(I work as a clerk at a grocery store and I am currently serving a short boy — around 5’2” — with a turtleneck and longish hair; he looks rather girlish.)

Man: *behind him* “C’mon, girly. I’ve got places to be.”

Boy: *looking like he’s had to say this a thousand times* “I’m a boy.”

(He continues unloading his full cart rather quickly. After about a minute, the guy decides to speak up again.)

Man: “Come on, you f****** [homophobic slur]; you’re going way too slow!”

(I’m rather surprised by this, but the boy almost grins. There’s a large man who I’d seen him send back a moment ago coming back. He’s a good 6’2” and covered in tattoos.)

Larger Man: “I got the milk!”

(He says this like he’s nine, and it’s kind of adorable. The smaller one looks at him and mutters something.)

Larger Man: *looking down at the rude man, kind demeanor suddenly completely gone*  “I will beat the everloving s*** out of you if you say one more word to my boyfriend.”

(The look on the guy’s face as they finished checking out almost killed me. And don’t worry; I had to card both of them for their beer, and the small guy was 23.)

(I am on my meal break. I get in line to buy my few lunch items behind an awesome coworker. Unfortunately, the lines are long. Soon, a customer begins to edge their way between my coworker and me.)

Customer: “I was already in line. I just left to look at something. The line hasn’t even moved.”

(I feel this is a breach of line etiquette, but, wearing my work uniform, I step aside to avoid seeming rude.)

Awesome Coworker: *to me* “Are you on your lunch?”

Me: “Yes.”

Awesome Coworker: “You can trade spots with me.”

(My awesome coworker then explains to the customer what every hourly worker knows: break time is limited and precious.)

Customer: *belatedly seeming embarrassed* “But wait. Are you on break, too? You can go ahead of me.”

Awesome Coworker: *passive-aggressively, though outwardly perfectly polite* “No, no, it’s fine.”

Customer: *muttering* “I wish someone had told me.”

Awesome Coworker: *a few minutes later in the break room, to me* “Ugh, that customer was terrible!”

Me: “Thank you so much! I didn’t realize you were on break, too. I assumed you traded with me because you were off!”

Awesome Coworker: “Nah, I just wanted to teach that customer good manners.”

Me: “You’re awesome.”

(My roommate and I hit a run of bad luck financially, but I finally managed to get my tax refund after nearly two months of waiting. After catching up on bills, loans, and paying back friends and family, we decide to use the last of the money to stock up our food supplies at H-E-B with more than just cheap TV dinners and canned meals. However, as we are looking at a few of the coupons that are in the store to see what we want and can afford, one of the employees approaches us.)

Employee: “Hey, you two seem to be pretty down on your luck, so I thought you might like this.”

(She hands my roommate a nearly $10 value package of skinless chicken breasts that has a sticker on it reading, “TRY ON US!” Then, she proceeds to explain that the sticker means we will get the entire package — at least five very nice-sized pieces — for free.)

Roommate: “Wait. You mean you are giving us this… for free?”

Employee: “Yes, I can tell by the way you are shopping around and—” *she points at me with my phone that I was using a calculator for the amount remaining in our budget* “—that you are seriously keeping track of how much you are spending. Did something happen?”

(I begin to explain about the various bills, and the fact that we lost power for a few days in the last month due to being late, despite the fact that we were going to pay them quite literally the day after they cut the power. However, they had nearly doubled the total bill in fees for the disconnect, reconnect, deposit, and the like, meaning we had to beg for help to get it back on. In addition, we had a few legal issues, had to get our car repaired, and various other things; the only saving grace was the tax refund.)

Employee: “That sounds pretty bad, but I’m glad to see that you are starting to get back on solid ground. I do hope that this helps you out a little bit, and if you need any help with anything here, we’ll do our best to accommodate you if it’s possible.”

(At this point, my roommate and I start to break down, but we try to keep it contained.)

Me: *voice breaking* “Thank you. We will definitely keep you in mind the next time we come here.” *without realizing it, I find myself hugging the employee* “You have no idea how much this means to us. This store is always so friendly, but we never expected this.”

(As I let the employee go, I begin to feel the tears rolling from my eyes and they blur my vision.)

Roommate: *also in full tears* “Thank you. God bless you. But I think we need to keep shopping around.”

(The employee nods as she starts to head off.)

Employee: “I’m sure good things will be coming to you pretty soon; just make sure you keep looking ahead.”

(After she left, we remained standing and crying from the gift and kindness of the employee. While we are still not in the best situation, we are a lot better than we were then. If you happen to be reading this, H-E-B employee, please know that the gift was made into one of the best dinners we had had in a long time, and may you keep bringing good fortune to others who are in the shoes we were in.)

(I work in a library. A teenage regular comes up to the counter to check out “Twilight.” Normally I don’t care that anyone’s checking out “Twilight,” even though I don’t care for the book myself, but I find it weird that she’d be reading “Twilight” since it’s so different from the horror, adventure, and classic science fiction books she usually favors.)

Me: “Huh. So, what made you want to read Twilight?”

Regular: “My sister.”

Me: “Is she a fan of the books?”

Regular: “No, she hates everything that has to do with Twilight. We like real vampires in our family, like Dracula and Nosferatu, not sparkling fairies.”

Me: “But she recommended it, anyway?”

Regular: “Nope. She was making me angry, so I threatened to torture her by reading it to her, and I always carry my threats through!”

(She walked away smiling once I’d checked the book out for her. I would give anything just to be a fly on the wall during that torture session.)

(I am working the hot meat counter at a supermarket. When it comes near to closing time, we reduce the hot meat down if we have a lot of it left to get rid of. A woman walks up to me about half an hour from closing time. There are three whole hot chickens left.)

Customer: “Why aren’t these chickens reduced?”

Me: “We only reduce them down if we have a lot left, or if it’s bang on closing time. We only have three left, so these may still go as there is still half an hour of trading time left.”

Customer: “But you always reduce them down; I want these chickens reduced!”

Me: “Well, today we do not have enough left to warrant a reduction.”

Customer: “But you are obliged to reduce them down. You reduce them down now so I can take one. Everywhere else does it; you’re out of order.”

Me: “I am not obliged to reduce them down. Obviously, ideally we want to sell them at full price.”

(The woman continues to rant, getting progressively ruder, about how out of order it is to sell these chickens at full price at this time of day. While she is doing this, a girl doing her shopping overhears and looks a bit annoyed at this woman, but then walks off.)

Me: *sigh* “If there are any left bang on closing time, I will then reduce them.”

Customer: “Fine, I will wait.”

(The woman proceeds to wait there for half an hour, giving me nasty looks as I clean the department. At closing time, the chickens are still there, so I make up the reduction stickers, bag up the chickens, and put them on top of the counter. The girl from earlier has reappeared.)

Girl: *to the woman* “You know, you really shouldn’t be so rude to people.”

(The girl proceeds to grab all three reduced chickens, and then runs off with her trolley to the checkout. The woman stares after her in shock.)

Me: *calling after girl* “Thank you for shopping at [Supermarket]!”