During the latest health crises and civil unrest, most firearms stores have been completely wiped out of product. This is particularly true for states with heavy restrictions on what they can have.

As a sales rep for a firearms wholesaler, I am well aware of the desperation of many of these dealers. They are trying to stay in business and cannot get product to sell. One of my restricted state customers knows by now that I only call him if I have guns that are okay to ship to him.

Customer: “I’ll take it.”

Me: “Great!”

Customer: “Matter of fact, I’ll take two.”

Me: “Perfect! That’s exactly how many I have. And one of the other.”

Customer: “Fantastic! Get them here as soon as you can!”

Me: “On it!”

Customer: “Thank you so much. Now, what did I buy?”

Twenty years on the job, and this was by far the easiest and most memorable sales call ever.

We had our second lockdown, which lasted around three months, and during that time, we were still working. We sell mostly furniture and kitchenware. Our Click & Collect service got a big notch up and went from around seventy orders a week to 1,000 a day.

One day, I spotted a customer on his way into the store while my colleague was busy talking to another customer. First, I thought that something had been dropped off of his order, as he was walking in with a cart filled with things. I approached him and told him he couldn’t enter the store as it was closed. He looked confused and asked why the others got their items if they hadn’t been shopping in the store. That confused me for a second, but I told him that they got their items through our Click & Collect service and we handed it to them.

He huffed and said he wasn’t there to collect anything but to return some items.

Me: “I’m sorry, but we’re closed, which means you can’t return anything. You have to wait until the store is allowed to open again.”

Customer: “I’m here now, so why can’t you just take it back and give me my money?”

Me: “We are not allowed to do so. You’re not allowed to even get into the store, so please leave. I’m sorry that we can’t help you now, but once we’re open again, we’ll be happy to help you return your items. Until then, please be patient.”

Customer: “I want to return my items now. I’m here, so what’s the problem? The registers are just over there, and I don’t need cash; just transfer it to my credit card.”

I’m sighing inwardly, not really wanting to deal with this man. Fortunately, our team leader has noticed and comes over, asking what the problem is.

Customer: “I want to return my items. Now.”

Team Leader: “That is not possible right now. You’ll have to wait until we’re allowed to open the store again.”

Customer: “I can’t wait for that and I’m here. I can’t see what the problem is.”

Team Leader: “The problem is that it’s not legal for us to do so right now and we could get a fine if we gave in to your demands. So, leave and wait for us to open again.”

Customer: “BS. You’re making this up.”

Team Leader: “We are not allowed to let customers into the store, no matter whether they’re buying or returning. Please leave now or I’ll have to call security.”

The customer huffed but turned and left at the threat of security coming.

I work in a big grocery store as a full-time cashier and customers are not adjusting to our new rules. We’ve blocked off all items that have been deemed non-essential. A lot of the time, though, people will ignore those barriers and take items off the shelf and then attempt to sneak through self-checkout with them. A lot of the time, they get caught.

A lady in her forties came into the store. She put items for a party (non-essential) in her cart and went to the checkout. My coworker told her right off the bat that she was not allowed to sell those items. The lady left her till and went to three different ones, hoping someone would ring her through. We all denied her. She left the checkout and circled the store so she wouldn’t be seen going into self-checkout.

She managed to pay for her items and left her cart at the service desk so she could go to the bathroom. One of our front-end managers noticed all the birthday stuff in her cart and took it, so when the lady returned, she had to have everything refunded. She was mad but took the refund. She left the service desk.

After a little while, she came back through self-checkout AGAIN with the same stuff, hoping she could sneak through. One of the attendants caught her and another front-end manager said if she could not follow the rules, then she needed to leave.

So, she left. And we thought that was the end of it. Nope.

I was sitting at the service desk on my mini-break when the phone rang. My manager went over and answered. A woman on the phone says she needs to speak to a manager. The conversation went like this.

Manager: “I’m a manager. How can I help you?”

Woman: “My daughter was just inside your store, and you wouldn’t sell her birthday candles?”

Manager: “Yes, that’s correct. She tried five different times. But we’re not allowed to sell them.”

Woman: “Why the h*** not? We need them.”

Manager: “They’re a non-essential item by the saying of the government. I truly cannot do anything about it.”

Woman: “Why couldn’t you make an exception? It was only candles!”

It wasn’t. It was a bag full of birthday party stuff.

Manager: “We can’t make exceptions unless we are looking to get fined.”

This whole spiel went on for about five minutes, with the lady ultimately saying she wouldn’t shop here again and that she wanted to make a complaint, to which my manager said, “If you want to make a complaint, you can call corporate,” and hung up on this lady.

Please just follow the rules. It makes all our lives a little easier.

I work in a theme park. Weekends get very busy. It isn’t unusual for the line to enter the parks to stretch all the way back into the shopping/entertainment complex, or even all the way back to security. It’s just how it is these days, and most people just roll with it. Most of them.

I’m positioned at the end of the line for purchasing tickets, wiping each counter and credit card machine down with disinfectant after each group, making sure people keep their masks up, etc. It’s about 1:30 in the afternoon, and we’re finally starting to get caught up after our morning rush. The line is only ten to fifteen minutes long. A couple gets in line and the man waves me over.

Entitled Dude: *Incredulously* “Excuse me, but we purchased annual passes online yesterday. Do we really have to wait in this line?”

Me: “Yes, sir, you’re in the right place. No need to worry.”

Entitled Dude: “No, I don’t think you understand. We purchased annual passes.”

Me: *Confused* “…and this is where you pick them up, sir.”

Entitled Dude: “I really don’t think we should be made to wait in a line with these people when we’re annual pass holders. We spent a lot more money than they did to be here.”

Me: “I’m sorry you feel that way, sir, but this is the only place to pick up those annual passes.”

Entitled Dude: “So, you’re telling me that I paid [price of the most expensive annual pass] for these passes and you’re going to make me wait in line behind them? This is unacceptable.”

The end of the line has moved at least ten feet so far during this conversation.

Me: “Again, I’m sorry you feel that way, sir, but to be completely frank with you, an hour ago this line went all the way to the other side of those arches. You are not going to be waiting long at all by comparison.”

Entitled Dude: *Getting huffier and huffier* “If this line had been that long when we arrived, I would have just gotten the passes refunded and left. This is not how you treat people after they spend [price of the most expensive passes].”

Me: “You certainly don’t have to stay in this line if you don’t want to, sir. If cancelling the passes is what you’d prefer to do, you’re more than welcome to do so.”

Entitled Dude: “Is there someone I could speak to about this? I am not feeling very welcomed here at all.”

Me: “Guest Services would be the only people who could assist you in this situation, sir. You’re welcome to visit them at your convenience, right over there.”

I pointed out another line and returned to my other responsibilities. When they got to the front of the line, I hurried to wipe down the counter of the unlucky coworker who was about to end up with them, apologized profusely for what she was about to deal with, and promised to fill her in when I could. I watched the transaction from a distance, and it took longer than it should have, seeing as it was a simple order pickup. Ultimately, one of our leads came up to them, spoke to them briefly, and walked away with them toward the entrance gates.

Long story short, they threw another fit with my coworker about having to wait. They had purchased our cheapest two-park pass as opposed to our most expensive three-park pass, and they refused to leave the window until they saw a manager. That’s when the lead showed up, gave them a completely insincere but convincing apology, and offered to escort them directly to the entrance to make sure they didn’t have to wait in another line, which placated them enough that no complaint about my coworker or me came in.

Joke’s on the jerk, though; by that time, there was no line at all at the front gate, so he didn’t actually get anything in the end… unless you count getting laughed at in the break room later!

This is during the beginnings of the 2020 health crisis. I decide to take advantage of the low interest rates for mortgages and buy my first home. After searching for a few months, I claim one that’s in my budget before it’s even put on the market and move in on June 1st.

I am a single female in my late twenties. I am also formally diagnosed with social anxiety disorder and am an introvert, making it difficult for me to talk to strangers. In addition, I was raised by a mostly traditional Southern family, meaning it has been wired into me since birth to be polite and courteous. All of these factors combined mean I have a difficult time being rude to people and telling them “no.”

When I first move into my new home, I notice there is an old security system on the wall. I don’t know if it belongs to the previous owners or the owners before them, but I don’t think much of it at the time.

A few weeks after moving in, I get a knock on my door at 7:00 pm. My door does not have a peephole and I don’t have a doorbell camera, so I open the door to see who it is. Standing in front of me is a man who is dress in business casual and has a lanyard around his neck with a badge. He is also not wearing a mask. 

Man: “Hello, I am [Man], the Relocation Manager for [Security System] here to talk to you about our services. I’m sure they mentioned during your closing process that we would come by to visit.”

Me: *Flustered and confused* “No, they didn’t. Neither my agent nor lawyer mentioned you.”

Man: “Oh, well, they should have. Anyway, I’m here to offer you some promotions we have, since you fall into a special group.”

Me: “Oh, okay.”

Man: “Do you mind if I come in?”

I’m feeling uncomfortable, but Southern courtesy kicks in.

Me: “Sure.”

The man comes into my house and notices the old system on the wall.

Man: “Oh, this is old. We’ll be sure to replace that with a more up-to-date model with a touchscreen.”

I remain silent for the most part, keeping my distance and staying behind him, so my back is never turned to him.

Man: “Do you mind if I see your backyard?”

I point him in the general direction where the hall is, following behind him. My back door is located in my office. He goes into my office, opens the back door, and looks around.

Man: “Nice privacy fence you have there. Criminals also like it because he provides them privacy, too.”

I recognize he’s trying to scare me, and it’s making me annoyed. We head back into the living room where he casually sits on my couch.

Man: “Aren’t you going to come and sit down?”

I’m still keeping my distance, and I’m getting even more annoyed.

Me: “No, I’m fine standing.

Man: “Well, since you just moved, we are offering you a special deal for new homeowners. We can waive all the installation fees and fees associated with new accounts.”

Me: “And how much would the monthly fee be for monitoring?”

Man: “Our lowest package starts at $63.99 a month.”

Me: “I haven’t even been in my house for a month, so I’m not sure if I can afford that.”

Man: “Sure, you can.”

Me: “I would rather wait instead of signing up immediately.”

Man: “Oh, this promotion is only for a certain amount of time, so you need to sign up today.”

Me: “But I don’t know if I can afford it. I need to think about it.”

He pulls out a tablet and proceeds to ask me my name, number, and email. I think he’s taking my contact information to contact me later. Then, he asks for my social security number.

Me: “I don’t feel comfortable telling you that.”

Man: “Don’t worry; it’s encrypted.”

Me: “I still don’t want to tell you.”

He hands me the tablet for me to put it in manually. I start doing so, seeing that it does the stars as I put in the numbers, showing it is encrypted. I hand the tablet back to him.

Man: “And what’s a good card number that I can put in?”

It finally clicks.

Me: “Wait, are you signing me up for the service?”

The man nods.

Me: *Starting to get angry* “I told you I needed time to think about it. I’m not signing up for a service today. I don’t know what my monthly budget will look like yet.”

Man: “Well, your bank wouldn’t have agreed to give you a mortgage if you couldn’t afford it.”

Me: “I don’t know even know who you are. For all I know, you could be lying to me about working with [Security System].”

Man: “My work badge is right here with my name if you want to take a picture.”

I should have done that, looking back.

Me: “I still need time.”

Man: “Well, I can extend the offer a couple of days. Is that enough?”

Me: “No, I would need a couple of months.”

Man: “I can’t do that. The offer is time-sensitive.”

Me: “I’m not signing up for a service when I don’t know what my monthly budget looks like.”

The man stares at me for a few seconds.

Man: “I see you are getting annoyed, so I’m going to leave.”

Me: “Yes, please.”

After he left, I sat on my couch, shaken and scared by the whole event. I know what I did was stupid. I could have gotten hurt or had my information stolen. After I calmed myself down, I immediately bought a different security system out of spite. I tried reporting the guy but found that [Security System]’s customer service is basically nonexistent.