I’ve recently changed my name, but I opened my bank account with my original name and went through the whole process with my local bank when I got it legally changed, so most of the tellers are aware of me having two names. I just put both names when signing and it’s all good. 

My payments from work have always been direct deposits up until this summer where I received a check after attending a training.

I go to my bank with this check and there is a teller I have never seen before. It’s already taken about fifteen minutes to even get through the line. When I finally get to the counter, I kindly explain that the check has my old name and I’ve signed both names on the back of it.

First, she claims I can’t get cash back on the check unless I deposit and then withdraw in two different transactions. Okay, cool.

Second, she claims I can’t withdraw at all from my check and then goes to speak with a supervisor. Dumb, but I can just use the ATM after.

Returning, she then tells me I can’t deposit the check at all and tells me to call the number on my check and tell them to send me one with my name on it. That’s something I can’t do until I make the four-hour trip out of town to change my social security card, and I need the money now.

When I tell her I’ve never had an issue since the change with anyone else, she tells me there’s nothing she can do. When I tell her I’ll just go over to the other branch, she just gives me a short “Okay!” and throws my slips into the shredder without so much of a second glance. This whole thing has already taken another twenty minutes.

I then have to go downtown where — Surprise! — they deposit and let me withdraw without batting a lash, and then I come back into town. With an hour wasted now, I call the bank back and the senior teller there is pissed.

Apparently, it shows both my names on my account. Why the teller couldn’t just look at the screen and see that… we both aren’t sure.

Working in retail, you get many dumb questions, but nothing bothers me more than a guy like this. I work at a large hardware store. A customer called in earlier and wanted some agricultural lime and some mulch put aside for quick pickup.

Five minutes later, he shows up to the store.

Me: “How are you today? Would you like help finding something?”

Customer: “Where the f*** is my stuff?!”

Me: “I’m sorry, sir, I don’t know what your stuff is.”

Customer: “Really? You all don’t remember me from last year or the year before? I get the same stuff every year!”

Me: “Sir, I’ve only been working here for six months. I wasn’t here at this time last year.”

He eventually tells me what he needs. He has a little bit more shopping to do. One of my coworkers and I rush to get his stuff ready. We have it on a pallet, per his request, sitting on the forklift with the forks up a foot away from his truck waiting for him to pay. For obvious reasons, we can’t load merchandise until it’s been paid for. He comes back outside in a fit of rage.

Customer: “What the f*** is this?”

Me: “It’s your stuff.”

Customer: “Why isn’t it already loaded onto my truck? Where am I going to go with it?”

Internally: “This new place called ‘anywhere.’”

Me: “I don’t know.”

I now have to sit through about two minutes of him cursing and telling me how worthless I am until he asks me to get my manager. As he is completing his transaction, we put the stuff onto his truck. It’s ready for him to go before he’s even done checking out.

He continues to scream at my manager, who has my back because he sees that I’ve done nothing wrong and have, in fact, provided excellent customer service. The guy finally leaves.

Customer: “I’m going to [Competitor] from now on, and I’m going to spread the word about how horrible this store is so that nobody comes here again.”

Me: “Go ahead; it’s right across the street.”

I’m clearly frustrated. This is the first time I have had a customer be so rude for literally no reason. My manager pulls me aside and tells me:

Manager: “These things happen in retail on a regular basis. I’ve survived twenty-two years, mostly at the customer service desk. Do you know how I’ve made it this far?”

Me: “No.”

Manager: “You only have to remember one thing: liars, thieves, cheats, and a**holes all go to Hell. That’s the only way you’ll get through.”

I’ll never quite understand why everyone lives their lives thinking everybody should bow down before them, but ever since then, I have been a lot better at dealing with horrible people, of which there are entirely too many.

I’m a cashier at a local grocery store. It’s the day before Easter, so the store is slammed, even though we have a policy that customers should keep their six feet of distance. 

I’m checking out a customer who has a cart with over €200 worth of groceries. We don’t have baggers in The Netherlands; you do it yourself. Most people are trying to get out fast so they start bagging their groceries while I’m scanning them. Not this woman.

While I’m scanning, she just stares at me, watching her groceries pile up on the belt. I smile at her, hoping she’ll start packing soon, or else nothing else will fit. Luckily, everything fits, but there’s no room for anything else on the belt now. The woman pays, I hand her her receipt, and I hope she knows what she’s doing and will pack quickly. No.

She slowly takes out her phone and starts calling her friend. She proceeds to bag her s***-ton of groceries one by one with one hand while happily talking to her friend. I can’t check out other people unless I directly hand their groceries to them, risking hand-on-hand contact with others, something which we absolutely shouldn’t do for our own health and safety. 

This woman takes a whopping fifteen minutes to bag her groceries; usually, people take three, max. She doesn’t greet me or apologize; she just walks away and stands there talking to her friend for another ten minutes, standing in such a spot that nobody can get past her while keeping the appropriate distance.

This story is part of our Easter 2024 roundup!

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On my way to the store’s computers to type in an order — during a very packed Sunday — I come across a customer complaining loudly to my manager.

Customer: “Your employees are so lazy. I’ve been here for an hour and all they do is fiddle around those computers! This is unacceptable!”

In our store, salesmen have to type in the customers’ orders so the guys in the back can bring in what the customers want. Everyone is busy typing in multiple orders from multiple customers.

Manager: “Do not worry. An available salesman should be with you very soon.”

Me: *Right on cue* “Good afternoon! I will attend you!”

Customer: “About time! I can’t believe it took you so long. Y’all should be fired.”

The customer rants and raves without even following me to the display area, while hurling more insults at my coworkers. I am losing my patience as I am already stressed out as it is.

Me: “I SAID I WILL ATTEND YOU!”

The customer freezes in place and looks at me with a shocked face as if no one has talked to her like that before. After a couple of seconds of recovering:

Customer: “Don’t use that tone with me! I am a customer! I’m going to pay you with my money! I’m not trying to beg for gifts or anything!”

Realizing my mistake but still visibly angry, I give out what may seem like a very sarcastic smile and tone.

Me: “I apologize. Now, as I said… I will attend you.”

Customer: “You know what? I don’t want anything anymore! This store can go to h***.”

The customer stormed out angrily, my manager complimented me for getting rid of her — she was a known bad regular — and I went back to work.

Later, I found out that she came back with her husband, but not one of my coworkers wanted to take her order. One did eventually, but then, it turned out that we had run out of stock for what she wanted!

I’m working at a popular video game store during the holidays. Obviously, any digital content cannot be returned, since we can’t guarantee the code hasn’t been used.

A dad and his eight-year-old come in with a case for a hugely popular online game, which actually only has a digital code.

Me: “Hi. How can I help you?”

Dad: “Yeah, we need to return this.” 

Me: “Well, we can’t return it since it’s digital, but I can see what I can do for you.”

Dad: “You need to return it. It doesn’t work.”

Me: “Well, is it giving you any error?”

Dad: “Yeah, it’s a bunch of gibberish. I want my money back.”

Me: “Well, usually, looking up the error code will help, though it also gives a basic description of what the error is.”

Dad: “It says something about a connection. I just wanna return it.”

I flag down my manager since I can tell this guy won’t budge.

Me: “Unfortunately, we cannot refund digital content. We can help you troubleshoot the issue and give you the number for [Console Company]’s support line, but we cannot refund you.”

Dad: “This is bulls***! I bought it here and it doesn’t work!”

Manager: “Sir, we’re going to ask that you watch your language. My employee is right; since the issue is in the console or your connection, there’s nothing we can do other than offer a support number.”

Dad: “Well, I already called. They said because my kid forgot his account password, they can only send a reset email. I never got it.”

Manager: “That’s still an issue beyond us, and there isn’t an issue with the code you bought, so we cannot return it.”

Dad: “F*** you guys!” *Storms out*

My manager looks at me.

Manager: “I’m willing to bet the guy just doesn’t want to admit his kid’s dumb as s*** and forgot his password.”

Me: “That, or he used the code and is trying to scam us.”