'Do these smell like the right pants to you?': 20+ Times retail workers had to answer the world's silliest questions from customers

Advertisement
  • 01
    Motor vehicle - 'At the restaurant I worked at, a customer asked me how to tell the difference between the two soups at the buffet: "Both of them are called 'Caution-Hot."
  • 02
    Font - To my fellow retail employees. What is the dumbest/strangest thing a customer has asked of you? My newest favorite: I need you to do 50 pushups for them. I refused, and the customer got a manager involved for refusing the customer.
  • 03
    Font - + [deleted] I had someone try to pay cash for their phone bill once. Over the phone, "Because it has serial numbers".
  • 04
    Organism - redditalope How much does a 67 pound bag of concrete mix weigh?
  • 05
    Font - grotgrot I was a shelf stocker. Customer tried to have a discussion with me about how rough the toilet paper was recently and my role in causing that to happen.
  • 06
    Font - pumper911 A customer asked me to join the army because I had an earring. I was 17, a cashier at a grocery store, and this guy (probably in his 60s) asked me why I had an earring. I told him I just wanted to do change up my appearance a bit and he goes "Can you please join the army? You need a good long stay there."
  • 07
    Font - Jamesisdead I worked at Mcdonalds, so not really retail, but some of the dumbest people came to my store. One guy asked me "Whats the difference between the 4 piece nugget meal and a 6 piece nugget meal, besides the price of course?" I just looked at him and said "2 nuggets", and he was actually surprised. I think he was hoping something else would come with the meal, but I don't know why.
  • 08
    Font - mystinkyfingers well didn't ask me for anything, but I was working and this little girl said to her mom "whats he doing mommy" she replied "putting stuff on the shelf". the little girl ask "why". then the mom said "because he didn't go to college"
  • 09
    Font - Jake McK I used to work at a book store. You'd be surprised how many people came in and asked us to help them find a book that they knew nothing about. We're pretty good at figuring out what people need, but when they don't know the author, title, or anything about the book, it's pretty much impossible. My favorite ones were people who insisted we should be able to find a book because "I told you! The cover is red!"
  • 10
    Font - researchontoast I used to work at a store in a small midwestern town that sold, among other things, jumbo jelly beans. One day, I received the following phone call: Customer: Hi, this is Habner Whozizf and I was just in there the other day. I bought a pound of the black licorice jelly beans and I think there's something wrong with them. Me: Why do you think that? Customer: I put it in my mouth and it just... It just sat there. Me: What do you mean sir? Customer: Well, I
  • 11
    Font - just put it in my mouth and I had it in my mouth and it just STAYED there. It used to be I'd pop one in my mouth and after a few minutes it would go away. Me: Do you mean it would disappear? Customer: No, I mean it would just... It would melt away in my spittle. Me: Sir, it sounds more like you were eating a hard candy to me. Jelly beans are kind of chewy and they'd probably take a good long while to dissolve in your mouth. Customer: Well, I guess I don't know what to do. I got a pound of
  • 12
    Font - [deleted] Worked at a cellphone store next to a Chase bank. "Can I make a deposit here? The bank is closed." No, no god da can't. This has happened multiple times. you edit We've also had people try to return DVDs and VHS tapes from the defunct video rental store on the other side. Should have kept them but I was trying too hard not to laugh.
  • 13
    Font - ∞ THO DropsTheMic I was working at Hollywood Video for a while. A man walked through the front door, about 5 feet from me. He was still in the entry way, and stopped. Quite literally, in his full view there were movies as far as the eye could see. He asked me "Where are your movies." I just kinda stared at him blankly for a moment. My brain wouldn't register the question. So I said "Excuse me?" The rest of the conversation went something like this:
  • 14
    Font - Him: Where are your movies!? Me: Uh... Everywhere. I can help you find what you need. Him: Just show me where the movies are. Me: What kind? Him: (Agitated now) The f kind you watch! Me: (Confounded by his stupidity) Sir, I don't know how to help you." He stormed out. He called customer service later, I found out he wanted to know where in the store movies could be found to PURCHASE not rent. He was apparently just too stupid to articulate this.
  • 15
    Font - [deleted] I worked at an independent video store when I was 19. Almost every day customers would come in and walk up to the register, look me in the eye and ask me what movies were new. About a foot above my head hanging on the wall behind me we had a board that listed all the new releases for the past week, and the titles of the upcoming releases for next week. At first I would list them off, but after a week I just pointed at the sign and realized why Randall from Clerks was such an a
  • 16
    Font - [deleted] I used to work at Staples as a PC Repair tech. Every once in awhile I'd have to sell a computer/printer/anythi ng else on the sales floor. One day I had a lady come in and ask me for help with ink for her printer. Being the only sales associate on the floor, I helped out. Heres how the conversation went down. Me: What kind of printer do you have? Customer: Well, its a printer copier scanner thing... its grey.... Me: Okay, do you know the model number by chance?
  • 17
    Font - Customer: Ummm... I think its a Canon, Epson, or Lexmark.... Me: Well those are all very different printers... Do you remember the number on the ink cartridge? Customer: Ummm... I don't. Me: Lets see if I can look it up under your Staples Rewards. I tried looking it up. She never purchased ink from Staples with her rewards card from what I could tell.
  • 18
    Font - Me: I don't see it... well, without any information I don't know what cartridges to help you find. There are literally hundreds of cartridges, and without knowing which one you need, its impossible to make sure you get the right one. Customer: Can't you just help me look? snappy tone Me: Well, I'll try. We then proceed to look at about 30 or so different cartridges... There are other people in the store now, and like I said, I was the only one there.
  • 19
    Font - Me: Ma'am, I'm sorry I can't help you. But if you get either the cartridge number or model number of your printer, I can find it for you snaps fingers like that. Customer: FINE! I DIDN'T WANT YOUR FI HELP ANYWAY. Me: walking away I'm not mind reader, a f lady Customer WHAT!?! storms out of the store
  • 20
    Font - mehunno I had a customer that just couldn't grasp the concept of percent. She wanted to return an item, but because she had used a 20% off coupon, we refunded her the amount she had paid for the item. For 35 minutes she argued with my manager about the price, and my manager just kept trying to explain that %off coupons take a percent off of every item, so she only paid so much for it, and that we could not refund her more than she had paid. It was just sad to watch.
  • 21
    Font - joelupi "Do these smell like the right pants to you?"
  • 22
    Font - Melizipan. This guy asked if his son could touch our wet floor sign. Apparently his son has a quirky obsession with the different types of signs and ours was new to him. I told him it was no problem, but that is was probably really dirty. I watched as his kid stared at it in awe, touching the sign. He took a picture with it, as well. It was definitely strange.
  • 23
    Font - [deleted] I was working as a cashier at Target when I was 17, and this guy comes up to me and starts badgering me about my day. Customer: Hey, you look tired. Me: Yeah, long day. Customer: Well, yeah, not as bad as a real job. smirk
  • 24
    Font - marshmelo Not mine, but someone else's. The setting: A gift shop about 50 feet away from the edge of the Grand Canyon (Arizona, USA). For those of you who have never been, there's a stone wall between 3 and 4 feet tall around the rim of the canyon in some places, so tourists don't just drop off left and right. "What's on the other side of that wall?"
  • 25
    Font - thejewishgun I work at a computer shop. A customer came in complaining we ripped him off. He brought in the receipt and a print out from ebay, yes it was cheaper, mainly because it was used and he had bought the motherboard from us 2 years ago. my manager called him a crazy id ot and kicked him out.
  • 26
    Font - Atlas99 Interestingly enough, the dumbest/strangest thing a customer has ever asked me for is coffee. Allow me to explain. Last summer I worked in a butcher shop for about three months. Half of the store sold wine and cheese and fresh meat, and the other half was a sandwich shop/deli. I worked in the deli. I live in a small yet very touristy town, so sometimes the lunch rushes can go for a few hundred customers at a time. One day, the last
  • 27
    Font - customer of the rush came in around quarter of two. This man was soaking wet, literally dripping on the floor, he had fresh cuts all up his left arm and leg, and a big open wound on his head. "I'd like a small coffee please, black." I told the man I refused to give him coffee until he explained himself. He very nonchalantly recalled the tale to me, of how he was weedwacking next to his pond, slipped, got weed whacked across the left side of his body, fell into the pond, got his foot caugh
  • 28
    Font - He said he wanted to go to town to get some coffee while his niece was fetching medical supplies for him. I guess he couldn't afford life insurance, and refused to call the hospital. I gave him the coffee for free.
  • 29
    Font - mchem I worked in produce at a grocery store and on a very hot summer day a rather obese woman walks in the store and sits down on the refrigerated case where we stock the bagged salads and lettuce. I immediately walked over to her and told her something like "maam you can't sit there, if you really need to sit for a minute you an use the patio chairs we have on
  • 30
    Font - display over there." Her response: "oh no, im fine right here honey. In fact, can you go and get me a fan and plug it in for me?" At that point I asked if she needed medical attention and when she said "no" I gave her the death stare until she got up and left.
  • 31
    Font - [deleted] I used to work at a really big fish and lobster market called S.S. Lobster; we sold everything you could tihnk of. The day before labor day one year, one of our busiest times of the year, I'm working retail and this lady comes up to me and says "Do you guys sell lobsters?". Maybe it wouldn't be so bad, expect that you pass a display case on the way to retail with 20lb lobsters in it. So I just gave my best poker face and said yes.
  • 32
    Font - Jsezz I once worked in a very busy pub in Cambridge by the river, it's was the summer, so it was extra busy and must of been 3 deep at the bar, I finished serving someone, and went to the next customer, where this bitter looking lady says to me in a posh voice "I've been waiting to be served for five minutes" to which I replied, I've been working for 8 hours without a break, what different lives we lead" then skipped her for the next customer.
  • 33
    Font - Rickolas I once had a customer return a Laptop I sold them. When I asked why he said it was because it wasn't wireless and that I said it was. 'But sir this laptop is Wi-Fi enabled yada yada.' 'No it's not! it stopped working after 1 hour and apparently I have to plug it in to power it. Its NOT wireless!' No words.

Tags

Scroll Down For The Next Article