(My job at our store is to book collections over the phone. On the day the collection is made our drivers will ring the customer in the morning and will give them a time as to when they will be in there area to collect. An angry customer phones up.)

Me: “Hello, you’ve reached [Shop]. [My Name] speaking. How can I help you?”

Angry Caller: “I was told that I would receive a call in the morning about my collection and I haven’t. I have been waiting in all day! I am a busy person and you are wasting my f****** time!”

Me: “Okay, if I could just take your last name and I will find your collection details. I will ring the drivers for you and find out why they did not call you, find out what time they can be with you, and then I will call you straight back.”

Angry Caller: *gives surname* “You better had. MY time is very valuable!” *hangs up*

(After she hangs up I call both of our drivers who are on the road. As it turns out none of them have a collection under that name, so i check our diary which we keep in the shop and find her collection details. I then proceed to ring her back.)

Me: “Hello is that Mrs. [Angry Caller]?”

Angry Caller: “Yes, speaking.”

Me: “I am calling from [Store] about your collection.”

Angry Caller: “Where the f*** are your drivers then? I still have not received a call as to when they will be here! If they are not collected today I will make a complaint about you for wasting my time!”

Me: “Well, after reviewing your details, I have found out that you booked in your collection for tomorrow, not today.”

Angry Caller: “…” *click*

(The theater company I work for does a charity promotion every summer where we ask customers to donate a dollar or their spare change. Every year, this exact occurrence never fails to happen multiple times on the first day of the promotion:)

Me: “Hello, welcome to [Theater]!”

Customer: “Yes, can I get three tickets for [Movie]?”

Me: “Sure! Would you like to donate $1, or even your spare change, to [Charity]?”

Customer: “What? No, I did that yesterday!”

Me: *facepalm*

This story is part of our Customers Who Dislike Charity roundup!

Read the next Customers Who Dislike Charity roundup story!

Read the Customers Who Dislike Charity roundup!

(I volunteer to answer phones for a charity event to get pledges. We are supposed to answer ‘hello, thank you for calling [Charity]. My name is [My Name]. May I take your pledge amount?’)

Me: “Hello, thank you for calling [My actual full time job Company]… Er, no, I meant, thank you for calling [Other Company I work at part time]… Wait, no, that’s not right…” *getting really flustered* “Thank you for calling… Oh, heck, just give me your money!”

(The caller thought it was hilarious and pledged $500!)

(I’m working on the till at a charity shop when a woman walks in. She has a small handbag, and while it’s open, I can’t see inside. She comes up to me with a book.)

Woman: “Just this, please.”

(I ring her up and tell her the price. When she reaches into her handbag for her purse, I see she has a folded blue blanket with something furry and ginger inside. Naturally, I assume it’s a cuddly toy for a child.)

Woman: *sees me looking* “Oh, do you like him?”

Me: “Him?”

(She takes the object and blanket out of her handbag to show me. To my astonishment, it’s not a cuddly toy, but a ginger kitten so small that its eyes aren’t open!)

Me: “Why do you have a kitten in your bag?”

Woman: *cradling the blanketed kitten gently* “He was pulled out of a burning building, and I’ve been hand-rearing him. I don’t go anywhere without him because he’s so small. At least he’s getting better after the fire!”

(I finish ringing her up and take a moment to pet the kitten. She puts him carefully back into her handbag.)

Woman: “Now to see if I can get him into [Supermarket]!”

Me: “…good luck with that!”

(Later, my manager scolded me for not calling her down. She wanted to pet the kitten, too.)

(I volunteer in a charity second-hand bookstore where all our stock comes from donations. A woman comes into the store.)

Woman: “Excuse me, do you have ‘The Book Thief?’ I can’t remember who wrote it.”

Me: “Um, I’m not sure. Let me check.”

(I ask a coworker, who knows the author. Once we have this we go to the fiction shelves, where the books are in alphabetical order by author.)

Me: “Sorry, we don’t appear to have it.”

Woman: “Oh, no! I need a used copy. I borrowed one off my friend and she wants it back, but my husband accidentally gave it to a charity shop and he can’t remember which one.”

Me: “We can have a look out the back, as we’re currently sorting out some stock.”

Woman: “Would you? Thank you.”

(I go out the back where shelves of books ready to go out are sitting. They are not in order so it takes a few moments to search, but luckily we have one.)

Me: “Got it!” *I hand it over*

Woman: “Thank you so much! This may even be the copy we donated.”

(We head to the till and she offers to pay as we are a charity.)

Me: *as she leaves* “Tell hubby it cost £20 to buy it back!”

Woman: *laughing* “Oh, he’ll be paying for this for a long time!”

(It was only afterwards that we realised the irony in losing a book called ‘The Book Thief!’)