(I am about to move across the country and have reserved a trailer to transport my stuff. I make an appointment to pick it up in two weeks, at a dispatch location run by a different company than the one that owns the trailers. I arrive right when they open to pick up the trailer.)

Desk Person: “I’m sorry; I can’t seem to find your reservation. I’ll have to contact [Trailer Rental Company] to see what is going on.”

(She disappears for a few minutes to make a phone call and comes back looking apologetic.)

Desk Person: “I’m really sorry; they can’t find your reservation, either. They are sending a company rep over to see if they can figure something out. They should be here in about ten minutes.

(Not having any other options, I agree to wait. After an hour, I go back to talk to the desk person.)

Me: “Hey, you guys have [different sized trailers] outside. Those will still work for me. Can I just rent one of those, or at least just get it hooked up, while I wait for this guy?”

(As I am speaking, the company rep shows up behind me.)

Representative: “Hey! I don’t know if you’re going to be renting anything today.”

Me: “I reserved a trailer and need to have everything out of my apartment by tomorrow morning.”

Representative: *smugly* “No, you did not make a reservation. We would have gotten it! Now let’s see if we can still rent you something else.”

(While he is talking I pull up my confirmation e-mail on my phone and hand it to him. The smirk slowly falls from his face while he reads it over and types furiously at his tablet, trying to find my reservation info.)

Representative: “Well… um… It seems you did have a reservation, but it got deleted somehow. We can upgrade you to a larger trailer and knock $100 off the price for your trouble.”

Me: “Fine, just hook it up as quickly as you can.”

(If I could have, I would have gone elsewhere, but my plans to leave the next day didn’t give me many options. I would have given back the discount and larger trailer if I could have traded it back for the hour of packing I lost.)

(I’m walking my dog and he stops to do his business. After he finishes, I pull out a bag to clean it up when I hear a bang behind me. I stop, bag in hand, and look back to see a man on the porch of the nearest house, glaring at me. I’m outside of his fenced-in yard, on the strip of grass maintained by the city.)

Man: “If I see even one bit of crap on my lawn, I’m tracking you down and shooting that dog dead.”

Me: *after standing up to my full 6’6” height* “Try it, and I’ll land you in the hospital.”

(He tripped over himself running back inside. I can understand not wanting to deal with dog crap, but A) it’s not your lawn, B) I’m cleaning it up already, and C) don’t make threats if you aren’t willing to pay for them.)

(Due to an inheritance, we have actual cash in hand to buy a car. We know exactly what we want and can pay for the entire thing up front. We walk into the dealership very excited. No one is in the showroom, but the offices along one side all have people in them. Despite several of them looking right at us and clearly talking about us, we stand around for half an hour waiting for someone to come help us. We finally decide to just leave in frustration. Suddenly, I have HAD IT. I turn around and walk back into the showroom, and one of the men from the offices comes right over to ask if he can help me.)

Me: “Well, you should have. We stood in here for thirty minutes waiting for someone to help us. I know you saw us because you made eye contact with me. My husband and I came in here with cash to buy a [Car] today, but you just lost the sale.”

(He begins to sputter and says that he isn’t a salesman and that they are all in a meeting.)

Me: “I don’t care what your job is; you could have come over when you saw that your store had customers and asked if we needed anything. Instead, you can explain to your boss when he gets my complaint why you sat on your butts and lost him a nice sale. Have a nice day.”

(I am working the cash register at a fast food restaurant. A pregnant woman comes up to me.)

Woman: “Hi, I’m in labor right now. Can I get a big glass of ice water?”

Me: *not sure I heard her correctly* “I… what?”

Woman: “Yeah, I just had a big contraction. Can I get some water?”

Me: “Uh… yeah, totally. Of course.”

(I grab her a cup and begin filling it with ice and water.)

Me: *jokingly* “So you’re not going to have the kid here, are you? I don’t know how to do that.”

Woman: *smirking* “No, I’m not going to have it here. Though you would not believe how backed up the highway is.”

(I give her the water and she rushes out. Her voice was strained throughout the conversation which makes total sense. I later told a coworker what I’d just gone through.)

Coworker: “Yeah, it happens. I had a woman in labor go through the drive-thru once.” *confused* “So you’ve been working food service for ten years and you’ve never had that happen once?”

Me: “Uh… no!”

(A customer barges up to our customer service desk and slams her receipt on the counter.)

Customer: “I want a refund!”

(I check her ticket and see she hasn’t left the store with the item, or checked in to even pick it up, and has just purchased it a few minutes before.)

Me: “Absolutely, I can do that for you. Give me just a few minutes.”

(I start refunding the customer as she glares daggers at me and only seems to become even angrier as I respond to her demand.)

Customer: “Get me a manager!”

Me: “I am a manager, ma’am. Is there something else I can help you with?”

Customer: “I want a store manager!”

Me: “Okay, sure. Let me get one for you.”

(I bring up one of our sales managers.)

Sales Manager: “Yes, ma’am, how can I help you?:

Customer: “He is being very rude!”

Sales Manager: “I’m sorry about that; how is he being rude?”

Customer: “I said I wanted a refund and he just started refunding me! He didn’t even try to save the sale!”

(Yes. That is correct. I was rude for doing exactly what she asked, with no fuss or questions. Not in the way I acted, but because I was doing what she wanted.)