The most unforgettable customer I ever dealt with was this one absolutely insane woman.

She came in looking for a specific ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ plush: one that only our store carried. We were out of stock, but we still had the other characters left.

Here’s the thing: these plushies come in assortments, which means they all share the same SKU. So, if you check inventory, it might say we have five, but that just means we have, say, two bears and three ducks. None of the ones she was after.

She started losing it right away. She insisted she needed that plush today, and she was convinced we actually had it hidden somewhere. The website said we had six, but when she ordered them, all she got was the remaining characters. We had none in the back, but she insisted we look anyway. We did, found nothing, and told her so.

The store manager tried to help. He said we’d get more in a couple of days, with plenty of time before Christmas, and even offered to hold one for her. She didn’t care. She had to have that plush right there and then. No waiting, no compromise, and she wanted us to find it in the store. Now.

When we finally told her, no, it’s just not here, and she’d have to wait, she flipped out. She accused us of hiding them for ourselves and demanded to be let into the back room. She wanted to check all our lockers, too.

The store manager put his foot down and told her to leave. She refused. She said she wasn’t going anywhere until she got the plush, and if that meant strip searching the entire store, then that’s what we were going to do.

After he threatened to call the police and have her trespassed, she finally left. Or so we thought.

Turns out, later that day, she came back and tried to break into the lockers in the break room. She waited until nobody was around, broke the lock on one of the lockers, and started rummaging through someone’s stuff… including their purse.

Naturally, she got arrested and banned from the store for life. All over a plush toy… one we got back in stock two days later, just like the store manager said.

The store manager said she was probably a scalper, as she wanted all of them, since the complete set was selling for three times the amount on secondary selling sites. Either that or she had promised someone the plush for a gift, waited too long, and was now making it everyone else’s problem.

Honestly, I don’t get why she couldn’t just wait those extra two days.

A customer walks up to the customer service counter to do a return/refund.

Me: “Can I see the receipt, sir?”

Customer: “I knew you were gonna ask for that. I threw it in the trash.”

Me: “Uh, well we do need to see it for—”

Customer: “—So, I brought this with me.”

As if from nowhere, he pulls a trash can from the ground and places it on the counter. We both stare at it for what seems like a long time.

Me: “…Sir?”

Customer: “The receipt is in there somewhere.”

Me: “Okay?”

Customer: “So, if you really need the receipt, then you can go digging for it.”

Me: “That is 100% not happening, sir.”

Customer: “You said yourself you need it. If you need it so bad, well, go dig for it.”

Me: “Sir, we only need it to do a refund. We don’t need to do a refund; you do. So, if you want to dig through the trash to find it then you’re free to do so, but I, and no one in this store, is going to do that for you.”

Customer: “But you said you need—”

Me: “—What I need is for you to leave and take your trash with you. If you need a refund so badly, you can find the receipt yourself.”

Customer: “So I technically have the receipt with me, but you’re refusing a return?”

Me: “I’m refusing a return because, for some reason that as a sane man I am unable to fathom, you thought it would be fun to bring your entire trash can into the store instead of just finding it yourself. Are you trying to one-up the store or something, because, well, I’m at a loss here?”

The customer stared me down for a moment, and in a face of contorted rage that resembled William Shatner shouting ‘Khaaaaan!’, overturned the trash can all over the counter, emptied all of its contents, and then stormed out with the now empty trash can.

Customer: *As he exits.* “You’re gonna deal with my trash whether you like it or not!”

I remained calm as he entered the parking lot. The store greeter saw what happened, and in a moment of unspoken understanding, took down his license plate details so we could call the cops and report an act of vandalism and property damage – not because we NEEDED to, but because we wanted to.

I work in an electronics and home appliances store. I see a customer storm in, walk right up to a display refrigerator, and start pulling out the glass shelving inside them.

Me: “Sir, please be careful with those—”

Without a word, the customer holds the piece of glass above his head and SLAMS it toward the floor. It doesn’t break, maybe thanks to a plastic and rubber border it has around its edges, but it makes one h*** of a racket.

Me: “Sir, please don’t do that!”

Anger in his eyes, he starts toward another refrigerator.

Me: “Sir, stop, or I’ll need to call security!”

As if I am not even speaking, the customer repeats the performance, this time smashing the shelf against the refrigerator door. Luckily for everyone, this one is entirely made of plastic, so it doesn’t break.

My manager and security have already run over to my section (thanks to the noise), and the two burly security guys are able to manually escort the guy outside. They stay with him until the police arrive. 

Nearer the end of the day, another guy comes in and asks for the manager from the get-go.

Me: “I can get him for you, but can I ask the reason you need to speak to him?”

Customer: “I need to know why [Store] discriminates against veterans.”

Oooookay? I call my manager over, who comes by very quickly. The customer identified himself as the brother of the unruly customer we had this morning.

Customer’s Brother: “My brother is a veteran with PTSD, and you had him arrested! How could you be so callous!?”

Manager: “How were we supposed to know that? Also, even if we did, how would that have changed the outcome?”

Customer’s Brother: “You don’t just arrest a veteran who has mental health issues!”

Manager: “Sir, we had someone come into the store and cause damage, despite repeatedly being asked to stop. What should we have done?”

Customer’s Brother: “You should have shown more respect!”

Manager: “Sir, everyone here, myself included, has nothing but respect for the veterans of this country. Your brother has my utmost sympathy, but you have to understand that my workers and I are not trained therapists or medical professionals. Most of them are minimum-wage teenagers still in High School. They do not have the ability or experience to recognize or process PTSD.”

Customer’s Brother: “Then they need better training!”

Manager: “I will take that under consideration, but please note that no one here is trying to discriminate against your brother; we’re just not qualified. Please ensure you or a suitable caretaker is with him for future shopping trips.”

Customer’s Brother: “I’m gonna sue this place for discrimination against the military!”

Manager: “That’s your choice, sir. Your lawyer will be free to review all the video footage from earlier today.”

Customer’s Brother: *Storming out.* “I’m gonna tell everyone that [Store] hates veterans!”

Manager: *To me.* “If he does that, I have a feeling our lawyers will be talking to his before his lawyers are talking to ours.”

I work for a crazy woman who owns her own shoe store. I’ve worked there waaaay past college graduation because she’s awesome and suffers no fools.

A customer is looking at the discounted shoes section, the dregs of previous seasons that we’re trying to get rid of, and keeps tutting and sighing.

Customer: “Are these all the discounted shoes you have?!”

Me: “Yes, ma’am.”

Customer: “These are all old-looking!”

Me: “That’s why they’re discounted.”

Customer: “Fine, whatever. I’ll take these, but in a size six.”

Me: “We only have the sizes on display available. We don’t keep discounted shoes in the back.”

Customer: “I want these, but I want a size bigger. I got wide feet!”

Owner: *Stepping in.* “I can adjust them for you if you like, if it’s just a case of making them fit a wider foot.”

Customer: “For free?”

Owner: “No, there’s an adjustment fee, but I can do it tonight, and you can get them tomorrow.”

Customer: *Turns around.* “Okay, I’ll come get them tomorrow.”

Owner: “Ma’am, you need to pay for the shoes and the adjustment now. Also, I need to measure your foot to—”

Customer: *Immediately angry.* “You just wanna take my money now and run! You’re trying to scam me out of my money, you b****!”

Owner: *Immediately tone matching.* “What money, you broke a** b****?! You can’t even afford my New Arrivals!”

The customer shouts a string of obscenities and storms out of the store, and I remind the owner that I love working for her.

Coworker: “Sorry, a customer came in right before you with an order for over twenty drinks, and it’s going to take us a while. We can still take your order, but we need to help him first, so it’ll be a little wait.”

Customer: “What the h*** do you mean you can’t serve me? You’re open! I just want to get some coffee because you’re open, but you won’t help me?!”

Coworker: “No, we can still take your order and help you, but I’m sorry, we just need to help the customer who came before you first, is all.”

Customer: “Are you kidding me? Where the h*** is your manager?”

Me: “I’m here, sir, making drinks! Calling me over to tell you the exact same thing she just told you will make your wait longer.”

Customer: “Well… whatever. I’ll stand here and watch, but if I see you slack even for a second between now and making my drink, I’ll go somewhere else!”

Me: “That’s… a good incentive, sir! Thanks!”

I had to tell everyone to “resist the urge to slack even for a second.”