Bored Panda works better on our iPhone app
Continue in app Continue in browser

Add post form topAdd Post
Tooltip close

The Bored Panda iOS app is live! Fight boredom with iPhones and iPads here.

Entitled Couple’s Plan To Scam Catering Company Goes Horribly Wrong
29

Entitled Couple’s Plan To Scam Catering Company Goes Horribly Wrong

Interview With Expert Entitled Couple’s Plan To Scam Catering Company Goes Horribly WrongEntitled Couple Tries To Get Free Catering For Party Through A Dangerous Scam, Fails MiserablyCouple Doesn’t Believe 360 Cameras Exist, Learn It The Hard Way When Their Scam Falls ThroughEntitled Couple’s Efforts To Scam Catering Company Fails After Worker Pulls Up Camera FootageEntitled Couple Is Left Silenced After Their Insurance Scam Backfires: “Do You Know Who I Am?”: Couple’s Scam To Get Free Catering Fails After They Learn Cameras ExistCouple Tries Blackmailing Catering Company For Free Food, Dashcam Catches Their ScamCrazy Couple Tries To Push Van Away From Road, Then Demands Free Catering: “This Is Outrageous”Entitled Couple Demands Free Food After Faking Accident With Catering Van, Gets Caught On Tape
ADVERTISEMENT

Companies duping their customers has almost become routine, to the point where it often goes unnoticed. Limited-time offers, greenwashing, and false discounting are all used to lure in as many consumers as possible. However, the customers aren’t always saints either, fabricating lies for their benefit, which sometimes make the employees’ job impossible. 

Luckily, this worker had a sharp eye when an entitled couple tried deceiving them to score free catering from their business. The story they attempted to sell them, unfortunately, wasn’t convincing enough, and the employee pulled up camera footage, which caught them completely red-handed.

Scroll down to find the full story and conversation with associate professor of marketing Deidre Popovich, PhD, consumer psychology researcher and chief behavioral officer at Clicksuasion Labs, Dr. Michael Barbera, and former psychotherapist turned customer researcher Hannah Shamji, who kindly agreed to share a few insights on why customers might be dishonest.

Not all customers that customer service employees come across are truthful

Image credits: master1305 / envato (not the actual photo)

These two even spun a crazy story about an accident with a delivery driver just to get free catering for their party

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Image credits: Kaboompics.com / pexels (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Kauske

60% of people can’t have a 10-minute conversation without lying

Image credits: Anastasiya Gepp / pexels (not the actual photo)

According to a University of Massachusetts study, 60% of people can’t have a 10-minute conversation without lying. Considering this, it’s no surprise that customers are dishonest to customer service employees too.

Clients may resort to deception for many reasons. One that associate professor of marketing Deidre Popovich, PhD, provides is wanting to get back at companies that they feel are taking advantage of the average consumer and prioritizing profits. “Consumers may lie when they feel the company “owes them” or they rationalize that their lie won’t really hurt the company financially,” she says.

ADVERTISEMENT

Former psychotherapist turned customer researcher Hannah Shamji, proposes that another big one is the desire to look good or be liked. “This is called social desirability bias—when people say things that sound nice or that they think others want to hear. So, they might give a company positive feedback even if it’s not honest. They might also lie to avoid conflict or awkwardness in the conversation. If they think their opinion will be upsetting or introduce friction, they’ll give quick, safe answers instead. These “white lies” are usually unconscious and well-intentioned but center around wanting to keep things smooth and agreeable,” she explains.

Consumer psychology researcher and chief behavioral officer at Clicksuasion Labs, Dr. Michael Barbera, agrees that most consumers don’t have any intentions to deceive businesses. “Often, what appears to be dishonesty can be more accurately seen as miscommunication or a misunderstanding of policies. However, there are some individuals who do engage in dishonest practices intentionally, aiming to gain personal benefits such as refunds or discounts. By recognizing the difference between these two behaviors, businesses can address genuine miscommunication while also identifying bad actors.”

Lying customers can have a negative impact on a company’s bottom line, says Popovich. “Consumers may make false complaints with the hopes of getting financially compensated, they may return products frequently, or they may falsely claim they never received a product in order to get a refund. In each of these cases, retailers lose revenue from consumer fraud.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Such behavior of customers can also affect other fellow consumers who are honest, notes Dr. Barbera. “When customers lie, it can lead businesses to implement more restrictive policies, such as shorter return periods or more stringent refund processes. These policies, while aimed at reducing fraud, can unintentionally impact the experience for honest consumers, adding friction to their shopping journey.”

Expert’s comment on the original poster’s situation

Image credits: Anna Shvets / pexels (not the actual photo)

Even though no one appreciates dishonesty, lying customers should still be approached positively and constructively, say the experts. Shamji comments on the specific case of the original poster by saying, “There’s no perfect way to handle interactions like this, but it sounds like the worker did a great job staying calm.”

“In situations like these, understanding the other’s perspective can help defuse things. The callers clearly felt wronged and thought they were helping by reporting the driver. Disagreeing upfront only made things worse, so hearing them out and showing you understand their viewpoint first might help build trust and make them more receptive to your response,” she advises. “That said, the callers were extremely aggressive and rude. So I’d say it’s perfectly reasonable to escalate this to a superior or give them an ultimatum—dealing with angry people doesn’t mean being a punching bag.”

ADVERTISEMENT

What workers and businesses can do so clients don’t have to resort to dishonesty is be more trustworthy. This can be done by establishing brand consistency and offering thorough training for employees, says Dr. Barbera.

“When employees consistently communicate and apply policies in a fair and transparent manner, it reduces any incentive for customers to stretch the truth. Training that emphasizes empathy, clarity, and consistency enables employees to foster genuine relationships, making customers more inclined to act honestly and openly.”

Meanwhile, Popovich highlights the importance of providing customers with accurate information. “Employees need to ensure that consumers can purchase the correct product so the company does not lose potential sales. Listening to consumer needs and making them feel valued will help establish trust and honesty between both parties. Providing outstanding customer service can often help customers perceive the company as sincere and not opportunistic, making a transaction more likely to be perceived by consumers as honest and transparent.”

She concludes the topic by saying, “The bottom line is that consumers are more likely to lie when they feel they can’t trust the company they are dealing with. So companies must focus on establishing honest relationships with their consumers and consistently train their employees to support this goal. Consumers want to feel valued and respected by the companies they are doing business with. Improving customer service should be a top priority for companies who want to decrease consumer fraud.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Readers were surprised by the scammers’ lack of technological knowledge

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Ic_polls

Poll Question

Thanks! Check out the results:

Share on Facebook
Austeja Zokaite

Austeja Zokaite

Writer, BoredPanda staff

Read more »

Hi, glad you swung by! My name is Austėja, and I’m a writer at Bored Panda. With a degree in English philology, I’m interested in all aspects of language. Being fresh out of university, my mission is to master the art of writing and add my unique touch to every personal story and uplifting article we publish. In my time here, I’ve covered some fun topics such as scrungy cats and pareidolia, as well as more serious ones about mental health and relationship hiccups. When I’m not on my laptop, you’ll probably find me devouring pastries, especially croissants, paired with a soothing cup of tea. Sunsets, the sea, and swimming are some of my favorite things.

Read less »
Austeja Zokaite

Austeja Zokaite

Writer, BoredPanda staff

Hi, glad you swung by! My name is Austėja, and I’m a writer at Bored Panda. With a degree in English philology, I’m interested in all aspects of language. Being fresh out of university, my mission is to master the art of writing and add my unique touch to every personal story and uplifting article we publish. In my time here, I’ve covered some fun topics such as scrungy cats and pareidolia, as well as more serious ones about mental health and relationship hiccups. When I’m not on my laptop, you’ll probably find me devouring pastries, especially croissants, paired with a soothing cup of tea. Sunsets, the sea, and swimming are some of my favorite things.

Gabija Palšytė

Gabija Palšytė

Author, BoredPanda staff

Read more »

Gabija is a photo editor at Bored Panda. Before joining the team, she achieved a Professional Bachelor degree in Photography and has been working as a freelance photographer since. She also has a special place in her heart for film photography, movies and nature.

Read less »

Gabija Palšytė

Gabija Palšytė

Author, BoredPanda staff

Gabija is a photo editor at Bored Panda. Before joining the team, she achieved a Professional Bachelor degree in Photography and has been working as a freelance photographer since. She also has a special place in her heart for film photography, movies and nature.

What do you think ?
Add photo comments
POST
Traveling Lady Railfan
Community Member
3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree that front and rear dash cams really should be mandatory. It would cut down an awful lot on the he said / she said. It's not a perfect solution, but it would help an awful lot.

Pille P
Community Member
3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I actually agree. BUT unfortunately in Germany for instance you are not allowed to continuously film due to data privacy. If you have a system that activates in case of a crash you are ok. But then trying to use the video as an evidence at police/court you may be slammed with a ginormous fine for breach of data privacy. I find it extreme. Even google street view has often every other house blurred due to no permission to film by owners

Load More Replies...
Sophia Athene
Community Member
3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

BP, stop giving us multiple answers that apply in the survey without letting us choose more than one. It doesn't take but a few lines of code to change it.

Leah C
Community Member
3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They're the dumb ones, not just for brake checking, but for thinking that getting catering from someone they were incredibly rude to would be a good idea.

Load More Comments
Traveling Lady Railfan
Community Member
3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I agree that front and rear dash cams really should be mandatory. It would cut down an awful lot on the he said / she said. It's not a perfect solution, but it would help an awful lot.

Pille P
Community Member
3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I actually agree. BUT unfortunately in Germany for instance you are not allowed to continuously film due to data privacy. If you have a system that activates in case of a crash you are ok. But then trying to use the video as an evidence at police/court you may be slammed with a ginormous fine for breach of data privacy. I find it extreme. Even google street view has often every other house blurred due to no permission to film by owners

Load More Replies...
Sophia Athene
Community Member
3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

BP, stop giving us multiple answers that apply in the survey without letting us choose more than one. It doesn't take but a few lines of code to change it.

Leah C
Community Member
3 weeks ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They're the dumb ones, not just for brake checking, but for thinking that getting catering from someone they were incredibly rude to would be a good idea.

Load More Comments
You May Like
Related on Bored Panda
Related on Bored Panda
Trending on Bored Panda
Also on Bored Panda