Tuesday 19 March 2013

Sometimes, Working in Customer Service Sucks: Annoying Things Customers Do

I've been working since I was 15 and I've had a slew of part-time jobs. Everything from Wendy's, to call centers, to hotels and everything in between.


After working in the customer service industry for so long, I began to disdain, well, customers. People are just plain rude.

To be fair, this does not apply to everyone. I've come across some really nice customers in the past and those that don't bother me at all. But then there's the ones that I just couldn't give a damn about. The ones that walk into the store/hotel in a bad fucking mood and are on a mission to take it out on the person standing behind the counter, making minimum wage and who has no authority to give them a discount on anything, just because they demand one.


I worked at Blockbuster as a supervisor for almost three years. I was there until the bitter end. When our store closed, I was offered a position at another location, but obviously I turned it down. Did I really want to put up with more stupid questions and complaints from customers? Not really.

Today, I am sharing with you the most common (and annoying) questions and complaints I experienced:

Customer: Where I can find [states the name of a new release]?
Employee: It's on the wall in alphabetical order.
Customer: Okay.. So, where would it be?

Customer: I returned my movie on time. Can I get my next one for free?

Customer walks into the store: Are you guys open?

Customer: I want to speak to the manager!
Me: I'm the manager on duty.
Customer: How? You're like 12!

For the record, I was 22.
 
Customer: Where's your porn section?
Me: Sir, this is a family store. We don't rent out porn here.
Customer: Would you like to star in a porn movie?

Customer: Have you seen this movie?
Me: No, I haven't had a chance to yet.
Customer: Why do you still work here when you clearly aren't doing your job??

How dare I have a life outside of Blockbuster.

Employee: There's a charge of $10.31 on your account for your last rental.
Customer: FOR WHAT?! I RETURNED IT!
Employee: You returned it more than 60 days after the due date.
Customer: But you have no late fees!

Come on people. Use some common sense. 

The best one:

Woman comes in with her DVD player, screaming.
Woman: Your movies are SHIT! Your DVD got stuck in my DVD player and wont come out! YOU have to BUY me a NEW DVD PLAYER!
After much deliberation and conversation, an employee decides to carefully open the DVD player for the customer.
Employee: Miss, you put the DVD in upside down. And off the ridges.

(I don't know why her DVD player wasn't working. But it definitely wasn't the fault of any of us. When the employee put the DVD player back together - and the DVD in properly - it worked.)

Oh, and let's not forget the time a customer threatened to kill me because I told him he hadn't returned a movie yet. He was convinced he had and proceeded to call me a bitch and tell me he planned to kill me. He then stood outside the store and yelled at any customers who wanted to come in, saying, "Don't go in there!" and "Watch out for the bitch!"

He had returned his movie and we found it that night when we did inventory. Just like I told him we would. 

(Side note: I was actually pretty scared and I ended up calling the cops on him.)

There are so many others, but I think I've made my point. Thinking back to all of this makes me even more grateful for the job I have now. I work in an office with a much more mature clientele. Having weekends off is pretty sweet too.  

Have you worked in customer service? Or just had a really crappy job? What have your experiences been?

28 comments:

  1. I LOVE THIS POST. I've had my share of customer service jobs, and they are the worst. Customers can be so damn rude.

    ReplyDelete
  2. So not excited to go back into working, but so excited to finish school. I'm torn, lol.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've worked in customer service before - the absolute worst! I worked in the store-end of CVS/pharmacy for a year and always got customers asking me what medication they should take! As if I knew.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh my gosh! What HORROR stories! I have some doozies too from my time in a customer service job. So bad. I think EVERYONE should have to work in a retail/customer service job for at least a year so they can realize they're actually treating a PERSON like that. Ugh.

    ReplyDelete
  5. oh the joys of customer service! i worked in a few stores and restaurants back in the day and had a lot of fun experiences similar to yours. people can be so rude! i'm so glad i don't work in customer service anymore!
    -- jackiejade.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. This post is awesome lol. I havent experienced working in customer service but my fiance does it everyday. He works at a pet store. He comes home almost all the time with stories of something a customer said or did. He always makes the point that its not like it's an appliance store where something can be broken or a electronics store or something. They sell food, toys, animals and all the accessories. I get a kick out of the stories where a customer comes in to the store way past the date of return and claim that the employees have killed their fish or something

    www.happinessisntadestination.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is hilarious! I waited tables and worked at different restaurants so I had to deal with many stupid folk. My favorite is when they demand something for free, sometimes for no apparent reason. "How are you going to compensate me...?" "I'm not...bye!" I could never say that though... lol

    ReplyDelete
  8. i've worked in customer service before and totally agree with you: sometimes it really stinks! that story about the dvd player is unbelievable. i guess all you can do is laugh about it, right? (love your blog! the name is perfect!)

    ReplyDelete
  9. I've had a couple customer service jobs and they have all sucked! People can be so unbelievable sometimes! I cant believe that guy saying he wanted to kill you though.. That is so messed up.

    ReplyDelete
  10. hahahahah!! Oh my- you poor thing! The e-cards were hysterical, as were your unfortunate run-ins with customers. I'm so glad you're not working there anymore! Thanks for making me laugh today. :)

    ~Heather

    ReplyDelete
  11. Well, you DID work in a sketchy area from what I remember :P

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh my! Those are really terrible customers. I have called for complaints through call centers but even as I am fuming mad sometimes because I am not getting satisfactory answers to my queries, I still keep a steady voice and no swearing. After all, the person just takes the calls and is not responsible for my problem. I think everyone deserves respect.

    ReplyDelete
  13. hahaha this is hilarious! Yes i completely agree. I have worked as a secretary for four years now since i was only sixteen.

    I love my job-minus almost every single customer I have to deal with. lord help this world because there is no etiquette left!

    Just followed you via GFC. hope you follow back so we can stay in touch xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  14. oh my goodness! These are horrible... horribly funny! I serve tables now, have been for about 4 years... miserable when you look at it like that! But we get the dumbest people ever! Glad to know I'm not the only one!

    Had this one group of four older people come in before we could re-lock the doors to eat...
    "Sir, we aren't open yet."
    "OH SO YOU WANT ME TO WAIT IN THE FREEZING COLD?!"
    ...we live in Florida
    ...its March
    ...its 70 degrees outside

    www.breeannahope.com

    ReplyDelete
  15. Haha. I like the "asshole" one. So true.

    ReplyDelete
  16. ohmygosh, alex, reading what your customers used to put you through got my blood boiling! and i LOVED the ecards. they are always so funny! i feel ya...there ARE dumb questions in this world. i can't believe some of the stuff people put you through...i mean, i can, but it's just crazy. i was a waitress for many years and i have some stories, of course. when i was 18, an old man in a leisure suit grabbed my by my arm and pulled me really close to him and demanded i get him some more g damn defcaf. but that's not the worst. lol
    people can be such asswipes. :)

    xoxox
    maria

    ReplyDelete
  17. Lol!!!!!! Love this! My fav is for sure the woman putting her DVD in upside down and threatening your life for a late movie! People are so wacked out these days! Too funny!
    Adrienne

    ReplyDelete
  18. I worked in customer service. At a company that arranged destination weddings. So I definitely sympathize. I had screaming brides, screaming mothers, screaming grooms.. I would never, ever go back in a million years. so yes, customer service sucks!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Ahh! What a nightmare! I thought being a busser was bad!

    ReplyDelete
  20. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  21. customers suck period; think just because they pay for something they own us. i'm glad i'm disabled because of stress now the assholes who stressed me out is paying for my disability thanks assholes. i will never work in customer service again.

    ReplyDelete

    ReplyDelete
  22. Have you ever considered creating an e-book or guest authoring on other blogs? I have a blog centered on the same topics you discuss and would really like to have you share some stories/information. I know my visitors would value your work. If you are even remotely interested, feel free to shoot me an e-mail.customer experience consulting

    ReplyDelete
  23. In today's scenario, most businesses are turning to artificial intelligence (AI) to provide the best customer service. AI technology can be used to provide a stellar customer experience - Improve Customer Services With AI

    ReplyDelete
  24. Navigating through customer challenges is an art. Explore seamless solutions with our CRM strategies at https://www.provenroi.com. Turn frustrations into opportunities and experience the Proven ROI difference today!

    ReplyDelete
  25. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete

I love comments. Thanks for making me smile!