Working in retail isn’t for the faint of heart.
There’s too much to deal with, from messy cleanups (including poop horror stories), long hours on your feet, and unrelenting Karens who will stop at nothing to be justified.
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Don’t believe us? Just check out these retail horror stories that are totally worth reading, and be glad it’s not you!
The thermos
Poop and retail go together a lot more than you’d think thanks to some gross customers. One Redditor had a customer bring a thermos into the washroom with them, poop into it, and then place it back onto the shelf. Why??
The mistake
“A man flipped his [expletive] when we made his sandwich with white vinegar instead of red. Seriously, he acted as if we had slaughtered the last puppy in the world in front of him. He was eventually kicked out of the store since he wouldn’t stop having a hissy fit.” – u/ Hokuboku
The bomb threat
If a bomb threat were to happen in the store you were in, any sane person’s reaction would be to high-tail it out of there.
But one Redditor encountered a woman who refused to leave until she got her stuff.
The water-downed drink
“As a waitress, I see stupid people all day long. My favorite was the customers complaining that the ice was melting too fast and watering down their drinks…umm how the [expeltive] is complaining about to help THAT fact of science?” – u/ mandyleigh
The accident
When two women almost got into a car accident in the parking lot, they decided to bring their drama into a store. They began screaming at each other like crazy, which caused other customers to stare. Instead of dealing with it, the manager threw them out of the store.
The threat
“Dude threatened to go out to his truck and get his gun, come back in and “shoot you points at me , you points at my manager who had taken over already , and you points at my coworker who was standing nearby. ” I gave him the ‘why haven’t you done it yet?’ look and he left. I worked at sears, I was ready to die.” – u/ AnalLeaseHolder
The cable
There’s one department no retail employee wants to work in: returns. One Redditor dealt with a man who tried to return an iPhone cord that he had cut in half. After being refused, the customer proceeded to freak out and even tried to whip a co-worker with the cord!
The creep
“When the old guy I was serving kept looking at my chest and making creepy facial expressions, I asked him if he wanted a drink or he was just going to keep staring. He excitedly put his hands out and went ‘oh, I can do more than stare!’ and tried to walk behind the bar to grab my chest.” u/ orangelego
The stolen merchandise
If you’re going to pull a crime, at least be smart about it! One Redditor had a man try to return an item with the ole “lost the receipt” excuse. Then, he pretended to call his friend to ask him when he “bought” it.
The racist
“I had a customer who used a racial slur to describe one of my employees for no other reason beyond the fact that he saw them and was offended that ‘one of them’ was doing their job by doing the oil change that he came to us to do.” -u/deleted
The intimidator
“He got in my face, physically, to intimidate me. When I didn’t back down, he resorted to telling me I’m fat and unpleasant. All because he wanted a free replacement of a 15 year old item that he’d used to hell and back.” – u/ msblackwine
The police
When some customers don’t get their way, they resort to acting like children! One customer threatened to call the cops because the worker wouldn’t give them 50 percent off of a CHARITY bear on boxing day. Bear in mind (excuse the pun) that all proceeds went to charity!
The backtalk
“Had a customer tell me I was a lazy piece of [expletive] because I wouldn’t grab his wife a flat cart. I was with another customer. He told me they were there to drop $400 on a lawnmower. I laughed and said let me know when you plan on filling a trailer and dropping $20 grand.” – u/deleted
The pee
Being a shoe salesman sometimes means bending down to deal with bratty children who think they’re better than you.
One little girl peed all over a Redditor’s arms because she could! Another kid peed into a cup and it splashed all over the worker!
The racist II
“There was also a time when I worked at an art store where a suburban mom said with elation GASP ‘you look just like an African slave princess!! How darling!’ I am a pasty white woman with gauged ears and tattoos.” – u/ killersim
