The Customer Is Always Wrong

An Unhinged Guide to Everything That Sucks About Work (from an Angry Retail Guy)

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Pub Date Sep 10 2024 | Archive Date Sep 24 2024

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Description

Customers want you to magically produce something from the back room. Bosses schedule you on your day off. Corporate policies are mandated that make zero practical sense. Sound familiar?

If you've ever worked in customer service (or any job, really), you know that everyone else—the customer, the boss, the company—is always right, and never the employee. Well, lucky for you, the "Angry Retail Guy" is more furious—and funnier—than ever in this hilariously unhinged guide to all the things we wish we could say out loud at work . . . without getting fired. In The Customer Is Always Wrong, you'll laugh (and maybe cry) at this rant-filled, illustrated attack on all the frustrating things that suck about work.

Expanding on the ire-filled, laugh-out-loud viral videos that have made him a (whispered) workplace name, Scott Seiss joyfully eviscerates not only overbearing customers but every annoying aspect of work like purposeless job interview questions, debatable brand values, and the walking human trainwrecks that are our bosses. Scott guides you all the way from first applying to the job, to inevitably gritting your teeth and smiling on your last day when that one manager you despise says, “Come back and visit us!”

The Customer Is Always Wrong is for anyone who:

  • Is tired of their "raise" being as close as scientifically possible to 0 percent
  • Wants to tell their boss that not even the self-checkout machines want to work here
  • Is prepared to tell the next customer who asks to see the manager that the manager has no idea what's going on either
  • Calls in sick whenever their PTO request is denied
  • Believes entering a store five minutes before it closes should be illegal
  • Explains, on a weekly basis, why someone can't use a coupon that expired 17 years ago
  • Is physically repulsed by the phrase, "At this company, we're a family. . . ."

 

This tongue-in-cheek commiseration for workers will make you laugh out loud at the things that drive you crazy in the workplace. With Scott's signature rants, funny anecdotes, and absurd musings, this book celebrates and empowers underpaid and overworked employees with an uproarious, illustrated ode to what we really think about our jobs and the customers that come with them (except the ones who read this book, of course).

Customers want you to magically produce something from the back room. Bosses schedule you on your day off. Corporate policies are mandated that make zero practical sense. Sound familiar?

If you've...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781400247264
PRICE $22.99 (USD)
PAGES 208

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Average rating from 55 members


Featured Reviews

I received a free ARC, and this review is voluntary

The author examines the workplace, and our relation to it, through hilarious observations, and the real life issues and nuances that many of us deal with it on a daily basis. From the application process to being on the job, no aspect is left out of the commentary presented.

Knowing how tough it is out there for many folks, and the ridiculousness that comes with this whole scheme of finding employment, for money that vanishes upon contact because our bills keep going up but the hourly rate doesn't. There is a certain level of absurd here, and the author does an amazing job in conveying how embracing that absurd can provide some comedy in a much needed time.

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I usually don't read a lot of humor, but this one hit right. When I could relate, I definitely related. It hit home and it was nice to see some thoughts that we may have shared! Definitely an argument for workers rights written by someone who has suffered in the working class written in a humourous way.

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Thank you NetGalley and Harper Celebrate for this arc!

4/5 stars

I LOVED the "Angry Ikea Guy" videos but he completely dropped off my radar for some time, and I'm glad to see he has this hilarious and far too relatable book out now! This is full of the things you wish you could say to the idiotic and mundane things said to you by customers, employers, and potential employers, and it honestly brings me much joy lol. I worked for FAR TOO LONG in different big box retail locations and other corporations, and oh man this brought back a lot of memories 🤣😭💀💀💀💀 The sarcastic replies in this are gold, and past overworked underpaid depressed me is LIVING FOR THEM LOL

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This is one of those books that needs to be taken lightly. If taken as a joke, it is affirming in navigating the complex world of customer and patron-facing jobs. Much of the comics, paragraphs, and lists will resonate with millennials and Gen-alphas alike. I would recommend this as a humorous read for folks feeling skeptical, but still willing to see the fun (??) in living in a capitalist and highly structured society.

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I heard about this book and knew I just had to read it! It did not disappoint. I laughed at several pages and know others will, too.

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This had me cracking up! I worked in retail and I don't know how many times I wanted to "punch" someone in the face because of their attitude towards me as the cashier. I think everyone will enjoy this book to some extent because we all know and have seen the customers that think they are always right!

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This book was extremely relatable and hilarious! I would love a book where there was more comic book esq. storytelling because it was hilarious!

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I loved this book! It was hilarious! The book I was so relatable to my everyday struggles in the corporate world. No one loves their job, it’s nice to relax and read about the issues that we all face when working. I agree the customers are always wrong!

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It's strange to say I apricate the rage of this title, but I did! This book also made me laugh many times because I remember a lot of these exact frustration points with my own job search. For example, why am I imputing my resume details twice, again? The point about waiting for one's monetization of a hobby to take off was also on point for this current working era. Give this book a try! It might not be for everyone, but I think many people with less than ideal jobs will feel seen in their many hatted positions, but they're only getting paid to for one of them.

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This book is great! I worked retail for 23 years so it really hit home with me. It was so funny and full of those things you wish you could have said! Anyone that has worked retail would enjoy this. The application part was great, I once didn't get hired because when asked what my previous boss said was an area I needed to improve I told him they never said I needed to improve! Oh the service industry is rough and everyone needs to work in it at least once and even better if you read this book first!

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It's a good thing this is a humor book, because the descriptions about all the bad things at work is too real. Every aspect is covered, and I could relate to the frustration and even anger at dealing with some of the situations. I highly recommend this for relaxation after a rough day and as a gift to friends going through a rough time at work, so they know they're not alone. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

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Thank you to Netgalley for a copy for an honest review

I really enjoyed it and would highly recommend and I can’t wait to buy a copy for myself 🙂

Rating 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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This book was a breath of fresh air. I certainly appreciated the laughs, especially when I realized that he worked at my hometown's Ikea store. I loved the local references and definitely recognized his apt descriptions of coworkers. Thanks for making retail jobs fodder for some fabulous comedy.

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This was such a hilarious and incredibly relatable read. I love that this was somewhat of a graphic novel and think it made the book so much better. I love the job interview questions and application.

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The Customer is Always Wrong
By: Scott Seiss
Publication Date: September 10th 2024

"The Customer is Always Wrong" by Scott Seiss is a hilarious book on the challenges of customer service. This book had me chuckling all the way through and maybe pondering putting in that 2 week notice. Thanks for keeping up the spirts of the working class person. I'll keep watching and liking you on social.

Thank you Netgalley, Scott Seiss and Harper Celebrate for allowing me a ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Thank you for the EARC NetGalley and Harper Celebrate. The Customer is Always Wrong is oh so right about so many things. If you’ve ever worked, at all, in any environment this book is for you. It is the ultimate catharsis for all of our daily struggles. I mean, who hasn’t wanted to tell a customer they are wrong or say something snarky during the interview process? So fun and so perfect when you need to laugh so you don’t cry.

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Even the best jobs have their drawbacks, and in this hilarious romp through the lows and lowers of working for the man in the 21st century, I reflected on how fortunate to have a job that doesn't make me want to Kool-Aid Man smash through the wall to get out.

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Gosh this was so funny and so relatable. I am so thankful to Harper Celebrate, Netgalley, and Scott Seiss for granting me advanced digital access to this satirical collection of essays before it hits shelves on September 10, 2024. I think every worker, whether that be via retail or corporately, should have a copy of this book on their nightstand to help get through the daily hell that is working a job. Such a job well done, and I look forward to purchasing this when it hits pub day.

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As an employee of an institution, it is really tiresome to handle a lot of customers with many characteristic, especially the burdensome one. The slogan customer is always right, really make me hate it so much. This book will entertain is with another perspective, the opposite one, actually, that the customer is always wrong.

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I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley. I didn't love the arc download format because it was hard to read on a small screen. However, I assume it had to be done that way instead of the usual Kindle option so that the graphics would display properly. This humor book was full of the triumphs and pitfalls of working in customer service. If you have a sense of humor about working in retail or wonder if you should go into retail, then you should read this book.

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This graphic novel was so funny! There was more text than I was expecting but the behind the scenes stories were so enjoyable it was okay.

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Very funny book that nails everything that sucks about having a job. The perfect gift for a going-away party. Made me feel seen. Highly recommend.

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THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS WRONG is a very enjoyable and entertaining read on the absurdity of the thing we call workplace, whether it's about employers/management, companies' policies or the customers themselves. From watching his videos, I could hear his voice and sarcastic tone that made the reading all the funnier. I recommend this to anyone who has or ever had a job. You know it's good, when you're reading at an airport laughing out loud, and sensing others wondering what you're laughing at.

Thank you to Harper Celebrate and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

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This bookk made me laugh out loud. Havig worked in Customer Service for most of my adult life, it's a great take on the absurdities of customer expectations vs reality.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in excahnge for an honest review.

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