It’s Just A Phone…
“I have worked for various phone companies over the years, in great neighborhoods and in questionable neighborhoods. This story happened a few months ago in a bad part of town where I work now.
The customer wanted to get an iPhone the evening before back to school (Sunday). We close at 5. At 4:45, this dude tells me (I’m a manager) that he will be back in 5 minutes (he lived 5 minutes away supposedly) to get cash from his home so he can buy himself a new iPhone.
I tell him we are going to close at 5 if he is not here. His mom waits in the store. I figure if he’s a few minutes late it’s fine, but I made it clear he has 5 minutes. At 5:15 I tell his mother that we are already counting cash and that I cannot sell her son a phone anymore.
The dude arrives at like 5:30, and I let his mother out the door. He started to go thug life on me while his mom was pleading with him not to do anything. He shoved the door open and pushed me, then demanded the phone.
I immediately told my employees not to get involved and just called the cops. He went crazy and started cursing everyone out (there’s like 6 of us, mostly girls except for me and another dude). His mom was screaming in Spanish, telling him not to do anything and pleading with me as well.
You can tell this wasn’t the first time he’d behaved like this. He got in one of my rep’s face but thankfully he didn’t do anything. Finally, when the dude heard my other rep on the phone with the cops, he walked to his car and threatened to key all of our cars.
Nothing happened. I saw the dude at Chili’s a week later with his boys. He recognized me, we locked eyes, but he didn’t do crap.”
Arby’s Arguments
“The Arby’s near me ran a promotion in which it had limited quantities of a deer meat sandwiches. Apparently, it was only released in certain areas, and within those areas, only certain stores got them.
So I’m at Arby’s that day randomly, and these two guys come in and try to order the sandwich. The woman at the counter politely told them that they had sold out hours earlier.
One guy started yelling that they had been looking forward to this for weeks, how dare they run out, etc, while the other proceeded to take napkins, straws, and containers of ketchup and throw them around the place like it was confetti…over a sandwich.”
“All For Jar Jar Binks”
“I worked at Best Buy when Star Wars Episode 1 was released on DVD for the first time. I had worked the opening shift and was asked to come in a little early to help set up all the displays.
People were camped outside for a few hours before the store opened. About 30 minutes before the store opened, I could see this seething, undulating mass of humanity crowded outside the doors, waiting for them to open so they could grab their copy. I swear it looked like a few of them were trying to Jedi mind trick me into opening the doors early.
I was making jokes with my fellow employees when my manager came and asked me to stand by the doors so I could direct the incoming horde to the various displays (there were 2 or 3 of them I think). As I took my place, the store manager approached the front doors of the store to open them, and I saw the entire mass tense like they were about to run a gauntlet.
As soon as the doors opened, the human ocean outside burst its way in. I raised my hand to wave to them in greeting, but before I could get my arm halfway up to greeting position, I was slammed off of my feet as they ran past me. It was like I wasn’t even there.
I picked myself up, with no injuries other than my pride, and saw these piranhas devour the first display they came to. Within minutes, the display was empty. Some customers who hadn’t grabbed a copy (and didn’t realize that we had more in stock) started pushing and shouting, and it looked like there might be a brawl erupting at any moment.
I tried to tell everyone that we had more, but they were shouting over me. One kid (maybe 9 or 10 years old) was standing next to his mom and crying because he hadn’t managed to get a copy. His mom was trying to console him as they moved him away from the riotous mass in front of them.
I went back to the crowd, and finally, it got quiet enough so I could explain that we had more in stock. The remaining crowd rushed to the other displays, and I pulled a copy aside for the boy and his mom and handed it to them so they wouldn’t have to be near the guys who were ready to fight each other…all for Jar Jar Binks.”
State Of Emergency
“I was working at Babbage’s (one of the stores Barnes & Noble picked up as they consolidated everything into GameStop). We were told to not hold any copies of State of Emergency for anyone under any circumstance (other than pre-orders). First come, first serve. It was launch day. It was popular. It was going to sell out.
This dude calls and asks if we have it. I tell him that we have one left, but I cannot at all guarantee it will be there when he gets to the store (my manager was being a real tightwad about it, so I’m not risking ticking him off). Guy on the phone says he’ll be there in 15 minutes. I repeat that I cannot guarantee the one copy of the most popular game of the day is going to be in stock when he arrives. He hangs up.
As soon as I hang up the phone, a customer in the store asks for it. Yep. Sell them the copy.
15 minutes later, dude from the phone call comes in. He’s tiiiicked. Yells at me for a minute. Yells at my manager for five minutes. We apologize and remain civil. He threatened to kill us. We called mall security, and he left before they got to the store.
So yes, one night about 15 years ago, I had to be walked to my car by the police since a man threatened to kill me…because he couldn’t purchase a video game.”
How Does He Think This Works?
“I work at a repair shop for computers, and we also sell refurbished units. We make very clear that they cannot be returned for refund (except in rare cases, we’re not total monsters and occasionally bend the rules a bit if something happens), it can only be exchanged.
This dude come in, buys a laptop, then comes back the next day wanting to return it since he found a cheaper one on Craigslist. We told him no, we don’t do returns, but we can run it by a manager to see what we can do. He starts making threats, like, ‘Well I don’t want to do a chargeback,’ and, ‘It’d suck if I had to report you to the Better Business Bureau,’ etc.
At that point we lost sympathy, and the situation went from, ‘Yeah maybe we’ll make an exception,’ to, ‘Haha, nope,’ The dude came back and lost his mind when we told him the manager denied the refund. I told him we could exchange it for another unit of equal value or he could pay the difference on a higher end one, but he wasn’t having it.
I showed him the receipt he signed that says no refunds on refurbished units, and he still was adamant that we owed him a refund. He said, ‘Well I’ll just leave it here so you have to give me one.’ He thought if he left it with us it would have to be counted as returned. We let him know it was still his property and if he left it here it’d just go into our lost and found for a month until we count it as abandoned. He flipped out again, hit a display case, and slammed the door so hard the frame rattled.
A few days later we got a call from someone at his bank. He attempted a chargeback and they wanted our side of the story. We told them everything and forwarded a copy of his signed receipt. Chargeback denied. He called us and said that he’s taking us to small claims court. We basically went, ‘K, go ahead.’ The laptop is still sitting in our back room, and we’re counting down the days until we can repurpose it.”
Freaky Furry Flip Out
“I used to be a manager at PetSmart years ago. One day I got called up to the front for ‘customer service’ which usually meant I was about to get yelled at over expired coupons. Not that day.
It was a girl in full-on furry gear holding pamphlets. It was too long ago to remember the exact conversation, but she essentially asked me if she could walk around the store in her suit handing out pamphlets on furry culture.
She also thought it would be fun for people to interact with a furry in a pet store. Of course, I politely told her absolutely not. She essentially started to beg me, so I tried to offer the usual excuses of ‘it’s corporate policy,’ ‘it’s a safety issue,’ and so on (honestly, it probably is a safety issue; she could have gotten attacked if she approached the wrong dog in the wrong way).
She would NOT relent. I started to become irritated, and told her that she would have to leave. Her response was to start SCREAMING, and yes, barking at me. Apparently, I was discriminating against furries…her words, not mine. She finally left after a few minutes of going berserk, but it was quite a sight to behold.”
Apples To Oranges
“This line of people were outside the Apple Store at the mall waiting to get the iPhone 5 when it first came out. My sister and I were there shopping for a new dress for some presentation she had to put together, and we passed by right when a disagreement started among two people in line. The conversation went like this:
‘Hey, I had that spot!’
‘Uh, no. I started waiting here when the mall opened up. It’s my spot.’
‘You little punk, you think you’re better than me because you were stupid enough to get in line at 7 am this morning? All you did was waste your time.’
‘Yes, well it got me ahead of you, didn’t it? Leave me alone, please.’
The angry weird person in line then went quiet for a moment before punching the other guy right in the nose.
On another note, that was also the first time I’ve been witness to the arrest of a grown man while he screamed about the other guy deserving it for being so rude. The guy who got punched was given first aid, and everyone in front let him move to the first spot in line.
My sister and I literally bought soda and cookies and sat in the little lounge area close by to see all of this unfold. Once a guy punches another guy for a spot in line, you can’t miss out by leaving before the cops arrive.”
Just Trying To Help
“I’m a teller at a bank, and one time I was attempting to help a customer fix her online banking mobile app because all the bankers were busy and I didn’t want her to wait for such a simple issue.
I greeted her very politely and respectfully like I do with all my customers because my bank grades us partly on customer experience surveys and the ratings people give us. I asked her to go into detail on the issue and asked if she was getting an error message or anything.
She slammed her fist on my table and said that she already told me that she can’t get in. I told her not to worry, and that I was there to help her, I just needed her to cooperate with me.
That apparently infuriated her, and she shoved her phone in my face, which would’ve hit me if I didn’t move back. I then told her she was acting inappropriately and I would no longer be able to help her.
She told me to go eff myself, went into my manager’s office, and told her to fire me immediately. Luckily my coworkers witnessed the entire scenario and backed me up. It really ticked me off that I was just trying to go out of my way to help a customer and she freaked out.”
Wii Won The Battle
“Back when the Wii was in extreme demand, shortly after Super Smash Brothers Brawl released, my mom went out a few days after my birthday to try and get me one as a late present. On a Sunday, in a not-massive city, there were nearly 2 dozen cars stalking a delivery truck that carried such things. 2 dozen cars, stalking this massive truck, constantly rushing into every store it visited, to try and get a Wii.
I was in the backseat the whole way, amazed at them. I mean, I am a HUGE game nerd, but Jesus CHRIST, they were like lions stalking an INCREDIBLY nervous deer, all starving and ready to turn on each other in order to get the fresh meat first.
My mom calmly entered the GameStop and walked out with a Wii that had been delivered the day prior, as well as a copy of Brawl.
All of the cars stopped and people RAN into the Gamestop, several of them just outright JUMPING out of their cars, not even turning them off. Others parked in handicapped spots and directly in front of the store, which was a fire lane, blocking traffic the whole time.
Then they started to have TANTRUMS, as my mom got the second of only two Wiis that had been delivered to the store that week. Screaming, crying, raging…one person even fell onto her car to cry.
As we were pulling out of our spot and out of the parking lot, one of them, a man roughly the age of my own mom at the time (40s), somewhat muscular with a big gut and wearing a wifebeater, started running at us.
We got the heck out of there, drove back home with no issues, and celebrated our new system with Chinese takeout and a smash tournament with my brothers. That taught me to NEVER get too obsessed with anything, especially video games.”
Wild, Wild Walmart
“My sister has 3 kids, and Black Friday shopping is her thing. One year I agreed to go because I was a broke 18-year-old college freshman who couldn’t afford to buy them anything, so I thought I might as well help get them something.
She went to go get some dolls, and I was surrounding the big pallets at Walmart with some stupid VTech laptop my nephew wanted. This was before Walmart started making you stand in lines and giving out tickets and whatnot.
When they ripped the plastic off, this lady in front of me was just grabbing arm fulls of these laptops, probably to sell on eBay. She was blocking the whole thing, so my short self just went under her and grabbed one. This GROWN woman turned around and chased me, then actually grabbed the side of my face and scratched me so hard I was bleeding.
I panicked, then remembered what I had learned in my University’s self-defense class…..and just sort of elbowed her in the nose. She grabbed her face and started cussing and yelling at me, and tried to send more people to go chase me to get the laptop. Finally they called the cops, and I got the laptop…but I had to put it back because apparently it was the wrong model.”
Heated Hot Wheels
“A friend of mine collected Hot Wheels in high school and would go on missions around nearby towns trying to get the ‘Treasure Hunts,’ which were rare, special edition cars that came with unique cards. He would go to your typical stores like Walgreens, CVS, Target, Walmart, toy stores, etc.
Then his sister got a job at a new Walmart. His family was allowed to visit the store and check it out before they open, but they aren’t allowed to buy anything until the actual opening an hour after their visit.
My friend went in, found a couple of Treasure Hunt, stashes them by some other toys, and waited for opening. After it opened, he walked back to where he stashed them, grabbed the toys, and made his way toward the checkout.
A couple of middle age guys saw him get his precious item from the stash spot and followed him to the checkout. They literally started screaming about how they were wronged out of getting them first and caused a huge scene.
They waited for him to purchase the two toy cars, and then ran up to him and grabbed his bag out of his hands while he was walking out of the store. They crumpled the cards (destroying any value), threw them on the ground, and ran to their cars. He said it was the most pathetic thing he’d ever seen, and never bought another Hot Wheel again.”
Kid Got A Whopper
“Remember those Pokemon gold cards that came in the giant Pokeballs that Burger King used to sell? I had friends OBSESSED with those things, trying to get all 6 or 10 or however many there were.
He believed they’d be worth MILLIONS in the future. Our local Burger Kings sold out of them very quickly, and I saw a kid jump the register and run to the back trying to find one.
He thought they ‘had more in the back,’ and…I’m not sure what he was planning to do beyond that, but he definitely tried before being tackled and held back by several employees.
The ’90s were a weird time. I feel like most fast food places wouldn’t care that much nowadays to TACKLE AND PIN DOWN A CUSTOMER, but…there ya go.”
Thou Shalt Not Steal
“I used to work in a comic shop when the Pokemon card game was first released. I had to break up a fist fight between two ADULTS over a Charizard. We only had 1 and they both wanted it. Neither got it.
I also caught a preacher stealing Star Wars cards from us! I would turn around and he would snatch packs. The wrappers were cellophane and rather noisy. At first, I couldn’t believe what was happening. I told my boss (the owner) the next day, and we Ackbarred this fool.
The owner was hiding out behind a life-size Xena cutout waiting for the preacher to make his move. When we finally confronted him about it, he just lost his mind, freaking out all over the place. The owner gave him the option of returning every single Star Wars card he owned or else we’d call the cops. He chose to return the cards. We were not expecting the haul he brought in. Apparently, he was stealing these cards from all over the place, and it was ridiculous.”
The Man Had To Have His Toy
“I’ll openly admit that I collected those Nintendo amiibo things during their initial craze (just finished getting the ones I wanted, thankfully). If you got up early enough, you could get what you wanted for the most part, even the exclusives.
Target had Rosalina as an exclusive. So I walked in when it was supposed to be released bright and early, with no line, no one in sight, walked to the games section, and they told me they weren’t selling them at that store until the next day.
Ok, they got the day wrong and I’ll just go to the next store. A dude came in behind me, asked, and just melted down, screaming at the clerk, demanding they sell him a tiny plastic princess toy and that he wanted to see a manager immediately because they were wrong and he was going to get his freakin’ toy.
I know he didn’t get a thing, because I had work in that direction the next day and there was a long line outside the store. But it really made me cringe when I had to ask about them, because I’m sure they were being asked by a lot of people like that and expected me to blow up the same.”
Mentally Unhinged
“It was the Skyrim midnight launch at the only store in town that had copies, which were preorders only.
Now they did have copies they sold that weren’t preordered, but it was first to come first serve, so it’s not like the employees were being rude about it.
I grabbed my preordered copy, and my mate grabbed his. Our other friend showed up about 10 minutes after we did, so we waited for him. While we’re waiting some dude walked to the counter and asked for a copy, but had no preorder, ‘Sorry mate, none left. We had very limited copies that weren’t preorders.’
The dude just lost it. He started rambling about how messed up his life was, and how his one piece of hope was Skyrim. He was literally crying as he started knocking stuff around the store on his way out, yelling at people for taking his game from him. We could hear him screaming, and I mean gut-wrenching screaming, all the way down the road. Guy was mentally unhinged.”