I work in a popular and busy fast food restaurant next to an outlet mall during the summer so I can pay for college. I often work overnight where it’s just me and a manager to run the drive-thru and grill. When people scheduled for the morning shift call out, I stay until lunch. After several days in a row of this, I am exhausted and have had enough of customers being rude to me. I have had three people drive off because they didn’t like the pricing of their items.

I’m taking orders, and one elderly couple pulls up to the speaker. I greet them in my fake customer service voice.

Me: “Thank you for choosing [Fast Food Place]. How may I help you today?”

Customer: “What is included in your breakfast combos?”

Me: “You get the sandwich you choose, a hash brown, and either a soda or coffee.”

Customer: “Can we get orange juice?”

Me: “Yes, but this store considers it a premium item, so there will be an upcharge.”

This store has a lot of upcharges, and it ticks people off, but we are not a franchise store, so the owners can set the prices to whatever they want.

Customer: “Okay. Can we order two [breakfast combos] with orange juices?”

Me: “Of course! Just remember, there’s an upcharge for the orange juice.”

Customer: “Could we get medium-sized drinks?”

Me: “Absolutely! Your total will be [price].”

Customer: “What? Why is it so expensive? Your board says that combos are [different price]!”

Me: “I understand that it’s confusing. The price on the board shows the price of the sandwich, hash brown, and either a coffee or soda. There is an upcharge for drinks like frappes, smoothies, and orange juice. Because you ordered a medium size, this also increased the price. Plus, there are taxes.”

Customer: “But your board says [price]!”

I explain it again but slower.

Customer: “If the board says it’s [price], it should be [price]!”

Me: “I’m sorry the price is higher than expected, but the prices are set by the owner of the store and cannot be changed.”

Customer: “You’re being very rude! Why is the total not the price on the board?”

I explain again and they drive off. Because their order was over a certain price, I have to get a manager to cancel it before I can take any more orders.

Manager: “This is the fourth one that’s driven off this morning! What’s going on with you?”

Me: “Can’t do anything when the customers don’t like the prices.”

I work in customer service for a small theme park in Belgium. On Monday, I have a lady on the phone.

Caller: “This weekend, I booked tickets for your park, but when I arrived at the train station, I realised that there was no bus available to get to you! I had to go back home and I couldn’t come.”

Me: “Sorry about that. Would you like me to postpone your tickets to another day?”

Caller: “No, I want you to refund my tickets and my train tickets! It’s mentioned nowhere on your website that the train station was so far away!”

Me: “I’m sorry, madam, but our website indicates that we are twenty minutes away from the train station and that there are only taxis available. I’m afraid we can’t refund your train tickets.”

Caller: “Isn’t there any compensation at all?!”

Me: “We can postpone your ticket for the park to another day, but that’s all I can do, unfortunately.”

Caller: “Wow, really? That’s not very customer-friendly of you!”

Two days later, we received a complaint from the consumer advocacy association… Some people are nuts.

I am going to travel by coach, and because I’m mobility impaired, I reserve a seat at the front of the coach. I get to the coach station and, to my chagrin, someone is sitting in my seat. It’s visible from outside the coach, as it’s a window seat. I explain this to the driver, and he goes up to the passenger and asks him to move. Mind you, there is a big paper with RESERVED on the chair, so it’s not as if it’s not obvious.

I go up the stairs and drag my luggage to the seat. Immediately, the passenger pipes up.

Passenger: “That seat is reserved.”

I move the paper and sit down.

Passenger: “That seat is reserved; you have to move.”

Me: “Yes, I know. It is reserved for me.”

Passenger: “Oh…”

Honestly, what did you expect? Not everyone is as blind as you, sir.

I am the author of this story, where it was discovered that there was another person with my dad’s name in the phonebook. Years later, the other [Dad]’s wife dies, and he’s trying to put her affairs in order, so he calls her dentist. The conversation goes something like this.

Other [Dad]: “Hello, I’m [Dad]. My wife died recently, so she won’t be coming to her appointment.”

Receptionist: “No problem; I’ll cancel it.”

A few weeks later, my mom goes to her appointment at the same dentist’s office.

Mom: “Hello, I’m [Mom] and I have an appointment.”

The receptionist checks her computer and goes as white as a ghost.

Receptionist: “I thought you were dead!”

It turned out they’d canceled her appointment instead of the other [Dad]’s wife’s. Mom was not amused.

Related:
Call Of The Search

When I am working checkout at my fast food restaurant, I will return customers’ credit cards to them by setting them on a square podium that’s used to swipe them so they end up right by them when I swing the screen around from them to sign and such.

One lady decides this is an offense of the highest order and yells at me for not placing her card directly in her hand.

Me: *Stupidly engaging* “Ma’am, I do this for everybody.”

Customer: “I am the customer, and good service is doing what I want!”

There were about a dozen people eating at our tables and five people in the line behind her, so she was straight hamming it up, making sure everyone saw her putting me in my place.

Unfortunately for her, the dramatic performance proved to be a bit too distracting, and she stormed out without her infant. This was, of course, noticed by pretty much everyone in the building since she had just made herself the center of attention. One of the customers even had to run after her and stop her from driving away.

On an unrelated note: there is no real subtle way to pick up a full-sized child carrier and storm out with any dignity.