There’s no handbook for handling every customer perfectly, no matter how much experience someone has.

A brief interaction over a simple “hi” became a surprising lesson in how nit-picky customer expectations can be.

And it left one retail worker wondering how small talk could go so wrong.

You’ll want to read on for this harrowing tale from retail.

Customer was disappointed I responded with “yes?” instead of “hi”

So I was walking around the section of the popular retail chain I was assigned to, just recovering fixtures that were a mess and putting items back where they belong.

And then like a Pokémon in the wild, a rude customer spawns.

As I was walking around finding tasks to complete, a customer approaches me and says “hi.” I respond with “yes?”

This, apparently, was the wrong thing to say.

She repeats her “hi,” and I repeat my “yes?” about two or three more times until she snaps at me and says, “When I say hi to you, at least say hi back.”

So I reluctantly say hi back now that she’s visibly upset.

And this customer or two has a thing or two to say about it.

She proceeds to tell me I need to work on my customer service skills. She ultimately says she will find another associate to answer her question, as I’ve provided poor customer service.

This left the associate baffled, as they usually took pride in doing their job well.

I was so confused by this, as the way I responded to her is no different than how I interact with other customers, and I sure as heck had no intention of coming off as rude.

I ultimately informed a manager of what happened, and she thought the customer was being a bit dramatic, as I responded to her—but she expected a specific response which I failed to deliver.

And my manager even noted that it sounded like she really wanted me to say hi to her.

Regardless, the associate took the experience as a learning experience.

Ultimately, from now on, if a customer specifically says hi to me, I will make sure to respond with “hi” before saying anything else.

I’m taking this as a learning experience, as I don’t ever want any customer to think I don’t want to help or I’m not interested.

It may have been a frustrating lesson, but it was a useful one.

What did Reddit think?

Even the best customer service in the world will still fail to make some customers happy.

It’s amazing the power rude customers have to change some retail associates’ behavior.

Many retail workers have found it much easier to find a script that works and stick to it.

Some customers want the complete opposite of a warm welcome.

Working a customer service job means being made to respond with warmth, even when the customer is ice cold.

At the end of the day, some customers don’t want help — they want a performance.

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.