I Finally Snapped!

[TruthHurts]

We have a regular customer that every one of us can't stand. He's obnoxious, constantly trying to scam free stuff, tries to get around store policies, and throws tantrums over random things. I have always tried to ignore him and be polite, all my other co-workers don't even bother.

He comes in on 7am Christmas morning to buy his daily cheap brandy and 12 pack of cheap beer. He decides that he needs to get coffee and then unwraps his scarf and tries to hang on the hot water spout of the coffee machine. He always trying to hang his scarf or hat on those things and has been told not to.

I tell him that is unsanitary and that he is not allowed to do that. He immediately then tries to hang his scarf off of the Slushee machine handles. I tell him to either put his scarf on the counter or keep it in his hands.

He storms over and deliberately elbows a pile of newspapers halfway off the counter and places his scarf on it. "Am I allowed to get coffee?" He snaps. "Just as long you realize you have to pay for every cup you drink." He has an annoying habit of chugging three or four cups of coffee and then insisting that he only drank one.

He back to the coffee machine and then has the audacity to say "F***ing bitch." I was furious and pointed at the door "Get out!" He looks shocked and whines "I was just talking to myself, it wasn't about you." I told him to get out again and he asks "Can I still buy my booze?"

Normally I wouldn't have let him buy it, but it was already on the counter and there was no way I was gonna let him get out of paying for the coffee he already drank. He hands me his credit card and tells me I have ruined his entire Christmas, I responded that him calling me names wasn't exactly the bright spot in my day.

He then tries to leave the store without signing his credit card slip. I tell him to sign it. He grabs the slip and says "Oooh, am I supposed to be scared? What are you gonna do about it?" I immediately grab the phone and tell him that I can call the cops. He signs his slip and then says "Sorry," in the tone of voice that a small child uses when they are forced to apologize and don't really mean it.

As he leaves he issues this threat "You are never serving me again, I will not buy booze from you." I wish. He has come back since then but he has quickly bought his booze and left without causing problems.

[Iris Kojiro]

Sometimes you have to be rude back in order to make a bad customer a good one.

I had to do that at my day job a few times, and the previously sucky people actually turned out pretty nice. One of them even turned out to become one of my better customers later on down the road.

[DGoddessChardonnay]

Sometimes you have to be rude back in order to make a bad customer a good one.

I've had to do that on rare occasion and ended up with the same result.

Best case was this older lady who always came in with her son, who was mentally challenged.

She'd order him about, talk to him worse than a dog (calling him slow, stupid etc) and then whining to everyone in earshot about how she was a "glaucoma victim."
She was also at times a bit rude to whichever cashier would be the unlucky one to check her out. She'd always bring her own bags, which her son would try to fill - but no matter how he and the cashier would try to pack them, it'd never suit her.

One day, I got stuck having to help out on the front (got called away from price changes) and she ended up in my line. I wasl already tired that day (and I didn't feel too good to boot) and as soon as she started her drivel for thee 999,999,999th time, something in my brain clicked - more like blew a fuse.

I stopped what I was doing and just let her have it with both barrels. I told her (and I can't recall precisely what I said, since it's been almost 10 years ago) but the gist was that I'd heard that same tired old garbage about her glaucoma for years and I was flat out tired of it. I was also tired of her being rude to everyone in the store, including her own son and I was not going to put up with her mouth anymore. Nobody wanted to hear it and she just needed to chill out.

Ever since that day, until the store closed down, she'd always be a bit nicer. We didn't hear as much about her eyesight but she'd gotten the message. I also didn't hear her fuss as much at her son while they were in the store either.

[Tito]

Sometimes you have to be rude back in order to make a bad customer a good one.

I agree! I remember when I used to work in the bakery in my retail hell days, there was this guy who came in pretty much daily, and had this habit of calling my female co-workers little terms of endearment, like 'sweetie' and 'honey'. One day, one of them finally snapped & told him 'look, I'm not your sweetie, and I'm not your honey!' He never called her those names again.

[malmalthekiller]

Sometimes it feels good to snap, especially when it's constructive and doesn't get you in trouble.

[MoonChild2007]

"F***ing bitch." I was furious and pointed at the door "Get out!" He looks shocked and whines "I was just talking to myself, it wasn't about you

Amazing how SCs insult us verbally but then turn around and say how "its not about you". Its even worse than customers saying how its not "our" fault but yet scream and swear in our ears.

[Muses_nightmare]

Amazing how SCs insult us verbally but then turn around and say how "its not about you". Its even worse than customers saying how its not "our" fault but yet scream and swear in our ears

I had some guy come up and flip off the store at the gas station I used to work at. He said "It's nothing personal" and then proceeded to swear his head off, knock over a garbage can and rip the splash guard dealy off of the diesel pump. Yes, because standing right in front of the store which consists mostly of windows, in fact directly in front of the transaction drawer where I was standing (luckily on graveyards customers weren't allowed in the store) and giving the finger really doesn't look like you're directing it at me. And my coworkers at the casino wonder why I'm not fazed by the slightly jerky behaviour of the players.

[One-Fang]

Amazing how SCs insult us verbally but then turn around and say how "its not about you". Its even worse than customers saying how its not "our" fault but yet scream and swear in our ears.

It's related to "I was only JOKING" and "I didn't mean YOU" (as if you are the exception to the just-mentioned insult rule).

It's a copout for the unthinking twit who only just then realises you actually KNOW they're insulting you. You were supposed to not know, or ignore it. But no, you had the audacity to mention it. How to resolve this? Better back out quickly with old "I didn't mean YOU" line.

Jerks.