Confusing packaging can make a working product look completely broken.

A frustrated customer brought back a sealant can he had ripped apart to finish his repair.

After declaring every replacement defective, he watched an employee use the printed directions correctly.

His response was one quiet word.

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

I worked for a large automotive parts chain in college.

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

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

This man tried to twist the sealant cap, but to no avail.

I grabbed one off the shelf and brought it back to the counter.

I 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!”

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

But then, he read the instructions.

I looked at the can in my hand. Twist top clockwise [read: 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. “Oh.”

He gave the customer a new can and processed the return for the “defective” can.

“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 being defective.

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

He understood the customer’s frustration.

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

I understand his frustration.

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

Let’s check out the comments of other people on Reddit to this story.

Here’s a similar story from this user.

This person shares their personal thoughts.

This person commends them for good customer service.

Lol. Short and funny.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an IT employee who thought a ticket was closed, only to hear otherwise from the client’s manager.

Finally, here’s a similar thought.

This customer destroyed his first sealant can because he didn’t realize the top needed twisting downward before use.

The employee calmly demonstrated the correct method and still exchanged the badly damaged product for a new one.

He inspected every part of the cans except the instruction label.