Most people don’t need to be reminded to have good manners. Treating people with respect and kindness should be second nature, as we were all taught the “golden rule” at a young age. But even the most rude individuals usually know not to mess with people who are bringing them food, beverages or helping them make a purchase. Why even tempt someone to spit in your coffee or overcharge you for a flight? Yet somehow, there are still entitled people out there who play with fire and treat customer service employees poorly.
To bring to light all of these impolite customers and show how employees can retaliate against them, Darron Cardosa, or Officialtbw on TikTok, shared a video detailing one of his favorite ways to get back at rude customers and invited others to do the same. Below, you can read all of the best tactics workers have for dealing with disrespectful customers, as well as an interview we were lucky enough to receive from Marlon Joseph, host of The Modern Waiter podcast. Be sure to upvote your favorite revenge ideas, and then let us know in the comments if you have ever responded to a customer in a petty way. Then if you’re interested in learning even more ways employees retaliate against customers, you can check out Bored Panda‘s last piece on the same topic right here.
#1
So I don’t recall if it was 1998 or 1999, yes, it was a long time ago, but there was an Oscar De La Jolla fight and I was doing tech support at the Cox Communications, a local cable company. Someone called in really frantic saying, “Hey, I have a house full of people and all this food that I bought for the fight and it’s not working”. And I was like, “Sure, no problem. Let me go out and get it taken care of”. Did my little thing send a signal to the box. Everything came up. I hear a cheer in the background, “Oh, yeah, it’s on, it’s on its on”. So the guy on the phone was like, “Alright, man, it’s on, it’s on. What’s your name?”. When I say “Oh, my name is Javier”. He goes “Oh, thanks a lot, you f*****g spik”. So I immediately turned that fight off, refunded the money and put notes in the account so that nobody would turn the fight back on. I checked the next day and he called multiple times. Absolutely nobody turned that fight on. I win
Image source: javi_has_beer, Lisa Brank
#2
Christmas Eve 2017 I am six months pregnant, waddling my fat a** around the store. And I’m trying to help this woman and it turns out we don’t have in stock what she wants and she just starts losing her f*****g s**t, because we’ve ruined her Christmas by not having the item in stock. We’d had it since September., she’d just waited till Christmas Eve to get it, but whatever. She even took digs at my unborn child, like what the f**k? After she left, we realized she’d left behind a bunch of shopping she’d done at other stores. And I could see her she was still just outside the store. I could have watered my fat pregnant a** that she just insulted out to go give her bags back. But I didn’t. Instead I took them to center management that were closing in five minutes time, which means whatever was in those bags, she didn’t get back until Boxing Day. You want to accuse me of ruining Christmas I’ll do it properly, b***h
Image source: ashy_anne_, Any Lane
#3
So I used to work at a grocery store. And if you’ve ever worked at or been to a grocery store, you know that sometimes people pay with EBT. Snap, food stamps, because food costs money and people need help sometimes. Anyway, one such customer is in the store, and she’s paid for her food, she’s gonna go back and you have to bag it yourself. She’s bagging groceries over here. New customers in front of me. She’s paying for her stuff. She hands me her card as she does so she says loud enough for other people to hear her “I’ll be paying with my own money, because I have a job”. And I swipe her card. And in what I can only describe as an act of divine justice, the card gets declined. And normally I’m pretty delicate and quiet like, “Hey, your card got declined”, I don’t want to embarrass anybody. But this day, I was loud and proud, “Ma’am, your card has been declined”
Image source: crlstrrs, Anna Tarazevich
#4
A cop came into my store with no mask in his uniform. I didn’t notice until he was leaving, so I said, ‘Sir, next time you come in, I need you to put on a mask.’ He looks me dead in the eyes and said, ‘I have a medical condition. What are you gonna do about it?’ I was pissed, so I looked at his badge, and then I later called the police department and told them. Ever since then, every time he comes in, he’s wearing a mask. Every time.
Image source: hellyabananabreaddude
#5
40 years ago, I was putting myself through school working at the San Gabriel Country Club. One quiet lazy Saturday afternoon I was working in the bar area when a Party of five comes in and seats themselves. The party was hosted by former Los Angeles Rams legend and star of TV’s Father Murphy, Merlin Olsen, who was one of my heroes when I was a kid growing up. That particular day Merlin Olsen was a di**k. He gestured to me and says, “Hey, make yourself useful and take our drink orders”. He says “Start with me. I’ll have a vodka tonic”. So I listened to everyone else give their drink orders, but I’m not writing this down because I can remember this. Merlin’s watching me and he’s a little agitated. When I get done, he looks at me and says “How you going to remember all that? You didn’t write any of that down?”. I said, “Don’t worry about it. I got it”. He looks at me and says “Do you know who I am?”. I said, “Yeah, you’re the vodka tonic”
Image source: lamassagepro
#6
So I worked for Starbucks for about seven years before I finally left. And if someone was really, really rude to me, I would do a very minor thing to make their beverage so much better. Like with a frappuccino, I blend it with cold brew, or other little tips and tricks like to give them a better-tasting drink. Because the next time they go to order their beverage, they’re going to order it the exact same way and they will never get a drink as good as they did that one time. They will not know what was wrong with it. They will not know what the difference was, and they will never be able to have a drink that tastes that good ever again. And that makes me satisfied.
Image source: btriplett_, machu.
#7
Back in my server days: if a customer was TERRIBLE we’d say table so and so needs attention. All the servers would stop by that table and ask if they needed anything or randomly bring things by asking if they needed it…. THE WHOLE REST OF THEIR MEAL. Go ahead and complain that the staff was extra nice. P.S. there were up to 15 servers on shift.
Image source: gloriastelle, K8
#8
Let me paint you a picture. It’s the opening day of “Avengers End Game” at my movie theater. You can imagine the chaos commencing throughout the entire theater. And people have been waiting there since 5am, which made zero f*****g sense to me because we had reserved seating. Whatever, I guess it was just the anticipation of everything, that’s fine, I can understand that. There had I guess, been some miscommunication between a guest and a co worker and his order was 100% wrong. And that order ended up thrown all over me because of how angry the customer was. Now it was towards the end of the day, so I was like, “Okay, I’m not gonna let this get me”, but then he called me an idiot and a fa**ot. I got f*****g angry, of course. So without even like, skipping the second beat I said, “Well, this fa**ot is still alive but Iron Man isn’t”. I didn’t get fired and the customer got kicked out. Ah
Image source: drewwciferr, Krists Luhaers
#9
A man came in, placed an order, and got snippy with a coworker who misheard him. I looked him in the eye and frowned at him and told him, softly, like I was talking to a child (and he was in his 60s) “I’d appreciate it if you would treat her kindly.” It caught him off guard He ended up fidgeting and shuffling and quietly apologized to both of us, and was nice the rest of the visit.
Image source: leavemyselfbehind
#10
In the 60s my dad worked for Eastern Airlines at DCA. Rude customer story: Ticket sold to NYC. Baggage sent to Bombay, India.
Image source: bethcaldwell09, katrien berckmoes
#11
Sometimes when they asked for butter I give them cold butter even though I have room temperature butter because I know the cold butter will rip up their bread.
Image source: officialtbw, Crazy Cake
#12
This might get me cancelled in the vegan community. But here we go. I was working at the movies. I was a cook there. This lady brought back her burger. She said it was cold. I never have a problem, I’ll remake the meal. It’s how she told me her food was cold. She said, “This is what happens when they employ Mexicans”. She proceeds to tell me she has been vegan for over 30 years, and to make sure that no animal product touches her food. Oh, I remade the burger. I grilled her black bean burger over some nice bacon grease. And I’ll do it again.
Image source: areallygoodjoke, Miha Rekar
#13
They are getting the hotel room right next to the elevator or the room with triplets.
Image source: garlandbrook, Pixabay
#14
Leave a sensor at the very bottom of their bag so LP would have to search it for 5 minutes at the door.
Image source: docmart10, Sam Lion
#15
As they are leaving, I always use the mag lock that I have control of behind the counter to lock the door and I just see them run into the door.
Image source: lauratc23
#16
When you hold your hand out for their money & they chuck it on the counter, you make sure to put their change right beside their hand on the counter.
Image source: Chloe Pritchard
#17
I worked at little Ceasars and we were super busy and a woman had ordered a deep dish pizza and had been waiting on it. deep dishes have to go through the top and bottom oven to fully cook and I had just pulled her deep dish out of the bottom and was about to put it through the top when she said “that’s my pizza. I’m done waiting. give it to me” I tried to explain to her that it wasn’t done yet but she kept interrupting me with “give me my pizza” and so I dumped out the doughy mess cut it and gave it
Image source: andikinns
#18
So many people don’t realize how bad it is to be rude to a receptionist at a hair salon.. sorry Karen, we are booked for the holidays.
Image source: happyfreeauthenticallyme
#19
If they are on the phone while I’m checking them out at the register, I purposely make as much noise as possible. My fave: shaking the paper bags.
Image source: jujuleeann
#20
I put unsalted fries in their bag but put a few salted ones on top so they wouldn’t know until it was too late.
Image source: peterparkwe, Nathan Dumlao
#21
So my buddy worked for a pizza place. And he used to tell me that if customers were rude to them, they would do this thing called a “phantom cut”, where they would cut the pizza ever just so that if you try to rip a piece off, you tear the whole pizza to shreds. I’m like, “Oh, that sucks”. One time, my friend was ordering a pizza. And he was very rude to the pizza person. And I was like, “why?” And then when the pizza got to my f*****g house, they “phantom cut” the s**t out of that thing. I tried to take two pieces and I tore the whole f*****g pizza up. So I got a fork and a knife and I went to f*****g work and I was eating that pizza regardless. I looked at my friend and I said, if you were ever rude to another pizza person again, I’m gonna steal your f*****g turtle. I swear to god
Image source: jordan_the_stallion8
#22
I had a customer tell me I have an awful speaking voice and should not be allowed in public so I spoke louder and more nasally.
Image source: chrxmxtica
#23
I work at Walmart in the pickup department. Let’s just say never honk or yell at us or else your order will be the last order we take out.
Image source: alyssasalazar19, Mike Mozart
#24
I worked in a college bookstore and whenever someone was rude I would get them the used copies in the worst condition.
Image source: mairzy.doats, Pauline Loroy
#25
If someone throws their card/money payment at me I throw their card/change back at them when I’m done and throw the pen at them when they need to sign.
Image source: souleske
#26
Ex Dunkin employee here: decaf, no questions asked. But when the frosting in the donuts was melty, I would put it in the bag upside down
Image source: kaitlynmsprague, Mike Mozart
#27
Put them on hold for 15 minutes instead of 2.
Image source: kyledimetri
#28
I was filling a sample & she asked me “Do you even know what you’re doing?” So I left it half open in her bag so she could see I really didn’t know.
Image source: chlown_
#29
Gone to the back to look for the shoe size on the clearance shoe I knew we didn’t have for 10mins playing on my phone before my shift ended and then walked past her and leaving while she stood there waiting the whole time.
Image source: tree1993
#30
Worked for AppleCare and have flagged customers accts as “do not assist” so they could never get help from Apple again.
Image source: danijoe17, Amir Hosseini
#31
Grown rude men be getting a pink candle in their birthday dessert from me!
Image source: whitnastay
#32
Only fill their foundation samples up less than halfway but flip it upside down first to make it look full.
Image source: danger.cat, cottonbro
#33
If it’s in email I misspell their name on purpose.
Image source: justhere4dogvids
#34
If someone is rude to me I make sure to absolutely squish the hell out of whatever food they’re buying as I bag it up
Image source: starkkinnie, S O C I A L . C U T
#35
I used to double charge them, so they had to go wait in the customer service line to get a refund.
Image source: misticfox0
Follow Us
