The cost of smartphone repair varies wildly, so a lot of people tend to grossly overestimate or underestimate the cost of repairs.

A customer enters the store with a smartphone with a broken screen. After a quick check, I give an estimate of €89 for the repair.

Customer: “But the Chinese guy on [Street] only asks for €20!”

Me: *With a smile and my sweetest voice* “Then why don’t you go there?”

Customer: “I don’t trust him. Last time I went for a battery repair, and after the repair, the battery still worked badly.”

Me: “I offer a twelve-month guarantee on my repair. I’m guessing after going there he didn’t change the battery?”

Customer: “Exactly! But still, it’s too much! Can’t you give me a discount?”

Me: “I can change the battery for the cost of the piece since I’m opening the phone anyway.”

Customer: *After thinking a bit* “I’m giving you €25.”

He begins taking the money out.

Customer: “And that’s my final decision.”

Me: *Chuckling.* “Yeah, no. That’s less than the cost of the pieces. It’s €89 for the screen, €110 if you want to change the battery, too.”

Customer: “No, no. That’s too much. I’m going to the Chinese guy, and if I’m not satisfied, I’m coming back here.” *Storms out*

I work for a small grocery store chain. A lot of our customers are regulars, and I’ve learned several people’s rewards numbers and/or usual orders of smokes and alcohol. There has just been a small price increase on some smokes.

Me: “Your usual two-pack of blues?”

Customer: “Yep, you got it.”

I grab the packs of smokes and ring them up.

Me: “Your total is $11.18.”

The customer hands me two fives and then stares at me.

Me: “Oh, I’m sorry, maybe I didn’t say it clearly, but your total is $11.18; you only handed me $10.00.”

Customer: “Oh, $11.18, my bad.”

He hands me another dollar and stares at me expectantly.

Me: “So… do you have eighteen cents?”

Customer: “Nope, only a dime.”

Me: “Oh, okay. Well, I can put one pack back if you need, since you still owe eighteen cents. Nobody has left change yet today.”

Customer: “So, you mean to tell me you won’t sell me my smokes? It’s eighteen cents, kid! It’s not my fault prices went up!”

I’m twenty-two, mind you.

Me: “Sir, I’m sorry, but I can’t just short my till every time someone is a few cents short; it adds up. You’ve got to pay your total or there’s nothing I can do to help you. I’m really sorry. The prices went up about a week ago. I thought you knew when you bought your packs yesterday.”

The customer huffs and throws another dollar at me. I ring him through and give him his change and a receipt.

Me: “Have a nice day! Sorry again!”

Customer: *Disgruntled old man huff*

I work retail in a Canadian city that sees a lot of tourists from the USA during the summer months. We take American money, but we have to give them Canadian money back as change. Since a lot of tourists don’t know this, I’ve made a habit of informing customers of this before taking their money as payment.

I do this especially when their total is significantly less than the bill they hand me, as the exchange rate is so high that they can end up getting quite a lot of change back. When I let people know this, they quite often change their minds about how they will be paying.

Me: “Your total is $3.84. How will you be paying today?”

Customer: “Cash.”

The customer pulls out a $20 American bill. He would be getting about $20 in Canadian money back.

Me: “Sir, we take American money at the exchange rate, but you’ll be getting quite a lot of Canadian change back.”

The customer gets a sneer on his face like I just told him he would be receiving a handful of turds. It’s common for people from the USA to joke about our money, because it’s plastic and colourful, which is quite different from theirs. But this guy looks genuinely offended.

Customer: “I don’t want your fake money! I want real money back!”

I’m typically a soft-spoken person, but I put on my “mom voice” at this point, because I am having NONE of that s***.

Me: “THIS IS CANADA!”

The customer gets a little embarrassed, hangs his head, and says in a much quieter voice:

Customer: “I know.”

Me: “Is the change all right, then? Or will you be using another form of payment?”

The customer said something so quiet that I couldn’t hear what he said, but he handed me the bill. I gave him the change in Canadian cash and he went on his way.

Most of us are polite by default but will not tolerate rudeness!

Related:
Loonie Over A Toonie, Part 7
Loonie Over A Toonie, Part 6
Loonie Over A Toonie, Part 5
Loonie Over A Toonie, Part 4
Loonie Over A Toonie, Part 3

We offer different payment methods, and invoicing is quite popular. One thing with this payment is that the customer has up to thirty days to pay, but if they are late, they will get a dunning for 10,000 Danish Kroner — about $1,600. This usually makes them either confused, angry, or apologetic, but it tends to work without any big dramas… except with this one customer.

The whole conversation is through email in English.

Customer: “Why have you sent me this dunning? I have returned the order! I should not have to pay anything!”

Coworker #1: “It was sent automatically since we hadn’t received any payment. But since we have received your return, you don’t need to pay anything. Just ignore the dunning; we will remove it after a while.”

Customer: “No, I don’t agree! I have to pay the 10,000 DKK!”

Yes, they literally said that they don’t agree with us and that they have to pay.

Coworker #2: “No, you don’t need to pay this invoice. We have received your return, so there is nothing to pay.”

Customer: “Yes, I will pay! I need your bank details, so I can transfer the payment.”

Coworker #3: “Our bank details are [number], but I will repeat what my coworkers have said: you don’t need to pay this invoice.”

Customer: “I need the IBAN!” *International Bank Account Number*

I opened the email chain at this point and could not do anything but laugh at the whole situation. Never have I ever gotten a customer who wanted so badly to pay for an invoice. We had already removed the dunning by this point, so there literally was zero left to pay. I tried to explain it again and to highlight that there was nothing to pay on this order, but I don’t know if he understood it. We’ll see when the next coworker gets the customer again.

At my fast food restaurant, the drive-thru is timed, and these times reflect on manager and restaurant performance, so we’re pushed to go as fast as possible. Our times are averaged, and our goal is 1:15 at the speaker, 1:30 in line, and 1:15 at the window when we’re not in rush times.

This occurs an hour or so after the dinner rush. I’ve taken the customer’s order: two relatively cheap combo boxes with several modifications, some of which add to the price. One of these modifications is to add two freezes instead of drinks, adding $0.80 per combo. The line is long, so by the time they get to the window, their drinks are done and their food is nearly so.

They hand me their debit card, and I put it in the chip reader and wait a bit. The point of sale system says, ‘Insufficient funds,’ and requests another form of payment for the remaining $1.51. I ask the customer, and they ask for a fountain drink instead of one of their freezes. By now, they’ve received their food, and we’re deep into the two-minute mark at the window, but I do my best to smile, pour the drink, and rerun the card, foolishly assuming that they’ll pay the difference now that I’ve lowered it.

Shockingly, they still only wanted to pay with the card. Their bud next to them is already drinking out of their other freeze, so I can’t swap that one out for a fountain drink; they’re eating their food, so I can’t swap it out, either. My partner’s getting annoyed; we’re well into four minutes and the customers are rifling around for loose change.

After we reach five and a half minutes, I give up. Someone has given me their change as a tip, $2.92. It is the largest tip I’ve ever gotten from a customer, and I was proud of earning it. I wave the car on, put 92 cents in the register, and try very hard not to scream as I look out the window to see the line of cars wrapping around the building. I almost cry. 

I can comprehend not having a ton of cash, but if you’re unable to pay for your food, don’t order extra expensive modifications! I’m disappointed that I had to give up part of my tip, but it just wasn’t practical to keep the customer there anymore, and my managers were getting more and more irked at the holdup. Oh, and our averages were ruined for the next two hours of my shift. I wish I could say this was the only irritating customer that night, but that would be lying.