Dealing with the public is truly an experience. That’s especially true if you work right on the front lines. Jobs like retail or food service often involve talking to customers. You meet wonderful people there, for sure, and this does happen. But you also encounter the other kind. Those people sometimes make you question common sense. They really challenge basic human decency.
Everyone has heard wild stories about customer problems. There are legends of impossible returns and odd complaints as well. But sometimes reality is just weirder than the tales. We found a forum where workers shared their craziest customer scams. Let me tell you—get ready for this.
These attempts ranged from using trash cans to price tag guns. Simple yet bold lies also featured prominently on the list. These stories show how creative people can be when trying to get free stuff. Prepare to feel secondhand embarrassment. You might even laugh out loud. Some of you might have experienced this yourself. Here are some unbelievable customer scam attempts that people shared.
1. **The Fake Fingernail in Sushi Scam**: Imagine you are enjoying a sushi dinner. Maybe you just celebrated a friend’s birthday party. The atmosphere was good that evening. Your company was really great too. Then, suddenly, one person decides it’s time for a performance. A guest saw an opportunity then. Or maybe the citrus garnish on the plate inspired them.
Instead of enjoying the nice taste of that orange slice, this individual picked up some rind from the plate. Their plan was to turn the fruit peel into a prop for a questionable show. This bit of leftover citrus peel became central; it became the key to getting a free meal easily. That took real guts from them.
The boldness appeared when they showed the rind. They didn’t present it as simple garbage but as something awful—supposedly a soft fingernail found in the dinner. The person telling the story saw through this immediately. They knew the customer’s game right away. The customer even announced their plan loudly, telling the whole table their goal clearly: “I’m going to get my meal for free now.” Then they asked for the manager next. You almost have to admire the nerve they showed, although it’s certainly not ethical.
2. **Attempted Return of Clearly Used Dinnerware**: Sometimes a scammer’s confidence is just confusing. A cashier needed their manager quickly because they needed help with a customer who had requested the manager. What followed was a smooth-talking example. The customer tried to return many dinnerware pieces and also wanted to return cutlery items. The employee clearly stated that everything looked used.
The customer had a well-prepared story. They said their party plans had just fallen apart. Getting around the store’s policy, which was ‘exchange-only, no cash refunds,’ was tricky. They claimed to have called ahead and said they had already obtained an exception. They insisted that the manager had agreed over the phone before their arrival. It was a perfectly executed performance, delivered with total confidence.
This is where things got really weird. That dishonest person didn’t know who they were talking to. They were completely unaware that they were speaking to the actual manager. The manager acted calmly at first glance and then asked the customer not to move. The manager took their photograph there and then. Can you believe the customer actually smiled for it? After that odd moment of having their picture taken, things changed rapidly. The manager informed them that gathering used items was necessary and that they had to leave without a refund or exchange. The customer wanted to argue their case, but the manager quickly put a stop to it. They said they were the highest-ranking manager on duty at that time. To top it all off, the picture was sent to other locations, flagging this ‘bullshit artist’ for other stores.
3. **The Storage Unit Non-Payer Demanding Access**: Storage units work pretty simply for you. You pay for the space you need, and they give you access to it. This simple idea wasn’t for everyone. One worker shared a customer’s story. This person rented a unit with no down payment. Then, they paid absolutely nothing for four months. Yes, you read that surprising detail correctly. They literally never paid a single dime.
Despite not paying for so long, the customer eventually appeared there anyway. Were they coming to settle their big debt? Nope, that wasn’t the reason. They came in demanding entry immediately, wanting access to empty their things. The sheer audacity shown was something else—it was impressive in its awful way, too.
Their demands got loud fast. They were screaming very loudly, insisting on the contact details for the boss. They even wanted the contact number of the boss’s boss. Their reason for all this anger? They claimed the facility had no right to keep them locked out. They said it was wrong and threatened to call corporate headquarters immediately. They also said they would get the worker fired (assuming “me” refers to the worker telling the story). As if owing rent gave them any rights here. They ended their rant with a statement, saying they would take their stuff and leave forever. Honestly, after four months of free storage, that’s small potatoes for the company now.
4. **The Shelf-Swap Return Scam**: This particular scam is a classic plan. It is simple and exploits a store rule. It also relies on busy store environments. The routine for it goes like this: A customer buys something honestly at first. They take the item home with them. So far, everything seems perfectly fine. The first transaction is completely proper, anyway. They leave the store with their purchase and receipt as well.
But the story changes a day later. The customer returns to the store. They bring their receipt with them. However, they do not bring the purchased item back. They walk right into the store aisles, look around, and find the same item. They grab it right off the shelf.
Their next step is to take this item to the counter. This item, as you can see, belongs to the store. They show the receipt for the item they kept at home. They claim they are returning the shelf item they just took. By doing this, they get a refund. They still have the original item at home. This allows them to get the item for free. It is indeed a clever trick. It assumes that the return desk only checks the items listed on the receipt.
5. **The High-Value Wine Barcode Swap**: Working at a big liquor store can always be surprising, especially when customers get clever with prices. One employee encountered a customer bringing in a bottle of wine. It was a bottle of Penfolds Bin 798 Shiraz. If you know wine, you’ll know this one isn’t cheap. But scanning it showed a price of only $3.99. Instead, it described a small cleanskin chardonnay. Something felt off right away.
The employee admitted that paying close attention was rare. They rarely watched exactly what was being scanned. But $3.99 for a large Penfolds red was an incredibly low price. The description didn’t match the size and type. A small white wine versus a large red wine screamed “error.” Upon closer inspection, the employee figured it out. They saw the customer’s smart but illegal method then.
The customer had printed a fake barcode at home and stuck it right over the real one, clearly. This was a way to self-discount a high-value bottle, reducing its value from 185 dollars to pocket change. When caught and challenged, the customer ran. They bolted right out of the store entrance. The employee thought about it later. Maybe a cheaper Penfolds barcode would have worked, like a 15-dollar Koonunga Hill label, perhaps. They admitted that they likely wouldn’t have noticed then. The incident made them more careful from then on.
6. **The ‘Chipped Glass’ Freebie Attempt**: Sometimes, scams don’t just involve customers against businesses. They can also involve businesses against businesses, or even employees against vendors, you know. Here’s a wild story from a glass installer. The installer recently finished a job, installing new glass on a meat case display. The work was completed perfectly and quickly. It was done without a hitch in under 30 minutes total, which included carefully taking the case apart.
The issue started with the store manager. This person needed to sign off on the completion of the work. According to the installer, the manager arrived and, without even looking closely at the glass, claimed it already had a chip. This immediately raised suspicions for him. When asked where the chip was located, the manager pointed at a spot. But the installer looked very closely, took a picture for proof, and stated firmly that the glass was not chipped at all. Despite this, the manager wanted him to lie, asking him to say that it had chipped during the installation work. The installer refused completely.
Refusing to sign unless the installer committed fraud, the manager left him no other choice. He had to call his supervisor quickly. The supervisor was informed of everything that was happening, and it was documented completely for records. The problem was escalated up the company chain, including to the manager’s bosses. The important point was that nobody saw any damage—not even the manager who was claiming it. They couldn’t find any damage on the glass. The manager kept emailing requests for free glass but kept forgetting to ask for the removal of the old glass. She just wanted a freebie, plain and simple. The final thing that proved her lie? The glass was made of tempered material. If it had chipped like she said, it would have shattered everywhere. Case closed on that attempt to get a freebie.
7. **The IT Department’s Fake Work Laptop Brigade**: If you work in IT, you’ve probably seen everything. But this kind of scam attempt repeats constantly. According to an IT worker there, you have no idea how many times people try this. The setup is quite simple to execute. Bring your own computer from home and try to pass it off as company property later, saying it suddenly stopped working.
The claim is always something vague, you know. Like, “It just stopped working completely.” But the evidence tells a different story—a frankly funny one. These aren’t sleek new work machines. Oh no, they really aren’t.
The IT employee described typical machines. An 8-year-old laptop running Vista was common. Yes, you read that right—Vista, still. And the contents were always amazing! Literally hundreds of pirated videos and music files were found.
And cutely but accusingly, cat pictures were set as the desktop wallpaper. Taped-up chargers often accompanied it, clearly showing it was a personal machine. The funniest part is users claiming the company gave it to them, even when they only started working last year. It takes nerve to show this machine, which is clearly personal and old, and it also easily breaks the rules.
Expecting IT to fix it for free is crazy. They weren’t fooling anyone with that trick.
8. **The Staged Slip-and-Fall Caught on Camera**: Some scams feel quite subtle to people. Others are, well, much less so. Take the classic slip-and-fall incident. It’s always a favorite for some people. One cleaner at a mall shared this story. A customer decided to stage a fall there. Allegedly, they slipped on a wet floor spot. The customer’s story depended on one key thing.
They claimed no warning sign was present, that there was no sign letting people know cleaning had happened recently. This sounds like a good basis for a legal claim. It paints a picture of negligence. Maybe the cleaning staff were careless, or the mall itself was at fault. Without proof otherwise, it causes issues. Such a claim could definitely cause headaches.
However, malls have many eyes watching. Specifically, CCTV cameras are everywhere. And this customer’s performance was filmed. It was captured completely on camera. The video didn’t show an accidental fall happening. It showed a planned action instead. The footage clearly showed her moving a sign. She moved a yellow warning sign away first. She deliberately removed the very thing she said was missing. Immediately after moving that sign away, the video showed her lying down right there. Then she suddenly acted like she had just slipped. The camera never lies, you know. It showed the whole thing was a fake setup.
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