(The metro stations in town are going renovations and are closed for the weekends for the following month. Despite multiple posted messages I find people keep trying to board the train station near my home. I’m on the adjacent street when I hear a woman screaming on the platform.)

Woman: “Where is the f****** train! I’ve been waiting for a god-d***d hour! Stupid workers should all be fired!”

(Before I can do anything I hear the intercom turn on.)

Intercom: “Ma’am, I have already instructed you, the stations are closed and will be closed until Monday. You have to take the shuttle at [Nearby Bus Stop] to the nearest active platform.”

Woman: *shouting at intercom speaker* “F*** you, you stupid b****! If the station was closed they would have said something about it! I’m not leaving until you bring the train here!”

(From the street I could see that the ticket machines were bolted closed, the meter readers covered with orange safety hoods, and a pair of signs at the entrance saying the station was closed. The woman had walked by all of this seemingly without noticing anything amiss. Amazingly, she took another 20 minutes of convincing before finally leaving the train station.)

(Our store sells firearms. Among my duties, I am part of the Risk Management (safety) and Loss Prevention teams. If a manager is not around or an unusual situation arises, coworkers often run to me. One runs up, breathlessly.)

Coworker: “You need to come up front right now. There is a guy with a rifle!”

Me: “I will go, but you need to go get a store manager. Now.”

Coworker: “They are all in a meeting. They only left [Department Manager] in charge.”

Me: “Go to the meeting room. Open the door. Tell them it is a code red to the front.”

(We don’t have a code for this but red will bring them running. Keep in mind, there is a large sign on the door, and it is well known, that if you need to bring a firearm in for a return, a manager must hold the firearm while it is in the store unless you have a license. I find the guy who looks really ticked off and go up to him.)

Me: “Hello, sir! If you have a license, you are welcome to bring your side-arms in the store; however, rifles must be carried by a manager while in the store. You may step back outside, or I can hold it for you. A manager is already on the way to help you.”

(The man ignores me. He is looking at some end cap. I repeat myself and he starts to walk further in the store. I block his way.)

Customer: “Get the f*** out of my way!”

(He is now carrying the rifle in one hand and waving it around. He is NOT carrying it like a normal, sane person would.)

Me: “Sir, I would be happy to assist you. Please point the gun at the floor. Look around. People are scared. We just want to be safe. Do you want ammunition for the gun?”

(The customer starts screaming profanities. Everyone up front is staring in shock. No one is getting checked out. I am signaling for everyone to clear out as this guy is not right. I keep babbling and dancing in front of him for what seems like an eternity but is really only a minute or two until our very capable store manager and assistant store manager came running up. They immediately see the situation and hear him screaming.)

Assistant Store Manager: “Get everyone out of here. Now.”

(He and the store manager started to talk to the man who managed to scream even louder and come up with new profanities. I started to get everyone at the front end away towards the entrance doors. Of course, we had those in the middle of checking out that did not want to leave their stuff. I was not very nice to those. I was just herding the last stragglers when someone in front of me screamed. I turn and look back to see the two managers had tackled the man to the floor. It was a pretty good fight but the one manager was not small and the other was wiry. They literally sat on him until the police came. Turned out the guy just wanted a scope for his rifle. He had bought one and it didn’t fit so he wanted to bring the rifle in to make sure it fit right, which is not an unusual request at our store. He was not a felon but he was on probation for, you guessed it, assault, so he violated his parole and got sent back to jail. He also tried to sue us for the bruises he got from the managers!)

(My coworker takes this call towards the end of the day:)

Coworker: “Thank you for calling [Newspaper]. [Coworker] speaking. How may I help you?”

Caller: “Yes, I have a question. Can you help me?”

Coworker: “I’ll try. What is your question?”

Caller: *in a very snippy tone* “Well, THANK YOU very much!” *hangs up*

Coworker: “What just happened?”

(I am working at a food stand that sells fried snacks. The stand has no indoor seating area, so bad weather often scares away business. We are in the middle of a cold snap and business has been very slow. As a result, my coworkers and I have gotten nearly all of our cleaning and closing procedures for the night finished by closing time. Just as we are about to close for the night, one customer walks up to the counter.)

Customer: “Hey, do you guys have anything left to sell?”

Coworker: *seeing that we have literally one item left* “Yeah, we have one left. Did you want it?”

Customer: “Yeah, I’ll take it.” *calling out* “Hey, they’ve got stuff over here!”

(The customer was joined by three more people who proceeded to make their own orders. Since we had nothing left, we were forced to prepare new food from scratch, using the utensils we had just finished cleaning, which meant that it took more than twice as long as usual to actually make the food and serve it, to say nothing of cleaning all over again. And all after closing.)

(I enter from the back room and see a customer yelling at my young, female coworker.)

Coworker: “You cannot open these earbuds due to hygienic reasons.”

Customer: “But I want to know if it will fit my phone.”

(I look at the phone and his existing headphones. All standard 3.5mm stereo. I stand next to her.)

Me: “Those earbuds should fit your phone.

Customer: *calmer* “She says your store won’t let me open the package on these earbuds, which is ridiculous because I cannot see if the tip will fit my phone.”

(I look at the packaging and the end part is hidden. I go and show him a 3.5mm cable, which can be opened, and show the customer that the back of the earbud packaging matches the cable.)

Me: “See? This cable has the same jack as these earbuds, and will fit your phone. It’s on the back of these earbuds the specifications. I’ll even open these up.”

Customer: *yelling* “You don’t need to open them up. It’s your fault for selling earbuds where you cannot see the plug.”

Me: “We don’t make these headphones. If you want to complain, complain with [Earbud Brand], not my coworker.”

Customer: “But you were the one who stocked these earbuds. You should have realised people cannot see what they are buying, and they cannot open them! You shouldn’t sell these.”

Me: “Well, it’s the law that we cannot sell opened boxes on earbuds for hygienic reason. I can’t change the law.”

(He pays for them and still goes on a rant about how it’s our fault.)

Customer: “When you go to [Grocery Store], do you not see the food you’re buying?

Me: “Some pasta comes in boxes and you cannot see it. Same with some of the sauces”

(He then stormed off. I finished my shift ten minutes later and walked by a grocery store: chocolate bar wrappers and soup cans caught my eye. All things one cannot see in before buying.)