Me: “Thank you for calling [Store].”

Caller: “I was in there a couple of minutes ago and one of your staff helped me find something. I just wanted to let you know that your employee seemed too scared to come near me and that has stressed me out a lot.”

Me: “I’m sorry for the bad experience, but what do you mean by ‘wouldn’t come near you’?”

Caller: “Well, she walked me to the aisle and showed me where the product was but she kept standing far back.”

Me: “So you’re calling to complain about my staff keeping six feet away from you during a health crisis?”

Caller: “Yeah. If they’re scared to interact with a customer then I don’t think they should be working in customer service.”

I desperately try to wrap my head around what he’s saying.

Me: “Thank you for bringing this to my attention. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

Caller: “No, that’s it.” *Click*

It’s slow, so my boss and I are chatting. She tells me something funny and I laugh. A customer walks in with a pronounced scowl.

Me: “Hello, sir! What can we help you with?”

Customer: “Why are you so perky?!”

Me: “Uh… come again?”

Customer: “You were laughing when I walked in here. And you’re smiling and chipper. There is nothing to be happy about!”

Me: “I’m… sorry?”

Customer: “STOP BEING SO PERKY! I should file a complaint!”

Me: “My boss is right here. Would you like to speak to her?”

My boss smiles and waves.

Customer: “EVERYONE IS SO D*** HAPPY TODAY!”

He storms out. My boss and I exchange glances.

Boss: “I’d love to see that complaint go to corporate. ‘Your teller was too perky!’ No, sir, you’ve just got a stick where it doesn’t belong.”

Never did get that complaint.

Related:
Some People Just Look For Arguments

My family had a summer house in a small river town where life is pretty much routine. As usual, we went to our favorite pizza and steakhouse on Friday night. My dad and I sat with our backs to the kitchen, one with a window where you could see the pizzas being made.

My husband and my mother were sitting across from us. Shortly after we were served, their eyes grew wide. Turns out there was a grease fire in the kitchen, and the staff was having trouble putting it out.

A few minutes later, the owner announced that the fire department had been called and we all needed to evacuate the restaurant. All of the customers picked up their plates and walked outside. From across the street, we watched the fire trucks come and put the fire out.

A few days later, my dad went in to pay for our dinner. The owner told him that they hadn’t lost any money that night; everyone had come in to pay their bill just like my dad. The restaurant reopened a few months later after extensive renovations and it’s still going strong today!

I’m standing at a train station. The train I’m waiting for just arrived and the display says, “Do not enter.” A woman approaches me.

Woman: “Is this the train to Leipzig?”

Me: “Yes, it’s just being cleaned right now.”

Woman: “But it doesn’t say Leipzig on the display.” 

Me: “That’s to stop people from entering so that the cleaning crew can do their job quickly and without being disturbed.”

Woman: “But why doesn’t it say Leipzig on the display?”

Me: “Because they need to clean the train and people should wait until they’ve finished. It goes to Leipzig. Trust me, I take this train every day to work.” 

Woman: “So I can enter?”

Me: “Please don’t; they’re still cleaning. Just wait a little bit. This usually just takes just a few minutes.”

Almost all seats in the waiting area are empty; it really doesn’t matter if you’re sitting there waiting or on the train itself.

Woman: “But it goes to Leipzig?” 

Me: “Yes. Don’t worry; we’ve got another twenty minutes until it leaves.”

Woman: “So I can enter, right?”

I am fed up with her inability to listen.

Me: “Well, what does the display say?” 

The woman looked at me, looked at the display which literally still said, “Do not enter,” and then entered the train.

Through the window, I could see her sitting down and spreading out her bags and stuff across four seats before talking to the man who was still working in that area.

When I got on, I heard her telling someone on the phone about how rude the cleaning guy was and that she couldn’t have known that she was supposed to wait. 

Sometimes I ask myself how people like that manage to get through life.

I’m completing the final year of my apprenticeship for my company. They come around and ask us if we could volunteer to attend a school event to promote the company and potentially encourage the next generation of apprentices.

As soon as it’s clear that this won’t be paid as overtime and only for an extra day off, most of the guys refuse to help, moaning about “free labour.” However, I volunteer as I reckon that four hours worked on a Saturday for eight hours holiday is probably still a good deal.

We do the event and I enjoy it way more than I thought. Inspiring young minds and seeing how they handle the tasks is enjoyable. I help a few of the school kids and get some good feedback on the day. Plus, we get a free lunch and I am already planning what to do with my day off.

When I finish my apprenticeship, the other in my year and I are interviewed to see where we will be placed. There are a few hotly contested areas so we all want to do well.

Interviewer: “Sorry, but have we met?”

Me: “I’m not sure, sorry.”

Interviewer: “Didn’t you do that school event?”

Me: “Oh, yes, sorry. I recognise you.”

Interviewer: “I remember. You really took charge that day. I was impressed.”

Apprentice Manager: “You know, he volunteered that day without pay.” *Smiles at me*

Interviewer: “Really? Oh, that really shows dedication. Listen, we are going off track, but there is a really promising role in [department]. They have been looking for someone who is willing to learn and succeed. It’s not strictly an [ex]apprentice position, but I think they would consider you. What do you think?”

Me: “That’s great, thank you!”

It took some convincing, but I got the job! A couple of the other guys in my year tried to lodge a complaint, saying that they would have volunteered if they had known, or something, but it was thrown out before it got anywhere.