In customer service jobs, boundaries are routinely bulldozed by customers who seem to think the world revolves around them.

One employee had been looking forward to their break all day, but right before they were about to close the break room door, the universe decided to throw at them perhaps the worst possible customer to ever exist.

Keep reading to find out how it all played out.

I don’t care if you’re starving! The customer always comes first!

It’s 2 PM today, and I am starving.

I’m just coming back from the fast food joint down the street, and I’m walking toward the break room with my food in hand, hoping to enjoy a quiet, peaceful lunch to re-energize myself so I can continue dealing with the endless waves of snarky customers that my workplace is notorious for attracting.

But this break didn’t go as planned at all.

As I’m getting to the door, this blonde woman, around her 50s, begins to follow me (I can feel her following me), and she starts doing that “pssst!” noise that is so freaking annoying. She continues about three times or so, but I ignore her—since, you know, I am not a dog or anything.

After she realizes I’m not going to react to her summons, the conversation goes a little something like this:

This woman refused to be ignored.

Woman: Ex-CUUUUUUUUUUUSE ME!!!

Me: Oh, sorry ma’am, I’m on break right now. But let me get one of the other employees to help you out.

But that wasn’t good enough for her.

At this point, I begin to reach for my walkie-talkie to call someone to the aisle for help, but she isn’t having any of it.

Woman: WHAAAAAAAAAAT?! I will NOT be treated like this! I am a valued customer and I demand to be treated as such! You will provide your service to me RIGHT NOW and that is THAT! No questions asked!

He continues to try and reason with her, but she’s having none of it.

Me: Ma’am, I would be happy to help you, but my lunch break is only 30 minutes and—

Woman: I don’t give a ****! I don’t care if you’re starving! The customer always comes first!

At this point, I didn’t even retaliate. I just turned around and ignored her as I walked into the break room with my key and shut the door behind me.

Then she does something even more unbelievable.

She began to angrily pound on it for a few seconds until she finally stopped, presumably because a co-worker came to the rescue.

I later found out that she complained to the manager.

Unfortunately, the manager didn’t have his back.

Of course, the manager simply brown-nosed her and told her that I would be “dealt with,” as an employee should “never refuse service to a customer” even if they are on break.

This supposedly applies even if I call another employee over the walkie for help.

He wonders how much longer he can cope with this awful job.

Honestly, I’m just venting. I’m getting sick and freaking tired of this company and the management.

Especially the customers though.

The fallout of this story proves just how little support retail workers actually get.

What did Reddit think?

Purposely infringing on someone’s break is actually against the rules in some places.

There are sometimes protections in place that end up shielding workers from some of bad customers’ nonsense.

Human decency goes both ways — or at least it should.

All he wanted was thirty minutes to eat in peace, but instead he got yelled at, berated and punished for daring to take a break.

Ignoring the customer’s tantrum was easier, but stomaching management’s total betrayal was much harder to take.

If you liked that post, check out this story about a guy who was forced to sleep on the couch at his wife’s family’s house, so he went to a hotel instead.