead and clean it again for free but if she visited those sites I couldn’t do it again without charging. Picked it up the same day. Back in the next. Me: “did you get back on the porn sites” Her: “of course”. I could not make her understand why this kept happening and would continue happening so I just asked her to go somewhere else.
Image source: tuscabam, Christina @ wocintechchat.com
#36
Had a lady call me racist because she came in to buy glasses, and I asked if she has been to our store before or if she has her prescription with her. She even told her young daughter to watch out for people like me… Uhhh…
Image source: AfterSchoolRed, Harpreet Singh
#37
Restaurant with open kitchen, so customers and us cooks can converse freely. The customer wanted crispy fish. Made it really crispy. Not done enough. I cooked a new one, literally like 15 minutes on the fryers; I cooked three or four other orders around it. She then complained that it was too hot and she didn’t want it.
Image source: slapthefatcat, Mai Quốc Tùng Lâm
#38
In a hotel, they complained that someone else had slept on their mattress so we had to buy a new one. And then 4 more new ones for the other hotels they were going to stay at.
Image source: NippleoleonDynamite, Albert Vincent Wu
#39
I was working at OfficeMax during back-to-school season. This woman comes up to my register with a few things and I start scanning it in. She notices that one item rang up less than she was expecting. She actually got an attitude with me because we hadn’t had a chance to print new shelf tags for that aisle yet. I told her I would wait if she wanted to get more. She declined and continued complaining to me about it. I said, “well I can override the price to what the shelf label said.” I realize now that I was being a bit of a b**ch by saying that. She politely declined that as well, paid with her card, and rushed out the door with her things.
Image source: AwkwardSara, Lindsey Turner
#40
Obligatory “I don’t work in customer service” but my dad is a f**king nightmare about complaining for stupid reasons, usually in restaurants. The other day he sent me this message that his mate has sent to IKEA customer service, complaining about how there are TOO MANY DIGITS IN THE CUSTOMER NUMBER. They seemed so proud of themselves for it but all I can think about is how it’s a waste of everyone’s time and such a stupid thing to get worked up about.
“Hello, I recently purchased a lot of kitchen stuff and decided it would be a good idea joined IKEA Family beforehand. The membership number issued is 19 numbers long. I would like to point out that the estimated world population is around 7.8 billion people. Written in longhand, 7.8 billion is 10 numbers in length. […] So my question is, why do you need to create a membership number which is approximately: Eight hundred and two million, five hundred and seventy-six thousand, five hundred and seventy-six times more than the whole world population?”
Image source: EpicCalliope
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