10 Clients Who Turned an Ordinary Day Into a Soap Opera

Working with clients can be unpredictable, and sometimes an ordinary day takes a surprising turn. From bizarre demands to unforgettable misunderstandings, these moments can feel like scenes straight out of a soap opera. In this article, we’ve compiled 10 real-life stories of clients who brought unexpected drama, and chaos to the workplace. Whether they make you cringe or shake your head, these tales are a reminder that no two days on the job are ever the same.

• I did a girl’s graduation makeup. When I finished, she was disappointed and burst into tears. I panicked—I was inexperienced—so I charged only 30%. An hour later, the girl posted her look on social media.
  I was shocked! She was saying: ’’Today, I made myself proud. I did this makeup all by myself, and I couldn’t be any happier of the way it turned out!’’ When I looked closely at the photo, it was unmistakably my work. I froze in disbelief at her audacity.
  Later that day, her mother called me. I froze when she said, ’’My daughter has a habit of doing this. Please give me your details so I can send you the rest. Thank you—you did a fantastic job. And please, never let anyone underestimate your hard work or take advantage of you!"
  True to her word, she sent me the remaining payment. But more importantly, her advice became the greatest lesson I carried with me from that day on.

• I worked in a popular restaurant for a while. We usually have quite a long wait (30–40 minutes) during dinner service, and people are informed about this by the hosts.
  There was this lady who got fed up with the wait after 10 minutes. She stormed into the restaurant, stood next to a table of four people, and literally asked them, “Are you guys done? We’ve been waiting for a long time now and would like to have the table if you guys are just chatting.”
  I was completely mind-blown by how people can disregard others and pull something like this in public. © daofuu / Reddit

• I got my worst review (which was also the establishment’s worst piece of customer feedback) from a woman who—my boss and co-boss agreed, as they had witnessed the entire interaction—I had welcomed warmly and served appropriately and politely. This customer accused me of being terrible, rude, and swearing at her because—get this—I held up two fingers to illustrate that we had two cup sizes.
  She also claimed I had been consistently rude for over a month and was the reason she was never coming back. The thing is, I had just transferred from a different store, and it was actually my second day working there. So, I guess she had no way of knowing that.
  I just want to understand what her issue was. I thought I was friendly toward her. I don’t understand why she’d go out of her way to try to get a minimum-wage worker fired. © bracake / Reddit

• As a tattoo artist, I use Vaseline to help the needle glide smoothly over the skin and prevent the ink from spreading over the stencil and the surface. I typically keep the Vaseline on the back of my left hand while I tattoo with my right.
  One day, mid-session, my client casually reaches across, dabs her finger in my Vaseline, and proceeds to moisturize her lips with it.
  I was too stunned to react at first, just staring in disbelief. All I could do was look up, shake my head slowly, and, in the calmest voice I could muster, say: “No. We don’t do that.” © Mformancy_92 / Reddit

• I worked at a Vietnamese restaurant back in high school, and one time, a family came in to eat. They gave me a snobby vibe the entire time, especially after I told them I couldn’t speak Vietnamese. They ordered regular pho but asked for no cilantro, so I rang in the order with “no cilantro.”
  When the pho came out with cilantro, I told the kitchen about the family’s request. The kitchen said they couldn’t do anything about it, so I informed my manager. The manager told me to ask the family if they still wanted it. The family said yes, so I brought it out. They removed the cilantro themselves and ate the entire dish.
  At the end of the meal, they spoke to the owner, complained that I got their order completely wrong, and got their food for free. On top of that, the owner deducted the cost of their meal from my pay and told me I should’ve removed the cilantro myself. Awful management and awful customers. © trynalovepeoplemore / Reddit

• After I launched our new website at work, one of our clients emailed me to complain that you couldn’t use the website if you didn’t have internet access.
  First, I’m pretty sure everything on the internet doesn’t work without the internet. Also, what did he want me to do about it? Print all 900 pages and leave it on his front porch like the phone book? And if he doesn’t have internet access, how did he email me? © captainmagictrousers / Reddit

• A few years ago, my company was sued because a customer spilled a printer cartridge refill kit all over his carpet and wanted us to cover the cost of new carpeting.
  The case went nowhere, but from that point onward, refill kits contained a warning that ink will permanently stain surfaces. © InspectorVII / Reddit

• I was working at a hotel in our town. The brochure had pictures of the property and the golf course. On the back, it had a list of attractions, including some rock faces where you could go climbing. One guy checked in, walked out the door towards the golf course, then said, “Where is it?” I asked him what he was looking for.
  He opened the brochure, turned to the back page, and said, “I thought I’d have that view from my hotel.” I said, “That’s around 30 minutes from here, hence the title ’area attraction’.” He said he wanted his money back and that we’d be hearing from his lawyer. © Unknown author / Reddit

• I used to wait tables a while back at a breakfast place. Mother’s Day was always the WORST day to work in restaurants, as I’m sure anyone else in the industry can agree.
  This particular Mother’s Day was going surprisingly well, but towards the end of the brunch rush, I was sat with a party of eight. Everyone seemed to be in a good mood. The mom (it’s her day, after all!) ordered our breakfast tacos with no onions—she emphasized no onions at least three times. Got it, no onions.
  Drinks went smoothly, everyone was happy, and the food came out. I checked to see how everything looked, and the mom aggressively pushed her plate away, loudly saying, “I said NO ONIONS.” Confused, I glanced at her tacos and saw there were, in fact, no onions.
  Me: “Ma’am, I put your order in with no onions. There are no onions.”
  She smirked and said, “Oh YEAH? Well, what are THESE?!” pointing to the green bell peppers on the tacos.
  Me: “...Those are green bell peppers.”
  She rolled her eyes and snapped, “SAME THING!” The table fell silent as everyone in her party just stared, probably as dumbfounded as I was.
  My brain completely short-circuited. I thought to myself, “No, no, they AREN’T the same thing. They’re not even the same color. You can read. You’re an adult. Just say what you want and stop making a scene.”
  But instead, I forced on my best customer service smile and said, “Right, sorry about that, we’ll get that fixed.” I took the plate back to the kitchen, told my chef, and he just burst out laughing.
  End result? $0 tip. Happy Mother’s Day! © masstillo / Reddit

• There was this one dude who used to come into the café with his two dogs that would jump on everything and bark at people. He wouldn’t wait in line like everyone else; instead, he’d raise his hand, yell “Coffee!” and just walk past the line to the pick-up area, where he’d pay cash when his coffee was ready.
  One day, after he skipped an especially long line, I decided I’d had enough and refused to make his coffee. He started shouting at me, threatening to get me fired, but eventually, he realized I wasn’t budging. Defeated, he went to the back of the line and ended up ordering his coffee from me like everyone else.
  Nobody clapped, but I swear the people in line were clapping in their hearts. © Pwncak3z / Reddit

Every family has its share of secrets, but some are beyond anything you could ever imagine. In this article, we’ve uncovered some truly jaw-dropping revelations that are sure to linger in your mind long after you’ve finished reading.