Andrew Youderian
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September 21, 2017
Customer service is rife with parodies in both movie and film and there’s good reason for it. Regardless of what receiving end you’re on, either as the customer or the support person, a lot can go wrong when somebody needs help.
We went through some of our favorite films and TV shows to cherry pick some customer service scenes that nail what it’s like to wait at a car rental place or to be put on hold for an IT tech.
Here’s our top 10 picks. And if we missed any, please let us know in the comments!
Jerry and Elaine are the world’s most cringeworthy customers. This iconic Seinfeld scene shows Jerry arriving to pick up his rental car. Not only does he mock the conversation that’s happening between the employee and manager, but he also opts for the extra insurance because he claims “he’s gonna beat the hell out of this thing.” Pure music to every rental car agent’s ears.
No one likes a running commentary on what they’re buying as they leave a store. Especially from a stranger. Kristin Wiig’s portrayal of an overexcited and nosy Target employee is funny because everyone has encountered a too-friendly cashier before. If you don’t want a cashier to pass judgement on your purchases, we hope you don’t end up with someone like Target Lady during check out.
It’s hard to know if Billy McMahon (played by Vince Vaughan) would be the best person ever to handle a tech support question…or the worst. Even if he didn’t fix your browser cache, at least he’d be super entertaining to chat with while you’re troubleshooting.
Dwight and Jim are the ultimate in office frenemies. When their boss Michael Scott encourages them to do some role play, we realize very quickly how even-keeled Dwight is in the face of a difficult customer.
Airports might rank up there with car rentals among the most spoofed customer service experiences one can have. Greg Focker has to wait to board until his row is called, only there isn’t anyone else waiting to board. Just a reminder to all of us that some customer service rules are meant to be broken.
Customers will often take advantage of an ironclad guarantee. Brad handles it like a true customer service superstar as he cooly and calmly tries to reason with the customer whose half-eaten breakfast is about to be returned. Eventually he does threaten to beat him up, but to be fair, the guy kinda had it coming.
This scene is famous for Tommy’s meltdown (played by Chris Farley) about relaying a ruined sales pitch as he shreds into a dinner roll, but we think the true star is Helen the waitress. She recognizes a down-and-out customer and decides to make his day a little bit better by firing up the grill again to give him his wings. A good reminder to anyone in a service role that you’re often the person that can turn a bad day around.
Lines at the DMV are known for being super efficient and fast-moving. Just kidding. This kids film succeeds at entertaining all the parents watching by using sloths as DMV employees. Just try to watch them in action as they take a license photo. We dare you not to laugh.
Cold calling is not for everyone, but there’s definitely an art to nailing a phone support role. Evelyn (played by Dame Judi Dench) gives her Indian friends a master class in how to engage a customer on the other end of the phone. She nails it. We’ll buy one of whatever this Dame is selling.
Before The Office, there was the IT Crowd, a British cult favorite TV series. Ever wonder why it can take so long to get through to technical support? In this clip, we finally have an answer to this long-pondered question.
If you think you’re more patient than Brad or have a voice as angelic as Judi Dench, you’d probably nail it in a customer service job. Search for your next great support role here.
