21 Jaw-Dropping Client Stories That Actually Happened

Working with people often comes with its share of stress. A single difficult client can be overwhelming, and some days bring more than one. Yet, there are certain encounters that stand out—memorable interactions that stay with you for years. While the job comes with its challenges, one thing is certain: it’s never dull.

• I work in a fitness club. One trainer had a client who asked her to write everything down in detail on a sheet of paper. The trainer wrote, “Eat porridge for breakfast. Weigh 3 ounces of dry cereal...” — and so on.
  After 3 days, the woman complained to the management that she had a stomach ache from our diet. It turned out that she ate dry oat flakes. People can be really weird sometimes... © Overheard / VK
• We opened a roadside cafe. One day, 2 men arrived in a G-Wagen: a hulk and some bloke. They ordered potatoes, meat chops and coleslaw. They ate, paid and left, leaving a tip 5 times the amount of the order. We were stunned, of course.
  And at the end of the week, the hulk came back and asked if we could include pea porridge and beef cutlets in the menu. I said yes. From then on, we had that hulk and the bloke eating at our place on a regular basis.
  And only a few months later, I accidentally found out why they ate at our place. It turned out that they had heard rumors that we throw away food 2 days before its expiry date and cook only fresh food. I don’t want to brag, but we really haven’t had a single poisoning during the whole period of our work. © admin / y-story
• I work as a hairdresser. I have a rich client. A couple of days after her visit, she called me in tears, saying that she had lost her earrings. Hadn’t I found them?
  I pushed back the table, and indeed there were earrings. I told her this. She rushed over, took a look at them and said, “Yes, they’re mine! But I’m not going to wear them anymore — they were lying on the floor here, yuck! So if you want them, you can have them.”
  And she left. I don’t even know what it was. But I took the earrings, they were beautiful.

• — Hi Kate, we can’t do this class twice a week, we can only do once a week, is that okay?
  — Hello, yes, it’s okay.
  — But won’t it affect the results?
  — You’ll study half as much. You got a C in the quarter. Of course, it will.
  — But we have singing, art and gymnastics classes! We can’t come twice a week! Can we come once a week? Will she be able to learn everything in a month?
  — In 4 lessons? No, she won’t. She has to come at least twice a week.
  — But we have singing, art and gymnastics classes!
  — I think we keep going around in circles. © Lirala / Pikabu
• A customer comes in with a problem with the charging connector on his laptop, the receptionist promises him that we will open the computer, find the problem and call him back. The client says, “It’s too long, I can do it myself. I just don’t have this screwdriver, let the tech open it and look.” The receptionist explains that disassembling a laptop takes time, everything is done on the desktop, and it is unrealistic to do it in front of the client.
  The customer says again, “There are 6 bolts here, I could do it all myself.” I take out a screwdriver and go back to the workshop. The customer decided to take everything apart and fix it himself. As a result, he tore off the keyboard cable, tore off the cable with the power button, broke the connector on the board for the keyboard. And then said that it was all my fault, because I didn’t look at his laptop at once, and because of me he broke everything. © Unknown author / Pikabu
• We operated on a dog. There were complications. Its owners were from another city, and since they didn’t know anyone here, they slept in the corridor of the clinic. We brought them pillows, blankets.
  And we took turns sleeping next to them with the second surgeon after the operation. We took turns monitoring the dog. The dog, alas, didn’t survive the operation, but the feeling of unity with the owners remained for life. © Overheard/ Ideer

“I work in a mobile phone store. Today, a client came in and asked me why his SIM card wasn’t working.”

• I had a funny client lately:
  — Here is a photo of the source document, can you do the work today?
  — Yes, plus 50% to the standard fee.
  — Do I need to pay half in advance?
  — No, you need to pay the standard fee, plus 50% for urgency.
  — Can I pick it up tomorrow? I really need it!
  — Yes, plus 50% of your standard charge.
  — No, I don’t want to pay extra.
  — Then you’ll have to wait a week.
  — Okay, I’ll wait.
  The next day, I get a call early in the morning:
  — So can I pick it up today?
  — Yes, plus 50% to the standard fee.
  — I was told by your supervisor that I can pick it up today at the regular price!
  — I was in the office with her until late at night yesterday, and I know you didn’t talk to her.
  — I won’t be ordering from you anymore because I’m offended!
  The man is 36 years old, he’s offended. © ms.milasha / Pikabu
• I work in a supermarket. And here I stand today, laying out eggs, not disturbing anyone, and some guy next to me is choosing his “best dozen.” But suddenly he drops one brown egg.
  I, with the speed of a cheetah, rush after it and catch it about 4 inches above the floor. I hand it to the guy with a mute reproach. And he yells, “Harry Potter caught the golden snitch! Gryffindor wins!”
  When I burst out laughing and asked why Gryffindor, he said my uniform was red. He made my day! © Unknown author / Pikabu
• I’m a vet tech. A lot of people think their dog’s nipples are ticks. A lot. One man even pulled a “but he’s a boy!” on us. © JunkyardForLove / Reddit

• I used to work as a taxi call center operator. One day, a woman called us and ordered a taxi to a vet clinic. According to regulations, I was obliged to ask if the dog had a muzzle, bedding and other things. Then we had this dialogue:
  — Are you coming with your pet?
  — Yes, I have a pug.
  — It must wear a muzzle.
  — What muzzle? It’s a pug! It doesn’t even have a face! © Eavesdropping/Ideer
• A woman calls:
  — Hello, how much do your services cost for a full day of shooting on July 20?
  — Hello, this date is available. The cost is this much, it includes....
  — Cake!
  — Excuse me?
  — Well, I want a cake to be included into the photographer’s service.
  — You know, I’m not much of a baker.
  — And you were recommended to me as a professional!
  An awkward pause. Then the woman hangs up. © alexm626 / Pikabu
• We have an online shop where we sell audio cassettes (yes, there are a lot of fans of this vintage in the world). In early November, a guy from Germany bought 4 cassettes from us. But the package got stuck somewhere on the way for a couple of weeks. The client opened a dispute in due time and demanded a refund. We returned the money to him.
  And a week later, the client wrote back to us that the package finally arrived. He liked the cassettes very much, but one of them turned out to be a little defective — it is a little tight when rewinding, and therefore in his opinion it would be fair if we sent him a replacement. I couldn’t even find the words to answer him immediately. © Andruss / Pikabu

“A client called with the problem of persistent errors in Windows. I said, ’Bring it in, let’s have a look.’ He brought this system unit.”

• I used to work in a call center for a large bank and a customer phoned while he was in one of the branches and said the queue was too big so he wanted me to help him. I asked what his query was, and he said the ATM was broken, so he had to withdraw cash. I asked how I could possibly help him withdraw cash from the bank over the phone, and he said, “Why can’t you just fax it to me?” © kitjen / Reddit
• A mother and a daughter came into my shop. While the woman was choosing, the daughter was begging for something for herself. To all the questions, the mother answered, “No, it’s expensive. No, put it down, you have this thing already.” The girl asked me in desperation:
  — Do you have anything for free?!
  — No.
  — You should. You have to entice people with free stuff.
  Here it is, the secret of a successful business. © Yasminurlik / Pikabu
• I work in a library. Once I checked out several books to a woman and told her the return date. She looked at her friend, then back at me, and said, shocked, “You mean I have to bring the books back?” © twentyfeettall / Reddit

• “Your programmers are incompetent! They can’t do anything right!”
  — Does the program work?
  — It does.
  — Any errors?
  — No errors.
  — Does the program work exactly as written in the technical task?
  — Yes, but when we wrote it, we had something completely different in mind! © astrobeglec / Pikabu
• I’m sitting in the office one day, working. Incoming call. I answer:
  — Good afternoon, I’m listening.
  — Hello, can you tell me the capital of Australia?
  — Excuse me?
  — Well, I received your commercial offer, it says, “Contact me if you have any questions.” I want to know the capital of Australia.
  — Canberra, if I’m not mistaken.
  — Oh great, now can you tell me more about your offer? © IamLie / Pikabu
• I get too many dumb questions to remember them all. Here’s a dumb encounter that happened just yesterday. When sending confidential documentation, we would encrypt it and put a password on it. It’s common practice to send the document and the password in 2 separate emails. I got a message from this guy saying he couldn’t open the document I sent him.
  Me: “Did you use the password?”
  Client: “Yes. It said there was an error.”
  Me: “What password did you use?”
  Client: “I just hit okay, and it said that I had the wrong password.”
  Me: “Wait. So, did you type anything in?”
  Client: “Well, no.”
  Me: “Could you use the password that we provided you?”
  Client: “I didn’t think it would work, so I deleted the email.”
  Me: “...” © DiDalt / Reddit

• Worked at a supermarket. A guy comes in at around 11am. Seemed a bit weird, so I decided to follow him at a distance through the store.
  He got to the milk, which was in the far back corner. He then looked at me straight in the eyes, pulled his pants down, squatted, and proceeded to go number two on the floor in front of the milk. © Flaskesamler / Reddit

In shops, both customers and employees can sometimes act strangely. That’s why many people walk out of supermarkets, not just with their purchases, but also with a story they won’t forget.