Never Joke With The Customers… Ever!, Part 18

Alcohol, Bosses/Owners/Managers, Convenience Store, USA, YMMV | Working | January 5, 2026

Boss: “Good morning, [My Name]. FYI, don’t make any jokes with the customers today.”

Me: “Uh, I don’t usually do that, but why are you asking me?”

Boss: “[Coworker] opened yesterday. When one of our regulars was buying his six-pack of beer, [Coworker] joked that due to tariffs, six packs of beer now only contain five cans.”

Me: “Okay?”

Boss: “It didn’t go down well. [Regular] said the president was going to sue us, and [Coworker] needed to be fired, and, well… it was a mess. Just… don’t joke.”

Me: “Well, I never joke with customers anyway, so we should be good.”

Boss: “Good.”

Me: “What happened to [Coworker]?”

Boss: “Oh, he’s fine. He’s working at [other store in town] for the next few days, just in case [Regular] comes back and starts trouble again.”

A few weeks go by, and I think nothing of it. In fact, I would have forgotten the entire interaction if it hadn’t been for my boss coming over to let me know that due to the tariffs, corporate was increasing the prices on all imported products, including, you guessed it, imported beers.

When [Regular] came back to buy his usual six-pack, which was Guinness, by the way, he saw the price increase and told us the president was going to sue us again.

[Coworker], despite the longer commute, decided to stay working at the other store across town for a little bit longer…