I work in a factory with several coworkers. One day, I notice that one of them is very quiet and seems a bit down, so I ask him what’s the matter and he tells his story.

For some reason, he has trouble falling asleep, and he has had countless nights with hardly any sleep. One of his friends told him to get some sleeping pills, so [Coworker] searched the Internet and found an online pharmacy that sold 100 sleeping pills for 183 Euros. He ordered them but received an email the next day that he also had to pay 425 Euros for import duty tax.

[Coworker] paid the “import duty tax” but never received the drugs. Trying to contact the pharmacy was impossible; they never answered his emails, and the telephone number on their website was a fake number. He had been scammed.

Me: “Why didn’t you go to your regular doctor to get a prescription and get the drug legally?”

Coworker: “I don’t believe in doctors and their medicines.”

Me: “If you had believed in doctors, you would’ve gotten your drugs for free instead of being scammed for over 600 Euros. Even the doctor visit would’ve been without any cost to you.”

He wouldn’t have even had to take unpaid time off because, in the Netherlands, your boss pays you for the time you visit a doctor if you have no other option than to visit them during working hours.

It took six other coworkers to convince him that visiting a doctor is much better, safer, and cheaper than ordering drugs on the Internet.

Related:
Play Stupid Games, Get Fired
Play Stupid Games, Win Toasty Prizes
Play Stupid Games… Get Your A** Kicked, Part 2
Play Stupid Games, Win Zero Prizes
Play Stupid Games… Get Your A** Kicked

I work the front lines, register, part time, in one of the only large stores still open in my area during lockdowns and when we’re running low on essentials (like toilet paper). People are usually pretty good and respectful of everyone.

Then, you get the people who fill the cart to the brim because we are running low on most things and if they don’t grab it, they won’t be able to.

This couple, kids in tow, are paranoid. They do not let the kids touch anything. Things are slowing down with them, and I see them sorting the cart. It doesn’t bother me because I’m starting to scan.

Then, as I’m scanning, they start changing their minds on certain items, asking me to remove some, put others on. In the end, a LOT of time is wasted because we have to sort out what has to be reshelved and what has to be THROWN AWAY (refrigerated foods).

Customer: “We don’t want this!”

They’re waving a garbage can at me.

Me: “Okay, I can take it back.”

He then walks to the corner and puts it on a nearly full cart.

Me: “What are you doing?”

Customer: “Those are the go backs.”

Yup. They have A FULL CART of ‘go backs.’ 

Seriously, don’t be these people.

While I’m Portuguese, my husband is American, so we speak English at home so our kids are fluent in both languages.

Around 10:00 one morning, I took all four kids for a swim at a nearby natural pool, as the sun wasn’t too strong and there were not too many people. There was us, the lifeguard, and this American couple with two young boys, who were already packing up.

Young Boy: “Mom, why did we come so early?”

Mom: *Pointing at us* “So we didn’t have to share the water with these filthy Mexicans.”

Then, she turned toward me and said in horribly mangled Spanish:

Mom: “Agua muy buena.” (Water very good.)

One of my younger daughters, who’s three, just loudly asked me, in English:

Daughter: “Mommy, why is that lady calling us Messcans?”

The woman turned such a strong shade of red that you would think she had a sunburn.

Related:

If You Wouldn’t Say It To Their Face, Don’t Say It Near Their Ears, Part 3
If You Wouldn’t Say It To Their Face, Don’t Say It Near Their Ears, Part 2
If You Wouldn’t Say It To Their Face, Don’t Say It Near Their Ears

Customer: *Holding up a dress* “Do you have this in a larger size?”

Me: “No, ma’am. As we’re a thrift store, everything we have in stock is on the shelves.”

Customer: “Oh… not even in the back?”

What did I JUST say?!

Me: “No, ma’am. As I said, everything we have in stock is on the shelves. We don’t keep anything in the back.”

Customer: “So, could you order one in for me?”

Me: “Ma’am, please let me explain. We’re a thrift store where our proceeds go to [Charity]. All of our items are donated. We can only stock what gets donated, so we have no control over what we sell.”

Customer: “Oh… Well, I don’t want to support a charity, so…”

And with that, she just casually drifted out of the store.

My teacher was trying to explain that information must be timely to be useful. To illustrate, he told the following little story:

He got into a fight in a bar. Calling it a “fight” might be an exaggeration. It lasted about 30 second and then he was lying barely conscious on the floor.

One of his friends rushed up, knelt beside him, and said, “Scott, why did you pick a fight with a guy who’s a professional boxer?”

“Oh,” he moaned. “This would have been useful information … about five minutes ago!!”