I used to work for a cell phone store and provider in the 2010s. A customer is complaining about the data service he purchased.

Customer: “I was told my data would last thirty days!”

Me: “Yes, sir. Up to thirty days, but you used it in one day.”

Customer: “I was told thirty days! It lasted a day! I want a refund!”

Me: “Sir, the data wasn’t unlimited. You used it all up before the thirty-day period expired.”

Customer: “But I was told it would last thirty days!”

Me: “Sir, if you bought bread from a grocery store that said it would last up to a week before going bad, but you ate it all in one day, would you want a refund?”

Customer: “Get me a manager! You’re making no sense!”

I get my manager, who heard the customer out.

Manager: “Okay, sir, if you bought a gallon of milk from a grocery store, and it would go bad in a week—”

Customer: “—What is wrong with you people! None of you makes sense! I don’t want no bread and milk!” *Storms out.*

After about half an hour comparing all of the in-depth specs of two prepaid phones with a customer, she finally exclaimed:

Customer: “Oh! I’ll get this one! It comes with a one-year warranty, the other only comes with twelve months!”

After the customer leaves:

Manager: “That one’s on us. We should have standardized the warranty terminology instead of assuming customers were… well… smart.”

I remember back in the 2000s, I worked for a telecom store. A customer came in with an overdue bill exceeding $700 and a broken phone.

Customer: “I want to claim on your device protection to get another one.”

Me: *Looking into his account.* “Sir, you can’t claim. You haven’t been paying your bill, hence why your phone is not only disconnected, but you haven’t been paying for the device protection either.”

Customer: “Well, I’m not paying for a service that doesn’t work.”

Me: “Sir, you broke your phone. That’s why it’s not working.”

Customer: “Get me a new phone that works, and then I’ll start paying again.”

Me: “You need to backpay all that’s owed on your bills first, and you’d need to pay for a new phone as your device protection is no longer active due to non-payment.”

Customer: “I’m not giving you anything until you give me something!”

Me: “We gave you a phone and device protection. You’re the one who hasn’t given us anything for a long time now.”

He stormed out of the store, calling me various names.

He tried this again with multiple other consultants over the course of a few months. Each time he got the same answer and threw his hands up as he walked out, yelling that we were all:

Customer: “A useless pack of f****** c***s!”

I manage a cell phone store. It’s not uncommon for customers to come ask us to print out a copy of their receipts; they might need it for an insurance claim, sell it to someone, or what have you. A lady steps up to my register.

Lady: “My workplace is covering the cost of my cell phone purchase, up to 8,000 NOK (approx. $800), so I need a receipt to show them.”

Me: “I’m happy to help you find that. May I look at your cell phone? I could use its serial number to look up the receipt.”

Lady: “Oh, I didn’t actually buy a phone here, I just need a receipt for 8,000 NOK.”

Me: *Not understanding.* “I’m sorry, I can’t find it if you didn’t buy the phone here.”

Lady: “No, I just need a receipt for 8,000 NOK, so that my job will give me that money.”

Me: “But I don’t have a receipt for that?”

Lady: *Annoyed.* “Just make me one!”

Me: “You want me to make a fake receipt for 8,000 NOK?”

Lady: “Yes, of course!”

Me: “I won’t do that! I’m not helping you commit fraud!”

Lady: *Offended.* “What? How dare you? That’s not fraud! I just want them to give me the extra money!”

Me: “Yeah, good luck with that. Next, please!”

I worked at a cell phone company over a summer while in college. We had a few large TVs that displayed our stuff. A younger guy, probably eighteen or nineteen, not a customer of ours, came in and asked if he could use the WiFi.

I said sure, and he sat down for a few minutes, then said he’d “be right back.” He came back with pizza and some drinks and sat back down.

I saw he was watching something on his phone and asked him what it was. He said he was watching the E3 press conferences, starting today (This was back when E3 (Electronic Entertainment Expo) was still a thing).

I remember our display TV had that screen mirror stuff. I asked him to pop it on the TV, and I’ll turn it up.

It was a slow day, so I mostly spent it with this guy, watching E3, and having pizza. A few customers came in, I’d help them, not try to upsell them, and just watch E3.

The dude was freaking awesome; he came back the next few days for each press conference and brought pizza.

A few weeks later, he came in and wanted to buy a screen protector for his phone. Ever bought a screen protector from a cell phone store? It can get expensive.

I could give up to 20% discounts, but I felt like giving him more. I have a habit of remembering SKU numbers, so I typed in the SKU for SIM cards. They did give us the power to change SIM cards for just one cent, and we always had pennies lying around. It was mostly to give SIM cards to customers who needed them, and we didn’t want to charge extra.

So basically, I gave that guy a free screen protector. Was a nice thing to do before going back to college for my final year.