I’m grocery shopping, mask on, staying six feet away from everyone, minding my own business. At some point, I kneel down to get something from a bottom shelf when two feet appear next to me, WAY too close.

Creepy Guy: “Yeahhh, that’s what I like to see: pretty young girls down on their knees.”

I freeze. It feels like this guy is literally drooling on me. I’m so disgusted. I get up slowly, shake my head at this sixty-something creep, and put on my most arrogant and disapproving voice.

Me: “Now, now. That’s not a thing that a big mister such as yourself is supposed to be saying, is it? That’s more like something a fourteen-year-old who just discovered his little wiener would say, wouldn’t you agree?”

Creepy Guy: “Well… you… I… It was just a joke! Sheesh, stupid girls can’t even—”

He doesn’t get to finish that sentence because another guy suddenly smacks the back of his head, hard!

Other Guy: “You stupid a**hole! I can’t leave you alone for two minutes! One of these days, you’ll say it to the wrong person, and I’m not visiting you in the hospital or bailing you out of jail! Stop making an a** out of yourself everywhere we go!” *To me* “Ma’am, I’m very, very sorry.”

Me: “Thank you.”

Seriously, who thinks it’s okay to talk to a complete stranger like that in this day and age?

I live in New Zealand. We literally had people wearing tin foil hats at an “anti-[health crisis] mandate protest” here because they believed the government was making them sick with radio waves. The symptoms included a sore throat, cough, runny nose, fever, and exhaustion. But it was definitely not the health crisis illness making them sick, in the middle of our first outbreak, where people had tested positive.

That didn’t exist, apparently. Instead, it was a targeted attack using EMF being emitted by concrete blocks.

I’m so embarrassed.

A woman comes into our store without a mask.

Me: “Ma’am, you must wear a mask in order to shop here.”

Woman: “You are a literal Nazi! This is ridiculous!”

I’ve never been so close to losing my cool. She shouted at my coworker and me for almost ten minutes.

The worst part was that she had a mask in her purse that she finally put on after all of that. It was a flimsy cloth one that had “MIND CONTROL” hand-painted on the front.

I just got hired to work as a custodian at a busy airport, and my trainer is leading me around, showing me where things are, etc. She takes me over to the bathrooms and says that I must clean the men’s bathrooms, which is something I’m scared of since I’m a woman, but I need this job so I don’t say anything. She senses my apprehensiveness and assures me that all I need to do is use my cart to block off the entryway and clean it quickly, which she demonstrates.

Soon, a whole line of men forms to use the bathroom, which they can’t since she’s cleaning it. A grumpy-looking male airport employee comes over and mansplains to her that she needs to hurry up because the customers are waiting to use the bathroom. He then says that she should let them use the bathroom and she should clean “around” them. WTF?

Trainer: *Coldly* “Okay. Whatever.”

Grumpy-Looking Man: “They must use the bathroom! It is unfair! They will be angry!”

Male Customer: *To him* “Hey, chill out. We don’t mind.”

The employee barely spares him a glance.

Grumpy-Looking Man: “It’s unfair and they will be mad!”

Trainer: *Icily* “I. Heard. You.”

They went back and forth, with her sending body language to back off, which he ignored. He got more aggressive, raised his voice to a near yell, and kept repeating to let the men use the bathroom or they’d be angry. Meanwhile, the men and I were staring, just shocked.

Finally, the employee pulled down his mask, spat at her, and then walked off. The men and I stared at each other, unsure of what to do or say. My trainer turned and finishes her cleaning, and then she let the men in. The men apologized on the rude employee’s behalf and she thanked them for their patience. She went straight down to Human Resources and told them what the employee had done.

Since then, he doesn’t make a peep whenever we’re around.

I work in a hotel. My property opened a bit over a year ago. Being newly opened and in the midst of a health crisis, we were a little more generous on rate discounts just to generate some revenue. We had a guy who booked a few rooms for himself and his work crew. He is a lifetime high-status rewards member. These kinds of people are either extremely cool or about as friendly as a hernia; this guest was absolutely the latter.

The guest initially booked for three nights, and we gave him a pretty discounted rate at the jump. I mean, we’re talking like a $69 a night rate. This guy? Nope. He was at the desk two or three times a DAY to complain about something or to take something from the cooler that he insisted he didn’t have to pay for (he did), and he would always, always try to get his rate lowered. He stayed with us a few more times while we were getting our feet wet, we kept giving him his reduced rate, and he just kept on bullying the staff for free stuff, lower rates, and so on and so forth.

He made a booking for thirty-nine nights at least seven months later. He booked two rooms at $99 a night — still a good rate. He spoke directly with our director of sales and knew exactly what he was paying, what he agreed to, and what to expect.

So, what does he do? He checks in and immediately takes six sodas out of the cooler.

Me: “Would you like to pay with cash or card? Or would you prefer to charge it to the room?”

Guest: “I’m a lifetime [rewards program] member; this is free.”

NOPE. We’re going right into the same old behaviors.

Me: “Sir, you get two complimentary waters and a select snack item per room every day, but everything else has to be paid for.”

Guest: “I’m taking the sodas. If you charge me, I’ll claim it as fraud.”

I charge them to his room, recap it to management, inform them what happened, and even pulled the camera footage to prove it. Fifteen minutes later, the guest wants to discuss his rate.

Guest: “I need my rate lowered.”

Me: “You’re in for thirty-nine nights at our extended stay rate of $99 a night. I can’t lower it more.”

Guest: “Then make sure it’s tax-exempt.”

Me: “Okay. I just need to copy your tax-exempt paperwork.”

Guest: “No, you don’t. Fix my f****** rate.”

Me: “Yeah, I’m unable to without your paperwork.”

Guest: “[Director Of Sales] has it.”

Me: “But I don’t. I literally cannot change it without those papers. You have you speak to [Director Of Sales] in the morning.”

Guest: “You’re useless.”

And he walked off.

As it turned out, the director of sales did not have this paperwork, because it didn’t exist.

This guy went through nearly this exact process every shift, every day, for the next three days. He also liked to tell us how his other crew was staying at a local mom-and-pop property for $59 a night and we needed to match it because his rate was lowered last time.

On the fourth morning, our general manager told him flat-out that we were not providing him a lowered rate, we were not making it tax-exempt, and if he did not like that, he was free to leave and stay with another property.

After he tried to size up and push around our five-foot-two general manager, she checked him out, gave him his receipts, and told him he was no longer allowed on this property. He had fifteen minutes to pack and vacate or the police would be called. From what I was told, buddy boy knew he’d messed up and left with his tail between his legs.

Don’t be a chronic a** hole to the staff of the hotel you stay at. You will not win.