Customers that throw a fit - Don't be that guy.

Overheal · 10-11-2011 04:24PM #1

http://consumerist.com/2011/11/police-say-man-threatened-to-bomb-best-buy-because-it-didnt-have-game.html

Authorities say a Colorado man was so irate over not being able to buy the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 at a Colorado Best Buy that he said he would shoot staffers and blow up the store. The man allegedly went into a rage at the customer service desk after employees revealed the store ran out of copies of the game early Tuesday morning.

Which doesn't do much to allay the PC Brigade about video games, but in all fairness this kind of behavior is not limited to video games, it's just that video gamers have access to far more colorful threats. For instance, I (working at Best Buy in fact) was once threatened by a customer because I asked him not to call my manager a c*nt. Something about punching my teeth out. Apparently this was over an HDTV that he wanted to return but he was outside the policy. He was all of 4'6" in stature and appeared to have a dependency on cocaine or steroids.

So I assume it's not just video games or HDTVs, or even electronics. What kind of out of control crazy customers have you run into, if any? I've commonly seen people go bat**** insane if we forgot their prawn crackers when I worked in a Chinese Takeout in Clarecastle, for instance. Coming into the shopping apocalypse, I'm sure we will all see it happen at least once.

Mr Freeze · 10-11-2011 04:25PM

If I was the staff member, I'd have told him Battlefield 3 was better anyways...and then legged it...

abouttobebanned · 10-11-2011 04:26PM

I've gotta be honest...I haven't played a computer game since the SNES. I'm missing out yeah?

Local-womanizer · 10-11-2011 04:31PM

Worked as a waiter and went to clear a table when the women complained about the food. She had cleared the plate and didnt want to pay.
I thought she was joking at first.

I said no, and she went mad. So I just directed her to my manager and they got into a shouting match. The manager just said if you walk out of here he would be calling the Gardai. To which she duly paid.

foxyboxer · 10-11-2011 04:31PM

he said he would shoot staffers and blow up the store.

Who says violent video games don't warp people's brains? :pac:

JoeyJJ · 10-11-2011 04:32PM

I had someone treaten to kill me and burn my house down and they knew where I lived when working in a pub, also had a pool ball thrown at my head in same pub. Few other things equally as bad or worse that I won't go in to. Not the greatest job in the world for a 18 year old back in the day.

foxyboxer · 10-11-2011 04:36PM

Local-womanizer wrote: »

Worked as a waiter and went to clear a table when the women complained about the food. She had cleared the plate and didnt want to pay.
I thought she was joking at first.

I said no, and she went mad. So I just directed her to my manager and they got into a shouting match. The manager just said if you walk out of here he would be calling the Gardai. To which she duly paid.

Fair Play to your manager for calling the stingy fool's bluff. Let me guess. A late 30's/early 40's well-to-do D4 type?

Local-womanizer · 10-11-2011 04:40PM

foxyboxer wrote: »

Fair Play to your manager for calling the stingy fool's bluff. Let me guess. A late 30's/early 40's well-to-do D4 type?

Naw,a 40-50 yr old Northerner!! He called her a many of other names too!

Jaxxy · 10-11-2011 04:41PM

While working in post offices I witnessed some temper tantrums of epic proportions. People threatening to kill me, hurt me if I didn't give them x, y or z, one individual even waited outside for me for two hours until I closed. Never come between certain people and their social welfare payments!

Someone once called and reported me to customer services because I'd refused to provide a service that I was "contractually obliged" to provide. Meaning individual in question insisted that I lick his stamp for him and individual in question was told to **** off. Good times!

Dotrel · 10-11-2011 04:41PM

Same thing happened to me when they told me they'd run out of FIFA12. I swore I'd come back and kick him in the face with a football.

abouttobebanned wrote: »

I've gotta be honest...I haven't played a computer game since the SNES. I'm missing out yeah?

Depends how boring your life is. I wouldn't have thought you're missing anything really.

Cianos · 10-11-2011 04:43PM

foxyboxer wrote: »

he said he would shoot staffers and blow up the store.

Who says violent video games don't warp people's brains? :pac:

Wait just a minute. He hadn't played the game yet so how could it have warped his brain? Clearly, as demonstrated here, no computer games make people go crazy. Take that, anti-video game lobby.

10-11-2011 04:43PM

foxyboxer wrote: »

he said he would shoot staffers and blow up the store.

Who says violent video games don't warp people's brains? :pac:

People have done worse for something that is totally acceptable in every culture in this world - religion.

RichieC · 10-11-2011 04:44PM

I love when tv soap junkies tell me i'm wasting my time playing games that keep my reflexes and hand eye coordination sharp.

Dotrel · 10-11-2011 04:44PM

Cianos wrote: »

Wait just a minute. He hadn't played the game yet so how could it have warped his brain? Clearly as demonstrated here, no computer games make people go crazy. Take that anti-video game lobby.

It was part 3. Clearly part 1 and 2 had already done years of damage to his fragile little mind.

RichieC · 10-11-2011 04:44PM

einheisserschre wrote: »

People have done worse for something that is totally acceptable in every culture in this world - religion.

How dare you :pac:

floutingmaxims · 10-11-2011 04:46PM

I work in a bar and a woman gave me a tenner to pay for 2 drinks and i gave her back the correct change. She went baloobas saying she gave me a fifty. I told her i was 100% sure it was only €10 and tottered off back to the till to double check. Sure enough i went back to the til and there were a pile of credit card receipts over the €50 slot in the til and if she had given me a fifty it would have been on top of them so i held my ground.

She still insisted on the money being a fifty and started giving out stink to me so i went and got the manager to have a look at the cameras and sure enough it was €10 she gave me. Now i understand that these sort of misunderstandings happen all the time but her and her partner were pure fcuking cunts to me while i was doing my best to sort out the situation. Trying to undermine me by asking me was i new to the job, how old was I and basically questioning my competence at my job.

When it turned out they were in the wrong, i received NO apology :mad: and was only met a stare of loathing.

Worst thing was when this happened it was 6.15 and i was supposed to be finished at 6! It shouldnt have been me! :P

OP you were probably looking for a more vicious story like your own where teeth were threatened to be broken and where it was about a product but this was the only story I have and i wanted to tell it!! :pac:

RichieC · 10-11-2011 04:48PM

Cawcheen wrote: »

I work in a bar and a woman gave me a tenner to pay for 2 drinks and i gave her back the correct change. She went baloobas saying she gave me a fifty. I told her i was 100% sure it was only €10 and tottered off back to the till to double check. Sure enough i went back to the til and there were a pile of credit card receipts over the €50 slot in the til and if she had given me a fifty it would have been on top of them so i held my ground.

She still insisted on the money being a fifty and started giving out stink to me so i went and got the manager to have a look at the cameras and sure enough it was €10 she gave me. Now i understand that these sort of misunderstandings happen all the time but her and her partner were pure fcuking cunts to me while i was doing my best to sort out the situation. Trying to undermine me by asking me was i new to the job, how old was I and basically questioning my competence at my job.

When it turned out they were in the wrong, i received NO apology :mad: and was only met a stare of loathing.

Worst thing was when this happened it was 6.15 and i was supposed to be finished at 6! It shouldnt have been me! :P

OP you were probably looking for a more vicious story like your own where teeth were threatened to be broken and where it was about a product but this was the only story I have and i wanted to tell it!! :pac:

that's a scam, not an accident.

itac · 10-11-2011 04:49PM

Used to manage a busy restaurant, with an average of 30-40 min wait for a table on a Sat. night. A middle-aged couple came in, dialogue went a little like this..:

Her: Table for two.
Me: Ok, it'll be about 35-40 mins though, we have a lot of people waiting for a table. Is that ok for you?
Her: What?!
Me: We operate a queuing system, if you want to wait and have a drink, I'll call you when there's a table free; but it will be at least 35 mins.
Her: But....but...my husband's diabetic. He hasn't eaten in hours. If he doesn't eat, HE'LL DIE!!
Me: Well, there's several places close by, or I could...(just about to say I could grab a mug of soup/something small)
Her: HE'LL DIE!! AND IT'LL BE ON YOUR HEAD!! YOU'D BETTER HAVE AN AMUBLANCE READY IF WE'VE TO WAIT!!!
Me: Well, I'm very sorry, but you're probably better off trying elsewhere if that's the case....

They appeared in two weeks later, so it seems she remembered to feed him again on other occasions....

JoeyJJ · 10-11-2011 04:51PM

That was a nice day in some places...

Victor · 10-11-2011 04:56PM

"shoot staffers and blow up the store" - pfff noob. Bomb first, then shoot.

livinginkorea · 10-11-2011 04:58PM

Cawcheen wrote: »

I work in a bar and a woman gave me a tenner to pay for 2 drinks and i gave her back the correct change. She went baloobas saying she gave me a fifty. I told her i was 100% sure it was only €10 and tottered off back to the till to double check. Sure enough i went back to the til and there were a pile of credit card receipts over the €50 slot in the til and if she had given me a fifty it would have been on top of them so i held my ground.

She still insisted on the money being a fifty and started giving out stink to me so i went and got the manager to have a look at the cameras and sure enough it was €10 she gave me. Now i understand that these sort of misunderstandings happen all the time but her and her partner were pure fcuking cunts to me while i was doing my best to sort out the situation. Trying to undermine me by asking me was i new to the job, how old was I and basically questioning my competence at my job.

When it turned out they were in the wrong, i received NO apology :mad: and was only met a stare of loathing.

Worst thing was when this happened it was 6.15 and i was supposed to be finished at 6! It shouldnt have been me! :P

OP you were probably looking for a more vicious story like your own where teeth were threatened to be broken and where it was about a product but this was the only story I have and i wanted to tell it!! :pac:

Similar thing happened to me a few years back. Family ate practically everything and the owner said 'why did you eat it then?' It was stew or something like that (a big pot of it made on the day and already a dozen people have eaten it without complaints). Man said they were hungry and the owner just said 'I'll get you some ice-cream and a pint.' Course the fecker didn't tip. Owner was a big soft like that.

Really busy during the summer working in a tourist bar/restaurant and always it's the bloody Irish (not locals but close enough who appear every year) who keep 'forgetting' to pay or have trouble about change. The amount of people who said they gave me a 50 or already paid for their bill as they are walking up the street was unbelievable. How can you have paid for the bill if I'm holding the tab behind the bar?!! Lots of 'Jesus, did I forget that?'
The second summer the same characters came around and we were well prepared for them. Once they ordered the meal they got the bill.

A lot of these people are well know around the area for being chancers. This was years ago, 1998~2003.

Dudess · 10-11-2011 05:15PM

Overheal wrote: »

Which doesn't do much to allay the PC Brigade about video games

The puzzling assertion that it's the PC brigade which links violence to video-games aside, yes, in customer service you get some nutters, but they're big and tough on the phone. There are cases where it has spilled into real life though - I know of someone who was tricked into revealing where she worked and a customer waited outside for her, identified her, and punched her. :eek:

sensibleken · 10-11-2011 05:18PM

Overheal wrote: »

Which doesn't do much to allay the PC Brigade about video games, but in all fairness this kind of behavior is not limited to video games, it's just that video gamers have access to far more colorful threats.
.

Im actually having to do this once a day now:

political correctness does not mean what you think it means unless you mean personal computer

jenizzle · 10-11-2011 05:25PM

Everyone should work in customer service for a few months at least. It'd broaden your mind, and make you realise how many people are actually mental!

sensibleken · 10-11-2011 05:26PM

Dudess wrote: »

The puzzling assertion that it's the PC brigade which links violence to video-games aside, yes, in customer service you get some nutters, but they're big and tough on the phone. There are cases where it has spilled into real life though - I know of someone who was tricked into revealing where she worked and a customer waited outside for her, identified her, and punched her. :eek:

Dont worry. A lot of people on boards have confused political correctness with health and safety.

cyrusdvirus · 10-11-2011 05:40PM

A number of years ago the company that i work for opened a branch in a midlands town.

As part of the opening offers there would be certain items of stock that were sold at ridiculous prices, Pressure Washer normally 249.99, sold for 9.99, that sort of thing. On the leaflet it stated that there was a limited amount per day, and sold on a first come first serve basis.

At 2:30 this woman comes swanning in and asked me where were all the pressure washers, so i brought her over to the section of the store where they were displayed. She said "no no no you stupid man, i mean the ones for 9.99"...
I looked at her and said " Sure they're gone since first thing, we had people queueing up for 3 hours before the store opened for them"

And she went absolutely freaking nuts.
Started screaming at me in front of a bunch of staff and other managers about my personal incompetence and how stupid i could be to not have one of these machines available for her there and then. Any time i tied getting a word in edgeways this would set her off again....

Eventually i just started giggling at one of my colleagues who was standing about 15 feet behind her mimicking her movements and mannerisms.

She decided i was laughing at her and stormed out of the shop in a huff telling me i hadn't heard the last of this.

next day she arrived in again, at about 12 this time... same story with one of the others, with much the same result, her storming off

This went on for the 5 days of the official opening bank holiday weekend (Thursday to Sunday) with a different one of us each day, and at varying times.

brummytom · 10-11-2011 05:41PM

sensibleken wrote: »

Dont worry. A lot of people on boards have confused political correctness with health and safety.

Fuck it, any excuse:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGAOCVwLrXo

On-topic, was in an ASDA canteen once and some woman was in a mard because they'd ran out of eggs. She went off on one for about 10 minutes, in the end, the poor girl on the end of the abuse went for her. It was great to watch.

NothingMan · 10-11-2011 05:57PM

einheisserschre wrote: »

People have done worse for something that is totally acceptable in every culture in this world - religion.

12 posts. Impressive. Now where's the Hitler post....

Oh, looks like I did it.

LisaLee · 10-11-2011 05:59PM

I work in retail, if I get a customer who is being an a$$hole then I let it go. I don't know what kind of day they've had, but if it makes them feel better to rant at me then whatever. I won't let it put a dampener on my day.

I'm more of a work to live kinda woman anyway.

the purple tin · 10-11-2011 06:04PM

If he couldn't get a super Mario game would he threaten to hop on their heads ?

Elba101 · 10-11-2011 06:10PM

I used to work as ground staff for an airline. I've never received so much abuse in my life. I understand people can be stressed when travelling, especially families with young kids, but people can be real arseholes!

Blaming me personally saying I booked their transfer flight with not enough time inbetween. I had people who weren't even flying with the airline I worked for go mad at me for not getting to the airport ontime and missing their flight!

Customers that throw a fit - Don't be that guy.

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