Myself and my husband both work at a community centre that provides emergency relief (food vouchers and parcels, help to get medications, pay bills such as rent, electricity etc) generally only 4 times a year but some people take advantage of this.
I had just been promoted from a volunteer to a paid worker while my husband has been a paid worker for 2 years. We go to a local pub for dinner to celebrate. After dinner we decide to put a couple of dollars in the pokies. He goes to the bathroom and to get drinks while I choose a machine. There are only handful of people in the gaming room, I find a machine I like and put a couple of dollars in it and second spin I get the free games. I notice an older lady standing behind me watching as I win over $60. As I go to play it down to an even $60 I can hear her mumbling behind me but don’t pay any attention. I happen to get the free games again taking my total up to just over $100 I get a coin bucket and push collect when I’m pushed off my chair. I look up to see the old lady grabbing dollar coins from the machine.
Me: what the h**l?
Lady: this is my machine. Your playing my machine, so this is my money.
I’m confused as there was no credit on the machine or reserve sign up.
My husband and the gaming manager race over to help me.
Husband: what the heck are you doing to my wife?
Lady: shes trying to steal my money. That’s my machine.
Manager after radioing for security: ma’am your werent playing a machine. I have to ask you to give this lady her money back and leave unless she would like to press assault charges. You will also be banned from here.
Lady: no this is my machine, I always play this machine. I spend more here a week then they’d make in a whole month. You ban them.
By this time two security guards have arrived and my husband has helped me up, I decline to press charges and she escorted out screaming about how its her machine. We are given vouchers for drinks and the restuarant.
The next week at work Im being trained in the welfare side of things as i had only worked in the second hand shop before when the same lady comes in. She doesn’t recognise me but I pull the senior worker who is training me aside and explain what has happened. She explains that this lady comes in every week demanding food vouchers, payment for her prescriptions and help with rent and bills. They had already decided to just give her a food parcel and advise her on finacial counselling if she’d came back within three months but after I explained what had happened this is what happened.
Senior worker: I’m sorry mrs (lady) but we are unable to assist you anymore. I can give you the numbers of some other places that may be able to help you.
Lady: what? No, you are a charity, you have to help me. I need food vouchers and these bills paid now.
Senior worker: I’m afraid that no we dont have to help you as we generally only assist every three months and if its more then that we only give food parcels. You have been here every week for the last 3 months demanding assistance. Im sorry we cant help you anymore for the next 12 months.
Lady: what? This is an outrage. How am I ment to pay my rent? How am I ment to eat? I have diabeties you know. If I die because of not eating its all your fault.
Senior worker: ma’m as I said Ive got a list of numbers here that may help you but can I suggest not spending more a week then I make a whole month at (pub).
I try not to laugh as the lady looks between me and the senior worker and she finally recognises me and my husband and another worker arrive to escort her out all while shes screaming how it was her machine and her money and how she was going to die because we wouldnt give her food.
The manager contacted other services in the area to warn them about her.

(I’m stocking in the back when the cashier frantically calls me up to help a customer find a router. My coworker doesn’t fluster easily, so I’m already gearing up for a difficult customer, but I’m hoping maybe I can disarm her with a good attitude.)

Me: (smiling, making eye contact, basically as friendly and charming as I can make my body language) Hi there! What can I help you find today?
Customer: (smiling back, leaning in, and practically snarling) Well, do you sell guns? Because I’m really, really furious with you all right now.

(Before I could even think about how to respond to something like that, my coworker managed to fill my in on the situation- she’d called and asked for an item to be put on hold, but the wrong model had been put aside for her. It took maybe five minutes, tops, for a manager to grab the right model from high ticket, the whole time with the customer ranting about how everyone in the store was incompetent and how angry she was.
I think it took me a good half hour to stop shaking after that. Call me oversensitive if you’d like- probably the customer was just joking- but I sure don’t see the humor in it.)

So with my job I call people who are looking for education. This particular story just shows that call center people don’t always know what they are saying. I was “small talking” when this happened….

Them: I shouldn’t tell you this but i’m an alcoholic.
me: Really?
Them: Yes, but don’t tell anyone.
Me: Okay, I promise…….So…….do you drink often?
Them: Yes, that’s what being an alcoholic is all about.

So just shows call center people can be really dumb sometimes.

(I’m working at a retail drug store that has a photo kiosk available for customers to come in and print photos from their phone. I am ringing up a line of customers when another customer calls me from the kiosk, yelling across the store.)
Customer: Can I get some HELP, please??!
Me: Absolutely, ma’am. I’ll call up my manager, since I’m the only cashier today.
Customer: (Scoffs)
(I call up my manager, and can hear her trying to help the lady from several feet away.)
Manager: Just plug your phone into the cords we have provided. That’s the simplest and fastest way to do this.
Customer: NO! You’re going to steal all my information from my phone! I want to do this wirelessly!!
Manager (internally facepalming, I’m sure): Okay… the best way to do that is to do it as an online order, which may take up to an hour. We will be watching the kiosks, so as soon as the order comes through, we can print it instantly. However, as I said, it may take up to an hour for the order to come through. I highly recommend you plug the phone in instead, as that will be much quicker.
Customer: I’m not using your cords. You’re trying to steal my credit card information! I’ll just do it as an online order.
(The customer proceeds to put in an online order with her phone. Ten minutes later, her order has not yet come through, despite both my manager and I checking the kiosk repeatedly. My manager goes to the bathroom and is gone for a total of one minute and thirty seconds. During that time, the customer brings her four year old daughter up to me and screams:)
Customer: IF and WHEN those photos FINALLY come in, you can THROW THEM OUT. I’m taking MY BUSINESS somewhere else. I’ve been waiting for these photos for THIRTY MINUTES! This is ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS! That (racial slur) of a manager PROMISED me that they would be ready INSTANTLY. I’m leaving, and never coming back!
Me: Ma’am, I heard her tell you that it could take up to an hour, and I heard you agree to this. Are you sure I can’t take a phone number and call you when they’re ready?
Customer: NO. Throw them out. I’m going elsewhere.
(As they are leaving her daughter turns around and says:)
Daughter: We’re going to (direct competitor).
(The kicker? Her photos were ready seconds after she left. There were over 300 photos and we had to just throw them away.)

(I work in a warehouse based company that has customers pick items from a catalogue, most of our customers are tradesmen so they don’t mind some sarcasm)
Colleague: Hey [my name]!
(I look over)
Customer: This customer wants to know how long our screws are!
Me: Sir, how long is a piece of string?
Customer:… Yeah that was a pretty dumb question wasn’t it?