(It was my first week working in the deli of a local grocery store. Things were going fine with no retail horror story occurrences, until the day I met the man I call the Cheese Nazi.)

Customer: “I want a pound of American cheese, sliced thin.”

Me: “Sure thing! Do you want that white or yellow?”

Customer: *looking at me with disgust* “The only color an American SHOULD be… WHITE!”

Me: “Ohh… kay. White it is.”

(I slice his racially pure cheese, weigh it, and bag it.)

Customer: “A half-pound of the mustard potato salad, too.”

Me: “Sure thing. I can’t do anything about the color of this one, though.”

Customer: *grunts* “Whatever.”

(I dish up his potato salad, weigh it, label it, and almost put the lid on when he stops me.)

Customer: “Stop!”

(He picks out a larger chunk of potato that still had a bit of the dark brown peel on one side, and flicks it at me, bouncing it off my neck.)

Customer: “That one was the n*****.”

(I just began working at a new deli after some issues at a previous job. Starting out, the new job is great! I had fun coworkers and a nice manager, and even the higher-ups seem very kind and helpful. As time goes on, of course, some things start to seem off or annoying, but I let those go. It isn’t much to complain about. One night, I am closing and, unfortunately, I am running a bit behind. I was supposed to be out by 8:00, but it’s coming onto 7:10 and I’m not where I am supposed to be.)

Me: “Hey, [Manager], I’m running a little behind. Can you give me a hand, here?”

Manager: “Sorry, [My Name], I’m running behind on my own stuff, too. I don’t know if I’ll make it out on time myself.”

Me: “Oh, well… Okay. When you get the chance, I could really use some help.”

(I continue doing what I was doing. A few minutes later, I begin to filter our deep fryer. I still have other things I need to do, but I’m keeping calm so I don’t make any mistakes… That is, until my manager comes by and watches me work over my shoulder.)

Manager: “You’re not going to make it out on time, are you?”

Me: “Probably not… That’s why I asked for help before.”

Manager: “Well, I can’t help. I have stuff to do. Man, you’re not making it out of here until well past 10:00!”

(The deli closes at 10:00.)

Me: “Well… I still have quite a few things to do.”

(Once the fryer is done being filtered and has cooled down a bit, it’s about 7:50. I begin taking it apart to clean out the filter. My manager is close by, just watching me work.)

Manager: “Man, you are so behind!! I can’t believe it; how could you be so behind?”

Me: “I’m not sure… Look, if you’re just standing there, not busy, I could use a little help with something else.”

Manager: “I told you! I am not done yet! I’m going to be late, too!”

(A little annoyed, I continue with my work. My manager continues to watch me until the clock strikes 8:00, when she packs up her things.)

Manager: “You’re still behind? Good luck with that! I’m going home. Night!”

(And she left. I didn’t make it out until just before 10:00 that night. The next morning I came in for an earlier shift and my manager told me that I didn’t do anything right, and that I obviously needed to be retrained in closing. I’ve gotten better — and faster — at closing since, but that night just irked me enough to where I lost a little respect for my manager.)

(I work in a bakery at a chain grocery store, but I am also cross-trained in the deli department, which is connected to the bakery. We just hired some new people, and I am scheduled to work in the bakery at the same time as a trainee is working in the deli by herself. The manager asks me if I can keep an eye on her in case she needs help, and I happily agree. It’s also important to note that we just switched some of our deli meat brands and flavors after we finished training our new employees, so some of the meats that we had when she first started training we either no longer carry or we carry it in a different brand. I’m working in my department when I hear this:)

Coworker: “Good afternoon, sir. Can I help you with something?”

Customer: “I would like some oven-roasted turkey.”

Coworker: “Okay. Would you like [Brand #1] or [Brand #2]?”

(Somehow, this question sets him off. He turns red in the face and starts yelling at my poor coworker.)

Customer: “You are so incompetent! Do you not know what you are doing? How hard is it to slice some meat?!”

(He goes on, and my coworker is too shocked to say anything. I step in to see if I can defuse the situation.)

Me: “[Coworker], are you okay?”

Coworker: “I just asked what brand he wanted because I couldn’t remember if we had the same flavor in another brand…”

Me: *to the man, as sweet and cheery as I can be* “Can I help you with something, sir?”

Customer: “NO! This entire store is filled with incompetent people! I just asked for some meat and she can’t slice it for me? How hard can it be to slice some meat?! I just want some meat!”

Me: “I’m sorry, sir. We are currently switching our brands, and my coworker was confused about which brand of turkey you wanted, Did you want [Brand #1] or did you want [Brand #2]?”

Customer: *throwing a temper tantrum at this point* “I just want some meat! How hard is that?! You are all incompetent, and I will never shop here again! I’m about to leave and I will never come back!”

(I can deal with rude customers, but at some point, a switch just goes off in me, and I’ll be d***ed if I’ll let a customer talk about my coworkers like this. However, instead of blowing up at rude customers, I have a different tactic.)

Me: *with a sweet, peppy smile* “All right, sir! Well, you have a good day! Thank you for shopping at [Grocery Store Chain].”

(The man looks like he is about to lay an egg — just totally shocked. He shakes out of it, and angrily grabs his cart and goes to check out.)

Me: *to coworker* “You okay?”

Coworker: “Yeah… I just asked him a question.”

Me: “Don’t worry about it. Some people are just jerks.”

(I went back to my work and our shifts continued normally. He must have had a bad day, because there is no way that turkey is so important that you have to have a meltdown in the middle of the store over it. That employee left a couple months later; most people don’t stay too long. I still work here, but I graduate school soon, so hopefully, I will never have to deal with rude customers like him again! If I do have a rude customer, I just kill them with kindness.)

Working in a deli partment.
Customer: I want some hot dogs.
Me: Sure, how many?
Customer: *after thinking for a while* A quantity
Me: …. can you please be a bit more specific?

(I work in the deli which obviously sells perishable foods. A batch of potato salad we have prepared is reaching its use by date, so the price of the salad has decreased drastically to $1 for a large tub.)

Me: Hi, how can I help you today?

Customer: Give me a small tub of your potato salad.

Me: Our potato salad is currently on sale. Would you like a large for a dollar instead?

Customer: Sure, why not?

(I proceed to fill a large tub with potato salad. As there was only a little bit left, I scrape the salad bowl clean, trying to put the most I can into the tub. The tub is almost full and is only a few centimeters off from the brim)

Customer: (angrily) The f*** i that? The tub is not even full!

Me: I’m sorry sir, but that all we’ve got

Customer: Seriously? You’re just asking for your head to get kicked in mate

(I was very shocked as I was somewhat threatened and did not know how to react to the customers rudeness)

Me: Sir, the potato salad has already been marked down to a dollar. You’re essentially getting a large at the cost of a small tub.

Customer: Now that’s f*****g b*****t ain’t it? I am paying for a large so I should be getting a large.

Me: I understand sir, but this batch of potato salad has completely run out. We have more being prepared but because they are fresh, they will not be the same price as this batch.

Customer: Don’t give me that s**t, fill that tub!

(My manager and co-workers hear the commotion. My manager comes to my aid. We go to the back fridge and look for a new batch of salad. Instead, we fill the tub with raw potatoes and onion quarters. I return to the service desk and hand the customer his salad)