Justice has been served! From greedy grocery store shoppers to rude restaurant visitors, these customers share how they successfully clapped back at an entitled customer in the middle of a meltdown. I’m sure these employees were grateful for these heroic customers! Content has been edited for clarity.
The McDonald’s Meltdown
“A couple of years ago, I went to McDonald’s and stood in line to order. All of a sudden, an angry man came barreling in and aggressively stepped in line in front of me. Right off the bat, I was extremely annoyed. The man had screeched his pickup truck into the handicapped space outside and came barging in without regard for anyone.
When the man reached the front of the line, he started screaming about his burger. He had gone through the drive-through and asked for ‘no something’ on his burger, and the something was on his burger. The man yelled and banged his fists on the counter, arguing about how he deserved a replacement burger and his money back for the trouble.
As if this wasn’t unreasonable enough, the poor clerk had to calmly tell the man, ‘We cannot refund your order. You used a free burger coupon.’
The man continued to yell louder and louder, screaming obscenities and the employee and calling her demeaning names. The employee was sixteen years old and looked overwhelmed. Her manager came over, and she was only a slightly older girl. She told the man the same thing a bit more firmly but was still quiet and professional.
The man raised a fist toward the manager and screamed, ‘I’m not leaving without two hamburgers then! Nobody can order until I’m satisfied!’
By this point, I was livid. The whole store stood looking at the man in sheer amazement. Behind me, an older gentleman said, ‘Look buddy, just take it to the side. The rest of us need to order.’
The man freaked out on the older gentleman and yelled, ‘I don’t care about you all in line! I care about the meal I paid for!’
Then, I lost it. I screamed, ‘You didn’t pay for anything you scammer! You had a free coupon, lied about what was on the coupon, and now you’re trying to steal!’
The man got an inch away from me with his sweaty red face and hissed, ‘Mind your business, witch!’
‘It is my business,’ I replied, ‘You cut in front of me and screamed like a banshee at the servers. The only witch here is you! Plus, you parked your car in the handicapped spot. Your work logo is visible on the car, and I recorded the entire incident on my phone. When you finish this absurd display, you will probably be charged. If not, you will at least be in hot water at work.’
I usually wasn’t well-spoken in high-stress situations. However, this man had been carrying on for so long, I had plenty of time to compose myself. My heart still pounded out of my chest after I finished confronting him.
Since I caught the man off guard, he was stunned and shut up. I decided my food wasn’t worth it and I wanted to leave without the man seeing my car. He was extremely unhinged. I never figured out what happened afterward, but the two servers had smiles plastered across their faces as I left.
I never did call the name on the man’s truck, but I wished I would have.”
The Senseless Starbucks Customer
“One afternoon, I was at Starbucks typing away to meet deadlines when suddenly, a woman’s grunt made me look up.
The barista apologized for the hundredth time, as they simply couldn’t do her vegan coffee as they ran out of soy milk this particular day.
The woman slammed her hand on the cashier counter and screamed, ‘I don’t care, get me the soy milk! There’s a Tesco just right around the corner!’ implying the poor barista should now run to get the woman’s soy milk.
Most establishments use specific branded milk by a supplier to maintain quality, so I wouldn’t have blamed the girl if she couldn’t have gotten soy milk. However, the woman was not having it.
She continued berating the barista by saying, ‘I am going to report this inefficiency issue to corporate! This is a problem!’
A line began steadily forming behind her as the after-office hour crowd streamed in. The other barista, who I assumed was the supervisor, politely asked the woman to move to the side to allow other customers to order.
The woman continued to yap on like a chihuahua, holding back everyone in line when a guy finally yelled, ‘Hey, lady! If you walked your entitled self down to Tesco five minutes ago, you could have gotten the soy milk yourself. Instead, you’re making everyone listen to you whine like the world is going to end because they don’t have the milk!’
Then, the guy threw some bills on the counter and said, ‘Here’s the money for your soy milk!’
Shocked she was yelled at by another customer, the woman picked up her purse, looked wildly around, and exited the store.
The guy ordered, paid for his drink, and told the barista, ‘Keep the change. I was a barista five or six years ago in this same store. You are not paid enough to deal with people like her.’”
“Everything They Complained About Was A Lie”
“Years ago, I was out at one of my favorite restaurants in New York City with two friends. One of the friends had driven down from Pennsylvania to take us out to dinner and catch up.
The restaurant we visited was a small Italian restaurant just off Times Square. Their main draw was the Italian sampler. The restaurant made three different kinds of pasta each night and served all-you-can-eat portions to every table. You could try all three kinds of pasta, or just get extra helpings of one. It was always my go-to meal. You had a dedicated server, but they weren’t the ones who brought the pasta out.
My friends and I were sitting next to a couple who were being awful to our server. They were blaming him for nearly everything, cursed at him for no reason, and continually harassed him. The server wasn’t from the United States, but even with his accent, his English was great. My friends and I certainly didn’t have any issues understanding him.
The couple sitting next to us was just getting done with dinner and asked for the manager. When the manager came over, they continued to lie about the server and tried extremely hard to get him in trouble. I didn’t understand if they were trying to get a free meal or something, but it was over the top and I couldn’t sit by any longer.
When the server came over to our table to check on us, I told him, ‘I think you are doing a wonderful job. When you have a second, can you please pull your manager over to our table? I need to talk to him and let him know how great you have been.’
The manager came over to our table, and the couple was still sitting next to us. As loud as I could, I told the manager, ‘Our server was just amazing tonight! He was on top of everything, and he was always so gracious and friendly. I just can’t say enough good things about him!’
I glanced over at the couple next to us and continued, ‘Everything they complained about was a flat-out lie. They are either looking for a free meal or are nasty people.’
The woman tried to interrupt, but I let her know I wasn’t speaking to her.
The manager thanked me and left. The server came over to our table and exclaimed, ‘I am so thankful for you. I was afraid I would be fired if there was another bad comment about me.’
I reassured the server, ‘I let the manager know the couple was lying about you. I told him the truth. You won’t be getting in trouble.’
The couple started to get up to leave when the manager walked back over. He brought our table desserts and drinks as a ‘thank you’ to us.
When the angry couple began walking away, the manager stopped them and said, ‘Thank you for business, but we would rather you not return.’
It was one of my favorite things ever. We also left a nice tip for our server because we figured the couple next to us probably left nothing.”
“People Needed To Be Put In Their Place”
“One of my favorite things to do was stand up to a bully!
One of the most satisfying times I stood up to an unkind customer was when I flew from Rochester to Chicago during the American Airlines and US Airways merger. Almost everyone flying had to catch a connecting flight.
The plane was already flying into Rochester. When everyone boarded, we began accelerating. At the last second, the pilot canceled the takeoff and returned to the gate. Something was wrong with the breaks on the plane, and everyone needed to exit immediately.
Everyone got off the plane, and I immediately veered toward the gate counter where the same American Airlines agent stood who checked me in two hours earlier. The agent was on the phone, clearly speaking to her coworker from earlier who was already in the parking lot ready to drive home.
The agent begged her coworker, ‘Please come back! This flight just got canceled, it’s going to be rough.’
The agent then hung up, turned to me, and smiled as we began talking about what flight she could book me on, my connection, and my coworker traveling with me. All of a sudden, a bully in a suit walked out of the ramp, stomped towards the counter, and pushed me aside.
The bully screamed at the agent, ‘American Airlines is a disaster! I am going to miss my connection because of you!’
I turned to the bully and loudly replied, ‘You are out of order. None of this is the gate agent’s fault, we all have connections. She is doing everything she can by herself, and you need to go to the back of the line and wait your turn.’
The bully barked, ‘You don’t know who I am!’
I shrugged and laughed, and told him, ‘I don’t care who you are! All I know is that it’s not your turn!’
I heard mumbled agreement from the line behind me, and I received a big smile and mouthed, ‘Thank you,’ from the gate agent.
The bully trudged to the back of the line angrily grumbling. The gate agent not only rebooked me in first class but also upgraded my two companions on the next long leg. Her coworker joined her several minutes later, and together they took care of the remaining passengers, including the bully.
Sometimes, people needed to be put in their place.”
“Maybe You Should Have Stayed In School Instead Of Getting Stuck At A Loser Job”
“A couple of years ago, I witnessed a woman be utterly hateful to an employee at Target.
The rude woman was standing in the checkout line in front of me. It was the holiday season, so it was extremely busy in the store.
The woman had a bag of dog food, and she was trying to swipe her card to pay for it. However, the card continued to ask for her PIN.
The woman screamed at the cashier, ‘I don’t have a PIN! I have never been asked for a PIN before, and you need to override the system!’
The cashier quietly replied, ‘Ma’am, I can’t just override the system. The credit card processing company was the one requesting the PIN.’
The woman looked as if she was about to scream at the cashier again, so I stepped in and asked, ‘Is there any way I could help?’
After stepping in, I discovered the card was a credit card, not an ATM card, and it was asking for a ZIP code.
I told the woman, ‘It doesn’t want a PIN. It just wants to know your ZIP code.’
The woman became flustered and replied, ‘This is my grandmother’s card, I don’t know her ZIP code!’
Then, the woman began yelling at the cashier, ‘You know, it isn’t the customer’s fault the cashiers can only manage to get a crummy job like this! Maybe you should have stayed in school instead of getting stuck at a loser job!’
I was fed up. I turned to the woman, put my hand up, and said, ‘Shut up for a minute! If you stop acting like such a witch, maybe someone could help you!’
The woman then turned on me and said, ‘You’re the real witch here.’
Dead silence.
I smiled slowly at the woman and replied, ‘Honey, you have NO idea.’
By now, the front-end supervisor was there and said, ‘Everyone calm down, please.’
The woman yelled, ‘I’m done with all of you! I’m out of here!’ and left.
We all stared at her for a minute before I said, ‘You know, I was going to pay for the dog food, too. But I’m beginning to think the card was stolen anyway.’
I had never seen someone behave so nastily in a store before.”
“I Couldn’t Believe What I Heard”
“One afternoon, I went to the tanning salon. As I was waiting for my room, a well-dressed woman entered the salon and screamed at the receptionist, ‘No, I will not wait for a bed. I don’t have time for this!
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
The receptionist calmly replied, ‘But all of these people are waiting in line ahead of you. You must wait your turn or come back later. I’m sorry, ma’am.’
‘No, I will not wait! You need to get me in a room right now!’ the woman screamed, ‘These other people are already waiting, so obviously they don’t mind waiting a bit longer. I, on the other hand, do mind waiting. I should get to go first!’
The receptionist looked like she was about to burst into tears at any moment as the woman continued to scream.
The woman finished her rant by yelling, ‘Now do your job correctly, you idiot!’
I stepped forward and firmly told the woman, ‘I won’t listen to you berate this poor girl any longer and I’m sure everyone here agrees with me. You need to leave. Right now.’
The woman glared at me and took a step back. She glanced around the waiting area, then without another word, walked out the door.
The receptionist thanked me and even gave me an upgrade on a tanning bed. The others in the waiting room offered me high-fives and their support.
I have always hoped I would never meet someone acting so entitled again.”
“The Guy Turned Around As If He Wanted To Attack Me”
“Years ago, I had breakfast with my husband at our favorite restaurant. When the afternoon came, the menu changed over to lunch, so breakfast was no longer being served.
Suddenly, a guy walked into the restaurant and wanted breakfast.
The waitress kindly explained, ‘We’re serving lunch now, we stopped serving breakfast a little bit ago. I’m sorry, sir.’
The guy got extremely upset and began screaming at the girl. The manager came out to assess the situation, but of course, she was just a young girl, too.
The manager explained to the guy, ‘The cooks just started making lunch. All of the breakfast items have already been put away, and the cash registers have already been set for lunch. There is nothing I can do to help you, unfortunately. I’m sorry for your inconvenience.’
The guy continued screaming at the manager, began following the workers around, and creepily loomed over them. Finally, I had enough.
I looked straight at the guy and said, ‘Okay, you’ve said your piece. The manager already told you, you cannot have breakfast. Either sit down or leave, because you’re annoying everyone!’
The guy turned around as if he wanted to attack me, but then every other woman in the place also stood up. I guessed the guy triggered everyone’s ‘momma bear’ instincts because we all wanted to protect the waitress and the manager. We all told the guy to get out, and, as a group, we pushed him out of the door. We never physically touched him, everyone just walked toward him and forced him out.
There must have been something wrong with the guy because he was scary!”
Store Clerk Struggles
“Years ago, I was a regular at a grocery store, and II developed a first-name relationship with my favorite clerk.
One day, the woman standing in front of me in the checkout line got rude and obnoxious to the clerk. The woman was out of line, and the clerk did everything he could in an attempt to appease her.
About a week or so later, I asked the clerk, ‘Hey, did anything ever come of the woman who was giving you a hard time last week?’
The clerk responded, ‘Yeah, she complained about me to my manager. I got written up.’
After I completed my purchase, I found the manager and asked, ‘Do you recall the incident with the upset woman last week?’
The manager shook his head in response.
I continued, ‘Well, I was standing in line behind the complaining woman. She was totally out of line. The clerk didn’t say or do anything wrong. Trust me, I witnessed the entire situation.’
The manager thanked me and I went on my way. The next time I was in the store, the clerk thanked me. The manager told him what I had said and the write-up was pulled.”
The Lousy Lowe’s Customer
“I recently went to Lowe’s to pick up an order. There was a guy ahead of me at the customer service counter who was extremely angry, but I had no idea why. The guy was huffing and puffing and throwing a major fit in front of everyone else in line.
One of the girls at customer service told the man, ‘If I am unable to help you today, I can go get my manager.’
As the employee walked away, the guy mumbled, ‘You better go get your manager, you idiot.’
The guy had no business being so rude to the poor employee. After all, she was just doing her job. So, I promptly pointed out how he was in the wrong and confronted him.
The man snarled, ‘You need to mind your own business. I wasn’t talking to you.’
I snidely replied, ‘I don’t care if you were talking to me or not. Those girls in customer service can’t stand up to you because they are at work. Someone needs to put you in your place.’
The guy was out of sorts. It was easy to see he was a bully who never expected anyone to talk back to him. If another guy had told him to shut his mouth, it might have led to a physical fight. However, since I was a woman, he probably figured it wouldn’t have turned out well if he swung at me in front of the other customers.
The guy continued turning red and made himself sound like more of a moron by the minute. The store was crowded, and other customers in line were snickering and giving me approving looks.
Finally, the manager came out and called him away from everyone else. One of the girls at the counter discreetly mouthed, ‘Thank you,’ to me.
I had never been one to stand aside while other customers treat service workers poorly.”
“I Heard Someone Angrily Grumbling At The Back Of The Line”
“One day, I stood up to a rude customer. I was standing in line at a UPS store a couple of weeks before the holiday season, and only two staff members were ringing out customers.
There was a sweet older woman at the counter who was confused about who she was sending her parcel to and the best way to send it. The UPS staff member was patient and kind and helped the older woman with everything she needed. However, I heard someone begin angrily grumbling at the back of the line.
When I looked to the back of the line, a woman was throwing a fit because she needed to buy a roll of packing tape, and she didn’t think she needed to wait in line like everyone else. Eventually, the woman said something nasty, out loud, to the old lady.
The woman hissed, ‘You need to hurry up and make up your mind. You are making the rest of us wait because of you!’
In reality, the woman had only been standing in line for five minutes.
I turned to the woman and replied, ‘That wasn’t very nice.’
The woman looked flustered and muttered, ‘Sorry.’
‘Don’t apologize to me,’ I told the woman, ‘You need to apologize to the woman at the front of the line for being so rude.’
The woman did manage to apologize properly, but she immediately left afterward. The staff members were sure to thank me afterward.”
“It Took Me A Few Seconds To Register What Was Going On”
“One time, I was at the deli in a local chain grocery store. I was next in line behind a man who was ordering something. The girl working behind the counter was younger. I didn’t know if this was part of why the man felt entitled to treat her terribly, but I suspected it was.
I had just walked up to the counter, so I didn’t hear the first part of the conversation between the employee and the man. However, I did notice he was chewing her out big time.
The man said things like, ‘If you’re so stupid you can’t get this right, how do you work here? How hard could the job be?’
It took me a few seconds to register what was going on. As soon as I did, I stepped in immediately. I opened my mouth and turned toward the man, and that’s all it took.
The man saw the ‘mom look’ and he instantly shut up. Had he not, I would have lashed out at him. He was truly an idiot. Every time I had seen something like this since then, I stepped in. Service employees never deserved to be treated so poorly.”