(I cancelled my Internet four months ago but didn’t realize I had to send back the modem. I start getting calls from a number and finally, after a week, I pick up.)

Me: “Hello?”

Representative: “Yes, we are calling on behalf of [ISP] to inform you that you owe $200.00.”

Me: “I cancelled my service months ago; that’s impossible.”

Representative: “Yes, but this is regarding the outstanding modem that you needed to return.”

Me: “I needed to return that? I thought I had bought it. Okay, no problem. Where do I return it to?”

Representative: *laughs at me* “Yes, obviously, you needed to return it. Now we will be taking your account to collections.”

Me: “This is the first that I’m hearing about this and you’re taking me to collections? And did you just laugh at me? Can I speak to your supervisor?”

Representative: *brief hold* “Yes, my supervisor said that he is unavailable and that there is nothing that can be done.”

Me: “Well, where do I mail it to? Is there a shipping label?”

(The representative proceeds to give me information to write on the box, which I know will then cost shipping charges.) 

Representative: “And you need to do this today.”

Me: “And this is the first I’m hearing of this and I need to do this today…”

(I ended the call. That’s the worst customer service I have received recently. I called their customer complaint line, avoided collections, got the proper tracking label, and returned the modem. Even their care team couldn’t understand the other person’s problem.)

(I work at a popular crafts store. The holiday season is just starting, so sometimes due to customer or employee fault, items end up in the wrong place. A customer comes to my cash with some yarn and I ring her through normally.)

Customer: “That yarn isn’t supposed to be that price; it’s supposed to be less.”

Me: “Oh! Sorry about that. I can have someone check the price and if it’s wrong, I’ll adjust it for you.”

Customer: “No, no, that’s fine. I have the money. You should just tell someone to move them in case you get a customer who’s not as nice about it as me.”

Me: “Okay, no problem.”

(I continue to ring her through as I radio another associate about the yarn. The associate tells me four balls of yarn were left in the wrong place and she has moved them. The customer hasn’t paid yet.)

Me: “Thank you for letting us know; the yarn was in the wrong place. My associate moved the four balls left to the right location.”

Customer: *suddenly irate* “There were way more than four there! But whatever. If you want to charge people the wrong price for it and have people get mad, then go ahead!”

Me: “I… I’m sorry. I can adjust the price for you still.”

Customer: “No! I have the money!”

Me: “Okay…”

(We finish the transaction in silence, she pays, and I bag her yarn.)

Customer: “That’s just really bad customer service!”

Me: “Um… I’m sorry. Have a great day?”

(The customer ignored me, grabbed her bag, and left in a huff.)

(I am taking a passport photo for a lady.)

Me: “Can you please remove your glasses?”

Customer: “No.”

Me: “I’m sorry?”

Customer: “I don’t have to take off my glasses. It’s not the law.”

Me: “We prefer if you take your glasses off for passport photos.”

Customer: “I looked it up before I came and you don’t have to take your glasses off!”

Me: “You’re right, you don’t have to. But if there is any glare at all on your lenses, your photo will get rejected, and you will have to pay for us to take it again. It’s very difficult to take a photo with a flash without getting any glare, so if you leave them on, your photo will probably get rejected.”

(The customer took her glasses off without saying anything.)

(A customer accuses me of not giving him the right amount of bags, so I count more out and give them to him.)

Customer: “You don’t need to give me that attitude; I was just asking for bags.”

Me: “And I gave them to you.”

Customer: “But you were huffing and puffing when you did it.”

Me: *pause* “I’m sorry that my breathing offends you, sir.”

Customer: “I will have the grilled salmon, please.”

Me: *waiter* “Coming up!”

(As I leave, she continues to say that she is a pescatarian. I come back later with the fish and the customer’s date’s food.)

Customer: “Uh, waiter? I can’t eat this.”

Me: “What seems to be the problem?”

Customer: “The salmon is burnt! Would you please take it back?”

Me: “Ma’am, it’s not burnt.”

Customer: “How dare you talk back to me?! I demand it to be taken back, because this is all wrong! I’d better be getting my money back!”

Me: *being polite* “Ma’am, that’s the skin that’s burnt slightly where it was grilled.”

Customer: “I need to see the chef. Or the manager. Now!”

(The manager comes over. I explain the situation.)

Manager: “Oh, ma’am, I am so sorry; let us fix that.”

(I am slightly mad at the manager, but when I follow him back into the kitchen, he explains to the chef, and the chef scraps the skin off, puts new grill marks on the fish, and sends it out to her.)

Customer: *after receiving the “new fish”* “There! That’s right! And will I be getting my discount?”

Me: “Yes, ma’am.”

(The manager took her drink off. He defended himself by saying she didn’t say what the discount was for.)