I was at a bakery to buy bread. I was waiting in line with my mom when I saw a woman screaming at the bakery’s manager. I couldn’t make out what was going on at first, I just heard her yelling about how:

Customer: “You mistreated my daughter! I will fight for her rights!”

When it was my mom’s turn in line:

My Mom: “What’s going on?”

Baker: “That woman’s daughter, who’s a grown adult, was waiting in line while her mother waited. When it was the daughter’s turn in line, we called her, but she was on her phone and didn’t pay attention. I tried to call her several times, but she paid no attention, so I asked for the next person in line. The daughter then noticed she was skipped, and her mother went FURIOUS and started yelling and asking for the manager because her daughter was “mistreated”.”

This customer, after talking to the manager, went back to the poor baker and yelled for the whole bakery to hear:

Customer: “EVERYONE LOOK! THIS IS THE MAN WHO MISTREATED MY DAUGHTER!”

She then left the bakery, fuming. That was a really weird experience for my mother and me.

After we paid, my mom just said to the baker:

My Mom: “Some people just like to cause a scene.”

Two customers are looking through our selection of baked goods. We have a European theme, so there are lots of items from England, Germany, France, etc.

Customer #1: “What looks good?”

Customer #2: “It all looks so fancy. I just like simple things, like pound cake. Do they have pound cake?”

Customer #1: “This is a fancy European place.”

Customer #2: “Oh. Is it called kilogram cake over there?”

We’re having a pretty bad snowstorm. Today is bad, but tomorrow is meant to be the worst of it. A coworker is playing the local news on their phone:

News: “It is being advised that only essential personnel should be on the roads.”

Boss: “Well, that includes us, too!”

Me: “How are we essential?”

Boss: “Where else are the plow drivers going to get their coffee and donuts?” 

It sounds like a joke, but he was being serious. We did NOT open the next day, despite our boss’s intentions, because none of us could physically leave our houses.

I run my own bakery. It’s New Year’s Day, so we’re closed. My personal cellphone is listed as the main contact number on Google, so I’ve been getting a call here or there asking if we’re open.

Me: “I’m sorry, we’re closed today.”

Caller: “Then why are you answering the phone?!”

Me: “This is a cellphone, ma’am, so I am happy to take a call for enquiries, but I can’t open the store today.”

Caller: “Well, if you’re answering the phone, then you’re open. I require a sheet cake, good for fifty people. It’s for a New Year’s Day picnic, and I will be there to pick it up at noon. You shall write on the top of it the following message—”

Me: “—Ma’am, we’re closed, so that’s not going to happen. Even if we were open, it’s ten in the morning, so that’s nowhere near enough time to customize a sheet cake for you. We usually require at least twenty-four hours’ notice.”

Caller: “Well, since you’re apparently closed today, you should have no other customers to distract you from my order. As I was saying, the message on the top of the cake will be—”

Me: “—Ma’am, we’re closed. I will say no more on the matter except Happy New Year.”

I hang up. The same number calls back immediately, and I let it go to voicemail. She calls four more times before giving up. I double-check Google to see if it shows that we’re closed today, and it does, so it’s not like our website and Google are saying different things.

An hour later, I’m alerted to a new one-star review on Google saying we provide terrible service for not being open on Jan 1^st. It takes less than an hour to get Google to take the review down, based on our opening hours.

By mid-January, I shelled out the cash to get a business land line for the bakery, and rescued myself from taking business calls on my cell.

I worked at a cake shop. We sell cakes and similar confectionery. A customer walks in, looks at what we have for a while, comes up to the counter, and says:

Customer: “Do you guys sell samosas?”

Me: “Uh, no, sir. This is a cake shop.”

Customer: “Hmm, well, you should!”

Me: “Would you like to buy a cake, sir?”

Customer: “You got anything with chicken?”

Me: “No, sir. Just cakes.”

Customer: “Ah, well, worth a try.”

Me: “Soooo… is there anything you’d like that we do sell?”

Customer: “Yeah, I need some paperclips. Oh, and photo frames.”

I look around the store to double-check that we haven’t been teleported to a totally different store without me noticing.

Me: “Sir, we sell cakes. Only cakes. Sweet edible cakes. We don’t sell savory food, and we don’t sell stationery supplies.”

Customer: “…So you do sell photo frames?”

Me: “…”

He eventually left without buying anything. I was worried when I saw him get into a car and drive away…