(My mother and sisters and I have gone to a popular amusement park in the area, and have not eaten dinner yet. It is 9:30 at night, and we’re starving now that we’re not on any rides. We pull up to the drive through for Popular Chicken Restaurant, which is combined with Taco Restaurant.)

Speaker: “Hi, welcome to [Taco Restaurant]! [Popular Chicken Restaurant] is currently closed”

Mother: “Oh… sorry, we only wanted [Popular Chicken Restaurant].”

Speaker: “I’m sorry, ma’am, [Popular Chicken Restaurant] closes at nine.”

Mother: “Oh, that’s all right. Have a good night.”

(We start to leave, and pass by the window as we go. Just as we’re passing it, suddenly we hear a man shout.)

Man: “Hey! Wait!”

(My mother pulls up to the window.)

Mother: “Yes?”

Man: “[Popular Chicken Restaurant] is closed, but we do still have a bucket of some leftover chicken if you’d like”

Mother: “How do I pay?”

Man: “There’s no need. It’s leftovers and we’re going to get rid of it anyway.”

Mother: “Thank you so much!”

Man: “No problem.”

(The workers gave us a whole container of chicken and ended up giving us another container filled with biscuits and grilled chicken.)

Man: “I have five daughters at home, and they always ask me after work if I can bring chicken home. I understand how it’s like to feed a hungry family.”

Mother: “Thank you so much. We just came from [Popular Amusement Park], and haven’t eaten dinner.”

Man: “Well, no wonder they’re so hungry. They might rebel for food.”

(Just before we leave, my mother rolls down the middle window of the van so we can thank the man. We all wave, and I can’t help but add this last thing.)

Me: *waves happily from the back seat* “Thank you for feeding the rebellion!”

Man: “No problem. Come back again any time!” *waves back*

(My family appreciated this man’s kindness gratefully. I’ve always read things like this before, but to experience it myself is truly the greatest feeling. I will never forget this moment.)

(A man comes shopping with his adorable five year old daughter, and this happens as I’m serving him. Note: For those who don’t know, “cheerios” is a common name for cocktail frankfurts, which kids love.)

Customer: “I’ll have 250g of that ham, please.”

(The whole time I’m weighing and wrapping, his daughter is trying to get his attention.)

Daughter: “Daaad. Dad. Cheerios, dad. Daaaaad…”

Me: *hands over item* “Anything else?”

Daughter: “Cheerios?”

Customer: *smiling but still ignoring her* “Also a half kilo of chicken thighs.”

Daughter: *hands on hips, looking at her father, but it was clear that she wanted me to hear her words* “Daddy, did you say CHEERIOS?”

Me: *as I weigh and wrap* “She has the most adorable little attitude. Anything else?”

Customer: “And a half kilo of cheerios… I’m going to have to watch out for her when she’s older, she’s too cute to say no to!”

Me: “I think she knows it, too!”

(The girl took the cheerios from me with a smug grin.)

(I’m working registers at the moment which also means I’m in charge of answering the phones; I’m certified throughout the store, so usually I don’t even have to transfer the call. Note, we are a just a pet store, not a specialty vet. This transpires one day:)

Me: “Thank you for calling [Store]. This is [My Name]. How can I help you?”

Caller: “Hi, I think my hamster might be injured. My son put him in a hamster ball, and then the ball slipped and hit the floor. The hamster just kinda stayed in one position for a minute or two, like he was dead and didn’t look like he was breathing. Then we flipped him over and he moved a little bit so we can see he’s breathing, but he hasn’t moved since. What would you do?”

Me: “Well, if I was in your position, I’d bring him straight to the vet; we use [Local Vet] because they specialize in small animals.”

Caller: “Sooo… do I bring him, or do you?”

Me: “You would take him.”

(The customer still didn’t seem all that concerned that her son may have caused a serious injury to his pet.)

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(The client made a mistake in an application form and now has to send an email asking the service to cancel it.)

Me: “Okay, now you have to send an email to cancel the document. Here is the email address: d-i-s…”

Client: “How do I put the point on the ‘I’?”

Me: “I don’t understand.”

Client: “How do I put the point on the ‘I’? You know, the dot over the letter ‘I’?”

Me: “Huh?”

Client: “So?”

Me: “The computer automatically puts the dot over the letter, you don’t have to do anything.”

Client: “Wow, technology is so great today. Before, you had to manually put dots on I’s and cross your T’s too!”

(I’m working the register at a sandwich shop.)

Customer: *completely earnest* “I have a question about your cookies. I see here there are some labeled “White Chip Macadamia Nut.” Does that mean there are white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts?”

Me: “I… uh… yes.”

Customer: “So then I can’t give them to my son with a nut allergy, right?”

Me: “That would be a bad idea, yes.”

Customer: “All right, let me have one of those for me and one chocolate chip for my son.”

Me: “I don’t think that would be a good idea, ma’am.”

Customer: *getting irritated* “Well, why not? Do the chocolate chip cookies have nuts in them?”

Me: “Well, no, but they do come into contact with nuts in several places. Like when we’re baking them, or when we use the same tongs to grab them. Or the display case in front of you where the chocolate chip cookies are touching the macadamia nut cookies…”

Customer: “Fine, then, I won’t get him any cookies. Just give me my sandwiches and two small drinks.”

Me: “Uh… I’m afraid I can’t do that either.”

Customer: “Why the h*** not? I paid you didn’t I?!”

Me: “Um… you haven’t ordered a sandwich yet.”

(Luckily my manager came back from break and we were able to sort everything out before it escalated.)