Retail Warriors Share Seriously Nightmarish Customer Stories

Author image for Mel Dawn
Mel Dawn
Jan 2, 2022 9:00 AM EST

Retail workers have undoubtedly been one of the most under-appreciated class of workers since the dawn of mass consumerism. Being polite and helpful to rude customers all day for a wage that barely covers living expenses is soul-sucking enough when there isn't a series of commercial holidays intersecting with a global pandemic. Since the dreaded Black Friday is upon us, we thought we'd share a handful of retail horror stories from the subreddit r/TalesFromRetail for all the brave wage warriors out there. You're not alone and we feel for you.

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  • 01
    Text - 10k in Damages Over a 10 Cent Overcharge Medium This happened a few years ago when I was working at a large upscale beauty supply. (Wigs/ Weaves/etc). Our register was a bit old fashioned so we had to punch in some items by hand. Usually not a big deal, but definitely left some room for human error. One day, a woman came in and my coworker pressed the wrong button and overcharged her by 10cents. My coworker instantly realized what happened, and refunded her the money and gave her a few fu
    via r/TalesFromRetail
  • 02
    Text - "Can you please stop throwing up? You're making the customers uncomfortable." Short I was reading a post on Reddit and was reminded of this anecdote when I worked for a big box retail store. We had black out days around the holidays where unless you were literally hospitalized, if you didn't show up to work you were written up twice and at risk of losing your job. I unfortunately came down with a virus or the flu mid-season and was throwing up constantly. I tried to call in when I was thr
    via r/TalesFromRetail
  • 03
    Text - CC signature line says SEE ID, so l'm going to need to see your ID. Medium Working the register as lead cashier one wonderfully busy day, I had the pleasure of interacting with a rather..lovely human being. This guy and his buddies were standing in line, not being too obnoxious, just a little loud. They ended up at my register, dumping their goodies on the counter while complaining about the wait. After thanking them for their patience, I tried to make small talk but the guy decided to ch
    via r/TalesFromRetail
  • 04
    Text - A guy was bullying one of our cart guys. I called him out. He was hired and quit in one hour. Short Obligatory background info. I work in a retail store that sells everything from groceries to home goods to clothing. I've worked in retail for a dozen plus years. We hire people, mostly under 18 but not always, as a position where they help customers out to their vehicles, clean the bathrooms and lobbies, and mainly collect carts from the lot and bring them back inside. I have mad respect f
    via r/TalesFromRetail
  • 05
    Text - My cabinet doors have COMPANY NAME written all over them!!! Short This happened when I worked at a well-known furniture store a few years ago. I see a livid customer coming up to the Returns counter. He's got a bunch of cabinet doors with him and was greeted by my colleague. Colleague: "Hi, how can I help you today?" Customer: I ordered WHITE, high gloss doors and got THESE!" points at pile of doors "First of all, they're BLUE, and I could live with that if I got a discount, but it f-ing
    via r/TalesFromRetail
  • 06
    Text - Ma'am, That Register is Closed. Standing There Won't Make it Work Medium This happened years ago, but the leaps of logic people make still amazes me. During my stint at a store where everything costs $1 1 was just getting ready to leave for the day. I was almost done ringing out the people in my line when a lady walked up with a full cart. She took one look at my line, my co-worker's line, and proceeded to the register behind me. A register that had no till, drawer was clearly open and em
    via r/TalesFromRetail
  • 07
    Text - Could have lost my job but at least you got laid, right? Short It's 15mins after closing and i step outside to grab the garbage from the front trashcan. Just finished tying it up when a lady rushed over, out of breath and yelled "Please don't be closed!!" The window gates are down and we are standing in front of automatic doors that aren't opening. We are closed af. I let her know we are indeed closed and apologized for the inconvenience and started to head in. She grabs my arm and just s
    via r/TalesFromRetail
  • 08
    Text - How many gallons in two gallons? Medium Customer: Walks through door and up to register holding a gas can Me: "Hello" Customer: "How much gas will a 2 gallon gas jug hold?" Me: "2 gallons.." Customer: "No, I mean how many gallons will a 2 gallon gas jug actually hold?" Me: Blank state at the customer "A 2 gallon gas jug will hold 2 gallons of gas..." Customer: "Well I didn't know, I'm just trying to help out a friend" Me: "So you want to get 2 gallons of gas in a gas jug? Ok! What pump ar
    via r/TalesFromRetail
  • 09
    Text - Lady returns 150pcs of fried chicken Medium So, a few years back I worked for a large retail/ grocery company. And like most grocery stores we have a deli section. I was working the returns desk, which I was still fairly new at, and a customer rolls up with a cart that had two cardboard boxes full of half eaten fried chicken. I don't think I've ever seen that much fried chicken before. Me: "Hello, how can I help you?" Customer: "I would like to return this fried chicken." Me: "What's wron
    via r/TalesFromRetail
  • 10
    Text - The mistress Short "Good morning, thank you for calling [Expensive Department Store] how can I help you today?" "O... um... hi... I need to cancel an order please...?" "Certainly, when was the order placed?" "Um... about a minute ago. It was for flowers" "Can I take the order number and billing address please?" "It's [order number] and [billing address]" "Great, I've got this on my screen now. I'll proceed with the cancellation and you'll get an email confirmation shortly." "Oh, um... can
    via r/TalesFromRetail
  • 11
    Text - 20% of 100 is $20 I promise Short So l'm a cashier and where I work we have a lot of 20% off coupons. I've had a few people check my math with their phone calculators when deciding which coupon to use. (I'm absolutely fine with that) But the other day a woman came in and it goes a little something like this "Would I get a better deal with the $20 a purchase of over 80 or the 20% off one item "Well your largest item is over $100 so that gets you the better deal" "Do you go to X university?
    via r/TalesFromRetail
  • 12
    Text - Customers get trapped in the store because the closing announcements didn't apply to them, I guess. Long On the day this incident occured all the shopfloor colleagues got to leave right on the dot of 8 because they'd finished all their tasks for the night, so after we closed there were only three of us in the shop: me, my supervisor on checkouts (S), and my colleague (M) who was acting as the manager on shift. After I did the last closing announcement we waited a couple of minutes in case
    via r/TalesFromRetail
  • 13
    Text - Lady asks for donation back, after the transaction went through. Medium Obligatory on mobile. I work at a shoe store and this happened today. We are currently working with an organization that helps foster kids in need. When we get to the total screen of a purchase, the pin pad will ask how tour's like to donate. It has a round up option and dollar increments up to 5. There is also a cancel button, in case you don't want to donate. Everything in the pad is clear. Me: Okay, the pin pad is
    via r/TalesFromRetail
  • 14
    Text - "i'm a regular customer and i know the policy better than you!" Short customer wants to return some clothes. i ring up the return and she notices that the amount she's getting back isn't the same as when she purchased it. i check the receipt and the purchase was made in early august. it's mid-november now. i explain that since we're an overstock discount store (so prices get marked down) and the return period is only 30 days, she won't be getting the full amount refunded. she proceeds to
    via r/TalesFromRetail
  • 15
    Text - Scratcher lady Short So we sell scratch games at my store. They range from $1 to $20. This woman comes up to the counter and says, "I want seven number twos." Well, the number two scratcher is a $20 game. She didn't look like someone who has $140 to blow. And my co-worker he confirms. "You want SEVEN of the number two scratchers?" Yes. "You want the number two scratcher. You want seven of them." Yes. "Seven number twos. Okay." So he rings them up. Along with something else. Total is $155.
    via r/TalesFromRetail
  • 16

    And a nice one for good measure

    Text - don't worry, I'm OK for the weekend Short So, I work in retail, but my shop has a large web shop connected, with the same name. A customer from the web shop dialled the wrong number, and reached me in the shop, and not the internet. I get an elderly gentleman on the line. Stern voice. C: "I just got an email, that my package is late" M:"Oh, who send you that e-mail? Was it GLS or CompanyName?" C:"I really have no clue!!!!" M:"Can you give me a little more info, so can try and see what hap
    via r/TalesFromRetail

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customer service yikes job retail workers retail work customers cringe facepalm black friday stupid people retail hell stories Reddit karen holidays Memes
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