If customer service workers had a dollar for every strange interaction they’ve had, they’d all be millionaires. But this particular interaction left a lasting impression on one Home Depot employee.

An odd color match request turned into a petty grudge, a chance encounter at another home improvement store months later provided the perfect opportunity for payback.

Read on for the full story!

A customer was being extremely rude and condescending to me at my retail job… Ran into him months later at his own retail job.

Years ago, I worked at Home Depot in the paint department and we did color matches.

At the tail end of a busy night, someone comes in wanting a color match which is no problem at all.

The request was quite unusual.

However, this gentleman wanted a color match from a random Home Depot sign that was bolted into a metal counter.

After I told him that there was no way for me to unbolt the sign to color match it he got ticked and said he would go to Lowe’s because, according to him, they would do it there.

The employee wasn’t exactly following.

My response was “so your going to go to Lowe’s to get a color match of a Home Depot sign thats bolted down inside of Home Depot?”

A few people in line laughed at him and he walked away angry.

Luckily, a co-worker overhears his plan to retaliate.

I get a call from a coworker who overheard the customer telling someone on their cellphone that they would place a large order closer to our close time and not pick it up.

20 minutes later, he places an order for like 40 gallons and requested specifically that they be made in 40 individual gallon buckets rather than eight 5 gallon buckets.

The employee wasn’t falling for it.

I grabbed a few cases of paint, but I didn’t prepare any because, as he promised, he left without picking them up.

Fast forward maybe 3 months later, I’m in Lowes wasting time while my car gets fixed and I run into the same guy and it looks like he was the only person staffed in this big area of the store.

Sensing an opportunity, the employee acts quickly.

I grabbed a shopping cart and started looking for items on the shelf without product.

I made him follow me around and requested at least 2 cases of each item that was empty on the shelf.

He had to get a ladder and a scanner and he was working up quite a sweat.

The employee made sure to take up as much of his time as possible.

I kept hearing him getting paged but he had to keep telling the people paging him that he’s still with a customer.

After maybe 2 hours, my car was ready.

He’s been waiting to say these words…

I informed the employee that my car was ready and, after doing the math, I’m going to get the supplies from Home Depot.

I advised him he could just put everything back and that I’d tell management he gave me great service.

He had to get another ladder and put everything back up in the overheads because I had him get me more items than would go on the shelves.

You’ll never guess who he sees again one day…

Ran into the same guy at my job a few months later and immediately took my lunch break.

I informed management under no circumstances could I assist him because I had personal issues with him outside of work.

This customer quickly learned that pettiness begets more pettiness.

What did Reddit think?

Hindsight’s always 20-20.

This drama is way too good not to televise.

Certain stores tend to draw certain crowds.

This confused commenter isn’t following the logic.

After this debacle, it’s safe to say neither can comfortably set foot in their rival’s stores again.

What goes around, comes around.

If you enjoyed that story, read this one about a mom who was forced to bring her three kids with her to apply for government benefits, but ended up getting the job of her dreams.