Almost everyone (no matter what job you’re in) will probably have to deal with a customer at some point. All of us would have had a bad experience with a customer and, almost certainly, heard the 5 most annoying words on the planet; “The customer is always right”.

I put it to you that the customer isn’t always right. What if I were to say that every now and again the customer isn’t right. What if I said that sometimes the customer is just a royal pain in the neck.

Working in the service industry requires a certain degree of patience; the ability to fake a smile, some more patience and a pretty thick skin. There are certain situations that crop up on a regular basis and smash your entire mood to bits. However, no matter the situation you’re faced with, no matter what boring and pointless issues customers spew in your face, you must always force a smile and fake polite concern. After all, they’re paying the bills.

“Excuse me, do you work here?”
Nope, not me. I just enjoy prancing about here like a big fairy wearing the uniform. I wouldn’t even consider leaving the house without a name badge. Yes, I work here.

Of course, I understand that it can be hard to grab the attention of staff at times and ‘Excuse me’ is the go to phrase but there’s really nothing fun about hearing it every working day. It is however much more polite than being whistled at, at which point I’d usually turn round as say “Oh, have you lost you dog?”

Screaming children
As I work at a bar & grill, this is one that really does get to me. While usually I’d over-exaggerate, I mean everything I’m about to say.

People are trying to eat, stop your child from running about like a headless chicken, screaming like a hedgehog. (They scream like a baby, YouTube it if you don’t believe me). It’s not alright for your ‘sprog’ to play with the salt and pepper, it’s not ok for IT to throw cake all over the floor. It’s definitely not ok for you to get up and leave without even the slightest attempt to tidy up a bit. 

Don’t come to the bar to pay and sit the annoying ankle biter in a stool and scream in my face. What would happen if I came to your work and threw cake on the floor and screeched in your ugly mug?

The aggressive sigh
Usually this is what you’ll hear when you tell a customer that something is out of stock or that basically, they wont be getting what the want. I’m sorry but its not my fault that it’s popular and everyone has bought it before you. Don’t be rude or I’ll drop kick you in the face.

Upselling
This is the one and only time that I feel sorry for customers. For those that don’t know, upselling is basically where you try and persuade a customer to by something additional or more expensive.

This is a crucial part of business but, I really hate doing it just as much as I hate to be on the receiving end of it. If I wanted to buy that, I’d have asked for that instead, wouldn’t I? You have to upsell with every customer because you know that the one customer you don’t ask will be the one that actually did want to upgrade their fries, but didn’t know the option was available and now you’re responsible for the bad Trip Adviser review.

Not all customers are vexatious. While it only takes one annoying customer to ruin your day, it only takes one positive interaction to make it all worth while and remind you why you actually enjoy working in the service industry, regardless of how much you moan.

Let us know some of your ‘Customer is always right’ moments that have stuck with you and made your blood boil! 

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