I work for a small grocery store chain. A lot of our customers are regulars, and I’ve learned several people’s rewards numbers and/or usual orders of smokes and alcohol. There has just been a small price increase on some smokes.

Me: “Your usual two-pack of blues?”

Customer: “Yep, you got it.”

I grab the packs of smokes and ring them up.

Me: “Your total is $11.18.”

The customer hands me two fives and then stares at me.

Me: “Oh, I’m sorry, maybe I didn’t say it clearly, but your total is $11.18; you only handed me $10.00.”

Customer: “Oh, $11.18, my bad.”

He hands me another dollar and stares at me expectantly.

Me: “So… do you have eighteen cents?”

Customer: “Nope, only a dime.”

Me: “Oh, okay. Well, I can put one pack back if you need, since you still owe eighteen cents. Nobody has left change yet today.”

Customer: “So, you mean to tell me you won’t sell me my smokes? It’s eighteen cents, kid! It’s not my fault prices went up!”

I’m twenty-two, mind you.

Me: “Sir, I’m sorry, but I can’t just short my till every time someone is a few cents short; it adds up. You’ve got to pay your total or there’s nothing I can do to help you. I’m really sorry. The prices went up about a week ago. I thought you knew when you bought your packs yesterday.”

The customer huffs and throws another dollar at me. I ring him through and give him his change and a receipt.

Me: “Have a nice day! Sorry again!”

Customer: *Disgruntled old man huff*

I work in a children’s toy store that specializes in stuffed animals. I am checking out a guest after having had nothing but a polite and fun interaction with them.

Me: “All right, it’s just gonna prompt for a donation on the PIN pad first!”

Guest: “What does it go to?”

I launch into my well-rehearsed speech about our current campaign.

Me: “[Foundation] donates to—”

Guest: *Interrupting* “Because if it’s going to any abortion clinics, I don’t want to donate.”

I’m temporarily caught off-guard by this. Again, I work in a children’s store. There are at least four HUGE children’s charity groups I can think of right now that I would like to assume come to mind first. I have also not had any problems with the guest leading up to this to indicate this might be a problem.

I am sputtering and trying not to agree with them, while also not making any statements on behalf of [Store].

Me: “Well, they donate through [list of well-known charity groups], as well as local charities. They also donate upwards of [amount of product] each year—”

Guest: “I just don’t want my money going to anything like that. You never know these days.”

They donated $3.

I’m a cashier attendant at a self-checkout. We often pull customers with small orders from the regular registers to the attendant station to get them through the lines faster, but in order to do this, we have to control one of the checkout machines.

My manager brings an elderly customer over to me and asks me to check out his pack of batteries. I take over one of the machines, leaving two that do not have any customers on them.

As I’m scanning the batteries, another elderly man comes to the register that I am running from my attendant station. I call over to him.

Me: “Sir? That machine is currently being used, but the two machines just behind you are open.”

Instead of just taking his few items to one of the open machines, he starts yelling at me.

Man: “I should be able to use this machine! Why isn’t this one working?!”

He finally turns around to use the machine behind him, but while he was yelling, some other customers came up and started using the ones I told him were open. Of course, that is my fault, so he starts yelling at me again.

Meanwhile, I am still trying to get the elderly gentleman with the batteries to pay, but he cannot figure out where the PIN pad is — despite my showing him — or how to use it when he does find it — refusing to let me help him. 

Another machine finally opens up for the man yelling at me and I get him checking out on that one. The man with the batteries figures out paying and leaves. Then, the second man finishes his order, sees the original machine is now open again, and starts yelling at me again.

Man: “I should have been able to check out there!”

All I could do by that time was say, “Goodbye, sir,” and turn away from him. 

At my store, turning away from a yelling customer could have gotten me into trouble for being impolite to the customer, but my managers knew I was the one to handle tough customers. If I had reached the point of ignoring a yelling customer, they deserved it.

I work in an ice cream shop. We currently cannot accept cards due to a problem with the computers. It’s a problem that has been its own week-long ordeal, mostly unrelated to the meat of this story. The point is, however, that we have multiple signs posted.

A family comes in; a mum, a dad, and two kids. The mum orders three ice creams. When I give her the total, she tries to hand me a card. I explain that we can’t take cards right now and that she’ll have to pay with cash. She doesn’t look thrilled but agrees. To be helpful, I offer to keep her ice cream in the fridge while she goes to the cash point. She agrees and I put it in the fridge. I then get distracted by another customer but can see her talking to her husband in the background.

Suddenly, the husband approaches my till and throws down a handful of change.

Husband: “I have £2.50.”

Me: “Yeah, it’s £7.70, sir.”

Husband: “This is ridiculous. You should have signs up saying you can’t take cards.”

Me: “We do.”

I point to a sign right in front of him.

Husband: “Well, I didn’t see it! It should be in my line of sight!” 

He goes on a rant about how the signs should be specially placed where HE can see them.

Me: *Losing patience* “Sir, it’s still £7.70. There’s a cash machine just down the road.”

Husband: “I want to see your manager!”

Now, for most people, this is the worst possible thing that could happen. My managers are awesome, and I know they will recognize this man for the idiot he is being, so I fetch the nearest manager.

I explain the situation to the manager, and the husband starts his rant up again.

Husband: “There should be more signs than just that one up!”

He points at the sign by the card machine.

Me: “Sir, we have had plenty of customers today, and none of them have had a problem seeing the sign.”

Husband: *Very condescending tone* “I am talking to the manager! We are out on a trip, and I am not inclined to go back to the high street to go to a cash machine!”

He doesn’t want to pay… because he can’t be bothered to walk the two minutes it would take to go to a cash point?!

He then starts trying to convince the manager to let him leave without paying, offering to give the manager his contact details and swearing that he will come in tomorrow to pay.

Manager: *Gloriously sarcastic* “Sir, if you can’t be arsed to walk to a cash machine right now, do you really think we’ll believe that you’ll keep your word and come back to pay?”

The husband swears on everything from the Holy Book, to his mum’s grave, to the snow in Narnia that he WILL come back tomorrow. Just believe him! He WILL do it! His promises grow increasingly more outlandish the longer he talks and the longer manager just stands there with an immovable “no” face.

Me: “Sir, in the time we’ve been debating this, you could have been to the cash point and back, and on with your day.”

The husband is already talking over me before I’ve finished speaking.

Husband: “I am talking to the manager!“

Me: “Yes, you are. And now I’m refusing to serve you.”

The man looks at the manager, looking a little gob-smacked.

Manager: “Don’t look at me. Either get your cash from the cash point, or get out. You’re not getting your cones until the entire total crosses my counter in cash.”

Husband: “But I only have £2.50 and I don’t want to walk all that way.”

Manager: “Sucks to be you.”

The man stares, slack-jawed, for a moment, then leaves.

Manager: *To me* “Watch the front. I’m sending an email up the ladder in case he complains.”

It was so nice to know that not all managers sold their souls when they got promoted. And no, we never heard about the incident again.

This story is part of our Best Of January 2021 roundup!

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I’m in line at a Hispanic grocery store with an older Japanese woman in front of me. The cashier finishes ringing her up and the customer hands her a twenty for a six-dollar charge.

Employee: “Here you go, ma’am.”

The employee gives her four dollars in change.

Customer: “Umm, excuse me. You messed up my change.”

Employee: *Dismissively* “No, I didn’t. Now, if you could please move along?”

Customer: “Wait, please, I do need the money.”

The cashier looks noticeably annoyed.

Employee: “Look. I get that English isn’t your first language, but that’s how much change you get from a ten.”

Me: *Interrupting* “Hey, she gave you a twenty, not a ten. Why won’t you give her the right change?”

This seems to set off the cashier, who quickly walks off to get a manager. She brings the manager and talks to her, facing her and ignoring us.

Employee: *In Spanish* “This old lady keeps insisting that I took her ten dollars and won’t go away. “

Me: *Interrupting again in Spanish* “She paid with a twenty and you didn’t give her the correct change.”

The cashier glared at me, and with a huff, took the cash from the register to count it with the manager. They came back about seven minutes later, the manager looking annoyed and the cashier completely unwilling to look me or the older woman in the eyes as she gave her the correct change.