(My husband has had a really hard day at a new job involving physical labour out in the sun. It’s about nine pm and we are on our way home, stopping to get fast food for our two young children and ourselves. We have both worked at different restaurants in this chain before, and are familiar with protocol. We pull up to the drive-thru to someone who seems to have been waiting a few minutes in the other lane, and have enough time to figure out our own meals. After we decide, the employee comes over the speaker to our lane first.)

Employee #1: “Hi! What can I get for you?”

Husband: “I believe the gentleman in the other lane was here first.”

Employee #1: “I’ll be with you in a moment.”

(The employee then greets the vehicle in the other lane, while the driver gives us a wave of thanks, to which we smile and return. We order next, and they tell us to pull ahead. When we get to the window and my husband goes to pay after confirming our order…)

Employee #2: “Yeah, that’s already been paid for.”

Husband: “What?!”

Employee #2: “Yeah, that truck right there–” *points to where the other customer was, now at the intersection beside the restaurant* “–paid for your order.

(We thanked the second employee in shock, too surprised to pay it forward to the next vehicle. We had been going through some tough financial times, and this was the first steady job my husband had been able to find in over eight months, so this counted as an expensive treat to our budget. We are very big on paying it forward, and are very glad that there are other people in our city who do the same.)

(When we take an order for room service, we always close the call by saying, “Your order should be up for you within half an hour.” In this story, the bellman has just come to ask me to call the guest and tell them that the front line in the kitchen is down for some reason and the food is going to take a bit longer. I immediately call the guest. The guest ordered their food about 15 minutes prior to this.)

Me: “Hi. This is [My Name] calling from Room Service. I’m so sorry, but I’ve just been informed that the kitchen is unable to make food at this moment because of a technical difficulty. They’ll hopefully be up and running very soon; would you like to wait a little longer for your order or cancel it?”

Guest: “Well, is there something else I can get? I mean, I’ve been waiting for my food.”

Me: “I’m not sure if they’re able to make anything right now, but I can go ask—”

Guest: *interrupting* “Like maybe a cheese plate?”

Me: “We actually don’t have a cheese plate on our menu here.”

Guest: “Yeah, well, most hotels have them, anyway.”

Me: “I’m afraid we don’t offer a cheese plate, but I’m happy to go ask the kitchen—”

Guest: *interrupting* “Well, I’ve been waiting for my food. You should have called earlier.”

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am. I called you the moment I found out. Would you like me to ask the kitchen—”

Guest: “I could have ordered a pizza. But now I’ve been waiting for my food. Maybe if you had a cheese plate… Or isn’t there something else you can get me? I wish you’d called me earlier.”

Me: “As I said, I called as soon as they informed me. But I can ask the kitchen if there’s anything else they can make.”

Guest: “I just wish you’d called me earlier. Isn’t there anything else I can get?”

(Realising I’m not getting through to her, I give up trying to explain that I need to talk to the kitchen.)

Me: “Please hold, ma’am.”

(I go to ask the chef if they can make anything else for her, and they inform me that the line is actually up and running again, and they’re making her food right now.)

Me: “Ma’am, I’ve actually just spoken to the kitchen, and they’re making your food right now, so that will be along for you in about five minutes.”

Guest: “Well, I wish you’d told me earlier, because you said it would be half an hour and it’s been way longer than that now, and I could have ordered a pizza.”

(It has been about twenty-five minutes since she ordered.)

Me: “As I said, ma’am, I called you as soon as I found out. Your food is on its way now. We are sorry for the inconvenience.”

Guest: “Well, it had better be here soon, then, because I’ve been waiting. You should have called me earlier.”

(My manager ended up comping her meal.)

(I’m going for a walk on our local sea wall. I see a woman and a perhaps seven- or eight-year-old girl coming toward me. As they pass, I hear the little girl say happily:)

Girl: “Now that I know that unicorns are real, there’s all sorts of things I can believe in!”

(I am part of a campground’s janitorial staff, meaning my duties include cleaning the bathroom facilities, picking up litter, etc. This occurs as I am walking with several coworkers from one of the eight bathroom facilities to the next. As we’re passing a campsite, a camper flags us down from his truck.)

Camper: “Do you guys know anything about the wildlife around here?”

(As janitorial staff, the only wildlife knowledge we have to have is what’s endangered, what’s invasive, and what’s dangerous, but while he could very well be asking for something along those lines, I have a passing knowledge beyond that, as well, so I step up.)

Me: “I’m not an expert, but I might still be able to help, and if not I’m sure I can get a hold of someone who can.”

Camper: “Do you think you can identify a bird for me?”

Me: “I could give it a try.”

Camper: “Well, it was about seven feet tall, and it had these pink and purple stripes up and down it.”

(I take a moment to think, mostly about whether or not he’s being serious.)

Me: “I’m sorry, but I’m afraid I have no idea what that could be.”

Camper: “Well, here. Maybe a picture would help.”

(He gets out his phone, brings up a photograph, and shows it to me. It’s a very clear photo of a bald eagle standing on a dune. To this day, I have no idea where he got “seven feet tall,” or “pink and purple stripes” from.)

Me: “Oh, that’s a bald eagle.”

Camper: *looks at picture* “Are you sure?”

(We are going through a financial tight time. One of the ways to cut back is the cable. It’s 2005, so we still have the analog — no receiver needed — service and the digital — receiver needed — service. By talking with a sales agent, we conclude that keeping the digital service only, with one receiver, is cheaper with more channels than keeping the analog service. I do know that they will have to come and install a trap, a filter, to prevent us from cheating and using the analog signal in other rooms. I usually don’t lunch at home, but I live and work in a small village with roughly ten minutes’ walking distance between the two. My girlfriend is out of work, so today I decide to go have lunch at home. Lo and behold, that day, during lunchtime, there’s a service truck from the cable company that stops in front of the house. We’re watching the living room TV from the kitchen. The tech gets his ladder, and climbs the post in front of our house. We get disconnected. I’m thinking, “He’s installing the trap,” but then, he gets down and puts his ladder back on the truck. I get out to confront him.)

Me: “Hi. You disconnected our cable?”

Cable Guy: “Yes. That’s what I had to do.”

Me: “That’s not supposed to be so. We switched to digital only. You should install a trap for the analog signal, not cut us off.”

Cable Guy: *in an annoyed tone, taking his worksheet* “Listen. That’s not my problem. I have it right here. See? I need to dis– Oh… I have to install a trap… Sorry, I’ll get right on it.”

(I go back inside to finish my lunch. He puts his ladder against the post, climbs up, gets down, removes his ladder. We still have no signal. I run out again.)

Me: “Excuse me, but we have no signal.”

Cable Guy: “Can’t be, I just replugged you.”

Me: “I don’t know what to say. I have no signal. Can you check it out?”

(He grumbles and takes his ladder again. I go back inside and turn my forty-inch rear-projection TV towards the window. He climbs up, gets down, gets in his truck, gets back up again, and poof! We have signal. Since it is time for me to go back to work, I walk out and talk to him as he is putting his ladder back to his truck — for the third time.)

Me: “So, what was the problem?”

Cable Guy: “Oh. The center pin broke off. I had to redo the connector.”

Me: “Well, heck of a good thing I happened to be there today. And please, for your next customer, take the time to read your work order properly, and ensure the job is well done before leaving? It would have been h*** to figure out what went wrong with our cable, if I hadn’t been here. Have a good day.”

(I waved my girlfriend goodbye, showing him at the same time that she was watching him.)