From bakers who won't sell cake to lollipop men who REFUSE to help people cross the road... are these the worst employees ever? (15 Pics)

A mother left furious when an ice cream vendor tried to give her four-year-old daughter a broken cone has sparked an online debate about terrible customer service.

Using the handle 'Twodogsandahooch', the unnamed woman, believed to be from the UK, posted on parenting site Mumsnet to say she 'didn't know whether to laugh or cry' when a the 'stingy' vendor tried his luck.

She invited other parents to share their own 'shockers' - and was soon flooded with response, from lollipop men who refused to help pedestrians cross the road, to bakers who wouldn't sell cakes.

She wrote: 'Went to the seaside today. Was buying ice cream when the server notices a large crack down the side of cone.'

After requesting a new cone, the stubborn vendor called his manager, who simply instructed her four-year-old daughter to 'be careful and eat it quickly'.  

The furious mother added: 'Can only assume they have a miserable sod of a boss who weighs the ice cream tubs at the end of the day.'  

Fellow Mumsnetters cited restaurants and bars as 'disaster zones' for customer service and hygiene.

One woman had found herself chewing on 'half a small slug' in her chicken and avocado sandwich, but refused a refund - with the cashier telling her: 'At least you know the lettuce is fresh'. 

Another person told how a baker refused to sell her a whole cake rather than a single slice, because she 'wouldn't have any left to sell to anyone else'. 

One disgruntled shopper said she was sold a pair of mismatched shoes from Topshop, but when she went back to the store to change them was told 'they'd clearly been worn'. 

After speaking to her colleague, the cashier confirmed they could not be resold and, as such, could not be returned.

Eventually, a manager was called who instructed the cashier to process the refund - leaving the employee somewhat 'huffy'.  

One user, posting as 'CherryPie12' wrote: 'I recently went to cross the road at the same time as a group of school children. I was stopped by the lolli-pop man to inform me I’d have to cross elsewhere as I wasn’t a school child, therefore shouldn’t be benefiting from his services'.

Another said: 'Buying train tickets once and the train assistant gave me the wrong ones. I asked for them to be changed and she looked aghast and said 'I can't, it's my break, I don't have time.' I just stared at her until she changed them'.