Working retail means absorbing other people’s frustration for things that are often not your fault, and sometimes for things that are entirely their own doing.

A college student working at an automotive parts chain got a front row seat to that reality when a customer walked in with a shredded can of gasket maker in a Ziploc baggie, claiming it was defective.

The real story? He had destroyed it trying to get the sealant out. So one the employe patiently read the label and explained how to use it, the customer was forced to admit their mistake.

This one is quick, painless and the ending is exactly what you want it to be.

Customer claims product is defective, destroys it, and then learns how to read instructions.

Worked for a large automotive parts chain in college.

A customer came in with a shredded can of gasket maker in a Ziploc baggie.

This customer seemed to have quite the chip on his shoulder.

He was complaining it was defective and that he’d had to bust open the can to get the sealant out to complete the repair.

I grabbed one off the shelf, brought it back to the counter, twisted the top, and tried to squirt a little out.

No luck.

“See! That one’s bad, too! I bet the others on the shelf are bad, too!”

At this point, he full-on lost his marbles.

He ran to the shelf and, holding one can up after another, screamed, “Bad! Bad! Bad! They are all bad!”

I looked at the can in my hand.

This college student soon realized the customer didn’t actually know what the living heck he was talking about.

*Twist top clockwise — that is, down — to apply product.*

I twisted the top down, pulled the trigger, and the sealant came right out.

I told the customer, “Hey, come here real quick.”

I showed him how to operate the can.

He looked at me sheepishly.

Finally, the customer realized his mistake.

“Oh.”

“Do you want this can or do you want another one?”

“I’ll take the new one.”

I processed the return for his destroyed can, citing the reason as defective.

Luckily, this college student still gave this customer some grace.

It may not have been defective when he purchased it, but it certainly doesn’t work now after what he did to it.

In all fairness, screwing the top down like you are closing it to get the product out is counterintuitive.

And I understand his frustration.

I would be ticked, too, if I was under my car, half torn apart, and something wasn’t working like I thought it should.

Hey, we all make mistakes.

If you enjoyed this post, check out this story about a hardware store employee who lost his cool with customers wandering around after closing time.

What did Reddit have to say?

Actually reading the instructions seems like sort of an underrated skill.

Some people just need to be shown they’re wrong.

Other customers would rather inconvenience themselves than admit they were wrong.

Moving through this world takes a certain amount of humility.

Reading the label before destroying the product is good general advice, and this story makes the case for it more efficiently than most.

The customer arrived certain the product was broken, convinced an employee it might be broken, and nearly staged a full product recall in the aisle before a two second look at the directions resolved the whole situation.

His frustration may have been valid, but his method was not. And the employee who processed a defective return on a can that the customer had personally shredded deserves recognition for the grace of that decision.

Reading the directions really is an underrated skill.