As usual I have a huge job list which involves the relaying of a whole section to add new stock as well as serving customers at our front counter and am supposed to clear stock from another area, all in a 5 hour shift. I am returning to the section after being called up to the counter to serve a customer, when a woman walks up to me, I am wearing the store’s uniform.

Me “Hi, can I help you with anything?”

Woman “Oh you work here?”

Me “Yes I do”

Woman “I leave mess, you clean it” *walks off.

I go to where she’s pointed to find that she’d opened packages and pulled out metres of product, knotting it in the process and strewing it over the floor.

It takes me ages to tidy it up so others don’t trip on it, as a result I don’t get to finish assigned tasks within the set time period and get lectured on improving my time management skills.

(Because of an accident when I was younger, for a good portion of my life I have been left completely mute. Miraculously, as damage has healed I have slowly been able to talk more and more, though with great difficulty. Due to my position as a server, I have made sure to practice a few key useful terms that are allow me to disengage quickly, but still be polite to a customer. Unfortunately, my words are often slurred or stuttered which had previously never caused me any problems.)

Me: Hello, welcome to [Supermarket] my name is [My name], how are you today?

Customer: *Looks noticeably irritated* Are you r******* or something? What’s wrong with you?

(Having never been asked this question, I called over a co-worker of mine who was fluent in sign language. After quickly relaying what I wanted to say, she translated.)

Co-worker: *Gesturing to me* I apologise sir, but unfortunately I have been left mostly mute-

(Cutting off my co-worker)

Customer: That’s f****** b*******. You’re disgusting you slimeball, how dare you fake a disability like that? What’s wrong with you? I demand to see your manager right now to let them know about this sick practical joke you’re playing.

(My co-worker looks about ready to yell at the customer before I tap her shoulder and let her know to just do it. She goes away to find the store manager and comes back after a few minutes.)

Manager: I apologise for the wait sir, what seems to be the issue here?

Customer: *Points to me* This sicko here is going around pretending to be disabled, I would like you to publicly reprimand him for his actions.

Manager: Sir, [My name] IS a disabled person and even if this were some kind of practical joke I would not publicly embarrass my employees.

Customer: B*******. *Customer drops his items on the floor and points to me* I’ll be calling corporate to have you both dealt with for being such disgusting pieces of s***.

(A few hours later, the man returns, ranting and cursing to any customer who gives him the attention. After close to ten minutes of this, security came and escorted the man off the premises. Two days later the manager gave me a written apology from the man after he had been threatened with a potential fine or jail time for abuse. I haven’t seen him in the store since.)

I am tidying some displays in my store when a customer walks up to me holding two fully assembled lanterns. One lantern is 10cm in diameter, and the other lantern is 30cm.

Customer: Is this lantern *holds up the 10cm one* the same size as this one? *holds up the 30cm one*

Me: (Dumbfounded, unsure if I’m missing anything) No… This one is much smaller than that one..

Customer: (Looking confused) Hmmm…. Okay. *strolls away*

I work in a reasonably high-end shoe store. Most of our shoes retail for ~$100+ and are really good quality. This man comes in about five minutes after I finish my shift, but I still have to walk out past him so I decide to ask what he wants.

Me: “Hello there Sir! What can I help you with today?”

Customer: “Well I bought these shoes about two months ago and they’re completely ruined!”

The customer takes off his shoes and passes them to me. I notice they are one of our higher brand, retail at $160, and it looks like someone has taken a knife to the sole and cut a hole in it. The shoes look at least a year old.

I nod and encourage him to continue this story. I smile at this point.

Customer: “DO NOT laugh at me. This is a real problem. I have been walking with these shoes for two weeks now. It is unacceptable.”

Me: “Sorry sir.”

Customer: “I do NOT want to enquire about a warranty, I just want to tell you not to buy these shoes!”

As a woman with small feet, I am not able to but this brand. Our shoes do not come with a warranty, only a refund if not worn & within 2 weeks of purchase. The customer walks off and I go out the back to retrieve my things and go home. As I’m walking past my manager, I see the same man speaking to her.

Customer: “I cannot believe the service here! I came in to ask about getting an exchange on these shoes and all I got was this girl laughing at me!”

I left the store quickly, hoping he hadn’t seen me again. I spoke to my manager the next day and she said that nothing came from it. The customer was not within his rights to get a refund or exchange.

(I work at a members’ bar inside a well-known stadium. A “footy” game is currently on, and the home team doesn’t seem to be doing well, thus making everyone at the stadium cranky. Which is not fun, especially when you’re serving drunk people.

I should also note that Brisbane has a local beer brewery called XXXX and we stock three different types of their beer: XXXX Gold is a mid-strength beer and is the most popular product in the bar, XXXX Bitter is a dark lager, and XXXX Summer is a pale ale.)

Me: “Hi, what can I get for you?
Customer: “Get me XXXX!”

(Since most customers ask for the XXXX Gold, I grabbed a bottle and uncapped it for him.)

Me: “That’ll be $7.50, Sir.”
Customer: “No! Not that! XXXX!” *pointing angrily to a different side of the fridge*
Me: “Oh, did you mean the Bitter, Sir?”
Customer: “No, that’s XXXX! This is Gold!” *pointing to the opened bottle of XXXX Gold in front of him*
Me: “Very well, Sir. $7.50 please.” *uncaps the XXXX Bitter*

(The customer paid and left. We ended up having to throw away the opened XXXX Gold bottle because we closed up not long after that customer left. Luckily my supervisor was very understanding and wrote it off as spoilage because “the bottle was broken”!)