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If there’s one thing humans excel at, it’s creating unnecessary problems for each other. And no, you don’t need to look at parliament or the stock exchange to find some vile behavior—just head down the street to the places where regular people eat and shop. Chances are, you’ll still see a staggering level of entitlement and a lack of common decency.

TikTok users @janemoonveil and @pey.attenti0n have tapped into this problem by asking service workers to share their absolute worst customer encounters. The responses are a mix of horror and comedy, showcasing tantrums over expired coupons and bizarre requests nobody could ever fulfill.

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Image credits: pey.attenti0n

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The sad reality is that these people are everywhere. A recent survey of 500 U.S. workers in retail, hospitality, and food service found that nearly three-quarters (72%) deal with rude or aggressive customers on a daily or weekly basis.

Only 1% said they hadn’t faced this at all in the past year.

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Workers say bad customer behavior has gotten worse, too: 25% noticed a sharp increase over the past year.

The main reasons, according to them, have been rising prices (81%), too few staff on duty (79%), and company policies that leave customers feeling they can demand whatever they want (75%).

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Image credits: https://www.tiktok.com/@pey.attenti0n/video/7495129447956352287

Many workers feel unprepared to handle these situations. More than half admit they worry about how to calm down escalating conflicts (53%) or say they often lack the information they need when things get heated (52%).

While some receive short training sessions when they’re first hired, most don’t get ongoing practice or refresher courses.

On top of that, about a third (34%) report that customers’ constantly shifting expectations are adding to their stress and burnout. More than one in five (22%) fear they simply can’t keep up with what customers want.

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Many customer service workers also feel they’re not compensated enough for their responsibilities. One Salesforce survey found that:

71% have thought about quitting their job in the last six months;
And 69% are considering leaving customer service altogether.

With resignations being a common occurrence in the industry, 86% of respondents said they need more from their company in order to stay.

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According to the survey, the top challenges service workers report are:

Burnout – 76%
Pressure to keep customers happy – 66%
Few opportunities to grow or develop skills – 64%
Lack of support from management – 60%
Outdated technology is making work harder – 56%

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Managers are often stuck in the middle, trying to keep customers satisfied while also preventing their teams from leaving through the back door.

Their biggest issues are:

Employee burnout – 84%
Lack of flexibility – 73%
Difficulties ensuring customer satisfaction – 73%
Problems guaranteeing the health and safety of employees – 71%
Accessing career development opportunities – 69%

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Employers are trying to make life easier for workers and customers by investing in:

On-demand training (79%) — helping workers learn skills when and where they need them.
Technology that shows the full history of a customer’s relationship with the company (77%) — from past purchases to previous support conversations.
Customer self-service options (76%) — giving people the ability to solve simple issues on their own.
Chat and messaging with colleagues and other internal teams (75%) — so service workers can get quick answers behind the scenes.
Chat and messaging with customers (74%) — to meet people where they are.
Video call capabilities (70%) — for situations where face-to-face interaction matters.
Automated ticket or information collection before an interaction (68%) — cutting down the time workers spend on repetitive data entry.
Call-back options (67%) — letting customers choose not to wait on hold.

But it’s worth asking: are these really the solutions that will fix the core problems workers say they face, such as burnout and low pay?