My coworkers and I work at an outdoor attraction and things like this happen every day.

A daddy longlegs climbs up the podium.

Coworker #1: “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! It’s so gross! I can see its little fangs. How can you just sit at that podium while there’s a spider on it?!”

I flick the spider away with a pen. Incidentally, it lands near [Coworker #2], who starts to freak out.

Coworker #2: “God, [My Name], don’t make me talk to our boss.”

Some time passes, and my coworker goes to uncover the folding chairs. I don’t see what happens, but both coworkers run away, screaming at the top of their lungs, no exaggeration. They scream so loud someone from the next attraction, hundreds of feet away, sends another employee over to see if we’re okay.

Coworker #3 & Me: “What happened?”

Coworkers #1 & #2: “The chairs were covered in spiders!”

By now they are standing a good forty feet away from the attraction and acting scared for their lives. [Coworker #3 ] also backs away, remarking on how gross and creepy that is.

I walk over to the folding chairs. Under the tarp is a single wolf spider, maybe one inch across. I gently flick it away and set out the chairs.

Coworkers: “[My Name], how can you do that?”

I didn’t say this out loud, but I wanted to ask what kept them coming out to a job that takes place in the middle of a perfectly wild, secluded forest with no buildings in sight if they were THAT scared of the normal insect life!

When I was eleven and my brother was seven, our parents took us to the “magical” theme parks in Florida for summer vacation. One day of the trip, we were at one of the water parks. My dad had gone off to do some of the slides, and my mom had taken us to the lazy river. We knew we were going to get out at a certain exit to catch up with my dad later.

As it was June and extremely hot, the lazy river was packed with people. My brother had been annoying me and knew I was getting upset with him, so he slyly said:

Brother: “Catch me, sissy!”

And he swam off. I couldn’t grab him quickly enough and soon lost sight of him amongst all the people in the water.

The next two hours were sheer panic and misery for my mom and me. As we were at a water park, my parents weren’t carrying their phones, so Mom had no way of calling Dad to see if my brother had found him. She had me sit on the side of the lazy river for over an hour in the hot sun watching for my brother while she ran and talked to employees, trying to get help. She found out they didn’t carry walkie-talkies — the park thought employees would spend too much time talking to each other instead of working — and management seemed really unconcerned.

Manager: “Your son is probably having the time of his life. He’s probably on the slides. It’s not like someone could just take him out of the park.”

Mom: “My son has no concept of stranger danger. This is a kid who will hug strangers at the grocery store. He absolutely would leave the park with someone he didn’t know.”

Management dismissed her concerns.

Eventually, we found my dad… and my brother. It turned out he had gotten out of the lazy river at the correct spot and told Dad that Mom and I were still floating, so Dad thought we had told my brother he could get out and go on slides with Dad while we stayed in the water.

That was the most afraid I had ever seen my mom, and when she found my brother and realized he had been safe the whole time, she turned furious and really let him have it (verbally).

A passing mother heard my mom screaming and yelled at her for scaring my brother, and another mother came and yelled at her for yelling at my mother when she was just trying to parent.

To this day, eighteen years later, my brother still refuses to admit he did anything wrong. My mom still says that’s the most afraid she has ever been. She was truly afraid she’d never see my brother again. We don’t ever talk about that water park or its uncaring employees.

I am a lifeguard at a large water park. We have several water slides, with some being quite the thrill ride. Children smaller than the minimum height requirement are obviously not allowed to take the slide. This is signposted everywhere, especially at the start of the line to the slide to stop people wasting time waiting for a slide they can’t ride.

I see a kid with his mother and from experience, I already know he’s too small to ride. He excitedly runs up to the slide and I stop him.

Me: “Whoa, there, buddy, let’s put you up against the measuring stick first!”

The kid stands on his tiptoes, but I take this into account.

Me: “Sorry, buddy, you’re too small for this ride. We have lots of others for you though, such as—”

The mother immediately jumps in.

Mother: “How could you! He had his heart set on this slide! You need to let him on it!”

Me: “Ma’am, for his own safety I can’t do that.”

Mother: “He’s going to be upset all day! As his mother and I say it’s okay! You’re just a lifeguard! All you have to do is stop him from drowning!”

Me: “Ma’am, by preventing him from going down this slide that is exactly what I am doing.”

The mother opened her mouth to protest but others in the line shouted at her for making the rest of them wait. She walked back down with her son, who seemed mildly disappointed but more embarrassed about his mom’s behavior. I hope the little guy had a good day in the end.

I work in a popular theme park at one of the busiest restaurants on the property. It’s spring break, and we are at capacity. There are about ninety mobile orders alone being prepared, and we have this gem come up.

Guest: “FOOD! I WANT MY FOOD! HOW MUCH LONGER DO I NEED TO WAIT? HELLLOOO?! I’VE BEEN HERE FOR OVER FIVE MINUTES! I THOUGHT THIS WAS QUICK SERVICE!”

Coworker: “Hi there. Yes, it is. We’ve got a bit of a wait. The line is very long, and we’re moving as quickly as we can. I do apologize for the delay.”

The guest begins yelling louder and banging his fists on the counter like a toddler throwing a tantrum.

Guest: “I WANT MY FOOD! I WANT MY FOOD! FOOD! NOW!”

The lobby goes silent as everyone watches this spectacle.

Coworker: *Not missing a beat* “Right away. I’ll go ahead and try to push it through.” *Turns to the kitchen* “CAN I GET A RUSH ON ORDER [ORDER NUMBER]?!”

Everyone who was waiting in front of the guest just stared him down, and he took his food and did the walk of shame to go find a table.

The kicker? He had to stand up to eat because all the tables were occupied.

I am working at a go-kart ride for little kids. There is a height limit; anyone over forty-eight inches tall isn’t allowed to ride for safety reasons. A kid comes up and she’s about six inches too tall.

Me: “Sorry, you’re a bit too tall.”

Her dad flips out and starts yelling.

Dad: “You let her on this ride last summer, and now you won’t? I’m going to tell your manager!”

He then immediately turns around to the other parents in line and yells some more.

Dad: “Can you believe this jerk? He let my kid on last summer and now he won’t!”

The other parents are silent for a few seconds until one brave, awesome person replies.

Other Parent: “It’s not like your kid is going to shrink every year.”

The angry guy then just stormed off with his kid.