The Customer Is Always Wrong

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pigmonkey

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Dec 24, 2008
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Volucer said:
Elderly people are the real devils of the customer world. I've seen them ram into a glass display cabinet, shattering it and then claim that it was our fault for having so nice displays that captivated her so she didn't see it. Yesterday I had to elderly ladies who could seemingly only understand each other. Me and a co-worker were trying to put through a granite table they had bought, and when you wwere talking to one you got no reply except a what, then the other would say what you were trying to get accross, and it was both of them, so it wasn't like one was deaf and the other could hear, they just couldn't hear when you spoke to them directly, you had to speak to them through the other one.
this is so true, i once saw an elderly woman attempt to perform a barrel roll off a subway counter. she literaly ran (well swiftly shuffeld) grunting towards the thing with her little cart dealy and ended up on the ground with a broken hip, i was kind of anoyed i didn't get my sub but it was worth it to see the vertical 180 this lady pulled.
 

Hyperactiveman

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Oct 26, 2008
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I worked at a games reatail/LAN arcade shop before and I heard idiots sounding intelligent say stuff like this while playing:

"Can't wait until we can play UT 07 (this was way after it was change to 08 and UT3)"
"Then Halo 4 is gonna be released in another 4 years!" (EPIC PHAIL!)
"Shut up Hyper Portal sucks ass!" (Blasphemy)
 

DavisJ3608

The Supremely Awesome
Mar 18, 2009
89
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This thread is awesome, just to let everyone know :)
*has a new favorite passtime - reading this*

Oh, and here's one of my many gripes:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.106367
 

DavisJ3608

The Supremely Awesome
Mar 18, 2009
89
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0
This thread is awesome, just to let everyone know :)
*has a new favorite passtime - reading this*

Oh, and here's one of my many gripes:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.106367

Oh and BTW, what is this Woolworths I keep seeing? I'm assuming it's a European thing, maybe?

Gah! Sorry, every time I try to post, it's doubled...
 

Labyrinth

Escapist Points: 9001
Oct 14, 2007
4,732
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davisj3608 said:
Oh and BTW, what is this Woolworths I keep seeing? I'm assuming it's a European thing, maybe?

Gah! Sorry, every time I try to post, it's doubled...
We've got them in Australia.
 

mangus

New member
Jan 2, 2009
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Tim Hortons: Roll up the rim cups, we ran out of mediums first and are given orders not to give out cups of other sizes just for the rim. "give me my cup!" "I'm afraid I am prohibited from doing so, sir." "It says 'no purchase necessary' right on there!" "that refers to the prize, sir." "You want to catch this in the face!?" *brandishes hot coffee threateningly* "no, sir. goodbye, sir." *closes drive-through window*

Now I work at a carwash, "nobody washed the top of my truck!" I think 'nobody here is eight feet tall'. "And did you want a wax today, sir?" "yes, a wash, thank you" really? you came to a carwash to get your car washed? "no, sir, a WAX." "yeah, inside and out." that would be an amazing experiment, but I'm fairly sure you wouldn't like it "no, a WAAAAAX."

Fast food is the worst, though. Everyone wants fourteen cheeseburgers, and they want them before the people ahead of them.

My Advice: don't be THAT customer.
 

Lost In The Void

When in doubt, curl up and cry
Aug 27, 2008
10,128
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Self Checkouts. They are hell I work at home depot and once and a while I have to watch them, and the idiots who go to them make me question if they're even worth it. Ok on our checkouts there is a slot for scanning on the side of the monitor and despite us covering up the slot on the number pad, and posting a note saying the slot is on the side of the monitor people keep ripping off the fucking tape to try to scan their cards there instead, I swear these people need serious help.
 

Dys

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Sep 10, 2008
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Saw an incredibly stupid one yesterday at MSY (computer shop), I was there buying new speakers and a screen.

There is always a huge line at this place, because it's the cheapest computer place going and they tend to be really well stocked, so everyone goes there for everything remotely computer related. So it's about 5:30 tuesday night, myself and several other customers have been waiting for ages to get served. Everyone is pretty quiet and keeps to themselves hoping that there are no more stupid people in front of us (the kind that rock up without any clue as to what they want and expect the staff to know exactly what they are looking for, even when they temselves don't). Time drawls by and I eventually get to the front of the line. I'm second in line, about to be served and some little asian (maybe vietnamese) guy comes in with a screen, cuts the line bangs on the counter and demands service.

People in the line are not overly impressed. This guy starts accusing one of the staff in broken english that he has sold him the wrong screen and he wants a refund. The guy his abusing is chinese and speaks english well enough to be able to deal with english speaking customers easily, however he didn't seem to be understanding the broken abuse he was receiving any better than anyone else. After maybe 10 minutes the staff and a few customers (myself included) finally work out what the guy is so worked up about, apparently the 24" screen he bought wasn't good enough, he was convinced it wasn't full HD (I bought the exact same screen and it has a native res of 1920x1200, a 2ms response time and I think an 8000:1 contrast ratio). The clerk tells him that the screen is full HD, and explains that you need to right click the desktop, and slide the bar down to change the resoloution. This guy is still really worked up and keeps crapping on about how it isn't HD. Everyone in the store is staring at this guy, and several customers (including myself) point out there they don't make '24 LCD screens for computers that aren't HD.

Eventually, he abandons his reasoning for why he should get a refund of trying to claim the screen isn't what he promised and started trying to claim his dad is a lawer and he is legally entitled to a refund, he demands to speak to the manager (who was next to the clerk), who promptly tells they can't help him, and then goes back to abusing the clerk. He then threatens to call the police, which the clerk encourages. The clerk then turns to me and calls me over to be served. The screen guy is still standing there bitching, with me now standing over him (I'm 6'3 and about 100kg, this guy was maybe 5'4 and very skinny). I get my speakers brought over, and rest my arm on top of them while the clerk grabs my screen (it is a pretty heavy set, logitech z-5500 are large), meanwhile, this guy is still hanging around and decides to have a tantrum and push someone elses stuff on the floor (as there are two people being served at once, the other person had been help up by this guys complaints, and so had been standing there waiting for his order to be processed for about half an hour). After his thrown the stuff on the ground the clerk asks him to leave, and about 3 of us (customers) escort him from the store.

I am amazed that someone would spend so much on equiptment they clearly no nothing about, but the clerk/manager had a lot more patience with this guy than I would've had.
 

timmytom1

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Feb 26, 2009
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Xhumed said:
I'm sure many of us here have worked in retail/hospitality jobs and encountered customers complaining. What I want to know is: has anyone had a incredibly stupid customer/ complaint? How did you deal with it? Were you a customer with a stupid complaint?
For example:
When I worked in a pub in the UK, we constantly got customers asking for the Roast of the Day on weekdays. Basically, on the menu, under rolls, sandwiches and baguettes, there was the option for Roast of the Day, as a filling. It was very clearly marked under this section, yet people seemed reluctant to read the menu properly. Anyway, one day this woman in her 60s asked for the roast of the day to one of my staff. Being Latvian, and new to the country, this member of staff didn't quite understand. She asked me to check with the kitchen what the roast of the day was, and not having heard the order, I did so and reported back. The woman continues her order, but the poor girl taking it can't follow, so she asked me to take over. I ask the woman if she could repeat her order, and she tells me "I want the roast lamb." I asked politely if it was the sandwich, roll or bagguette she wanted. Her response was, in a condesending and impatient tone, "No, dear, the roast dinner." Politely again, I pointed out that we didn't offer the roast dinners on any day other than Sunday, and that roast of the day refered to fillings. Cue a snotty, "Oh well then I'll have to go back and find something else then!" She comes back and orders something off the Special Board. As it stated on there that it came with chips or potatoes and veg, that was my next question. "No Dear, potatoes and veg, like it says on the board." in the same patronising aggresive manner. Losing my patience somewhat, I replied in the tone I would use trying to explain something to a customer that was intoxicated- i.e. like you would an idiot or child. "It does say on the board potatoes and veg or chips. I was merely asking which you wanted."
"No, I don't want chips, Dear."
"Ok then..."
Took the rest of the order, she sits down. When the food is delivered shes all smiles, hopefully feeling slightly shamed about her a)Inability to read the menu properly (or perhaps inability to be bothered to read it properly) and b)her imperious manner.
I used to work at tesco (yeah i know the shame still burns) on the fresh fish counter , i was once asked off the counter to explain why there weren`t any of the ready made fish fingers in-stock i then received a 5 minute lecture as to how this was a disgrace
 

timmytom1

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Feb 26, 2009
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davisj3608 said:
This thread is awesome, just to let everyone know :)
*has a new favorite passtime - reading this*

Oh, and here's one of my many gripes:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.106367

Oh and BTW, what is this Woolworths I keep seeing? I'm assuming it's a European thing, maybe?

Gah! Sorry, every time I try to post, it's doubled...
Actually woolworts started out as an american buisness
 
Feb 23, 2009
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This is at a local electronics store. I added this to www.notalwaysright.com as well ^^:


(A coworker and I are chatting at the counter, when a guy comes up and dumps a Playstation 3
onto the counter.)

Customer: ?It?s defective.?

Coworker: ?I?m very sorry, sir. What seems to be the problem??

Customer: ?Nothing happens when I plug it into my TV.?

Coworker: ?OK, let me check on one of the ones we have.?

(My coworker takes the Playstation 3 and plugs it into a TV we have. It works fine.)

Coworker: ?It doesn?t appear to be the Playstation 3. It?s probably the TV. Would you like to bring that in for us to have a look at??

Customer: ?Yeah. OK. I?ll bring it in later.?

(The customer grabs the Playstation 3 and leaves. He returns a few hours later and walks up to me, alone this time.)

Customer: ?Hey, you were with the guy who served me earlier, right??

Me: ?Yes. You have the TV, sir??

(The customer dumps the strangest TV ever onto the counter with the Playstation 3 beside it.)

Customer: ?Here. It?s still not working.?

Me: *holding back laughter* ?Sir, this isn?t a TV. It?s a microwave.?

Customer: ?Duh! I know that!?

Me: ?I don?t think the Playstation 3 will work on it.?

Customer: ?Why not??

Me: ?Because it?s a microwave. It?s used to cook food, not play games.?

Customer: ?But it has a screen. Why wouldn?t it work??

Me: *facepalm*
 

Dramatic Flare

Frightening Frolicker
Jun 18, 2008
1,122
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I made a set of rules for ordering at Fast food places here:
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/18.89998?page=1

It covers most of my rants.
 

Sp3ratus

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Apr 11, 2009
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Well, some of my stories might not be as horrific as some of the others I've read in this thread, but some people are just so... well ignorant and stupid.

To start off, I work in the call center of this bus company called Movia in Denmark, which covers all of the bus traffic on the biggest island here, called Sealand. What my job involves is basically 3 things: 1: Giving information about how to get from A to B, with various forms of public transportation(we have a cooperation with the train and metro companies as well) and giving information about different busses. 2: Arranging trips for the handicapped and elderly, we have this system in which they register and can have trips arranged at a lot less than tax fare and last but not least 3: Taking complaints about from customers, when something is "wrong"(yes, sometimes the customers actually have real complains, but most of the times it's really just luxury problems, which ends up with me listening to what they say, but to be honest I can't really be arsed to do anything about it)

Anyway, my first story starts off with me picking up the phone as usual and saying: "Hello, the call center of Movia, what can I do for you?" This guy starts talking about how he got off the bus at one of the busgarages and he had no idea where he was. Turns out he had been sleeping on the bus and the chauffeur hadn't noticed him, because he assumed everyone had alredy left the bus at the last busstop as you're supposed to. He begins talking about how it's horrible we are and how shit it is that we allow that to happen and requested that I assist him in getting to somewhere he knew. Well, being a nice guy and wanting to help people I try to guide him through the streets, asking him if he can see any street names or anything. He continues rambling on how horrible we are and all of sudden, the telephone just go "duh, duh, duh, duh..." He hung up or something, still completely lost and I never heard from him since.

Other stories include one of my colleagues being called a "plastic whore" by a customer for no apparent reason, people complaining about the busses being noisy for about 3-4 minutes, while the chauffeur is fixing something, I mean come on, if you can't handle that then how do you survive in the city? This guy once called, seriously wanting a bus sign to be moved a few feet so he wouldn't have to get up, to see the bus coming. These signs are dug down pretty deep and are pretty sturdy mind you, and moving them isn't likely to happen, if there's isn't a legitemate reason.

Oh, and the handicap/elderly service(called Flextrafik), seriously... I mean, I don't mind people being a little slow and all, after all we're here to help them, but when they're being rude and not appreciating how big a service it is that we're actually offering, well I don't like that at all. Some people complain a lot that their ride isn't there, only to find out that they didn't order one until an hour later, people complaining that we can't find EXACTLY the time that fits them and people who get upset when you heard something wrong because THEY can't speak properly(like mishearing 51 and 61, which sounds similar in Danish, when you mumble).

All in all though, it's a good job, pretty well paid, compared to some of my friends and flexible hours, though it is mostly the bad customers and their behavior that stands out.

Oh and long-time viewer, first time poster :)
 

mike1921

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Oct 17, 2008
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Sp3ratus said:
Anyway, my first story starts off with me picking up the phone as usual and saying: "Hello, the call center of Movia, what can I do for you?" This guy starts talking about how he got off the bus at one of the busgarages and he had no idea where he was. Turns out he had been sleeping on the bus and the chauffeur hadn't noticed him, because he assumed everyone had alredy left the bus at the last busstop as you're supposed to. He begins talking about how it's horrible we are and how shit it is that we allow that to happen and requested that I assist him in getting to somewhere he knew. Well, being a nice guy and wanting to help people I try to guide him through the streets, asking him if he can see any street names or anything. He continues rambling on how horrible we are and all of sudden, the telephone just go "duh, duh, duh, duh..." He hung up or something, still completely lost and I never heard from him since.
Should've lied to him and guided him even deeper into somewhere he doesn't know.
Other stories include one of my colleagues being called a "plastic whore" by a customer for no apparent reason,
What does that mean? I have 3 thoughts in my mind and when I have 3 thoughts about similar things but not the same thing they tend to mix and create worse thoughts than the original 3 so it's important I know
people complaining about the busses being noisy for about 3-4 minutes, while the chauffeur is fixing something, I mean come on, if you can't handle that then how do you survive in the city? This guy once called, seriously wanting a bus sign to be moved a few feet so he wouldn't have to get up, to see the bus coming. These signs are dug down pretty deep and are pretty sturdy mind you, and moving them isn't likely to happen, if there's isn't a legitemate reason.
.....I feel so sorry for you.
Insert Funny Name Here said:
This is at a local electronics store. I added this to www.notalwaysright.com as well ^^:


(A coworker and I are chatting at the counter, when a guy comes up and dumps a Playstation 3
onto the counter.)

Customer: ?It?s defective.?

Coworker: ?I?m very sorry, sir. What seems to be the problem??

Customer: ?Nothing happens when I plug it into my TV.?

Coworker: ?OK, let me check on one of the ones we have.?

(My coworker takes the Playstation 3 and plugs it into a TV we have. It works fine.)

Coworker: ?It doesn?t appear to be the Playstation 3. It?s probably the TV. Would you like to bring that in for us to have a look at??

Customer: ?Yeah. OK. I?ll bring it in later.?

(The customer grabs the Playstation 3 and leaves. He returns a few hours later and walks up to me, alone this time.)

Customer: ?Hey, you were with the guy who served me earlier, right??

Me: ?Yes. You have the TV, sir??

(The customer dumps the strangest TV ever onto the counter with the Playstation 3 beside it.)

Customer: ?Here. It?s still not working.?

Me: *holding back laughter* ?Sir, this isn?t a TV. It?s a microwave.?

Customer: ?Duh! I know that!?

Me: ?I don?t think the Playstation 3 will work on it.?

Customer: ?Why not??

Me: ?Because it?s a microwave. It?s used to cook food, not play games.?

Customer: ?But it has a screen. Why wouldn?t it work??

Me: *facepalm*
He was probably just trying to piss you off.
Dys said:
click his name to read what he said.
You should'a beat him up.
 

benwins

New member
Dec 29, 2008
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i was in Game the other day and a woman came in asking for teh new GTA on the 360. they asked if she meant GTA4 but she wanted Chinatown Wars and wouldnt accept that it was exclusive to the DS. she ended up complaining to the manager that they didnt have it on 360.
idgit
 

Sarcastic Chimp

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Sep 3, 2008
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Sp3ratus said:
Well, some of my stories might not be as horrific as some of the others I've read in this thread, but some people are just so... well ignorant and stupid.

To start off, I work in the call center of this bus company called Movia in Denmark, which covers all of the bus traffic on the biggest island here, called Sealand. What my job involves is basically 3 things: 1: Giving information about how to get from A to B, with various forms of public transportation(we have a cooperation with the train and metro companies as well) and giving information about different busses. 2: Arranging trips for the handicapped and elderly, we have this system in which they register and can have trips arranged at a lot less than tax fare and last but not least 3: Taking complaints about from customers, when something is "wrong"(yes, sometimes the customers actually have real complains, but most of the times it's really just luxury problems, which ends up with me listening to what they say, but to be honest I can't really be arsed to do anything about it)

Anyway, my first story starts off with me picking up the phone as usual and saying: "Hello, the call center of Movia, what can I do for you?" This guy starts talking about how he got off the bus at one of the busgarages and he had no idea where he was. Turns out he had been sleeping on the bus and the chauffeur hadn't noticed him, because he assumed everyone had alredy left the bus at the last busstop as you're supposed to. He begins talking about how it's horrible we are and how shit it is that we allow that to happen and requested that I assist him in getting to somewhere he knew. Well, being a nice guy and wanting to help people I try to guide him through the streets, asking him if he can see any street names or anything. He continues rambling on how horrible we are and all of sudden, the telephone just go "duh, duh, duh, duh..." He hung up or something, still completely lost and I never heard from him since.

Other stories include one of my colleagues being called a "plastic whore" by a customer for no apparent reason, people complaining about the busses being noisy for about 3-4 minutes, while the chauffeur is fixing something, I mean come on, if you can't handle that then how do you survive in the city? This guy once called, seriously wanting a bus sign to be moved a few feet so he wouldn't have to get up, to see the bus coming. These signs are dug down pretty deep and are pretty sturdy mind you, and moving them isn't likely to happen, if there's isn't a legitemate reason.

Oh, and the handicap/elderly service(called Flextrafik), seriously... I mean, I don't mind people being a little slow and all, after all we're here to help them, but when they're being rude and not appreciating how big a service it is that we're actually offering, well I don't like that at all. Some people complain a lot that their ride isn't there, only to find out that they didn't order one until an hour later, people complaining that we can't find EXACTLY the time that fits them and people who get upset when you heard something wrong because THEY can't speak properly(like mishearing 51 and 61, which sounds similar in Danish, when you mumble).

All in all though, it's a good job, pretty well paid, compared to some of my friends and flexible hours, though it is mostly the bad customers and their behavior that stands out.

Oh and long-time viewer, first time poster :)
Welcome to the Escapist.
 

Sp3ratus

New member
Apr 11, 2009
756
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mike1921 said:
Should've lied to him and guided him even deeper into somewhere he doesn't know.
Yea, I know that know, it wasn't really that long after I started, so I hadn't quite got into the swing of things yet. I know better now, trust me, I take a lot less crap now from people, since I realized that it doesn't matter anyway, people remain stupid, even if you try to help them.
mike1921 said:
Other stories include one of my colleagues being called a "plastic whore" by a customer for no apparent reason,
What does that mean? I have 3 thoughts in my mind and when I have 3 thoughts about similar things but not the same thing they tend to mix and create worse thoughts than the original 3 so it's important I know
To this day I'm still not really sure. I would assume that it would have something to do with her apparently looking like a plastic doll(you know those kind of bimbos who only care about their look/look like plastic) or something like that. That's my best guess, though it's a weird insult and a retarded one at that, considering they were talking over the phone.

mike1921 said:
people complaining about the busses being noisy for about 3-4 minutes, while the chauffeur is fixing something, I mean come on, if you can't handle that then how do you survive in the city? This guy once called, seriously wanting a bus sign to be moved a few feet so he wouldn't have to get up, to see the bus coming. These signs are dug down pretty deep and are pretty sturdy mind you, and moving them isn't likely to happen, if there's isn't a legitemate reason.
.....I feel so sorry for you.
Yea well, that's how people are and it comes with the job I guess. Oh, and I also just remember another thing, people calling us, wanting to know how to get stuff they lost on the bus back and then, when we inform them that they have to call a special lost-and-found office for, which are closed in the weekends, they get pissed and starts spewing insults us, because THEY forget their shit. Someone actually left a baby carriage, without the baby in it though on the bus... how is that even possible? Even worse someone forgot their child(5 or 6 years old) on the bus once. Irresponsible? I think so...
Sarcastic Chimp said:
Welcome to the Escapist.
Thank you, it feels nice to finally contribute a little.
 

cathou

Souris la vie est un fromage
Apr 6, 2009
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i was working in a store, selling computer stuff. this asian guy came, he was around 50 or 60 years old. He have a inkjet cartridge in his hand.

Man : i want another.
me : Alright Sir (i take a look, pick the right cartridge, puch it in my PoS.) ok Sir, it will be 40$.
Man : No, i want it free, because this one is defective.

i take a look at the cartridge, nothing obvious on it.

Me : what does it do ?
Man : Nothing, it doesnt print anymore.
Me : do you use it often, sometimes the ink dry in the printhead if you dont use it for a long time.
Man : oh, yes, i use it everyday.
Me : oh ok, do you print a lot everyday ?
Man : oh yes, several pages.
Me (begining to be suspicious) : for how long did you have it ?
Man : Almost a year ago.
i looked at the guy and mumbled : well, you know it's probably empty...
Man : But look there, it's writen that i could use it until that date...

Yes, the guy was really thinking that the cardridge would print until the best before date, no matter how much he would print.

Me : Sir, if i have a carton of milk, and that open it, and turn it upside down, does milk pour out of it until the best before date is reach ?
 

Inverse Skies

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Feb 3, 2009
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I work in a drive through bottleshop. Anyway we had a ton of cars in the drive-way and were really busy and a few people had gotten out to have a look around. One couple were on their way to a party and had a platter of food in the backseat. Some other bastard just comes over to their car, gets in and starts eating their food! We nearly had a punchup that particular night... Still I suppose it was better than the time customers went at each other with golf-clubs in the parking lot... that was just creepy...