Due to a variety of circumstances, our health insurance benefits come from my husband’s former (lousy) employer. They have switched to a new plan that is horrible. I signed us up for a plan from the marketplace but we are forced to keep the current plan for a month. I need to pick up a refill on my husband’s medication and it’s less than a week before Christmas.

Me: “I’m here to pick up a prescription for [Husband].”

Tech: “Sure. Can I get a date of birth?”

She enters the date of birth and freezes, staring at the computer. Finally, she starts to speak.

Tech: “Um, yeah, so, uh, we, we got his inhaler. It, um, it came in today.”

Me: “Okay?”

Tech: “So, it’s um, the insurance…” 

Me: “I assume it’s more expensive under this plan.”

Tech: “Uh, yeah. It’s $405.00.”

Me: “Holy s***. Okay.”

Tech: “So, do you want it?”

Me: “It’s not that I want it. It’s that he needs it, so… yeah.”

Tech: “It’s $405.00.”

Me: “Yes.”

Tech: “Hang on. I’m trying to figure this out.”

Me: “This is horrible insurance. It just started at the beginning of this month and we have new insurance starting next month. I know that’s why. It doesn’t matter about the details.”

Tech: “HANG ON! I’M TRYING TO FIGURE THIS OUT!”

I stand there, stunned.

Tech: “They are saying you haven’t reached your deductible yet. Your deductible is—”

Me: *Interrupting* “I know. This plan started this month. We have a new plan for next year. We will never reach the deductible.”

Tech: *Almost yelling* “I know it’s almost Christmas. I can’t help it!”

Me: “Unless you are actually an insurance company executive in disguise, it’s not your fault. Are you ready for my card?”

Tech: “MA’AM! IT’S $405.00!”

The pharmacist, who had been helping another customer, comes over.

Pharmacist: “It’s fine, [Tech]. She’s not upset. She’s not yelling. Just ring her up.”

Tech: “IT’S NOT MY FAULT!”

Pharmacist: “I know. But she’s not mad at you. Just move and I’ll finish up.”

Just then, the store manager and a security guard come RUNNING toward us.

Manager: “Did they get away?”

Pharmacist: “Who? What’s going on?” *Pauses* “OH, MY GOD! [TECH]! Did you hit the panic button?!”

Tech: “Yes, she was upset.”

Pharmacist: “She was shocked at the price but she was not a problem.”

Manager: “What’s going on?”

Pharmacist: “This lady was picking up a refill. Last month it was $45. The new insurance price was $405.00”

Manager: “HOLY S***!”

Pharmacist: “That’s what the customer said, but she was much quieter about it. She wasn’t yelling or upset. She was just very surprised. I’m going to have a talk with [Tech]. There’s no issue here. You guys can leave.”

He manages to finish things up and I pay. All the while, the manager and security guard stand there, staring at me.

Pharmacist: “Ma’am, I’m really sorry about all this. You did nothing wrong.”

Me: “Look, don’t be too hard on her. I’m going to assume that most people scream at her for things like this. I was expecting the price to have gone up — maybe not by 800% but up. I’m sorry if she thought I was yelling.”

Pharmacist: “You were fine. I think she just needs to take her break now.”

I sincerely hope she calmed down during her break.

A big movie has been released and all shows are sold out. We wait a few weeks for when it gets less busy and drive over in the middle of the week to really beat the crowds. When we get there, the queues are still huge, but we decide to wait.

We wait and wait. The queue moves slowly. I spot a family hovering near the front, trying to push in. Luckily, a security guard stops them. They lie about meeting people inside, then they lie about their daughter needing the toilet, and then they call the security guard and everyone else racist.

The guard does not budge an inch, much to the crowd’s delight.

Me: *To my girlfriend* “Hey, I wonder…”

Girlfriend: “What? Wonder what?”

Me: “Let me try something.”

I get out my phone, and yes, you can book online tickets for the next show; there are only a few left.

Me: “Come on.”

Girlfriend: “Wait, where are we going? We have to queue for tickets.”

I take her to the front and show the guard my phone, and he tries to let us in. The queue jumpers are still waiting by the door, and they aren’t having any of it.

Customer: “Why are you letting them in?”

Guard: “They already paid for their tickets online.”

Customer: “I demand you let us in. I want to pay online.”

Guard: “Then go to the website and do so.”

Customer: “But I don’t have a phone. This is discrimination!”

Guard: “Let go of the door or I will have to call the police.”

She did and we went inside. We made our way through the long line and crowd buying food. Even as we entered the cinema room, she was still stood outside by the doors, trying to get in.

I got food poisoning in college. My boyfriend offered his apartment to rest during the day; it was more comfortable and private than my dorm, he had classes all day, and his roommate was already gone for winter break. He came back in the evening while I was asleep.

Boyfriend: “[My Name]?”

Me: “Yeah?”

Boyfriend: “How are you feeling?”

He slipped his hand up my shirt.

Me: “No.”

I pushed his hand away.

Boyfriend: *Disgusted sound* “Did you sleep all day?”

Me: “Uh, mostly.”

Boyfriend: “I know you’re sick, but you could still, like, load the dishwasher or make dinner or something. My mom always had the house clean, even when she was sick.”

He tried again for my shirt.

Boyfriend: “I can make you feel better.”

Me: “I came over because I’m sick, not because you need a housekeeper or a mom. Stop touching me. I’m serious.”

I slapped his hand and he withdrew.

Boyfriend: “You really didn’t do anything all day?”

Me: *Sarcastic tone* “Well, I threw up a couple of times.”

Boyfriend: “When my mom was sick, she still took care of me and my dad!”

I started to stand up.

Boyfriend: “What are you doing?”

Me: “I’m going back to my room.”

Boyfriend: “But—”

Me: “I can’t talk to you right now. I’m sick. I’m angry. I have to go. I’ll call you later.”

I called him the next day but he rejected the calls. Then, I found a letter taped to my door saying we should no longer see each other because his mother didn’t like me. My friends and I referred to him as “Oedipus” for a long time.

My state has just put out a new mask mandate, and businesses like mine are now requiring masks. A man easily in his forties, if not fifties, comes in refusing to wear a mask. He spends ten minutes repeatedly filming me and my coworkers with his cell phone and asking us taunting, inane questions about the mandate, even though we have nothing to do with it whatsoever and are just doing our jobs.

It’s clear he’s trying to get a rise out of us so he can film us getting angry with him… likely so he can play the victim card and try to claim the “evil maskers” are coming after him. When we don’t give him a reaction, he tries a new tactic. He wanders away and then comes back about thirty seconds later.

Customer: *To me, in a brutal tone* “You’re a f****** fat piece of s***!”

I look up and see him immediately hold up his phone and start recording.

Customer: *Suddenly feigning shock* “Did you just yell at me for exercising my rights and not wearing a mask?!”

Me: “Did you seriously just call me a ‘fat piece of s***’ to try and get me to yell at you so you could film me?”

I gesture to a security camera about ten feet away.

Me: “You know there’s a security camera that records sound literally right there… right?”

He puts down his phone.

Customer: “God d*** it!”

He finally left the building. He didn’t even buy anything! He just decided he was going to come in and start some crap with us. Oh, and side note, I don’t know if our security cameras actually record audio, but he doesn’t know, either.

We are going through a massive heatwave. Air conditioning is extremely rare and everyone is a little irritable from the heat. Eventually, I can’t handle it, so I decide to get some ice cream to cool down, and unsurprisingly, there’s a queue. This specific shop makes fresh churros to order and some people are ordering them so there is a small backlog, but it’s nothing crazy.

A woman walks up behind me and I immediately know she will be trouble when she starts huffing. Some other people begin to glare at her for this, which only makes her more annoyed as she begins whining in annoyance.

We all know she wants to skip the queue so she won’t have to wait, but none of us are letting her do so. By this point, there are maybe fifteen of us waiting and there are three people inside; one is taking orders and the other two are fulfilling orders. Once they have caught up, the one taking the orders walks out and asks us to queue in a U shape so people can access other shops. Most are fine with this, but not this woman. Once the worker goes back inside, she brings her phone out, and this is what I hear.

Customer: “This f****** stupid b**** thinks she can tell me what to do when she won’t go inside and do her own job. Lazy c***s, the whole lot of them. It’s not a difficult thing to do, so who does she think she is not serving me?”

The people in front of me turn to her in surprise at this, but I don’t, having dealt with people like this daily for years. I am able to tune her out for the most part, but she just keeps ranting to whoever is on the phone with constant huffing, whining, and moaning. I am beginning to reach my tether with her when she comes out with the following.

Customer: “Why are they taking so long?! I shouldn’t have to wait like a servant. Can someone move so I can order?”

I don’t hear the next part of this rant as I am let inside, but from what I see, she gets into an argument with people in the queue. I order and wait. The woman comes in and orders a lot of something that is backed up. The moment she is told there is a wait, she goes into a rage.

Customer: “How dare you tell me to wait?! I am a professor at [University five minutes away] and I will not be treated like this! You will serve me right this moment, and if you do not, I will be complaining!”

Remembering years of being the one on the receiving end of this, this does it for me.

Me: “Hey, it is 30° (86° F), most people are off as it’s a weekend and not everywhere is back open yet. We are all tired and desperate for something to cool off. Unlike you, we were taught how to wait our turn. You have been stomping your feet, you have been whining, you have been huffing, and you have been complaining non-stop because you’re not being treated like something special. Now either wait your turn like an adult or stomp off as an overgrown, spoiled three-year-old!”

I got the harshest glare ever for that, but those who were also waiting began to say similar things. She proceeded to stomp out with her nose in the air and not-so-secretly screaming in annoyance, as she hadn’t fully closed the door. Once I finally got called to collect my order, I noticed a hastily written thank-you on a napkin. It wasn’t much, but it felt good to put someone like her in their place for once.