Getting to know regular customers and trying to cater to them is all part of customer service. But what do you do when a regular customer changes their preferences each time they come in? Reddit user Schrowdinger thought avoiding conflict could be easily handled with this customer. Apparently not.
“I was opening the store in the morning. A woman was waiting at the door. As soon as I turned on the lights, she started rattling the door. I unlocked it and reached for the open sign. She barged in, ‘Are you open? Why is your sign not on?’ Then she proceeded to give me a lecture on how it should be lit if we are open.
A week later, the same woman was waiting for me to open. This time I flipped the sign before I unlocked the door. She came in and yelled for five minutes about how the sign was on but the door was locked.
Sometimes you can’t win.”
Picky about your latte? It takes effort to make it look just right. For this Reddit user, it would have been best to look away once this customer was served.
“I had a customer berate me for not layering her latte (so the coffee floats on top of the milk but under the milk froth). I told her that we had a new roast and it must have about the same density as heated milk because it doesn’t layer well. She scoffed at me that a traditional Italian latte (latte is not a traditional Italian coffee) is layered (nope, layered lattes were invented after a normal latte) because latte means layered in Italian (latte means milk).
The worst part was when my dad, who owned the cafe, came over to calm her down and see what she wanted, spent a good amount of time making a layered latte, carrying it ever so gently to this monstrous cow…only for her to put sugar in straight away and stir.”
Brownies, Cupcakes…Tomayto, Tomahto. It’s all the same, right? It is if one of the items is on sale! Reddit user kittyjo29 tells their story.
“I work at a bakery. Every Tuesday, we have a deal on brownies where they only cost $2. They’re normally $3.50. Anyway, a woman came in and asked which items were $2. No problem. I was asked that many times throughout the day. I explained that all the brownies were only $2. She said thank you and continued to look around. She ended up buying four chocolate cupcakes, which were $3 each. She was so shocked and angered that the total came up to $12 instead of $8. She asked why and I explained that the cupcakes were $3, and only the brownies were $2. She went on to explain how the chocolate cupcakes should only be $2 because they’re basically like a brownie. You know, because they both have chocolate…I honestly didn’t know how to react to that one.”
Sometimes we are so determined to make a point and get what we deserve that we forget to slow down and well, look around. Looking around FIRST would have helped this Reddit user’s customer get what he wanted, without making an even bigger scene.
“In high school, I worked at Burger King which was next door to a KFC. I was at the counter and a man came storming in with a paper bag in his hand; he leaned over the counter and yelled, ‘You gave me coleslaw!’
I was taken by surprise and didn’t really understand what was going on, so I asked him, ‘Sorry, did you say coleslaw?’
He proceeded to yell, ‘I just came through the drive-thru and I ordered mashed potatoes and I got coleslaw.’
It took so much self-control to not laugh in his face. I kindly told him, ‘Sir, this is Burger King.’ His eyes got wide, he looked around, then walked out. I hope he got his mashed potatoes.”
We are lucky enough now to have the option of people shopping for us. But when you actually go into the store yourself, you have to choose the products yourself! This customer encounter left Kyzzori a bit confused.
“I was stocking bananas. A woman came up to me and said, ‘I need a bunch of five.’
So I kinda mumbled, ‘Oh, okay,’ and moved out of her way so she can pick and choose her bananas as she likes. I continued stocking and I noticed she had not picked her bananas and she was staring at me. Eventually, she said to me, ‘Just take two off of the bunch you’re holding!’ Like, woman, I’m not confused because I’m incapable of performing basic arithmetic. I’m confused as to why you felt the need to interrupt my work and why you couldn’t pick your own bananas, like an adult.”
Remember back in the day, when your mom used to make you memorize your phone number and address? She probably knew at some point in your life that information would come in handy. Like when you want to order a pizza…. Quora user Chris tells this story.
“Store manager at Dominos Pizza… I answer the phone and it goes like this:
Me: Thank you for Calling Dominos, would you like a pickup or Delivery?
Customer : LARGE CHEESE PIZZA..
Me : Sure, but do you want pickup or Delivery?
Customer : Oh… Delivery.
Me : O.K can I have your address please?
Customer : 12 A Street.
Me : Would that be A Street in Nowheresville or Lakeshore ?
Customer : ………… A Street.
Me : Yeeeessss…. But what town are you in?
Customer : It’s 12 A Street.
Me : Mam… A Street goes through two different towns. Are you in Nowheresville or Lakeshore?
Customer : ……………………………………………. 12 A Street.
Me : O.K… please hang up, find out what town you live in and call me back. (click)
She never called back.”
