I am the customer and the person in the wrong in this story. It is around 8:00 pm on a rainy, late January day, and I stop by a well-known ice cream chain for their signature dish, choosing to use their drive-thru option. 

It is worth noting that this particular location’s drive-thru used to function by having the customer order, pay, and receive their food all at the same window. This method has been changed by adding a speaker at the menu board, and I am unaware of the change, so I wait in line until I get to the window and the server asks for payment.

Me: “Umm… I somehow forgot to order. I am so sorry!”

Server: “No problem, that’s okay! What can I get for you?”

I order, tripping over my tongue in my embarrassment, pay, apologize again, and wait for my food in awkward silence.

A minute later, the server opens the window and passes through my food.

Me: “Again, I am so, so sorry for this.”

Server: *Laughing* “It’s all right, man. Have a good evening.”

I rolled up my window and drove home, berating myself for my buffoonery the whole way. To the server who handled my mishap with such tact, thank you so much, and I hope the rest of your shift went without any more idiots like myself messing up the drive-thru line. You probably got some good laughs out of that!

My store manager opens the store while I man the registers. A few customers enter straight away. I am serving a customer who is almost finished, literally about to pay, when two more customers queue up. I can see that my next customer only has three items, so I know that this will be a fast transaction.

Me: *To my current customer* “Here’s your receipt and have a nice day!” *To the queue* “Next, please!”

The third customer in line suddenly speaks up.

Customer #3: “Oh, my God, isn’t there anyone else in this d*** store that can help serve? I’m in a rush and I’ve been waiting forever!”

Me: “I’m sorry, but the only other person in the store is my store manager, and he’s on the phone right now.”

That’s not technically a lie; he did mention having to make a phone call after opening the store.

Customer #3: “This is ridiculous! I’m in a rush to get to work, and I have been waiting for ten minutes!”

Me: “Ma’am, it is currently 8:37 am. We have only been open for seven minutes.”

Customer #3: “Oh.”

The customer is quiet during her whole transaction and practically snatches the receipt out of my hand when I offer it to her. As she rushes out, I put on my fakest polite voice I can muster.

Me: “You have a lovely day!”

I’ve been working a mostly uneventful shift for most of the day, mainly greeting and seeing off customers or guiding them in the direction of different areas of the store. What I couldn’t count on, however, was this wonderful exchange.

A woman and her son, likely around two or three, approach the concierge area where I’m based.

Me: “Hi! Did you need a hand with anything?”

Mother: “Oh, no, it’s just he’s been wanting to show someone his monster.”

Looking down, I see that indeed, her son is holding a small purple one-eyed monster toy, seemingly made of a similar material to stress balls based on the bulging it makes whenever he squeezes it.

Me: “Oh, wow! That’s a great monster you’ve got there. Does he have a name?”

The boy, very happy about this but obviously a bit shy, turns over to his mother to tell her the name.

Mother: “Huggles.”

I grinned from ear to ear.

I work for a national roadside/insurance/travel company. My primary job is to sign older drivers up for a “Safety Driving Class” that covers general safety tips for older drivers. One-hundred percent of this is done over the phone; the classes are not regularly scheduled, so I often have to call folks back when we have a class available.

This caller is an older woman.

Caller: “Hi. I’m calling for a friend who needs her license updated and I need my photo ID updated. Can we do that at your office?”

Me: “That needs to be done at the DMV, as [Company] cannot issue state-regulated items.”

Caller: *Silence* “Oh. What’s the DMV?”

Me: “The Department of Motor Vehicles, where they issue licenses and photo IDs. They also handle car registration, among other things. I can give you the number for one close to you, if you’d like.”

Caller: “I’m pretty sure I’ve never been there. I think you’re lying to me. I’m going to go to the [Company] branch office and tell them how you’re lying to me about this ‘Department of Automobiles.'”

I work the return register at my store. If a customer has lost a receipt but paid for their purchase with a credit or debit card, we can use that card to pull up a list of all their returnable transactions.

I always say this to every customer I do this for.

Me: “You will insert your card here, kind of like you’re paying, but the machine will beep and say ‘Not Completed, Remove Card.’ After that, please remove your card.”

After I say this, one of two things will happen.

The machine beeps, and beeps, and beeps.

Me: “Please remove your card now.”

Customer: “Oh, I didn’t know I was supposed to take it out.”

I silently judge with a smile on my face.

Or, the machine beeps.

Customer: “It’s saying ‘Not Completed.’ What do I do?”

I silently judge with a smile on my face.

Me: “Oh, you can just remove the card now so the system can pull up your transactions.”

The sad part is that every time I tell a customer about how the process works, they nod their heads and acknowledge what I have said in some way. I have literally never had a single person follow my instructions without having to go through one of the two situations above.