When I Worked Customer Service Jobs, I Met Tons Of Celebrities — Here Are Some Of The Nice Ones

I served plenty of celebrities back in the day. Here's who was nice.

Hello, world. My name's Stephen LaConte. And long before I was a writer here at BuzzFeed, I spent my days working in restaurants and retail shops in the fine city of Los Angeles. That means I had plenty of celebrity encounters at work.

@stephenlc / Via instagram.com

I won't name the places I worked, but there were several of them including a well-known tech store where you might go to get a new phone, a restaurant created by a celebrity chef (not a fan, TBH!), and a handful of smaller neighborhood places.

There's a big trend on TikTok where former customer service workers spill the tea on celebrities they've served. Well, I wanna do it, but I have no idea how to make a TikTok and I don't really want to learn. So fuck it, let's do it here on BuzzFeed.

NBC

I wanna keep this positive, so here are 13 celebrities who were actually very nice to me when I helped them:

1. Amy Adams

Frazer Harrison / Getty Images

I helped her buy a couple things at my store. Very kind and low-key. A little quiet. Seemed like she didn't want to attract too much attention to herself. I pretended not to know who she was, but I was dying inside. Dying. Such a lovely human. Someone give her an Oscar already.

2. Stevie Wonder

Emma Mcintyre / Getty Images

He is awesome. Was super patient and respectful while I fixed an issue for him, even though it took some time to sort out. He actually came into the store frequently and had a great reputation with all the employees. Class act.

3. Miley Cyrus

Dia Dipasupil / WireImage / Getty Images

Earlier that day, Justin Bieber had come into my store and I was bummed I missed him. Then I turned around and was face-to-face with Miley Cyrus! She was really nice but didn't stay too long; the store was getting busy and I think she didn't want to make a scene.

4. Bill Nye the Science Guy

Michael Kovac / Getty Images

Served him at a restaurant, very pleasant man. Took everything in me not to shout "BILL! BILL! BILL! BILL!" when I brought him the bill. He left a nice tip. Plus, he taught me about gravity when I was a kid, so there's that.

5. Pharrell

Paras Griffin / Getty Images

Really mellow and chill. He was with two people who I'm guessing were his parents, and they were cracking lots of jokes. His song "Happy" came on over the speakers and for some reason I felt very embarrassed about it??? I mean, I guess I shouldn't have been — if anything, he should like that! I don't think they even noticed, or if they did, they didn't say anything.

6. Paris Hilton

Jerritt Clark / Getty Images

Extremely kind and sweet. Absolutely nothing like her Simple Life character. Super grounded and humble and warm. I remember being surprised by her real voice, which she uses more often nowadays in public, but at the time I hadn't heard it before.

7. Kevin McHale

Emma Mcintyre / Getty Images

This was back when he was on Glee and I will admit it took me a bit to figure out who he was. I knew he was famous and every time I came to his table, I'd try to place him. Eventually I figured it out! Nice man.

8. Miranda Cosgrove

Jeffrey Mayer / WireImage / Getty Images

This one was truly wild. I had JUST seated a big birthday party of preteen girls at the front of the restaurant. Then Miranda Cosgrove shows up and this is RIGHT after iCarly ended. Normally I wouldn't acknowledge when I recognized a celebrity (most want to fly under the radar) but in this case I felt like I needed to give her a heads-up about the situation inside. So I leaned in and said, "Just so you know, there is a big party of young girls that you're gonna have to walk past." And she was like, "Oh, that's totally fine!" She walked past them, it did indeed cause a big scene, and she handled it with total grace.

9. Like 15 kids from American Idol

Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images

I'm probably pushing the limits of what constitutes a "celebrity" here but this is a fun story and I don't know where else to tell it: One morning my store was completely empty and then suddenly like 10–15 kids from American Idol flooded in; I'm guessing they were on a rehearsal break or something. They were so excited to be in LA and spent half an hour just hanging out in the store using the computers and flirting with each other. Maybe they didn't have access to internet in their hotel? IDK. It was cute.

10. Kate Upton

Jon Kopaloff / FilmMagic / Via Getty Images

I have to admit Kate was another one I did not immediately recognize, All around a very nice and unassuming person when I helped her! I had no idea she was famous, which is usually a good sign that a celebrity is not a jerk. I only found out who she was later when approximately 50 straight boys I worked with excitedly informed me.

11. Fetty Wap

Theo Wargo / Getty Images

This was when "Trap Queen" was huuuuuge. He was quiet, polite, and spent a ton of money. What more can ya ask for?

12. Diane Keaton

Rodin Eckenroth / WireImage / Via Getty Images

Came into one of my restaurants several times. I believe she got a grilled cheese and a glass of white wine when I served her. Always a gem of a human being.

13. Ed Helms

Michael Kovac / Getty Images

I'm such a big fan of The Office so this was an exciting one for me. Very nice, asked multiple questions about a certain item he wanted to buy, ultimately did not buy it. That's okay! I didn't make commission anyway and was just very excited to be talking to him. 10/10 experience, would recommend to a friend.

And that's just a few of many! Maybe I'll share more at a later date. As for the celebrities who were NOT so nice... Well, I'll never name 'em on BuzzFeed; but if you ever see me out and about, feel free to ask. 😏

Bravo

Have you had any pleasant encounters with a celebrity? Share your own stories in the comments, please!