'A woman said if I gave her regular instead of decaf she was gonna make a voodoo doll of me': 20+ Service workers reveal their worst customer horror stories

Author image for Ally Perry
Ally Perry • Writer and Editor
Mar 21, 2024 12:00 PM EDT

One thing I remain eternally grateful for is that I don't currently have a job where I have to interact with the general public. Don't get me wrong, such roles are totally necessary and can even be genuinely rewarding in the right circumstances. At the same time, though, nothing will make you into a misanthrope faster than continuous exposure to the entitlement and weirdness that many people display towards service workers. 

Ask anyone who has worked in everything from hospitality to healthcare about their most memorable interactions and you are sure to hear some hair-raising tales. This has most recently been proven in a harrowing Twitter thread, in which current and former employees described the most horrifying customer interactions they had had the displeasure of being a part of. If there is one common theme among all of these stories, it's how we are forced to wonder what the heck some of these individuals were thinking. 

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    via Patrick Tomasso
  • 02
    potatum @pot8um Follow FOLKS WITH EXPERIENCE IN THE SERVICE INDUSTRY: I wanna hear your personal horror stories with customers. The worst, the scariest, the moments that still haunt you at random times of the day, I want it all. Some folks think we're exaggerating. Let's show em how bad it can get.
    via pot8um
  • 03
    M1MZY • @mimzyismarried · 4d Replying to @pot8um i have too many but a few to note is a family of 12 trying to fight me because i couldn't seat them (being so fr). a regular who was like in love with me? he would come in before closing and sit at the bar until my shift was over and then walk me to my car even when i said no. :)
    via mimzyismarried
  • 04
    Bridget @loserfromks 4d • Replying to @pot8um A lady tried to hit me with her car because she had to wait for fresh fries 9
    via loserfromks
  • 05
    LepsLair is making cont... @lepslair Replying to @pot8um Follow Man put vanilla extract on the belt and after I scanned it he started screaming that he can't have vanilla extract because it had alcohol and how I was against his sobriety, I had no idea who he was
    via lepslair
  • 06
    Kira Brook @Kira Brook • 4d Replying to @pot8um A man once did a disturbing, slow, hissy speech in front of his horrified date, about how he deserved the best service, and I was nothing, after his card was declined. It was hypnotically bizarre. Like a scene in a David Lynch movie. At least she got a preview.
    via KiraBrook
  • 07
    Jessica Knapik @Jessica Knapik • 4d Replying to @pot8um A woman said in a completely not joking way, if I give her regular instead of decaf she was gonna go home & make a voodoo doll of me Also an older guy asked where I get my hair done, & I nicely answered & he goes ok just wanted to make sure I don't go there Tip your fn servers
    via JessicaKnapik
  • 08
    hannah . @hannaweeny 4d Replying to @pot8um meh its not much but I accidentally dropped someones plate/food on the table, offered to replace it, and apologised to them. they said it was fine next day, manager pulls me in for a meeting and tells a completely different story than what happened. I started crying lol
    via hannaweeny
  • 09
    Amber, lil witchy cr... @amberjamesphoto Follow Replying to @pot8um Somebody tried to get me fired bc I told them guacamole was extra
    via amberjamesphoto
  • 10
    orca supporter @justmarahere .3d Replying to @pot8um someone threw their silverware at me (yes, including the knife) because we didn't offer plain cheeseburgers...at an Asian restaurant...
    via justmarahere
  • 11
    1984's George Whorewell @EwdatsGROSS Replying to @pot8um Follow I've had bread thrown at me, grown men scream at me, people leave fake money that's actually just bible scripture on the other side. I had a man place 5 dollars in singles on the edge of the table and every time I did something he "didn't think was right" he took a dollar back
    via EwdatsGROSS
  • 12
    • rare sour gal@on_a_dreampath · 4d Replying to @pot8um I had a woman curse me out because there was no meat on her veggie burger. She was a "Red Hat Lady" which is a southern geriatric sorority that travels and tips .30 on separate tips. Many customers asked “but where are you FROM from" in reference to my ambiguously brown skin.
    via on_a_dreampath
  • 13
    Jenny Jinx ™MⓇC° @Jennyjinx + 3d Replying to @pot8um We had a big party come in for a birthday. Maybe 25 or 30 people. Pretty soon the family was arguing. Then all the sudden one of the men picked up another and slammed him down on the MARBLE table top and busted the table. Then it turned into an all-out brawl. 8
    via Jennyjinx
  • 14
    Monika @MonikaMusing . 2d Replying to @pot8um As a grocery cashier, men would talk about me in another language in front of me. I am trilingual. Surprise!
    via MonikaMusing
  • 15
    Lufifi @lufitoom Replying to @pot8um Follow When I was working at McDonald's as a 15 year old, we had a rare snowstorm in Jacksonville, FL. A lady kept asking me for a "serviette" and being American and knowing no French and only a bit of Spanish, I was lost. She started flinging her mcNuggets at me. She was from Quebec.
    via lufitoom
  • 16
    Abbye's Thoughts @abbywithay1 .3d Replying to @pot8um I had a family of 5 tip me with candy they recieved as a gift... no joke. After they ate half their pizza and THEN complained after the fact that it was the wrong kind. Demanded a refund lol
    via abbywithay1
  • 17
    Jasmine @JasSanderson86 • 2d Replying to @pot8um Years ago when I worked at a fast food place, a guest was upset about something. He got so angry that he grabbed a handful of money, threw it in my face and yelled at me that I my boss to work must have been there. My boss was standing next to me and said or did nothing.
    via JasSanderson86
  • 18
    Chalis Montgomery @TheChalis • 4d Replying to @pot8um My 1st job was at @SUBWAY, and my boss told me she'd like me to wear the inflatable Sub costume for community events. This was a rural location where cow tipping was a pastime. Not only is it impossible to get up when kids push you over in this, but the downhill roll is *yikes.*
    via TheChalis
  • 19
    :): @rabidblackcat • 4d Replying to @pot8um I used to work at a department store. I was folding sweaters, and a woman asks if there are more sizes of a certain sweater. Please note: there is no storage in the back. Everything is on the floor. She threw the sweater at me and yelled at me. When I walked away she hit me.
    via rabidblackcat
  • 20
    Zane Schacht - Voice G... @VoicesByZane Follow A woman once came into the staples print center with a photo the size of a postage stamp and wanted to expand it to the size of a movie poster. When we told her, repeatedly, that it would look blurry, she told us to do it anyway. The next day she accused me of ruining a funeral.
    via VoicesByZane
  • 21
    Princess Dionysus @madisommelier ⚫1d: When I was a 19 I was a cart girl at a country club in Tallahassee. I'm still terrified of single male diners in their 50-60s because of all the gross things I was asked to do when they thought no one else was listening.
    via madisommelier
  • 22
    allie @pinealdecalcify • 2d when i was a hostess a table with 14 adults and 5 children didn't want to pay gratuity and when the manager refused to refund the fee about 6 or 7 of the adults at the table decided to try and wreck the restaurant, which involved attacking every employee they saw
    via pinealdecalicfy
  • 23
    Timothy Hucks (Commi... @AmebaRepublic Follow One time a (Best Buy) customer insisted we unbox a fridge on the floor because he had a truck & could take it then & there. If you don't know, fridges are boxed with hard styrofoam, wooden slats, & packing peanuts. The warehouse guys brought it. We opened it. He didn't buy it.
    via Ame0baRepublic
  • 24
    just call me blue @vinovastar • 2d Never forget when I worked at B&N and literally this child and his mother made a mess around them and when they were down the kid actually tried to organize the mess but the mother stopped him and pointed to me and said "No, that's her job." I had to walk away.
    via vinovastar
  • 25
    frankie stein fan @kuntimora · 2d when I was 19 I drew a smiley face on a 32yr/ o man's coffee cup because he told me he was having a hard day. he proceeded to stalk me for 2 years, memorized my schedule, put an AirTag on my bike, would walk by my house right before I left for work until the police got involved
    via kuntimora
  • 26
    Christopher Coleman (... @mellowfish Follow When I was a bagger at a grocery store, I was outside collecting carts and saw a woman finish unloading hers. I smiled and walked over saying "I'll take that for you ma'am" And she sneered and said "of course you will, it's your job" as she pushed her cart down into a ditch.
    via mellowfish

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customer service job working service industry crazy people wtf hospitality retail customers entitled customers food service entitled people
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