I was working at one of the only bookstore chains left in the USA when I got a call from an older woman. It started out unremarkable, with her asking for directions to our store. Then, she asked if we had a certain beauty store next to ours. In fact, we did. Then, she launched into a line of questioning that went like this.

Caller: “Does [Beauty Store] have [product]?”

Me: “I’m not sure, ma’am; I don’t work there. I’d be happy to answer any questions about [My Bookstore]’s products, though.”

Caller: “Well, can you tell me how much [product] is?”

Me: *Pauses* “No. I have no idea about any of their products. I don’t work there. I hardly ever even go in there.”

Caller: *Sounding annoyed* “Can you at least give me their phone number, then, so I can talk to someone that knows?”

Me: “I don’t have it on hand. Why don’t you look it up?”

She then hung up on me, but not before telling me how unhelpful and rude I was.

CONTENT WARNING: Antisemitism

About twenty years ago, I was working at a bookstore. I was organizing books in the children’s section when an older man approached. I don’t remember if there was any kind of endcap or display that might have prompted this comment, but I do know it was the first thing he said to me.

Customer: “You know, the Holocaust was actually good for the Jews.”

Me: *In complete shock* “What?”

Customer: “Yeah. Before that, everyone hated them, but there was so much sympathy cause of the camps, so they’re doing much better now.”

Me: “I don’t think the Jewish people see it that way.”

Customer: “They should. It’s much better for them now. They should thank Hitler.”

Me: “I… need to get some stock from the back.”

Mostly, I just wanted to get away from him, but I saw the store manager in the back, so I told her what he’d said.

Manager: “As long as he isn’t bothering any customers, he’s fine.”

I was still pretty young and inexperienced at the time, so I didn’t do anything else, but I think about that encounter all the time, especially as more and more antisemitism shows up in the news and across social media.

A woman and her partner are next in line. I call them down to my register. When they get there, the woman points at something.

Customer: “Oh! Ha! Someone left their bottle of soda behind! It’s full! Ha! Sucks to be them!”

She is speaking in an incredibly snarky way, gloating over someone else’s misfortune.

I ring up her purchases, put them in a bag, and set it on the counter. She pays, I hand her the receipt, and she starts walking away without her bag.

Me: “Ma’am! You’ve forgotten your bag!”

She stomps back to the register, face beet red.

Customer: “How rude! You shouldn’t point out forgotten bags to customers that way! No one has ever been that rude to me in my whole life!”

She grabbed the bag and continued to mutter loudly as she stormed out. I was thoroughly confused.

I am approached by a customer in her early twenties.

Customer: “I’m looking for a book called 565 Saints.”

I look it up on the computer but find nothing.

Customer: “Try 567 Saints.”

I do; still nothing.

Me: “What the book was about?”

Customer: “It’s a book full of quotes from all these different saints — one for every day of the year.”

I type in “365 Saints” and bingo.

Customer: “Oh, wow! You’re smart!”

A customer comes up to the main desk at the bookstore where I work, looking quite agitated.

Me: “Hello. How can I help you?”

Customer: “This book is faulty, there are pages missing!”

Me: “I’m sorry to hear that. Sometimes mistakes happen during the printing process. Let me get you a flawless copy. I’ll also go through the ones we have left on the shelf to check that they are okay.”

Customer: *Looking quite shocked* “You mean that you don’t check all the books when you get them?”

Me: “No, ma’am, that would be a full-time job in itself.”