Worst adult temper-tantrum you've witnessed?

freshpopcorn · 07-12-2019 11:36pm

I remember a guy posted this before. I don't think he lasted long in the job.
"I was ordering a sandwich once, and I'm a vegetarian so I asked her to change gloves, clean knife and surface ect.

She got the bread, first thing she did was put a slice of ham on the bread. She realised what she did, took the ha. Off and used the same gloves and bread that touched ham to make me the sandwich. ****ing scumbag, I ripped through her and the manager. Refused to go back, until I had a job interview there. (Got the job, and the deli worker quit that week) Goodridance. Serves the idiot right."

Sheepdish1 · 07-12-2019 11:42pm

Seamai wrote: »

Hoozier?

No way, he seems way too down to earth and sound for that sort of carry on! Seems like a gent

Sheepdish1 · 07-12-2019 11:43pm

Miguel Shallow Steakhouse wrote: »

One of the Rubberbandits
Bressie
Ronan keating
Bono lol

Bessie seems sound too so it’s not him either haha

branie2 · 07-12-2019 11:43pm

freshpopcorn wrote: »

I remember a guy posted this before. I don't think he lasted long in the job.
"I was ordering a sandwich once, and I'm a vegetarian so I asked her to change gloves, clean knife and surface ect.

She got the bread, first thing she did was put a slice of ham on the bread. She realised what she did, took the ha. Off and used the same gloves and bread that touched ham to make me the sandwich. ****ing scumbag, I ripped through her and the manager. Refused to go back, until I had a job interview there. (Got the job, and the deli worker quit that week) Goodridance. Serves the idiot right."

Karma!

TheValeyard · 07-12-2019 11:47pm

fryup wrote: »

alright then let's cross Hozier off the list, who else could it be hmmmmm

I'd say Dermott Kennedy

julyjane · 07-12-2019 11:57pm

On an aer lingus flight to New York an American woman was sitting beside me and the choices for dinner were beef chilli or some kind of chicken dish. As often happens on flights, by the time they came to our row there was only beef chilli left. When they told her there was no chicken she absolutely lost it, pounded her fist on her tray and shouted "fu*k this stupid fu*king plane I'm fu*king sick of it and I WANT CHICKEN!" She threw so much of a tantrum that eventually one of the cabin crew said "look I have a chicken one there for my dinner, she can have it" So the trolley moved on and the cabin crew member went back and heated up her own dinner and gave it to the American woman and didn't get a word of thanks, only a grunt. I reckon she was somewhere in her 50s, she appeared to be travelling alone but towards the end of the flight somebody she knew came over to talk to her and she gave them this big sob story about how they said they had no chicken but they were LIARS because they did have chicken. She had drank about 2 airplane size cans of Stella before the meal that may have contributed to her outburst or maybe she's just a self centred, entitled b**ch. After getting her chicken she still kept throwing dirty looks at the cabin crew every time they passed up the aisle.

Your Face · 08-12-2019 12:48am

Me, refusing to leave a chipper at 3 in the morning.

aoh · 08-12-2019 12:50am

Was on a flight and the cabin crew (new, I would guess) was pushing the trolley down the aisle. Something went snafu and 2 litre bottles of coke etc went flying. I was soaked (aisle seat). Cabin crew went running away in tears. Senior staff appeared and a guy two rows behind me started screaming that his suit was ruined and the airline had BETTER pay for dry-cleaning.

Having calmed him down - easily 10 minutes - they approached me and I asked for some paper towels to dry off. They went scurrying!

The woman across the aisle from me (not as bad but still wet) joked "Would'nt it be nice to get a glass of champagne". We all laughed.

Five minutes later, they're all there with champagne. To me "we are sooo sorry. Please enjoy". Same to the woman across the aisle.

To yer man "Champagne SIR!!". Not sure he laughed but the rest of us did!!

Karma rocks!!

Ave Sodalis · 08-12-2019 1:12am

I have worked in both retail and in restaurants. I've witnessed a LOT of adult temper tantrums...

freshpopcorn · 08-12-2019 4:58am

One thing I'd say about celebrities or people is always be careful of them they can be lovely when they need to be and so down to Earth but when your back is turned they can be totally different.

valoren · 08-12-2019 12:27pm

A "coked up to the eye balls" Christian Bale losing his **** on the Terminator set because the director of photography was fiddling with one of the lights during an "emotional" scene in a ****ing Terminator movie. I wouldn't think he'd be acting like that if James Cameron was directing as he'd probably have given Bale the slap he deserved for acting like a **** to a crew member.

eviltwin · 08-12-2019 12:31pm

Had a minor Irish celebrity throw a "do you know who I am" strop a few years back in work because there was a queue and we wouldn't let him skip every one else.

08-12-2019 1:43pm

A girl in her early 20's threw a massive stop in a gov office after she was told she couldn't renew her drivers license as she was missing some required document. She screamed and yelled and kicked over a chair and accused the poor woman behind the desk of not letting her get it because she was jealous of her. Then she walked out with her mortified mother (I assume) and started giggling about how awful she is, like it was some cute little personality tic. I know another girl who started screaming hysterically, slapping and throwing things at the poor guy who was breaking up with her (confirming it was the right move tbh).

Another time I saw a guy try to trip up a flight attendant carrying drinks after he failed to get an upgrade when he complained about everything. The sheer spite of it.

Neames · 08-12-2019 2:01pm

I saw a guy having an epic meltdown at work over a promotion that someone got.

What makes it even more cringey is that he could have applied for the job himself but didn't.

Elemonator · 08-12-2019 2:03pm

I used to work in retail. I saw it everyday, particularly when customers were refused a discount. Like why would I?

Bobblehats · 08-12-2019 2:06pm

That has got to be me ma. Works herself into a right huff throwing tea towels, stamping her little trotters and shįt

julyjane · 08-12-2019 5:28pm

Bobblehats wrote: »

That has got to be me ma. Works herself into a right huff throwing tea towels, stamping her little trotters and shįt

My MIL is a bit like that too, but we're mostly immune to her now and it's usually in private because she has a different face for those outside the family. She called to ours one day unexpectedly and asked my DH to drive her somewhere 2-3 miles away. He was in the middle of assembling 2 bedside lockers that we'd bought so he said he'd bring her in a few minutes when he was finished. I was in the sitting room watching TV with the door closed so I'd say she didn't realise there anyone else here but I heard her shouting loudly at him while he was hammering a nail. The next thing I heard was her shouting "I'LL WALK" and the front door slamming loudly, I looked out the window and she was storming out the gate. A few minutes later she came back and asked him for directions to the place she wanted to go to, a village over the road that she'd been to many times before. He dropped what he was doing and drove her over, anything for a quiet life. I wouldn't mind but I was only in the other room watching TV i would have driven her over if she'd asked me, he didn't even get a chance to tell her I was there because she just went off on one and he couldn't get a word in.

s4uv3 · 08-12-2019 5:35pm

Me this morning trying to get a snail-slow two year old to GET INTO THE JAYSUS CAR after swimming.
I'm awake since 4:30 with the baby and was in no mood. No mood at all.

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5 · 08-12-2019 5:47pm

s4uv3 wrote: »

Me this morning trying to get a snail-slow two year old to GET INTO THE JAYSUS CAR after swimming.
I'm awake since 4:30 with the baby and was in no mood. No mood at all.

Reminds me, last year I was talking to a friend at her market stall. It was right before the abortion referendum, we had both been out canvassing, it was a tense time with a lot of hostility, we were offloading to each other and saying how we couldn't wait for it to be over.

Then this adorable little boy about 3 or 4 years old appeared in front of us in a spiderman costume and we were like oh great a cute kid, hey there spiderman! He started showing off, spinning around and grabbing his foot and stuff and we were cheering him on, it was a really lovely break in the tension.

Then his mother who was standing at the next stall turned around and saw what he was doing and started screaming, and I mean screaming at him. "STOP THAT! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?? I TOLD YOU NOT TO MOVE!" (the child was literally four foot away from her, I know what the fright is like when you turn around and a child's not where they were but come on). Grabbed him by the arm and dragged him off, not a feather off the child he just waved bye at us so I don't think it was out of the ordinary.

The woman looked wrecked and quite old to have a child that age*, and he did seem fairly full of beans but it was like God, guess we'll just go fcuk ourselves for trying to have one ****ing nice little moment during this horror show.

Actually, god, have some stories from canvassing too but best not go near that topic any further or we'll end up with brand new tantrums right on the thread :eek:

*Edit: Don't mean to offend anyone with that, it mightn't be the best phrasing. She was older than most women with children that age (I'd say mid forties) and I'd imagine it's a lot more tiring taking care of a toddler when you're that age compared to when you're in your twenties.

corner of hells · 08-12-2019 5:57pm

Candie wrote: »

A girl in her early 20's threw a massive stop in a gov office after she was told she couldn't renew her drivers license as she was missing some required document. She screamed and yelled and kicked over a chair and accused the poor woman behind the desk of not letting her get it because she was jealous of her. Then she walked out with her mortified mother (I assume) and started giggling about how awful she is, like it was some cute little personality tic. I know another girl who started screaming hysterically, slapping and throwing things at the poor guy who was breaking up with her (confirming it was the right move tbh).

Another time I saw a guy try to trip up a flight attendant carrying drinks after he failed to get an upgrade when he complained about everything. The sheer spite of it.

A relative of mine worked as a porter in one of the offices where a you renew your driving licence years.

One evening as he was locking up a bloke arrived at the door demanding to be let in , my relative apologised saying all the work stations were shut down and office was closed for the evening.

The "gentleman " went off on a rant asking " do people not know who he is and how important " .

One thing lead to another with my relative eventually telling him to that he didn't give a fcuk who he was .

The gent presented the Late Late show and has prominent radio position.

julyjane · 08-12-2019 6:28pm

that reminds me of a story Ronnie Drew once told. He worked in the telephone exchange back when they were a thing but he hated it because music was his first love. One day a woman was rude to him on the phone and he ripped into her and said god only knows what. The woman gasped and said "do you know who I am?" Ronnie said "Do you know who I am?" she said "of course I don't know who you are, Ronnie laughed and said "thanks be to Jaysus" before disconnecting her. She turned out to be the wife of someone important so he got sacked and went onto bigger things.

Grab All Association · 08-12-2019 6:42pm

Clothes shop in Cork City recently and a old man comes in shouting about the exchanging of a pair of trousers. At first I thought they refused him an exchange, but when the lady calmed him down (she had great patience and held her nerve) it turned out he didn’t even ask for an exchange.

saabsaab · 08-12-2019 8:24pm

corner of hells wrote: »

A relative of mine worked as a porter in one of the offices where a you renew your driving licence years.

One evening as he was locking up a bloke arrived at the door demanding to be let in , my relative apologised saying all the work stations were shut down and office was closed for the evening.

The "gentleman " went off on a rant asking " do people not know who he is and how important " .

One thing lead to another with my relative eventually telling him to that he didn't give a fcuk who he was .

The gent presented the Late Late show and has prominent radio position.

People shouldn't come in at the last minute knowing full well that their business will take them past closing time a full day is long enough. They always take extra time and are difficult customers. I never do it myself, at least on purpose.

MidnightQueen · 08-12-2019 8:55pm

Definitely the worst has to be Christian Bales breakdown. Lol. I used to work in retail too and the worst I saw there was a lady in her late 50s lose it over a second lawn mower broken that she brought back into the store. Shouted for the manager urgently. Some people swear they’re the only people important on earth.
I currently work with phone calls and had some lad smash his phone because he was locked out of his account on it. He said “If you can’t help me, I’m going to smash this phone” then the line went dead.

I guess we have to understand that there’s a reason for those crazy outbursts that may have absolutely nothing to do with you. We just have to try and calm them down to normal again. I can understand a little child having a breakdown as they are only learning about emotions, we need to teach them to behave in a positive manner but when it comes to adults, they should know better. Yet we still have to deal with crazy outbursts.

anewme · 08-12-2019 9:48pm

Had distressed staff from our call centre tell me lad on the phone was having a complete melt down and threatening to kill himself because he wasn't getting his own way over his broken item. They were upset as we had just lost a young colleague.

I called him back and told him a few home truths. He got chewed out of it (in a professional but harsh way )

To be fair, he rang back unexpectedly in the afternoon after thinking about his actions and apologised to all staff.

08-12-2019 9:55pm

saabsaab wrote: »

People shouldn't come in at the last minute knowing full well that their business will take them past closing time a full day is long enough. They always take extra time and are difficult customers. I never do it myself, at least on purpose.

The trick i used in retail was to put the shutter 3/4 mins before closing time down a third of the way so they'd know to speed it up and also id give a call out of the tills "power off" at ten pm....it would annoy me to know end when the entire shutters down and locked, eejits would still try their arm and knock and roar at the door..

08-12-2019 9:58pm

MidnightQueen wrote: »

Definitely the worst has to be Christian Bales breakdown. Lol. I used to work in retail too and the worst I saw there was a lady in her late 50s lose it over a second lawn mower broken that she brought back into the store. Shouted for the manager urgently. Some people swear they’re the only people important on earth.
I currently work with phone calls and had some lad smash his phone because he was locked out of his account on it. He said “If you can’t help me, I’m going to smash this phone” then the line went dead.
I guess we have to understand that there’s a reason for those crazy outbursts that may have absolutely nothing to do with you. We just have to try and calm them down to normal again. I can understand a little child having a breakdown as they are only learning about emotions, we need to teach them to behave in a positive manner but when it comes to adults, they should know better. Yet we still have to deal with crazy outbursts.

Older women in retail seem to be the ones who get cheesed off/agressive very easily...i once asked did she want to put a paper bag around her wine bottle and she went on a rant and reported me to my manager who basically fecked her out of it and told her to jog on....the snootyness from her everytime after that when she came in brought a smile to my face

Brock Turnpike · 08-12-2019 10:18pm

corner of hells wrote: »

A relative of mine worked as a porter in one of the offices where a you renew your driving licence years.

One evening as he was locking up a bloke arrived at the door demanding to be let in , my relative apologised saying all the work stations were shut down and office was closed for the evening.

The "gentleman " went off on a rant asking " do people not know who he is and how important " .

One thing lead to another with my relative eventually telling him to that he didn't give a fcuk who he was .

The gent presented the Late Late show and has prominent radio position.

So your relative had sex with the man and then told him he didn't give a f*ck who he was?

4Ad · 08-12-2019 10:34pm

Flight from Bangkok to London, a few years back, I was in the galley, getting more wine, when this Northern Irish lad burst in, what he didn't say to the stewardess, lesbian bitch and what he wouldn't do to her etc..
She took it well and laughed it off.."Im not even a lesbian"...
Half an hour later another cabin crew member, who was also present arrived down to my seat asking would I be a witness to the threats, I said I would, no problem..

Delighted when we landed that there was at least four Police Officers there to escort the aggressive ****e off the plane..

corner of hells · 08-12-2019 10:40pm

Brock Turnpike wrote: »

So your relative had sex with the man and then told him he didn't give a f*ck who he was?

Yes ? That is correct.
I'm just going to my doors are locked.

MidnightQueen · 08-12-2019 10:59pm

Miguel Shallow Steakhouse wrote: »

Older women in retail seem to be the ones who get cheesed off/agressive very easily...i once asked did she want to put a paper bag around her wine bottle and she went on a rant and reported me to my manager who basically fecked her out of it and told her to jog on....the snootyness from her everytime after that when she came in brought a smile to my face

Lol karma at its best.

brightspark · 08-12-2019 11:05pm

I know this is After Hours and not known for it's compassion, but there are adults who have autism (Aspergers) and if triggered may have a meltdown that can resemble a tantrum.

The difference is that once it starts there is nothing they can do about it but despite outward appearances they are typically embarrassed afterwards.

Padre_Pio · 08-12-2019 11:11pm

brightspark wrote: »

I know this is After Hours and not known for it's compassion, but there are adults who have autism (Aspergers) and if triggered may have a meltdown that can resemble a tantrum.

The difference is that once it starts there is nothing they can do about it but despite outward appearances they are typically embarrassed afterwards.

While that's true, there are many times that number who are just pr*cks.

brightspark · 08-12-2019 11:12pm

Padre_Pio wrote: »

While that's true, there are many times that number who are just pr*cks.

Unfortunately that is true too.

freshpopcorn · 08-12-2019 11:14pm

I was in a shop recently and I saw a woman being very snappy and with the staff and I said to my what a twat.
However after a few minutes I could see how she was annoyed.

skooterblue2 · 08-12-2019 11:17pm

Is anyone here a fan of the film "the Big short" (Ryan Gosling, Brad Pitt, Steve Carrell...) about the 2007 financial melt down?

Mark Baum says the line "There is a strong correlation between incidents of mania and an imminent Financial Meltdown"

skooterblue2 · 08-12-2019 11:22pm

Last week I saw a mother and daughter in the Kildare outlet village lose her siht.
She got on the wrong bus to the satellite car park (all her own fault).
All she had to to was to hold it together for 5 minutes and she could get back to the car park and get the correct bus, simple no?

She gave out to the bus driver (poor polish guy was as cool as a cucumber, then she called over security guards and demanded to speak to the manager). The daughter was scarlet for her. "I have travelled over 150km .... blah bah etc etc".

Fuppin bunny boiler.

razorblunt · 08-12-2019 11:27pm

I worked in a retail store years ago and we suffered a power cut. Only affected the upstairs floor but the amount of toy throwing>

1. People refusing to leave trying to browse in the dark, we had to cordon off areas with stands to shepherd them to the door

2. Someone saying they drove “all the way from Waterford to shop there today”, as if we planned it to píss them off

3. One fella absolutely screaming that his car was parked on the outside of the building and he needs to get through. It was pointed out exiting through the mall entrance would also get him there in about 10 seconds longer but IDEALLY he should go down to put ground floor entrance and get out from the top floor ... with it being 40 feet up! That made him worse.

4068ac1elhodqr · 08-12-2019 11:40pm

The only thing that springs to mind is the time Donald won the POTUS and there was a widely broadcast newsclip of a grown lady bawling her head off, crying like it was the end times.

Ave Sodalis · 08-12-2019 11:44pm

anewme wrote:

Had distressed staff from our call centre tell me lad on the phone was having a complete melt down and threatening to kill himself because he wasn't getting his own way over his broken item. They were upset as we had just lost a young colleague.

I had a Fastway courier basically do this to me because I wouldn't let him deliver it miles away from my house. He acted as though he was on the verge on financial ruin and it was all getting too much for him. I text him after to ask if he was okay and he admitted it was just an act.

I complained to both Fastway and the company I ordered from, and the only thing I got from it was the same man delivering it out to me the next day. Of course, when he arrived, I recognised him. The silly c*nt didn't realise that I was friends with his daughter in primary school, had stayed in his manor house on several occasions, and knew he owned the shop that he was insisting on leaving my package into. The only reason he was a courier too was because it was easy money for him if he left everything at his shop.

I was in an emotionally abusive "relationship" in the past where the guy kept threatening to kill himself in order to make me stay, and it took a massive toll on me. Thankfully, that encounter with the courier didn't ruin much of the hard work I put into recovering, but I still get very mad thinking about it.

skooterblue2 · 08-12-2019 11:51pm

Ave Sodalis wrote: »

I had a Fastway courier basically do this to me because I wouldn't let him deliver it miles away from my house. He acted as though he was on the verge on financial ruin and it was all getting too much for him. I text him after to ask if he was okay and he admitted it was just an act.

I got a similar thing from another Fastway guy think my elderly parents house was the local post sorting office for rural deposits. Got onto the local office and it never happened again.

poisonated · 09-12-2019 12:33am

aoh wrote: »

Was on a flight and the cabin crew (new, I would guess) was pushing the trolley down the aisle. Something went snafu and 2 litre bottles of coke etc went flying. I was soaked (aisle seat). Cabin crew went running away in tears. Senior staff appeared and a guy two rows behind me started screaming that his suit was ruined and the airline had BETTER pay for dry-cleaning.

Having calmed him down - easily 10 minutes - they approached me and I asked for some paper towels to dry off. They went scurrying!

The woman across the aisle from me (not as bad but still wet) joked "Would'nt it be nice to get a glass of champagne". We all laughed.

Five minutes later, they're all there with champagne. To me "we are sooo sorry. Please enjoy". Same to the woman across the aisle.

To yer man "Champagne SIR!!". Not sure he laughed but the rest of us did!!

Karma rocks!!

I’m not sure how him getting free champagne is karma. He sounds like a bit of an ass though.

TAFKAlawhec · 09-12-2019 12:34am

Kind of a reverse one, this. A number of years back, I went to my local health centre to collect a prescription for some medicine I was to take, at around 1 o'clock (pm, before anyone asks). The woman at the reception desk said to me that such prescriptions can only be handed out when there is a doctor on the premises, so only 9-12 and 2-4 (a NI Health Service regulation that had just been brought in at the time, think it was just two weeks old or so) is when you can collect the note. Not going to deny that I was a little internally irritated by this, but I knew the woman in question & that the rule wasn't going to make an exception for me, so I went "All right, come back again after two?" "Yeah, between two and four <TAFKAlawhec>" and left it there...

...It's now 2:15 and I'm back at the health centre, same woman is at reception, I just ask about my prescription again and she says "no bother" and comes back with it about 10 seconds later. When she handed it over to me, she mentioned that I was the first person she had (since this new rule was brought in) that when told they could not give out prescription notes between 12 and 2 o'clock, didn't react by either swearing at them, or throw a right tantrum, or both. Couldn't really believe what she was telling me TBH, but I can imagine that alongside working at the coal face at a Jobs & Benefits office, working at somewhere like a reception desk at a health centre or A&E means having to put up with a lot of sh*t from many members of the public whom either demand or expect you to bend/break the rules for them.

aoh · 09-12-2019 12:56am

poisonated wrote: »

I’m not sure how him getting free champagne is karma. He sounds like a bit of an ass though.

It was the attitude from the cabin crew not him getting champers. Was fun to see his face!

Mehapoy · 09-12-2019 12:59am

TAFKAlawhec wrote: »

Kind of a reverse one, this. A number of years back, I went to my local health centre to collect a prescription for some medicine I was to take, at around 1 o'clock (pm, before anyone asks). The woman at the reception desk said to me that such prescriptions can only be handed out when there is a doctor on the premises, so only 9-12 and 2-4 (a NI Health Service regulation that had just been brought in at the time, think it was just two weeks old or so) is when you can collect the note. Not going to deny that I was a little internally irritated by this, but I knew the woman in question & that the rule wasn't going to make an exception for me, so I went "All right, come back again after two?" "Yeah, between two and four <TAFKAlawhec>" and left it there...

...It's now 2:15 and I'm back at the health centre, same woman is at reception, I just ask about my prescription again and she says "no bother" and comes back with it about 10 seconds later. When she handed it over to me, she mentioned that I was the first person she had (since this new rule was brought in) that when told they could not give out prescription notes between 12 and 2 o'clock, didn't react by either swearing at them, or throw a right tantrum, or both. Couldn't really believe what she was telling me TBH, but I can imagine that alongside working at the coal face at a Jobs & Benefits office, working at somewhere like a reception desk at a health centre or A&E means having to put up with a lot of sh*t from many members of the public whom either demand or expect you to bend/break the rules for them.

I can understand both situations there, in that situation the woman on the counter told you the reason why, was fairly friendly about it and most reasonable people would understand and accept. Then you can get some people in customer facing roles that will bark ' no perscriptions between 12 and 2' and no explanation why, that usually ends up in the customer being frustrated as f%%k and expressing it.

20Wheel · 09-12-2019 1:05am

Who can see themselves ending up in a thread like this some day?

The begrudgery of not giving onlookers the pleasure of tutting and gossiping is probably the only thing that's saved me from rolling around on the ground screaming several times.

sameoldname · 09-12-2019 1:08am

Back many years ago, when I still had some patience I used to work in an electronics retailer. 3 incidents spring to mind:

The lady who decided to have a meltdown because we asked her 3 young unsupervised children that she dumped there to leave the store while she went shopping in a different store across the street. Was tempted to ask her that if she couldn't stand being around them, what made her think we would?

Another gentleman one day ran in screaming that he was going to sue us because he reversed into a bollard outside our shop. I pointed out to him (without even a hint of laughter) that we didn't own the bollard and that he should head down to the security office in the underground car park because at least the employees there actually do work for the people who own said bollard.

The last one I could scarcely believe bar the fact it happened to me personally. Guy comes in with an old camcorder and is looking for a new tape for it. We actually have the tapes in stock even though they're ancient, so I make the sale and everything's fine. Another happy customer...
5 minutes later the guy comes rushing back in, basically throws the camcorder at me and claims that the brand new tape that I just sold him has broken his camera. I ask him to define "broken". He explains he put the new tape in and now the little fold out screen is blank. He says it was working earlier with an older tape (which he has with him in the store also) and it was definitely the new tape that broke it.
I ask him if I could have the old tape and try it in the camcorder and see if that worked. I stuck it in and pushed play and even though the screen was still blank you could hear the audio from the tape being played back from the onboard speaker. Now, I knew with about 99.99% certainty that the little ribbon cable that feeds the flip out screen had more than likely frayed because it's a movable part and I'd seen it a good few times before. I also knew that there was no way that this guy was going to accept that answer as he was obviously geared up for a fight. Still, I figured I may as well tell him what I suspect. That goes as expected and of course the guy wants a refund (That's fine, I want rid of him so I'd gladly give him his money back) but he also wants money from us to cover the cost of a new camera. I tell him that I'm going to ring product support in the UK but I warn him before hand that the chances of them authorising me giving him money for the camcorder is practically zero and that there's no way a blank tape caused the screen to crap out but the audio to keep working. He doesn't much like that answer.
So I ring product support and the answer is as suspected, yes to refund but no to any money for a new camcorder as there's no way the tape did that kind of damage. So now I'm preparing myself, because I know what's coming...

Me: OK, so I've spoken to product support and unfortunately all I can do is give you a refund for the tape but I can't do anything about your camera.
Customer: THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!! THIS CAMERA WAS WORKING FINE UNTIL I PUT IN YOUR BLOODY TAPE!!!
M: I'm sorry but that's all I'm authorised to give you. Now, I can give you the contact details for our consumer complaints departm....
C: LET ME SPEAK TO YOUR MANAGER!!!
M: I'm the manager on duty but the store manager will be back tomorro....
C (he's turned purple at this stage): I NEED THIS CAMERA TODAY! NOT BLOODY TOMORROW! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO FOR ME TODAY!!!???
M: Well...
C: WHAT'S YOUR NAME!!!???
M: My name is sameoldname, you see, it's written here on my name ta...
C (the veins on his forehead are beginning to like like roads on a map): WHAT'S YOUR SURNAME!!? I'M GOING TO NEED IT FOR WHEN I BRING YOU TO COURT!
M: Well, you don't need my surname to bring this company to court and I'm not actually legally obliged to give it to you. Your argument is with the company, not me personally.
C: I ASKED YOU FOR YOUR FULL NAME! ARE YOU REFUSING TO GIVE IT TO ME!???
M: Well, yes but....
C: I'M RINGING THE GARDS UNLESS YOU GIVE ME YOUR FULL NAME!!!
M: Well... fair enough...

And then he does it! He rings the local f*****g Garda station! Now, I'm gone from dreading this to actually being quite intrigued how this is gonna go...
Now, I couldn't hear what the Garda said to him but I'm gonna have a guess here just to fill in the blanks:

C: Hello? I need to talk to someone about a problem I'm having with an employee at a store who won't give me his surname!
Garda: Hold on... What?
C: This employee won't give me his full name! He sold me something which broke an expensive camera of mine and he refuses to give me the money to replace it!
G: OK... what exactly do you want me to do about it?

Now at this point, I'm trying really hard not to start grinning. Only because I can't wait to tell people that this has actually happened!

C: I WANT YOU TO TELL HIM TO GIVE ME HIS FULL NAME!!
G: I can't/I won't.
C: SO THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO FOR ME!?
G: No.

So by this stage I know that the Gard has given him the bad news. I am now checking to make sure that the security cameras have a good shot of this guy. Not because I'm worried for my safety but because I need evidence to make sure my coworkers don't think I made this all up!

C: FINE! *hangs up and looks at me* JUST GIVE ME MY REFUND!!!

So that I do. He get's his refund of a fiver or whatever and I got a story that became legend... because while other members of staff may have had complaints made against them, I was the only one to ever had the Gards called on!

20Wheel · 09-12-2019 1:14am

Reading the above.

There's no customer facing job that's worth the pay.

09-12-2019 1:24am

i was waiting for him to demand the guards full name

ridonkulous · 09-12-2019 1:29am

sameoldname wrote: »

Back many years ago, when I still had some patience I used to work in an electronics retailer. 3 incidents spring to mind:

The lady who decided to have a meltdown because we asked her 3 young unsupervised children that she dumped there to leave the store while she went shopping in a different store across the street. Was tempted to ask her that if she couldn't stand being around them, what made her think we would?

Another gentleman one day ran in screaming that he was going to sue us because he reversed into a bollard outside our shop. I pointed out to him (without even a hint of laughter) that we didn't own the bollard and that he should head down to the security office in the underground car park because at least the employees there actually do work for the people who own said bollard.

The last one I could scarcely believe bar the fact it happened to me personally. Guy comes in with an old camcorder and is looking for a new tape for it. We actually have the tapes in stock even though they're ancient, so I make the sale and everything's fine. Another happy customer...
5 minutes later the guy comes rushing back in, basically throws the camcorder at me and claims that the brand new tape that I just sold him has broken his camera. I ask him to define "broken". He explains he put the new tape in and now the little fold out screen is blank. He says it was working earlier with an older tape (which he has with him in the store also) and it was definitely the new tape that broke it.
I ask him if I could have the old tape and try it in the camcorder and see if that worked. I stuck it in and pushed play and even though the screen was still blank you could hear the audio from the tape being played back from the onboard speaker. Now, I knew with about 99.99% certainty that the little ribbon cable that feeds the flip out screen had more than likely frayed because it's a movable part and I'd seen it a good few times before. I also knew that there was no way that this guy was going to accept that answer as he was obviously geared up for a fight. Still, I figured I may as well tell him what I suspect. That goes as expected and of course the guy wants a refund (That's fine, I want rid of him so I'd gladly give him his money back) but he also wants money from us to cover the cost of a new camera. I tell him that I'm going to ring product support in the UK but I warn him before hand that the chances of them authorising me giving him money for the camcorder is practically zero and that there's no way a blank tape caused the screen to crap out but the audio to keep working. He doesn't much like that answer.
So I ring product support and the answer is as suspected, yes to refund but no to any money for a new camcorder as there's no way the tape did that kind of damage. So now I'm preparing myself, because I know what's coming...

Me: OK, so I've spoken to product support and unfortunately all I can do is give you a refund for the tape but I can't do anything about your camera.
Customer: THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!!! THIS CAMERA WAS WORKING FINE UNTIL I PUT IN YOUR BLOODY TAPE!!!
M: I'm sorry but that's all I'm authorised to give you. Now, I can give you the contact details for our consumer complaints departm....
C: LET ME SPEAK TO YOUR MANAGER!!!
M: I'm the manager on duty but the store manager will be back tomorro....
C (he's turned purple at this stage): I NEED THIS CAMERA TODAY! NOT BLOODY TOMORROW! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO FOR ME TODAY!!!???
M: Well...
C: WHAT'S YOUR NAME!!!???
M: My name is sameoldname, you see, it's written here on my name ta...
C (the veins on his forehead are beginning to like like roads on a map): WHAT'S YOUR SURNAME!!? I'M GOING TO NEED IT FOR WHEN I BRING YOU TO COURT!
M: Well, you don't need my surname to bring this company to court and I'm not actually legally obliged to give it to you. Your argument is with the company, not me personally.
C: I ASKED YOU FOR YOUR FULL NAME! ARE YOU REFUSING TO GIVE IT TO ME!???
M: Well, yes but....
C: I'M RINGING THE GARDS UNLESS YOU GIVE ME YOUR FULL NAME!!!
M: Well... fair enough...

And then he does it! He rings the local f*****g Garda station! Now, I'm gone from dreading this to actually being quite intrigued how this is gonna go...
Now, I couldn't hear what the Garda said to him but I'm gonna have a guess here just to fill in the blanks:

C: Hello? I need to talk to someone about a problem I'm having with an employee at a store who won't give me his surname!
Garda: Hold on... What?
C: This employee won't give me his full name! He sold me something which broke an expensive camera of mine and he refuses to give me the money to replace it!
G: OK... what exactly do you want me to do about it?

Now at this point, I'm trying really hard not to start grinning. Only because I can't wait to tell people that this has actually happened!

C: I WANT YOU TO TELL HIM TO GIVE ME HIS FULL NAME!!
G: I can't/I won't.
C: SO THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO FOR ME!?
G: No.

So by this stage I know that the Gard has given him the bad news. I am now checking to make sure that the security cameras have a good shot of this guy. Not because I'm worried for my safety but because I need evidence to make sure my coworkers don't think I made this all up!

C: FINE! *hangs up and looks at me* JUST GIVE ME MY REFUND!!!

So that I do. He get's his refund of a fiver or whatever and I got a story that became legend... because while other members of staff may have had complaints made against them, I was the only one to ever had the Gards called on!

Impressive. Yours is the first story I read where you come off as sounding a worse so and so than the customer.

Worst adult temper-tantrum you've witnessed?

Comments