An Honest Mistake Leads To Honestly Done With You

I’ve started a new job in retail, and it’s one of my first weeks on register duty. I am still learning the keys. Keying in multiple items, e.g., ten chocolate bars, instead of scanning them one by one requires a supervisor code.

A well-dressed man comes through my line with thirty-two cups of instant noodles of varying flavours and varying amounts of each. I lose count with all the beeps and all of the slightly different cups, so I accidentally ring up thirty-five cups.

He pays and the receipt prints. He checks it and immediately has half his body shoved through a gap in the Plexiglas screen. (This is during social distancing.)

Customer: “What are you trying to do here? I bought thirty-two, and you rang up thirty-five!”

Me: “Sorry, sir, it was an honest mistake. Let me just—” 

Customer: “‘Honest mistake’, my a**! That was intentional so you lowlifes can steal my money!”

Me: “I can assure you, sir, I merely miscounted, but if I could just—” 

Customer: “How hard can it be to count? Did you fail math class?”

Me: “It was an honest mistake because it’s so many—”

Customer: “I bet that’s what you always do with the old ladies to rip them off! They’re old and senile, so they won’t notice you pocketing some extra money!”

I drag my wallet out of my pocket.

Me: “You know what, sir? I overcharged you — what, three times forty cents. Here, you can have 1.20€ out of my own pocket; you clearly need it more than a broke university student.”

Customer: “How dare you?! I want to speak to your boss!”

Me: “He is not in anymore; he already went home. He will be here tomorrow after eight.”

Customer: “Give me his name! And your name! I will complain about you! I will write a letter!”

At this point, the young woman behind him interrupts his tirade and screams at him.

Next Customer: “Just piss off already! Seeing how you dress, you’d think you’re well-off, but to be such a b**** over such a minor mistake?! F****** cheapskate! You got your money, so take your s***ty cup-noodles and f*** off!”

The man just went, “Well, I never!”, huffed, and finally did f*** off.

The woman, the coworker on a register behind me, and I had a good laugh about that man.