Companies in the service industry are no strangers to rude customers. It happens at Starbucks, McDonald’s, or, in this case, Home Depot. Fortunately, there is a subreddit for the hardware store where they can vent their frustrations.
We’ve collected the top posts about shoppers who’ve been impatient, entitled, and downright difficult. All of them provide an insight into what these employees deal with regularly.
Scroll through each one and see if you or a friend have been this person to deal with at some point. And if you’ve been (or still are) an employee, we’d love to hear your stories in the comments.
#1 Today At Home Depot 7141
Image credits: Many_Expression_5569
#2 People Have To Much Time On Their Hands
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#3 Us Cashiers Who Work The Opening Shift
Image credits: Dragon_Crystal
Bored Panda previously spoke to Marlon Joseph, a restaurant server of nearly two decades and host of the Modern Waiter podcast. He has his ways of dealing with different levels of irksome behavior.
"If a guest gets rude in a personal way, I deal with it directly and tell them 'I’m going to need you to be nice to me for me to continue.'”
#4 Overnight Coworker Just Sent Me This
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#5 Some Idiot Thought The Display Was Plumbed In And Dumped Their Coffee
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#6 Dog Obedience Class Inside The Store At 6pm. Wtf?
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But if a customer is being a nuisance, Marlon makes them his least priority. “If they are being rude in an annoying way, I make them wait,” he said.
“They will wait for me to take their order. They will wait for their food. They will wait for their check. I may even tell them their credit card has declined if that person is paying. I may even tell them we ran out of an item even though we have it.”
#7 Real
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#8 Classic
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#9 Is It Black? Yes It Is
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According to Marlon, people who treat waitstaff poorly are usually hungry, having a bad day, or both. But as he reminds the dining public, “servers have bad days, too.”
"I do not think rude people are self-aware, especially if it is them being jerks. Most rude people in a restaurant are situationally on tilt,” he said. “So they use a measure of power to ease their aggravation.
“Unfortunately, a server may not want to give their best to a guest like that, and the result is bad service."
#10 Awkward
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#11 Our Return Policy Is 180 Days Not 25 Years
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#12 Customer Return
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Society can be quick to judge a bad customer, and understandably so. However, experts are revealing potential underlying reasons for such behavior. According to psychologist Reena B. Patel, humans are naturally wired to feel rattled when things don’t go as planned.
“You walk into a restaurant for breakfast thinking you’ll get seated in 15 minutes and instead you’re waiting 45; now, your whole routine is shifting, and the stress is building up,” Dr. Patel told the BBC in a 2022 interview.
#13 4 Stages Of Returning Stolen Items
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#14 Can I Ask You A Question ”quick” Question And It Usually Ends Up Being A Complicated Question
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#15 Nun Returns 800$ In Flowers Everyday. We Have A Nun Who Buys Flowers For The Church Events Depending On What Color They Need. It’s A Endless Cycle. Happens Everyday!!
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The BBC article mentioned the scapegoat theory, explaining why people look for someone to blame. It also touched on why service employees are the usual punching bags.
“It’s going to happen on the phone with a customer-service worker, or at the discount store or McDonald’s,” said psychology professor Melanie Morrison. ”People that are working those jobs often do not have a lot of power, and so they become easier targets.”
#16 This Return Has Had Me Cracking Up All Day
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#17 Aisle Closed‼️‼️
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#18 Just Know If You Start Our Interaction By Bringing Up The Price Of Lumber, I Have Already Checked Out Of The Conversation
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Dr. Patel says being a rude customer doesn’t define a person. But she also suggests managing expectations as one way to prevent scenarios from potentially blowing up.
“Sometimes we don't make the best choices. But you can do things differently so you don't have that same reaction,” she said. “That might be as simple as waking up 10 minutes earlier to create a buffer in your schedule.
“If things don’t go the way you want, you’re not so stressed about it. You don’t want to be rigid in your expectations.”
#19 Since When Did We Get A Drive Through?
Image credits: Independent_Lime_480
#20 Shingle Man
Asked the customer "What are you doing?" He said I need I pack of shingles and you guys are taking forever. I'm like "Ahhhh sir there is a full pallet in the home... "He replied with "but I need the ceramic ones..." I'm like Wth.
Image credits: Competitive-Bear-196
#21 This Regular Has Always Been A Piece Of S**t
Image credits: BacklogGamingJunkie
Dr. Patel also suggested focusing on the situation at hand and how to move forward from it.
“Instead of the word ‘you,’ use the word ‘we.’ Ask the customer service agent, ‘How can we solve this problem?’ It diffuses that hostile energy, and then you trying to get what you want becomes more of a collaborative process.”
#22 Lol
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#23 Yes, This Is A Return
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#24 So It Looks Like 12 Is The Magic Number
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#25 Please Schedule Me Better
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#26 Think It’s Fine…
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#27 This Is My Safespace!
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#28 It’s Too Early
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#29 These Customers Are Wild
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#30 Don't Cry Over Spilled Paint?
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