Sometimes, being a service worker means you have to deal with some real characters.

Take for example this one Redditor’s story about a man who wants to make a return in the rudest way possible.

The cashier holds it together despite the customer’s inappropriate comments and request.

See the story below for more details.

No receipt? Try your birth certificate.

I run the cashier team at a larger retailer with a small coffee shop that is owned by another company but staffed by us.

On weekends, their manager doesn’t work. So any time they need a manager, I end up swinging over to handle the issue.

But then, this Saturday in particular happened…

It’s a hectic Saturday, and when I glance over to the coffee register, I notice that there seems to be a line forming.

One of the employees comes over and asks for assistance with a return, which she knows how to do herself so I can already sense an issue.

(“M” is me, and the idiot customer is “IC”)

M: What seems to be the issue today?

IC: My wife bought two drinks yesterday. One of them was incorrect, so I would like it remade.

M: You would like to purchase another? We can do that.

That’s right. This customer wanted a refund for a drink they had already drank.

IC: No, I’m not paying for it.

M: Well, I’d need a receipt, the card, and the drink in order to help you today, sir.

IC: But, my wife bought it. I don’t have it.

M: Then, there’s not a lot I can do to help you today.

But, what the customer says next is STUNNING.

IC: Do you have your birth certificate?

I can sense that he’s alluding to something about proving citizenship, which isn’t even a good allegory for what amounted to his attempted theft.

That’s when the OP came up with a genius response.

Normally, I’m a very helpful person, but in this instance absolute snark seemed to fill my body. I took a deep breath, smiled, looked him straight in the eye, and said —

“Yes, I do. It’s at home for when I need it. But, I’m also not trying to return myself to the hospital.”

He shut up, bought his coffee, and left.

Does Reddit have stories like this? What was that guy’s deal? Let’s see what the comments are saying, to get a better idea.

One Redditor called it like they saw it.

Another was just plain confused.

People echoed this confusion.

And others commended the OP on their response.

This customer deserved every bit of snark they got.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a customer who insists that their credit card works, and finds out that isn’t the case.