Customer Comedy

[Avi]

This thread is for the many courageous souls who work in the... *shudders* Customer Service industry.  Ie. cashiers, clerks, shop attendants, hotel employees, etc.  Here you may post your stories of stupid, funny, and/or shocking encounters with the customer.  Just remember... for those who work for them, the customer is NOT always right.

I'll start off with a couple stories of my own that made it onto a lovely website that HairyHeretic pointed out a while back, called notalwaysright.com.

http://notalwaysright.com/ed-begley-jr-starts-to-cut-back/1654

http://notalwaysright.com/is-that-a-pinot-noir-in-your-pocket/1605

[Rozel]

I worked 11 years in customer service at a well known West Coast Grocery chain. Most days it was a pill, but I genuinely liked the job. After working Customer service exclusively for about 6 years I decided to become a checker. I knew that it would be a step up on the pay scale, but also knew that it would have its Draw backs which included possible repetitive injuries.. so put it off as long as I could.

After I became a checker... I loved.. I mean, -Loved- being able to look at the person that was treating me like dirt and say... 'They will help you over there at customer service' Basically because I was done dealing with their rump. *laughs*

I have many stories about working there that could give people shivers..

I remember one time helping someone, and I was fine about it... but others were freaking out around me.

I was working the quick check, and a gent came up to me, like he had purchased something, and was asking me how much he owed. I explained that I needed something to ring up in order to tell him the price.... He wandered away, and came back to repete the action... not once.. but about three times this happened. By this time others had started to notice... and I never felt threatened by the gent at all, but people were trying to figure out what the heck was going on with this guy. Some were not sure if he was intending to rob us or what... Though I did not get that feeling at all. On the third time, I called my manager down to my checkstand, not because I was alarmed, but because I thought something was wrong with the guy.

The gent cam back a 4th time to my checkstand, where my manager tried to talk with him. It was very clear that the man was now looking disorientated and very confused. I stood in awe as my manager went an got a small carton of orange juice and gave it to the man. He took a drink and with in 5 minutes the guy was just fine.

He later came back to the store the same day.. and apologized if he had caused me any kind of alarm, which was never the case. He explained that he was trying to tell me something was wrong with him but couldn't when he was in the store prior, nor could he get what he needed to help himself. He then explained that he was a Diabetic and that the instant sugar from the Orange Juice helped him.

It was a day I was glad that my Manager was on duty. How he ever figured out what was wrong, I never asked him, but was glad to see something that could have went real bad, real quick, end well.

~Roz

[Oniya]

Not exactly my experience, but...

A friend of mine is getting married, and made arrangements with the minister for a specific date in June.  Now, the bride all of a sudden wants things to happen on May 2nd - a date that the minister has told them he is unavailable for, and a date that a number of the couple's guests will be unable to make - but she has very specific (and as yet undisclosed) reasons for that date.

As far as I'm concerned, it sounds like they'll have to find another minister.