I work for the paging and messaging department of a telecommunications company. We are responsible for taking calls on behalf of businesses that can’t answer the call themselves. I am currently working for a hearing aid company.

Me: “[Business] is not available at the moment. Can I leave a message?”

Customer: *Yelling* “I NEED NEW BATTERIES!”

Me: “I’m sorry, but [Company] isn’t available at the moment. If I can have your name and number, I’ll pass on your details for a return call.” 

Customer: “I CAN’T HEAR YOU! I NEED BATTERIES!”

Me: “I’m sorry, but they’re not available at the moment.”

Customer: “I CAN’T HEAR YOU! I NEED NEW BATTERIES!”

Me: “I can’t help you, I’m sorry. You’ll need to call back at a later time.”

Customer: “I CAN’T HEAR YOU! SEND ME BATTERIES NOW!”

I ended up having to terminate the call as I was going in circles. But why call if you can’t hear anyway?

I work in a clothing store with a target audience of mothers and their families. Our clothing is fairly cheap but is actually good quality. We get a fair number of elderly people because of the suburb I’m in.

I’m cleaning up the sleepwear section which is next to the plus-size ladies’ section. I see an older woman seeing how a dress would look on her. As part of customer service, we’re told to ask customers if they need assistance.

Me: “Can I help you with anything?”

Customer: *Seems very disappointed* “This dress is no good. I want this one but it’s broken, see?”

She shows me that there are “missing buttons” at the top of the dress. I’m not exactly sure how to break it to her that she’s wrong.

Me: “Um, that’s part of the design.”

Customer: “No, no, it’s broken. I have to get it tailored. And the stitching is so messy, too.”

She shows me the back’s stitching which is slightly gathered… part of the design.

Me: “I’m so sorry about that. Would you like me to grab another one for y—”

Customer: “There’s none there. They’re all size twenty and I need eighteen.”

Me: “I can have a look—”

Customer: “No. There’s none left. Can you give me a discount for this? It’s all broken and I have to get it tailored.”

Me: “Um, I can ask my manager for you?”

Customer: “It’s okay. I’ll ask them at the registers.” *Walks away*

Sometimes when there are a lot of customers waiting, they’ll call up someone from the shop floor to help serve, so they call me up. On the way there, I decide to see if the customer was correct and that there were no size eighteens left. Turns out, there is one other size eighteen. I bring the dress with me. I walk up to the registers and the first person I serve is the woman.

Customer: “I need a discount for this; it’s broken. It should be around $20 now.”

The original price is $30. Conveniently, my manager just walks behind the counter.

Me: “[Manager], can you help this customer?”

Manager: “What’s wrong?”

The customer tells her what she told me and demands $10 off. I show my manager the other size eighteen I found and show her and the customer that it’s designed like that.

Manager: “I can give you 10% off.”

Customer: “How much is that?”

Manager: “It will be $27.”

Customer: “Can’t you make it $20? I need to pay for tailoring now because of bad making.”

Manager: “I’m sorry, I can only give you 10%”

The customer decided she didn’t want the dress.

I work for an insurance company. I’m in the department that assists with level of coverage changes — “cover review” is the internal term for it. People call my area to upgrade or downgrade their coverage, depending on whether they need insurance for certain procedures in a private hospital. Usually, people have a general idea of what they need and what they don’t need.

Customer: “Apparently, I need to review my coverage. It’s too expensive! What can you do for me?”

Me: “I’d be happy to help with that today, ma’am. I can see here that you are currently on our highest level of hospital coverage.”

Customer: “What does that mean?!”

Me: “It entitles you to be covered for—”

Customer: “Stop! Just tell me what I need!”

Me: “All right, ma’am, you are currently covered for pregnancy, hip and knee—”

Customer: “Stop! Stop! Stop! I don’t want to hear all that! Just tell me what I need!”

I think, “Okay, perhaps she needs me to slow down and check each item of coverage individually.”

Me: “Okay, ma’am. Do you need to be covered for pregnancy?”

Customer: “What does that have to do with anything?!”

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am. I’m just going through the items your current policy covers to see if you still need them and therefore would need to stay on the highest coverage. If there’s something you don’t need, you can go to a lower coverage that doesn’t include it.”

Customer: “I do not understand why you are making this so hard. Just tell me what I need!”

Me: “Okay, the difference between your current policy and the one below it in coverage and price, is that it does not include private hospital coverage for hip and knee replacements, pregnancy—”

Customer: “Oh, my God!”

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, is there something wrong?”

Customer: “You’re just going to read everything, aren’t you?! You’re just going to read it! What the h*** use is it speaking to a person if you can’t just tell me what I need?!”

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am? I’m not permitted to make assumptions—”

Customer: “Fine! What is the difference between the coverages?! Since you’re soooo good at reading!”

Me: *Pauses* “The highest coverage includes everything you would ever need to be insured for in a private hospital, the medium coverage excludes hip and knee, pregnancy—”

Customer: “You already said that! Oh, my God! I cannot believe how useless you are! This has been a complete waste of my time! Complete waste!” *Click*

Yes, ma’am, I agree.

I have been offered a new full-time role working overnight at another location run by my boss. I have a regular Monday-to-Friday roster, starting at midnight each night. It’s the start of my second week when I arrive at work at 11:30 on Sunday night, only to have the store manager ask me why I am there.

Me: “I’m rostered to start work at midnight.”

Store Manager: “No, you’re not rostered. I had to bring someone else in because you weren’t rostered on tonight.”

Me: “I am on the roster to start at midnight.”

Store Manager: “No, you are rostered to start at midnight Monday night.”

Me: “Can I check on the roster?” 

Store Manager: “No, I can’t get online to access it at the moment.”

I leave, confused because I was told by the franchisee that I would be working Monday to Friday. I check the roster when I get back home and see that I am rostered from 00:00 am to 8:00 am Monday. I call the store manager to let him know.

Store Manager: “Yes, I know you are working from midnight on Monday, but that’s tomorrow; it’s Sunday tonight.”

Me: “But it’s Monday from midnight tonight.”

Store Manager: “No, it’s Sunday night.”

All I could do was call my boss in the morning to ask him to explain to the store manager how days work.

I’m overseeing the self-service registers at my store. A customer calls me over to help her with something. She’s holding up a packet of sliced turkey meat from the deli.

Customer: “I’ve just finished paying and I’ve realised I think I forgot to scan this. Can you check?”

Me: “Sure. Did you print a receipt?”

Customer: “No.”

Me: “That’s fine. I’ll reprint the receipt and see if it’s on there.”

I did just that, going through the backend of the system to find a copy of her receipt. I printed it out and looked at it. Not only had she remembered to scan the turkey, but it was the only thing she was purchasing. I have no idea what she thought she’d paid for.