20+ Times retail workers wanted to quit their jobs due to unruly customers: 'I turn around and see so many clothes on the floor'

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Jul 27, 2025 3:00 PM EDT

Every retail worker has had at least one day (if not 100 days!) that have made them want to quit on the spot. 

A lot of customers seem to overestimate exactly how loyal retail workers are to the store. If a customer starts complaining about how awful that business is, there's a good chance the worker totally, 100% agrees with you. The customer's upset that a sale has unclear signage, and now they're being overcharged? Yeah, the employee's been dealing with the fallout of that all day. The customer's frustrated that the ice cream machine broke? Boy, could the employees tell you some stories about the other dozen customers who felt the same exact way! 

Sometimes when customers complain too vigorously, the employees just start agreeing with them, which confuses the customer even more. A lot of shoppers seek out retail workers just to bother them, so when they realize that these staffers are just people too, it short-circuits their brains for a moment. 

These workers were kind enough to share their retail and food service experiences that drove them crazy, so check out these great stories down below. 

Next, read about the fed-up customer who insisted that a barista return a tip after they were left waiting on their coffee for 15 minutes: "If you can't refund the tip… I'll just take $2 from your tip jar." 

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  • 01

    '[People] who work or have worked in retail, what's your "I'm about lose my sh** moment had with customer?"'

    hhe... This wasn't an incident that made me angry, but rather I was going to lose my sh in the sense this interaction made me feel like I was losing my mind. I worked at a weird Starbucks that was drive thru and walk up only, there was no indoor seating. There were signs on either side of the walk up window
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  • 02
    displaying a menu with a photo of each product that was listed. If I was working at the walk up window I couldn't see the menu, even if I leaned out the window as much as I could. One day a woman came to the store, asked me a question about parking or something, and then ordered. She pointed at the menu and said "Could I have that one?"
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  • 03
    "I'm sorry, which drink are you pointing at?" She points again, "That one." "I can't see the menu from here, could you tell me what drink it is?" "That one." "I really can't see the menu, can you tell me what it says?"
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  • 04
    "That one." What the f ? Maybe she doesn't speak English. No, she asked me something in perfect English earlier. Maybe she's embarrassed to pronounce the drink name wrong? Maybe she's illiterate? "What color is it?" "That one."
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  • 05
    "Do you want a hot or cold drink?" "That one." "Do you want something with coffee, or maybe something sweet?" "That one." "Did you want a frapuccino?" "That one."
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    It went on like this for a while until I gave up and just rang her up for a grande iced caramel machiatto. She seemed perfectly happy with it when I handed it to her.
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  • 07
    Hippopotapie I worked at a department store. I was in charge of the truck and stocking. Usually this included making the department I worked look good, refolding clothes, straightening stacks, sizing the clothing racks, etc. I'd just finished the juniors department when I turn around and see so many clothes on the floor. There
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  • 08
    was a teenager picking up folded shirts to look at them and then she was just throwing them on the ground. It was a particularly bad day for me as all but two of our truck team had called in. I didnt have time for this sh at all.
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  • 09
    I politely asked her to stop throwing the merchandise on the floor. Ots fine if she wanted to just set the stuff back onto the tables, but seriously stop throwing it on the ground. This turned into her proceding to throw piles of folded clothes on the ground. Picking up hanging items and just tossing them.
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    So I asked where her parents were. She refused to answer. So I paged overhead asking for the parent of said teen (I described her clothing and hair) to come to the juniors department, as their daughter had something amazing surprise for them.
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  • 11
    It wasn't long before a lady walked over with a smile on her face, and then it just fell into the most p ed off/disappointed/disgusted look. She looked at me, then her daughter. The girl tried to say I was the one that did this and was trying to blame her for being bad at my job. Her mom was having NONE of that.
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    Mom apologized profusely for her daughter's behavior and asked me to show her how we folded the clothes. I tried to tell her not to worry about it, I just wanted her kid to stop. She insisted, soni showed her the fold we used on shirts and the ones we used on pants.
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    I started picking things up, and noticed that the mom had gone to work telling her daughter how to fold everything. Eventually she told me I could go do something else, they weren't leaving until her daughter fixed everything. I had other things to do, but I came back later and they were finishing up. Daughter was in tears, saying she was
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  • 14
    humiliated and that this wasn't her job. Mom just kind of stood there chuckling and said, "it's your job right now, you make a mess you pick it up. Rules dont stop at our front door, they apply to anywhere you go." Started off as one of the worst experiences but ended on a high note, for me at least.
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  • 15
    All Them_Armadil... This crazy woman was already a known problem customer in our store. Being one of the managers and a longtime retail veteran, I usually helped her when she came in. One particular day, she came in wanting to return a clearance item she'd bought 3 MONTHS AGO. I knew she knew our return policy and
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    pointed out the "Final Sale" note on her crumpled receipt. (The day she'd bought the item in question. had not been a fun encounter to begin with). She started screaming that she should be allowed to return it because she has cancer and I have no idea how hard that was. I nursed my grandfather through Stage 4 lung cancer so had some idea but simply gave
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    her calm reassurances. I did stick to the policy though. Side note: she'd been a nightmare long before she became ill and probably should have been banned already for some of her antics. After more back and forth, she asks that I let her just exchange it. As she's giving me a headache, I agree, inform her that the exchanged item WOULD
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    NOT be able to be returned or exchanged and reminded her of how much credit she had. She comes back with another item and slams it onto my counter. Lo and behold, there's a dollar and change difference between her original item and the new one. She's furious, shouting that she shouldn't have to pay it and don't I know she's suffering! I firmly
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    insist she coughs up the difference as THAT'S HOW EXCHANGES WORK. She responded by pulling a fistful of change out of her purse and throwing it at my face. A nickel bounced off of my glasses. I saw red but calmly counted up the change, slid the excess across the counter (which she threw onto the floor) and she stormed out.
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    There had been a young couple in line behind her who promptly approached the counter and asked if I was okay. The head manager took over the register and sent me to the back to calm down. When I came out, she told me that the crazy woman had caused a ruckus at our sister store a few doors down and was now, finally, banned from both stores.
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  • 21
    I quit the store and took a job in an office a few weeks later.
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  • 22
    PB_PB Had a woman come in and request a large drink in a small cup. I asked her to repeat that. She reiterated she wanted a large drink, but in a small cup. I told her that wasn't possible. This went on and on, her yelling that it wasn't that difficult to understand, I'm trying to tell
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  • 23
    her that they're different volumes. Eventually I filled up a large, got a small cup and de d-eyed her while pouring the large in until it overflowed and went all over the counter.
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  • 24
    kaiterlyn I worked at Target in the clothing department for about 3 years. One night I was on the closing shift (6pm-11pm). If you work the closing shift, you spend pretty much the entire shift zoning your assigned area. For me, that meant folding clothes for 5 hours. This particular night I was assigned the women's area, which is the largest. Around
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  • 25
    8pm a woman, probably in her late 40s, approached me. She asked if I could help her find maxi skirts. I happily walked her to where they were. She then asks my opinion on which skirts I liked the best. Again, I happily told her. She grabs every single print we offer in the skirt. Then she asks me to come back to the fitting room with her. I obliged.
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    When we get back to the fitting room she wants me to stand outside the dressing room as she tries the skirts on. She comes out after each one and spends about 5 minutes going back and forth on "does this look good?" "Is it the right size?" "I don't like it." "Actually I do. like it." She asked me to fetch different sizes for different prints. She also has an attitude while she's doing all of this. Telling me that it's
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  • 27
    my job to help her. This went on until about 9:30. Finally, I think she's done. She now has about 20-25 skirts in her dressing room. She leaves them all sprawled out in the room and proceeds to tell me that she doesn't want any of them. Then she tells me to have a good night and leaves, leaving her mess behind. It took everything in me to smile back and to say have a good night as well.
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  • 28
    Also, about 2 years later, my cousin was working at an office and some lady came in there. When my cousin was telling me about the lady and how she was a pain in the a who kept going back and forth on things and was being so ride... We discovered it was the same lady I had helped before. So apparently this is the norm for her.
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    Cheezburger Image 10534596864
    via Andy Quezada For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 30
    el_monstruo Worked at K-Mart, sporting goods and toys to be specific, during my high school and early college years. and people would often pull the "I found this product under this tag for a lower price so does I mean I get it at that price?" Well, this one woman did this and would not let up. She had a football that rung up $30 but wanted it at the price of
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  • 31
    that tag where she "found" the product for $5 which was a fishing lure. • I told her that I can not price match based on that. "What can you price match based on?" • I tell her. "So you won't price match this even though it was sitting there under the wrong tag?"
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    . No, I cannot I am sorry. • "I've had it done before! I've seen it done before so I know it can be done." Explain again how the price match policy works. We go round and round for about 10 minutes before she pulls the.. • "Let me speak to your manager."
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  • 33
    At this point I am pretty angry but reserved. I call my manager and then leave briefly to go get him and tell him about the customer and their complaint. We walk back to the counter and she tells him the same things she's been telling me. He says "Sorry about that ma'am and does a price override and gives it to her for the $5." After payment, the manager walks back.
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  • 34
    The customer gives me a snarky "F you" look and walks away with her purchase. LL F YOU BRUCE! LL YOU B ! I was just doing my job and then I ended up looking like the a hole. No wonder K- Mart failed.
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    Cheezburger Image 10534597632
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 36
    byjimini Guy slammed a hot water bottle down on the counter and loudly exclaimed, with wife nodding in agreement behind him, that he'd put cold water in it 3 hours ago and it still wasn't hot.
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  • 37
    dangernoodles628 Idk if this counts as retail, but I was an intern at an aquarium, and while working at the touch-tank, a kid swallowed a handful of sand, I told his mother, and she told me that he was only four. He proceeded to swallow another handful of sand.
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  • 38
    bab_101 Obviously hypochondriac woman comes to my till wearing surgical gloves with her things in a bag. States she can't give her things to me because of "money hands" with a look of absolute disgust before reaching round and scanning her items. She then says she's paying in card and would like cashback and I explain she
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  • 39
    needs to put her card in the machine and not use contactless if she would. She says yes but then still pays via contactless and is then completely shocked when I explain she can't have cashback unless she makes another transaction
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    with her card in, as I'd explained. She then had a massive go about how I should've told her before. Kinda glad she stormed out of the shop so quickly and I didn't have a chance to properly lose my sh.
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  • 41
    An... I worked in a gas station where we had a notorious customer we referred to as "can guy". Every month our station put coupons in the paper for 1.00 of free gas. One coupon per customer per visit. Can guy would collect these coupons and then come park his car on the adjacent street and then go post up on one of our pumps and get gas. One
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    dollar at a time. He'd pump a dollar, come in and give us the coupon and go walk out to the sidewalk (off the property) and then turn around and do it again....for hours. As a pump attendant we have to approve every pump by pushing a button. So every 3 minutes for hours at a time we'd be stuck standing at the till, doing the same transaction over and over. The longest I clocked
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    him doing this for was 2 and a half hours. Corporate added an addendum to the coupons because of him pulling that sh. Edit: he was called can guy because he did all this with a one gallon red gas can.
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  • 44
    Mrsjtkirk Card machine was a bit slower than usual. Man: "This is terrible!" Me: "Yeah." Man: "You should fix this machine!" Me: "Yeah, we should."
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    Man: "Or replace it! This is a disgrace!" Me: "Yeah, that's an option too." Man: "... You should be ASHAMED!" Me: "Yeah I am kind of embarrassed." Man: "Other stores don't have this issue."
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    Me: "That's because they're better than us." *Card payment goes through. Man: "This was terrible!" Me: "Yeah. Awful. Sorry for your trouble, sir." Man walks off grumbling to himself.
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  • 47
    Honkhonk81 Once, when I was hosting, some absolute fool wanted this SPECIFIC table on the patio while we were slammed. I explained to him I could get him a table outside, but not that specific one, because there were 5 people waiting in line to sit outside before him. He just tuned me out and stared at the busser wiping
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  • 48
    the table down. He started walking towards it to go sit down, so I had to stop him and ask him to go back to the waiting area. It's like he had no idea how a line worked. I had to remind him that there were other people waiting in line before him. Then I took the rightful group to the table, and he bitterly says "Oh! Well screw
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    me, huh?" Like he was personally offended I didn't make 5 other groups wait an extra thirty minutes so he could have his spot first. This was a grown-a man. 50-60 years old. I had to go into the walk-in and scream a little bit.
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    jessisanoodle Threw a pile of jackets at my feet, and exclaimed "now you have something to do" ...I was mid transaction on the till.
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  • 51
    gigabytestarship Some of our freezers went down and we had to pull stuff out a put it in the storage freezer. We had pallets and trying to get everything done fast. It was a whole ordeal. I was cold, wet, annoyed. This lady in a electric cart that smelled like sh got mad because we were "in the way" and said,
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  • 52
    "I'm so tired of the laziness in this store! This is bulls !" And before I could stop myself, I just yelled, "well, you smell like s ײן I'm so surprised I did not get into trouble. I would completely understand if I did.
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  • 53
    He got told the same as me and how can we not warn people about the chairs?! This went on for about 10 minutes because she just could not believe that i didn't have freaking nailpolish in my backpocket!! She accepted her stockings. fate at last, but i got angry looks from her all night.
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  • 54
    casool Not retail but a restaurant. I was working as a waitress, and a woman stopped me as i was passing her table. She told me she got a rip in her stockings from one of our chairs. This was according to her 100% my fault, because i did not warn her about our chairs (??)
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    She asked me if i had any clear nailpolish on me or anywhere in the restaurant. I told her that i was sorry but i did not. This was to her so very strange. How could we not have nailpolish in the restaurant? She got very angry, wanted to talk to someone else who could fix her stockings. I got my manager who also said sorry but there is nothing we can do about you stockings.
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  • 56
    SputNick2312 I used to work at a video rental place (living the dream as a 19 year old) and a customer comes in and asks if we sell movies. I say "yes" so she starts walking along the wall of clearly marked RENTAL movies, pointing at titles they want. I start telling them the ones we have in stock for purchase and the
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    ones I will need to order in. They eventually comes up to the front and begins to pay, tell them the total (a lot more than the listed RENTAL price) and they get really confused as it's a lot more than they were expecting. I'm in the middle of explaining that they are new releases when it hits me: they don't know this is a
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  • 58
    rental place. I explain this kindly and carefully and that I have had to order them in. At this point they drop all pretense of niceness and in front of customers and my shift manager give me a look of pure disdain. "You are an idiot" they say. "Yeah, well at least I didn't walk into a video rental place and try to buy the DVDs". They roll their eyes and huff out of there.
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    Cheezburger Image 10534646528
    via Getty Images For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 60
    openletter8 I worked in a couple record stores when I was young, SO I've got a ton of stories. But one stood out that applies to your question. We had this one guy, who's last name was a common vegetable. This dude would come in once every couple weeks and go through our import singles and dance sections. Find a small
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  • 61
    handful and bring them up to the counter. But, no. Not to buy them, no sir. He would first ask for his "Hold Pile" that was around 30 discs. He'd then sort through them, pick out a few to purchase and then have us put all the remaining back on hold. The whole time he'd be doing this, he would not allow you to leave his side. This process took up to 45 minutes.
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    I know, the first question you're thinking is, "Why even hold them? Put them back out!" Well, we tried that. He would come back in and we'd tell him that we put all the hold back out. He'd crab quite a bit, and then go out into the store and refind them all. Bring them back up and buy a few, and place the rest on hold. If we refused to put them on hold, he'd go and hide them in the store. If
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    we followed him around to make sure he wouldn't hide them, he'd browse until we got busy with another customer and then hide them. We got to the point that we'd nearly ignore him and we just threw them in a box that we left behind the counter. He'd come in, and we'd heavily drop the box on the counter and ask bluntly what he plans to buy today.
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  • 64
    Nobody wanted to be the unfortunate soul that got stuck with him. It was an exercise in temper management.
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  • 65
    Rorstaway Old lady poked a hole in the last six or seven green peppers we had left. They were already on sale, but she knew we sold damaged/past its prime produce for a big discount. I just threw them away and said we can't sell them. It made me so mad. She was a pain in my a all the time. at that store
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  • 66
    biggiemama3636 I used to work at Taco Bell. I hated drive thru, but at the time was the fastest drive thru cashier. A lady came through and ordered "a taco" so I pressed the taco button, "could I get you anything else?" "No" "any mild, hot, fire, or diablo sauce?" "No" "does everything look correct on your screen?" "Yes" "alright it's going to be $1.39 we'll
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  • 67
    see you at the window!" She gets to the window. "Hello ma'am it's going to be $1.39" she hands me a 5. I ring her up and give her her change, then when her Taco is ready I give her her taco. "What the f is this?" "A taco" "one taco ? I ordered 8!" I'm already thinking- and you thought you would pay $1.39 for 8 tacos? "I'm sorry ma'am I misheard you,
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  • 68
    would you like me to ring you up for the rest of the tacos?" Suddenly, in her sheer rage, she can't speak English, "uck-ah-ugh-er-uh" then she regains her English skills "why would I order a single taco!?!!?" "I'm sorry ma'am I misheard you. I'm so sorry. Would you like me to ring you up the rest of the tacos?" "Ugh! Yes! What the f, why would I order one taco?!?" So I ring her up for
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  • 69
    7 more tacos, I can't remember the price, but I turn to her and say "alright it's going to be [however much 7 tacos cost]" she looks at me crazy again "what? No I don't want the tacos! Why would I order a single taco?!?!" During the entire time I worked at Taco Bell I was pregnant, at this time I was probably 7 months.
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  • 70
    Needless to say, the hormones were getting to me. Our drive thru window closes if you're not holding it open, so every time I would turn around to speak to the crew she would scream obscenities at me through the window. I was broken down. "I'm sorry ma'am. I misheard you. I so apologize." She continues to scream obscenities at me. I finally had enough, I was at
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  • 71
    the point where I was about to tell this lady the f don't take ab e from off. I anyone, except for at work. In the middle of her screaming at me. I closed the window, turned around, and let out the loudest scream that I could, as I burst into tears. Every single person in the restaurant & surrounding area heard that
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  • 72
    back room, and sat down, in uncontrollable tears, as my manager went to deal with this crazy b After they got everything worked out (she paid for her stupid 7 tacos, the manager on duty did not play with free food) he told me she changed her tune after hearing me scream and apologized. But
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  • 73
    they also let me know this lady was notorious for screaming at people in the drive thru, luckily I only worked there 2 more months and never dealt with her personally again, though I did see her have a few more drive thru meltdowns.
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  • 74
    IwantAnlguana I was a cashier at Kmart way back in the early 90s. Through high school I'd made good money babysitting. So, this was my first job outside of that. I was 18, just starting college. I'd only been working a few months. This woman comes through my line, buying some kind of diabetes supplies. She had a coupon. I was stunned by how
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  • 75
    expensive this stuff was, even with the coupon-- having never had to deal with it. I made some kind of comment about, "Wow, this stuff is pricey even with the coupon." She says, "What did you say to me?" I kind of laughed and repeated what I'd said. She says, "That's not what you said. I heard you. Get a manager up here now." I was so confused. I had no idea what she was
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  • 76
    angry about or what she thought I'd said. I call my manager up and he asks what the problem is, the woman goes into a rant about how r de I am, and starts listing all these horrible things I'd just said to her. I supposedly called her names. I couldn't believe a grown a adult could stand there just lying through her teeth. I tried to defend myself but my
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  • 77
    manager shut me down. He told me to finish the transaction and he told the woman he'd deal with it. He then shut my line down-- ushering the people in line to a different cashier. That woman--it's been decades and I still see red when I think of her. By this point I was crying (I cry when I'm angry), and she just stood there with this self-satisfied smirk. When
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  • 78
    she'd left my manager took me aside and told me to never interrupt the customer and try to defend myself. He said he knew she was lying but I'm not to contradict the customer. He then told me to go take a break since I was still worked up. I'd barely made it to the break room before he paged me to come back to the floor because the lines were too . I wish I'd long.
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  • 79
    known how to stick up for myself back then. But there is a happy ending- -sort of. The woman paid with a check. She treated me like crop and then handed me her identity, phone number and address.
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  • 80
    It was a small town. Her house might have been toilet papered a few times over the next couple of years. Maybe not the most mature way to handle it but I was young, and it made me feel better.
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