I have gone into a video game store with my husband. It’s not a huge store, so while browsing, we can easily overhear the interaction taking place at the payment counter.

Male Customer: “My wife got me a $25 gift card from this place, but it didn’t work. Fix it.”

The employee explains that she’s unable to assist with that issue, but she can call the store’s main helpline where someone more qualified can assist.

Male Customer: “Fine. Sort it out with my wife.”

The customer’s wife looks like she’s tired of him, but she starts describing her issue to whoever she’s been put through to on the store phone. The customer isn’t done with the poor woman at the counter, though.

Male Customer: “You’d better hope she helps my wife, and I don’t need to get on the phone, because I make call center workers cry.”

When he realizes that his wife is being too friendly and nice on the phone, he immediately takes over, refuses to listen to whatever is being said, and starts threatening to sue.

My husband has instinctually gone into “I know I don’t work here, but I’ve worked so many retail jobs that I need to de-escalate things” mode. He’s normally the one to call customers out on this kind of behavior, but as soon as I hear this a**hole threatening legal action and coming down hard on this young woman — a situation younger me also had to tolerate when I started retail — I can’t help myself and loudly call out:

Me: “Stop being such an a**hole. You’re being ridiculous! Your wife was handling it, and making call center workers cry is not something to be proud of; it just makes you a p***k who’s trying to overcompensate for something.”

It looks like the customer is about to deck me. It’s normally me having to discourage my husband from getting into someone’s face, but today is a total role reversal.

Husband: *To me* “Honey, why don’t you go look at the Funkos and see if one catches your eye?”

My husband went into de-escalation mode again as he didn’t want to make life harder for the poor cashier and other innocent bystanders.

I walked away, and he got that couple to finally leave, pointing out that it was not a great look for a large guy to make teenage women working a checkout counter cry. When the cashier was ringing us up, she went digging for every last discount she could find for us!

My manager and I are doing some deeper cleaning around the printer and computers. I use my phone’s camera to take a look behind the machine to see how much dirt has built up.

Me: “Wow, there’s a snack back there.”

It’s still wrapped, so I reach back and pull it out and show it to my manager.

Manager: “Oh, that was a gift another employee had given me before they left.”

Me: “Oh.” 

Manager: “They left seven years before you started working here…”

Back in the 1990s, the video game store I worked in had this regular young customer, approximately ten to twelve years of age. He used us as a glorified rental for game cartridges. He quickly reached the “You cannot return anything else that you purchase from us” status of customer notoriety, and the reasons were explained to him.

He still thought he could perform his “rental” activities but in a different way. Unfortunately, he had purchased our only copy of a particular game, so we knew what he had in his possession.

The next day, another young teenager came into the store with the game and receipt.

Customer: “I want to return this.”

Me: “I know it was purchased by [Regular], and he has been warned that he can no longer return purchases to the store.”

The poor kid actually broke down crying. 

Customer: “He made me do it!”

I’m a manager. I’m called up to the service desk to deal with a return. I only get called when the customer is being unruly. I walk over to see an angry-looking man with his young son.

Me: “How can I help?”

Customer: “Your guys here are telling me I can’t return my game!”

This customer wants to return a PC game, an expansion pack for “The Sims”. Nope. Not happening.

Me: “Sorry, sir, but they are correct. We don’t allow returns for PC games.”

Customer: “That’s so stupid! Why you all gotta be idiots?! You’re the manager; I know you can process this refund! Do it, and I won’t call corporate.”

Me: “Sir, the return policy for PC games is posted on the rack and at the register. It’s also on the back of the game case. We can only exchange for the same exact game.”

Customer: “No one told me that I needed to have the original ‘Sims’ game on my computer to play this one!”

Me: “Those requirements are written on the back of the game.”

Customer: “Fine! Just give me the f****** game back!”

I look at the counter but I can’t see the game.

Me: *To my sales assistant* “Where is the game?”

He points to the floor on our side of the counter.

Me: “How did it get there?”

Sales Associate: “The customer slung it at me.”

Me: *To the customer* “You threw it? You mean you had a temper tantrum like a five-year-old? In front of your son? Do you think that you are setting a good example for him?”

He looked at his son and back at me. He apologized to me and my employees. I told him that he owed his son an apology for embarrassing him like that. Then, I picked up the game and showed him where to look for requirements, etc. He sheepishly thanked me and left.

I work in a video game store that does trades. A young boy, maybe around twelve or so, comes in with a stack of old games.

Boy: “How much can I get for these? I’m trying to get the new Mario game.”

Me: “Well, the Pokémon game here might get you something, but all these others I can only give a few cents for. If you had the boxes, I might be able to offer more.”

Boy: “Oh… I see. Thank you for your time.”

The boy politely stacks up his games and is about to leave when an older gentleman, maybe late sixties at a guess, comes rushing over.

Old Man: *Excitedly* “Is that Pokémon HeartGold?

Boy: “Uh… yeah.”

Old Man: “Excellent! I have SoulSilver! I needed that to pair with it!”

Boy: “Is it for your grandson?”

Old Man: *Mock-offended* “No, my young friend! It’s for me!“

Boy: “You play Pokémon?!”

Old Man: “Since 1996!”

Boy: “Whoooooa! But… you didn’t stop when you got… old?”

Old Man: “Let me give you some advice that has served me well. You don’t stop playing because you get old; you get old because you stop playing.”

Boy: “Whoooooa!”

Old Man: “Play forever, young man!” *To me* “How much is the Mario game he wants?”

Me: “It’s $59.99.”

Old Man: *To the boy* “I’ll give you sixty for the game.”

The old man handed over the cash (after I had tested that the game worked), and the boy excitedly got his new game. I will never forget that man’s amazing advice, from one generation of gamer to another.