September 3, 2026 at 6:35 pm

She Tried to Understand a Customer Who Just Kept Saying ‘Four’ — He Mocked Her English and Complained About Her

by Heather Hall

Woman boxing up pastries at a bakery

Pexels/Reddit

It’s hard to help someone when they refuse to explain what they actually want. Today, we’ll meet a retail worker who learned that lesson the hard way after a customer walked in and simply requested “four.”

When the employee asked what he meant, the man just kept pointing vaguely at a large section of the store. Eventually, she figured out which product he wanted. But instead of appreciating the help, the customer asked whether she even knew English and complained that she talked too much.

Read on to see exactly how the interaction played out.

“You have bad customer service”

Customer comes in: “I want 4.”

Me: “Hi, what would you like?”

Customer: “I want 4.”

Me: “What would you like?”

Unfortunately, the customer’s request was very vague.

Customer: “4.”

Me: “Well, I have many products. Which 4 would you like?”

Customer: “That one,” proceeds to point vaguely at half the store.

Me: “Well, I have this called @, this called #, this is $, and this & over here.”

Then, the customer asked a ridiculous question.

Customer: “That.”

And the cycle continues. When I finally figure out what the customer wants:

Customer: “Do you not know English?”

Me, speaking clear, accent-less English as I try to figure out what you want and upsell other products at the same time: “I do know English, but you were pointing at almost half my store.”

Apparently, the customer just doesn’t like talking.

Customer: “You have bad customer service. You talk too much.”

Me thinking, well, what else was I supposed to do? I could have sold you 4 of everything you were pointing at. Was that what you wanted?

But that would have been way too much work for me just to make a point to you, who doesn’t care and is probably being annoying on purpose since you know English so much better than me.

Wow! He just couldn’t be bothered to be more specific.

Let’s take a look at what the readers over at Reddit think about it.

Could he be any more vague?

Vague Instructions 3 She Tried to Understand a Customer Who Just Kept Saying Four — He Mocked Her English and Complained About Her

It sounds like he checks to see if they’re in stock before asking.

Vague Instructions 2 She Tried to Understand a Customer Who Just Kept Saying Four — He Mocked Her English and Complained About Her

The place seems like it was too small for this to be the gimmick.

Vague Instructions 1 She Tried to Understand a Customer Who Just Kept Saying Four — He Mocked Her English and Complained About Her

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a customer who tried to skip the checkout line but didn’t get their way.

This could be true.

Vague Instructions She Tried to Understand a Customer Who Just Kept Saying Four — He Mocked Her English and Complained About Her

He must’ve done that on purpose. There’s no way someone would act like that for real. He barely even explained what he wanted, yet somehow expected the cashier to read his mind.

Then, to make everything even worse, he had the nerve to insult the employee. Some people are so unbelievable.

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Heather Hall | Contributing Writer, Life & Drama

Heather Hall is a contributing writer for TwistedSifter specializing in internet culture, workplace conflict, and viral customer service stories. With over a decade of editorial experience in digital publishing, Heather excels at curating trending online discussions and providing insightful commentary on the daily dramas that capture the internet's attention.

Since beginning her career in 2011, she has developed deep expertise in SEO-driven digital content, having written for a wide array of publications covering lifestyle, business, and travel. At TwistedSifter, Heather focuses on synthesizing complex social media threads into engaging, highly readable narratives that highlight the human element of viral news.

When she isn’t analyzing the latest internet discourse, Heather is a dedicated mother of three sons who takes family gaming nights entirely too seriously—whether she is dominating in Mario Kart, exploring The Legend of Zelda, or jumping into Roblox.

Connect with Heather on Facebook and LinkedIn.