I’m working at a fuel station attached to a grocery store. The city has put a mandate in place that all customers must wear masks when in the building. This is just one example of the customers we’ve been dealing with since.

Me: “Sir, you must put a mask on.”

Customer: “I’m a concealed carry permit holder and I know the Constitution.”

Me: “It is a city mandate that you wear a mask in the building. Put on a mask or leave.”

Customer: “The thirty-ninth amendment—”

Me: “Put on a mask or get out.”

Customer: “I know the Constitution—”

Me: “I will call the police!”

Three minutes later, he came back in to prepay for gas, wearing a mask.

This story is part of our Anti-Masker roundup.

Read the next Anti-Masker roundup story!

Read the Anti-Masker roundup!

I work at a popular phone service store selling the phones and doing tech when needed. We’re a smaller store, so we’re not generally busy, but today, we are. There are only two of us helping out two customers each, bouncing between a sale and a tech problem. All of the customers understand that we are doing our best. Then, a fifth guy comes in, waiting patiently for a few minutes. Eventually, though, his face fills with rage.

Customer: “Can you serve me?! I just need to pay a bill!”

I smiled sheepishly at the person to whom I was selling a phone. He got the idea that it was better to just give this guy what he wanted. I rang out the bill pay and chatted with the guy and then he left.

The next day, my manager sent me a review the guy gave ripping us apart because he couldn’t wait his turn like an adult. Bad surveys mean we lose money out of our paycheck.

This one is kind of on me a little bit. I work at a popular phone retailer selling the phones and doing tech. A mother and her four-year-old son come into the store, and the mother is considering switching to our network. The son is a terror. He spits on the floor and starts licking the counters. The mom doesn’t do anything about this except impotently telling him to stop. However, she agrees to switch once her husband comes home from work. 

That evening, they show up, but their kid is with them. Fair enough; they can’t just leave him. He’s no better behaved than the previous time. He’s licking things, twisting the door push bar to create that wonderful screeching metal noise, and running around the store. His parents tell him if he behaves, he’ll get a cookie when they get home. So, naturally, they get him one in the middle of all of this. As he’s eating it, a chunk breaks off.

Customer: “Oh, you’re going to have to clean that up! We do not do that!”

The kid grins and smashes the cookie into the floor.

Customer: “You’re going to have to clean that up!”

I am thinking that she’s serious but I’m still half-joking.

Me: “I have a broom in the back I could get him.”

The husband ends up cleaning up the bigger pieces, leaving a ton of tiny pieces for me to clean up. The parents temporarily take the cookie and put him in the corner, but they give it back. I’m keeping my cool. I get it; he’s four and this has to be boring. He goes back to his parents and starts licking a display case.

Me: “All right, we’re transferring over your data. It shouldn’t take terribly long.”

Customer: “Oh, thank you! It’s cool that you can do that!”

The kid then starts picking his nose. The mother tries to stop him, but he doesn’t care. I inwardly grimace but don’t do say anything, trying not to think about the fact that I’m the one who has to clean up anything he does just like I did that afternoon. Finally, the kid picks his nose and wipes it on the display case that he’s been licking. I respond before I can stop myself.

Me: “Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me!”

Again, it was all on me to clean up anything he did. I apologized to his parents for the little outburst, cleaned up the kid’s mess for the third time that day, and finished everything up. The three of us left on friendly terms.

The next day, I got the survey they left. They gave me a horrible one because I was rude to their kid, who licked display cases, spit on the floor, wiped his snot on a display case, squeaked the door push bar, and smashed a cookie on the ground. And all I said was, “Are you kidding me?” Oy.

I was a seventeen-year-old who was three months into my first real job. It was December, and I was working when I got my period out of nowhere. Embarrassed, I spoke in confidence to my manager and she said I could change into clothes from the store and pay later.

Solid. I did. I went to pay but my card was declined. It turns out, I’d brought the wrong one with me this time and had left the other one at home — irresponsible on my part.

I told my manager that I worked the next day and would be able to pay with the store credit card then. I’d even put the tags of the clothes in my locker to remember to pay. I’d only been working two and a half months and if I left early, I would be fired.

Hesitant, she said okay and let me finish my shift.

Not even an hour later, I got called back to the office and another manager was standing there, smug, and the original manager was with her. They explained that I couldn’t leave until I found a way to pay for the clothes I was wearing. I told them I’d figure it out and headed out to finish my shift.

By the time my shift ended, I was practically crying to my coworker about how embarrassed I was that I was dirty and tired, sitting and waiting for my mom to show up and pay for my clothes.

My mom showed up and went off, while I insisted she let it go. The smug manager said that I had the option to go home and change without penalty. I said that I wasn’t given that option and she didn’t respond. I couldn’t take her up on that offer, anyway, since I live over half an hour away.

I explained that I didn’t want to get fired for leaving my shift two hours early and she understood. I told her I planned on paying for it and she claimed it was stealing if I left, something they can call the cops for.

I guess it hurt my mom when another woman implied I was a thief, and she quit for me out of anger.

I finally cried, and the next day, I called the store leader and she had heard what happened. I quit for myself and said it would be my last day and that the low wage just wasn’t worth it.

I feel like it was a big deal for nothing, but I don’t think I would want my own daughter to feel disgusting while waiting for me to arrive to pay, and then be told she’s stealing and have the fear of the cops being called on her. It was a very mixed-feelings type of thing, and I still feel bad about it.

We’re in the process of setting up new phone and Internet service through a new — to us — IT company. The IT company requests that we call our current provider to confirm cancellation.  

I make the first call to the small business line.

Me: “Hi. I’m calling because we’ve switched our service provider to [New Company] and I’ve been asked to call and confirm you’ve disconnected our service with your company.”

Representative #1: *Asks verification questions* “Okay, well, no one can help you with this in our department. You’ll have to call the Wholesale Department at [number].”

I make my second call to the wholesale line.

Me: “Hi. I’m calling because we’ve switched our service provider to [New Company] and I’ve been asked to call and confirm you’ve disconnected our service with your company. I’ve just spoken with [Representative #1] in Small Business and he said I have to speak with you.”

Representative #2: “I don’t know why they’d have you call me. I see that a port request was made, but it wasn’t for all numbers, and one repeats. Plus, this wasn’t made by [New Company]; this was requested by ‘Level 3,’ but I don’t know who that is and there’s nothing in the notes.”

Me: “I don’t understand what you’re referring to. We’re working with an IT company that is working with [New Company] and I’ve just been asked to call and make sure all our services are canceled with you.”

[Representative #2] repeats the same information over again.

Me: “Again, I’m just calling to confirm our services have been disconnected with you. If they haven’t yet, then we need to have them disconnected.”

Representative #2: *Repeats the information again* “—and that’s all I can help with. Here’s your ticket number; you’ll have to call [New Company].”

I disconnect the call as I’m frustrated and only have so much time to spend on this at the moment. I email IT and explain that I’ve tried to disconnect and they are just telling me to call [New Company], which I have not done because there’s nothing [New Company] can do. I’m hopeful that IT will have something to offer as to why this is so difficult.

IT Email: “Just call the number for customer service on your [New Company] bill. Give them your account number and request that all services be canceled ASAP. Ignore anything they say about your phone numbers being lost, etc. They may give you a little bit of a last-ditch sales pitch, but just hold firm and tell them you have already switched everything and just need to cancel.”

I’m frustrated since this is what I’ve been trying to do. I call customer service again, changing my wording a little.

This is now my third call, which is to general customer service for business.

Representative #3: “Hi, my name is [Representative #3]; how can I assist you today?”

Me: “Hi, I’m calling because we’ve switched our service provider to [New Company] and our services with you need to be disconnected.”

[Representative #3] hangs up on me.

I make my fourth call, also to general customer service for business.

Representative #4: “Hi, my name is [Representative #4]; how can I assist you today?”

Me: “Hi, this is my fourth call today. I’m calling because we’ve switched our service provider to [New Company] and our services with you need to be disconnected.”

[Representative #4] tries to talk me into staying, gives me price options, etc.

Me: “No, thank you. I just want the service disconnected. There’s no need for any of that.”

Representative #4: “Okay, give me just a few minutes and I can disconnect your service.” 

This representative comes back on the line with a confirmation number.

Me: “I appreciate your help today; as I said before, you’re the fourth person I’ve spoken with, but the only one that has helped me with this.”

Representative #4: “Yeah, I looked at the notes while I was performing the disconnect, and I can see all the other times you called today requesting a disconnect. No one else ever took action. I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.”

Wow!