7 Nightmare Customers All Retail Workers Have To Face

Retail is one of the toughest, most gruelling job sectors out there.

May seem like a bold statement, but if you’re reading this it’s likely you’re either working in retail, have previously worked in retail, or are frequently forced to listen to your friend who works in retail moan about working in retail.

It’s not just the minimum wage or the monotonous days, it’s the endless stream of rude customers you face every minute of your shift. Here are six examples of the nightmare customers you will face:

 

1. The one who is always right

The phrase “the customer is always right” is drilled into their mind, which means they refuse to believe anything you tell them if it contradicts their opinion.

Can often be found saying things like “No, the till is wrong, it is definitely only £5 for this brand new Diesel coat” and “It is actually illegal to sell things with an unmarked price.” Illegal? Really?

2. The one who is your ‘pal’

This customer is overly chummy, overly enthusiastic and overly fake happy. Not only do they make you uncomfortable when they insist on fist bumping you, they think your new forced friendship means that you will give them a huge discount on their purchase.

Often found saying “Oh well er yeah how about that discount pal* then, seeing as we’ve had such a laugh?” No.

*Note: pal, mate and love are interchangeably used.

3. The completely silent one

These types of customers normally refuse to say a single word while you’re serving them. They also rarely make eye contact, making the silence even more uncomfortable.

A conversation with them usually goes like this “Hi, how are you today?” … “Did you find everything you needed?” … “Have a nice day.” If you’re extremely lucky, they might grace you with a goodbye. Though don’t hold your breath – only one person in the world has ever had this luxury.

4. The one on the phone

Usually in a smart suit, these customers generally think themselves too important to hang up the phone and engage in conversation with you, and instead think it’s appropriate to sigh when you inconvenience them by asking them to put their card in the reader.

5. The one with all the kids

These customers are a nightmare for retail employees. The parents are either too distracted shouting at their kids to tell you what they need, or have gone for the ignore method, meaning you have their full attention but you’re too distracted watching their kids wreck the stands you just spent an hour tidying.

6. The ‘leave it until last minute’ one

This type of customer comes in 5 minutes before the shop closes, with one of the following: a list of 30+ items they need for their partner, a £200 refund to do, or  the request to have a whole outfit chosen and tried on for an event they are going to in two months’ time.

This customer can normally be spotted by the trail of angry shop employees following them around the store 20 minutes after closing.

7. The one who blames you for everything

It doesn’t matter that you work for a multi-chain corporate company, this customer is intent on making your life hell if the littlest of thing goes wrong.

Can’t do refunds? You are personally stealing their money. Can’t find the size they want? You’ve obviously hidden it out back. The shop closes early on Sundays? You deliberately didn’t inform them the last time they were in. And the reason you did this? Because you are a shop assistant who clearly has no career goals. Thanks.

It doesn’t matter how rude, fake or wrong customers are. When you work in retail, the only thing you can do is smile, grit your teeth and tell them to “Have a nice day, come back soon” before adding them to your never-ending hit list.

 

Sourced from the dailytouch.com