(This exchange takes place between myself, my manager, and a very new coworker. This new girl is not exactly the brightest bulb in the box, and both myself and my manager have become very frustrated with her over her first few days because of her added laziness.)

Me: “Hey, [Manager], I think we’re out of fries up here.”

Manager: *to the new girl* “We need french fries, but it’s very busy. Could you run downstairs and grab a few bags?”

New Coworker: “Where are they?”

Me: “Alright, just go downstairs into the room with the freezers. If you open the freezer against the back wall, there will be large, clear bags full of frozen french fries right on top. Could you grab three bags, please?”

New Coworker: *blank stare*

Manager: “French fries. We need fries now, please.”

New Coworker: *still staring blankly* “What’s a… freezer?”

(I have dyed my hair blue. Despite a lot of positive customer feedback on my looks, my boss hates it. I’m the only employee who speaks English, and it’s tourist season.)

Boss: “The supervisors are having a surprise check-up any minute. You better get into the back right now. Mop the storage room or something. Go!”

(I grab the mop and go to the back, but accidentally walk straight into the supervisors who have decided to take the back entrance.)

Supervisor #1: “You work here? That’s so cool! Your hair is so pretty!”

(My boss runs in to the storage room when he hears the supervisors’ voices but hasn’t heard their compliments.)

Boss: “She is new! She knows nothing! My assistant hired her, not me!”

Supervisor #2: “We just told her how we love her hair. It’s refreshing to see that people don’t judge employees by their looks anymore. ”

Boss: *stunned* “Y-yes, of course. We are very… proud.” *turns to me* “Could you please go to the front? We… uh… have a lot of tourists coming in.”

Me: “Oh, but, sir, I’m new, and according to YOUR regulations I’m not allowed to work the register without proper training. I’ll finish the clean-up so you can get back to your business.”

Boss: *looks terrified and walks away*

(I happen to go to the same college as my fiancé. He and my best friend at school are both in wheelchairs. I am able-bodied, and am buying food in the cafeteria when this exchange happens.)

Cashier: “Your friend is quite a character!”

Me: “Which one?”

Cashier: “The one in the wheelchair.”

Me: “Which one?”

Cashier: “There’s more than one?”

Me: “Well, my best friend and my fiance are both in wheelchairs.”

Cashier: “Your fiancé is in a wheelchair?!”

Me: “Yes.”

Cashier: “Was he in an accident?”

Me: “No, he was born with a disability.”

Cashier: *long pause* “So, what do you think it is about you that makes you okay with that?!”

This story is included in our Wheelchairs Versus Ableism roundup!

Click here to read the next story!

Click here to go to the roundup!

(We have one female coworker on our shift, and despite the fact that we’re all more physically intimidating than she is, we usually will let her handle aggressive customers because she tends to freak them out. Not only is she a calm person, but she can’t read body language and therefore doesn’t respond to menacing behavior. Note: she’s also one of the smallest people working in the store.)

Customer: *barges up to the counter* “You f***ing people sold me some piece of s*** equipment that doesn’t f***ing work!”

Female Coworker: *blank stare* “I’m sorry, what seems to be the problem?”

Customer: “It doesn’t f***ing work! What, do you got cotton in your ears, little girl?”

Female Coworker: *dead pan* “You did indicate that the device is not working, sir. I was asking for clarification.”

Customer: *uneasy* “Well it ain’t… downloadin’ stuff like it’s s’posed to.”

Female Coworker: *holds out her hand* “May I?”

(She examines the device for a moment, then turns it off and opens the back of it.)

Female Coworker: “Sir, how long have you had this device?”

Customer: “Six weeks.”

Female Coworker: “…and in that time, how much exposure to water or other liquid has it had?”

Customer: *leans in and gets in her face* “Don’t you DARE try to blame this on me, you f***ing b***! You little godd*** c***! This is all your fault I know you sold me a faulty device! You will fix it or give me my money back, because I didn’t do s***!”

Female Coworker: *smiling calmly* “Sir, did you perhaps drop it in the snow last week?”

Customer: “What the f***’s that got to do with anything?”

Female Coworker: *hands him the device* “When you can answer that, I’m sure anyone here will be happy to help you. However, as the device has been compromised and not by a factory defect, I’m afraid I cannot help you at this time.”

(Surprisingly, the customer returned a week later, and very sheepishly apologized for his behavior. On that same occasion, another customer with less self-control tried to take a swing at my female coworker. We were delighted to discover the first customer was in fact a cop, and got to watch the other guy get arrested in the middle of the store.)

(I am 21 and work at a sporting goods store. We have two stores, and the company is family-owned; the owner has an office just upstairs. He’s wealthy, in his forties, and happily married with three kids. I’m helping a customer with a special order.)

Me: “Okay, that should do it! It usually takes about two weeks for a special order to be delivered. I’ll give you a call when they come in.”

Customer: “You’re pretty.”

Me: “Thank you. Was there anything else I could help you with?”

Customer: “You should marry [Company Owner]. He’s rich.”

Me: “Um. Well. He’s too old for me, I think. And he’s already got a wife.”

Customer: “Yeah, well, you’re younger than her.”

Me: “Um, I don’t think he wants a younger wife. I think he’s happy with the one he has.”

Customer: “Come now. All girls want a rich husband. Don’t you want a rich husband?”

Me: “I’ve got career plans of my own, actually. This job is just putting me through college. I think I’ll manage.”

Customer: “Some people have no ambition!” *walks away*

This story is part of the Customers-That-Make-You-Want-To-Back-Up-themed roundup!

Read the next roundup story!

Read the roundup!