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Welcome to Bored Panda, how may I help you? Ah, I see. So, you Pandas work in the food, retail, and services industries and started the week off dealing with some incredibly dense customers. Denser than the core of Planet Earth, you say? Well, don’t worry about it, plenty of us have been there.

In fact, our team has collected a whole bunch of examples of the dumbest things that customers have said and done, to make you feel better. Trust us, you’re not alone in this. Of course, this isn’t to say that all customers are dumb: most are polite and decent. However, a small proportion of them are nightmare material and don’t even know what chicken wings are. And here’s the proof. Grab a soul-healing cup of tea, scroll down, upvote the situations that made you laugh, and share your own retail nightmare scenarios in the comments.

Bored Panda reached out to Save the Student, a British project that advises students on how to make their money go further, about how the pandemic affected the job market and what to do if you feel like you're stuck at a job where you feel demeaned. Jake Butler from Save the Student said: "It does depend on location and other factors, but finding a job during the pandemic, specifically lockdown, has been extremely difficult for students. It's true that some businesses, such as supermarkets and delivery companies, have increased recruitment, but large student employing sectors such as retail and hospitality have really stuttered due to being closed for many months."

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#2

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TmKhr
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I too want to lemonade some important papers while I drink some laminate soda

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Jake from Save the Student added that while some retail and hospitality jobs are returning, many students are "shunning them as there are worries about job security and also working conditions." According to Jake, one of the main worries that many have is that the market is weighted towards the employers and not the employees.

"For those that feel demeaned in their current job, I would suggest it's worth studying the rights you have as an employee," Jake told Bored Panda what we can all do if we find ourselves being treated less than humanely at our workplace. "Even during the pandemic, there is no excuse for an employer to break the law at your expense. And if you feel you're being treated especially poorly I would suggest looking to switch jobs, but doing so wisely."

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#5

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TmKhr
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A woman in a Finnish Facebook sales group didn't want to tell her clothes' size because she didn't want anyone to know how big she was.

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#6

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It’s easy to stay professional when the customers who you deal with are nice, pleasant, and see you as a human being. But the challenges start when you come face to face with someone who demeans you, acts overly entitled, or simply asks incredibly dumb questions. All of which makes you question why the nation’s education system has set the bar so low.

Earlier, I’d spoken about how to deal with difficult customers with Alexander Kjerulf. He’s the founder and Chief Happiness Officer at ‘Woohoo inc.’ and knows a lot about helping keep employees motivated, happy, and using their skills at their best.

Alex put it very simply that if you feel like you’re forgetting that you’re a human being worthy of humane treatment at your job, then you should seriously consider moving on. “Quit, and find a better place to work, where they actually care about their staff. And quit sooner rather than later. The longer you stay, the more they will grind you down until you lose all the energy and optimism you need to move on and find a better job,” he told Bored Panda.

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TmKhr
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You're right, there's no one here, it means you've broken in and police are on their way to arrest you

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He said that it’s common in restaurants to treat their customers like kings. And some places complement this by treating their employees badly. However, this is far from all right! It shouldn’t be the norm.

“99% of people are nice, but the occasional rude client is unavoidable," Alex noted that you will have to deal with difficult customers sooner or later. It’s not something that you can avoid forever and ever, no matter how good (or lucky) of an employee you are. "You can learn tricks to deal with them, and that's great, but no one should have to put up with mistreatment."

#10

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Mihai Mara
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The rule "an eye for an eye" should have been applied: "here's your HOT latte!" *splash*

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#12

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Ancsuri
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Do you have to give a tip in the US? How does it work? Cause by us, you can give a tip if you want to, but you can choose to pay just the price of the food.

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Working in the service industry doesn’t mean that you have to be a doormat, however. If you find yourself constantly being walked over, belittled, and demeaned, you have to reach out to your manager for help. They should be willing to step in and help you deal with anyone who isn’t acting like a human being should.

#15

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Catlady6000
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember replying something about how if nobody came in to shop, they wouldn't open, and the customer continued to sympathize and wonder why they opened on a holiday

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“You have to remember that in many cases a customer who behaves badly is not necessarily a bad person—it can be a good person having a bad day and that’s why they’re acting out. But the sad truth is that some customers act this way because they’ve learned that it works and will get them discounts or preferential treatment,” Alex said that some customers might be nightmare material by accident while others are very Slytherinish and sneaky.

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#16

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Michele Ferretto
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is not the first time I hear a pregnant lady be called fat by other woman. For the love of God, what's in their mind!?!?

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#17

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Eslamala
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Real actual cheddar or that laminated orange plastic you get in the U.S??

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#18

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Pamela H.
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3 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes there is no "grass fed" chicken meat at the store, but Chickens do eat grass. Obviously you don't own a chicken.

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#19

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Michele Ferretto
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Since you were there you could make him notice the size of the chip, so it could very hardly be injected with any vaccine (I bet he believes that too).

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#30

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Mihai Mara
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Make sure you never run out of blinker fluid. It's very important in traffic!!

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#31

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KatHat
Community Member
3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The full original phrase is: "The customer is always right in matters of taste". ie, if they want to paint their house screaming purple or buy a gold sequin pantsuit, you say YES that's wonderful. It was never supposed to mean what it's come to mean.

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#35

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Mihai Mara
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Now I am curious how you explained it and what the customer finally understood.

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#36

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WilvanderHeijden
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's the entitlement of "I orderded a cheeseburger without cheese and that's what I'm getting and paying for. You do not chance my order without my divine consent, you underpaid wage slave."

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#40

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RaroaRaroa
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3 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The guy's an idiot, of course, but who ever cuts anything in quarters at Subway? Sure, if someone asked, but they don't normally do that do they?

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Note: this post originally had 59 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.