Photo: TikTok
Working in customer service has its downfalls.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Dec 08, 2022
If you’ve ever worked in any kind of customer service job — whether it be retail or food — then you know what it’s like to deal with some of the strangest or worst people on the planet.
It’s a difficult job that isn’t the best fit for everyone, but one barista decided to make the most of it by posting some of the funnier conversations she’s had with customers while working.
The barista highlights how difficult it can be to work in customer service from the conversations.
TikTok user Chloe (@chlochlonutwater) wrote “I love my job but the convos I've partaken in are bonkers,” in the caption, preparing her viewers for the worst that has yet to come.
“Hi, can I just have a peach pear apricot smoothie please,” she says, portraying the customer and herself by responding with “yeah for sure, that’ll be right out for you.”
What she thought would just be a normal customer ordering a normal drink, turned out to be something entirely different when the customer returned because they were displeased with their drink.
“Excuse me, this tastes really bad. Like, really bad,” the customer said.
Wondering if maybe the ingredients had gone bad or maybe the order was made incorrectly, she asked the customer what it tasted like, to which they replied “peaches. I hate peaches.”
Clearly dumbfounded since they ordered the peach pear apricot smoothie willingly, she suggested they try another drink, their “four-berry smoothie” instead.
“What’s in that?” they ask, as Chloe pauses to take another moment of incredulity. “Just the four berries, like um, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, and strawberry.”
The customer opted for the berry drink instead, but this is one of the many interactions they’ve had where customers have made bizarre requests.
The next conversation Chloe had was with a customer inquiring about how many points they had for their rewards program, only to be upset that they didn’t have enough for a reward.
“But I want my reward, can you give me my reward?” they asked, only to be told that they can’t get a reward until they have the required amount of points.
Another customer complained that their drink wasn’t hot enough, although she told them that while she was steaming it, the drink literally burned her hand.
The customer asked Chloe to heat it up again, something that she didn’t do, and simply gave the drink back after some time.
“This is perfect, thank you so much,” they told her.
Viewers on TikTok shared experiences they had and praised Chloe for handling hers.
Someone else who has worked in customer service wrote “this gave me the worst flashbacks lmao. Ours had a drive thru and people would come through like ‘my usual please!’ WHO ARE YOU??? we cant see you????”
"I love you, and this just reminded me why I quit my job and took any slice of regret away. Thank you," wrote a second user.
Another user shared that her video made them feel better about themselves as a customer.
“Tbh this makes me feel like less of a burden,” another user wrote. “I always feel so bad asking for substitutions or whatever but at least I know I'm reasonable and polite.”
Chloe made it clear that for customers who are kind and show a little more compassion and understanding, then she’ll take care of any request.
Those people, however, are not the same ones she’s referring to in her video.
Isaac Serna-Diez is an Assistant Editor who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Keep up with his rants about current events on his Twitter.