Some customers believe “the customer is always right” means reality should bend on command.

One employee spent far too long explaining an out-of-stock TV to a customer who insisted on a physical search anyway.

So with help from his manager, the employee devised a clever plan to keep the customer waiting while he enjoyed a well-deserved lunch break.

Keep reading for the full story!

You want me to check the stock room? Sure just wait here a minute…

So I was working in the TV department when a customer came up and asked me to check the stock on a particular model.

No problem — I checked the system and saw that it was showing out of stock in-store and at the distribution centre, with stock due to return in a couple of days.

The retail worker made the mistake of trying to explain this to the customer, who immediately erupted into a rage.

I explained this to the customer, who immediately went into a tirade of entitled moaning about “this is not what I expect from DEPARTMENT STORE” and “if it’s out of stock, why is it still on display?”

I explained that the store sells upwards of 50 different models of televisions, and if we had to remove each one that went out of stock, there’d be no staff left to serve anyone. This just annoyed the customer even more.

No matter what the employee said, this customer just wouldn’t listen.

Anyway, it got to the point where, despite me explaining the TV would be back in stock in two days and offering viable alternative models — some with better specs for less money — the customer was determined to get that particular TV today.

He started demanding that I go and check the stock room. “Surely you must have one? This is ridiculous, how can you tell you don’t have any without physically checking,” etc., etc.

I can’t describe to you how incredibly entitled and rude this customer was, even by the DEPARTMENT STORE’s usual standards, and he really started to wind me up.

The employee watched the clock as their precious lunch break started to pass him by.

By this point, I’d been with this customer for a fairly long time explaining that I can’t just magic a TV out of thin air for him. I was already 15 minutes overdue for my lunch break.

I could see my manager — who had been listening to this whole conversation — waiting to tell me to go on break, so I explained to the customer that I was going to talk to my manager and then come back to him.

My manager was a down-to-earth guy and a good friend of mine.

So he decided to get this manager involved.

I explained that the customer was asking me to check the stock room, and that I was already late for my 45-minute break, so together we formed a plan.

I returned to the customer and explained that the stock room was on the third floor of the building and contained hundreds of different TVs, which would take a while to search.

So when the customer yet again demands he check the stock room, this time, the employee agrees.

The customer was adamant that I check the stock room for his particular model, as that was the service he expected from DEPARTMENT STORE, and if not, he would be complaining.

With a spring in my step, I asked the customer to wait there while I went up to check if there was any in the stock room, and I swiftly left the department.

But he was actually planning to do something quite different.

As pre-agreed with my manager, I then proceeded to go on my 45-minute lunch break. I had a Subway, did a bit of clothes shopping, got some snacks for the team for when I went back to work, and generally took my time strolling around the town centre.

I then returned to work at the end of my break, went to the third-floor warehouse (via the stairs, not the lift), straight to the shelf where the customer’s TV was meant to be, and sure enough, there wasn’t any there.

He really took his time doing everything but looking for this nonexistent TV.

I then strolled back down three flights of stairs, stopped for a glass of water, had a couple of chats with some colleagues, and then returned to the TV department well over an hour after leaving the customer.

He was still standing there, exactly where I left him, looking extremely ticked off.

This retail worker put on an act for the customer, which made him even madder.

I approached the customer “out of breath” and explained that I’d checked every TV in the warehouse and his one wasn’t there.

At that point, he erupted into a rage of rich-person shouting, asking to speak to a manager and saying I’d wasted his time by making him wait so long.

Luckily, the manager was there to back him up.

My manager then walked over, introduced himself, and explained that he had heard the entire conversation and that I had already explained there were hundreds of TVs upstairs, meaning it would take a while.

The customer looked as if he was about to explode with rage, but realized that he had caused the wasted hour of his own life, stormed out of the shop, and, as far as I am aware, never did get that TV.

The customer finally had to accept reality.

What did Reddit think?

Having a supportive manager can really make or break a job.

Customers often don’t realize just how much their attitude affects their outcome.

Rich people are often known for being unreasonably angry.

Many customers just can’t take “no” for an answer.

What should’ve taken two minutes turned into a full lesson in stubbornness.

The TV was out of stock, and so was this employee’s patience.

If you liked that post, check this one about a guy who got revenge on his condo by making his own Christmas light rules.