Many people work in a customer service job which means there are loads of horror stories about working in customer service. These stories can contain rude or creepy customers to annoying and over the top coworkers. These are a compilation of some horror stories about the customer service business submitted from people who deal with these problems. 

Story one: “Sir you have to pay for that” – From anonymous. 

It was right before closing night and I’ve only been working in retail for a few months and this customer comes in, he is now the only one in the store. We were all impatient and just wanted to go home for the night and now this guy is making us stay for him. We have only one cashier, one person on each side of the store, a front manager, and the store manager. The customer fills his cart up with expensive merchandise and proceeds to walk his cart of unpaid items out of the store. Due to safety, we can’t physically stop them, just advise them to come back and pay or the police will be called. The customer ignored us so the store manager called the Sterling Heights Police Department and they showed up within minutes. The customer was clearly on some type of drug or alcohol he was stumbling around and not making any sense when we tried to communicate with him. The officer was talking to the man when the man stumbled to the ground outside and threw up on the side of the road. The officer took the man away and we had to bring back the stuff that he took and place it back into the store after they police took our statements. 

Story two: “Thank you for calling, please hold”- From anonymous. 

Calls were coming in like crazy and we didn’t have enough people to answer all the calls and do orders, so we start putting them on hold then once it slows down, we started picking up the phones again and as soon as I was on the phone a customer came in saying “oh I guess you guys are doing calls now huh?” At this point everyone is busy and not taking the front desk, so he starts to get mad and talk to me very angrily as I’m on the phone. I told him that I would get to him in one second and he decided to throw a fit. I didn’t respond and finished the order then took his and he told me as I’m taking his order in a monotone voice “oh no need to be all angry kid.” 

Story three: “doesn’t happen at other locations”-From anonymous 

A customer got a concrete mixer and when I brought his food out, he told me he wanted a new one because he thought it was made with shake mix (his mixer was expresso and hot Carmel). I remade it and brought it back out and it was the same consistency and he told me I made it wrong again. I told the customer that he could come back and watch me make it if he wants to because I made it correctly. The customer responded by saying “This doesn’t happen at other locations” and I just walked away. 

Story four: “would you like to go out with me sometime” -From anonymous 

It was another night shift at work, and I was in the bedding section fixing the display beds which is at the back of the store. As I am fixing a bed a customer comes up and asks for help with the sheets which are in my department. I walk over to help the customer. He is about 6’2 about 20-22 years in age with tattoos on his arms. While I was helping him, he would insert questions about me which I, at the time, thought nothing of. He asked me what music I liked, and I answered, it was just casual chit chat as I helped him. I could feel him staring at me when I looked away. I grew increasingly uncomfortable in the situation, handed him his sheets, and walked away. I went back to bedding to finish making the beds when he approached me again I asked if there was anything I could help him with and he touched my arm and said, “I know we don’t know each other well but I would love to take you out sometime” I pulled my arm back and stepped away from him and I said as nicely as I could have “I’m sorry I’m 16” and I walked away. He proceeds to follow me around the store and interrupt other customers who needed my help. He followed me around for 5-10 minutes barely saying anything to me besides trying to get my number even when I said no and when he would not stop no matter what I said I finally made my way to the front of the store where my manager was, and I stood with her until he left so I would not be alone. I didn’t see him again after he left and we closed the store at the end of the night like normal.