Unfiltered Story #209832

(I work in a 24/7 grocery store, and it’s my first day on the early shift of a new, timed job. So it’s like 4AM and I’m not awake at ALL, but I get about relatively well despite this. An hour or so into the day, as I’m walking past an aisle with my cart, a really old man YELLS at me. Of note: I have red hair.)

Old guy: “EXCUSE ME REDHEAD.”

(I stop in in my tracks, confused because I’ve already gone way past the aisle he was in and I don’t see anyone. I shake my head and convince myself I was losing it and I just need to get some more coffee when:)

Old guy: (even louder, so the entire store can hear) “EXCUSE ME, REDHEAD. YES YOU, THE ONE THAT JUST WALKED PAST, I NEED HELP RIGHT NOW.”

(I take quite a few steps backwards and see the old guy standing in the salad dressing aisle, staring me down.)

Me: “…Uh… How can I help you?”

Old: “Finally! Do you have any coffee ranch salad dressing?”

Me: “… I don’t recall seeing anything by that name, but I can certainly check for you.”

(I have never heard of such a thing in my life, but I still check the area with a fine tooth comb, thinking maybe it’s a super fancy limited thing or something. It’s not.)

Me: “It looks like we don’t carry that item, I’m so sorry about that!”

Old guy: “Don’t be stupid I’ve already looked here! Check the other areas you keep the salad dressing!”

Me: “I’m sorry sir, but this is the only area we have salad dressing, and I’ve never actually seen coffee ranch salad dressing at this store before. Did you get it here? Perhaps it was at [other location]?”

Old guy: “NO! Of course I didn’t get it here! I haven’t seen it since the seventies! D*** stores nowadays don’t carry anything people want!”

Me: “…The… Seventies, sir?”

Old guy: (getting visibly agitated, like he’s actually turning red-faced) “Yeah! Bought it all the time back then, and it was only stocked in one store for miles around, so I always bought bottles and bottles of it. D*** stores nowadays just don’t understand what people want! I loved that dressing!”

Me: (actually taking a few steps back, and adopting an overly sympathetic tone) “I completely agree, sir. That is a shame.”

Old guy: “It really is! You tell them they need to stock the coffee ranch dressing!”

Me: “I will do that, sir. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

Old guy: (sighing frustratedly) “…No, I guess not. Where’s the checkout in this d*** place!?”

(I point him to the checkout and then almost literally run away. I kind of hide on the other side of the store for a few minutes, hearing him cuss out the cashier about us not having plums or some such nonsense before I finally go back to the cart I was working on, only to find my boss there waiting on me.)

Boss: “Why did you leave your cart, you are being timed on how fast you work, remember?!”

Me: “That loud customer wanted to know-”

Boss: “I don’t care if a customer literally pulls you from your work! You need to ignore them and do *your* job, let someone else get the customers!”

Me: “…Yes, ma’am.”

(After talking to some coworkers to make sure I didn’t hallucinate the entire exchange, I switched shifts. Shift wasn’t worth the loss of my sanity 0_o.)