Pure Customer Service Horrors
Some people think "the customer is always right"—and the people who believe that make the WORST customers. From annoying to rude to straight-up frightening, here's nothing but pure, customer service horror stories.
1. All Choked Up
I was waiting on a couple at the steak restaurant where I worked. Suddenly, the man stood up and held his throat. He was obviously choking. He started turning different colors and was in need of help.
I began giving him the Heimlich maneuver, and after several tries, some steak popped out and the man could breathe again.
It was a big spectacle. The customers and wait staff were shaken for a couple of minutes. Without even saying thank you, the wife of the choking man asked me to box up the uneaten portion of their meals. But it gets worse—there was a crust of Texas toast left on the plate that I didn't remember to include in their to-go box. The woman yelled at me for not including it and did not leave a tip.
2. She’s Got Some Wires Crossed
I used to fix computers for faculty members at my local university. One day, I went to the Women's Studies department to fix some minor hardware issues. The female professor I encountered actually asked me, “
Is there maybe a guy that can come instead? Nothing personal; they're just wired better for this kind of work." I returned to my office and sent the least competent guy that we had.
3. She Needed To Pipe Down
I was around 18 years old and working in the lumber department at a home improvement chain.
I was on the second story rack, standing on the forklift forks and trying to handle a solid-core front door, which was extremely heavy, out of the shelf to bring down to the floor for a customer.
I had it halfway out of the rack, precariously maneuvering it onto the forks when a little old lady walked up.
She asked sweetly, "Excuse me, sir! Can you point me to the plumbing section?" I replied, grunting, because the door was heavy, "One moment, ma'am. Let me get this door down, and I'll show you." Her response took me by complete surprise: "You idiots never have a product labeled right! I'm tired of this store's garbage! Way too expensive, too!" I froze, staring at her with my mouth agape.
The original customer I was helping actually put his hands over his son's ears. She was Jekyll and Hyde personified. Luckily, right when the old biddy started her rant, my manager happened to walk by.
He stopped, walked right up to the lady, and said, "I don't care who you are, but no one deserves to be talked to like that. Leave the store NOW." It was perfect timing.
4. What A Hot Head
I was working at a restaurant when a nice-looking family of four came in. The parents ordered a sizzling fajita plate for two. When I brought out the fajitas on the skillet, they were sizzling like they are supposed to be.
That wasn't hot enough for them. They asked me to go back and make them hotter. So, I took it back to the kitchen where the kitchen manager decided to pull out a blow torch.
He heated the iron skillet up to burning red, then threw the fajitas back on the skillet and sent me back out with them to the table. The father at the table was not very pleased with the profuse amounts of smoke billowing from the plate, and his next move was absolutely appalling—he decided to throw the thing at me. Luckily he had bad aim and missed me. He just broke a window. The manager got his information, told him to get out, and we would be contacting him about replacing the window he broke.
