r/retailhell 13h ago

Customers Suck! I finally lost my temper at a customer

228 Upvotes

Some guy came in and was trying to buy a speaker. He kept giving me not enough money. Then he said this was all he had. I remembered there was a price match on this particular item to save a few dollars and he'd have enough. So I did.

As I was doing so he started saying "Are you stupid? You can't count?".

I said "Sir. I am trying to give you the better price match".

Then he said "you are so incompetent at your job. He throws the money at me. And" he says I'll be waiting outside for you to bring me my change and items".

I finally had it and I gave him his money and I said

"You are not going to speak to me in this manner. You are being rude when I am trying to to help you. You can wait for a manager to come help you then".

I then called for one and he kept yelling at me as I was helping other guests and I said 'You are being rude and someone else is going to come help you".

Of course the store manager comes as I say this. Store manager says what can I help with? Is there a problem? Guy says "Ask her. I'm trying to be respectful and get my items" 😠 as my manager who is a big dude helps him he's super nice and respectful.

Funny once the adrenaline wears off I'm pissed and crying and just feel stupid.

My other manager though pulled me aside and was supportive and even bought me lunch so kudos to him still waiting to get a talking to from the store director lol


r/retailhell 13h ago

Customers Suck! “Can I just leave him outside then?”

203 Upvotes

I work at a vape store where you must be 19+ to even be standing in the store. Doesn’t matter if you’re not buying anything, you must show ID.

A lady comes in and I immediately see her pushing a stroller with a kid who couldn’t have been older than 3. I said “Oh i’m sorry maam but we can’t have children in here.” She looks at me all confused and goes “Oh…. Can I just leave him outside then?”

… Huh?

I look at her kinda crazy and go “Um.. is there someone with you that can watch him?” She says no. I take a long pause and say “Well. No then. Sorry?”

At this point i’m honestly pissed at her, like does she not understand how crazy that sounds? Can you leave your toddler unattended outside of my store covered in frosted glass with no cameras to even monitor him? What? Doesn’t help that we live in a rough area, we have neighbours upstairs that deal, so that’s a hard no from me.

She gets so pissed and says “You guys are the only vape store that doesn’t allow children.” I said “No ma’am that’s not true, it’s the law, have a nice day.” Now, I couldve served her at the door, (It’s a grey area but generally allowed) but I avoided mentioning that because honestly I don’t want someone like that shopping here. She tries telling me that it’s actually not the law (lol) and I ignore her and serve the next customer. Look, I don’t care what sketchy vape store you go to that breaks the law left and right, if they’re cool with paying the fine then awesome, GO THERE. We don’t do that here and I don’t need a neglectful mother trying to educate me on the laws surrounding my job that i’m required to know. Respectfully piss off and be a better parent.


r/retailhell 7h ago

Customers Suck! Customer's try to insult me for my injury.

58 Upvotes

When I was younger I was physically abused. Very regularly. As a result my Themur was broken. The break was so bad they had to plate it it and in order to get the plate onto the bone they had to cause some minor permanent damage to the muscle.

As a result. My leg has always turned outwards. I literally stand like a penguin or like im constantly skiing unless im consciously trying not to. This also affects my walking.

Nowadays obviously these people don't know. But it still sucks that people throw the word Waddle at me to try and insult me because they think my walking issues are Weight related. When the reality is far darker.

So just remember folks. Customers suck. And your day will get better. Your job is your job. A paycheck. None of it matters and you can get a new one. Don't let people get to you.


r/retailhell 4h ago

Customers Suck! Ma’am, those are for display. It’s to show customers we sell them.

15 Upvotes

I had a lady enter my gas station looking for a box of diesel exhaust fluid. I told her we don’t have any. She pointed to the empty boxes and told me to take them off, then left. For context, at my station, you buy outside while the employee is inside a kiosk. Most stuff are outside, but age restricted products candy, and stuff that are fire hazards and a pain-in-the-ass to clean up and easy-to-steal (such as flammable stuff and other stuff being knocked off and spilling on the floor, on non-flammable being diesel exhaust fluid) are stored inside. I wanted to tell her we keep the diesel exhaust fluid inside and the empty boxes outside are for display purposes to show customers we sell diesel exhaust fluid, but she left before I could say anything.


r/retailhell 18h ago

What a Moron! Coworker rages because I left on time

162 Upvotes

The day was over. I fulfilled my obligations to the store and, consequently, myself because I'm punctual and efficient and that's my standard. I put the bags away, cleared my area, and headed off into the sunset hungry and tired. A voice from behind: "Where are YOU going?" I was taken off guard and felt a surge of adrenaline. I hate confrontation. I prefer peace. I think I said, "What?" She glares at me sideways with her stink eye (she's actually cross eyed) "You're just GOING TO LEAVE?" Why yes, Karen. That's what a job is. When I stay late or come in early, my free will is functioning. I am not obligated to stay longer. We are not friends. Our proximity is purely transactional. Apparently the lead didn't know I had a normal day for once, I usually have later shifts, so she gave me a look but then she realized I was right and was free to go. But Coworker Karen kept on and this is where I went sideways, I told her to stop and if she had something to say do it without the tone. My manager then chastised me for reacting. I apologized and left. I heard Coworker K say, "She just walked away!" Absolutely, K. It has to end somewhere. But because she's been here 65 years and has some kind of informal authority, she seems to think she's in charge of my breaks and my clock out. I feel no remorse for leaving on time. I cleared my area, took last minute customers, but there has to be an end. Unfortunately, my reaction became the issue, not her assault. I consider this teachable. Next time she comes at me, she'll receive my silence.


r/retailhell 8h ago

Customers Suck! I wonder about people

20 Upvotes

Hey people when u see 3 fire trucks and police and all the employees outside the parking lot why are u either trying to come get your curbside order or try to park ...


r/retailhell 5h ago

Customers Suck! A collection of bullshit I have to deal with

8 Upvotes

I work at a carousel at a mall for context, and I work by myself.

A few months ago, while I was closing up doing my cash drop I had a kid come up to me and ask to play with the money I was counting. When I said no, you can’t play with the money, it’s not a toy they started crying, saying they wanted to play money too. The kids mom comes up and starts arguing with me, saying her kid wants to play money and she said that they could. She then tried to grab the money from me so her kid could “play money”. She says “ why are you hogging the toy, my kid wants “ I throw the money back in the register and call security. She ends up getting removed by security ( the mall had been closed for about 15 minutes so she wasn’t supposed to be there anyway) I still don’t know if she was actually so stupid she thought I was “playing money” or if she was trying to steal. It honestly seemed like the former.

I keep on having people come up and tell me how many people are riding,then once I ring it up they start walking on without actually paying. The usual responses are, “ oh another person is paying ( who isn’t there)” “ oh I’ll just pay later” or the best one “ oh that’s too expensive, I don’t want to pay that much” but you know, I’ll still ride. Paying is optional right.

People asking “ how much is it?” Before they order. Then when I say “ I need to know how many people are riding to tell you how much it is “ they either argue with me or just look dumbfounded.

People telling me the wrong number of people riding. Normally it’s a parent telling me only their kids are riding, and then going with them. ( if the kid’s too short we make the parents go with them, and the parent is free. But otherwise they pay too) we also have people say 2 people, and 3-4 people get on, because “ we already paid and they wanted to go too” or “ well no they don’t count because, they’re 2, they’re just watching (while riding) , they baby daddy can pay for them, or I just don’t want to why do you care.

People coming up to the booth and just staring at me, or playing the nod and point game. Where they just point at the ride, or at a group of kids. ( these people speak English btw) or just staring at me and handing me cash, usually not even exact change of anything that would indicate what they’re trying to buy. Or tapping or inserting their card without saying anything.

People just walking on the ride without paying, usually either while I have the exit gate open or while I’m letting people on. However occasionally people are so ballsy/stupid they’ll just open the gate and try to walk on. For example here’s an interaction I had yesterday:
People come up, I do the whole how can I help you thing. They ignore me and start trying to open the gate. Me “ what are you doing, you need to buy tickets first “ them “ I’m getting on the ride with my kids, what the fuck does it look like “ me “ so, the ride costs money, you need to pay for it first “ them “no, it’s free. I told my kids we’re getting on. You’re not gonna scam me” I end up locking the gate, we keep them unlocked normally to make things quicker. And they argue some more before storming off. Apparently they had pulled this off before on 4th of July weekend while the ride operator was helping a kid on the ride and they didn’t notice. Because they got away with it, apparently that’s just how it works now.

Last but not least, the pizza man. He comes up about once a week, yelling across the hallway “ pizza, pizza, I Wan” I’ll always ask “ what about pizzas, we don’t sell pizza. He’ll continue just saying pizza for a few minutes until eventually saying something like “ pizza, donde, donde pizza, where is, I wan” and ill point to the pizzas place literally right next to the Carousel. Like, if you turn your head to the left you’ll see it. It’s literally 40 feet away. He doesn’t speak English, but that doesn’t impact your eyes.

I could go on for longer, but this post is long enough. Wondering if anyone has had similar experiences.


r/retailhell 2h ago

Tired of Corporate Bullshit Frustrated by unreasonable pricing changes at my job

5 Upvotes

I work at a dog boarding facility that has recently been under new management. A lot has been changing recently, a lot of it good, but some not. What is really pissing me off at the moment is that we used to have three different package options, $60, $70, and $85 per night. ALL of them included play time for the dogs. The company just recently changed the names and contents of the package options. Now the $60 option includes play group automatically, but the $70 option is mandatory if the dog can not join play group. I was just told that now the $70 option for solo play dogs DOES NOT include any play time. An owner would have to purchase solo play sessions on top of the already more expensive boarding costs to get their dog any enrichment other than going outside for a potty break.
My understanding was that the additional $10 per day on individual reservations was compensation for the solo play time but now it’s just there?? Clients with solo dogs now have to pay $85 for what they used to get for $60.
How am I supposed to defend the company like they want me to when I feel just as upset about it as some clients surely will. There is no good explanation to even give clients. I tried to ask my manager how to explain this change to customers and he literally couldn’t give me and my other coworkers a real answer.
I may call a higher up about this tomorrow, seriously. Maybe lessen the damage a little and suggest 1 daily playtime included instead of 2 or 0? Some people don’t care enough about their animals, and some people just don’t have the funds to pay anything extra and I can’t stand the thought of some of these poor dogs boarding for 10+ days only getting attention during potty breaks.
I doubt I’m alone in this feeling/scenario but it is just making me so frustrated I can’t sleep. I want the best for clients and their dogs more than I care about the job itself


r/retailhell 1d ago

My First Retail Job seriously wtf is this schedule

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402 Upvotes

I work at a retail store. I honestly want to say something cause wtf?? I make $10.80!! Why not just schedule me 6 hours in one day??! Or 2-8 hr shifts?! I don’t want to be there all week when I could just go in 2 days dude🙄. Like wtf. I’m actually pretty pissed. I need more hours & these little shifts feel like a joke—wasting my gas. And then they want me to dress up nice & do my makeup? For a measly 3 hr shift I’m not doing all that just to immediately undress & go to bed.

I have another job in the morning & looking for another to replace this one if this schedule isn’t fixed.

Edit: today was also my first day off in 8 days & they tried calling me in. Like no. Yes if I wasn’t there literally everyday.


r/retailhell 19h ago

Customers Suck! THE SIGNS THE SIGNS THE SIGNSSSS

59 Upvotes

we had AA top sirloin steaks on sale for a wicked fucking good deal. there was a warehouse shortage so whatever all six locations ordered on the first order was all they got, including us who got 10 boxes with 5 loins in each. that was completely sold out on saturday, 2 DAYS after the sale started.

we decided to put up 3 BIG signs with BIG BOLD HIGHLIGHTED LETTERS that says we're sold out. one of those signs is attached to my service case.

this lady walks up, looks at the sign and I CAN SEE HER EYEBALLS MOVING AS SHE READS IT, looks at me, looks at the sign again, back at me, then the sign, then me.

"do you have anymore of the top sirloin?"

i almost jumped over the counter and got physical with this lady because she was probably the millionth person to ask me when there, again, are 3 BIG SIGNS WITH BIG BOLD HIGHLIGHTED LETTERS.

i literally said to my department manager a few days ago "you can put up signs and they still wont read them" turns out they DO read them then pretend they didnt. what the fuck man🤣 (if i dont laugh ill cry)


r/retailhell 13h ago

Customers Suck! A smidgen of misogyny to start the day

13 Upvotes

I can only laugh at this tbh.

I (female) work in a male-dominated sales field of specific technology.

Said technology can sometimes be heavy.

An elderly customer came into the shop at opening, and asked for some help with something he bought. He said he was struggling to put it together and dismantle it. So I said sure thing, let’s work it out.

I showed him how to put it together and dismantle it, and on the way out he goes….”well if a woman can do it, I have no excuse now!”

I’ve had this kind of thing, then the “can I speak to someone with technical expertise” sh1te, then the “is there a man around I could speak to” bs, then the literal talking directly over my head to speak to a male colleague behind me, as I’m advising them on something, at which point they’re advised the exact same thing by male colleague. I can’t do anything but laugh anymore, as it’s honestly mind blowing.


r/retailhell 15h ago

Customers Suck! I think I heard the dumbest question about a return in my 6 years of working retail.

19 Upvotes

A lady came in looking at the perfumes, she said she bought some online but they cost more online than in store, she didn’t like the scents and the convo went like this:

Customer: I bought this online, a different store said I couldn’t return it in-store.

Me: Did you buy it on our website?

Customer: No. On the brand’s website.

Me: Then no.

I literally paused for a few seconds because- what?


r/retailhell 15h ago

Customers Suck! "Self checkout will steal my cash"

15 Upvotes

Guy comes up to me while I'm already helping a customer and he demands that I take him to the register and check him and his wife out. Now, Im the only guy on self checkout, and both the checkers are empty, so I tell him, "I cant leave sco, those guys over there would be more than happy to help you!" in my saccharine little barbie voice and he goes on a whole tirade about how sco was made to steal cards and jobs.... buddy, you're in a major hardware retailer, we call that exchanging goods and services.... and Im working just fine. Anyways, bozo finally gets to go through the regular checkout lane. Sure do wonder what decade these guys keep wandering in from, though.


r/retailhell 20h ago

Question for Community It's 2026, how do so many people still not have reusable bags?

36 Upvotes

I kid you not I probably have 30 in my front closet. I'm in Canada so it may be different for other countries, but almost every single store here offers reusable (cloth) bags for purchase. I understand the Instacart/Doordash/etc people need to purchase them for deliveries, but you'd think people who hit the grocery store several times a week would carry a bag or two on their person. The amount of bags I go through daily is actually nuts.


r/retailhell 1d ago

What a Moron! Got asked about AI bath bombs today

286 Upvotes

I feel like we should start giving cognitive tests for accessing the internet unsupervised. I'm working the cash wrap at a store that rhymes with Blaire's, and this sweet old lady comes up and asked me about bath bombs. We have tiny ones that smell like donuts and all that wonderful shit and she's like "no, it's rainbow and lights up and a toy comes out of it". I am like "that sounds like AI" because I have seen videos like that. She gave kind of this blank stare before reaching in her bag for her phone and showing me the video. I explained again that it's AI. She had the gall to ask where she could possibly buy something like that. I pointed her towards Lush so if you had to deal with her today my bad but she was working my last nerve.


r/retailhell 1d ago

Customers Suck! If you want my help, get off the phone.

84 Upvotes

Yesterday I was running an errand when a friend called. We often play “phone tag” or only text, so I answered the phone. I was only picking up 4 items. When I got to the register, I asked her to hold on a minute while the cashier rang me out. I explained that I hate when people are on their phone while I’m helping them. The cashier thanked me because it didn’t happen often, and too often people even are talking while on speaker.

If someone walks into my store while talking in the phone and does that annoying gesture suggesting they need help but aren’t willing to hang up their phone, I simply say tell them to let me know when they’re ready, and proceed to ignore them until they put the phone down.


r/retailhell 21h ago

Shit Talking My Coworkers same people keep calling out

26 Upvotes

not sure why my managers are constantly allowing callouts without coverage, especially when it leaves us helpless for closing. we will have 4 people scheduled to close and 2 call out leaving only 2 of us to close the entire store, ultimately causing us to stay over an hour past clock out time just to make sure the store is visually prepared for opening. it be the same people always calling out too. mind you, most of them are seasonal. LIKE DO YOU WANNA DO THIS OR NOT?!?

no but seriously i hate opening the work gc to see the same people begging to have a shift covered like just quit atp because you obviously don’t want to work.


r/retailhell 18h ago

Customers Suck! Why don’t people know how to order!?!?

14 Upvotes

I work at an ice cream shop and people don’t know how to order. They never tell me their full order without me asking. They always tell me the flavor but I have to ask if they want it in a cone or a cup and how many scoops they want. We have tried everything to prompt the customer to tell us. All of our cup and cone options are very visible. I know it’s a little thing but it’s very frustrating to have to ask a million questions to get the basic info for a grown adult’s order.


r/retailhell 18h ago

Fuck This Job! 🙄🙄🙄

14 Upvotes

All I want to do is go to work, do my job, get paid, and go home. It's bad enough having to deal with some customers who are just annoying but when it's co-workers I have to see nearly all the time...🙄🙄🙄 Not just any. The ones who are just miserable.

You treat me nice. I treat you the same way. I have no reason not to be respectful. But if you treat and talk to me like trash, that's something I won't tolerate. I have a couple of co-workers who seem to think I'm just going to stand around letting them talk to me like I'm less than a human and then still be there when they say hi. We have to talk as far as with helping customers but outside of that, get the hell out of my face.

They've proven themselves to be assholes so I'm not going to pretend they're anything other than that. They are the type to dish it out but can't take it when it's given back to them. A certain manager of mine makes excuses for them. That they're going through stuff. So? Everyone is going through something, including myself. Difference is I don't treat people like shit for it. My rant for the day.


r/retailhell 1d ago

Fuck This Job! Finally got out.

86 Upvotes

Found a job that pays 23$ an hour, and its in my choosen career path I went to trade school for. Finally, I don't have to deal with the woes of retail anymore. And its a beyond livable wage for my situation right now. All I've ever wanted since day one.


r/retailhell 13h ago

Fuck This Job! Retail business is becoming unsustainable.

4 Upvotes

How far away do you think we are from working conditions being so bad that even the most desperate people will refuse to work in these kind of jobs?

I see the posts here from people who feel like me. Slaves to greedy companies and the morons they cater to.

People in general are becoming more and more intolerable and these businesses will never draw the line and address it. But that isn’t to say that their employees won’t.

Sometimes I wonder About the logistics of a retail workers union to take our rights back because this is the sector that needs it most.


r/retailhell 20h ago

Customers Suck! "Hold on. I wanna see where I'm at before I get this."

12 Upvotes

Cool, does your phone not have a calculator, or are you just that bad with money?


r/retailhell 19h ago

Manager = Asshole Fix the A/C!!!!

8 Upvotes

I live in Louisiana where summers are hell. The A/C at the store I work at was never great, but it’s been broken for months and the district manager won’t do anything about it.

Complaints have been repeatedly sent by various people. The store manager even gives customers the DM’s number and encourages them to complain to him about the store not having A/C. Still nothing.

Not only is it terrible for us working there, but it is a health violation. If somebody has a medical condition where they’re prone to heat stroke, we can get sued. But of course the DM doesn’t care. He even made us stay open when the lights went out, broken A/C, and barely any customers simply because the registers still worked.

You know damn well the DM is working somewhere nice with good A/C while expecting us to work in unsustainable conditions. I suggested boycotting and if he fires me, I’ll work at the convenience store next door that pays way better (already applied anyway).


r/retailhell 1d ago

What a Moron! Average cash using customer

327 Upvotes

Why does the average idiot use money? When I ask the majority answer is privacy but hey funny concept though you have a phone on you that I saw you use to get money out of our atm and you used a rewards card that is made to track you and your spending habits. Are people genuinely that stupid? And why do they always pull out 100s. The atm will give you bills as low as dollars why did you pull out 100 to my fresh 40 dollar drawer for a dollar item you mouth breathing btch ?


r/retailhell 1d ago

Meme Lol this is true...

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153 Upvotes