I moved in with my grandpa for a few years after his first stroke to help take care of him. Luckily, he recovered quite a lot after it and didn’t truly need 100% around-the-clock care, but he wasn’t allowed to drive anymore or cook or operate the yard work equipment. I was there to help with that type of stuff.

There was this bagel shop that I would drive past every day on my way to work, and on Saturdays, stopping there for breakfast was my special treat. I literally stopped by almost every Saturday for the three years that I lived with my grandpa. It only took a couple of months before the staff — especially the manager — recognized me and knew my order. I always ordered the same coffee drink and would rotate through a few different bagel orders.

The Saturday I realized that I was such a regular was very busy as it was graduation weekend for the local college. I walked in and right as I joined the line, the manager addressed me.

Manager: “Hi, [My Name]. I’ll get that [regular drink order] started for you. We only have one of [a regular bagel order] left, but if you want to wait about ten minutes, the other ones you like will be cooled so we can cut them.”

Me: “Thanks for the heads-up.”

The experience truly cemented to me the impactfulness that being a kind regular someplace can have on your life.

My grandpa passed away. I moved out very shortly after his death because it was too hard being in that house alone. A handful of months passed. It was a Saturday, and I had been up at the house helping my family do the last deep clean of the place before it was listed on the market. On a whim, I decided to stop by my old bagel shop on my way home.

As I walked in the door, I could tell that all the staff had changed. I figured that since it had been a while, I wouldn’t be recognized. As I was approaching the counter, that same manager came up front.

Manager: “[My Name]! I haven’t seen you come by in a while. How are things? Do you still like your [regular drink order]?”

I was completely stunned that this almost stranger — but not really a stranger — remembered me, let alone still remembered my order months after not seeing them. After a rough emotional morning of cleaning out my grandpa’s house, the kindness of the situation hit me and I started tearing up a little.

I responded, trying to not totally start crying.

Me: “Yes.”

Manager: *Concern in their voice* “Do you still like [one of my bagel orders]?”

Me: “Yes.” *Deep breath* “I would like that, please.”

The manager made my order and then brought it over to me and sat down with me for a moment. We talked a bit about what had happened and why I hadn’t been around. That was the last time I saw them, but their kindness will always stay with me, and I hope they are doing well in life. That moment really taught me that you are never truly alone in the world. You make an impression on others’ lives just by going about your daily habits.

The cafe where I work is next to a public park. As the weather warms up, people like to take orders out and sit in the park. There are two homeless men who also hang out in the park, and occasionally, cafe customers try to make staff “remove” them, even though they’re on public property and have never bothered anyone.

Customer: “I can take this out and sit in the park, right?”

Me: “Of course, but be aware that you’ll need to return your items here and that the park is public property and not part of [Cafe].”

She leaves. After a minute, we hear her screaming.

Customer: “Get the f*** away from me! No one wants you here! Don’t you dare even look at me!”

The owner locks eyes with me and makes a horrified face. We both start to rush outside to intervene when we hear:

Customer: “G**d*** goose from Hell!”

The customer standing in the park, sandwich and coffee held high above her head, and as we get outside, she lands a solid kick on the body of a Canada goose, which finally takes off running.

The customer turns to her friend, who’s staring with his mouth open.

Customer: “Never tell me Tae Kwon Do is useless again!”

I work at a coffee shop/cafe part-time. It is a Sunday, and we closed at 1:00 pm. It is 2:15, and I am still there because we clean the place TOTALLY after every shift. The door is locked, of course, and the signs are flipped to “Closed.” All lights are off.

Then, a woman walks in and sits down at a table.

Me: “Ma’am, I’m sorry, but we closed at 1:00.”

Customer: “What? That’s way too early! I want lunch!”

Me: “On Sundays, we don’t serve lunch at all and only have a breakfast menu. How did you get in? I’m sure I locked both doors.”

Customer: “Well, I was able to jiggle it open.”

Sure enough, she did; the lock bolt was partially protruding but apparently hadn’t caught well enough. Apparently, our lock would make a loud click after one and a half revolutions, which implied that it was bolted, but the key had to turn TWO full revolutions before the bolt was completely engaged. She had tugged on the door, felt it stick, and simply given it a vigorous shaking until it jiggled open. I had missed the sound because I had been in the back.

I stood there in a WTF moment. Then, as gently as I could, I guided her back to the door and suggested that she was lucky I didn’t have her arrested for trespassing and for forcing the door. Then, I relocked the door, this time making sure the lock was thoroughly engaged.

I work early mornings at a pharmacy. There is a bagel shop on the way to work, so when I have money to spare, I get a rainbow bagel. The default is usually to toast the bagel, but I prefer my bagels not toasted. I get up to the counter after waiting in line.

Me: “Rainbow bagel with cream cheese, not toasted.”

Employee #1: “Not toasted?”

Me: “Not toasted.”

I pay and I see a rainbow bagel go into their toaster from over the counter. I’m a little suspicious, but I shrug it off at first; maybe someone else got a rainbow bagel.

Employee #2: “Rainbow bagel with cream cheese?”

I go up and take the bag. It feels warm, but it is under a heat lamp.

Me: “Not toasted?”

Employee #2: Not toasted!”

I took my bag and left. When I got to work, I found that the bagel was not only toasted, it was BURNT. My rainbow bagel was more black than any other color. Even worse, I didn’t have time to go back and have them fix it. That was a long, hungry day at work.

When I got my first job, I worked at a wildly popular tourist location in their cafe. Now, being a young eighteen-year-old at their first job, I did everything to a T. Working food service isn’t hard, but the customers never make it easy for you.

On this particular day, it was quite busy and I couldn’t see the end of the line. The kitchen was throwing orders up to the pass, and each cashier’s transaction was probably no more than two minutes, so we were constantly moving. It was required of us to also upsell as much as possible — not that we were rewarded for it or anything, but if the manager didn’t hear us try, we would get talked to.

I had done a bunch of fairly easy orders and customers could see how busy we were, so they were generally quite nice to us… except for this one lady, her husband, and their child who was definitely way too old for a stroller.

This lady came up, ready to order, but she had a question.

Customer: “I just wanted to know what the grilled cheese is? Like what is that?”

In all honesty, I was a little shocked because it’s not like a grilled cheese was like… a food from a different culture? I could understand if it was literally any other food, but a grilled cheese is quite common in North America. This woman was speaking North American English with no accent.

Me: “Um… it’s two pieces of bread with a few slices of cheese in between, and we grill it on a panini press.”

She didn’t really seem to understand the concept.

Customer: “So, it’s like a sandwich?”

Me: “Yeah, they just grill it so that the cheese melts and it’s crispy.”

Customer: “Um, okay. I’ll get one of those, then.”

Me: “Okay, cool. Would you like it with some fries and a drink?”

The lady instantly froze. I repeated the question and she just blinked.

Me: “Did you want fries and a drink, or did you just want the grilled cheese by itself?”

Customer: “I don’t know what that means.”

Me: “Oh, uh… did you want it as a combo? With fries? And a drink?”

At this point, this lady was getting really annoyed, and I really probably should have ended the conversation there, but alas, she went on.

Customer: “I don’t know what that means. I just want a grilled cheese.”

Me: “I was just asking if you also wanted fries and a drink?”

And then she absolutely lost it.

Customer: “I DON’T KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS! THAT’S TOO MANY OPTIONS! I JUST WANT THE GRILLED CHEESE! WHY ARE YOU BEING SO RUDE?!”

Her husband also chimed in and started yelling at me, saying that this was terrible customer service and it was too complicated to understand. I literally just stood there waiting for them to finish. The lady ended up demanding that someone else take their order because I was making it difficult for them.

I pulled someone else to go help and walked into the kitchen and began crying instantly, mostly out of frustration because it was literally not that confusing. I watched through the kitchen doors as the guy helping this lady tried to calm her down, but she was throwing hands like her life depended on it.

To this day, any time I see a grilled cheese, I just get flashbacks.