The "I'm So Rude" Thread

[Dreamstalker]

WTF? Management sets a policy, then punishes employees for following it? Why is it more important to satisfy the one entitled bozo than the half-dozen people behind them, each with 1 or 2 items and wanting to get through quickly?

I don't know if it's an actual policy, but I was always told that we can say something if they haven't unloaded their stuff. At some companies, managers can and will back cashiers on the 12-item limit, but apparently we don't. I get that things are competitive, but we don't turn away the small orders (which is basically what's happening by implying that the store doesn't care about getting customers through checkout quickly).

[Enjis]

As someone who relies on public transit and who can also get lost in an empty room, I rather appreciate transit employees who can answer questions quickly and accurately. I just want to get home, not have a long conversation. I'm aware I have the directional sense of a rock, and I don't need anyone to soothe my ego. I am intelligent in a lot of areas, it's just that finding my way around doesn't happen to be one of them.

Oh, this, this, a thousand times this! I most definitely want someone giving me directions to know absolutely where to go and how to get there! And I thank them for it!

[Thana]

I was recently rude for..

Asking a customer what they wanted a lidded container for. I only have 2 lidded containers....lids for chili cups and lids for potato boats. Telling me "a miscellaneous amount of food" does not help me figure out how much food therefore I decided to err on the side of caution and gave the customer a bag.

Today..customer came into the restaurant with a bag..great they've just come through drive and drive forgot something. I have 4 customers talking to me so I don't even have a chance to greet the guy who walked up to the counter..which apparently was fine by him because he just walked up, leaned over the counter and was like "Yeah I just came through drive and y'all forgot my fries.." Mind you we're short staffed..so nobody heard him. I finished up with my customers and approached him and the following exchange happened..
Me: What can I do for you?
Him: I dunno. I just went through drive and they forgot my fries. Some fries would be nice.
Me: Alright what size fries.
Him: I dunno. Just fries. I ordered a number three.
Me: What. size. fries? Small. Medium. or. Large?
Him: I don't know! Just fries! regular or whatever comes with the number three. I paid $xx.xx
Me: What size was your drink?
Him: I dunno. Large chocolate frosty. Can I please just get some fries?!
Me: -screaming on the inside but plasters fake smile to face- Alright Give me a moment please
Me: =-wanders over to drive and taps awesome manager on the shoulder- So I have this @$#@#@ upfront saying he came through drive and y'all forgot his fries but he can't tell..
Awesome Manager: Large fry! I'll deal with him.
Awesome manager goes and deals with him, I'm dealing with more customers and the dude says to my manager as he's leaving "You need to retrain her. She's rude and kept asking questions instead of getting my fries."

Speaking too softly while dealing with customers. It's not that I was speaking softly on purpose today... I was freaking losing my voice and towards the end of my shift it had that really pinched breathy pitch that screams "this voice is just about gone!!!"

[wolfie]

A CW was suspended for 'rudeness' for telling someone with a cartload "this is a 12 items or less line" (SC had not started putting her stuff on the belt, so CW was perfectly within her rights to tell SC this)

WTF? Management sets a policy, then punishes employees for following it? Why is it more important to satisfy the one entitled bozo than the half-dozen people behind them, each with 1 or 2 items and wanting to get through quickly?

[Dreamstalker]

My shift lead was 'rude' for telling a customer that she should look to see if the previous customer had finished before starting to scan her crap (C had swiped payment and left without finalizing, SC jumped in and started scanning her stuff THEN decided 'her' total was far too high).

I'm 'rude' for not holding any one person's hand. I'm NOT a cashier. You want someone to ring for you, go to an actual cashier.

A CW was suspended for 'rudeness' for telling someone with a cartload "this is a 12 items or less line" (SC had not started putting her stuff on the belt, so CW was perfectly within her rights to tell SC this)

[South Texan]

I would not dismiss a speeding ticket when the woman came up to my desk and swore the officer must have lied as to how fast she was going. I told her it needed to be set for trial if she disputed the allegation. She complained to my manager that I was rude and unhelpful.

Then I was rude and "ruined Christmas" because I would not dismiss a speeding in a school zone (30 miles over the limit) and no insurance tickets or set the fines to $0 because the guy said insurance was too expensive (with his moving violations record, that was not a surprise) and he wanted to buy Christmas presents.

I also was rude because I objected to a young woman rubbing my shaved head "for luck" without first asking my permission.

[WishfulSpirit]

I should make them feel less dumb by having to laboriously look up every little thing to reinforce just how complicated it is to use public transport... Er, no. Not happening.

As someone who relies on public transit and who can also get lost in an empty room, I rather appreciate transit employees who can answer questions quickly and accurately. I just want to get home, not have a long conversation. I'm aware I have the directional sense of a rock, and I don't need anyone to soothe my ego. I am intelligent in a lot of areas, it's just that finding my way around doesn't happen to be one of them.

[RealUnimportant]

I've had a rash of people complaining about my "attitude" because I was able to answer their thick-as-pigshit questions without having to consult anything other than the information screens displayed directly opposite my ticket window. Apparently the fact I've done this job for so long that I know many of the ticket prices & best routes by heart is poor customer service, and I should make them feel less dumb by having to laboriously look up every little thing to reinforce just how complicated it is to use public transport... Er, no. Not happening.

[draggar]

I've been "rude" for not installing a 3rd party application (one I've never heard of) on someone's server thus creating a risk of a date breach for a very large chain of fast food restaurants. (rinse and repeat for 3-5 requests a week from different sites and different chains).

I've also been "rude" for not sending sales data from a restaurant's competition to them.

I'm also "rude" for not adding an administrative / manager account to a site's system for any person who calls wanting one.

[Food Lady]

Not me this time but a coworker said at her old job someone didn't laugh at a customer's joke and then it was "I want a manager now." Get over yourself.

[April]

last week a father of one of my clients called a supervisor (not my supervisor, nor a person in my department) and advised her that I was rude and unhelpful because I advised him that I cannot release any information regarding his son, and that it was against privacy laws for me to do so. I advised him to ask his son to sign a release of information. That wouldn't work, because his son didn't want to tell him anything. I explained to him that his son is an adult and does have a right to the information that he wants to hand out.

(I realized how many times I write "Advised" in just this short paragraph. I write a lot of letters to judges LOL)

[Dreamstalker]

I was rude for not being instantly available (to a stand-and-stare SC) despite two other SCOs with open transactions deciding to freeze up simultaneously.

The kicker is Shithead tried to lecture me about "serving the customer" as I was in the middle of rebooting both SCOs and keeping those customers happy while keeping an eye on everything else going on (just because you can't handle this doesn't mean you get to distract me from doing so).

[Lace Neil Singer]

You weren't rude, there is such a thing as pretend police officers.

He could also have been a stripper.

Was called rude, cuz I wouldn't open another till to cope with the massive queue. Reason I didn't? It was broken, with an out of order sign displayed prominently and I was stacking shelves while I waited for IT to call me back.

[Kittykat]

I once asked a local cop his ID to check to be allowed to pick up something he ordered online. He had to go back to his squad car to get it.

Thought it funny at the time...well, i still do...but I realize I probably was being rude even though his car was about 10-15 ft away

You weren't rude, there is such a thing as pretend police officers.

[Ashaela]

- For being overworked and for the phone lines being busy.

As background - half of my folks have been poached by other departments at the same exact time that our base is expanding by around 50,000 people. These 50,000 are transferring to our jurisdiction from another agency that had no automated records and never informed their base that they would be transferred.

This means there are a lot of phone calls, with a maximum of 5 people at any given time to answer them. This in turn means that instead of being able to write procedures, test software, and train employees in processing all these new files, the dept. manager and I have to keep stopping everything we're doing to take escalated calls saying "why isn't this done? Why can't you do mine first? What's taking so long?"

And because all the phone lines are tied up, we started getting emails to the public box complaining about how rude it is and how poor customer service it is for the phones to be busy.