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Few things test your limits as much as working with clients. Even one workday can bring so many bizarre moments that you might start doubting the brightness of humanity's future.

So Reddit user Dashigos decided to dig further and asked people to share the silliest questions customers have ever thrown at them.

From pizza chefs to park rangers and call center employees, continue scrolling to check out what these and other professions have to deal with—whatever they're getting paid, it's probably not enough.

#1

Closed sign hanging on a glass door, reflecting a street scene, illustrating a customer query situation. I used to work at the UPS store in high school. Our last pickup was at 7:00 and we closed at 8:00 pm. Since we had private information and people’s personal mailboxes in the store, security was a big deal.

It was 8:30. Our tills were counted down, the alarm was set, our copiers, fax machine, and computers were shut down, our lights were off, and we had closed and locked a ginormous red gate that separated the entrance from the rest of the store.

Some woman ran up to the door, and like some demon in a horror movie, she hurled herself against the glass and screeched like a banshee.

Keep in mind, we are very obviously closed with a sign saying we are closed, no lights on, and a giant red gate drawn down over the store.

She began pounding on the glass and frantically yelling at us. My coworker worried something was wrong, like maybe she was being chased and needed help.

He carefully opened the door just a crack to ask what was wrong. She immediately tried to wedge her hands and head in the crack and asked “Are ya’ll open?” We informed her that we obviously weren’t.

Her logic was “well you opened the door so now you have to help me”.

She began wailing and crying that she had to mail a package. We explained that even if we were open, our last pick up was an hour and a half ago and we couldn’t even mail it until tomorrow.

She protested and protested and we eventually got the door shut and locked. So we just stood there awkwardly in the dark, hoping she would leave. She kept pounding on the glass and saying “I know you’re open!!!!”

As we debated what to do and if we should call the cops, this lady pulled out her cell phone and called the cops herself!

The cops arrived, we explained the situation, and the woman accused us of lying, despite the sign on the door saying we closed an hour ago at this point.

Then, in front of the officer and on security camera, the woman launched herself at my coworker and hit him in the face. She immediately jumped back and began fake crying that he had assaulted her.

We were dumbfounded. She ended up getting arrested and my coworker pressed charges.


So the stupidest question I got was “Are you open?”.

RedPlanit , Evan Wise/unsplash Report

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    #2

    Customer question confusion; a car salesperson gestures, woman ponders beside a vehicle in a showroom. I used to work at Enterprise Rent-A-Car (We'll pick you up!). I went to pick up a customer (worth noting she was renting a car for a weekend getaway), called her when I got to her apt, and she came downstairs and had this conversation:

    Lady: Ok, I'll follow you back to the office

    Me (confused): I'm here to pick you up and drive you back to the office.

    Lady: What am I supposed to do with my car?

    Me: Were you planning on leaving your car at our lot over the weekend?

    Lady: No

    Me (more confused): Why are you going to follow me in your car? I can drive you back to the office, finish the paperwork, and you can take the rental car from there.

    Lady (not grasping the concept): Well how are you going to get back?

    Me: I'll drive us both, in this rental car, back to the office, where we can do the paperwork and you can take the rental car from there. That way, your personal car is still at your apt. And when you return the car on Monday, you can drive the rental car back to us, we'll close out the paperwork, and we'll give you a ride home. Sound like a plan?

    Lady: That doesn't make sense. You're making this way too difficult. I'll just follow you in my car.

    Me (thinking the customer is always right!): Ok!

    We get back to the office, I finish the paperwork (still astonished she qualified to rent a car), and hand her the keys to the car.

    Lady: Ok, how do I get my car back to my apt?

    Me: ...

    Lady: Can you drive my car back to my apt?

    Me: I'm not authorized to drive your car. You're welcome to leave it here on the lot over the weekend if you want.

    Lady: Ok, can you drive the rental car and follow me back to my house so I can drop off my car?

    Me: This is what I was trying to do when I picked you up! There was no need to take 2 cars.

    Lady: I'd like to speak to your manager.

    albatross34 , Getty Images/unsplash Report

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    #3

    “Most Were Also Flabbergasted When I Told Them No”: People Share The Dumbest Customer Questions This will be buried but hopefully it makes someone laugh. Worked at an animal hospital and a woman made an appointment for her dog for lumps on his stomach.

    She comes in, sees the doctor, only to be told that the strange lumps were the dogs NIPPLES.

    She dead a*s said, "But he's a boy!"

    Apparently she has either never seen a man without a shirt or forgot that males also have nipples.

    naturalblue , JSB Co./unsplash Report

    #4

    Smiling cashier helps a customer with a card transaction at the register. A woman came to the check out and handed me a bag of mozzarella. She asked me what the ingredients were and if there were any chemicals in it. I turned the bag around and started to read the ingredients out to her. She grabbed the bag out of my hand, angrily said "I could have done that myself " and stormed off.

    justanotherpolyglott , Getty Images/unsplash Report

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    Panda-sized Potato
    Community Member
    4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Too bad for the lady, it has a lot of chemicals. Pretty much all of it. Everything made of matter is a chemical.

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    #5

    "Taco Tuesday sign displaying Tacos Al Pastor with a 50% off discount." When I was a teenager I had a customer try to fight me because we didn't do the taco Tuesday discount for him.

    It was the weekend.

    dragnansdragon , peezee13/reddit Report

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    quentariel
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    This reminds me how our once health inspector wrote us up for not measuring our temperatures properly (we have to take daily temps inside of every fridge, freezer, cold table and so on). Apparently we were not taking temperatures on weekends and also didn't mark the dates properly on the report paper. Well, obviously we haven't gotten weekends temperatures on our weekly report as it was currently friday. Also, the reason there wasn't exact dates, was because there was a huge week number, meaning that it was the current week. All then previous weeks' reports would be found in a file if he bothered to ask.

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    #6

    “Most Were Also Flabbergasted When I Told Them No”: People Share The Dumbest Customer Questions I worked at a convenience store while in college. This married couple comes in and they go get drinks. The lady asks me if the bottle water is fat free. I smile and just, yes and that brand is also calorie free. She smiled and said thanks. Her husband gets out his wallet, shakes his head, and pays.

    iwouldhugwonderwoman , Getty Images/unsplash Report

    #7

    A person holding a bag of apples, possibly illustrating a customer scenario described as the dumbest. Customer: Aren't those apples $2.49 a pound? Why are you charging me more than that?

    Me: *motions to screen* Yep. They're $2.49 a pound and you bought 2.3 pounds and so, the price is correct because that's how multiplication works.

    anon , Jason Hawke 🇨🇦/unsplash Report

    #8

    A large crowd gathers at Stonehenge, depicting a diverse group of people in winter clothing, with ancient stones in the background. No lie, I volunteer at Stonehenge and was asked when in the Bible it was created. That was more perplexing than the usual UFO questions.

    TwistMeTwice , Dyana Wing So/unsplash Report

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    SheamusFanFrom1987
    Community Member
    4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Just tell them to look it up in the chapter in which punishment by stoning was involved...

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    #9

    A customer browsing wine bottles on a shelf in a store, selecting one with careful consideration. I once had a customer ask me if our wine was on sale because it was about to expire. Our good, aged red wine.

    EDIT: the customer also insisted that she get a discount because the wine bottle did not have an exp. Date..

    Fall-Risk , Getty Images/unsplash Report

    #10

    IKEA showroom interior featuring stylish furniture and large windows overlooking greenery. I used to work in IKEA in the section which sold wardrobes. Big behemoths of things. Normally around 6 foot long and 60kg in boxes. Customers would regularly ask me would it fit in their car. After being polite the first few times asking them about the size of their car and guessing, I then just started asking them what colour their car was. The amount of people who'd answer unphased was amazing.

    buymepizza , Rob Olivera/flickr Report

    #11

    “Most Were Also Flabbergasted When I Told Them No”: People Share The Dumbest Customer Questions Many years ago managing a pet store, a customer came in with an empty bottle of oral skin and coat supplement. He wanted a refund because it made his dog's coat really greasy. So as I start working on his refund I ask a few questions, trying to find out why the product failed. I ask the standard questions, did you use too much, how often. Stuff like that.

    As we are conversing it started to click that he didn't use this on his dogs food he used it like a shampoo and rubbed it on his coat. So I nicely explain that it is *oral* skin and coat supplement and it's intended to be put on the dog's food.

    He was embarrassed and apologized and started to leave refusing the refund. I gave him a new bottle in exchange for the now empty one and told him to give it another shot.

    The guy was really nice and understanding about it, but come on. The instructions tell you how much to put ON THE FOOD, and it's called *oral* skin and coat.

    sebrebc , Kai Schreiber/flickr Report

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    #12

    Customer service representative with headset, ready to assist, in a bright office setting. When I worked in a call center for home phone service, I had a guy call and angrily ask why we were still charging him for his phone service, since he had unplugged his phone from the wall a month ago.

    anon , Getty Images/unsplash Report

    #13

    Man with a thoughtful expression holding his neck, related to customer interactions story. I had a customer take up 10 minutes of my time saying that I didn't know how to do my job because I couldn't find the "nutritional facts" placard on a carton of cigarettes.

    Why, you who walk around with your head full of brains, may ask?

    She needed, NEEDED, to know if these Timeless Times pieceoshit cigarettes contained corn syrup in them. Because, dontchaknow, the corn syrup in bad for her.

    CaptValentine , Pablo Merchán Montes/unsplash Report

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    SheamusFanFrom1987
    Community Member
    4 days ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Just tell her: Oh they are bad indeed. They contain ni-corn-tine, cob-on monoxide, maize-thanol and many other corn syrup side products -_-"

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    #14

    “Most Were Also Flabbergasted When I Told Them No”: People Share The Dumbest Customer Questions Worked in retail.

    Regularly had customers ask to take the clothes out of the store and come back and pay later.

    Like... absolutely not? Most were also flabbergasted when I told them no.

    ecitruoc , Kateryna Hliznitsova/unsplash Report

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    #15

    A person in a red sweater and tie, standing by a gray cabinet, related to customer interactions and experiences. I thought it was the dumbest thing but it turned out not to be.

    I was working at a department store and this guy comes up to me and he shows me two of the exact same sweater. He's like, "Which one is burgundy?" They were both burgundy because they are the exact same sweater and I'm like... what is this dude smoking? Or I thought I was being punked or something. And he sees me hesitating and he's like, "Like... which one is more wine-red?" So finally I just point at one and he's like, "Oh, thank you so much. I'm colorblind and I can't really distinguish this range of color.".

    simplerthings , RCProAm/reddit Report

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    Manic Mama
    Community Member
    4 days ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's why I START by telling people I'm colorblind, and yes it's a serious question ...

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    #16

    "Wilde Maus XXL roller coaster at a theme park, vibrant lights glowing in the evening." Working at a famous Mouse-based theme park "Can you shut off the rain now", "is there pork in the pulled pork sandwich?"

    thekillercook , Noxegon/reddit Report

    #17

    “Most Were Also Flabbergasted When I Told Them No”: People Share The Dumbest Customer Questions Years ago, before the Internet was a thing, I worked in a small electronics shop. One day I got a phone call and it went like this:

    Him: Yeah, hi. I was just wondering...how far is it to your shop?

    Me: (Long pause, calculating how galactically stupid this question was, whether I was being pranked, and how a professional business person would handle this.)

    Me: Oh, it's just a few miles away. Come on down.

    Him: OK. See you soon.

    Follow-up: No idea if he ever actually arrived. I got busy and people came and went all day. But it was still the dumbest question I've ever received.

    CitizenTed , Agustin Farias/unsplash Report

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    #18

    “Most Were Also Flabbergasted When I Told Them No”: People Share The Dumbest Customer Questions Web developer here.

    I had a client who was absolutely *livid* -- literally screaming at me -- when I told her she couldn't take the hyperlinked words from her webpage, transfer them over to her print ad, and still have them function like a link.

    anon , Vagaro/unsplash Report

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    Trillian
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I don't care how dumb or not dumb your question is, if you scream at me I will tell you to call me back when you calmed down and hang up.

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    #20

    Hand holding a damaged smartphone with a cracked screen, illustrating a customer query. I used to work in a phone shop.
    Had someone come in asking why their phone wasn't working properly. It was visibly scorched and melty. I asked why it looked that way. They said, it came up with an error message saying it had been too cold (not an error message I had heard of before, but I know phones can bring up errors for being too hot, so who knows) and so they had put it under the grill to heat it up.
    The grill.
    Their first point of call was to cook it.
    I said, that's why their phone wasn't working, and no it was not covered under the guarantee.

    SlytherinGirl125 , -CubanPete-/reddit Report

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    #21

    “Most Were Also Flabbergasted When I Told Them No”: People Share The Dumbest Customer Questions I sell stamps from my register at work. This was just a few days ago, actually. I had a lady come up and ask to buy some postal stamps.

    I asked her, “how many stamps would you like? We sell them in books of 2, 10, and 20.”

    Her: “...what? What does that mean?”

    Me: “it’s just the number of stamps in the book. Do you want 2, 10, or 20 stamps?”

    Her: (suddenly getting angry) “I don’t know what that means. What is a stamp? I don’t know what a stamp is”

    Me: ???

    I eventually sold 20 stamps to her while she was vaguely hostile and suspicious about the entire concept of stamps and stamp quantities? I don’t know how to explain this to you, lady, you’re the one who came to me for stamps.

    SunOnTheInside , ZealousBastar/reddit Report

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    SheamusFanFrom1987
    Community Member
    4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Anymore hostility and I hope OP would've been allowed to stamp her out. Talk about going postal...

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    #22

    “Most Were Also Flabbergasted When I Told Them No”: People Share The Dumbest Customer Questions Karen - "I'd like to speak to the manager"

    Me - "I am the manager.....and the only person working here today"

    Karen - "I don't like this policy. I want to speak to the owner"

    Me - "Good luck with that. Their email is on the company cards available on the desk. And I'll include my cell number.....just because I'm interested to hear how it goes for you"

    Oh boy did I get a pissed off text from her later that night hahaha.

    sadpanda___ , Patrick Tomasso/unsplash Report

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    Nina
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    OP clarified in a comment that the owner told her F off but in nicer wording, because she wanted a refund on gear that was 'used the hell out of'.

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    #23

    “Most Were Also Flabbergasted When I Told Them No”: People Share The Dumbest Customer Questions Customer: I'll have a gin and tonic.

    Me: This is a brewery.

    Customer: Oh, can I get a glass of wine then?

    Me: This is a brewery.

    anon , Willy the Wizard/unsplash Report

    #24

    Neon sign reading "Open 24h" in red, glowing in the dark, related to customer queries. "What time do you close today?"

    "We're open 24/7."

    "Oh great! And what time do you close tomorrow?".

    herpty_derpty , Polina Kuzovkova/unsplash Report

    #25

    “Most Were Also Flabbergasted When I Told Them No”: People Share The Dumbest Customer Questions Used to work at a movie store in the early 2000s, this dude with a thick accent kept calling in every other few weeks or so asking if we had this movie on DVD called "Churro Man"

    I mean this guy called a lot, and I told him that no such movie existed in our system but he was adamant he'd seen it on a release schedule.

    Finally a couple of months later, some guy walked up to me and asks me for the movie. I immediately recognize the voice and know who it is, after a few questions in person I realized what the movie was all along. The whole time he'd been looking for True Romance and it had indeed just come out on DVD, the accent threw me off.

    Turns out it wasn't a dumb question and that I in fact was the dumb one.

    Z0MBGiEF , Elliott Brown/flickr Report

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    #26

    Customer asking about pet supplies in a store, interacting with a smiling employee and a small dog. I used to work in a pet store. One night a woman came in and said she had ordered a puppy off the internet and he would be arriving in the next few days. She had never owned a pet and asked several dumb questions, but the one that I'll always remember is "Do puppies need water?".

    StupidSexxxyFlanders , Getty Images/unsplash Report

    #27

    Mechanic inspecting a car engine in a garage, wearing blue overalls and a gray shirt. Used to work at a car parts store. Customer walks in and asks if vegetable oil was better than regular engine oil and what isle it was on.

    anon , Getty Images/unsplash Report

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    deletemyaccount
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It works a lot better than engine oil when making fried foods.

    SheamusFanFrom1987
    Community Member
    4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Response: Oh yeah. Vegetable oil is way better than regular engine oil. It makes your car run as good as a vegetable. Available now on Isle P. As in P for Peabrain... -_-"

    The spooky explanation
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Is a peabrain better as it's more organic than a real brain? What isle is it on?

    Camber Hollywood
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Vegetable oil works better until you add the potatoes. Engines stop working after the potatoes are added.

    Elena Witch
    Community Member
    2 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Oh god, so much of this! I work in the same field and it's incredible how much people THINK to know more than me, am actually trained expert. "I suggest this kind of oil for you car". "I want this, it's cheaper". "It's cheaper because it's a mineral oil best suited for pre-2000 cars. Or tractors. You drive an hybrid Toyota". "Don't try to upsell me!" "Suit yourself". Proceed to put his plate number on the "do not accept for repairs" list. After a month or so he was back and... Surprise, his engine was a mess. And we told him to walk...

    Doofnuts
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Oh man! I'm not sure I could resist the temptation here. I would absolutely end up fired, but worth it.

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    #28

    Pizza cooking in a wood-fired oven. Is the fire of your pizza oven organic?

    Nesta930 , Emily Powers/unsplash Report

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    ynyrhydref56
    Community Member
    4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Like the guy that asked me if the ham was "processed". I know what he meant, but yeah I giggled

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    #29

    “Most Were Also Flabbergasted When I Told Them No”: People Share The Dumbest Customer Questions Context - I was 16 during this

    I work at chick fil a and I’m taking orders as you do, guy walks up and asks “Aren’t you supposed to be in school?”. I look down at the clock and see it’s 6 pm. I look at him confused and say “No it’s 6 pm”. He asks again, I say the same thing again.

    Then he yells “Alright, F**K YOU” and leaves.

    anon , Getty Images/unsplash Report

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    #30

    Raisin Bran cereal boxes on a store shelf, showcasing "hundreds of raisins in every box." >Do you have Raisin Bran, but without the raisins?

    Bran flakes?

    >No, that’s not it...

    UnderlordZ , Mike Mozart/flickr Report

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    Snazzy Smurf
    Community Member
    4 days ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That is like asking for a cheeseburger without cheese and explaining what a hamburger is.

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    #31

    Egg carton on a store shelf, open with brown eggs neatly arranged, related to customer interaction insights. Standing next to a pallet of eggs, with boxes of eggs in my hand and freshly unloaded ones on the shelf in front me. "Do you sell eggs?".

    Iggy363 , Getty Images/unsplash Report

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    Panda-sized Potato
    Community Member
    4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    It happens. Sometimes people are more focused on the person and the question to notice the surroundings.

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    #32

    Man with glasses on phone, puzzled, experiencing a dumb customer query, in a casual setting with a blue background. IT, got a ticket from a lady saying her screen is blank. I call, because I saw her in orientation and to be honest she seemed to have never used a computer before (despite being 19, and her title as a receptionist).


    "Ma'am is your computer on?"

    "I don't know, how would I check?"

    *coworker next to her grunts and turns on computer for her*

    "Oh! Ok it's on, now do I have to type out my username AND password to log on?"

    "............................."


    No words could properly describe how I felt in that moment.

    swank_sinatra , TheRegisti/unsplash Report

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    #33

    Hands exchanging a cardboard box, referencing customer service interaction. "Can I return the box for a full refund? The thing was stolen so I don't have any use for it now."

    Umm, not here, no. Call your insurance company.

    Cryoarchitect , RoseBox رز باکس /unsplash Report

    #34

    A customer interacting with a smiling store assistant at the counter, highlighting customer service moments. A client asked me if I had the day off. While I was at work.

    Freeiheit , Brooke Cagle/unsplash Report

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    Abel
    Community Member
    4 days ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yes, but I am a workaholic without treatment! /s

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    #35

    “Most Were Also Flabbergasted When I Told Them No”: People Share The Dumbest Customer Questions I'm a chef at a grill. We also have a buffet for people who don't want something we grill.

    One night, the special was a type of seasoned fish. An old guy came up and asked "is this freshly caught?" I thought he was kidding so I kind of chuckled as I told him that no, we order it and get it frozen. He was pissed and made a scene as he left saying that only a crappy restaurant served frozen fish.

    I was in south-central Pennsylvania.

    anon , Beth Macdonald/unsplash Report

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    Jessica SpeLangm
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Yeah, this isn't a stupid question. I'm pretty sure that south-central PA has fish markets available and it's entirely possible to NOT have frozen fish at a restaurant.

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    #36

    Working for a cable company in tech support - this happened on several occasions: Calls start with report of cable not working. First step is to ask what lights are on the cable box. Reply being none. Next step, ask to make sure everything is completely plugged in. Response, I can't see anything the electricity is out.

    The length of time it took on these calls to explain that not only does the cable box need electricity, but so does the TV, still gives me the chills.

    Living_Kumquat Report

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    WindySwede
    Community Member
    4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    When I call for one specific thing. I've started to ask them to check one specific thing. Then they say "Ow, I see 😮!"

    #37

    Staples store entrance, showcasing bright orange signage, related to customer questions theme. I worked at staples and I had a customer ask if the printer toner was 'ethically sourced'.

    This lady really thought laser printer toner was squeezed out of squids or some s**t.

    WooIWorthWaIIaby , Rusty Clark ~ 10/flickr Report

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    #38

    I work in IT and one day received a ticket from a customer very angry that a link on our website was broken. When I asked what the link was to or where it was trying to go (because our site has thousands of pages), they were incensed that I dared to ask them questions and wouldn't just fix it immediately. Sure, dude, I'll get right on checking the hundreds of thousands of links on our site and hope I find the one you clicked on in the next 3 minutes because you refuse to give me more information.

    They complained to my manager.

    the-magnificunt Report

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    WindySwede
    Community Member
    4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "They were trying to help me by asking questions, I do not approve of this..."

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    #39

    Not necessarily a dumb question, per se but by far the most memorable dumb customer encounter. Years ago I worked for an Audi dealership as a greeter/shuttle driver and one blissfully quiet afternoon, a middle aged woman in a beige A6 pulled into the drive. Here's how the exchange went down:

    Me: Good afternoon. How can I help you today?

    Her: This light came on! (She points to the check engine light with concern in her voice)

    Me: Yes. That's the check engine light...

    Her (interrupting me): No! It's this one!!! (the CEL was the only light on at this point in time)

    Me: Yes. That's the check engine light.

    Her: Well what does it mean?

    Me: There are literally thousands of different things that can turn that light on but if you go into the office there, one of our service advisors can plug in a little computer and they'll tell you what's wrong.

    Her: (scoffs condescendingly) So you don't know what it means...

    Me: Ma'am I think they can help you better than I.

    anon Report

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    WindySwede
    Community Member
    4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    "The thingamabob is broken and need an tuning billymahoot, I woll be right with you, don't move the car, or it could ruine the rapturecondensate"

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    #40

    *hands me bag of gummy worms*
    Her: are there chemicals in this?
    Me: yes
    *hands me bag of plantain chips*
    Her: what about this? It’s natural!
    Me: ma’am, there’s chemicals in everything
    Her: fine! I’m just take this then
    *hands me a bottle of diet coke*.

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    #41

    It wasn't a question, but I once had a customer threaten that she'd "never shop here again!"... two weeks before the store closed for good. There were signs all over the store and this was pretty big news in the city so there was no way she didn't know how empty her threat was.

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    Lew k
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I don't think customers are really aware of how empty the "I'll take my business elsewhere" threat is to a entry/mid-level employee. Honestly I couldn't care less. In fact i wish you would. If I was allowed to cancel your account for being an unreasonable Karen you'd already be gone. Your threat to leave our company still doesn't change reality and your expectation is still impossible or unreasonable.

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    #42

    I worked at a Dollar Tree on Black Friday. "where are your Black Friday deals?" "We don't have any. Everything is still a Dollar." People were pissed.

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    #43

    Customer: "Why is it so dark outside all of a sudden?!?"

    Me: "The sun went down, mam".

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    quentariel
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's our daily reaction up in Nordic countries. It turns from light into dark in a blink of an eye and sometimes our brain fails to follow up and is left wondering where the hell the sun dissappeared.

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    #44

    Close-up of smartphone screen displaying Health and App Store icons, symbolizing common customer queries. "why doesn't my app make any money for me? it is published and people are installing it!"

    app price: free

    in-app purchases: none

    ads: none

    gee guy, I f*****g wonder.

    bloodectomy , James Yarema/unsplash Report

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    Ozymandias
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    if you are clever enough to create and code an app, I don't think you should spell it out for him

    #45

    I work as a nurse at a hospital. On multiple occasions during small talk, my patients will ask me what I do for a living.

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    #46

    Many years ago I worked at Home Depot.

    One time I had a customer come up and ask me how to access the parking lot that's on the roof.

    I told him that we didn't have a parking lot on the roof.

    He didn't believe me, got super pissed off, and stormed out of the store to look for the access to the rooftop parking lot.

    __


    Another time I had a customer looking for a replacement cartridge for a faucet that he didn't have with him. If you don't know, there's literally hundreds of different types of cartridges.

    Anyway, I asked him what make and model of faucet he had, and he responded with:

    "You're the one that works in the plumbing department. YOU TELL ME."

    I told him that there's absolutely no way I could know what type of faucet he had in his home. The guy labelled me as racist and then stormed off.


    __

    Another time I had a customer come up and ask me where the cat food was.

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    MindNumbinglyBoringJob
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I had a woman scream and tell everyone in the store that I was a racist because I would not return a kids toy with no packaging or receipt. That had clearly been used for many many months. This was on a Sunday close to a church that catered to people from an African culture, so the store was packed with the after church crowd. I was so embarrassed and horrified I ran crying to the store manager. Who laughed and told me if I wanted to work the customer service desk in retail I needed to toughen up and not take things so personally. Sadly not the first time I had to deny a return and was hit with this accusation at this store. Just doing my job.

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    #47

    Waiter writing on a notepad, capturing a customer's dumb question. “I’d like the sirloin, medium rare with no pink.” Literally my first week on the floor waiting tables.

    Also “you charge for drinks from the bar? Why didn’t you tell us?”

    My favorite is when a guy asked what we charge per 2oz shot compared to the cost of the bottle and then said we were ripping him off. I really wanted to condescendingly explain capitalism to him but I didn’t have time.

    S3simulation , Jessie McCall/unsplash Report

    #48

    I used to work at a Turkish kebab/fish and chip shop with a wee sandwich cabinet.

    A customer asked if she could have a ham sandwich and I told her that we didn't sell pig products as we were a Halal store.

    She than said "ok in that case can I have a bacon and egg sandwich?"

    No.

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    #49

    I used to work at a retail nursery in the tree and shrub department. I had a customer tell me to extra water a bush he was buying because he didn't want to have to water it until he planted it in two weeks.

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    James016
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I wonder how many people went full Knights of Ni in this shop asking for shrubbery.

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    #50

    **customer walks in the front door (company name on the door he opened), looks around, sees me** "Am I in the right place?"

    I don't know buddy; you tell me.

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    BeesEelsAndPups
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I have done and said this, and every time I wasn't asking the worker, I was asking myself.

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    #51

    Customer; "Why can't you honor CVS's sales???"

    Me; "Because this a Walgreen's, ma'am."

    Customer; " SO??"

    Edit: To those mentioning a price match option, you are totally correct, and this was a gross oversimplification of the situation, and I apologize for that.

    What I was meaning to get across was the sense of entitlement that some customers could show.
    Sometimes a customer got confused, thinking that they were in a CVS and when something wouldn't ring up 'right' they got very irate, very quick. They would ask; "isn't it supposed to be on sale", while rolling their eyes and handing me a CVS sale booklet.

    Kinda like that thing where you wear your work shirt to another business and people start asking you questions, only to get mad at you when you say you dont work there lol.

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    cadena kuhn
    Community Member
    4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Had an irate woman screaming at me, fist pounding on the counter "on the barnes and noble website" "Mam this is not Barnes and Noble" "What where am I" It was booksamillion

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    #52

    Absolute dumbest thing I've ever heard from a customer. (obviously this is pre-GPS)

    Worked at a convenience store that was the first gas station once you reached an island. This was at the end of I40, so it wasn't too uncommon for people to miss a turn onto 17, realize they'd just crossed a bridge onto an island and stop for directions.

    1st Lady came in, asked directions to Island B. Told her to go back across the bridge.

    "What Bridge?"

    "The one you came across to get here."

    "I didn't cross a bridge."

    "Uh, okay, so you came across by ferry?"

    "No. I didn't come on a ferry, and I didn't cross a bridge, and I'm NOT on an Island!!!"

    ... We sent her 10 miles to the end of the island to make her take the ferry that wouldn't start running for another 2 hours. It was the only answer she'd accept.

    2nd one.
    Poor guy came in looking for 95 South. Told him how to get to it. Raised an eyebrow . . . asked him where he'd come from. He answered with a town an hour on the OTHER side of 95. He'd missed his turn by 2 hours. And had to go tell his girlfriend/SO in the car. You could hear her screaming through the car and store windows.

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    #53

    My first Christmas Eve working retail I had a customer ask for a LEGO set that the store was out of. I politely told him this and he followed up with does another store have it and I informed him that no store within 150 mile had it. His finale question was if we were going to be getting anymore before Christmas and I told him no again. Now, this wouldn’t have been so bad, except, he came back and repeated the three questions every half hour.

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    Michael Largey
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    By any chance, was this Christmas Eve visitor in chains and go by the name of Jacob Marley?

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    #54

    Cafe interior with people sitting, shelves filled with items, focusing on customer interactions. Lady walks into the empty restaurant, looks around, asks "is this a furniture store?".

    pm_me_your_taintt , Robert Bye/unsplash Report

    #55

    (Answering phone calls at local zoo)

    "So what do ya do, come in and look at animals?".

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    #56

    White Wi-Fi router plugged into wall, representing tech customer inquiries. "Do i need electricity for the internet to work?" Specifically when refering to cable internet.

    FrobyJ , Charlie Harris/unsplash Report

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    Panda-sized Potato
    Community Member
    4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's a legitimate question. Not everyone is technologically savvy, particularly the older generation. Telephone wire didn't need power to work back in ye olden days, so it's not far for people who don't know to wonder if Cat cables do the same.

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    #57

    I worked as a cashier at a supermarket and someone said that the prices in the store are high. She then asked if I could do something about it.

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    Novel Idesa
    Community Member
    3 days ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Oh my God I HATE that. I'm a cake decorator in a chain grocery store, and our prices have doubled over the past few years. People will ask me the price, them get angry AT ME because "I ordered the exact same cake last year and it wasn't that much!" Yeah, darling, that's how inflation works. What I want to shout back is "Tell me about it, I didn't even get a raise so none of that extra cost is going into my pocket." But alas I'd probably get fired.

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    #58

    "The line is huge, and this thing is not expensive at all. Can you give it to me for free?".

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    #60

    Is this organic? *pointing at sour patch kids*.

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    Mary Mcnamara
    Community Member
    4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I was working at Honolulu International Airport back in the 70s. A passenger approached me and asked me to direct him to a bank. He said that he had an eight hour layover between flights and wanted to do some sightseeing but..."all I have are American dollars." He probably thought we lived in little grass shacks, too. download-6...4926b2.jpg download-67610db4926b2.jpg

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    #61

    I had a customer asked me where we sold alcoholic water. Not hard seltzer, literally bottled water with alcohol in it. She refused to believe me when I told her we didn’t sell it and proceeded to ask three other people where it was.

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    #62

    "Do you guys serve spaghetti?" I work at a Jimmy John's. We dont even heat up the subs. He was a semi regular customer too.

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    #63

    Yellow sunglasses on a white pouch, related to customer queries. "So you know those yellow glasses for night driving? Do you have those for night driving but in a reading glass?"

    You want to wear reading glasses... While driving. At night. Yeah. Uh. No. We don't have reading glasses for night driving.

    trinketfox , shouldofoughtof/reddit Report

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    Corwin 02
    Community Member
    4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Not that strange of a question, some people need reading glasses to see the dials and GPS system.

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    #64

    Worked at Starbucks. A guy requested "extra macchiato" on his caramel macchiato. I looked at him and asked "You want me to extra mark the foam?". Then he looked at me and asked what macchiato even was.

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    #65

    If a bacon cheeseburger comes with cheese on it.

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    #66

    Yes does the PBJ have peanuts in it?

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    quentariel
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    Not a totally bizarre question as some peanut-flavored things don't have actual peanuts (or any other nuts) in them. But still takes a quite ignorant person to think peanut butter doesn't include any peanuts. Also it doesn't have tge word "flavored".

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    #67

    Had a homeless woman try to buy vodka with old recipts and random business cards and such. I had to explain that the dollar amount on an old recipt is not currency and cannot be used to pay for something.

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    Elladine DesIsles
    Community Member
    4 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    That's not stupidity, it's some combination of mental illness, intoxication or withdrawal, and desperation borne of addiiction.

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    #68

    Smartphone displaying Facebook app next to a laptop, symbolizing customer interactions online. Customer: "What's my Facebook password?".

    OrderOfZune , Timothy Hales Bennet/unsplash Report

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    BookFanatic
    Community Member
    3 days ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I get "do you know my password?" about once a week. Most people understand when I gently tell them public librarians don't automatically know everyone's passwords. One gentleman just wasn’t getting it. Finally I asked him if he knew MY password. He was aghast—“Why would I know…oh!” It was a great lightbulb moment.

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    Ic_polls

    Poll Question

    Do you think customer-facing jobs deserve higher pay considering the bizarre situations they encounter?

    Yes, absolutely

    No, they are fairly compensated

    I'm not sure

    Only some professions deserve it