Customer cusses at me, calles me names, yells at me, and insults my intelligence!

[BowserKoopa1]

Yesterday I was working the register in outside lawn and garden. A customer comes in through the outside entrance and asks me if I know anything about grubs in his lawn. I politely told him, "I'm sorry, sir. Let me get you someone who can answer your questions better." He said that was fine. There is nothing wrong with doing this. Every manager/ supervisor has told me to find another employee if I do not know the answer.
I called someone in outside lawn and garden, and they said they would meet him. 2 minutes later he angrily comes back up to me.
C: Excuse me, can you possibly be any more fucking stupid and less knowledgeable about your job?! I mean, can you be any more useless?!
I look away for a few seconds and then respond. At this point I wanted to tell this asshole where he could shove it. But I didn't because I didn't want to lose my job.
Me: I'm sorry, sir. I called someone for you.
C: This is ridiculous! You're not doing anything to help me! I don't have time to wander around the store while you guys are being lazy!
Me: (getting slightly irritated) Sir, I tried to get some help for you, and the employee told me he would meet you in here. What would you like me to do?
C: Just get somebody to help me!
Me: Would you like me to call someone for you again, sir?
C: What?! So they can screw around and not help me too?!
Me; Well, what would you like me to do, sir? I have tried to get some help for you. Its not my fault.
The asshole actually apologized, but it didn't make me feel any better.
Finally another employee comes outside and offers to help, and the jerk responds rudely to him as well. They finally walk away, and I go to my register and immediately call my manager to inform them about the situation before he has a chance to complain.
The asshole finally leaves. As he was walking to his car and had his back to me, I flicked him off. (this may have been wrong, but I just could not help it and I thought he could not see me) Immediately after, he turned around and came back into the store. I thought for a second that he had those sunglasses where you can see behind you, and he was going to complain. But he just bought some fertilizer and went through my line. I did not smile and did not say much to him.
This guy really crossed the line. He cussed, yelled, called me a name and insullted my intelligence. A few other places I worked, we could throw them out for acting like this. The customer may always be right, but they don't have the right to treat us like this!

[Calud]

Wow, I would've hit him in the face tbh. Nicely handled.

[TheComputerError]

For situations just like that, I'm very glad my managers have allowed me to say "I'm sorry, sir/ma'am, but I have attempted to assist you in solving this issue. However, you did not accept my assistance and are now berating me for 'not helping you'. I have tried to help you, but you did not like the method by which I did."

Although, often times, there's only one solution to a problem in the pharmacy, so I can be a little more forceful with: "I have told you how to solve this issue and that there is no other way to solve it. We have done everything in our power to solve this issue and it is now in the hands of your doctor/insurance company. If you want to know the status of the issue, you must contact them yourself."

[Alpha Strike]

... The customer may always be right...

There's your first mistake - the customer is rarely ever right, especially on CustomersSuck!

[Evil Queen]

Yeah, the "Customer is always right" was a marketing ploy that massively backfired.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Speaking of naughty fingers, that reminds me of something I did years ago.

One of the supervisory-type people in the back room was an absolute bi-polar skank. Somebody left a bunch of cardboard sitting on the floor by the baler and I was getting ready to leave at the end of my shift when she barked at me "Irv! Clean up that damn cardboard!"

I flipped her off with both hands when her back was turned, and did as she told me to.

Well, as it turns out, somebody else happened to see this and decided to be a narc and told her what I did. So several days later, she hauled me into a secluded spot in the back room and tore me a couple new assholes. "I know you flipped me off, people tell me what other people do to me, I'll see to it you get fired for this" and on and on like that.

As she finished up and walked away, I said under my breath "Fuck you." She didn't hear me.

Oh well, whatever. She got the boot years ago and I still have my job. I was just a kid working about 15 to 20 hours a week when that happened; I could've found another retail warm-body job if it came down to it. It certainly wasn't the right thing to do, but I'm only human and I don't always react well to having my buttons pushed.

[auntiem]

I see people like this all summer long at the local Freddy's. The people that work in the garden center are there to stock and work the register. They may or may not know anything about the products or plants. Never fails, everytime I go in there someone is complaining that the workers "don't know anything". Really? I'm a total plant geek and I don't even know the answer to your question. Extra bonus we have several very good nurseries in town who specifically employ uber plant geeks that would know the answer - why not go to one of those? Double extra bonus - they also have several free classes on Saturdays.

[jedimaster91]

I don't always react well to having my buttons pushed.

Most people don't. Someday, I suspect there will be a massive CSR uprising. Not that I'll start it or anything.

[saint]

Speaking of naughty fingers, that reminds me of something I did years ago.

I only read this far, and my mind took a beautiful swan dive straight into the gutter.

[Mike Taylor]

"Excuse me sir (or ma'am), but the moment you heap verbal abuse on me, I am under no further obligation to help you."

That's the response I give, and my managers will back me up. Bonus points if there are other customers nearby watching. Triple points if they are in line behind the abuser waiting to be checked out and get pissed off at them.

[BowserKoopa1]

I guess I probably worded it wrong, but I did say that the customer "MAY" always be right. I was only using that old saying, but I definitely do not believe the customer is always right. I have been working for 13 years or so, and I have dealt with many people like this. Matter of fact, I would like to build a time machine and go back in time and kill the idiot who started this expression. Customers are aware of this saying, and they take it to an extreme. I guess they think it means they can cross the line and act any way they want to towards employees, and if any employee retaliates back in any way, they get pulled into the office and yelled at by management. Anyway, I wanted to try and clear that up.
As for my knowledge about home improvement, I don't know a thing. My dad is actually an expert (he could probably work there if he weren't retired). But when they hired me, they asked me if I had any experience of any kind dealing in home improvement, to which I replied "No". And yet they still gave me the job. They hired me because of my experience as a cashier.
I certainly wish these idiots would not throw a fit like a dam 3 year old if they can't get an answer within 2 minutes. I think they're too dam stupid to realize that getting mad at me isn't automatically going to make the answer pop up in my mind.

[XCashier]

C: Excuse me, can you possibly be any more fucking stupid and less knowledgeable about your job?! I mean, can you be any more useless?!

"Yeah, I could be you."

I bet this jackass heaps all kinds of abuse on everyone who helps him, and then wonders why nobody seems happy to see him.

[RootedPhoenix]

Never fails, everytime I go in there someone is complaining that the workers "don't know anything".

"Don't know anything" = There wasn't a human encyclopedia there to answer every question they could ever think of 2.5 seconds after they entered.