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You Think Your Job Sucks? Then Take A Look At These 40 Employee Conversations With Clients From Hell (New Pics)
Everyone who has worked in retail knows that for every good customer, you get 2 horrible ones pulling up in the parking lot. It's a law. Like gravity.
But some people are so rude, so annoying, and so malicious, it's like they're on a quest to make as many workers miserable as possible. And sometimes they succeed.
When someone like that ruins your day, there's only one thing you can do. Vent online. I mean, you can't punch the jerk or anything—you're still in uniform. Pull off a stunt that damages the reputation of the company you're working for and you're out the door.
Bored Panda has compiled a list of these stories to show you that people in retail really deserve our respect; they go through these situations every day. For more similar experiences, check out our older pieces here and here.
This post may include affiliate links.
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#2
pusheen buttercup 3 years ago
Glory hounding. Trying to do the right thing for the sake of appearances whether it kills anyone or not
Christian Bradshaw 3 years ago
Yeah. Though honestly, they kinda had me until the hive five
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littlesaresare 3 years ago
Because then the plot of this fake story would be too mediocre.
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Dave Thorpe 3 years ago
I'm calling bs on this one. Surely, the first thing should would have said is, "I'm a trained paramedic".
Flare 3 years ago
Do you really think that the man would have believed her?
Load More Replies... pusheen buttercup 3 years ago
People always underestimate the young people. You can be both young and competent
danielw 3 years ago
I'm guessing she wasn't actually a teenager. it takes at least a year (iirc, in my state, it takes 2 years,) to get the EMT certificate, and most people graduate high school around 18-19. Still that man clearly was lacking in any current training, and was an ass who was about to crack a poor woman's ribs in. (CPR done right will break ribs. unless it's a child. kid-bones are somewhat more flexible.). Also, an EMT will most certainly announce the fact that they're an EMT. it's probably the fastest way to get control of the situation, and get the crowd to actually do what you say, (including calling for EMS.)
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Oskar vanZandt 3 years ago (edited)
(The guy being an arrogant d*ck trying repeatedly to do unnecessary CPR aside) I wonder why the young woman didn't introduce herself as an EMT or first aider?
Hogswallop 3 years ago
That's what I thought at the end of the story. Also that she wouldn't have been a teenager if she was a fully qualified EMT.
Load More Replies... Anne 3 years ago
CPR on living people may kill them... (I doubt the story.. but felt it good to reiterate that fact :) )
chrissy goodman 3 years ago
im epileptic and had a seizure my own father went to do cpr bc he thought i stopped breathing wen i had a seizure. some people arent aware of what to do in that situation. some seizures actually look like other things like panic attacks or heart attacks so untrained people will either panic or do cpr if they feel its the right thing to do. since ive been in this womans position i can fully believe this story.
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Ross Keim 3 years ago
Sounds fake, like something a person who runs on a volunteer fire or ems would make up for attention
Lord Ponsonby 3 years ago
And the EMT doesn't say "I'm an EMT, please stand back", she just stands like a little lady and waits for the man to let her do her job... please, stupid attempt at an anti-sexism story that is actually a really stupid sexist story.
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DDmaybeandor 3 years ago
OMG the cow story is completely believable. My husband's got 30+ stories on the same level of stupid from his 15+ years of working with the public. I was with him for one of them. A woman asked him how they kept the squirrels behind the fence (a little ankle high decorative rope fence around the landscaping). He told her it was an elective fence for squirrels and she believed him. We were working in a National Forest where squirrels are native and as common as birds. That was tame compared to the rest I wasn't present for.
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Les Morrow 3 years ago
But it was the single slow clap from 90's teen movies
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Leo Domitrix 3 years ago
Gonna guess she wasn't that young a teen, and, FYI, yes, she's correct. YOU NEVER mess with a seizing patient. Turn on side, time seizure, speak softly, soothingly, and notify 911 to be safe.
abby smink 3 years ago
And for the love of God, do not try to put anything in thier mouth. Yes, I've seen patients family members try to do that
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CrunChewy McSandybutt 3 years ago
At my youngest son's middle school graduation, a man fainted, and then a lady ran over and started doing CHEST COMPRESSIONS! No checking for breathing or pulse, just went into chest compressions until an officer in attendance stopped her. People who think medical dramas are real-life... they're a hoot.
InfectedVoice 3 years ago (edited)
This is pure r/thathappened material, the amount of dialogue alone makes it complete bullshit.
Marnie 3 years ago
Since this one is obviously fake, I will stop here. I hate reading stuff like this, then realizing it's all fake.
Steve Haigh 3 years ago
I read the next two and you're not missing anything
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Rob Chapman 3 years ago
If you believe this story, I've got some beachfront property to sell you on Venus.
sofacushionfort 3 years ago
Since the man was arrested, there would be a public record of this incident? And the name of the stenographer who was present transcribing this word-for word interplay?
Janice Best 3 years ago
Mansplainers gonna mansplain, even if it kills someone. Thank goodness for that woman, the teen girl was there and was able to fight off the guy.
Christel Nellemann 3 years ago
Because.. “how could someone younger AND a female possibly know more than me, the Man, here to be heroic, and not wanting my thunder stolen. Because I am the important one “.
Ingrid Collender 3 years ago
Actually saw a similar scenario at a fun fair. A man in fact did have a cardiac event and required CPR. This woman shoved everyone aside, including me, (a registered nurse) to get to the victim and said loudly OMG! HE NEEDS CPR - LUCKY I KNOW HOW, and proceeded to do an ok job. I offered help, which was loudly refused . I was about to go to the visitor centre to summon an ambulance, when a lady walked up an offered help, which the glory hound refused. So lady said, " Well, when you are ready to call a doctor, HERE I AM!" The victim survived.
Celtic Pirate Queen 3 years ago
AND - you don't perform CPR on a person who is clearly BREATHING!
Lana Jig-maker 3 years ago
what I learned was, you can be an EMT as a teen. I was probably playing video games at that age
Christine Ladyman 3 years ago
Sounds too familiar for me...I had a newly qualified nurse shove me back from a woman having a stroke(in our ward) shouting 'stay back, this is what we're going to do! ' He'd decided she was choking on her meal so was going to use the Heimlich manoeuvre on her... as she lay unconscious! Before I could speak, my colleague hissed, 'get out of the way and let 'me 'in! The nurse had been an ambulance driver and was inclined to take on the role of charge nurse from day one! He didn't stay long.
CharliAnn Olney 3 years ago
As a paramedic I have seen this happen. I was once quite literally PUSHED from a patient I was tending by a man Pretending to be a Doctor. Yes, he was arrested for assault and practicing without a licence.
Patricia Kasprowski 3 years ago
Love this! As an RN have seen this type of stupidity way too many times.
Jennifer Szabo 3 years ago
Don't call her a teenager when it's obvious she is a working professional young woman. Teen had me thinking she was in high school. No, this young lady is graduated with EMT training. Call her what she is. A young woman.
fRozen_lava 3 years ago
I'm equally amazed by the memory recall of the narrator. I'm guessing she is the teenage girl?
MandaPanda 3 years ago
Yeah, that's an amazing amount of recollection for what was said. Nice story though.
Hogswallop 3 years ago
It says he was arrested for pushing her, so assault?
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Mama Panda 3 years ago
I think whenever anyone hears teenager, we think of someone under the age of 18. It took me a fast second to realize that she could be 19 and then she would be old enough to be an EMT.
Ayia Grace 3 years ago
Imagine he actually did CPR and the girl couldn't get in because the people believed the man instead. When the paramedics arrived, just imagine the scene (of what I'm talking about).
Panda squad 3 years ago
Really? If she knows what she is doing and seems familiar with it let her do it. I mean the man just got a big fat OOF. Seriously do not judge some or you will end up like Mr. Smarty Pants and look like a fool.
Sathe Wesker 3 years ago
As an epileptic, if this is true, the girl was definitely spot on. ESPECIALLY turning the woman on the side after the seizure stopped in case she would throw up and choke on it. Also, I can be combative when coming out of one. I always refer to the process as the brain literally re-setting itself. You don't know why you're on the ground, why you feel pain, why you're being told you can't sit up right away. It's like your bloody wasted.
chrissy goodman 3 years ago
im epileptic too. seizures r the worst especially in public most ppl panic. the feeling of wondering wat happened is the worst it always upsets me bc once i realize im forgetting how i ended up on the ground and missing a bit of time the thought "oh i had a seizure" sinks in and makes me feel even worse. epilepsy is no joke. ppl think it means someone who has seizures but it much more then that. im diagnosed with petit mal seizures but will have grand mal if i miss my meds. its a pain but it happens
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Roxy Eastland 3 years ago
If someone is moving around, even if it's a seizure, then they are breathing and their blood is circulating. Absolutely no requirement for CPR. What an idiot.
Arctic Fox Lover 3 years ago
Mind if I go give that man a kick in the nuts? Also maybe a good punch to the nose? Really anyway, as long as he's bleeding
Jade Lynn - Panda's Brat 3 years ago
Even if she did tell the man she was an EMT he probably would not have believed her.
Logic and Reason 3 years ago
The man was not only banned, but arrested? I’m no law enforcement officer but if this had actually happened I don’t think the man would have been arrested; he was doing what he thought was right.
In our piece on some of the most ridiculous customer demands ever, we mentioned one study that's relevant here as well.
Turns out, people treat retail workers worse when they're looking for bargains than if they were less price-conscious. The University of British Columbia (UBC) Sauder School of Business paper, which was published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology in 2017, looked at several factors to determine how customers treated employees.
One variable researchers analyzed was the words customers used when speaking to customer service workers.
"When shoppers focus only on paying the lowest price, they become less attuned to understanding the human needs of others, or even recognizing them," Johannes Boegershausen, a UBC Sauder Ph.D. student who co-authored the study, said in a press release.
Researchers also analyzed customers' feelings towards the employees by showing them pictures of a flight attendant in the Ryanair (bargain) uniform, the Lufthansa (luxury) uniform, and a neutral uniform. Customers viewed the Lufthansa and neutral flight attendants as equally human, but they saw the Ryanair flight attendant in a poorer light.
"We simply varied the brand, and found that people ascribed lower capabilities for experiencing emotions and feelings to the Ryanair flight attendant," Boegershausen explained, adding that this subtle dehumanization can take many forms and is not necessarily intentional.
Another experiment had participants communicating in a live chat with a rude customer service representative. They were then offered the chance to punish the employee through a complaint. The researchers found participants were 18 percent more likely to give a rating that would lead to disciplinary actions against the employee when shoppers were adopting a price-conscious mentality than when they were not.
The researchers say the findings could help owners and management of discount stores, as the problem could affect their employee retention—previous research has shown that employees who experience rude and inconsiderate customer behaviors report higher levels of emotional exhaustion, job dissatisfaction, and burnout.
Judging from these posts, retail employees deal with a lot of dumb stuff. At least they're strong enough to laugh from their misery.
#12
pusheen buttercup 3 years ago
Ohhhh I've been there. I really have. There is genetic variation within every race... You can't say "you're not caucasian, because your nose is too big". I don't appreciate idiots who think they know your race better than you
#16
pusheen buttercup 3 years ago
It's so sad... Even if you don't like lgbt, you could at least be civil enough. Surely there is some area between best buddies and worst enemies. I know this because I met people who believe i am going to hell, but they're still my friends :)
#31
Lunar Bicycle 3 years ago
When I worked in a garden center, a really friendly customer laughed and told me he had just embarrassed himself at another garden center by asking employees there, “Do you have chlamydia?” He said they just stared at him for a moment, so he followed up with, “Do you know where I can find chlamydia?” He then realized that he meant to say “clematis” and immediately turned around and left. I helped him find our clematis, and, as he was leaving, said, “At least you didn’t say you were having trouble finding the clitoris!”
#35
WilvanderHeijden 3 years ago
Ok, we'll rename this fee to education-fee and raise it by 50%. The lesson you've learned is that you don't pretend to be rich when you haven't got a dime to spare.
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What do you think ?
Neale Coleman 3 years ago
Are any of these real? What is the point of this thread? (I've only read the first few so far...)
JessG 3 years ago
Me too, I had to stop because it's difficult to believe these are real, however, when you think about it, people can be pretty stupid, so who knows? (I read about four, and yeah, they just get worse and even more difficult to believe that some people are THAT stupid)
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Noemie Houtekie-N'Da 3 years ago
Customers can suck. My mother received a call from an African American lady, a person she made a cake for. The cake was said to be cut on a Saturday. She received the cake on a Friday. She called again to say the cake was uncooked and that's why they wanted her to keep it in the fridge, now she wants a refund. What actually happened was she ate a slice of the cake. It was totally fine, and then she took a 4 day trip to Vegas without putting it in the fridge as suggested. Since the cake contains butter, when she came back, the cake was collapsing. My mom tried to tell her this, The lady called my mother a fraud and that the "real" restaurant was owned by a white man.
WaterLily Pond 3 years ago
Jeez some people are like Neanderthals when it comes to common sense. I was like 😵🤦♀️ the whole time reading this. 9_9
Ramona Rhein 3 years ago
I can handle naively dumb. I qualify there frequently. But mean, self righteous and stupid? We had a president like that. He’s gone. Let’s keep the likes of him under a large Boulder please.
Shannon Donnelly 3 years ago
I work in customer service - these are not fake. I had a man two days ago demand a refund and repurchase using "mall gift cards" tell me I could do it while he was outside my store during a lockdown. He didn't understand that I can't use my register for any reason. My registers are closed: I am a fulfilment centre only: as his order clearly states.
Rai Grant 3 years ago
I know, I read a few then stopped cos I already read these on their website. And yes, to those saying they're a bit unbelievable, sorry to say customers really can be that entitled, which is why they started this vent site in the first place!
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Glenda Pliler 3 years ago
It's natural for us to ridicule and scoff at those who do stupid things. But, friends, those people are still human. The more intelligent we are, the more responsibility we have to understand that those who are less intelligent need help, support, and patience, not ridicule. Just because "everyone" laughs at these, doesn't make it right to do so. Bored Panda, I love you but you make fun of people all too often, and that is not only cruel, it sets poor standards for readers.
Ayia Grace 3 years ago
Not a client but a vivid memory of me and my brother. I asked him to help clean up before our mo got home and he said no. I offered him a piece of gum if he did help clean up he agrees. We clean up and I have music on, I toss a book into the hallway asking him to put it away. No response, I look up. He's not there, he sitting in his room with his laptop. I ask him why he isn't cleaning, he says, "Yeah I did." We go back and forth, I never gave him gum and mom was on my side saying he had to clean up till it was all clean and THEN he would get gum.
Random Anon 3 years ago
It's entertaining yes but I sincerely hope most of these are made-up. I would lose too much faith in humanity otherwise.
Gage Franke 3 years ago (edited)
Fair point. I am glad that these are probably fake.
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birdie asf 3 years ago
Some of these give me headaches, some of these are obviously fake, and some of these make the customer seem like an idiot when in reality they really aren't.
Thorfin Wolfsbane 3 years ago
This entire thread could be titled: "Life In A World With Boomers"
Neale Coleman 3 years ago
Are any of these real? What is the point of this thread? (I've only read the first few so far...)
JessG 3 years ago
Me too, I had to stop because it's difficult to believe these are real, however, when you think about it, people can be pretty stupid, so who knows? (I read about four, and yeah, they just get worse and even more difficult to believe that some people are THAT stupid)
Load More Replies... Noemie Houtekie-N'Da 3 years ago
Customers can suck. My mother received a call from an African American lady, a person she made a cake for. The cake was said to be cut on a Saturday. She received the cake on a Friday. She called again to say the cake was uncooked and that's why they wanted her to keep it in the fridge, now she wants a refund. What actually happened was she ate a slice of the cake. It was totally fine, and then she took a 4 day trip to Vegas without putting it in the fridge as suggested. Since the cake contains butter, when she came back, the cake was collapsing. My mom tried to tell her this, The lady called my mother a fraud and that the "real" restaurant was owned by a white man.
WaterLily Pond 3 years ago
Jeez some people are like Neanderthals when it comes to common sense. I was like 😵🤦♀️ the whole time reading this. 9_9
Ramona Rhein 3 years ago
I can handle naively dumb. I qualify there frequently. But mean, self righteous and stupid? We had a president like that. He’s gone. Let’s keep the likes of him under a large Boulder please.
Shannon Donnelly 3 years ago
I work in customer service - these are not fake. I had a man two days ago demand a refund and repurchase using "mall gift cards" tell me I could do it while he was outside my store during a lockdown. He didn't understand that I can't use my register for any reason. My registers are closed: I am a fulfilment centre only: as his order clearly states.
Rai Grant 3 years ago
I know, I read a few then stopped cos I already read these on their website. And yes, to those saying they're a bit unbelievable, sorry to say customers really can be that entitled, which is why they started this vent site in the first place!
Load More Replies... Glenda Pliler 3 years ago
It's natural for us to ridicule and scoff at those who do stupid things. But, friends, those people are still human. The more intelligent we are, the more responsibility we have to understand that those who are less intelligent need help, support, and patience, not ridicule. Just because "everyone" laughs at these, doesn't make it right to do so. Bored Panda, I love you but you make fun of people all too often, and that is not only cruel, it sets poor standards for readers.
Ayia Grace 3 years ago
Not a client but a vivid memory of me and my brother. I asked him to help clean up before our mo got home and he said no. I offered him a piece of gum if he did help clean up he agrees. We clean up and I have music on, I toss a book into the hallway asking him to put it away. No response, I look up. He's not there, he sitting in his room with his laptop. I ask him why he isn't cleaning, he says, "Yeah I did." We go back and forth, I never gave him gum and mom was on my side saying he had to clean up till it was all clean and THEN he would get gum.
Random Anon 3 years ago
It's entertaining yes but I sincerely hope most of these are made-up. I would lose too much faith in humanity otherwise.
Gage Franke 3 years ago (edited)
Fair point. I am glad that these are probably fake.
Load More Replies... birdie asf 3 years ago
Some of these give me headaches, some of these are obviously fake, and some of these make the customer seem like an idiot when in reality they really aren't.
Thorfin Wolfsbane 3 years ago
This entire thread could be titled: "Life In A World With Boomers"
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