Working a job where you have to interact with other human beings all day can pose a lot of challenges, and not all of them come with the name Karen or asking to speak to the manager. Some days, just saying words in an order that makes sense can be too tough for us to handle, but it usually results in a funny story, at least, just like all the ones below.
People Share The Funniest Mistakes They Ever Made At Their Customer Service Jobs
Unsplash | Clay Banks
It all started with a TikTok from @katrina.murray.
"I was working the cash register at my retail job and I had to put in the customer's first name and she said her name was Lisa but for some reason I typed in Susan and she just goes 'my name's not Susan...' and I said, 'I'm sorry, I have no idea why I did that,'" she wrote over a video of herself smiling in a pained way.
Trending
People in the comments immediately took the opportunity to contribute their own mess ups.
Giphy | Superstore
"A customer was complimenting my earrings and I responded with 'aww, I love you too!' and she never came back," shared howdyyallyeehaw.
I think I've probably said "I love you" to more customer service workers than to romantic partners, so they shouldn't feel too bad.
Must Read
Spelling is tough.
Giphy | Late Night with Seth Meyers
"I once spelt blue as bloo and had to go, 'sorry, that's not how you spell blue,'"" shared philmitchellwalford.
At least they were the one who caught their own mistake, and not the customer!
Even knowing where you are can be challenging.
Unsplash | Erik Mclean
"When I worked at Starbucks drive through and said 'Hi, welcome to McDonalds,' even though I'd never worked at McDonalds," shared stede_bonnets. Maybe you were just practicing for your next job — although hopefully you won't need it!
Writing under pressure can break even the strongest among us.
Giphy
"Had someone named Garret come in and he left with 'Gart' written on his latte," one commenter wrote.
I always thought baristas got our names wrong on purpose, but maybe I was wrong!
Close but no cigar.
Giphy | CBC
"Guy at the cafe I work at said his name was Sergio and I put Banjo. Woke up in a cold sweat that night when I finally realized."
The customer might not always be right.
Giphy
"A customer asked for brown bread and I didn't hear them so I said 'you're having sourdough' but forgot to ask it like a question and she just said, 'okay,'" wrote .tatecakes.
Honestly, if this happened to me, I'd probably do the same thing. I'd assume it was fate.
A worthy cause.
Giphy | It's a Southern Thing
"One time I accidentally asked a customer if they wanted to help fight kids with cancer instead of helping them fight cancer when asking for donations."
Do you think that counts as a tax write-off?
It's always fun to try new things out.
Giphy | The Office
"One time I answered the phone at my job by saying, 'January February March... I'm so sorry, I don't know why I did that, how can I help you?' and they hung up."
I kind of like it, to be honest. Might give this a try the next time my manager gives me a call.
A message for everyone.
Giphy | Justin Timberlake
"One time the phone was ringing but for some reason I hit the intercom button and said 'hello?' across the entire store."
If it makes this user feel better, I'm not sure I've ever actually registered anything said over the intercom of a store I was in.
Maybe that was their name?
Unsplash | charlesdeluvio
"One time I greeted a customer by saying 'hey, Google.' It was a bad day."
I confess I've done this before, but I said "Hey, Siri," which is at least a little bit closer to a person's name.
At least it wasn't Iceberg.
Unsplash | Petr Magera
"One time a lady told me her name was 'Romaine' like the lettuce, so I typed in 'Lettuce' as her last name. She came back in and laughed at me," wrote shaynahicks. At least she had a sense of humor about it!
Some customers will pay for luxury.
Giphy | Hacklock
Icewater_stan wrote, "It's okay, I charged someone $100 for a scoop of ice cream once and all he said was, 'that's a bit expensive.'"
Well, he's not wrong.
