The Most Idiotic Thing a Customer Has Yelled At You For...

[BookstoreEscapee]

I've bee nyelled at several times for losing the customers computer. They get so narky when we can't find the computer or their paperwork. Threats to sue and/or physical violence ensue. Usually it's because either their significant other already picked up the computer or they called up the wrong store.

People get like that in the bookstore when we can't find their order. Usually it's because it expired and got reshelved, but sometimes we'd look them up and it wasn't in the computer cuz they ordered it at a different store. For a brief period we could actually look up ALL the orders for the whole country so we could actually see what store they ordered it at. I loved telling them, no you ordered it at the Othertown Store. Sadly, (and happily) they took that away cuz it took too long to search.

One woman got so pissy at me when I couldn't find her computer that she was riding my ass up one side and down the other. While I'm apologizing to her for not finding her computer her hubby comes in and I can clearly hear him telling his wife excitedly "Honey guess what! They fixed the computer a full day early and it was only half of what he quoted us since the problem was a bad ram chip!" as he walks in with the computer he picked up before I came to work (like 2 0minutes before I clocked in).

We've had people do that too...hubby/wifey picked up the book earlier and they hadn't seen each other, so wifey/hubby would flip out on me. So we'd look it up and see that it was indeed picked up, at such time on such day. Talk to your spouse, people!

"Our lawyer's name is John Smith and his number is 555-555-1212. When you file make sure that the court has that information. Good day."

[OT] Never been threatened with a lawsuit...lol...but I have had people with returns put down their phone number as 555-1212 (which gets you directory assistance) on the return receipt. Made me giggle, actually, cuz what do I care? I don't wanna call these people!! (For the record, the only people I've seen do that did not seem to be scamming us. Only seen it a few times and they had receipts.) [/OT]

[SuperB]

I've been yelled at for the weather. I kid you not. They try to get to the resorts in the winter without carrying tire chains (required often in the winter by the state) ignore every cal trans sign that states "snowing over summit, carry chains" and then proceed to bitch at me as if I control the weather and the State requirements.

"But it's only raining in (town 70 miles away and in the valley)!" (and now you're at 6000 feet where it's cold enough to snow)
"It's a scam" (Yes, I am secretly Lex Luther in disguise and I control the weather and the state)
"What do you mean I can't bring these back for a full refund when I'm through using them!" (I'm not a library sir)
"Why can't I smoke it here, it's snowing out there!" (number 1, it's state law and number 2, pollute your own lungs in your car and leave mine out of it)
"You should give me free coffee and free hot chocolate for my kids since we're stuck here in the snow!" (first of all, you aren't "stuck" you can turn around and go back down the mountain and second, No!)
"It's a rental car! I'm not paying for tire chains for it!" (um, neither am I sweetheart, that'll be $....)

[TruthHurts]

I worked at a bookstore that also doubled as a tourist trap. One of the things we advertised were brochures supplied by the Chamber Of Commerce and posted a sign in the window letting tourists know this.

Unfortunately people would misread the sign and assume we were the COC. I would get screamed at over overflowing garbage cans, no camping spaces available in the state park, and on one fun occasion how overpriced things were at other stores. We finally ended up placing a sign that simply read Island Information after being yelled at one too many times.

[nick1091]

In my teen years cashiering at a grocery store, both myself and the head cashier got an earful from a woman absolutely livid that we wouldn't double her coupon.

Said coupon was one of those instant winner bottle caps for a free Snapple. She did not accept gracefully that we weren't willing to actually give her a free item plus cash back.

[RecoveringKinkoid]

It always amazes me just how cheaply some people are willing to sell their decency.

For instance, this woman would peddle the right to call herself a decent human being over the cost of a freaking soft drink.

[myswtghst]

I've been yelled at by a customer for asking for her name. I'm sorry, if I'm going to create a trouble ticket, I need to know who I'm creating it for.

I often hear the following "I don't have all [censored] day!" or things of the like, when a customer won't answer a simple question that would greatly speed the process. (see above for an example)

Occasionally I get yelled at for not being a) the cellular division, b) some other company entirely, usually an insurance company we have nothing to do with, or c) the exact person who called you. (It's a tech dispatch call center, I work with infrastructure and radio equipment, and when we call out, it gives a generic dial out # on the call ID, so if you call that back, it routes to the call center in general, not the person who called.)

[Jester]

I've been yelled at for the weather. I kid you not.

I too get yelled at for the weather.

"Why is it so cold?"
"Why is it raining?"
"Why can't you tell me what the weather will be like tomorrow?"
"Why can't you tell me when it will clear up/warm up?"

This is the tropics. That means the weather is going to be unpredictable. It also means that quite often the weather will be wet. And occasionally, rare though it is, it DOES get cold down here. We are not immune to that. It is STILL a buttload warmer than it is where you come from, so stop your bitching and deal with it.

And if I am serving you food and drinks, what in Zeus's butthole makes you think I look like a freakin' meteorologist?!?!?

"Why can't I smoke it here, it's snowing out there!" (number 1, it's state law and number 2, pollute your own lungs in your car and leave mine out of it)

I too get yelled at for state law. Even though I am not an elected official.

"Why can't we smoke in here?" It's Florida State Law. Has been for a few years now.
"That's stupid." Yes it is. I, a non-smoker, even voted against it. But the will of the voters of Florida was that it would become the law.
"But I can smoke in other bars." Yes, you can. You may have noticed that those ones have no roof or no walls, and are what we call open-air bars. They are exempt from the law. You can smoke in them.
"But I've seen people smoking in Rapscallion's Tavern, and it's enclosed!" True. But they serve absolutely no food. Another exemption. The original law was going to be ALL bars and restaurants, and those exemptions were fought for.
"But no one else is here. You should let me smoke!" Even with no one else here, it is still STATE FUCKING LAW. To paraphrase Captain Barbossa, means no.
"This whole thing is retarded!" Yes it is. Welcome to Florida. Seems you'll fit right in!

[nick1091]

For instance, this woman would peddle the right to call herself a decent human being over the cost of a freaking soft drink.

Indeed. Although, I chalk up her primal rage at us demolishing her dream of sticking it to the man, 80 cents at a time.

[Myra]

We closed one of our locations last summer. I moved to the main (and now only) location, but we had the landline number ported over to a cell phone so the regular customers I couldn't get ahold of could still call me.

One day, a lady called. I didn't know her from Adam. Or Eve for that matter. She told me her name, and it wasn't on my regulars list. However, she'd been by and saw our store was closed. She proceeded to berate me for closing my doors without calling all the regular customers. When I asked her name, and checked the aforementioned list, I said "Ma'am, I don't even have you in our computer as having visited us once..." Sadly, all that did was make her madder. Apparently my computers were "wrong" and she shopped at my store all the time. She spent lots of money with my store. I didn't argue the point that I was the one and only employee there, so I would've remembered her, but still. Apparently I was to phone ALL the Yellow Box Company customers to tell them my store was closing. Since I didn't, that was "bad business" since she was going to be inconvinienced.

[Noelegy]

I got yelled at once for not knowing what sort of professional sports team the Dallas Stars were. In my defense, this was long before the Stars won the Stanley Cup and the rest of the US figured out who they were.

The customer was an older, genteel-looking lady who appeared to be shopping with her grandson. She asked me for books on the Stars, whereupon I asked her what sort of team they were (our Sports section was organized by sport), and she went off on me. "YOU mean you live THIS close to Dallas and you don't know who the STARS are?"

I put on my best SC polite smile and explained that I wasn't much of a sports fan, but would be happy to help her find a book.

Sheesh...

[BookstoreEscapee]

I too get yelled at for the weather.

Well, Jester, I would just like to thank you for the lovely weather you arranged for me in July of 2001 when I was down on your lovely tropical isle. If I had met you I'd have bought you a

[Knifeman]

My eyeliner being blue and not black. See:

COOL! You're heterochromic!

[Ciarrai]

I got yelled at for putting out stock during the day.
"Why are you doing that now? You shouldn't be doing that while there are customers in the store. You should do it in the middle of the night when the store is closed."
Um ma'am, we kind of like having a normal sleep schedule instead of working at 3 a.m. and sleeping all day.

[Discourtesy Clerk]

I've had two customers complain about me, to my managers, behind my back...for DARING to not bag their all-important order. News flash: I'm not required to bag for everyone, and I'm not required to stay until the order's completed...I just have to ask if they want service out and make a parting comment before moving on. Some people think they're too important for me to leave, though.

One was a soccer-mom snob whose order I'd nearly finished. She declined help out, I thanked, I left to go assist the FEM who'd called me over. Later, I hear from the checker who served her that she'd said, "Well, that was rude!" when I left. It's not like I just dropped her crap on the ground and walked away! Apparently, she thought she was of too high social standing to be snubbed by a retail slave, or else she thought she could threaten little teenage me with her awesome power, because she also had to point out, "I'm a school district official!" Well, that changes everything. Watch me bow down.

The other was a rather high-strung middle-aged dude, who found it unacceptable that I told the cashier I couldn't bag for him, because I was on a service out. Okay, sure, I'll make my customer wait here for five minutes while I bag your crap, they won't mind...

People need to realise that having someone else to bag your groceries is a luxury, not a right.


...Oh, and I can't forget the times I've been reamed out for, among other things: cleaning the restroom, closing the secondary entrance like we do every night (oh boo hoo, you have to walk another 15 yards...), talking to my coworkers, and...pushing carts. How DARE I do my job. The nerve of me.

[Retail Associate]

Okay That made my brain hurt why go into a cofee shop? Unless they were escaping the whether or something. I am sure if she was meeting someone they wouldn't have been offended if they met somewhere else. But I am applying logic, aren't I ?

Yep, you are. Logic is not allowed 'round here.

When someone does something like go into a coffee shop and asks the person on duty to stop brewing coffee, that's when I'd get every coffee maker going full steam just to see if she vomits.

The most idiotic thing a customer has yelled at me for was a dirty, smelly, nearly toothless POS that was angry because every plant in the Floral dept wasn't on sale and I refused to give in to his demands. He not only yelled at me, he spit in my face. I'll never forget that disgusting creature.