Around five minutes to closing time, there was still one customer (a regular) shopping with a grocery cart. The fifteen-minute and five-minute closing announcements had been done. 

When we do the five-minute announcement, we politely ask that all customers still in the store bring up their items so that we can finish up our closing procedures and go home. Usually, we cashiers aren’t too bad about late shoppers who are cutting it close, but it was really annoying to see someone with a full cart still strolling around. 

The time we closed came around, and we had to do a “we’re officially closed, please bring your items up to the front” kind of announcement, and this guy kept on walking.

The people in the grocery store reminded him that we were closing, and that he could come back tomorrow to get the last things he was missing, but he ignored them.

Eventually, my coworker on till told the man:

Coworker: “We are closed. I will ring your groceries through.”

He turned to her and said:

Customer: “Do you know how much money I spend at your store?”

Coworker: “I understand, but we are still closed, and we have to ask you to pay for the groceries you have now and come back tomorrow.”

Thankfully, the man finally went through her till, though he was still pretty annoyed that he had been asked to leave. He complained a bit more, but my coworker kindly explained that when we’re closed, we have a couple more things that need to be done after all the customers are out, and we unfortunately won’t be paid overtime.

I work in the paint department. Now, at this time, I had been doing it for a while, so I can easily juggle multiple orders, and if I use all the machines at the same time, everyone can get their paint faster, as some steps just require me to wait for them to finish.

During this whole five-minute process, this one particular customer is micromanaging me and belittling me, complaining how:

Customer: “If you just focused on my order, it would be done faster.”

Me: “No, sir. There are steps, such as pouring and shaking, where I can do nothing about it but wait, so I choose to start the next order during that time.”

Customer: “You should finish with one customer before starting with another! I was here before that guy! Stop d***ing around!”

Me: “And two people were here before you. Would you rather wait five minutes or fifteen?”

Customer: “I don’t understand this! Everywhere I go, I get the same horrible service. Everywhere!”

Me: “Do you think maybe it’s because of how poorly you treat people?”

This middle-aged man’s eyes went wide, as he had never been told this before in his life. In all his years, it never occurred to him that the reason people don’t give him the time of day is because of how rude he is to others. In the end, he did, to my surprise, heed my advice and apologize to me while complimenting my ability to stay calm. I call it politely passive-aggressive.

I’m walking into the library and overhear this short but sweet tail end of a conversation between a patron and the help desk manager:

Patron: “No, but how much is it to BUY a book from the library?”

Help Desk Manager: “Honey, I don’t think you know what a library is…”

Customer: “These solar lights are useless! I thought they were supposed to be the future, but they never work!”

Me: “Sorry to hear that. Did you want a replacement or a refund?”

Customer: “Refund! I don’t want to waste my time with these ever again! I thought that because they’re small and they could fit in my closet and turn on when I open my closet door, but they never worked! Useless! Last time I listen to anyone trying to convince me to go sustainable!”

Me: “Ma’am, you placed a solar light, as in a light designed to be outside, and powered by the sun outside, in your closet?”

Customer: “Yes, and they never worked! Refund! Now!”

I processed that refund as I did not want to risk losing brain cells being in the vicinity of… that.

A woman came into the health/natural grocery store I work at a little while ago, asking about a mustard we had. Some of the employees put up little “staff favorite” signs for products they really like. The marketing department also throws a few things up that don’t sell very well. Sometimes people leave a little note, or something clever like “my favorite pasta!” Or “my healthy addiction!” And sign their name.

A woman brought me over to the mustard with a staff favorite sign on it that didn’t have a note on it. Sometimes people just don’t have time to write a note, or marketing puts it up without writing a clever note on it.

Customer: “Excuse me, have you tried this mustard?”

Me: “No, I haven’t, but I’ve heard great things from my coworkers and customers who have bought it!”

Customer: “But you haven’t tried it?”

Me: “No, I haven’t.”

Customer: “But it says staff favorite!”

Me: “Oh, yeah! That means someone on the staff really likes that product!”

Customer: “But you haven’t tried it?!”

Me: “…No?”

Customer: “But it says staff favorite!”

This went on for about ten mins until I recommended a mustard I had tried. She ended up buying the one I had tried. I had never met this woman before, but for some reason, she valued my individual opinion on mustard very highly. I don’t even like mustard that much.