I’m at a small grocery store, and a homeless-looking guy comes up to me at the entrance.

Homeless Guy: “Would you be able to buy me a meal?”

Me: “Would a soda, chips, and a hot dog be good?”

Homeless Guy: “Yes!”

I tell him I will meet him at the checkout in five minutes while I grab a few things. I get to the checkout, and he has TWO sodas, both opened, a $16 bag of beef jerky, opened, cheetos and chips, opened, two hot dogs, and a piece of pizza!

Me: *To the cashier.* “I am paying for one soda, one bag of chips, and one hot dog for him. That’s it.”

Cashier: *Rolling her eyes.* “Yeah, he’s done this before.” *To the guy.* “I’m calling the police again!”

Homeless Guy: “I ain’t stealin’ nothin’!”

Cashier: “It’s theft by deception! Stop frickin’ deceiving customers! I’m calling the police, and next time I see you, I’m calling them before you get a chance to do this again!”

Homeless Guy: *Grabbing as many items as he can as he storms out.* “F*** you, you f****** b****!”

Me: *To the cashier.* “I am so sorry.”

Cashier: “Yeah, you’re not the first good Samaritan he’s conned this week. Most just pay for it. You’re the first that stood up to him.”

I work at a shoe store. We are currently working with an organization that helps foster kids in need. When we get to the total screen of a purchase, the PIN pad will ask how they’d like to donate. It has a “Round Up” option and dollar increments up to five. There is also a cancel button, in case you don’t want to donate. Everything on the pad is clear.

Me: “Okay, the PIN pad is going to ask how you’d like to donate today. It goes to foster kids in need.”

I wait a beat while she chooses her option.

Me: “Your total is [amount] today.”

I hit “debit” as she has already put her card in. After it’s authorized:

Lady: “What’s that five-dollar charge that was on there?”

Me: *Looks at her receipt* “It was a donation to foster kids in need.”

Lady: “I didn’t mean to do that; I hit cancel. Can I get my five dollars back?”

Me: “I’m not sure it will let me. Let me look.”

I know there’s no way to give back donations. There’s also no way she accidentally hit the five-dollar button.

Me: “I’m sorry, it doesn’t look like I can.”

Lady: “Well, what if we refund the whole transaction and redo it?”

Me: “I’m sorry, I can’t.”

My boss has come up at this point and is also trying to figure out if we can refund the five dollars. We both know we can’t, so my boss opens the cash drawer and gives the lady five dollars.

Lady: *To me* “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

She then left.

My boss did end up putting five dollars back in the drawer. My faith in humanity plummeted. Why donate and then get mad about it? I’ve had no one ever do that before, and I hope they won’t again.

I was walking down the street drinking a smoothie when one of those people who try and get you to sign up for donations started yelling at me.

Worker: “MISS! MISS! HEY, MISS, OVER HERE!”

I ignored him because I’m terrible at saying no and carried on down the street with my smoothie.

Worker: “What flavor is that miss? B***H FLAVOR?!”

It was so quick and caught me so off guard that I nearly spat my drink out trying not to burst out laughing.

CONTENT WARNING: Mention of feces

I work at a charity thrift store in a really bad part of my city. A lady comes into the store with three little dogs. We have a no pets allowed policy, but it’s completely ignored unless a dog is aggressive.

This lady’s dog takes a dump on the carpet, so my supervising cashier gets a bag and prepares to pick it up. Before he can even get to it, she grabs the poop with her BARE F****** HANDS and throws it in the trash herself. 

My manager and I make grossed-out faces from sheer disgust, which she notices.

Customer: “You’re being so rude! I’m never coming back!”

She storms out, dirty hands and all, and my manager turns to me.

Manager: “I mean… at least she picked it up?”

I overworked and was underpaid for a client, building a website for a charity. I did the math, and I made under $5 an hour once I counted all the hours I’d spent explaining basic concepts to her over the phone. 

A year after I made this site, I called her.

Me: “Your domain and hosting is up, and you’ll need to renew it for another year.”

Client: “I never used that website. Why would I pay you to renew it?”

Me: “You don’t have to! But the site will expire and disappear in two weeks. If that’s what you choose, please don’t call me again.”

I got a missed call from her yesterday — one week after the domain expiration date.