A Not Always Right customer is one that is 1. Trying to get something for nothing; 2. Abusing the employee for one reason or another (trying to get their own way, or for the fun of it); 3. Doesn't realize they're wrong.
(The Customer is) Not Always Right is a website dedicated to stories of the stupid, ignorant, egotistical, funny and just plain mad customers whom retail staff across the world (well, mostly in the Anglo-sphere — since it's an English-only site) encounter. It can be a good example of Tropes that appear in Real Life. That being said, it is best to take most of it with a grain of salt.In 2011, the webmasters launched two sister sites: Not Always Romantic and Not Always Related. In 2012, they added Not Always Working to the collective, followed by Not Always Learning in 2013.Due to this page's length, it had to be split. Examples for the sister sites are still on this page, but examples pertaining to Not Always Right have been put on four different pages.
Epic Fail: This man tries to hook up with a stranger, only to find that she's a lesbian. And his pick-up lines are terrible. And he's trying to cheat on his girlfriend. Who is nearby. And she later dumps him and dates the other girl.
Strange Minds Think Alike: This couple are planning on buying a new toaster - both independently wonder whether they can bring a piece of bread to the store in order to see if it fits.
That Came Out Wrong/Compliment Backfire: A number of comments made to one's partner that didn't sound half as positive or romantic the speaker imagined, such as this one: "But, I don't want to have my glasses on when I look at you."
Ambulance Chaser: This guard is apparently so worried about these types that he tries to stop emergency services from saving a person's life. Unfortunately for him, obstructing emergency services in that manner is a serious crime, which means he'll probably never work in that capacity ever again.
This cashier believes two forms of ID are fake because, apparently, no one lives in Washington, DC. ("It’s just government buildings and monuments!") This version was particularly problematic for the customer because the cashier attempted to confiscate and destroy said forms of ID note especially problematic as the customer had to fly home in a few days, forcing said customer to call the police to intervene.
This boss actually pulled a Did You Actually Believe? on an office worker after he was ordered to work overtime to get a major order done by Monday.
Boss:(laughing) “You actually stayed here until midnight? You’re stupid!” Worker: ...excuse me? Boss: “There would be no way I would’ve done that much overtime for this. We didn’t even need it until Thursday of this week anyway. It could have waited!”
This managerand his daughter have been stealing money from their company for half a year - and when they're about to be found out, the manager tries to get the worker processing the case to take the fall for it.
Apparently, this boss doesn't believe being too ill to work is an excuse for missing work. She threatens to fire that person if they don't come in—and then makes good on that threat, despite said person's dad painstakingly explaining why it's impossible!
Benevolent Boss: In some of these stories, where a lower-level employee is the culprit, the employee's manager will step in to intervene. And in a few of these occurrences, the boss will subvert this by being, in his/her own way, nearly as bad as the employee.
Comically Missing the Point: This person gives their street address to a pizza deliverer, mentioning Lincoln, "like the president". The delivery person mentions that Obama's the president.
Dismotivation: A possible explanation for some stories in the "Lazy/Unhelpful" category. The employees need a paycheck, but hate working with people, so they just be rude and unhelpful so the customer will give up and go away. This obviously doesn't work, as this often gets that particular employee fired.
This bank representative is obviously not very sharp. First, he suggests the debtor make a weekly payment three times that of said debtor's weekly income. Then, after the debtor makes a sarcastic comment about having to start a meth lab to make that kind of income, the representative not only takes the comment seriously, he offers a line of credit for the venture, seeming not to realize it's illegal. Finally, after the debtor calls out the bank representative for that mistake, the representative tries to make the excuse that he'd had his mind on a sporting event, but commits Gretzky Has the Ball in the process.
The Dog Bites Back: Presumably the reason behind some of the employees' behavior, not that this makes it justified.
"“GODD***IT, NOT AGAIN! I told you that I don’t do well with those titles! Call me ‘a**hole’, call me ‘f***er’, but whatever you do, don’t call me ‘sir’ or ‘boss’!”
Rather hilarious as she tried to convince the janitor that he is being oppressed. The janitor just gives her a "What the hell are you talking about?" look and says that he's quite content with this job, thank you very much.
NAW is newer than NAR, but by February 2013, some workers had become aware that their actions (or the actions of their coworkers) might end up on the site. See "Some Bosses Are More Memorable Than Others".
Also like Not Always Right, some workers are aware when they do something silly, like here.
Gretzky Has the Ball: "I had forgotten because I was thinking about the Rugby football match this weekend between the Blues and the Warriors, sir."note For those in the U.S., this is rather like saying you were thinking about the football match in Chicago between the Bears and the Fire. The former team is an American Football squad, while the latter is an Association Football squad, or "soccer" as it's called in the States.
He Knows Too Much: The motivation behind this person being let go by the company. The boss isn't particularly smart about the way he handled the situation, though.
Hypocritical Humor: This manager castigates an employee for having water at their register (which isn't against the rules), then leaves with her own stash of soda and food (which is).
It's All About Me: This employee calls a tech support person about an e-mail. The employee made a typo regarding a mailing list and wants to rectify that, but do they ask for the e-mail to be recalled or send out another e-mail with the correction? Nope, they ask the tech support person to change the name of the mailing list to match the name in the e-mail instead. Never mind that the mailing list is already being used a lot and they don't own it- admitting that they made a mistake is far more of an issue.
Receptionist: Well, too bad, you’ll have to wait. Now either go sit down with your ugly four-eyed daughter or take your [racial slur] selves home and make another appointment!
This retail assistant manager acts like a jerk to pregnant people, forcing them to do work meant for other people and calling them the wrong name, for seemingly no reason. Unfortunately for the assistant manager, that behavior results in her getting chewed out by the store manager.
This credit card agency worker ignored a clerk's inquiry: "I heard you the first time, but that just went over my head so I ignored it. There’s nothing I can help you with here. Have a nice day."
This nurse refused to give the migraine suffering submitter (who unable to take NSAI Ds due to adverse reactions) the opiate shot she'd already made an appointment for, tried to lie to her after the doctor said she could have the shot to get her to leave, accused her of being a drug addict, and threw the medication that had been prepared for her away. Fortunately a second nurse intervened and got the patient her medication. It turns out the bad nurse was married to one of the doctors at the same clinic, and was already on thin ice, and after the patient called to complain both the nurse and her husband were fired.
Please immediately report stolen passport to the embassy, which you may enter upon showing a valid passport.
Please bring a bank statement to open a new bank account.note While presumably a statement from a different bank would work, this particular customer has never had a bank account before, with any bank.
Several examples where a person is trying to cancel a service or close an account for a dead relative and get told their relative has to come in in person. One had to say "he's DEAD" at least three times.
Karma bites yet another asshole boss To make it even sweeter not only did the boss get fired for his blatant disregard of the customers, the submitter got a promotion!
This clothing store employee blatantly insults a customer, calling her a fatass among other things and telling her to get out of the store. When the customer's friend helps out, the employee begins insulting him too, and learns too late that the friend happens to own the store they're in. Unsurprisingly, the employee is fired on the spot.
There are several instances where a worker continuously berates another person for something, without letting them getting a complete sentence in edgewise, and when the other person finally gets to speak, says something that completely disproves what the ranting worker was raving about. Like here.
A more tragic example here. A waitress brings a customer to tears by insulting the customer for being extremely thin, among other things, assuming that the customer is anorexic (or possibly bulimic). If the waitress had bothered to ask and not jump to conclusions, she would've learned that the customer was like that because she was hospitalized. One can only hope the (soon ex-)waitress felt REALLY awful after that. (Given that her prior assumptions were health-related, a Sustained Misunderstanding may be the more likely outcome.)
Another tragic example where two employees of a drugstore see a mom and her sick kid waiting outside the drugstore for it to open, and immediately assume she's a "crack whore" with a "crack baby". Nope, the kid has a bad fever, and neither the baby nor the mom were able to sleep as a result. Thankfully, a third worker, a parent himself, is far more understanding.
Perspective Flip: In a meta sense, this site is one for Not Always Right.
This employee is so used to people asking for a free replacement to a water-damaged phone (which is against the replacement policy) that it takes a minute before it registers that the customer is asking to purchase a replacement.
This theater worker replied with information regarding Twilight show times, despite the customer asking for tickets to The Hobbit. Presumably, she got questions about Twilight a lot.
Another instance of this ends with a customer deliberately dropping the wine bottle on the floor just to end the argument.
Anda third instance, though this one thankfully ends with the cashier realizing their mistake.
An entire series of reflexive responses, though the barista cuts himself off in the middle of each one the moment he realizes the customer has already given the answer. He then praises the customer for the "most coherent order ever."
Rule of Three: This patient with an asthma problem has to mention three times that she's allergic to certain drugs. At least none of the doctors present repeated their own previous mistake, but they should have been paying more attention to the chart.
"Sure, I'll... schedule my parents' anniversary for a different day next time." "That's more like it!"
This collector somehow failed to realize that the debtor's comment about having to start a meth lab to make the suggested payment (NZ$1000 per week, or about US$800) was not an option the debtor was seriously considering. To top it off, the collector somehow failed to realize the suggestion was illegal.
Sci Fi Ghetto:invokedThis bookstore seems to have fallen victim to it, much to the disappointment of both the customer and the employee.
This character seems to be under the impression this is the case for her, since her uncle's the assistant manager. Comes apart when the uncle in question fires her for her attitude.
This girl shows up to work in a factory and completely disregards the dress code there, wearing fancy clothes and refusing to wear steel-toed boots. Furthermore, she refuses to work on a machine because she'll get dirty and won't help with crates because she'll break a nail. As the entry states, she only lasted two days.
Separated by a Common Language: Taken Up to Elevenhere. The waitress looks at the British woman like she's speaking Mandarin Chinese, but when the British woman tries speaking in an American accent, the waitress understands her just fine.
This teacher refuses to let her students leave the class during a fire alarm because they're taking an exam. She would rather the students burn to death rather than leave an exam unfinished. Luckily the director came, got all the students out, and the teacher was fired and sued by the school.
This coworker prefers working electricity to a house.
This pizza delivery worker was involved in an auto accident that damaged property (including another person's car). The first thing he did? Borrow a neighbor's cell phone to call his job to make sure he wouldn't lose it, rather than check on the occupants of the car. This, among other acts (such as lying to police) eventually caused him to lose said job.
This guard is more worried about the fallout from an Ambulance Chaser than actually saving the person's life, to the point he actively tries to stop emergency services from doing so. Because interfering with emergency services is a serious crime, the obstructive behavior gets him a criminal record, which means he can no longer work as a security guard (or in many other jobs, for that matter).
This doctor puts patient turnover ahead of patients' well-being. "Dr. Jerk" would be insufficient to describe him.
This video game store cashier is disgusted when a girl walks in to retrieve a game. The game was for the girl's brother, but the cashier's disgust and remarks are, well, disgusting.
A bizarre case here where a female employee clearly believes that auto maintenance and repair is beyond a woman, but the male employee she summons clearly sees that in this case, the woman who had to pop the hood had things in hand.
Inverted here, when a man isn't employed because the worker thinks they're not as hard-working. As the story says, sexual discrimination laws go both ways.
Stories under the "Ignoring/Inattentive" (formerly "Not Listening") tag tend to be cases of this.
Taken to the extreme here. The caller tries to get her problem reassigned to another IT Manager, because the current one is on vacation. The helpdesk person repeatedly says that the away manager is already assigned to the case, and not once seems to understand what the caller is actually saying.
And here too. Apparently for these workers (and these workers as well), "I don't want to buy the wine" means "I want to buy the wine".
In response to a customer who has a malfunctioning debit card (on a Sunday, while on vacation), the bank employee not a few times says "just don't spend money", not seeming to get that this isn't an option, especially for that customer at that time.
This boss really doesn't seem to understand that when an employee quits, that's it; they don't work there anymore.
Here's one who doesn't know how to convert a "recipe" for a quart of paint to a gallon.note For those who don't use those measurements: just multiply everything by four.
You Can't Miss It: This receptionist gives directions from the current doctor's office to the office of a specialist for people with color-blind vision...citing landmarks by color. Thankfully, once the patient spells out the problem, the receptionist finally seems to realize what they were doing wrong.
Brand Name Takeover: Even extends into the animal kingdom. According to one student, a certain species of small green lizard is known as a Geico, not a gecko.
This student apparently has a habit of copying the answers from other students. It backfires when said student copies the answers off a classmate who doesn't have the same copy of the test that the cheater does.
Cloud Cuckoo Lander: "I thought about how it should really be ‘im-grapefruit-ment’ because grapefruits are sour and getting impeached would be a sour experience.” Er, okay then.
In this story, a student's partner asks if Mexico's official language is Mexican. The student assumes that he's joking and says yes, since it's not like they're doing this in a Spanish class, to which the partner replies with surprise at being right.
Deadpan Snarker: In response to a drama queen playing up a case of asthma (if she even has asthma) and claiming she could die if she doesn't get a drink of water, this teacher responds: "I think we can live with that."
Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: What this student was likely thinking when they made a snarky remark when the teacher commented about a news article about lewd websites.
I will not tolerate plagiarism! Now let's look at this PowerPoint presentation which has information I just copied from some other websites... (Apparently, the teacher got even worse as the year went on.)
Is That Cute Kid Yours?: It happens here, but the man helpfully points out that he and the woman he was with, along with the four kids they were supervising, were all from different countries, and they were wearing clothes that indicated that they were part of an international exchange project.
This professor tries to force a military veteran to move forward from the back of the classroom, and won't brook any argument. After the veteran leaves in disgust, one of the students (also disgusted with the professor's behavior) mentions that the veteran's uncle was the dean. The professor "resigned for personal reasons" a week later.
In this story, a student fails to recognize his professor and insults him, earning him an extra homework assignment. (To the student's credit, he actually does a half-decent job on the assignment. Lesson learned, we hope.)
This student doesn't seem to know what the word "vegan" entails. As the confusion seems to be combined with a misconception as to what is and is not an animal product, it also falls under Artistic License - Biology.
A young student objects to another person's use of "gay" (as a derogatory term along the lines of "stupid" or "annoying") along these lines.
is a website dedicated to stories of the stupid, ignorant, egotistical, funny and just plain mad customers whom retail staff across the world (well, mostly in the Anglo-sphere — since it's an English-only site) encounter. It can be a good example of Tropes that appear in Real Life. That being said, it is best to take most of it with a grain of salt.In 2011, the webmasters launched two sister sites: Not Always Romantic
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