(A customer walks up to bookstore counter. Our bookstore isn’t very big, and it doesn’t have a lot of employees, but a lot of regulars.)
Me: “Are you having trouble finding any books?”
Customer: “I need my fortune told!”
Me: “I’m sorry. This is a bookstore. We don’t do fortune telling.”
Customer: “I need my fortune told!”
Me: “Again, we don’t do fortunes. But if you need to find a book, I can get someone to help you.”
Customer: “I NEED MY FORTUNE TOLD!”
(At this point I realize it’s easier to give the customer her fortune, real or not, than to try to explain that, no, this is not a fortune telling area.)
(I’m working at a coffee shop in Manhattan. Today is September 11, 2001, and it is about 20 minutes before the first reports of a plane hitting World Trade Center 1.)
Customer: “Can you hurry up? What is taking so d*** long to make my coffees?”
Me: “I’m sorry, sir. Usually, we have a large staff to take big orders but today most of the staff are out.”
Customer:*irritated* “Well, how is this my fault? You should be ready to take any orders that I give you! I have a big meeting at 9:00 at the World Trade Center! That makes me important and I should be the top priority!”
(I ignore him and continue making his drinks.)
Me: “Here you go, sir, your order of [ten different coffees] ready to go. Your total is [total].”
Customer: “About f****** time!”
(He rushes out, and then ten minutes later, the news stations start talking about that first plane. The whole ordeal of 9/11 happens. Then, about a week later, the same customer comes in with presumably his wife and daughter.)
Me: “Hello, sir, what is your order today?”
Customer: “Yeah, I’m not actually ordering anything, I just wanted to thank you.”
Me: “For what, sir?”
Customer: “I’m the jerk from last week yelling about his important meeting in Tower 1. The time it took for you to make my coffee made me just late enough that I was walking up to the building when the plane hit it.”
Me:*tearing up* “Oh, my God!”
Customer: “But that’s not important. You saved me from that horrible attack and I am still here for my wife and daughter.”
Customer’s Wife:*starts sobbing on her husband’s shoulder*
Customer’s Daughter: “Can I give you a hug?”
(I happily gave her a hug through my tears. Still to this day, knowing that I was able to save one family from those terrible attacks warms my heart.)
This story is part of our Most Inspirational Of 2020 roundup!
(I am working at a popular fast food restaurant on a weekday. We are not extremely busy, but did have a fairly large drive-thru line. A man comes into the dining room and places his order wearing his work uniform. He is the only person in the dining room but he only waits about three minutes before coming to the counter to complain.)
Customer: “I have been waiting for my order for f***** ever, and want to speak with your manager, and I want my meal for free.”
(The manager comes over after hearing the customer.)
Manager: “How can I help you, sir?”
Customer: “I’ve been waiting here for f****** ever, and I expect my food now, and I expect it for free.”
Manager: “I’m sorry but we serve on a ‘first-come, first-serve basis’ and have a long line in the drive-thru. I can give you a discount on your order, but we can’t give it to you for free.”
Customer: “Your corporate offices are going to hear about your s**** service and you’ll be fired.”
(The customer storms out and I ask my manager what happened. He said this customer comes in about once a month to do this, but never wore a uniform before. It turns out the customer worked for a pest control company which our restaurant uses for routine sprays around the building. My manager calls the number on the customer’s uniform and tells them what has happened and that we’ll be using a different service from now on. A couple of days later the customer comes in again.)
Me: “Hello, sir. How can I help you?”
Customer: “I’m very sorry for how I acted the other day. Will you call my boss and ask them if I can have my job back?”
(Our company gets hit with spam that asks people to go to an external website and enter your username & password. We block the email but the damage is done, so you pull up a log of people who went to the website and cold call all 50 of them as fast as possible. Five minutes in I get this guy:)
Me: “Hey, you apparently clicked the email and entered your—”
Him: “No, I didn’t.”
Me: “I just need you to change your password; I have a record of you going to the spammy website—”
Him: “No, I didn’t.”
Me: “I literally have a list in front of me. Not only did you put in your username and password, you did it twice when it didn’t work!”
Him: “I didn’t click that—”
Me: “I don’t have time for you to lie to me right now; I’m forcing a password reset and logging you off. Enjoy your week.”
(My boss gave me a slow clap for dealing with this man…)
(I walk into my hotel to check in when I see the receptionist hold up her hand to acknowledge me with a smile as she is taking a phone call. She has a very fixed smile on her face.)
Receptionist: “No, sir. I am sorry, our room rates start at £60 a night with bed and breakfast. I’m afraid we wouldn’t be able to give you a rate of £50. Yes, sir, I am checking your name now. The last time you stayed with us was June last year when the rate was lower.”
(I can hear the guy on the other end now getting angrier and the receptionist is smiling serenely the whole damn time.)
Receptionist: “Unfortunately, sir, my superior has left the office for the day… No, sir, I cannot call her… No, sir, you cannot have her number to call her… Unfortunately, sir, I am unable to adjust the rate… I can appreciate your predicament, sir, but I am unable to lower the rate as it is a set rate.”
(At this point, I can actually hear the guy swearing down the phone at the receptionist and she’s just smiling.)
Receptionist: “Thank you, sir. I will of course pass on those comments. I am sure they will help my supervisor with my staff appraisal. Have a good day, sir. ‘Bye.” *she takes a deep breath, smiles at me, and says* “Every Saturday… Can I help you, sir?”
