Working in retail is not for the weak. Many times, while retail is a great job and way to earn money , dealing with customers can be an absolute nightmare.
Some people don’t realize how hard it is to deal with corporations and also with customers at the same time. Now, retail workers are sharing what it’s really like to deal with customers on the job. It’s definitely shocking!
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One customer let their child poop on the store floor.
A retail worker said a parent came in with their child and asked to use the bathroom, which was for employees only.
So, the child proceeded to use his “portable potty” and poop right in the middle of the store floor.
Some give away way too much information.
“I worked at a MAC counter, and in order for people to try on the makeup, I had to apply it for them. As I was applying lip gloss for this woman, she proceeded to tell me how a condom had fallen out of her while she was pooping the other day,” one person said.
Customers have been bad during the pandemic.
One worker said that during COVID, she had a customer touch her face and nose repeatedly when dealing with money she was paying with.
When she asked her to put her mask on, the woman blew all her hot breath in the worker’s face.
Kids can be terrible sometimes.
“A man and his son, about four years old are checking out. The man tells his son to pass me the toy he had so I can scan it. I give it back to him and he looks at me and says ‘you take my toy again and I’ll punch you,’ one person said.
Many think retail workers are magicians
One person said that at her store, one woman requested a black Coach bag, which they did not have in stock. They only had brown.
So, the woman requested the worker to go into the back and “make her one.”
Some are threatening.
“A woman told me that I should kill myself when I told her that bags cost 5 cents. she left all of her groceries on the conveyer belt, like $200 worth of stuff, and I had to put it all back,” one grocery store employee wrote.
Pet stores are a nightmare, too.
“A woman who would walk her dog inside the store during poor weather. She would come in while it was raining or cold and walk her dog throughout the store until it went to the bathroom. Once the dog had done its business, the woman would help herself to some of the free sample treats and leave,” one person shared.
People try to return crazy things.
One person shared that she always has people who come in and try to return insane items.
She mentioned that one customer tried to come in and return melted chocolate bars that had even expired three years prior to the date.
Gross encounters are just…gross.
“A guy came in to do a return and started yelling at me. Somewhere in the yelling, his TOOTH fell out and landed on the counter in front of us, which was already pretty gross. Even grosser — he picked it up and PUT IT BACK IN HIS MOUTH,” one retail worker said.
The infamous “Snake Lady.”
One person said their friend worked in a store where a woman came in with a snake around her neck. When the workers said customers were complaining, she said she felt “bad” she had left him in her bag all day.
Turns out, there was a second snake in her bag, too.
Who returns a used toilet seat?!?
“I worked for a major big-box store, and a customer brought back a USED toilet seat to return. And by ‘used,’ I mean that thing had urine and other markings on it. When we refused to return it, he pitched a fit until a co-manager allowed the refund,” one person shared.
Some retail workers get “stalked.”
One retail worker said a husband and wife came into her job and literally stalked her, trying to get her to join a weight loss pyramid scheme company.
They told her she was taking “too long to lose her pregnancy weight.”
Even coworkers get into it sometimes, too.
“One day, the assistant manager and another employee (both women) started fighting loudly. It turned out that one of the women was cheating on her husband with the other woman’s boyfriend. It eventually progressed into a knife fight in the middle of the store,” one person said.
One person tried to return something she didn’t even bring to the store.
One retail worker said a woman tried to return a pair of underwear, but did not even bring the underwear in with her to return.
When the worker said she needed the product to return, the woman said, “but I already wore them!”
Some people are just…disgusting.
“A man walked around our store with [poop] falling out of his trouser leg. A staff member kindly told him, and he insisted it wasn’t him. In the end, someone followed him around with a mop and bucket as he left a trail of [poop] around the store,” one worker said.
