(I’m at a well-known Canadian hardware/automotive store, in line to use one of the self checkout machines. I watch another customer get through his purchase without a hitch until he goes to pay.)

Machine: “Please select payment method.”

Customer: *presses button*

Machine: “Please use the pin-pad on the right.”

(The main screen shows a large arrow pointing to the right, along with a picture of the pinpad.)

Customer: *tries to jam card into the coin slot*

Customer: *tries to jam card into bill slot*

Customer: *shoves card into receipt slot*

Customer: *tries to scan card*

(He eventually cancelled the entire purchase and went to a regular cashier.)

(My wife and I volunteer at an ‘alternative’ event for leather enthusiasts. A friend of ours is one of the producers of the event and we don’t have the 200 dollars a piece to spend on admission for the weekend it so we volunteer at the coat check to get in for free on the night of the stage show. Because it is an alternative scene there are a bunch of LGBT people at the event, my wife (a trans-woman) and myself (cis-woman) included, and it is generally regarded as a safe space. My wife has the added benefit of being profoundly deaf and with hearing aids. She has also been dealing with health issues and this the first time she has been out of the house for weeks, so she’s excited to be out. It’s the end of the show so my wife, two other volunteers, and I are running around like mad getting everyone’s items while also making playful, sexy small talk with the patrons while they wait, to keep them happy. A few are already three sheets to the wind. One patron, who is plastered, comes up.)

Patron: “Wow, there’s a few women back here.”

Other Volunteer: “I know! How often do you get such an array of ladies to handle your drawers?”

Patron: *looking pointedly at my partner* “So you are all real women?”

(I start to feel my hackles rise. I protectively put an arm around my wife and proudly declare with a smile…)

Me: “Of course we are ALL real women.”

Patron: *pointing to me* “Hmm, you’re a real woman.” *pointing to my wife* “You aren’t…” *pointing to the other two* “You are and you are…”

(I’m shocked and rush her to get someone’s coat before he can say any more insulting things about her, but while she didn’t catch the whole exchange she knows she was just clocked as transgender. He gets his things and steps away. My wife anxiously asks me what he said.)

Me: “He’s just a drunk; pay no attention to him.”

Wife: *pressing* “What did he say?”

Me: “It’s nothing.”

Wife: “I need to know. You know it drives me crazy not knowing.”

Me: *giving in* “He… said you aren’t a real girl. But he’s a jerk; don’t listen to him.”

(The other volunteers notice her reaction and back me up that he was an idiot and swoop in to support her. I slink over to the bouncer (another friend of ours) and tell him what just happened. He swoops in to deal with the drunk patron. The volunteer co-ordinator and other volunteers offer to let me and my wife take a break until he leaves. I haul my wife to the now almost-empty auditorium where she has a minute to compose herself. Our friend who’s the producer comes out of backstage as I’m rubbing her back. He’s run ragged and tired from running the whole weekend’s festivities and looks the part, but pauses when he sees us. He knows she’s been sick and asks how she’s doing.)

Me: “Oh, someone was just being a jerk.”

Producer Friend: *immediately worried* “What happened?”

Me: “Some drunk said that she wasn’t a ‘real’ girl.”

Producer Friend: *to my wife* “Come here.” *gives her a hug and a kiss* “Don’t listen to idiots like that. They aren’t worth your time. And if I’m in the same room as this guy point him out I will make sure he NEVER attends one of my events ever again! If anyone says you aren’t a real girl they have another thing coming. Got it?”

(My wife nodded and started to smile again. By the time we got back down to the coat check the drunk jerk had left. They cut off his service at the bar so he was forced to go somewhere else.)

(There is a woman in line in front of me. I’m in a hair supply store that sells a variety of things including several brands of shampoo. In fact, there is a whole aisle just for shampoo. The following happens between the person at the front and the customer in front of me:)

Customer: “Where is the purple shampoo?”

Worker: “Well, ma’am, the shampoo aisle is right over there.” *points to shampoo*

Customer: “I know that but I’m looking for a certain one.”

Worker: “Okay, ma’am, do you know the brand?”

Customer: “It’s the purple one.”

Worker: “Well, there is no brand called ‘purple.’ At least, we don’t carry it if there is.”

Customer: “I JUST WANT THE PURPLE SHAMPOO! WHY CAN’T I HAVE IT?”

Worker: “Okay, ma’am, could you describe it to me so maybe I can help?”

Customer: “THE PURPLE ONE! MY HAIRDRESSER SAID GET THE PURPLE ONE!”

Worker: “Ma’am, there are many shampoos we have that are purple in color.”

Customer: “ARE YOU STUPID? I’M ASKING FOR THE PURPLE SHAMPOO! P-U-R-P-L-E! PURPLE!”

(This goes on for a while before the worker goes and gets a random shampoo that is obviously purple in color and sells it to the woman. Then I walk up to the register.)

Me: “Yes, I need the purple shampoo.”

(I work in a buffet line in a breakfast restaurant. Se have a hot pot of oatmeal with raisins, brown sugar, and cinnamon.)

Customer: *pointing at the cinnamon* “Excuse me, is this chocolate? You have very little.”

Me: “No, sir, that is cinnamon.”

Customer: “It’s what?”

Me: “Umm, cinnamon.”

Customer: “Are you making that up? What the h*** is that?”

Me: “It’s something sweet you put in the oatmeal.”

Customer: “So you are saying this is NOT chocolate? Where is the chocolate?

Me: “You can ask your server for chocolate.”

(The customer then grabs the spoon and starts putting a lot of the cinnamon on his milk. He goes to the table and comes back about ten minutes later.)

Customer: “What the f*** kind of chocolate is this!? It tastes horrible!”

Me: “Um, it’s the cinnamon kind?”

Customer: “Oh, must be some type of fancy s***.”

(He then talked to my manager and let her know how annoying it is that they don’t have regular chocolate and have the “cinnamony” kind in our buffet…)

I work in a home improvement store that has a store points card and a store credit card. We had just opened a new location and therefore have a lot of new staff who aren’t as experienced at catching scammers.

Two days in a row a man has come in and bought an expensive grill with a fake credit card. However, because of how we process payments this isn’t brought to our attention until the next day when the accounting department notices several big purchases did not go through. However the third day we are already on alert and because of our security cameras we know what he looks like and thankfully, one of the senior staff members has the pleasure of interacting with him.

She immediately becomes suspicious when the man starts asking about the same model of grill that has been stolen. While she pretends to look up information on the grill she actually looks for his picture in our company email and identifies him.

She doesn’t want to scare him away or give him time to leave by calling the police so instead she sells him the grill…

… and the company credit card.

She convinces him to open a card and so he willingly fills in an application with his full name, address, social, etc.

After he leaves she contacts the police, gives them all the information including the CCTV footage, and reports from the account about the credit card charges.

The guy is caught at his house with tens of thousands of dollars with of stolen items (not just from our store) and a bunch of fake credit cards.