*Two older Caucasian ladies come in*

Me: “Hi there, for two?”

Lady #1: “Hi, I’m looking for a restaurant I’m meeting with friends around here that serves a soup with coconut milk. Do you guys serve that?”

Me: “Ahh miss we’re a Japanese ramen restaurant, we don’t add any coconut to our soups. I know Thai restaurants do that, although I don’t know of any Thai restaurants around here.”

Lady #1: “Oh right, Thai. I guess we’ll just eat here and wait for our friends.”

*During the entire time they ask a lot of questions regarding our soups which I don’t mind. They finish their meal, leave, and 3 minutes later come back storming in*

Lady #1: “YOU LIED TO ME!. We just walked by this Thai restaurant next door and saw our friends that we’ve been waiting for this entire time and you said there were no Thai restaurants around here!!”

Me: “Uhhhh, that’s a Taiwanese restaurant.”

*Completely oblivious, she continues to try and argue with me about the differences in the two countries. She also lectures me about if I were to go Germany and pronounce words I would be in the same situation*

Years ago, my brother was working as an accountant for a small chain of mini-marts. Since he was considered management, he was not eligible for overtime, but they wanted him weekly to be on call and to come in on his day off to some task that was not part of his job and not a management task. California law indicated he might be eligible to collect overtime for that after all.

So, he requested about $10,000 to cover the unpaid overtime. The company refused, so he took them to the Labor Board.

He lost his suit with the Labor Board, but as part of the investigation, the Labor Board discovered that the company was shorting the overtime for other employees. The company was forced to pay the overtime and close to $100,000 in fines.

In addition, the investigator discovered that the company had official inventory taken, but then fudged the numbers on the tax returns and kept both the correct and the fraudulent inventories. So, the investigator turned them into the IRS. They were audited and ended up paying close to $500,000 in back taxes and fines.

This put a major crimp in the savings and income of the partners. Whether it was because she didn’t have enough spending money or because she did not want to be associated with the cheats, one of the partner’s wives filed for divorce and in the community property state, she ended up with a quarter of the business, which she insisted on taking in cash.

This resulted in the company going bankrupt. And it all could have been avoided for $10,000.

(I’m at the pharmacy to pick up one of my regular prescriptions. This one is about $5. After the pharmacy tech verifies my identity, the following occurs:)

Tech: “Okay, just this medication? That will be $45.”

Me: “Wait, what? It’s usually $5. Why is it so expensive?”

Tech: “Hmm, looks like we didn’t run it through your insurance.”

Me: “…”

Tech: “…”

Me: “Could you run it through my insurance?”

Tech: *surprised* “You want me to do that?”

Me: “Yes. Yes, I do.”

(I did get my medication for the right price and headed home. This was over a year ago, and I’m still baffled why asking for it to be run through my insurance was such an odd request.)

(I am on a school trip to Disneyland, and like thousands of people around me, I am shopping around. The store I am in has a distinct early 20th century dress code for employees, and as a result, all female employees wear floor length dresses. I am dressed in Avengers leggings, Mickey Mouse ears, crappy sandals, and a tank top.

Customer: “Excuse me, can you show me the mugs you have?”

Me: *looks at my attire then looks back up* “Uhhh…”

Customer’s Friend: “She doesn’t work here, Customer 1″

(They both walked away a bit embarrassed. My friends and I had a good laugh about how much I looked like the employees”

(I work at a movie theater where I am a “Team Leader,” which means that I’m not quite a manager, but I’m in charge of the ushers. I still do basic jobs, but I help organize the other ushers, and I am empowered to help with more difficult customers. Currently, I’m manning the ticket stand.)

Coworker: “Hey. I’ve gotten some people complaining about somebody talking on the phone in theater four.”

Me: “I’ll take care of it. Man the tickets for me.”

(I grab my air-traffic-control-esque light to both let me see in the theater and to give me a level of authority. As I head to the theater, I’m stopped by an upset customer.)

Customer: “There’s a woman in the theater who will not stop talking on her phone, and yells at anybody who asks her to stop.”

Me: “I’m really sorry. I’m on my way to take care of it.”

(The customer follows me back to the theater. I’m stopped by another customer at the actual doors to the theater with the same complaint. I apologize to them, too, and head into the theater. The woman is easy to spot. She’s talking loudly, and her face is lit up by her phone’s light. As I approach her, everybody in the theater is watching me.)

Me: “Ma’am, I’m going to need you to—“

Woman On Phone: “Fine!” *snaps her phone closed* “I was finished with the call, anyway! Everybody is being very rude!”

(Only time I’ve gotten a standing ovation from a movie theater crowd.)