(I work at a clothing store that sells used clothes, allowing us to constantly have sales with the high amount of clothes in stock. This weekend we are having a sale where you can get 20% off whatever you can fit into a bag. Some customers don’t manage to pick up a bag when they first walk in, so at the register, the cashiers are allowed to give them bags to still receive the discount.)

Me: “Hello! Would you like to use a free bag to get 20% off your purchase?”

Customer: “Oh, no, thank you. I don’t even need a bag.”

Me: *confused by her not wanting a free discount* “Okay, well, your total is [total].”

Customer: “Oh, actually, I do have this flyer you guys gave me last time I was here!”

(This flyer mentions the 20% discount bag, but also doubles as a raffle ticket to get a gift card for the store.)

Me: “Oh, sweet! Sounds good; I’ll put it in the raffle bucket!”

(She pays and leaves the store. About ten minutes later, the woman comes back into the store. There is a long line now and I am helping another customer who also didn’t want a bag. The woman cuts the line to ask a different cashier why she didn’t receive the 20% discount.)

Customer: “I was just in here and—” *makes eye contact with me* “SHE didn’t give me my 20% discount!”

Me: “Ma’am, I’m sorry, that’s because you said you didn’t want the bag. You need the bag to get the discount.”

Customer: *stutters* “Well, I gave you the flyer! I should’ve gotten the discount with that!”

Me: *shows her the flyer* “Well, actually, this was so that you knew the discount was this weekend. It also had a raffle ticket for you that I put you in for.”

Customer: “I SWEAR! Okay, fine. Y’know what? Fine.” *stomps out the door*

Me: *to my current customer* “Now, are you sure you don’t want to use a bag to get the discount?”

Other Cashier: *turns to me* “I bet she’s going to cuss you out when she gets back in her car.”

(I’m fairly new and still figuring things out, so I have a coworker standing next to me to make sure I’m entering into the till right.)

Me: “Can I get your first and last name, please?”

(The customer gives their name and asks if we have the discount program. Our store sends discounts by email; we don’t give out a card anymore.)

Me: “Yes, we do! We don’t hand out cards anymore; we just take your email and send you the discounts that way, and if you have a smartphone, you can just show us from your phone or print off the coupons! Could I get your email?”

Customer: “I think that’s ridiculous that everything is on the computer or you have to have one of these stupid smartphones to do anything anymore. Don’t sign me up; we’re old school and we don’t have a computer or smartphone.”

(The customer continues to grumble, and then the husband pipes in with more ranting about technology these days.)

Me: “Well, I’m sorry, guys, but considering the fact that most people have a smartphone or computer these days… it just seems logical, don’t you think?”

Customer: “I still don’t think that’s fair to those who don’t!”

Me: “I understand, but I’m just an employee and I can’t change the policies. Sorry.”

(The customer continues being cranky with her husband on their way out the door.)

Coworker: “Did she really just get upset that we use email instead of a card? Normally, people are happy they don’t have to carry another random card in their wallet.”

Me: “Uh… yup… I felt like I was a five-year-old being scolded. I’m gonna go take fifteen, I think.”

(We’re right on the US border and we have a lot of American tourists in the summer.)

Customer: “Excuse me? What kind of money do you have here?”

Me: “I’m sorry?”

Customer: “Well, I’m from America and we have dollars. What do you have here?”

Me: “We call our currency dollars, too.”

Customer: “Oh, cool.” *yells across the store* “Mom, they have dollars here, too!”

(A few minutes later she asks if I can calculate an exchange rate for her and I do. Then, she asks me to follow her around the store and tell her how much various items are. I explain that I am the only one on and that we are a little busy so I can’t, but I show her how to do it and give her my calculator. She isn’t happy but she finds a lot of things.)

Customer: “Wow, Mom. You can’t get jeans like this in America!” *as she’s holding jeans with a huge “Made in the USA” tag on them*

I recently transferred stores. One of my new coworkers is constantly upset about something. She’s surly and angry all the time and no one ever wants to work with her.

One day, I was clocking in at the same time she was. I saw that, like always, she had her “angry face” on. 

Like always, I thought, “What are you mad about today?” Today, however, I ended up saying it out loud.

I froze and started apologizing. But she looked like her birthday had just come early. She told me about something her boyfriend was supposed to do and didn’t and how he let her down. I could see how that could ruin a person’s day and told her so.

To my surprise, she was much less surly for her shift. I’m not going to pretend she turned into Little Miss Sunshine, but she was actually bearable to be around. 

I decided to try my luck the next time we worked together and asked what she was mad about again. This time it was her mom on her case about flunking some homework. I made the appropriate “that stinks” noises and went about my day. And again, she was much more pleasant to work with. 

This became our routine – I ask her what she’s mad about, she vents about it, and all is well. We’ll never be the bestest of best buds, but I’ve stopped dreading working with her.

(I work as a nanny and I’m in charge of all things relating to this child, including clothes. Two days before the beginning of school, the kid decides that the formal uniform shoes she wears seven or eight times a year are no longer working for her — she wants what her friends have this year — and her parents ask me to go shopping with her, as she will need them for the first day of school. I spend half an hour calling every single shoe store within a half-hour radius to check and see if they have a specific brand and size of black Mary-Janes. I’m down to the last two stores, which are part of a chain. I call the closer branch and they say they didn’t have them. I call the second branch.)

Me: “Hi. I’m looking for black Merrill Mary-Janes in girls size nine. Do you have them in stock?”

Store Manager: “Let me put you on hold for a minute to check.” *hold music* “No, but it looks like our other branch in [Closer Town] has them.”

Me: “Wow… That’s weird; I just got off the phone with them and they said they were out.”

Store Manager: *silence*

Me: “But I guess they were able to find them! Good luck for us!”

Store Manager: “We can have someone drive them over to our store in an hour. Just ask at the checkout.” *click*

(I give him my name, and then go through the process of getting a small child dressed and fed and buckled into the car. We drive twenty-five minutes to the store. When we arrive, I tell an associate that the manager has some Mary-Janes on hold for me. When she comes out with the wrong brand box, I know this isn’t good.)

Me: “These aren’t the brand I need. They are supposed to be Merrill.”

Store Associate: “This is what was put aside… I’ll get the manager.”

(After a five minute wait:)

Store Manager: “Is there a problem?”

Me: “Yes, I told you I needed a specific brand, and you said you had them. This isn’t what I asked for.”

Store Manager: “I never said we had Merrill; I said we had black Mary-Janes in the right size.”

Me: “You heard what I said about the other store and led me to believe that you had what I needed. You knew exactly what you were doing, figuring that after driving all the way here with a kid, two days before school, I’d take what I can get. But that’s definitely not going to happen! And you know what? We’ve been buying shoes for this kid from here for since before she could walk, and that’s not going to happen anymore. We’re leaving.” 

(In the car, I explained to my charge that the man lied to us, so we’re not shopping at this chain ever again. Her mom has no time for bull like this and agreed, so now we get shoes anywhere but that chain. I also wrote to the head office of the company about this, but I’m not holding my breath to hear back.)