“You Deserve It!”: People Share Moments Proving Customers Aren’t Always Right

Being an employee working as a frontline who deals with different people with different personalities is one of the most challenging jobs.

Imagine waking up and preparing yourself for work and ensuring you show the best version of yourself. When one customer walks in and starts berating you in front of other customers, what would you do? Well, these people did not take a chill pill!

1. Thrilling Goodbye

I worked in the ticket booths. This theme park takes automatic payments from your credit card if you're an annual pass holder on the monthly contract.

If your card expires or otherwise has to be changed, and you don't call to put a new card on file, the auto-payments stop, and your pass freezes.

No big deal; This company doesn't hit you with fees or penalties. You simply call or come to the booth, and we handle it right then and there -- zippety-doo-dah, and in you go.

One day, I got a middle-aged couple whose passes froze. The man was upset and ready to talk about it. A common question from guests is, "Don't you send out late notices?"

No, we don’t because they're not practical, and again, there are no penalties anyway. Just come see us, and we'll straighten you out. The man says to me disgustedly, "You don't send notices when a pass freezes? How does that work?"

I said, "Well, when you receive your credit card statement, you see that a recurring charge is not present on it, and you can expect the service related to the recurring charge to be interrupted. It must be related to your card having been replaced recently."

The wife smiled, and the man's face reddened. He leaned in and barked, "Get your supervisor. I want to talk to somebody smart."

To my shame, I said, "Of course. Would you like someone smart enough to stay aware of their credit card use or merely smart enough to read contracts they sign?"

My booth lead happened to come over as soon as she heard "supervisor," so she was standing behind me when I said the emotional thing.

It isn't how I wanted to go out (I was five days away from leaving for a new job), but I looked at it as a vicariously cathartic mic drop goodbye to my fellow cast members. For them, it was a thrill.

[deleted]

I worked at a furniture store as a sales associate. One day, a husband and wife come in wanting to furnish their son's apartment, who is going to college.

They find all the furniture pieces they want, and I check stock on multiple items. Everything except the table top on the dining room set they wanted is in. I go back and tell the couple.

The husband throws an absolute hissy fit, saying that he can't believe we don't stock our products (keep in mind that we are a huge furniture store).

I calmly explained to him that we couldn't possibly keep all of our products in stock at all times, and since the dining room table he wanted was a very popular set (due to the fact it was $199.99), it tended to go out of stock rather quickly.

So, we would have to wait for that vendor to send us the tabletop, which took about two weeks. I even tried to show them another table top that was in stock that was very similar to the one they picked out, and he would not have it.

He started telling me that I was incompetent and how dare I insult him (insult him how? I have no idea). He starts increasing his volume, and now he is full-out screaming at me about 10 inches away from my face.

My manager walked from around the corner and looked at me questioningly (like the "do you got this face?"). I nodded at him, saying that I had it, but he continued to stand within earshot.

I then looked back to the customer and said in a nonchalant tone- "I'm not going to help you. In fact, no one here is going to help you. Now, please get out of my store." The customer looks at me bewildered and in full-set rage and demands to speak with my manager.

Since my manager was standing right around the corner- he had heard everything. He goes over to the customer and says, "Well, you heard the lady." I miss working there.

Nishiwara

I used to cut hair. I was cutting a lady's hair when the child of the lady waiting started running around the shop. I told the child several times to sit with her mother and asked her mother to please keep her child seated next to her.

Well, in the middle of cutting around my client's ear, the child ran into my work area, ran into me, and almost caused me to cut my client.

I looked at the child and firmly said, "You need to go sit down with your mother now." Her mom didn't like that and came running back to me and yelled, "Don't tell my child what to do. I'm her parent."

I responded with, "Then act like it." She glared at me, grabbed her child, and stormed out. Everyone in the shop was relieved the child had left.

A few days later, the owner came and tried to fire me for it, but luckily, enough other stylists and clients came to my defense about the danger of the situation, and I only got a write-up.

IamWood13

Many a year ago, I worked at a home improvement store. I was a cart pusher, which was nice as I was outside all the time. We gather about 25-30 shopping carts together and push them up to the entrance, where they are stored.

Now, to get them there, we have to cross the main drive of the parking lot in front of the store. We always stop and let customers drive by.

So, as I push the carts up, I stop because I see a guy in a pretty nice SUV. He is actually stopped in front of the entrance. Maybe he dropped someone off, but I do not know.

So I'm waiting to see if he drives off, and he then looks at me and waves me across. It seemed like he wanted to finish a call he had gotten or something. So I wave back and start pushing the carts across.

I was on the other side when someone clipped me across the shoulder blades, and it stung somewhat and pushed me forward. At the same time, I heard glass shatter. I turned around, and the guy in the SUV clipped me with his sideview mirror.

It had swung closed and broke the window in the door. I'm just standing there wide-eyed. 2 seconds later, the guy gets out of his car, swearing up a storm at me and how I'm a low-life piece of crap and how I'm going to pay for a new window and that I'm not going to get anywhere in life because I broke his window.

Now, I'm the type of person who would take the blame and fix the problem if I were the reason. But this guy hit me. I blew up on him for about 5 minutes before a manager finally had the guts to come over and pull me away.

I didn't have to pay for a new window as it was on video, but I lost my job because we were not supposed to yell and cuss at the customer.

Warmasher

I used to work in the restaurant industry as a chef. At this particular spot, we had a closed kitchen, so customers could not see what was being done in the kitchen.

It was nice because we could listen to music and joke around without having to worry.

Anyway, one day, I was alone on the line, and a server came to me and said a customer wanted to give me his compliments. No problem. I put on my nicer jacket and went out to say hi.

The customer thanked me, then told me to come in closely because he had a secret. I was like, okay, sure? So I lean in a little, he motions me closer, and I move in more.

This guy then goes, "I'll meet you in the bathroom in 5 minutes," and grabs my guy part. I freaking lost it and shoved the dude. I got fired immediately.

zeebow77

I was a stockroom assistant at a well-known fashion chain in the UK & US. Didn't go off on a customer, but I bloody well wish I did now.

Happened to be behind tills changing hanger boxes when a customer exploded at the trainee cashier, demanding to know where her order was. She's screaming her head off at how it's "unacceptable I paid extra" and how she "made a specific detour" to collect her package.

She had ordered a jacket in another branch and had paid for next-day delivery to the store I worked in. Customers aren't supposed to come collect their orders until they get an email saying their order is ready to collect.

The poor cashier started last week and is basically cowering for dear life. I take over and ask them to see her email, which she explains she "doesn't need" because she "paid extra," so her package "must be here."

After 10 minutes of me explaining why her package isn't ready to collect and trying to challenge Krakatoa, she storms off, shouting that she'll be "having words" with the guy who owns our company.

I hand it back to the cashier and carry on with my day*

The next day, I'm prepping our delivery, and I get called for a meeting with the store manager. I'm told I'm being let go for gross misconduct, specifically "being unhelpful and challenging" to customers.

It turns out the customer was a "journalist." She led our head of the company, who did indeed know me personally and got me fired specifically.

IntrusiveInveigling

I worked in a hospital, and some ladies were irate about the wait taking too long, among other things (it was an emergency room, and she had been waiting 30 minutes).

She demanded to speak to the charge nurse, and the charge nurse came out and wrote down all of her complaints.

As soon as she walked away, the charge nurse handed me the piece of paper and said, "Hey, file this in my drawer for me," as he pointed to the trash can.

I think that's the hardest I've ever laughed at work because he was so serious when he was writing down all of her complaints.

[deleted]

I didn't lose my job, but I think most people would have blown up at this guy. Or cried. Fortunately, I am extremely calm, collected, and tough from being bullied so much in middle school.

I worked at a large retail store and was stocking a shelf when an old (like 80+) man approached me. Like every other customer, I assumed he was going to ask me where something was.

Instead, he started going off on me. Just insult after insult, telling me I'm disgusting, and all these things like that, because I have tattoos. Instead of blowing up at him, I thanked him for the compliments, sugar dripping from my voice.

In my head, I was saying, "You'll be dead soon," but out loud, I said something like, "I really love the color of your pants! Is that seafoam green polyester? I think the 1970s must have been so cool!" Where did he even get those pants? A museum?

Well, apparently, someone witnessed all this because about 10 minutes after the guy gave up, my manager came up to me looking furious. I remember feeling a horrible sense of dread. He blew up, but it's not about how I handled it.

He said I should have called him immediately, and he would have kicked the guy out of the store, and that I didn't deserve to be treated like that. What a great manager!

listen-

I worked as a server at an upscale country club and had these two gentlemen come in for lunch. One ordered, and the other said, "I'll have exactly the same thing." So I confirmed that's what he wanted, and he replied, "That's what I said, right?"

I bring out their lunch, and the second guy complains and starts getting rude to me because his lunch has onions on it, so I say, "Sir, you said you wanted the same thing, but I can have the chef make you another one."

Then he says, "Listen to me, you little freak. I know what I said, and I never said I wanted onions." So I replied, "If you ever speak to me like that again, you and I are going to step outside and work this out."

He pisses and moans to see the manager, who, unbeknownst to me, is sitting at the table right behind these guys having a meeting with another member.

She turns around and tells the guy, "After the way you talked to my employee, I should let him. How about you both apologize and move on?"

LETS_SEE_UR_COOCH

A woman came into a charity shop and complained loudly about every single item to the ten or so customers in there. Along the lines of "This is all crap. Who pays for this?"

Like we're some boutique with clothes from the back of a van, she clearly didn't understand how rarely new clothes (still tagged, etc.) are donated. Then she got in my face about it.

I was so angry with her for chasing away the people who came in that I lost my cool. There was nobody left except her since she'd ranted them into leaving.

I told her to get out, and I 'didn't give a darn’ about the clothes or her opinions. She screams her way out of the shop, broadcasting it to everyone on the street.

She came back once the manager was off their break and complained again, so I lost my job fairly soon after. I can't blame them, and I'd have done the same.

TwentySixLetters

This actually happened to my "friend" today. Working at a fast food chain, keep in mind New Year's Eve is one of the busiest nights of the year. Opening employees have be in by 8 AM to prep food and get the store ready.

But no manager is there to open the store. Two employees walk to work and stand in cold for almost two hours, and another shows up with a phone to call the general manager and ask what's going on.

It turns out the opening shift manager forgot they were supposed to open. So, the general manager shows up to let employees in on her day off. Stays until the scheduled manager shows up.

Now, keep in mind everyone is nearly two hours behind on their opening duties, and when Mrs. Late Manager shows up, she does nothing and sits down to do her make-up.

She then asked my friend to do her opening duties while she fixed herself up. He declined because he had crap to do himself, and hey, you know, shouldn't be late, and now you here do your own work.

About twenty minutes later, after doing her makeup, she said she needed to fix her hair and again asked my friend to do her work.

At this point, after standing in the cold for nearly two hours and rushing to squeeze three hours of work into one hour because of her tardiness, he snapped back, "Why don't you do it yourself?"

She replies, "Well, do you just want to go home?" he says, “HECK YES,” and walks out. The general manager texted a bit later asking what happened, and he said, "She told me to go home, so I did, and I won't be back."

Throwawayfried2

We had a customer who, for at least a year, came into our store and was a master tactician in getting free goods by making up complaints against our staff.

He would do all sorts of maneuvers, from wanting products he knew we didn't carry to making up complaints about our staff to even complaining that he had been charged incorrectly.

Suppose this guy was in the store. Good luck if you are another customer. He would suck up all the oxygen in the place and demand service from multiple people at the same time.

He got reduced prices, free merchandise, and tons of coupons for his efforts.

My boss would never challenge this guy or protect his staff from being exposed to losing their job to a customer who would happily see a crew member fired so he could get $5 off his next purchase.

My boss wasn't entirely at fault since this was a giant corporation, and he was merely towing the fabled "the customer is ALWAYS right" mantra.

I was already planning on leaving for a better opportunity. I was going to give notice of resignation one week later when this customer started giving me an incredibly difficult time about an issue I had nothing to do with and couldn't help him with.

It was extremely busy, and he was holding everyone up with his crap. I made a quick value judgment and realized I was already out the door, and the only thing I was still there to do was to honor my appropriate resignation notice.

I had no design of ever working for this horrible company or any company like it ever again. I was in a unique situation and wouldn't let the opportunity pass. This guy had made life difficult for all of us for a long time. Payback time.

I cut this guy off mid-sentence and went off on him in front of several customers and members of our staff. I told him he was nothing more than a cheapskate grifter and that I would no longer recognize him as a living, breathing member of our species.

Then I told him to go screw himself. The look on his face was so goddamned beautiful. The entire store fell into silence, and I just stared him down. He asked to speak to my manager, and I doubled down by talking over his head and inviting the customer behind him to elbow up to the counter.

I apologized to the new customer about the guy's bad behavior, who, at this point, had steam coming out of his ears.

Eventually, when he realized he was getting nowhere waiting for me, he stormed to find a manager.

I finished my shift. I came back the following day and was intercepted by a corporate manager I had rarely seen. I was taken upstairs and was getting lectured.

I interrupted the scolding and revealed my intentions to leave this place and quit right there. On my way out the door, I received many high-fives from the other staff members.

Spiralyst

I didn't get fired for this one, and it was glorious. I used to work in this little Thai place in town, and we had these teenagers who came in every Sunday, were rude and demanding, and tipped 0%

One day, they're exceptionally awful to a new waitress, reducing her to tears, so my boss calls me over. "Next time they come, you take them and earn that 0% tip." I do a bit of a double-take.

She can't possibly mean what I think she means. "You mean?" She nods and gives me this equal parts devious and smug smile. A week later, they came in 5 minutes into my shift.

She sits them in my section, smiles, and tells me to do my worst. Here is a fairly detailed account of the wonderful 45 minutes that followed. I wait a good 5 minutes before going to greet them and bring water.

They're ready to order. I don't have a pen. I'll be right back, I promise. I loudly tell my manager I'm going out for a smoke and then go power smoke a cigarette (it takes me about 90 seconds).

They're my only table, and I'm not handling food yet, so I don't wash my hands. I reek of smoke. I took her order, pad thai, and there were no bean sprouts like always.

As he opened his mouth to tell me he'd have the same, I gave him the "just a minute" finger and pulled out my phone. I texted my fiancé and asked if he wanted to get dinner from my place or his house tonight. I take his order.

I somehow misunderstood and wrote down extra bean sprouts. Their food comes up while I'm telling my boss and the other waitress a story about my cat. I finish telling the story before I get their food.

I bring it out and walk away as they complain about the sprouts. About 5 minutes after they get the food, I get a second table. One is a customer from a former job, and we spend a few minutes catching up when I greet them.

The 0% tried to signal me as I left the table, but I stared straight ahead. When I came back for my new table's order, I saw that their glasses were missing roughly four sips of water.

This simply won't do! I hang their ticket and come back to fill their glasses. I look at 0%'s empty glasses, look the guy straight in the eye, smile, and walk away. He stops me as I walk over with apps for my new table and asks for boxes.

I tell him I'll grab them right after I drop off this food. I play a game of 2048 all the way up to 1024 before bringing them one small box. They ask for two bigger boxes and the check.

I promise I'll be right back and then ask my boss to keep an eye on the table I like while I go smoke again. I came back, and my boss told me they came to her for boxes and to pay and told her they were never coming back. She voids their check, gives me the $20 some dollars, and tells me I earned it.

[deleted]

This is not me, but my mother. She was just out of college and working at an upscale cocktail lounge in Arlington, Virginia. It was a fancy place—all DC businessmen.

It was common for large groups of men to come in and get absolutely wasted.

One night, after a few cocktails, a guy decided that it would be hilarious to untie the wrap skirt that was part of her uniform.

Bad idea. My mother was furious and dumped an entire tray of martinis on his head. She was promptly fired but still thinks it was worth it.

[deleted]

At my first job in high school, I was a busboy at a chain Italian place, the one with the breadsticks. One of the waitresses was quite good looking and didn't take crap from anyone.

I didn't see this myself, but I heard about it later. She was leaning over and refilling tea for a guest who was seated inside a booth (one of the big six-person ones).

The guest on the outside reached up and pinched her lady part. She then dumped the rest of the pitcher of tea into his lap. Deserve!

He responded, "Well, I guess I deserved that, didn't I?" She told him he sure did, and he was lucky his friend wasn't drinking coffee.

Homer_Goes_Crazy

Some fun times: Working in an auto parts store in Rubidoux, CA...a crappy neighborhood. I had a great manager who didn't let us get abused.

A guy comes in empty-handed, walks around for a while, picks up a battery, walks around for a while, brings it up, and asks for a refund. I told him to get the heck out. He did, no questions.

Another time at the same store, a guy buys all this stuff, and then, after I run his credit card through the paper imprinting machine (early 90s) and give him his copy, he reaches out and grabs my copies, saying he doesn't want a paper copy of his credit card info left there.

That's just how it was done then. So, I reached across the counter and grabbed the merchandise. He wrestled me for it, but I got it, and my coworkers came to my assistance and told him to get the heck out.

Of course, he said he would call the manager, so I said fine. The manager told him he could have the merchandise only if he brought back the credit card slips, which he did.

Orcapa

I cleaned cars for a rental car company. One day, a customer comes in, already in a very bad mood (for whatever reason). He saw me standing at the counter, which apparently offended him to the point that he began to yell at me.

Long story short, I yelled back at him. Nothing came of it for over two months until I was fired without warning.

The district manager who fired me said that even though everyone in the company reviewed all the evidence about the incident.

They decided I was well within my rights as an employee to yell at the dude. They had to fire me because he was some big shot at a company that had a very lucrative contract with my employer, and he threatened to drop the contract unless they fired me.

TLCplLogan

This didn't happen to me...but I witnessed it. A friend of mine used to work at a pizza place. I'd hang out in the lobby playing their Pacman machine.

Anyway, my friend is taking orders when a guy storms in, screaming about the wrong toppings. He removes the pie from the box and frisbees it into my friend's face.

My two-time Detroit Golden Gloves champion friend. What followed was the worst beating I've ever seen one man take. My friend lost his job AND got jail time out of it.

Rhooster313

Many years ago, I worked in clothing retail. I had a favorite customer. He and his wife would come in, and he'd put down a small fortune each month on his wife and teen daughter.

He reminded me of my dad, who I lost to a massive heart attack when I was 18. I was in my early 20s, and my mom had just passed away of cancer. This gentleman had stopped coming in for about two months.

I look up and see him come in with his wife and daughter, and the girl looks pissed. They come to my counter, and the girl calls her mother a witch and her father a "waste of space" since he lost his job when the mill he worked for closed.

She kept berating them, and something (the child in me) snapped out. I told her off. I said that she should have appreciated her dad, who had given her everything until he couldn't.

That she was 16, and I wasn't too much older than her when my dad was dead. That the sweet woman she called a witch who went out of her way for her could be gone fast, too.

That she needed to not be a damn brat because she could look up one day and have neither parent. That I would shave YEARS off my life, even if I died the next day, to have my parents hug me once more. I told her to grow the hell up and be kind to her parents.

They left, and my boss chewed me out. She said if they complained, I would be toast. I lived each day wondering if I'd get fired. 2 weeks later, her dad came in because he saw me through the window.

He thanked me. She started studying, helping around the house, and was looking for a part-time job. She grew up and started treating them with respect. She didn't call them names anymore and apologized for being a brat. I didn't lose my job, but it was damn close.

SnarksNGrumpkins

I worked at a movie store when I was 17 and in high school. A middle-aged guy came in, and instead of using the drop slot to return his movie, he casually tossed it across the counter, hitting a register hard enough to pop the case open.

The people working with the registers, myself included, kept an eye on him because our store was a hot spot for kids to come in without adult supervision to mess things up.

He chose a few movies, walked up to the front of my line and waited for me to help him. I got his information up on screen and let him know we couldn't rent the movies he wanted unless he paid his late fee of $6.

He flew off the handle, reached over the counter, and grabbed my shirt, threatening to have me fired. I punched him in the face, trying to protect myself, and chased him out into the parking lot.

When I returned, my manager took me into the back room, let me clean myself up, told me they had a zero-tolerance policy for altercations in the store, and fired me.

On my way out, there were customers who shook my hand and told me they would've done the same thing. That job was crap anyways, so I was glad to be gone from there.

Edge80

I didn't get fired for this, which was pretty great because I threatened a mother with a time-out in front of her kids. I worked at a pool as a lifeguard, and our pool doesn't allow water wings because they aren't "coastguard approved," but we gave out free life jackets for them to use.

In comes Mama Witch with her two kids. One of them was like four and had water wings. I told her she couldn't use it, but we had one available for free, and she blew up on me.

I guess her daughter really liked her water wings. I told her to talk to a manager because I'm not allowed to talk while watching the pool, but she kept yelling, so I just repeated the line I'm instructed to use for kids who repeatedly misbehave.

"I already told you to please talk to the manager because I have to watch the pool, so if I talk to you again, you have to sit in time out for 10 minutes." She glared at me and didn't even go to the manager.

MenionIsCool

It wasn't me, but I've been told about it. Some guy just passed his training at a call center, and a few days later, he answers the phone to a customer.

As unlucky as he was, they got into an argument. The argument went on for nearly an hour, and when the customer hung up, the guy called him back to continue the argument.

The guy was in his late 50s and lost his job very quickly after. It seemed like he lacked proper orientation, or he just had a bad day.

MyMurphy

I didn't say this, but I saw it happen. I worked at a fast food chain many years ago. I worked the drive-thru register, which was close enough to the front registers that I could hear conversations.

One of my co-workers was taking an order from a lady who kept asking how much her total was, canceling food on it, and changing her mind. I guess she was trying to keep under a certain dollar amount.

Well, at the store I worked at, any canceled food on an order needed a manager's password (thanks to one jerk who stole money by putting in someone's order, telling them the total, and then canceling out the order and pocketing the money).

So the manager had come by 3 or 4 times at that point. This was during dinnertime, mind you, so there was a line of customers out the door waiting to order.

Finally, my co-worker pulled out a pad of paper and a calculator. He started writing this woman's order down and totaling it out by hand.

The woman asked him why he was doing that, and he told her, "When you make up your mind about what you want, then I'll put it in the register."

This pissed off the lady, so she grabbed the notebook and tried to hit my co-worker with it. He snatched it back from her and told her, "Get the heck out."

My manager was only going to write him up for it (since the manager agreed that the lady absolutely deserved it, but my manager had to follow company policy), but he already had two writeups on file, so she had to fire him.

partofbreakfast

Obligatory, "it was my co-worker," but I was like 5 feet away. We worked in a produce section. He had gotten in like 5 minutes prior and was obviously in a bad mood when a customer came up and started complaining about her fruit.

He tries the normal talking points, but the lady is being a witch. Finally, he just loses it and yells, "Back off, you stupid witch!"

He throws his apron at her and leaves the store. Never heard from him again. That was also the day I worked my first 16-hour shift.

[deleted]

I lost my position at a vet clinic. The story goes like this: A woman brought in her five-year-old dog, who had diarrhea for the past weekend and was untreated.

She was tired of the dog messing in the house. So instead of having the dog treated for the condition, she decided she would rather just have the dog put down.

I proceeded to call her a dumb witch while explaining to her the responsibilities that are involved when you decide you want to have a pet. I was fired. I never looked back.

onnicitta

I have a speech impediment, and back when I worked at a coffee shop, this young kid would come in every day after school and order a caramel frappe.

Every time I told him it would be "$3.50," he would laugh uproariously and ask me to say it again. After a few weeks of this, he'd start bringing in his buddies as well.

Each one would order the exact same drink and then ask me to repeat the price for them again and again. After a few months, I broke down. "You boys should know how much the drink is by now!"

My manager overheard and claimed I was being racist by calling them 'you boys', even though they were all middle school age! Anyway, I still see the kids around town, and they always shout at me: "How much are those caramel fraps again?"

laterdude

My sister was the manager of a women's clothing store. At the time, she was dealing with some personal issues, so she wasn't in the greatest state of mind to begin with.

A customer came in with a pair of pants that had ripped along the inner thigh seams, which were well past the return period and had clearly been worn/washed.

The customer, who was a larger woman, went off on a sales associate, stating she'd only "tried the pants on, " which caused the seams to rip, and she wanted a refund. Her ranting brought the associate to tears and finally caused her to demand the manager, my sister.

Enter my sis, and the customer starts yelling at her, too. Sis promptly tells the customer that her pants split because she was freaking fat, she wouldn't get a refund, and told her to get out of the store and never come back.

Sis then went in the back, called her boss, and quit before she could be fired. Her boss was willing to let her stay, but she chose to leave anyway until she could get her issues under control. Took a solid year, but she's much happier and healthier now.

Ollamoot

I had a boss who'd kick people out of the store. Had someone who always returned random ink for printers for store credit...they were obviously stolen, as several stores in the area had ink missing.

The manager just went to him and said, "I have the right to tell you to get the hell outta my store, or we will call the cops." The dude booked it.

Another time a customer caused a cashier to cry. He just grabbed the dude by the cuff of his shirt and pushed him out of the store...I have no clue how this guy didn't get fired, but we loved him for it.

I guess people never complained after it happened, and he was lucky. He was just so awesome. One day, a customer handed me $20 and wanted to change it, but I was cleaned out by a few customers with $100 bills.

I call him up and say, "Hey Dennis, can you break this 20 for me?" he just grabs it, rips it in half, looks at me with a serious face, and says, "Now what?"

The customer and I had the what the heck face, and he kept a straight face for about 20 seconds. Then, he just started laughing and said, "I'll get you that change, one moment."

Legeto

I didn't get fired but got a written warning for this. I was working chat tech support for a web host. The customer chatted in, complaining of slowness and claiming our servers were having issues.

I did all the standard steps, and we determined that his ISP is having issues (standard tracers, etc). He doesn't believe me and becomes obstinate.

So I ended the chat by saying, "You're wrong!" About 10 minutes later, I got a new chat. I see the account name and the question.

It was the same guy with the same question. Without letting him say anything, I write, "You're still wrong," and close the chat. I know I would have been fired if I wasn't one of the better techs.

trogdor259

Luckily, I didn't lose my job for this, as the manager on shift was pretty lenient and agreed with me. So, I worked at a fast food place where you make everything by hand. I had just finished rolling and bounced over to register to help out a customer.

Lady asked, "Hi, can I get your salted nuggets? But are they fresh?” I knew for a fact they were; I had just rolled them myself and put them in the warmer.

"Indeed, ma'am, I'd be happy to make you fresher ones if you want to wait five to ten minutes. But I literally put these in here less than five minutes ago." She seemed happy and content. "Sure, I'll take those. Thanks."

Not even five minutes later, she came back hollering at me, saying that I was a liar and that I must be stupid because the nuggets were hard.

I knew she was the liar because I had just made everything. What gets me is that she came back, even though she came back with less than half of the cup left. It must have been terrible, right?

So after I got called a liar and a moron, and she had the audacity to demand a refund and new fresh nuggets another three times, I turned to a coworker.

I said, which I quote, "Someone needs to help this witch because I'm not." It was loud enough for her to hear, and I stormed out of the store to the back room to cool off.

blamethecranes

Okay, so imagine we're at the paint desk. A young couple meets me and asks for a neutral blue color in our most popular paint, eggshell finish. No problem there. I will tell them to come back in a little bit. I make it and toss it in the shaker.

Another guy loudly walks up to the other end of the desk and wants 2 gallons of our paint in some beige color in a semigloss finish because his trailer isn't flossy enough.

Whatever. I make it and put it in the shaker. All the while, he talks to his wife and whoever else is with him. Remember the blue paint for the young couple? It's done.

So I stuck it on the desk (their color card on top of it for identification) near where they were standing. CLEARLY AWAY FROM CRAP TACO. Should that be fine? That's what I figured, so I returned to whatever I was doing.

The next thing I hear is crap Taco nearly screaming, "WOAH WOAH WOAH WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I glare at him because he's making a scene, and I ask him, still politely, what he's yelling about.

He says, ever so loudly, "This your first day? Get me someone who knows what they're doing." Again, I asked what the problem was since his paint wasn't ready yet. He says, "You can't do anything right".

I snapped and replied, matching his tone and volume as people started to stare. "Oh, this isn't the color you wanted?" NO. "This isn't the finish you wanted? DOES THIS LOOK LIKE SEMI-GLOSS TO YOU?!" It isn't even the type of paint you wanted?" NOPE.

"THEN I GUESS THIS ISN'T FOR YOU, IS IT?" and I ripped the paint away from him and gave it to the couple you were patiently waiting behind this idiot. "yours will do in a minute."

And he, of course, cried to the managers (like the fat hairy baby he is), who, of course, sided with him and gave him his paint for free and then tried to fire me over something they had zero witnesses to. 10/10.

undiebundie

I quit, didn't lose my job, and didn't explode at the guy, but I was moments away from doing so. It was marathon day, tons of people were out and about, and our restroom key was stolen.

It was packed. I literally couldn't open the restroom for anyone, not even if President Obama, the Pope, my momma, and a mamma bear walked in needing to go would I be able to will the restroom door open.

This was a famous chain cafe. One guy questioned that I was telling the truth and reached into my apron pocket. I was going to finish that guy off, but I just walked away and cooled off in the back.

When I came out, this guy was making a huge fuss about opening the restroom for him. I told him I couldn't, and he said, 'Can't you see I have kids?'

I replied, 'Can't you see I don't have the key?' then he just exploded in my face. I was going to push over and knock over him and his baby carriage, but that's when I quit.

antsam9

I was working at a coffee shop when this woman came in, ordered a latte with two fingers of room, and then asked for extra foam.

The person at the register tried to clarify if she wanted two fingers of the room before or after the extra foam was added. Does she want extra space in the cup or two fingers of extra foam?

She keeps repeating the same order over and over, getting more visibly annoyed. I'm at the bar, so I try to clarify. I can't get an answer, so I decide I'll leave the extra room, and if she wants more hot milk or foam, I can add it rather than filling it and not being able to fix it.

The store is completely packed, so we're pushing out drinks, and I finally put hers in the bar. She opens it and says, "What the heck? How many times did I give you my order? What is it with you morons? No wonder you're serving my coffee. Fix this."

I had a hot coffee in my hand, and it took every ounce of self-restraint not to throw it in her face. I turned to my supervisor, who was running like crazy behind me, and said, "I'm really sorry, but I need 60 seconds to walk off the floor, or I might throw boiling coffee onto this woman."

She nodded and took over while I took a deep breath in the back. Best part? I overheard my supervisor ask, "So you want two fingers of foam or two fingers of room?"

lifefindsuhway

I didn't get fired for this, but I worked at a burger store in a very small town. It's the only fast food joint near the high school, so lunch rushes were really bad.

This guy ordered a double meat double cheese, and I explained that cheese is extra, so he's like, cool (the guy is already ordering 30$ or something worth of food)

So he gets his order at the window, checks his receipt, freaks out over the $ 1$ cheese charge, and wants us to fix it. I soon told him how I had already explained to him it was extra, and he was like, no, this is too much.

He wants me to take it off. There is a line wrapped around the store, all ordering big meals, so I reach into my pocket, throw all my change at him, and tell him to leave.

He looks at me with wide eyes, and he drives off. We had no cameras, and our manager was ALWAYS in the office... so we got away with so much crap.

Apple_sunday

I ran a pizza shop for about ten years. We were a privately owned, one-store operation. The owner was pretty cool, and I was in charge as he was never there. We were a dive in a college town, open until 4 am, seven days a week.

People who were about to throw up or had already thrown up were yelled at and shamed all the way out the door. If their pie hadn't gone out yet, I'd make their friends clean up the mess before they could have their food.

Drunken 20-somethings won't leave at closing time? I'd take a dough tray out to their table and smash it as loudly as possible on the table in front of them until they couldn't take the racket and leave.

Once, a guy lost his mind because someone who had ordered a pick-up came in after him, and the picker-upper got his food immediately.

I couldn't understand why the other guy had called ahead. He's still screaming in the middle of the lobby as his pie comes out of the oven, so I box it up, take it out to him, and as I get to him, I throw the box on the floor and smash it all up with my feet.

Then I threw his money back at him over the counter and told him not to come back.

My favorite was soda pop in a water cup. I would just walk up to the table, snatch up their bevies, and call them names as I threw out their drinks. It was super immature but super cathartic as well.

Our not having a public restroom regularly resulted in "Well, what if I just piss in the trash can?!" This usually resulted in a refund thrown at them over the counter while telling them to get the heck out.

Occasionally, they'd go ahead and start unzipping, which would get them the tried and true full Nelson drag out.

bananafannafo_memymo

She worked at a burger joint restaurant, and on a busy night, one table ordered mashed potatoes. The server told them that mashed potatoes weren't on the menu, but they had baked potatoes.

They keep insisting that they want mashed potatoes, but eventually, they agree that a baked potato is fine. So when the order comes out, does the baked potato they order.

He puts it on the table, and the customers say, "We wanted mashed potatoes!" The server has had enough at this point and goes, "Mashed?! You want them mashed?!?"

He raised his fist and smashed it down on the baked potato, giving the customer exactly what they requested: mashed potatoes. However, the management did not find this dedication to the customer very professional and let him go.

Aviator506

I've been working the closing/night shift at a convenience store for about six months while I go to school, and it's great. I'm the only person there; most customers are either regulars or intoxicated, and I can kick people the heck out for whatever reason.

A kid had been stealing from the store for a while. He brought in his bike, walked around, asked for price checks, put things back, changed his mind, etc., and generally did way too much trying to shoplift.

For the most part, I didn't care to confront him, but he just kept giving me more work to do, so I quickly developed a visceral hatred for this prick. So, I picked up little bits of information about his life, like his name, where he went to high school, and where he worked.

He comes in and tells me it's his birthday (whoop-de-freaking-doo) and starts on his crap. I let him go through all of his crap, and he comes to pay for his one-moon pie after being in the store stealing for 10 minutes.

He starts trying to talk to me, and as straight-faced as possible, I interrupt him and recite his name, where he works, and where he goes to school.

I tell him he's been pissing me off for too long, and we have cameras. Stop treating me like an idiot. I tell him I'll get him fired from both jobs and send the officer I know to his school. The little jerk was scared. So I told him happy birthday, and I haven't seen him since.

PesoMystic

My first job was when I was 12 at a flower shop in town. They used to hire a kid to wear a clown costume and wear a sign that said Roses 9.99/dozen.

All the job entailed was walking back and forth along a 20-foot strip of the sidewalk and waving at cars. I got paid 30 bucks per 2-hour shift with cash at the end of every shift. It was awesome.

Didn't work too hard and was allowed to listen to my Discman while I worked. Some people were really nice and occasionally would stop and ask if they could buy me a soda or something from the convenience store beside the flower shop because it was so hot.

Other people were pricks who threw things at me from their car. Anyway, one normal Saturday morning, about 15 minutes before my shift was over, my dad pulled into the parking lot to wait for me to finish up.

A couple of minutes later, a kid about my age, maybe a little older, walks down the sidewalk and spits in my face as he passes.

That pissed me off to no degree. Like, throw things at me, whatever, but spitting in my face was gross, and I had enough. This clown snapped. I ripped off my sandwich board and kicked the guy's legs out from under him.

Jump into my best MMA mount and start raining fists and elbows as if I'm going for the clown college bantamweight championship. He's yelling and bleeding, and I just keep hammering into him and screaming that he messed with the wrong clown.

My dad ran up, pulled me off him, and carried me into the florist. I was promptly fired. My dad took me for ice cream because he said nobody deserves to be treated like that. I did what he would have done. It was the funniest thing he'd ever seen.

smashinMIDGETS

Not me, but someone I used to work with. I work at a restaurant that makes burritos. A customer comes in and the manager says she'll take care of him. As it turns out, she had dated the guy and they had issues or whatever, and had a messy breakup.

This is the first time they've seen each other since. Dude just showed up at her job. So he starts talking to her as she takes him through the line, and he's saying things like, "I still consider you a friend even after all this time," and other mushy crap.

She's obviously not interested. Doesn't say a word until she gets to the end of the line. She rolls the burrito and takes a giant bite out of it before wrapping it in foil.

He kind of stares at her for a minute, dumbfounded. And then he asks, "Did you just take a bite out of my burrito?" She says, "I mean, you said we were friends, right? So what's the problem?" He ended up emailing the GM to complain, and she got fired.

Cazberry

When I was in college, I waited at tables. This one quiet and somewhat unfriendly couple came in and sat in my section.

I did my job well, as I always do, and they stiffed me. So I followed them out to the parking lot and said, "Hey, thanks for the tip. Go back to *company’s name*!"

They, of course, did not like that, so they came back in and told the manager. He fired me on the spot. I waited on this couple several times in a later serving gig.

Snarky_McBegtodiffer

The manager who hired me at a fast food chain kind of had a bad temper, but nothing really ever happened until she was working late one night, and a customer accused her of trying to overcharge.

After arguing for a while, she said she would "bring her cousins and jump you, fat witch." That was it. My manager JUMPED OVER THE COUNTER and knocked her out.

She was fired, obviously, and had a hard time finding jobs after that, but it felt like a victory to all of us who had taken crap from a customer, and we watched the surveillance video a few times afterward.

[deleted]

I used to work in a pizza shop. I have a decent-length beard that I maintain well and was within company standards. This morbidly obese woman comes into order and is extremely rude, talking down about anyone and anything she can think of.

Meanwhile, the pizza she's ordering for herself could feed four people. As I'm finalizing her order, she sneers at me and says, "You should be wearing a beard net."

My immediate response was, "You should be eating a salad." Getting fired was worth the look of absolute "What-did-you-just-say-to-me" on her face.

ErictheRedcomedian

I work at a local pizza place. A couple of guys were sitting at the end of our bar complaining about the price of literally everything in the store.

Our pizza is considered "high-end" because we only use fresh ingredients and make the sauce and dough from scratch. The bartender is a hothead, but she handles these guys gracefully.

Finally, after ordering their pizza, one chimed in, "We could get four pizzas for this price." The Bartender lost it.

He starts yelling, "Well, if you want to get that pizzas, go to their store!" I would have gotten away with it, except the dining room was complete, and the manager had to save face.

ZJake12

Worked for a pizza joint, and a guy complained about the pizza after eating half of it. Then proceeded to talk bad the entire time that I started working on a new one for him.

Which wasn't long because I snapped and picked up his unbaked, half-done pizza, walked past my manager (to whom I looked at and said 'sorry'), and proceeded to throw the pizza in his face and told him to go screw himself.

The. manager looked at me and said, 'You know I have to fire you now, right?' I just nodded and told him it was worth it. The jerk deserved it.

Pexels, mr_lairofabee

It wasn't me, but a co-worker did a full-on "Waiting" to a customer who left him a dollar for a tip on a $80-dollar check. Bummer.

I worked at a fairly popular chain restaurant. My coworker had already been on thin ice with the managers for a few other incidents with his temper, but all in all, he was a decent server and always did more than his fair share of side work.

When I would work back in the house, he would always help me put stuff away at the end of the night. One night, a couple came in 5 minutes before close. Racked up an $80 check and left him a dollar for the tip.

He saw them in the parking lot, chased after him, threw the dollar back at them, and said, "You obviously need this more than I do."

The dude came back inside, walked straight back to me, helped me carry my things back, and said, "This is the last time I'll help you because I'm definitely fired."

redheadedbutts