Customer Service Agents Break Down The Dumbest Thing A Customer Has Ever Complained About

Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay |
Customer service agents have a difficult job. Could you imagine dealing with terrible people and their complaints all day? This isn't to say that there aren't some lovely people out there, but the job can be emotionally taxing... especially when people call in to complain about ridiculous things.
After Redditor Jing_Yuam asked the online community, Customer service people of reddit, what's the dumbest thing a customer has gone out of their way to complain about?" customer service workers weighed in. We feel for them.
"Many years back..."
Many years back, worked for a store chain which sells all products related and connected to Nature. Among them, the Himalayan salt stone lamp. It's a stone made of salt that encases an electrical bulb. It is supposed to help for regulating ions in your home/office.
A customer called us to complain that their stone disappeared at home, and asked for a refund. As open mind as I can be, I however tried to understand what she meant exactly by "disappeared".
Story is, customer removed the stone from the bulb and put it in her dish-washer to clean it...
I had to be super nice with her to make her realizing that salt dissolves in water.. Specially in hot water.. Without her getting upset and getting offended... It was a lonely moment.
"A guy asked..."
A guy asked if I was the manager.
"Can I help you with something?"
Angrily: "Yeah, three Saturdays in row now I come down here at 4:30, and every f******' Saturday you close at 4."
"Uh...yeah. We close at 4."
"F*** you."
At least he left then. The worst ones don't leave. They just keep going.
"I work for..."
I work for a popular roadside assistance company and had a guy call in wanting to get roadside assistance for his daughter who was stranded. His daughter was not on his membership and there was no room to add her because he already had his wife added. So I suggested he remove his wife for now and add his daughter so she can get roadside assistance and then switch them back afterwards. Apparently this was the most outrageous suggestion. He went and told my supervisor that I was "making him choose his daughter over his wife and no father should have to make that kind of decision."
"She actually got an attitude with me..."
I was working at OfficeMax during back to school season. This woman comes up to my register with a few things and I start scanning it in. She notices the one item rang up less than she was expecting. She actually got an attitude with me because we hadn't had a chance to print new shelf tags for that aisle yet. I told her I would wait if she wanted to get more. She declined and continued complaining to me about it. I said "well I can override the price to what the shelf label said." I realize now that I was being a bit of a b!tch by saying that. She politely declined that as well, paid with her card, and rushed out the door with her things.
"Had a woman..."
Had a woman call me racist because I asked her if she needed utensils for her take-out.
"Had a lady..."
Had a lady call me racist because she came in to buy glasses, and I asked if she has been to our store before or if she has her prescription with her. She even told her young daughter to watch out for people like me... Uhhh...
"I could tell they were together..."
I guess this wasn't really an official complaint but it was pretty dumb. I was running register at the grocery store and this couple got in my line. I could tell they were together because they were talking and interacting with one another. However they had two different baskets and left a small gap between their respective items without placing down the divider. So I wasn't sure if they were paying for everything all together or separately. I say the generic things, hi, how are you, did you find everything okay, etc and then politely asked, "together or separate?" The lady gave me a death glare and said "why on earth does it matter?" I gave her a blank stare and slowly said "so.... that I know whether to keep ringing you up...or cash out the order...." All I can think is they must have been having some relationship problems because she jumped right to that, haha.
"Go there then."
It's always "x has it cheaper"
Go there then. You are hurting literally nobody's feelings.
"So I paged..."
Worked in an electronics store to put myself through college. I worked in the computer department, but was sitting at the loss prevention desk up front to cover while the LP supervisor took a quick lunch break. An old lady comes in, asks where the dairy section is, and help finding the milk. I told her, kindly, that we weren't in a grocery store. She looks confused and leaves. A couple of minutes later her (presumably) son walks in, and starts chewing my @ss because I wouldn't help her find the milk. When he was done bItching, I slowly waved my arm across the store and asked him which one of those aisles looks like they might have groceries in them. He stares for a good few seconds, and then starts b!tching me out saying that I'm an @sshole, and he wants to see a manager.
So I paged the loss prevention supervisor up to the front. The LP supervisor invited the guy to never come back to the store.
"A woman came into the lingerie store..."
A woman came into the lingerie store I was working at asking if we sold white waffle robes. We didn't, but I had seen some in passing at another store in the mall, and suggested she check there. Shortly after, she returned to my store and yelled in my face that the other store didn't have the kind of waffle robe she wanted. Sorry a store I don't work at doesn't have the right type of robe, yeesh!
"Many of our bookings..."
Travel agent here. Many of our bookings are for the cruise lines. Customer complained about how whales did not jump out of the water for them at sunset.
"They literally complained..."
I worked at a mid-high end furniture store, and had a customer complain that their glass top outdoor table had small puddles of water on it after it rained. They literally complained that their outdoor table got wet in the rain. Honorary mention: the customer who was incensed that we would not honor a warranty claim for the hole in his umbrella fabric, while fully understanding and repeatedly explaining that the hole was caused by a mouse making a nest while it was stored in the garage over the winter, but this umbrella was brand new, and his old umbrella he had for 20 years never had a mouse nest.
"We would often get young kids..."
I worked at a Starbucks that had a middle school nearby. We would often get young kids buying Frappuccinos on their way home from school. We had one kid's Mom call us up one evening saying there was a live spider midway through his drink. Ummmm, what? The drink goes from rapid speed blender straight to a previously inverted cup from a stack of cups... I'm not sure where a spider would come in during that process.
"This was at a restaurant..."
"The Steak was dry"
This was at a restaurant where you could order your steak on a hot stone to cook it yourself.
"I work at a call center..."
I work at a call center for health insurance. Had an elderly woman call about a claim that she had. The total charge from the provider was maybe $200 or so. The patient responsibility (the amount she actually owed) was $0.
She got REALLY mad at me that it was $200 in the first place even after I explained that she didn't have to pay anything. That WE paid for it.
"She came back a couple hours later..."
Was a cashier at the zoo for a bit after high school. My second day there a woman, easily identified as a Karen, came in and asked me where the lost and found was so she could find her phone.
Me and my fellow cashier did not know the answer and were busy trying to sort out the long line, so we just kind of looked at her and said sorry we can't help you.
She got pissed at us and stormed off before we could explain we were new and that we could find someone else to help her.
She came back a couple hours later in a huff saying "Just so you know, the lost in found is right there!" before pointing in the wrong direction of where it was located.
You'd think she could have asked the thousands of easily identified employees or talk to the information desk that was 10 feet from us but I guess that's too much to ask.
"He goes on to berate me..."
Just got off a call where the person calling works for the company I work for, different departments, and was attempting to help a customer. He goes on to berate me in front of the customer about how we are useless and our service isn't built for the elderly. Like my dude we work for the same company. I can't do anything about it any more than you can do anything about it.
"On the side of the property..."
Many years ago I worked at a beach resort. On the side of the property was a naturally-occuring stream that emptied into the Gulf of Mexico. It was typically a small stream with dark colored water but it would get maybe four feet wide and a couple of feet deep when it rained really hard. Anyway, the point is that this stream was there long before people, resorts, and condos were there. All us humans did was put a culvert around it.
I cant tell you how many people would come to the front desk to complain about the nasty sewage that is dumping into the Gulf. We would explain it's just a natural stream but they didnt listen. They wanted us to "do something" about it like we could just re-route or put a cork in it. The most hilarious thing was occasionally somebody would be out there with a shovel trying to direct the flow away from the beach in front of the resort. They were probably pretty surprised to find all their hard work erased by the next tide.
"I work at a hotel..."
I work at a hotel and we once received a complaint from a guest that the water levels in our toilet were too high because his balls were getting wet.
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I love money.
If I had an endless supply, I might throw it away with abandon.
But I am not blessed with that level of abundance.
Some people really take spending to an extreme.
To a point where maybe others should be in charge of their purse and wallet.
Redditor Shadowclook21 wanted to hear about the times we've seen people waste money on nonsense, so they asked:
"What is the dumbest thing you've seen someone spend their money on?"
I get we all like nice things, but we have to be smart with our coins.
Wake Up!
"An alarm clock coffee machine. It was me."
ineedanusername_
When on FB
"My wife is in a lot of mom groups on Facebook. The amount of people who beg for help for their poor babies who won’t get any Christmas/birthday gifts who also show off brand new giant tattoos is amazing. She shows me every time she finds one of these people and it happens all the time. Usually multiple recent photos of them out drinking and partying as well."
"So yeah, there’s a lot of people out there who blow big money in tattoos and partying instead of setting aside a little bit of money for their kids."
clocks212
Scratched
"Knew a girl who would spend all her money on scratchers and drugs. She would constantly go on about how when she finally won big she was going to move and get clean.... He grandmother gave her a 20 - 30k inheritance. Nothing changed except how many scratchers she would buy. I saw her buy out whole rolls occasionally. She wised up with the last few thousand and put some advance rent on an apartment (was in a motel) and fixed her car. But that money was gone in less than 2 months."
Sub_pup
60 Bucks
"PSA: Accidental subscriptions. Remember, kids, if you sign up for a free trial, be prepared to cancel that s**t the second they allow you. Otherwise, they'll start charging automatically."
xisiko1120
Kaboom
"My neighbors once spent all their money on a private firework show, then had to hide their cars from the repo man for months. No longer neighbors."
redheadedstepchild54
Neighbors are always going to neighbor.
Classics
"I bought a cassette tape two weeks ago. I don't even have a way to play cassettes but I still bought it."
sibipi3040
They're Everywhere
"My Mum has spent $1000s on crystals and stones. She continues to, and gives them as gifts, I have no idea wtf to do with them so I put them in my plants pots then she gets upset for some reason. Send help please."
Necessary_Oil_9779
"Get her a rock tumbler and have her tumble her own and try to identify them. Cheaper in the long run. Makes for a more interesting hobby too, if she gets into it. It will get her out of the house and into nature. Crystals are everywhere, they literally litter the earth. A lot of ordinary-looking rocks turn out quite beautiful once they've been tumbled."
TerrifyinglyAlive
Just a Waste
"I dated a guy who would still use his debit card even when his account was over drafted because he didn’t realize he was charged overdraft fees for every transaction. I had to explain to him his single snickers bar or bag of chips or whatever from the vending machine was now costing him an extra $35. And he did this multiple times every single shift he worked."
beaniequeeny
5 More Minutes
"Gambling machines. I work in a bar room. People will play these machines for 12+ hours and never win. Then they Win $700 the next night and think they’re on top... it’s insane. They look like zombies sitting there in a trance. Once had to unplug the machine on a patron who would not leave for closing. Kept saying '5 more minutes.'"
BrianFrom97
OnlyCrap
"I worked with a guy who'd spend 200-300 bucks a week on OnlyFans. He'd brag about it, I guess he thought of he'd spent enough he might get lucky or something."
TheRealJokar
Why do some people spend with such abandon? It makes no sense to me, but it's not my money.
Have you ever witnessed someone blow a load of cash on something crazy? Let us know in the comments below.
What is wrong with people?
Have we lost all sense of decorum?
I get that people need to speak their minds, but there are some moments where silence is the better option.
When you're naked and intimate with someone, it's best to not be mean.
I would've thought that would be a given.
Unless they're mean or creepy than do what you must.
But when you're alone in bed with a partner, partners, whatever, can't we put our best foot forward?
Redditor bipolar_bear76765 wanted to hear about the worst things we've heard in an intimate situation, they asked:
"What’s the worst thing anyone has ever told you in bed?"
If I have nothing nice to say, I just leave.
Follow my lead.
Over It
"I'm not attracted to you anymore. It wasn't during sex but it was still in bed."
Pennywise626
Hold Me
"I don't think you're sexy but you're really good for a cuddle."
JasonPassley
"I know the first and I love cuddling."
Fun-Agent-7667
"Even though I can see how this could’ve been hurtful, especially if you might’ve wanted to be considered more than 'cuddle material,' were you at least able to cuddle your way into self-soothing? Lol."
"Best vibes and hope you have fared well."
Famous-Somewhere-751
Wrong Number
"I got called a mistake immediately after. I had feelings for her and had had these feelings for her for years."
"I thought we would never actually be anything. She was the high school crush that ended up moving away and lost all contact. Through some crazy weird circumstances we ran into each other years later. We had been flirting like crazy for weeks. She immediately cut all contact. Pain."
throwthisoneoutdude
That was quick...
"That she had sex with a friend of mine like 20 minutes earlier."
"I had sex with someone last year who right after we finished proclaimed that she had a boyfriend. Fast forward a year and indeed, they're engaged and sh*t like that.. HOW THE F**!!"
"I had sex a few times with my housemate’s girlfriend. He was completely ok with it as they had an open relationship. She suggested it to me while the three of us were drinking together. He was fully supportive of it, I even took him aside when she went to the bathroom to make sure he wasn’t just saying it for her. It was a bit odd, but we all knew it was a no strings attached deal and it worked out fine in the long run."
bg-j38
Pardon Me?
"You can use one of my boyfriend's condoms. They're in the drawer, but they're probably too big."
InsomniumGatherum
"A lot of dudes who wear a magnum have no business wearing a magnum."
redrosebeetle
Lord, I need a bleach bath.
Stop!
"Just lost my hair due to heath concerns, was pretty embarrassed about it."
"He looks down and goes, 'Can you stop? You look like a man from this angle.' Oof."
Recoil
“'You make me feel dirty when you touch me.' Happened over 40 years ago and it still crawls under my skin."
wyoflyboy68
Tick-Tock
“'Just hurry and finish.' Two or three minutes in, she said it with a look of pure disgust."
Cultist902
We What?
"We have herpes, now."
420_Traveller
"I could be wrong, but in some places it’s a crime to knowingly infect someone. At least, I do know of civil cases where people were able to sue for damages when someone knowingly had sex with them without disclosing their STD status."
Improvised0
Well people really are the worst at times. Be sure to pick your bedfellows accordingly.
Do you have any experiences to share? Let us know in the comments below.
In the midst of our shopping, we've all seen those warning labels on product packaging that leave us absolutely rolling our eyes. Who could possibly need to be warned about that?
But since the warning exists, we have to assume that someone made that mistake at some point.
There's the added fun of unnecessary products that no one should believe would work.
But just like the directions, there seems to be a marketable need for every product and direction.
Redditor 98_percent_simian asked:
"What product is marketed pretty much exclusively to stupid people?"
Bedroom Enhancers
"Over-the-counter 'man-boosting' products like Nugenix Total-T. Though the commercials are hilarious. 'She'll like it too!' Yeah, I bet she did, Big Frank."
- gganate
Detox Culture
"Foot detox pads. Detox anything, actually."
- pugapooh
Trust Your Body
"It drives me crazy when people talk about how they are going to do a cleanse and detox their digestive system because they have built up sludge."
"It's insane because your digestive system works just fine. If it isn't working, you need to be in the hospital."
- Chickadee12345
Paid Social Media Features
"Every social media’s paid badges. I just don’t get it. Why? Just why do we need to pay for a badge?"
- JacDGzmm
Ulterior Motives
"Megachurch donations that are advertised to bring you salvation or other holy benefits."
- cmpzak
Conspiracy Theories
"5G blockers."
"My friend's mother had her house painted with 5g blocking paint inside and out. She then got s**tty about her mobile not getting a signal and her WiFi not working properly."
"What did she think the paint was blocking?! Honestly, I'm surprised it did anything."
- animuscreeps
MLM Culture
"I've had people attempt to rope me in before. The trick is that they spent hours roping you into the idea of 'working for yourself,' 'being your own boss,' 'affording for your family,' and 'living wealthy.' Pain points that any common American would typically have."
"They make you go through meetings, 'interviews,' and continually feed you the mentality and never actually mention the name of the company or what the actual business is."
"Until finally, after forever, they drop the Amway, Herbalife, Mary Kay, or whatever name. By that point, they've already sold you on the 'dream' that you convince yourself to try and put in the work."
"I've looked up definitions and excerpts about what brainwashing is. It literally felt like the same thing."
- BeckQuillion89
Headache Relief
"'HeadOn. Apply directly to the forehead. HeadOn. Apply directly to the forehead. HeadOn. Apply directly to the forehead.'"
"The ad never even says what HeadOn is supposed to actually do. It's supposed to relieve headaches, but they couldn't claim that because they have absolutely no proof of it maybe working."
- Kazeto
Essential Oils
"Essential Oils, not for the aromas, that’s all well and good but for its 'healing properties.' It’s sad when people become vehemently ill and rely on lavender to heal them or their children."
"Bunch of sad stories of children dying due to moronic parents believing in the powers of some plant over modern medicine."
- Pears_and_Peaches
Diet Culture
"Fat loss everything."
- Frost_Giant_14
Got Fight Milk?
"Fight Milk. I drink it every morning so I can fight like a cow."
- gamesfordogs
Questionable Movement
"I'm thinking Scientology."
- BronzeHeart92
Gambling Opportunities
"When I go to Eastern Europe on vacation, there are mini-casinos on every corner. Sports betting, slot machines, etc. The middle-aged men in these clubs, frantically smoking cigarettes, hopelessly staring at the screens, with not an ounce of life in their eyes."
"Not sure if it's stupidity or desperation. But it's a sad sight to see."
- goaelephant
Inaccurate Results
"Online free IQ tests."
- BeefHouse11
Vacation Points
"Vacation Club 'points' (worse than a timeshare because it's nothing tangible)."
"My FIL offered to 'use points' to book us a vacation years back. He bought the points as a flex in front of his BIL and thought they were the greatest thing since sliced bread."
"Fast forward about two months after purchase and he makes his offer to cover a trip for us with some of the points. What he failed to mention/realize is that the points were for the ROOM ONLY."
"So as we started looking into the 'trip' being offered we realized not only would we have to pay for our flights but we would have to pay the all-inclusive fee at over 100 dollars each/per day. When we mentioned this he told us we would have to cover it because 'they cost too many points.'"
"So I did the math and hopped on Expedia to show him I could get the same trip for over 1000 dollars less when I just booked it online without the points. He REFUSED to believe this was possible until he tried to book his own trips with the points and ended up getting hosed. The look on his face when he tried to 'sell the points' (which the salesperson assured him would go for more than he paid for them if he decided to sell) was priceless."
"I bet you already guessed that the only 'customers' for the points are the company that sold them in the first place and they buy them back for pennies on the dollar." - YKYB
Some of these products and ideas have been around for a long time and continue to interest new consumers. But as some here have pointed out, the products are more about putting on a good appearance than actually delivering results.
CW: suicide.
Most people can be very guarded because of their vulnerabilities, even if you think you know them really well.
These disconcerting memories or character traits are better left undisclosed, for they can be painful for individuals to revisit or acknowledge.
On the other hand, opening up about these disturbing facts can also be therapeutic as long as they are revealed anonymously.
And the opportunity for strangers online to unburden themselves arose when Redditor _Lord_Infamous asked:
"What is a scary, unsettling fact about you?"
Certain facts about these Redditors are perplexing.
Blank Space
"I do not actually remember a decent chunk of my life, whenever I talk about most of my childhood I use words that leave room for mistakes and am generally using memories and ideas I've compiled from hearing other people say things about me."
"There is actually a large chunks of facts about myself that I only think I know, and don't have personal confirmation of."
– Cendruex
Dead Or Alive
"I’m convinced with no evidence that my father is still alive and that my whole family is lying to me. I logically know he is not. But every knock on the door I open half expecting my father. Could be something to work through … but it’s not really affecting me day to day. My grandfather died and I thought I would feel the same way. Nope. He is dead and I miss him but he is dead."
– rkspm
Warning: Self-Harm Trigger
"Growing up I had a recurring nightmare set in my grandparents backyard looking at the back of their house. There was just something 'off' about the house. Something mildly sinister. I dreamt this over and over, many times over the years."
"In 2018, my dad (who now owned the house) went into the backyard to that spot and killed himself."
"I haven’t had the backyard dream since."
– OSUJillyBean
Nightmares Come True
"I had a recurring super vivid intense dream at like 4.... my uncle was chasing us around a labyrinth with a large knife... trying to kill me and my grandmother. 25 or so years later the same uncle (complete paranoid delusional schizophrenic) murders my grandmother at her condo... with the very nice chef knife I bought her for Christmas the year before..."
– Serotu
Severe Trauma
"Less scary and more shocking, but when I was 9 years old I survived a home invasion where I was shot 6 times. I played dead on the floor until the man left and called 911 and in my adrenaline rush I thought they couldn't find my house so I crawled with my left are swinging the wrong way and my right leg limp from nerve damage, all the way to the front door when he broke in from the back of the house."
"I lived with only my mother who unfortunately didn't survive. I vividly remember picking out the guy in a photo line up while recovering in the ICU."
"I am very lucky to have kept my left arm, I have 32 pins and screws to make up for my shattered elbow. My left leg has permanent nerve damage and I now have 'drop foot'. Despite my physical injuries and PTSD, I am doing very well."
– skullexis
We are not all born the same.
Complete Immunity
"I'm one of the lucky few with the CCR5-delta-32 mutation. Why is that relevant? It makes me immune to HIV and a handful of other pathogens, most notably the Bubonic Plague."
– SursumCorda-NJ
Sharper Image
"I have 2 lenses in my right eye, so it focuses like binoculars. My doctor wrote a paper about it. Mostly blinded as a baby in my left eye. Dr suspected my right lense split then healed as 2 distinct lenses. Better than 20/20 in my right eye."
– The_Smoot
Prematurely Slim
"When I was born, I was so premature that my dad, who had quite dainty piano fingers, could slide his wedding ring up my arm to my shoulder. (I weighed 2 lbs, born at 27 weeks)."
– cyanomys
Losing Digits
"I had 6 toes on each foot at birth and got them cut off you can see the place they cut them at."
– HearingAccurate8616
People live with the unfortunate risk that their lives can be cut short at any given moment.
Ticking Time Bomb
"I have an enlarged aortic root. It's very unlikely, but it could spontaneously rupture leading to the medical term adjusts glasses... 'instantaneous death'. I would pass out, bleed to death, and then fall over. Dead before hitting the ground. And it could happen at any time. My wife is very uncomfortable thinking about it lol."
– ignisnex
For The Sake Of Survival
"my immune system backfired and tried to murder me and almost succeeded. I now have to take multiple injections every single day all day or i'll die a painful death within a week."
"Just trying to write diabetes in the most bad-a** way."
– monstrinhotron
A friend of mine once told me that the name I've known him by was not his real name.
He had gone by an alias, which everyone at work assumed was his actual name, to protect himself and his identity after he had been violently hunted down, stalked and threatened for his life for witnessing a murder.
The suspects involved were eventually caught and locked away for good.
I don't remember all the other details about the traumatizing incident because I was completely stupefied.
If you or someone you know is struggling, you can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
To find help outside the United States, the International Association for Suicide Prevention has resources available at https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/