# Bad customers...Bad Bad Bad Customers! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 1, 2010, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-customers-bad-bad-bad-customers/548829 "2010-08-01T22:26:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-customers-bad-bad-bad-customers/548829/101 "2010-08-04T15:18:14Z")
> [@stanger](#): > > I had a friend that worked at Home Depot for a while. > > She told me that people would come in and have several gallons of paint specially mixed to a certain color, purchase the paint, then return it using the excuse that the paint turned out the wrong shade. > > Paint like this was later sold at a much reduced price to people who just wanted to put a coat of paint on something, or to use it as a base coat, etc. > > At this point, the people who originally ordered the special mix paint would come into the store and buy the paint back at the reduced price. > > This kind of thing happened on a regular basis. At all of the local home depots here in GA, I’m pretty sure there’s a big sign in the paint department saying that you can’t return mixed paint. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-customers-bad-bad-bad-customers/548829/102 "2010-08-04T15:30:41Z")
> [@Enright3](#): > > At all of the local home depots here in GA, I’m pretty sure there’s a big sign in the paint department saying that you can’t return mixed paint. Most stores have gotten progressively more strict about refunds in general over the past ten years. The advent of the internet hasn’t helped as people realize that “by policy, you can return a TV for any reason for 30 days - and its the Superbowl.” Suddenly the whole “buy a TV and return it” (or prom dress or whatever) skyrocketed as scammers learned other people’s scams. (Coupled with the firm belief that “if that is their policy, it isn’t a scam” - “they’d change their policy if they didn’t want it to happen” and “corporations have endless money and other resources”). That and “the customer is always right” mentality is something that corporations are backing off on in favor of “some of our customers are real jerks that we loose money on.” ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-customers-bad-bad-bad-customers/548829/103 "2010-08-04T15:35:56Z")
> [@cosmosdan](#): > > Circuit City could special order and we were told it was a law that we have to have an advertised item on display. {maybe that was bullshit just to increase orders} but more than one customer was irrate that we wouldn’t sell the display, even after we offered to special order. That reminds me of a customer who absolutely could not wait till the next day when we would have a couple dozen more of the TV he wanted. “Well sell me the floor model then.” “We typically don’t sell the floor model until the unit has become discontinued and the remaining boxed inventory has been sold.” “Why?!” “Because once a unit becomes a display model it’s value drops and can’t be sold at the ‘new’ price. Therefore we only like to have one display for each models shelf life. If I sell you this floor model at a discount I’m going to have to open another one tommorow to put on display dropping it’s value and eventually sell at a discount. Why would I want to sell 2 discounted units?” “Why do you sell them at a discount? They’re good as new.” “Well, if you want the floor model that badly you can buy it as new.” “Cool. I get a discount though, right?” :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-customers-bad-bad-bad-customers/548829/104 "2010-08-04T15:50:06Z")
During high school I worked awhile taking credit card applications over the phone from store associates and through the mail. When people yelled for a manager we would usually make them hold for a bit and then have the person next to us get on our phone and repeat the same thing. The odd part was that it often worked. I guess the idea that they bullied their way into talking to someone else was enough for their ego. After working there for a year or so I also took “why decline” calls which were people calling to ask why they were declined a credit card. If they had been declined automatically by the computer because their credit score was just under our minimum we would take a closer look and they might get one anyway. If they had a card with us previously and it had been written off because they didn’t pay, they would never get a card with us again. I got cussed at more than once of course. They best ones were when they said, “but I have perfect credit!” and I wanted to reply, “The word ‘bankrupt’ on your credit report makes me disagree!” I was sooooo glad we had a mute button on our phones. ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-customers-bad-bad-bad-customers/548829/105 "2010-08-04T16:28:01Z")
First, a good story: My grandma and I loved Twinkies. I’d stay over at Grandpa’s and Grandma’s apartment over the weekend, we’d go to the pool on Saturday morning, go shopping and we’d always buy a box of 10 Twinkies. One day we opened the box up and realized the box only had 9. So grandma suggested I call the customer service number that must have been on the box. ‘Be polite but firm’, she told me. I was like eight or nine, but the CS rep on the other end didn’t take it as a prank call, took my name and address, apologized, and said she was sending out a coupon for a free box of twinkies. A couple of weeks later it arrived, so that weekend Grandma and I went shopping again, and of course got our free box of Twinkies. Got home, opened it up. To find the box had 11 Twinkies! Bad stories: Well, I used to work in flight crew in a former life, and I saw too many crazy passengers to mention. Flying just does some weird things to people. Craziest was probably the Japanese guy that got hammered on the plane and started molesting the women sitting in his row. We had to physically restrain him in the back of the plane. Another guy ended up getting arrested, and very likely charged with high-jacking, when he pushed a flight attendant. Two words of warning: First, the FAA takes physical abuse of flight crew -very- seriously. Second, if you force a plane to land anywhere except its destination, you can be charged with highjacking. This was a flight from Denver to NY, and we had to land in Chicago where the guy was taken off in handcuffs. I never heard what happened to him, but the co-pilot said he’d be lucky if he served any less than 10 years in jail. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-customers-bad-bad-bad-customers/548829/106 "2010-08-04T17:06:02Z")
> [@multimediac17](#): > > you would think you wouldn’t run in to so many fuckwit customers working in a university and everything. Hahahahahahah! Sorry, just had to laugh. I _teach_ at a university, and have taught at others here in the US and in Australia, as well as working in admin positions at my Australian university. While university-affiliated people might, by definition, be better educated than average, you learn pretty quickly that this bears no relationship to general levels of selfishness and stupidity. I’ve run into plenty of self-centered assholes and complete dimwits in university settings. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-customers-bad-bad-bad-customers/548829/107 "2010-08-04T17:15:58Z")
Working in hotels for the past several years, I’ve dealt with more than my share of crazies - especially the people who assume (wrongly) that “sold out” means that I have a couple of rooms held back in case of emergency. Nope. It means we are sold out. No rooms. No suites. No, I can’t get you a rollaway and let you sleep in the lobby. Now, mind you, I am more than happy to try to find a room for non-assy potential customers. A few weekends ago (either Memorial Day or Independence Day, I don’t recall which,) a gentleman came in late, with a reservation confirmation number, after all of the rooms were sold out. After pulling up his reservation info, I realized that he had booked the room for the wrong Saturday night. As far as I could tell, there wasn’t a vacant room within 20 miles of my location. Crap, crap, crap! However, the gentleman didn’t make a scene, and was actually apologetic that he had made such a mistake (and caused me to panic in fear that we had somehow given away his room,) so I called all around and found him a room - a few miles off the beaten path, but nearer than he’d have found on his own. Rude/idiotic people don’t get the same help, though: Dude who stayed for a week, and allowed his girlfriend to utterly destroy a room? Sorry, you aren’t welcome here. Not unless you want to put down a $500 cash deposit against damages. No, really, I don’t have to rent to you, and it’s not because of the color of your skin. (Seriously, how does one manage to destroy not just a mattress, but also a box spring?!) And when you tell me that you spoke to the manager earlier, and that G told you that “he” would give you a $38.00 rate on any night, much less a busy Saturday? Yeah, I’ll call “him” and confirm that one… (The owner/manager has an unusual name, which doesn’t really indicate gender. Also makes it easier to weed out those salespeople who are cold-calling but want me to put the call through to try their spiel on the manager: “Can I speak to G, please? About what? Oh, he and I were talking about something the other day over lunch, and he told me to call him back on Monday!” Yeah, sorry, Mr. G isn’t available.) I learned about idiot customers early in my career, though, during my high school job in an antique store: “Oh, I like that armoire, but it’s too big for my bedroom. Do you have one just like it, only smaller?” “You know, that’s a pretty table, but you should give me a discount because it looks kind of old.” (Do you not understand the nature of “antiques”?) Or even better, someone buys something, and I head out with our heavy-lifting dude to deliver it, and the customer says (after we arrive with large piece of furniture on truck, and struggle to get it into their door,) “Oh, I didn’t measure before I bought that. I’m sure it will go up this spiral staircase, down a narrow hallway, and into this half-sized doorway.” Thank god I had a cool boss, who gave me carte blanche to say (basically) “Sorry, you’re an idiot, and we don’t need your business. And, no, I’m not gonna try to get this giant piece of furniture up that spiral staircase. Call my boss to complain.” ---
**Author:** ![GESancMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gesancman/32/2923_2.png) [@GESancMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GESancMan)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-customers-bad-bad-bad-customers/548829/108 "2010-08-04T17:36:00Z")
> [@multimediac17](#): > > When I worked at a university bookstore, I used to get all sorts of idiots - you would think you wouldn’t run in to so many fuckwit customers working in a university and everything, but I did. I mentioned earlier that I used to run a restaurant across from a university. Never in my life have I seen such a group of stupid people. Especially the dormies. I was convinced that there must have been some sort of aura about the dorms that sucked all intelligence and common sense out of students as soon as they entered the place. One example: back in the '90s and early '00s, before everyone and their brother had a cell phone, not a day went by without this situation occurring at least once. Usually it was multiple times. Each of the dorms had call boxes out front; you couldn’t just walk into the place. Each room had an assigned phone number, with the university’s prefix, that never changed, no matter who lived in that room from term to term. Dormies would order a pizza, and we would carefully explain that in order for the driver to deliver the pizza, the student _must remain in their room_ so they could answer the phone. Otherwise there _was no way_ the driver could get to them. Inevitably, some of these dumbasses would wander off anyway, then call the store an hour after they’d ordered wondering where their order was. A few of them were scamming (because they were oh-so-clever :rolleyes:), but most of them were just clueless idiots. None ever got any kind of discount for pulling this stunt; they paid full price for their cold pizza, or they were told not to call us again. ---
**Author:** ![Jet\_Jaguar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jet_jaguar/32/3562_2.png) [@Jet\_Jaguar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jet_Jaguar)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-customers-bad-bad-bad-customers/548829/109 "2010-08-04T18:49:38Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > I read an article recently about “things found in iPod boxes.” People would remove the iPod, replace it with something heavy, and then re-seal the box with a shrink wrap device. In that article, there was a story about someone who kept the big screen TV and tried to return a box of rocks. One time I received delivery of a load of rocks from our subcontractor. Well, we got the pallet off the truck, opened the cardboard, and wouldn’t you know it? Full of iPods. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [August 4, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-customers-bad-bad-bad-customers/548829/110 "2010-08-04T21:01:48Z")
Ahh, Jet Jaguar, but yes. I had my ipod (free with new mac computer purchase, as they always offer every summer) jacked. Fed Ex never delivered anything, also conveniently said they weren’t held responsible. Odd, I thought. I called Apple, and they were very apologetic and sent me a new one - a few years ago, this happened quite a lot apparently, drivers would steal the ipods since they memorized what they looked like etc. Not sure what they’ve done since to combat this. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-customers-bad-bad-bad-customers/548829/111 "2010-08-09T18:01:02Z")
> [@flodnak](#): > > Back in high school, when I was a part-time cashier at a supermarket in Pennsylvania, I witnessed a customer giving the manager of the meat departent hell because we were sold out of fresh turkeys. The day before Thanksgiving. On that day, of course, there are approximately six unsold fresh turkeys left in the entire Continental United States, so it was not that unusual that we didn’t have one. Worse, she wanted a big one - I think she said a minimum of eighteen pounds - and there’s just no way. The very biggest ones are reserved by customers weeks ahead of time. We did, however, have some large _frozen_ turkeys in stock, as our unflappable meat dept manager kept pointing out. The customer insisted that she needed to have it thawed, and how was she supposed to thaw it in time for Thanksgiving dinner? > > The manager thought about it and said, “Well, you _could_ put it in a bathtub full of cold water all night, I suppose. Or stand over it all night with a hairdryer. Or, you _could_ come with me and we’ll find something else you can serve your guests tomorrow that will be just as good, if not as traditional, and next year you can come to me at the beginning of November and I’ll order you the biggest Tom Turkey in North America.” > > She chose the Storm Out Of The Supermarket In A Huff option, unfortunately. [Man do I know what that’s like](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7042362&postcount=42) ---
**Author:** ![Shark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/73ab20/32.png) [@Shark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shark)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2010, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-customers-bad-bad-bad-customers/548829/112 "2010-08-09T21:10:22Z")
I have found that going with the nice route usually works best, especially when you are in contrast to a braying jackass. I had purchased a microwave and when I took it out of the box at home, I noticed that it was severely dented . So, I trundled back across town to the store and told the rep what the problem was. Unfortunately, they were out of stock on that model and I needed to talk to the manager. The manager had just arrived on scene, when a man started screaming at another service rep on the other side of the store. I looked at her, smiled and said that I would wait patiently and quietly while she dealt with what looked to me a more disgruntled customer. She thanked me and went off to deal with the braying jackass. When she returned, she again thanked me for my patience and civility and asked what could she do for me. She ended up upgrading my return to a model at least a couple model levels higher and at least $100 more than the model I was returning. Sometimes it does pay to play nice. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-customers-bad-bad-bad-customers/548829.md?page=5)