(I’m a delivery driver for a sandwich shop that is known for its speed. It is important to me that I get to the customer and back to the shop for various professional reasons. Today I made a delivery to an office. It’s the weekend so they left a note on the ticket to call them. This is not unusual as offices are usually locked so the customer has to come outside and meet me. I call the customer and this is the conversation.)

Me: “Hello, this is [My Name] from [Store]. I’m in the lobby.”

Customer: “Cool, I’ll be right there. I’m just around the corner.”

(I waited….. and waited. He wasn’t at the address. He was out making deliveries of his own. When my area manager asked why I was gone for 20 minutes at a location less than a mile from our own and I explained, his jaw hit the floor. I didn’t get in trouble, and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out for that customer again. He didn’t even tip me, too!)

(I’m putting groceries into my cart at the check-out line. I am wearing a red T-shirt. The employees at the store also wear red shirts. A female worker walks up to me.)

Worker: *making gestures to follow her* “Come here. You’re needed.”

Me: *I look at the worker confused*

Worker: “Aren’t you the new tech guy?”

Me: “Uh…”

Worker: “Don’t you work here?”

Me: “Um, no.”

Worker: “Are you sure you don’t work here?”

Me: “I’m fourteen. I’m sure I don’t work here.”

This story is part of our “I Don’t Work Here” roundup!

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(My husband owns a restaurant and I work as a hostess. A couple walks in with their young daughter, who is maybe three or four. I have full sleeve tattoos on both my arms and bright blue hair. I am also heavily pregnant.)

Me: “Hello, welcome to [Restaurant]! Two adults and one child?”

(The wife is staring at me horrified.)

Customer: “You should be ashamed!”

Me: “Excuse me?”

Customer: “Bringing a child into this world looking like that. Have you no respect? I bet you’re on something, too. Your baby is going to have so many problems.”

(I’m obviously shocked and nearly in tears. Her husband looks mortified by her behavior.)

Customer’s Husband: *to me* “I’m so sorry. She’s usually not like this.” *to her* “There is no need to berate this poor woman.”

(The woman continues to insult me over her husband’s pleas. Luckily one of our servers hears and goes and gets my husband, who is also heavily tattooed, who had been cleaning and is wearing long yellow gloves.)

My Husband: “Ma’am I think you need to leave.”

Customer: “Who are you? A dishwasher? I demand to see the owner and complain about his hoodlum employees!”

My Husband: “Actually I’m the owner and you’ve been insulting my wife here.” *turning to her husband and daughter* “You two are free to stay but she must leave.”

(The customer looks pointedly at her husband who sighs heavily.)

Customer’s Husband: “Go home, dear.”

(The customer stormed out angrily, cursing. Luckily she didn’t try to come back and her husband left me a hefty tip!)

I work part-time at a well-known fast food restaurant. After a busy lunch period, I’m in the dining room cleaning up. The floor is absolutely filthy after having some 2500 people through the doors in around two hours or so.

After changing bins and clearing tables, I sweep and mop the entire floor. While I am doing this, a female customer is watching me from a nearby table with her two small children. They eat their meals and linger for a while, with the mother continuing to watch me and the two children playing with the toys that came with their meals.

It takes me about 45 minutes to finish sweeping and mopping the floor. I finally finish the last corner and just as I’m putting the mop back in the bucket, the woman stands up with her two kids and begins to walk towards me carrying their tray. I am standing near the bins, so I think nothing of it.

They stopped next to the bins, and the mother made eye contact with me, pulled the lid off her almost full large soda and poured the entire thing on the floor, never breaking eye contact. She then dropped the cup, lid, and straw, as well as the entire tray of rubbish, onto the ground into the soda, and then proceeded to walk over it, and out of the store. I was too shocked to even respond.

(I’m on the phone with a customer inquiring about flights to a certain destination. Airline #1 has multiple flights per day, while Airline #2 flies once per day.)

Me: “So the cheapest flight for [Airline #1] flying to [Destination] is £[Total], and the cheapest flight for [Airline #2] is £[Total].”

Customer: “Why does [Airline #2] only fly to [Destination] once per day?”

Me: “I’m sorry?”

Customer: “I don’t like the times for [Airline #2]. Can’t I fly at a different time?”

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but I have no control over how often airline companies schedule their flights. If you want to arrive by a certain time, [Airline #1] would be the better option.”

Customer: “I still don’t get it. Why doesn’t [Airline #2] fly to [Destination] more often? Their counter at the airport is much bigger than [Airline #1]!”

Me: “…”

Customer: “Hello?”

Me: *trying to keep a straight face while talking* “No, ma’am, the size of the check-in counter has no relation to how many flights an airline has.”