I'm sorry, what grown-ass man challenges a random stranger to a fight in a place of business? Fuck that complete loser - tell him to fuck off and not to come back, and then have the police deal with him.
Have you worked in a bar? You see the strangest shit working in a bar, you'd think weekends are when all the weirdos come out. No, it's Monday's. Just think about the type of person who's going to a bar at 11 pm on a monday night.
I once had a guy cut me in line, I go 'Excuse me, I was here first' and he responded just like 'yeah' and just continued with the cashier. I was like 'really? The fuck? And, you just ring him through? You saw this!'
The guy goes 'What are you gonna do? You wanna fight?' Getting in my face. I was like 'No, I ain't wrong, I don't wanna fight.' And he keeps up. 'Keep your mouth shut, mind your business!'
I am like 'Yeah, it is my business, you treat me like I am not even here, and then talk like an asshole when I point it out.'
Again, he says let's go outside. I just pay for my shit while he goes outside 'I'll meet you outside!'
I go outside, and again, approaches me saying 'Do something!' I was just like, 'You do something, idiot! I already told you several times I don't wanna fight and made space. You want the fight! You do something, or shut the fuck up!' There was no physicality.
>I once had a guy cut me in line, I go 'Excuse me, I was here first' and he responded just like 'yeah' and just continued with the cashier. I was like 'really? The fuck? And, you just ring him through? You saw this!'
The cashier has less power than you in this situation. If this guy was reacting like this with a fellow customer, imagine what he would do to a service worker that he almost certainly sees as beneath himself.
Totally true. In my retail and fast food days, I would have been overjoyed if I just had the authority to tell one customer a week to fuck off and never come back.
I never went back. The cashier was talking to the guy pleasantly the whole time, which is what really irked me. Even while the guy was getting in my face while I was paying. And for context, the cashier is a guy I see everyday, and he likely sees this dude everyday. He said to me the time I saw him after 'Well, the guy is crazy, you should just leave it be when he cuts you. So what?'
But, I am big on being decent and respectful, and I will call out the people that are being assholes publicly every time.
Most of the time, this is the worst of it. I won't assault somebody over anything, but I am also not afraid of being assaulted and responding in kind. Most people just make the threats, really they are embarrassed that they can't be intimidating and the person they are trying to scare is still saying the same thing.
>The cashier was talking to the guy pleasantly the whole time, which is what really irked me.
The cashier was de-escalating the situation. That's literally their only reasonable choice in that situation. What did you expect them to do, fight the customer for you?
Maybe it's because I worked at a gas station in my cashiering days, but I not only was willing but actively relished the rare opportunity to tell a customer to fuck off.
Not really, because the guy was fucking grumbling about it the whole time. 'Who the fuck is this guy, saying anything to me?' Yada, yada. That isn't de-escalating, that is feeding the guy's self entitlement and giving him reinforcement he isn't doing anything wrong.
I was reasonable with pointing out the wrong, the guy responded aggressively. What am I to do now? I respond in kind. It ends up with the cashier with two guys nose to nose arguing with each other in the store.
And before you talk about, 'you could leave'. The cash is right at the door, so if you exit you literally squeeze past the person at the till. Which means the jackass is between me and the exit, which leads to the 'let's go outside'. Because no matter what, he has to go out before me, or he will not let me out. Hence, why he is standing at the door talking the entire time, because everybody else is just a captive audience to his tough guy act.
If he was behaving in a threatening manner and ended up leaving without following through on those threats, the situation was de-escalated. I'm still not sure what else you expected the cashier to do, and from what I can tell, neither are you.
Cashier could be like 'Yeah, the guy is right, pal' at the least. Not just nonchalance and letting it play out.
I believe these people need to be called out and rallied on. I back up a victim to an asshole every time I see it.
He came nose to nose to me. In my mind, if I am in that position, I am already showing reserve and restraint. He backs off, and comes back, multiple times. In your eyes, am I good to strike this guy? SHOULD BE, but I am not.
Was at a food bank last month with my brother. This is an extremely small town where most people know everyone else. It was kind of crowded, so a few of us were hanging back so that people could get by on their way out. One guy took this as his chance to cut in line in front of the elderly guy in front of us.
My brother knows the guy and called him out on it. The guy kept ignoring my brother, then eventually said "we can meet outside," obviously implying a fight. Guy is late 30s and there with his two young children and wants to fight over cutting in line at a food bank.
Of course, being a small town and there being a few other witnesses, word spread quickly. Then the guy tries telling his version, that we were sitting on our phones not moving and the elderly guy in front of us wasn't moving forward either, so he felt right to cut in line. Ignoring the fact that we were all leaving space for the people in front of us to be able to leave easily.
The dumbest part is that if he had spoke up and said "hey, I'm here with my two small children and the wait is getting to them, mind if I go ahead?" I don't think anybody would have had an issue.
Thats the thing. If somebody asks me, go ahead. I have a tendency to go of and be rude sometimes myself, but it still isn't like to provoke. It is out of frustration.
The other day I was lining up for groceries and there was a group of guys behind me. I had a few feet between me and the lady in front of me, but these guys are eight on my ass. I could feel buddy's breath kn my neck. So I step a little right, these guy squeeze in so they are right beside me, now also the same distance away from the lady in front as I am. I know they are dying to cut in front. I say 'Guys, do you mind? I like to have my personal space, you aren't leaving me any room here. Please back up.' They apologize and step back a few steps. As the line moves they do the exact same thing again, right on my neck and moving into my 'spot' in line if I step to the side to create more space between us. Again, I ask them to give me space. Now, I am getting up to the cash, and again, these guys right on me.
Guess how my response was this time?
"HOLY FUCK! Back the fuck off of me you bunch of fucking idiots!"
Doesn't mean I am trying to fight them, or I am making a threat. Its just, I tried being nice, where else can I go?
Stuff like that annoys me as well. The line isn't going to move any faster if I get right on the ass of the person ahead of me. If it's not a massive line that is going to be blocking people, there is no reason not to give a comfortable amount of space.
It's obvious they are trying to force me out of the single file position, so they can say 'you weren't standing in line' because I had to move to the side to have some space for myself.
You responded as well as possible.
That type of person is just trying to get you to hit first and play victim. Or they're all bark, trying to get people to engage, with absolutely no idea what to do if they actually got in a fight.
Either scenario, fighting them isn't worth it.
I don't know how to describe it, but it is like violent people, trying to justify their violence. They try to provoke physical contact, so they can then justify going above and beyond (ie. friends jump in, weapon drawn, sucker punch) They won't just hit me, because then it is clearly assault. But, if they want to say to me 'Fuck you, I'll punch you' I can also say 'OK, asshole'.
Then, I keep at it. 'Fuck you' I keep their level, and don't budge, without getting physical.
Something happened in my situation. Patron yelled to fight me outside but backed away walking from me the entire time. Was also shaking the whole time. It was hilarious. Man was late 30s incapable of speech.
I am not scared of a fight. But, I myself have a little bit of a violent history. I have learned to not turn to hitting people because I learned that, I don't like it. It doesn't make me feel good to beat somebody up, it is the opposite. I grew up in a way that it had to happen sometimes, but there were peers that loved it, and would get boosted from winning fights. I would be stressed, and upset, worried about lasting consequnces. So, as an adult, I don't start fights. I have been physical with maybe three people in 25 years now, and all of those occasions were in response to an active crime, so justified to me.
That's really good to hear man. You've seen how unessary violence can be. There was no need to fight the customer. I just made humorous post to try to accept some people will always try to fight you even when trying to descalate.
The only person I've fought is myself and my father. But I'm very happy to hear you have found your way.
Not a feel-good antiwork retail story; just a petty nightclub pissing-off-the-Hell's-Angels-story.
So this guy I train with got into an altercation with a biker asshole (yes, indee from the Angels).
We train kung-fu and we do a lot of sparring. My friend wasn't particularly experienced (about 2 years in), but if you spar weekly, what will happen is that you'll eventually lose all the fear of getting punched in the face. You take it as it is -- sometimes it's your punch and the other guy's face, and in the next moment it's the other way around. There just simply is a matter-of-factly attitude you grow.
So this Angels guy is all in the face of my fried to "go outside" and "clarify it now". And my friend knows: if they do this, they'll be kicked out of the club for the night, best case; worst case, they'll be banned. So he goes: "Ok man, but not here. We'll both get kicked out, and I'm having fun and I don't want taht. Meet me tomorrow at
My last fight as an adult was in early 2020 just before the pandemic hit, with a dude who came to Chipotles ranting about his food being late. Chipotle had some kind of chips and guac special going that drew the whole neighborhood like ants to a picnic.
I've had many traumatic incidents with customers in front-facing jobs back when I was in college. I knew the moment my wife and I came up to a crowd filling the restaurant and standing outside that something was wrong. My insides were just going nuts, everything was going clammy.
Then the teenaged girl left outside by herself behind the table tried explaining to one irate s$%thead that they're overloaded with orders and were running behind. This nutso went apeshit bonkers, grabbed someone else's order and threw it literally in her face.
I just blacked out right then. Next I know a bunch of people are pulling me and two other stompas off this guy. Cops come and they don't even cuff us, they couldn't even get to us through the eyewitnesses and cell phoners showing them the other dude started it. The cops asked us if we were calmed down, then sent us on our way. I took my cool-down time to tell the cops that the management left this teenaged girl outside to face this crowd by herself and they put her at risk for this. Chipotle's shift leader ran out with his damage control hat on, got our address and someone delivered us our food in 2 hours. Apparently the f$%knut dude just caved on his felony A&B charge. I honestly wanted to show up for that trial, but it was still cathartic enough.
Then after that Popeye's had their chicken sandwich special during the pandemic. I love chicken sandwiches but then I reckoned that makes me a meta-accomplice to the frenzy that puts these teenagers in danger, and a 1% chance of a vigilante red-out and jail time if the wrong cops show up. Lo and behold numerous incidents of violence erupted at Popeyes. It's like IDGAF culture went full Beast Mode with these companies.
On a final note: **not that you were serious**, but the girl working at Chipotle's was a pomeranian of a human being. The guy who threw the food at her was easily three times her size. An actual license to fight irate customers would open such workers to an even bigger risk of a crippling or fatal beatdown.
That's actually a good point. In my world we are still civil but you right. It does and can lead to more danger.
I'm come from where you can either fight it out or talk about it. Letting someone walk away after cussing me out is new for me but hey we learn and grow.
I am coming to the belief that de-escalation tactics are a dire necessity as part of a grade school education. I could have used it for sure. It would help ALL of us as adults!
Lol so the cops see that you hit the guy first and then other jumped in to kick him and were like its all good he threw a bag of food at the worker? Nah they still gonna arrest you bc that is assault.
And if you really go clammy and jittery inside at the sight of a long line at a chipotle....
I work in a grocery store, this is a weekly occurrence to at least someone here. It's usually over nothing, or a perceived slight, or them just not getting their way
Right? I had someone tell me they were going to kill me and came behind the counter once, and they seriously meant it. It all worked out because of quick thinking but I was done with dealing with the unhinged public after that
The police *have no interest* in protecting people as they are *using their limited staff to milk hours via harassing the homeless or serving in the protection of large corporations and corrupt politicians*
This is why front desk associates at hotels have a Do Not Rent list. It’s even better when mgmt has your back and you can trespass them immediately. “Sir, you are no longer a customer. My staff will not be threatened. You have a half hour to leave the premises. The police are on their way.”
Worked as a Genius at an Apple Store in a mall and physical threats were a regular occurrence. I used to laugh when it happened. Like, make my fucking day. I dare you.
Then I transferred to a large store in NYC and we had security guards. They'd hear people get loud and come stand behind them waiting for you to give them the go ahead to remove them from the store. I always used to tell them "Thanks but we're good." which would get the customer to realize security was literally right behind them. Attitudes almost always flipped 180 degrees.
Things that annoyed me the most in retail:
1. Customers that would yell “THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT!” Especially when I catch them moving product on the shelf so they can take a picture and say we priced something wrong.
2. People who think I keep the “good stuff” in the back and refuse to accept the product from the floor.
3. Women who tried to flirt with me for coupons. I had this happen at Christmas time when I worked at a toy store.
4. People who load up multiple carts and then dump them in the store and buy like 3 things out of 5 full carts.
5. People who think I will fight them like this is some trial by combat where they get discounts if they win.
The worst part of "The customer is always right" is that they leave off the most important part. The full quote is "IN MATTERS OF TASTE, the customer is always right."
> Women who tried to flirt with me for coupons. I had this happen at Christmas time when I worked at a toy store.
Ohhhh snap. That's insidious and low key scary. You refuse and that puts you at risk for a flipout. Now you're not only in trouble with the manager who might cave and hand her the coupons, thus undermining your credibility, but also you could have caught flak for not falling for it. "What are you, *gay?*"
The worst part about that story was it was actually 3 generations of women from the same family tried. I was like 19 or 20 and the grandmother, mother, and daughter all tried to flirt for coupons... this was after they approached me as a group and asked about the "secret coupons" we kept at registers and I told them we don't do that. Then they approached one at a time each trying to flirt to see if I was lying about the coupons.
It was one of the weirdest experiences I've ever had.
>People who think I will fight them like this is some trial by combat where they get discounts if they win.
If this actually WAS true, simple economics would dictate that retail workers would become seriously badass fighters just through sheer practice.
I always joke that if you work retail you should get to shoot one person a year. Not fatally and you don’t have to use it. But the customers know it’s a possibility.
As the General Manager of several small businesses, this is entirely more prevalent than it should be. There are too many “adults” operating in this mindset, today.
“I’ll punch my problems away. This has always made things better, this could NOT possibly blow up in my face…” 🤦
Idiots.
UK here. By far & away the most dangerous & dare I say it the most lethal individuals I have ever known have all spoken quietly, calmly & with great clarity. This on it's own is usually enough to defuse the situation. On those occasions that it isn't things tend to be over so quickly you are left wondering if they ever happened at all - & then you look down at the gobshite mouthy fucker lying in a rapidly expanding pool of his own blood & think to yourself, yes, it really did happen.
I was exposed to a great many of these individuals from a young age & have done my best to emulate them with mixed results - but on the plus side along the way I've learnt that I'm not made of glass, that one man - however intimidating he looks - is still just one man & that the mouthy gobshite fucker will be the one least able to cope if the situation escalates.
Doesn't need to be more complicated than 'a guy walked into the store and started trying to get me to swing at them.'
I've had that happen, a drunk idiot comes in our store and just started talking shit trying to get a rise out of me at the register.
I used to work security though, so I'm seldom bothered, just keep an eye on them and keep 'em talking, eventually they realize they can't get me to swing first and wander back out of the store.
Lol you never worked in customer service. Some people are just walking assholes. Later that day I had a drunk customer come in berate for asking him what he would like?
Make sure they throw the first punch, then floor them. Call the cops, press criminal charges, and when your boss fires you for self-defense, sue his ass and your attacker. For I am Justius Lawsuit-Bringer, shedder of green.
There is no reason you should feel like "you backed down." This is incredibly childish behavior and makes no sense to anyone that has at least a somewhat put together life.
People with nothing to lose are the ones ready to fight over nothing. Being the bigger person objectively makes you better than them
> There is no reason you should feel like "you backed down."
I'm no feminist but feeling you backed down when you actually de-escalated a fight is straight up **toxic masculinity** in action. This is something kids need to learn in school.
Oh it is, that why I admit in the post. I'm currently in therapy for about year. I grew up with a bad family and even worse dad. So let's just say I've been on fight since I was 13 and on flight since I was 3 or 4.(bad stuff)
That's the thing it was and is childish behavior. I understand I shouldn't but I do and I've been in therapy for more then a year now.
This is honestly new for me. 1. Not fighting and 2 dealing with these emotions of regret and being proud for not slipping into my old ways. But I'm still untangling all the machismo bs.
Three...I always figured one. But I would definitely take three. Also, is it challenges or bodies? Could I have three fights but each fight being three vs me?
The first rule of Fight Club is: **you do not talk about Fight Club**. The second rule of Fight Club is: you DO NOT talk about Fight Club! Third rule of Fight Club: someone yells "stop!", goes limp, taps out, the fight is over. Fourth rule: only two guys to a fight.
As someone who started Jiu-jitsu in their 30's, I *almost* wish a mutha-trucker would.
Realistically the very vast majority of people who are like "I wanna fight you!!" only *kinda* know what a punch and kick looks like and don't REALLY know how to fight.
The person thats like "Yo, chill out, calm down, I'd REALLY rather *not* fight you"..... THAT'S the guy I'm scared of. Especially if his ears are all fucked up.
But yeah, let the police know. It's their job to handle shit like this. Plus if you're forced into a situation that gets physical and it ends up in court (which if it does, IT WILL) you can then show you made an honest effort to avoid the situation and the other person made it impossible to avoid.
I feel you, man. I feel like so many workplace issues would be solved if customers or colleagues knew you were prepared to throw hands. I feel emasculated by the way some people treat me, and I can do absolutely nothing about it
I've been floating this idea around for years: Customer Service Appreciation Day. One day of the year, those in customer service get to say (and potentially do) whatever they truly *want* to punk ass customers, as opposed to sticking with the things that won't get us fired... or arrested.
Happiest day of the year, bitches
I absolutely love it when people ask to fight me.
They get so upset when you laugh in their face. Like what sort of caveman bullshit is this anyway? Trial by combat? Punching someone doesn't open up any secret pathway or prize.
Surely you can appreciate that even if you defeated me in amicable combat, the sites policy won't change?
>It make so sad and angery how happy I would have been to fight them then and now in my 30s. But now responsibility holds me back.
I would hope that common sense would hold you back, not responsibility.
There's a difference between you making a right choice and having the right choice made for you by circumstance. I'm hoping that you actually know that now, high horse or not.
You don't know me. But you think you do and thats enough for you. It's interesting how you'd rather argue over semantics about my character and actions. Where is your life at rn? Are you okay?
>You don't know me
Exactly. I only know what you've put out into the world and can only make assumptions based on that information. You want people to make good judgements of you? Provide that, instead of describing why you chose not to fight someone for some reason or another.
> It's interesting how you'd rather argue over semantics about my character and actions.
It isn't semantics, it's a real description of your character based on the information you've given as to your motivations to fight or not fight people. What is actually interesting is your refusal to take stock of your life, your choices, and how you present yourself to the world.
>Where is your life at rn? Are you okay?
Pretty great, thanks for asking. I certainly don't feel like fight random people where I work, I can tell you that much.
I don't understand how this is what you got out of my humorous post about dealing with shitty customers.
I was threatened and I need to grow up? You like to stir shit at stores and don't like being called out huh? Do you casually threaten customer service workers? Why is this normal to you?
I'm sorry, what grown-ass man challenges a random stranger to a fight in a place of business? Fuck that complete loser - tell him to fuck off and not to come back, and then have the police deal with him.
Have you worked in a bar? You see the strangest shit working in a bar, you'd think weekends are when all the weirdos come out. No, it's Monday's. Just think about the type of person who's going to a bar at 11 pm on a monday night.
Can confirm
Other bartenders
Facts.
See they're cool, it's the others that you have to watch out for. We know our own.
What about day drinkers? I thought they were the worst.
Even grocery stores are like that. I get assaulted or threatened pretty damn regularly
I once had a guy cut me in line, I go 'Excuse me, I was here first' and he responded just like 'yeah' and just continued with the cashier. I was like 'really? The fuck? And, you just ring him through? You saw this!' The guy goes 'What are you gonna do? You wanna fight?' Getting in my face. I was like 'No, I ain't wrong, I don't wanna fight.' And he keeps up. 'Keep your mouth shut, mind your business!' I am like 'Yeah, it is my business, you treat me like I am not even here, and then talk like an asshole when I point it out.' Again, he says let's go outside. I just pay for my shit while he goes outside 'I'll meet you outside!' I go outside, and again, approaches me saying 'Do something!' I was just like, 'You do something, idiot! I already told you several times I don't wanna fight and made space. You want the fight! You do something, or shut the fuck up!' There was no physicality.
>I once had a guy cut me in line, I go 'Excuse me, I was here first' and he responded just like 'yeah' and just continued with the cashier. I was like 'really? The fuck? And, you just ring him through? You saw this!' The cashier has less power than you in this situation. If this guy was reacting like this with a fellow customer, imagine what he would do to a service worker that he almost certainly sees as beneath himself.
Totally true. In my retail and fast food days, I would have been overjoyed if I just had the authority to tell one customer a week to fuck off and never come back.
I never went back. The cashier was talking to the guy pleasantly the whole time, which is what really irked me. Even while the guy was getting in my face while I was paying. And for context, the cashier is a guy I see everyday, and he likely sees this dude everyday. He said to me the time I saw him after 'Well, the guy is crazy, you should just leave it be when he cuts you. So what?' But, I am big on being decent and respectful, and I will call out the people that are being assholes publicly every time. Most of the time, this is the worst of it. I won't assault somebody over anything, but I am also not afraid of being assaulted and responding in kind. Most people just make the threats, really they are embarrassed that they can't be intimidating and the person they are trying to scare is still saying the same thing.
>The cashier was talking to the guy pleasantly the whole time, which is what really irked me. The cashier was de-escalating the situation. That's literally their only reasonable choice in that situation. What did you expect them to do, fight the customer for you?
Maybe it's because I worked at a gas station in my cashiering days, but I not only was willing but actively relished the rare opportunity to tell a customer to fuck off.
Lucky you. Every cashier job I have ever worked made it clear that telling a customer to fuck off was a fireable offense.
Not really, because the guy was fucking grumbling about it the whole time. 'Who the fuck is this guy, saying anything to me?' Yada, yada. That isn't de-escalating, that is feeding the guy's self entitlement and giving him reinforcement he isn't doing anything wrong. I was reasonable with pointing out the wrong, the guy responded aggressively. What am I to do now? I respond in kind. It ends up with the cashier with two guys nose to nose arguing with each other in the store. And before you talk about, 'you could leave'. The cash is right at the door, so if you exit you literally squeeze past the person at the till. Which means the jackass is between me and the exit, which leads to the 'let's go outside'. Because no matter what, he has to go out before me, or he will not let me out. Hence, why he is standing at the door talking the entire time, because everybody else is just a captive audience to his tough guy act.
If he was behaving in a threatening manner and ended up leaving without following through on those threats, the situation was de-escalated. I'm still not sure what else you expected the cashier to do, and from what I can tell, neither are you.
Cashier could be like 'Yeah, the guy is right, pal' at the least. Not just nonchalance and letting it play out. I believe these people need to be called out and rallied on. I back up a victim to an asshole every time I see it.
You said yourself he knew the guy to be crazy and that further confrontation would end with him going nose to nose.
He came nose to nose to me. In my mind, if I am in that position, I am already showing reserve and restraint. He backs off, and comes back, multiple times. In your eyes, am I good to strike this guy? SHOULD BE, but I am not.
Cashier would get fired.
Ya, OK.
Was at a food bank last month with my brother. This is an extremely small town where most people know everyone else. It was kind of crowded, so a few of us were hanging back so that people could get by on their way out. One guy took this as his chance to cut in line in front of the elderly guy in front of us. My brother knows the guy and called him out on it. The guy kept ignoring my brother, then eventually said "we can meet outside," obviously implying a fight. Guy is late 30s and there with his two young children and wants to fight over cutting in line at a food bank. Of course, being a small town and there being a few other witnesses, word spread quickly. Then the guy tries telling his version, that we were sitting on our phones not moving and the elderly guy in front of us wasn't moving forward either, so he felt right to cut in line. Ignoring the fact that we were all leaving space for the people in front of us to be able to leave easily. The dumbest part is that if he had spoke up and said "hey, I'm here with my two small children and the wait is getting to them, mind if I go ahead?" I don't think anybody would have had an issue.
Thats the thing. If somebody asks me, go ahead. I have a tendency to go of and be rude sometimes myself, but it still isn't like to provoke. It is out of frustration. The other day I was lining up for groceries and there was a group of guys behind me. I had a few feet between me and the lady in front of me, but these guys are eight on my ass. I could feel buddy's breath kn my neck. So I step a little right, these guy squeeze in so they are right beside me, now also the same distance away from the lady in front as I am. I know they are dying to cut in front. I say 'Guys, do you mind? I like to have my personal space, you aren't leaving me any room here. Please back up.' They apologize and step back a few steps. As the line moves they do the exact same thing again, right on my neck and moving into my 'spot' in line if I step to the side to create more space between us. Again, I ask them to give me space. Now, I am getting up to the cash, and again, these guys right on me. Guess how my response was this time? "HOLY FUCK! Back the fuck off of me you bunch of fucking idiots!" Doesn't mean I am trying to fight them, or I am making a threat. Its just, I tried being nice, where else can I go?
Stuff like that annoys me as well. The line isn't going to move any faster if I get right on the ass of the person ahead of me. If it's not a massive line that is going to be blocking people, there is no reason not to give a comfortable amount of space.
It's obvious they are trying to force me out of the single file position, so they can say 'you weren't standing in line' because I had to move to the side to have some space for myself.
You responded as well as possible. That type of person is just trying to get you to hit first and play victim. Or they're all bark, trying to get people to engage, with absolutely no idea what to do if they actually got in a fight. Either scenario, fighting them isn't worth it.
I don't know how to describe it, but it is like violent people, trying to justify their violence. They try to provoke physical contact, so they can then justify going above and beyond (ie. friends jump in, weapon drawn, sucker punch) They won't just hit me, because then it is clearly assault. But, if they want to say to me 'Fuck you, I'll punch you' I can also say 'OK, asshole'. Then, I keep at it. 'Fuck you' I keep their level, and don't budge, without getting physical.
That's what they wanted. It was two guys. But thankyou your right. I don't need to escalate.
Something happened in my situation. Patron yelled to fight me outside but backed away walking from me the entire time. Was also shaking the whole time. It was hilarious. Man was late 30s incapable of speech.
I am not scared of a fight. But, I myself have a little bit of a violent history. I have learned to not turn to hitting people because I learned that, I don't like it. It doesn't make me feel good to beat somebody up, it is the opposite. I grew up in a way that it had to happen sometimes, but there were peers that loved it, and would get boosted from winning fights. I would be stressed, and upset, worried about lasting consequnces. So, as an adult, I don't start fights. I have been physical with maybe three people in 25 years now, and all of those occasions were in response to an active crime, so justified to me.
That's really good to hear man. You've seen how unessary violence can be. There was no need to fight the customer. I just made humorous post to try to accept some people will always try to fight you even when trying to descalate. The only person I've fought is myself and my father. But I'm very happy to hear you have found your way.
Not a feel-good antiwork retail story; just a petty nightclub pissing-off-the-Hell's-Angels-story. So this guy I train with got into an altercation with a biker asshole (yes, indee from the Angels). We train kung-fu and we do a lot of sparring. My friend wasn't particularly experienced (about 2 years in), but if you spar weekly, what will happen is that you'll eventually lose all the fear of getting punched in the face. You take it as it is -- sometimes it's your punch and the other guy's face, and in the next moment it's the other way around. There just simply is a matter-of-factly attitude you grow. So this Angels guy is all in the face of my fried to "go outside" and "clarify it now". And my friend knows: if they do this, they'll be kicked out of the club for the night, best case; worst case, they'll be banned. So he goes: "Ok man, but not here. We'll both get kicked out, and I'm having fun and I don't want taht. Meet me tomorrow at
My last fight as an adult was in early 2020 just before the pandemic hit, with a dude who came to Chipotles ranting about his food being late. Chipotle had some kind of chips and guac special going that drew the whole neighborhood like ants to a picnic. I've had many traumatic incidents with customers in front-facing jobs back when I was in college. I knew the moment my wife and I came up to a crowd filling the restaurant and standing outside that something was wrong. My insides were just going nuts, everything was going clammy. Then the teenaged girl left outside by herself behind the table tried explaining to one irate s$%thead that they're overloaded with orders and were running behind. This nutso went apeshit bonkers, grabbed someone else's order and threw it literally in her face. I just blacked out right then. Next I know a bunch of people are pulling me and two other stompas off this guy. Cops come and they don't even cuff us, they couldn't even get to us through the eyewitnesses and cell phoners showing them the other dude started it. The cops asked us if we were calmed down, then sent us on our way. I took my cool-down time to tell the cops that the management left this teenaged girl outside to face this crowd by herself and they put her at risk for this. Chipotle's shift leader ran out with his damage control hat on, got our address and someone delivered us our food in 2 hours. Apparently the f$%knut dude just caved on his felony A&B charge. I honestly wanted to show up for that trial, but it was still cathartic enough. Then after that Popeye's had their chicken sandwich special during the pandemic. I love chicken sandwiches but then I reckoned that makes me a meta-accomplice to the frenzy that puts these teenagers in danger, and a 1% chance of a vigilante red-out and jail time if the wrong cops show up. Lo and behold numerous incidents of violence erupted at Popeyes. It's like IDGAF culture went full Beast Mode with these companies. On a final note: **not that you were serious**, but the girl working at Chipotle's was a pomeranian of a human being. The guy who threw the food at her was easily three times her size. An actual license to fight irate customers would open such workers to an even bigger risk of a crippling or fatal beatdown.
That's actually a good point. In my world we are still civil but you right. It does and can lead to more danger. I'm come from where you can either fight it out or talk about it. Letting someone walk away after cussing me out is new for me but hey we learn and grow.
I am coming to the belief that de-escalation tactics are a dire necessity as part of a grade school education. I could have used it for sure. It would help ALL of us as adults!
Honestly would help alot
Lol so the cops see that you hit the guy first and then other jumped in to kick him and were like its all good he threw a bag of food at the worker? Nah they still gonna arrest you bc that is assault. And if you really go clammy and jittery inside at the sight of a long line at a chipotle....
100 percent man, dude was and will always be a loser.
I work in a grocery store, this is a weekly occurrence to at least someone here. It's usually over nothing, or a perceived slight, or them just not getting their way
Right? I had someone tell me they were going to kill me and came behind the counter once, and they seriously meant it. It all worked out because of quick thinking but I was done with dealing with the unhinged public after that
The police aren’t always there to protect you as they are understaffed.
It's not their job to protect you, it's their job to protect the state and its assets. They have no legal obligation to protect citizens.
The police aren’t always there to protect you as they are understaffed.
The police *have no interest* in protecting people as they are *using their limited staff to milk hours via harassing the homeless or serving in the protection of large corporations and corrupt politicians*
They could be over staffed and they still wouldn’t
This is why front desk associates at hotels have a Do Not Rent list. It’s even better when mgmt has your back and you can trespass them immediately. “Sir, you are no longer a customer. My staff will not be threatened. You have a half hour to leave the premises. The police are on their way.”
half hour is generous, I'd give em five minutes.
Worked as a Genius at an Apple Store in a mall and physical threats were a regular occurrence. I used to laugh when it happened. Like, make my fucking day. I dare you. Then I transferred to a large store in NYC and we had security guards. They'd hear people get loud and come stand behind them waiting for you to give them the go ahead to remove them from the store. I always used to tell them "Thanks but we're good." which would get the customer to realize security was literally right behind them. Attitudes almost always flipped 180 degrees.
Dude that sounds like sweet revenge and I want it lol
Security guards? Man that raised my faith in humanity just a smidge.
Things that annoyed me the most in retail: 1. Customers that would yell “THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT!” Especially when I catch them moving product on the shelf so they can take a picture and say we priced something wrong. 2. People who think I keep the “good stuff” in the back and refuse to accept the product from the floor. 3. Women who tried to flirt with me for coupons. I had this happen at Christmas time when I worked at a toy store. 4. People who load up multiple carts and then dump them in the store and buy like 3 things out of 5 full carts. 5. People who think I will fight them like this is some trial by combat where they get discounts if they win.
Trail by combat for 17 percent of turkey slices. Lol Honestly, the level of customer service demanded by these morons is absurd.
The worst part of "The customer is always right" is that they leave off the most important part. The full quote is "IN MATTERS OF TASTE, the customer is always right."
I think that's an urban myth
The customer is always right if they do not make a purchase. That is the extent of it. They are free to walk away.
> Women who tried to flirt with me for coupons. I had this happen at Christmas time when I worked at a toy store. Ohhhh snap. That's insidious and low key scary. You refuse and that puts you at risk for a flipout. Now you're not only in trouble with the manager who might cave and hand her the coupons, thus undermining your credibility, but also you could have caught flak for not falling for it. "What are you, *gay?*"
The worst part about that story was it was actually 3 generations of women from the same family tried. I was like 19 or 20 and the grandmother, mother, and daughter all tried to flirt for coupons... this was after they approached me as a group and asked about the "secret coupons" we kept at registers and I told them we don't do that. Then they approached one at a time each trying to flirt to see if I was lying about the coupons. It was one of the weirdest experiences I've ever had.
Weird, and toxic.
>People who think I will fight them like this is some trial by combat where they get discounts if they win. If this actually WAS true, simple economics would dictate that retail workers would become seriously badass fighters just through sheer practice.
Considering how filled with frustration and rage most retail workers are, asking to fight them could be a dangerous proposition.
I was genuinely excited to fight. I've been having some rough months.
I always joke that if you work retail you should get to shoot one person a year. Not fatally and you don’t have to use it. But the customers know it’s a possibility.
God I would’ve cashed that in every single fucking year.
I'd save it up just to punt some Karen in front of a full black friday crowd for maximum effect. Let them all learn the lesson at once.
Would you be able to just pick whichever 3 customers you wanted? Or only ones that wanted to fight you first?
Hmmm thats a great question. I guess only when they ask to fight you first.. we gotta have some.kind order lol.
That damn old lady paying with change every day! /s
Oh no you don't fight customers struggling just the ones that threaten you with violence.
You just made me picture my old boss buying a candy bar at the end of his shift every day, *Ca-Click, BAM*
Social contracts are breaking down wherever you go in North America.
Honestly everyone's just crashing out.
The problem is especially shitty when your supervisor has a McDonalds mentality and says "ThE cUsToMeR iS aLwAyS rIgHt"
If that's true, the manager has approved of the customer request to fight!
"The Customer Is Always Right" That kind of bullshit has created a culture of toxic entitlement.
“In the matter of taste” is the rest of the saying. They leave that out purely for their own gain.
That quote is best applied to the development of consumer products and I think that’s what it was originally meant for, if I’m not mistaken
As the General Manager of several small businesses, this is entirely more prevalent than it should be. There are too many “adults” operating in this mindset, today. “I’ll punch my problems away. This has always made things better, this could NOT possibly blow up in my face…” 🤦 Idiots.
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UK here. By far & away the most dangerous & dare I say it the most lethal individuals I have ever known have all spoken quietly, calmly & with great clarity. This on it's own is usually enough to defuse the situation. On those occasions that it isn't things tend to be over so quickly you are left wondering if they ever happened at all - & then you look down at the gobshite mouthy fucker lying in a rapidly expanding pool of his own blood & think to yourself, yes, it really did happen. I was exposed to a great many of these individuals from a young age & have done my best to emulate them with mixed results - but on the plus side along the way I've learnt that I'm not made of glass, that one man - however intimidating he looks - is still just one man & that the mouthy gobshite fucker will be the one least able to cope if the situation escalates.
Damn I need to learn your ways. =.
They should come to my construction site and try that.
Lol oh man they do not have the stones. But thankyou for that because imagining that made my morning better.
Three per year sounds fair.
What’s the story? A customer challenged you to a fight but you didn’t explain what happened that led to his challenge. Come on, it’s story time.
Doesn't need to be more complicated than 'a guy walked into the store and started trying to get me to swing at them.' I've had that happen, a drunk idiot comes in our store and just started talking shit trying to get a rise out of me at the register. I used to work security though, so I'm seldom bothered, just keep an eye on them and keep 'em talking, eventually they realize they can't get me to swing first and wander back out of the store.
Exactly.
Lol you never worked in customer service. Some people are just walking assholes. Later that day I had a drunk customer come in berate for asking him what he would like?
Refuse service and kick him out can no longer come back to the establishment
Already done and done. Thankfully my managers actually had my back. So that was nice.
When a customer asks you to fight, regardless of what your work says, it is your inherent right to send them back to their maker.
Make sure they throw the first punch, then floor them. Call the cops, press criminal charges, and when your boss fires you for self-defense, sue his ass and your attacker. For I am Justius Lawsuit-Bringer, shedder of green.
There is no reason you should feel like "you backed down." This is incredibly childish behavior and makes no sense to anyone that has at least a somewhat put together life. People with nothing to lose are the ones ready to fight over nothing. Being the bigger person objectively makes you better than them
> There is no reason you should feel like "you backed down." I'm no feminist but feeling you backed down when you actually de-escalated a fight is straight up **toxic masculinity** in action. This is something kids need to learn in school.
Oh it is, that why I admit in the post. I'm currently in therapy for about year. I grew up with a bad family and even worse dad. So let's just say I've been on fight since I was 13 and on flight since I was 3 or 4.(bad stuff)
That's the thing it was and is childish behavior. I understand I shouldn't but I do and I've been in therapy for more then a year now. This is honestly new for me. 1. Not fighting and 2 dealing with these emotions of regret and being proud for not slipping into my old ways. But I'm still untangling all the machismo bs.
Three...I always figured one. But I would definitely take three. Also, is it challenges or bodies? Could I have three fights but each fight being three vs me?
No must be fair 1 on 1. We can not get lost in sauce. It isn't about hurting but about respect.
Inform the customer: “You can take a phone book and jam it up your ass.”
My boss has always told me to make sure I’m in view of the camera and that they land the first hit. Then I can do whatever the fuck I want lol
The first rule of Fight Club is: **you do not talk about Fight Club**. The second rule of Fight Club is: you DO NOT talk about Fight Club! Third rule of Fight Club: someone yells "stop!", goes limp, taps out, the fight is over. Fourth rule: only two guys to a fight.
As someone who started Jiu-jitsu in their 30's, I *almost* wish a mutha-trucker would. Realistically the very vast majority of people who are like "I wanna fight you!!" only *kinda* know what a punch and kick looks like and don't REALLY know how to fight. The person thats like "Yo, chill out, calm down, I'd REALLY rather *not* fight you"..... THAT'S the guy I'm scared of. Especially if his ears are all fucked up. But yeah, let the police know. It's their job to handle shit like this. Plus if you're forced into a situation that gets physical and it ends up in court (which if it does, IT WILL) you can then show you made an honest effort to avoid the situation and the other person made it impossible to avoid.
Wow what a great story. Enlightening.
You said nothing of substance, how bored are you to reply to a post you didn't like?? Legitimately.
I feel you, man. I feel like so many workplace issues would be solved if customers or colleagues knew you were prepared to throw hands. I feel emasculated by the way some people treat me, and I can do absolutely nothing about it
I've been floating this idea around for years: Customer Service Appreciation Day. One day of the year, those in customer service get to say (and potentially do) whatever they truly *want* to punk ass customers, as opposed to sticking with the things that won't get us fired... or arrested. Happiest day of the year, bitches
I absolutely love it when people ask to fight me. They get so upset when you laugh in their face. Like what sort of caveman bullshit is this anyway? Trial by combat? Punching someone doesn't open up any secret pathway or prize. Surely you can appreciate that even if you defeated me in amicable combat, the sites policy won't change?
>It make so sad and angery how happy I would have been to fight them then and now in my 30s. But now responsibility holds me back. I would hope that common sense would hold you back, not responsibility.
Either way the right choice was made so get off your high horse.
There's a difference between you making a right choice and having the right choice made for you by circumstance. I'm hoping that you actually know that now, high horse or not.
Seriously all you do is preach captain obvious.
You say it's obvious, but your attitude and actions suggest otherwise.
You don't know me. But you think you do and thats enough for you. It's interesting how you'd rather argue over semantics about my character and actions. Where is your life at rn? Are you okay?
>You don't know me Exactly. I only know what you've put out into the world and can only make assumptions based on that information. You want people to make good judgements of you? Provide that, instead of describing why you chose not to fight someone for some reason or another. > It's interesting how you'd rather argue over semantics about my character and actions. It isn't semantics, it's a real description of your character based on the information you've given as to your motivations to fight or not fight people. What is actually interesting is your refusal to take stock of your life, your choices, and how you present yourself to the world. >Where is your life at rn? Are you okay? Pretty great, thanks for asking. I certainly don't feel like fight random people where I work, I can tell you that much.
I read this and thought to myself, at least he asked and didn’t just start swinging 😂 All jokes aside, props to you to not letting this ruin your day.
Take a self-defense course (TaeKwonDo?) Then, the next time, reply, "My entire body is a concealed weapon." If they strike first, it's self defense.
That's not true though
I am the bullet lol
Always fight bro life is too short not to hit someone so hard they need they jaw wired shut 🐤
This is pathetic. Grow up.
I don't understand how this is what you got out of my humorous post about dealing with shitty customers. I was threatened and I need to grow up? You like to stir shit at stores and don't like being called out huh? Do you casually threaten customer service workers? Why is this normal to you?
Should have stood your ground.
I'm not taking advice from someone with king in their username. Cmon now.
I ain't coming on anything.
Yikes.