Customer Service Workers Share the Customer Complaints That 'Broke' Them
By Robin ZlotnickNov. 16 2020, Published 9:24 a.m. ET
Only the people who've had experience working in customer service truly understand what a minefield it can be. Sure, most people are reasonable and understanding. But every once in a while, you interact with a truly irrational human being, someone whose behavior can only be described by the phrase "brain worms." And of course, those are the encounters that customer service workers remember most vividly.
Twitter user @Keally22, who goes by Kels, a former customer service worker herself, asked people who've had similar jobs to share the customer complaints that "broke" them, the interactions that they simply couldn't believe were happening even as they were literally happening in front of them. And oh man, these will boil the blood of any normal, reasonable person.
Customer service workers what is the complaint that broke you?
— Kels🖤 (@Keally22) November 14, 2020
I’m 18, Red Robin host, Mother’s Day 10 min after open. Only 1 section open, I seat 3 families. Instantly cussed out hard bc I ruined Karen in white jeans Mother’s Day bc they could see other people from their table
lKels started off the thread with a couple of stories of her own. This one is off-the-charts. This "Karen" complained that she could see other people from their table on a very busy Mother's Day. Has she...ever eaten at a restaurant before? That's how restaurants literally always work. But this wasn't the only story Kels had from her time in the customer service trenches.
This was the story I wanted to go w but it was too long so I’m notes apping it bc it still makes me just speechless. pic.twitter.com/oEEcq5jVgv
— Kels🖤 (@Keally22) November 14, 2020
This one was so long she needed to use the Notes app to write it all out. Basically, this horrible woman would simply not believe that Kels gave her the right sauce on her pizza, and she made her remake the pizza three times even though Kels got it right the first time. Customer service workers are truly saints. This is why regular, normal people should be extra nice whenever you encounter someone just trying to do their job.
a lady tried to get me fired n screamed at me because i closed the drive thru and then another lady tried to get me fired bc i told her that extra sauce was extra
— hancake (@bowserstanacct) November 14, 2020
mine was in the drive thru guy orders a combo i cut him off to ask "beef chicken or steak" he goes "don't you fucking interrupt me" manager made immediate eye contact w me, saw me tearing up and took over while i cried over the dishes lmaooooo it was so small but a terrible day
— CapriCornyCait♑️ (@CapriCornyCait) November 14, 2020
Customer orders a beef tenderloin plate. Asks how much to add another serving of beef. When I told him, he said that's way too high & nvm. Brought out his food & he asked where was the extra beef he ordered. I apologize & say I thought you didn't want any. He yells at me. I cry.
— Anna Rae Clark (@annaraeoflight) November 14, 2020
Don't you just love getting yelled at for doing your job correctly? Customer service workers, especially restaurant workers, put up with so much irrational behavior from seemingly normal people. It's like they get into a situation where they feel superior because someone is taking their order and they lose all sense of decency...not to mention logic.
The man literally said he didn't want the extra serving of beef and then made a fuss when he didn't get it! Like I said, "brain worms."
My first job was at a local pizza joint making salads and sandwiches. Had a middle aged man scream at me because I forgot to put the free pack of crackers in his to-go salad.
— samantha 👽 BLM (@swilse_) November 14, 2020
Junior year of college, one of my professors that didn’t recognize me yelled at me because we only had her favorite beer bottled, not on tap. She stormed out of the restaurant when the manager said he could pour the bottle into a glass for her...at least its funny now
— lizzypulitzer (@lizzypulitzer) November 14, 2020
A customer ordered a milkshake. It “wasn’t cold enough” so we tell her we’ll get her a new one but we just go pour the same one in a new glass, put a new straw and new garnish and bring it back and she goes “much better, this is how a milkshake should be”
— Samara (@samgo98) November 15, 2020
I absolutely love stories like the milkshake one. In a response to this tweet, someone else shared that when they worked at an ice cream shop, a woman complained that she wasn't given "the good ice cream they keep in the back."
She demanded they remake her shake. So the person took the shake into the back, stood in the freezer for a couple of minutes, and then walked back out with the same exact shake. The woman took it and sipped it smugly before walking off. People love to believe they've gotten some sort of special treatment, whether it be an extra-cold milkshake (which, what?!?!) or the "good, secret ice cream" from the "back," which I guarantee you is not a thing.
It's almost better when they walk away thinking they've somehow won when you've really just revealed what horrible people they are. The only problem then is that their alternate reality has been validated and they'll probably go through the rest of their life thinking they'll always get the good stuff if they just complain enough.
Delivering pizza, a woman threatened to call the police because her husband tipped me too much while drunk, and my boss made me drive back to give her the money back
— The Last Weyoun (@CTTrekkie) November 15, 2020
A woman told my manager she should fire me on my second day because I told her she couldn’t apply her 17 coupons on items that were already on sale
— sophia 🖤 (@sassatico) November 14, 2020
Guy was unhappy with his refund because it was what he paid for it. He bought item at a discount and wanted the full price refunded. What broke me was my male manager stepping in and REFUNDING IT FULL PRICE and telling me the guy “just needed to speak to another man” 🙃🙃🙃
— Liana (@lianasmooz) November 15, 2020
How? How did this man make money by complaining? This shouldn't be allowed to happen. Oo, this one made me irrationally angry.
So many stories. I was a cookie decorator and got yelled out by a wealthy mom (who was using her "play money" to throw her 2yo a birthday party) because the icing didn't exactly match the pantone color of the invitation.
— Meaghan Mountford (@DecoratedCookie) November 14, 2020
easy
— HelloImAce (@ragnarokjatszo) November 14, 2020
i was also a host, this group of middle aged woman came in, one of them with a baby, they asked about vegan options, we didnt have any, so they left, which would be normal if their parting words were not "sorry, the baby is vegan."
Sometimes you just want to grab people and say, "Listen to the words that are coming out of your mouth. They are ridiculous. You sound like an absolute fool." That's what I would have liked to do to the cookie mom and to the group of women with the vegan baby. Hoo boy.
Of course, now that we're in the middle of a global pandemic, these sorts of interactions have a new layer of horror associated with them. Several people shared the downright dangerous interactions they've had with customers who wouldn't abide by the regulations their workplaces had established due to COVID-19.
When covid first started, I had a customer repeat the tone of everything I said back to me with obnoxious noises bc he said that’s what I sounded like with my mask on. He didn’t even listen to me & made me repeat it all once he got bored of making fun of me
— Lindy Fraker (@lindy_fraker) November 14, 2020
I work at a golf course. I kindly asked a member not to move the patio chairs around as it was a covid rule. She proceeded to lick her hands and touch ALL the chairs on the patio as a “joke”. Her friends did not laugh. I did not laugh.
— Tay ❄️ (@taylorkiwi) November 15, 2020
These aren't just annoying or baffling. These are super scary. Now more than ever, customer service workers are being forced to handle much more than they're getting paid to handle. But at all times, these poor people have to put up with so much. Be nice to your customer service workers. You have no idea who else they're dealing with during their day.
