I was working at a single-screen IMAX theater during the release of an installment of a huge movie franchise. We had three people working concessions: one for the register, one for drinks, and the manager handling hot food. The line for concessions was getting long and people were (understandably) unhappy about having to wait.

A woman about six people back in line spoke up.

Customer: “Can someone open another register?”

Me: “We don’t have another register, I’m sorry.”

Customer: *Clapping with each syllable* “O-pen a new reg-is-ter! O-pen a new reg-is-ter! O-pen a—”

Manager: *Doing the same* “Go a-way!”

The woman pushed her way to the front of the line.

Customer: “You—”

Manager: “We have one register, and we are all working to get you into that movie on time.”

Customer: “I am leaving!“

She slapped her ticket on the countertop.

Customer: “You are terrible people!“

[Manager] took the ticket and ripped it up.

Manager: “The exit is right behind you.”

The woman stood there for a moment, shocked. She tried to get [Manager]’s attention, but he just ignored her. Finally, she stormed off toward the theater. [Manager] radioed to the ticket takers to tell them that she was coming and had no ticket. She was escorted off the property by police.

Related:
Lack Of Register Does Not Register, Part 18
Lack Of Register Does Not Register, Part 17
Lack Of Register Does Not Register, Part 16
Lack Of Register Does Not Register, Part 15
Lack Of Register Does Not Register, Part 14

A customer is trying to use a buy-one-get-one-free coupon.

Me: “Sir, you can’t use this coupon.”

Customer: “It’s valid until the fifteenth of October! It’s only October fourth!”

Me: “It expired on the fifteenth of October last year, sir.”

Customer: “Well, it should come back around and be valid again.”

Me: “I’m afraid I already tried to scan it and it’s not working. We do have the same sale happening again this year, though, so I can advise you to go online and get this year’s coupon and—”

Customer: “Oh, I have that, too.”

Me: “Then why did you try to use last year’s?”

Customer: “I didn’t want to waste a perfectly good coupon.”

The customer then fishes out THIS YEAR’S coupon, which works perfectly.

Customer: “Admit it: you underestimated me, didn’t you?”

Me: “Sir, I can honestly say you’re impossible to underestimate.”

Customer: “D*** right!” *Walks out triumphantly*

Related:
The Couponator 36: The Counter-Coupon Cashier
The Couponator 35: Dog Food Day Afternoon
The Couponator 34: Blast From The Past
The Couponator 33: The Double Cross
The Couponator 32: Attack Of The Rulebreaker

I work in a retail pharmacy that also sells cigarettes, so we get people coming in for a pack of smokes frequently.

Our store policy requires us to check a physical and valid photo ID for everyone wanting to buy cigarettes, alcohol, or certain over-the-counter medications. It doesn’t matter if you’re 21 or 121; no ID means no sale.

One evening, a man comes in and immediately asks for a pack of cigarettes. I get him his cigarettes.

Me: “May I see your ID?”

He shows me, and I see that it has expired.

Me: “Sorry, but since your ID has expired, I can’t sell these cigarettes to you.”

Customer: *Very angry* “Other places have accepted it before, and they always tell me to just scan it and get it over with! There’s a two-month grace period after the expiration date.”

Me: “I can’t take an expired ID. If I sold you cigarettes with it, I could lose my job.”

He tries to convince me some more, but I hold firm in my refusal, and he storms out, yelling at me to talk to my manager about it and that “this is all bulls***.”

Later on, I ask my manager on duty about it.

Manager: “He’s completely wrong; the entire ‘grace period’ excuse might apply to a traffic stop with the police but not a cigarette sale at a pharmacy.”

Also, his ID expired on March 24th and this happened on May 25th, so even if there was a two-month window, it still would have been expired!

A while back I was cashing out on a relatively busy day, and several other coworkers were on registers, as well. I was done cashing someone out when one of my newer coworkers needed help replacing the tape in the register. While I was helping my coworker, an older woman came through my line. I was finishing up so I told her I would be with her in a second.

Me: “Hello, I’m sorry for the delay.”

Customer: *Referring to the teenagers* “They shouldn’t be allowed to work here. They can’t do anything. Training them is useless.”

She continued for a minute disparaging young people.

I just wanted her out and didn’t really say anything directly to her. However, in our store, we take expired coupons even if they expired pretty far back. The item the lady bought was coupon-excluded, but I didn’t know until I scanned the coupon. Normally, I would write on it that it had not been used so they could use it again, but I was feeling petty, so I just gave it back to her and wished her a good day.

A while back, my brother-in-law was waiting in the checkout line when a couple nearby started arguing. They had one container of ice cream in their cart, and the woman was trying to convince her husband to go back and grab the last one. It was a slightly unusual flavor from a popular local brand, and she was in full panic-buying mode. If it’s almost gone, we have to buy it all!

To hear my brother-in-law tell it, the exchange went something like this.

Woman: “Come on! Just go grab the last one.”

Man: “But we don’t need two tubs of ice cream!”

Woman: “But there’s only one left!”

And so on and so forth. They argued back and forth until my brother-in-law got fed up listening to them. He walked over to the nearby ice cream cooler, grabbed the last tub of ice cream, and put it in his cart.

They quit arguing after that.