We have noticed a worrying trend over the last year or so (and it’s not just us – other web and mail order retailers report similar experiences) for some people to behave like spoilt kids when things go wrong.

Take the man who threatened to report us (who to we wonder?) for failing to send him emails confirming his order and payment status. When we pointed out that he has to put his own – correct – email address on the order form for this to happen, he went a bit quiet and eventually, conceded that the error was his.

Or the woman who ordered earplugs and chose Next Working Day delivery at 4pm on a Friday afternoon. Then complained that they didn’t arrive the next day. Which was a Saturday. And not, therefore, a working day. She hadn’t read the shipping information, or the terms and conditions, and then she proceeded to claim that her order had never arrived at all. Except we know it did as we have a her signature from Royal Mail to prove it. She threatened to report us too.

Then there was the woman who emailed us asking for a free sample. We get these requests very frequently and sometimes we do send samples out, particularly if we detect that the caller is in genuine need. This woman, however, wanted a full set of earplugs, no beating about the bush. When we asked why she should get something for nothing when everyone else has to pay, well boy did she go off on one.

Oh and then there’s the woman who phones up after using her earplugs for five weeks, claiming they don’t work. Er, how come you didn’t phone right away love? She wants her money back. Except, it turns out that she didn’t pay for the order, someone else did. No matter, she wants the money. We refuse. Instead we’ll send the earplugs back to the manufacturer to see if they can find a fault with them. They won’t, believe me.

What all these people have in common is their belief that we are stupid. We are not. The biggest lesson we’ve learned in the last five years is, the customer is not always right.