'99% of callers would apologize... the 1% however...": Teenager gets even with belligerent Chinese food customers

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Sep 5, 2024 5:00 PM EDT

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes, am I right? No one's ever told that to this customer apparently, who just couldn't understand why he wasn't getting his Chinese food in a timely manner. 

This story takes place back in the days of landline phones. It seems like they don't even put landline phones in newer houses today; I don't know a single person who still uses that brick of a phone glued to the wall. In the ages of cell phones, they're completely obsolete. Not everyone misses them, either. They can't be silenced as easily as cell phones, you don't know who's calling you when you pick up, and you can't block numbers easily on them either. This person probably feels that way after their unfortunate experience. Their phone number was just a few digits off from the local Chinese takeaway restaurant. Instead of getting calls from grandma, this teen was constantly fending off tipsy folks looking to order orange chicken and broccoli. You can check out all of this teen's phone problems (and solutions!) down below, plus some additional stories from commenters who had similar issues. 

Next, this worker's boss told them to delete all their terabytes worth of data before leaving the job, only to panic a few months later when they realized what they'd done. 

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  • 01
    90
    via Nadia Rudenko on Unsplash
  • 02
    Insist on ordering food, despite having the wrong number? Fine by me!
    via u/[deleted]
  • 03
    This happened when I still lived with my parents over 20 years ago, in a small town just outside a small city.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 04
    As a teenager with a bit of social anxiety I would spend most Friday and Saturday nights at home watching movies, playing lego or computer games. Often my parents would go out in to the city as there was nothing to do in the town, so I would be home alone until late at night.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 05
    Our landline phone number was very similar to that of the local Chinese takeaway and taxi company. I won't give the exact numbers but to give an idea our house was 122222, the Chinese takeaway was 122221 and the taxi firm was 122122. So in a Friday/Saturday night drunken state it was very easy to misdial.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 06
    99% of callers would apologise once advised they had the wrong number and I would even be able to tell them the correct number to dial. The 1% however.....
    via u/[deleted]
  • 07
    The instance that I recall and fits this sub goes as follows; Me: hello? Caller: hi, I'd like to order one sweet and sour, one chow main... Me, interupting: I'm sorry this is the wrong number
    via u/[deleted]
  • 08
    Caller: no, this is the Chinese (although they used a common racist term often used back in the far from politically correct 90s North Eastern ex mining villages) Me: I'm sorry it really isn't, you need to call 12..... Caller, interupting: yes it is, so take my order now! (Quite and forceful) Me: fine, what do you
    via u/[deleted]
  • 09
    want Caller: gives order Me: OK, are you collecting or want this delivered? Caller: delivered, and quickly Me: OK, it'll be about 30 minutes hangs up 45 minutes later the phone rings, I answer and there is one hangry "customer" on the phone. Me: I'm sorry, you didn't leave your address for the delivery and 1471
    via u/[deleted]
  • 10
    didnt work (UK readers will know this, but its basically a service to call back your last received caller) so we waited for you to call back. Food will be another 30 minutes ask for address and hangs up
    via u/[deleted]
  • 11
    45 minutes later, another hangry call received, only this time they were a little drunker and ruder. I fess up that I've been stringing them along, but they insisted that I was a Chinese takeaway and ordered me to take their order again. Unfortunately at this point the "restaurant" was now closed, so I guess they went to bed without their food. They never called back, so hopefully they learned a lesson too.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 12
    Trin959 Our number used to be one digit off from the local bar. (Only one in our small town.) We got a lot of wrong numbers but the worst were wives who thought we were covering for their husbands. I kept a coach's whistle next to phone for those that kept calling back and who got really abusive.
    via u/Trin959
  • 13
    twoonster2020 My work number is similar to a local GP number so I get some interesting calls - how quickly can I explain to the caller I am not their GP before they try to tell me what is wrong with them.
    via u/twoonster2020
  • 14
    topania I had a number in college that was one number off from a large mart's pharmacy department. Got enough messages and calls to my answering machine that I ended up adding "this is not the L-Mart Pharmacy. Please hang up and try dialing again." I still got occasional messages left from people wanting refills.
    via u/topania
  • 15
    One day I answer "hello" and get a woman asking to be transferred to the pharmacy. I tell her I'm sorry but she has the wrong number. She yells "fine then just transfer me to the pharmacy!" I told her I can't because this is a private residence and she dialed the wrong number. She huffs and hangs up on me.
    via u/topania
  • 16
    I changed my outgoing answering machine message to state "this is a residence, not the L-Mart pharmacy." People still left messages.
    via u/topania
  • 17
    KronSean I had an automated dentist call robot call me a bunch about 8 years ago while in calgary. I would respond to the thing saying wrong number and I'm not a client at your dentist etc. It never got past the robot. So I got sick of it and booked an appointment for 930 on a
    via u/KronSean
  • 18
    Saturday. When they called I told them they has been harassing me for 6 months and this is what they get for using crappy automation.
    via u/KronSean
  • 19
    cloudshaper My grandparent's number was one digit off of our small town Domino's. We would all tell people politely they have the wrong number, and most of the time that worked. Sometimes it didn't.
    via u/cloudshaper
  • 20
    The result really depended on who picked up the phone. Us grandkids would string them along - we were lactose intolerant kids in the 80's and resented the pizza eating normies. My grandfather was a pillar of the community, and he knew everyone to one degree or another. If you called his
    via u/cloudshaper
  • 21
    house drunk and obstinate, he would call your parents/grandparents/mana ger and express his kindest concerns that you weren't doing too well.
    via u/cloudshaper

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ordering malicious compliance malicious-compliance-reddit chinese food food order malicious compliance reddit chinese
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