They’re shouting at the top of their voice. Their spit is flying everywhere. Their faces are red like a ripe tomato. And they’re angry beyond belief. Rude customers are the bane of anyone who’s ever worked in the service industry as a waiter, a server, or a cashier. Most of us have our personal favorite ways of dealing with angry people, but sometimes it takes some originality to stop them complaining.
Having decided that she’s had enough of rude customers pushing her around, one high schooler who works weekends at a coffee shop came up with a cunning plan. With her shift manager James’ help, she now pretends to get fired each time a customer loses their temper. The best part is—it works.
However, the high schooler was worried that she may have overstepped some boundaries. So she turned to Reddit’s AITA community to ask them their opinion about the situation.
A coffee shop employee asked Reddit whether how they deal with rude customers is alright
Image credits: throwRA-fhfsveyary
Reactions to the coffee shop employee’s series of pranks were mixed on the AITA subreddit. While some exclaimed that the customers were the jerks for being rude, others said that even though the high schooler’s actions were justified, she and the customers were all jerks.
There were even some Redditors who said the employee was the biggest jerk of all because she was disturbing all the other coffee shop’s customers with her dramatic prank.
Barista Training Academy has some friendly suggestions that can help coffee shop employees and baristas deal with those caffeine-lovers who can’t keep a leash on their temper. For example, if a customer shouts at you, you shouldn’t shout back! Stay calm, cool, and professional. Like from that one awesome song in ‘Mulan’ that everyone remembers, be “tranquil as a forest but on fire within.”
There’s also a chance that rude customers, no matter how impolite they might be, have some criticism for you that’s worth hearing out. After all, you want to be the best barista in the world, so you should take every chance to up your game and improve yourself.
Whatever happens, don’t take it personally. Maybe the person who ordered the triple-syrup, no-foam, quadruple-espresso, decaf cappuccino and yelled at you for not adding any sugar, has had a very bad day and doesn’t know how to deal with their stress. Sometimes, people don’t know how to deal with their problems and lash out at strangers. It’s all a part of being human and maturing as individuals.
Dear Pandas, have any of you worked at a coffee shop or the service industry? How do you deal with rude customers? We can’t wait to hear from you, so drop us a line in the comments!
Here's how some Redditors reacted to the story
