As college students, we need money. Money to pay rent, buy textbooks, social outings, you name it. While it would be amazing to be a social influencer and get paid just for posing with a product on Instagram, odds are that most of us get our money from part-time jobs. Some people are receptionists or work at daycares or freelance write, but a lot of us are in the oh-so-lovely customer service industry. While there’s a lot of pros with working in the customer service industry (discounts, making friends, etc.), there’s one con we all have experienced: horrible customer moments. I’ve worked in retail for about 10 months now and have thankfully not had too many bad moments with customers, but the girls below have some stories that will blow your mind.
“When I worked at Bath and Body Works a few years ago, I had to work $8.50 candle day (candles are normally $22.50-24.50). I had to go help manage the line when my coworker’s shift was over and the lady in line got mad that the line was not moving fast enough and threw her bag of GLASS candles at my feet and stormed out. Luckily nothing broke, but to this day, I am still scared and can’t look at candles the same.” — Danni, USFSP Student, 21
“When I worked at Plato’s Closet, one guy brought in a bag of clothes, and when I lifted up the first shirt a bunch of dead baby cockroaches fell out, and there was also the dead mom and the rest of its family in the bag. I told the guy that I didn’t go through his buy because he had dead cockroaches in there and he seemed surprised and just left. No apology or anything.” — Alyssa, USFSP Student 21
“I used to serve at an Italian restaurant in Deland, FL and I was once asked what size pants I wore by two creepy old men. Also, I had a male customer come in and ask if I was in multiple times. He would only ask for me and order lots of beers and try to get my number and flirt. It was pretty terrible, I was just trying to do my job but I felt like I was just used as eye candy. — Emma Jacobs, USFSP Student, 19
“This woman comes in pretty often, can’t have sugar but always accuses us of putting it in her smoothies and then goes on rants about our bathroom scents being toxic and our hand soaps toxins seeping into her skin.” Reese, 19
“I work as a hostess back at home and there was a time that a customer got in my face and yelled at me about how I was clearly stupid and his name has already been put on the list. He yelled at me for five minutes before realizing he called the wrong location and his name was in fact, not on our list. I never got an apology, I instead got yelled at because the table we sat him at wasn’t good enough.” — Julianne, USFSP Student, 19
“The whole job itself.” Imani, USFSP Alumni, 23
“An older couple drinking at my bar started yelling at my customers, asking everyone, “Do you like Donald Trump?” I told them they weren’t allowed to talk politics at my bar. They stopped for a minute, but when I left the bar to go serve food at the tables, I hear them yelling again, now getting very aggressive. I told them to cut it out, or they would have to leave. They kept arguing and it was getting worse. I told them they had to leave. They said I was discriminating against them because they were Republican. I told them it had nothing to do with that; it was because they were being aggressive. The husband was livid and went outside to have a cigarette or something. While he was gone, his wife was arguing with somebody and THREW A BARSTOOL. The husband came back inside, saw the aftermath and yelled “WHO ASSAULTED MY WIFE?” Now he was trying to fight someone because he thought someone else threw the barstool at his wife. At this point I told them, “I don’t care if you pay your tab. Just get the fuck out of my bar and never come back.” Then the husband got in one of my customers’ faces and called her the N-word. They wouldn’t leave, I was working all alone and I was scared at this point. I called the cops. I told the couple that the cops were on the way. The couple told me that they were calling the cops on me for discrimination. They left right before the cops got there. About half an hour later, they started calling the bar, asking for the manager. I told them he wasn’t there. They called every 10 minutes, forgetting that they had just called me. Closing down the bar that night was terrifying. All alone, I was afraid they would come back. The next morning, they posted a Facebook review of the bar saying that the bartender was discriminatory and they got kicked out because of their political views. I wanted to comment back and tell them that they got kicked out for throwing a barstool and using racial slurs, but I didn’t want them to know my name. Next week, a man I’d never seen before walked through the front door, pointed at me and asked, “Do you like Donald Trump?” I immediately told him he had to leave and I wouldn’t serve him. I learned my lesson.” — Anna, USFSP Student, 21
Yikes! Now those are some horror stories.
HCXOXO,
Kelli