Sometimes the hardest part of retail isn’t the work itself but the horrible customers who come into the store.

One employee learned that the hard way when a customer refused to pay a simple fee and tried to pin the blame on her.

But all the mistreatment ended up teaching her a very important lesson about leadership.

Read on for the full story!

First week, and was told I was incompetent by a customer lol.

This happened a few years ago when I used to work for a shipping/retail center. The company would also rent out computers for customers who want to use them.

I remember it was rush hour, and I had just finished helping a guest do an international shipment and guided them through proper documentation.

So in came the worst possible customer for that moment.

That’s when a lady, who was about to walk out after using a computer without paying, was called back by the manager.

She looked at me and pointed the blame at me, telling me that it was my fault for not informing her about the charge. (By the way, there’s a considerable poster in front of each computer stating the procedure and how much it costs.)

This lady absolutely refused to be reasoned with.

I couldn’t even talk since she immediately started screaming and saying I offered the worst service and that I was pretty pathetic.

The manager offered to waive the fee, but she then said she wasn’t broke and was only upset because she wasn’t informed about the cost. (Meanwhile, three other staff members were in the back just talking.)

So before finally leaving, she decided to try and get this employee in trouble.

Before she left, I was told again that I had given the worst service ever.

So when the employee moved up the rank, she used experiences like this to inform her own management style.

I eventually became in charge of that center, and I made sure all my staff were treated correctly and with respect.

One of my staff had the same experience I once had, and I personally told the customer about the proper procedure of waiting for a staff member to help them rather than taking initiative with something they didn’t understand.

I was hated for sure, but at least all my staff knew that I appreciated and cared for them.

She knew he wasn’t in the wrong, and that would have to be enough.

What did Reddit think?

Life is all about having your intelligence questioned by people who definitely have no business doing so.

As far as this commenter is concerned, the story worked out exactly how it was supposed to.

Maybe feeling under-appreciated is just one unfortunate part of working retail.

This commenter isn’t fooled for one second.

Looking back, this customer’s rage was ridiculous, but at least it ended up teaching her an important lesson.

If you liked that post, check out this post about a woman who tracked down a contractor who tried to vanish without a trace.