My husband and I were very excited to go to the movies. We did it all the time before having kids, but after, we never really had the time. This time, we were child-free for a few hours to see this movie we were both very excited about.

Because of the new rules after the global health crisis, we weren’t allowed to bring our own snacks, as they needed to get money back in order to survive after their losses, so we ended up spending quite a lot of money compared to our own income. But it was worth it, we thought.

A few scenes into the movie, the screen went black. We still heard the sound, so at first, we thought that maybe it was supposed to be black, but it just kept going. We were wondering when the staff would fix it, but no one did. Seeing as we were in the middle, we were quite happy to see someone go out to tell the staff. The image was fixed, and they rewound the movie. It was annoying, but they did fix it the best they could.

Then, it happened again. They were quicker to go and get the staff this time, and they did come after a while to fix it so we could actually see the movie and not just hear it, but this time, they did not rewind. So we decided we should get our money back for the tickets.

We went out and found the one service desk they have. Once it was our turn, we went up to the girl standing there.

Husband: “Hello. We were watching the movie when everything went black, twice, and we didn’t even get to see the whole movie.”

The girl listened and seemed to understand, but then she just stood there, waiting, not saying anything. We were waiting for a response but she was avoiding eye contact.

A man entered the service area and she let him by, and he printed something and went away again. She was still just standing there.

Me: “Um… Excuse me? Are you waiting for something, or…?”

She just nodded, still not looking at us. Then, the man from before came in again.

Girl: “Um, they also need help.”

Man: “Oh, you were also at that movie?”

Me: “Yes.”

Girl: “I thought you were printing it out for them.”

He hadn’t even been there when we explained, but we realised now that he was probably the manager and the only one who could fix it.

Man: “Oh, I am so sorry for the inconvenience.”

Then, he printed something and handed it to us: two new tickets.

Me: “Um, would it be possible to get our money back, instead? We aren’t sure when we’ll be able to go the movies again.”

Man: “Sorry, this is all we can do, and we are so sorry.”

With that, he left again. The girl still hadn’t even looked at us or said a word to us. We were rather confused not to get any information on what they could do or offer before they just shoved tickets into our hands. Well, at least we got something.

I work at a store in Minneapolis. During the George Floyd Protests, we locked up and went home, and headquarters hired contractors to clad the windows in wood to protect them.

Frankly, I don’t think it was necessary, because when we returned to work, the wood was untouched. It was clear that no one had tried to break in. We did an inventory, and not a single item was missing. The wood had not even been spray-painted.

But the funniest thing was that when we returned to work several weeks after the protests broke out… we discovered that the front door had been left unlocked the entire time.

Back in college, my friends and I decided to go to a midnight showing of “Indiana Jones And The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull” on the day it came out. The movie was released on a Friday, so the midnight showing was Thursday night/Friday morning. The official ticket time read as 12:00 am Friday.

We bought tickets online and showed up early to the theater to get food and seats. But when we handed our tickets to the ticket attendant, we ran into trouble.

Ticket Attendant: “Uhh, you guys bought the wrong tickets. These tickets are for tomorrow night. Today is Thursday.”

Me: “Well, today is Thursday, but the movie starts at 12:00 am, which is the beginning of Friday. 12:00 am Friday is just a few minutes from now.”

Ticket Attendant: “That’s not how it works at this theater. You should have purchased tickets for 12:00 am on Thursday.”

Me: “12:00 am Thursday was almost twenty-four hours ago. The movie comes out at 12:00 am on Friday. The whole point of a midnight showing for a new movie is you get to see it at the earliest possible point on the day it’s released.”

Ticket Attendant: *Pauses a bit while thinking* “I don’t know what to tell you. The midnight showing is sold out, and these are the wrong tickets. Next time, just be more careful and make sure you buy the right tickets.”

Me: *Exasperated* “We did!”

Eventually, the ticket attendant refunded our tickets and we were able to buy tickets to a showing at 12:01 am at a theater across the street.

I’m a female living alone. It’s a cold December afternoon when my doorbell rings. I open the door and there is an older man standing there.

Man: “Hi! I’m going to come in because it’s cold out. You don’t mind, do you?”

I can just make out the logo on his jacket from the service company that my housing association usually employs, which tells me he is not some random idiot just willy-nilly inviting himself into my house, but still, I am quite stunned by the audacity. I can barely get an “Ummmm?” out when he’s suddenly standing in my hallway and closing the door behind him. 

Man: “Right. So, if all is in order, you had a letter sent to you informing you that you can apply for a survey of your apartment to make it more energy efficient, correct?” 

Me: “Yes, I received that letter. What about it?”

Man: “Have you made an appointment for that yet? I’m just going door-to-door to make sure people get their appointments in. It’s important, you know!” 

Me: “I’m sorry, I haven’t had the time yet.”

Man: “Ha! Didn’t have the time to pick up the phone and book an appointment? It takes less than a minute!”

Me: “It wasn’t really a priority for me at the moment…”

Man: “How can it not be a priority? There is an energy crisis going on, and I’m sure you are eager to see where you can save money. I’m not leaving until you promise me to book that appointment.”

He smiles as if it’s supposed to come across endearingly. I’m still too stunned to form a proper response, and honestly, I’m quite intimidated. I just want him out of my hair, and I’m trying to be polite about it. (Why I am still polite I have no idea… Self-protection, I guess.) 

Me: “I will book that appointment as soon as possible, then. I’m sorry, I just haven’t gotten around to it.”

Man: “No. You were just lazy about it.”

For those who speak Dutch, he used the word “laks”. That could be translated as “lazy” but is more in the line of “lacking/failing to”. You know, just to add to the weight of the rudeness.

Man: “It’s a good thing I came to remind you! Have a good day now.”

He proceeds to show himself back out. I stand there stunned for a good minute, and finally, my brain sends me the words I really should have said.

Me: “No, I will not have you set foot in my house without permission, and I can do without the rudeness, thank you very much!”

Alas, my closed door doesn’t take heed of that.

My coworker was getting a car and asked me if I could drop her off at the dealership. I agreed, dropped her off, and went about my merry little business.

A couple of months later, someone on the third shift came in and spoke to me.

Third-Shift Worker: “Hey, I thought you said [Coworker] got a car? Because she’s test driving down at [Other Local Dealer].”

I didn’t really care. Maybe she decided to take the first one back and get a better one. Not my problem.

Well, it became my problem two days later when I got a call from an unknown number.

Person: “Is this [My Name]?”

Me: “Uh, yeah, can I help you?”

Person: “We’re calling to report that [Coworker] has not paid for her vehicle in the past three months. We need you to either contact her or send in the payment yourself.”

Me: *Pauses* “Why would I pay for the car myself?”

Person: “Well, you’re the cosigner.”

Me: “No, I am not.”

And I hung up on them. I’m sure you can imagine the immediate panic, horror, WTF, and the billion other emotions exploding through me at that moment.

By now, that evil monster had long since quit the store where we worked and gone elsewhere. I didn’t know where she was, and the phone number I had for her wasn’t correct anymore. I called up the dealership where she was last seen, and I put on my absolute BEST customer service voice.

Me: “Hi. This is [My Name] from [Store], and I’m calling because we need to locate a Miss [Coworker]. It’s very important, and I was just wondering if she was there today.”

They said she was a customer there and they couldn’t say anything more. I broke down almost crying and explained the situation to them, explaining that somehow this other dealer was convinced I’d cosigned for her when I hadn’t and that I needed to find her and find out what was happening.

With as much chaos and nonsense that happens at my workplace at work, I’m pretty well known by everyone who comes in — enough that they know my voice and recognize me outside of work. The lady seemed to be one of these people, and she put me on hold. A couple of minutes later, she came back on.

Off the record, she suggested that I go and have lunch at a specific little pizza place because the service was “awesome”. I had to go to work, so I hung up and had my mom go check it out. Sure enough, [Coworker] was there, working. Mom later said that when [Coworker] realized just WHO Mom was, she went pale as a sheet. Mom was cool enough to not scream at her, but anyone who knows Mom is aware that she doesn’t NEED to threaten you. You don’t piss my mother off; you KNOW she’ll come after you. Mom very calmly and sweetly got information about the car out of [Coworker]. 

We found out that she’d dumped this little jalopy of a car at a movie theater. I called the towing company that did business with the store. Thankfully, the owner knew me. I asked him to tow the car to the dealership and he agreed to get it there for free. 

Guess who’s been getting free drinks at my store on my watch since then? (I pay for them, but still…)

The owner of the dealership said that as a cosigner, I was now liable for not only the remaining payments, BUT I also had to replace the tires which had been slashed, the windshield which had been busted, and the radio which had been stolen.

I was aware of a state law that this specific dealership seemed to be trying to weasel out of. State law says that if you sell a car to someone and they return it in poor condition, you take the money out of what they have already paid you for the vehicle. If you have still made more than the Blue Book value on the vehicle, they are no longer responsible for payments.

This car Blue-Booked at $150. If it had a full tank of gas, it might have Blue-Booked at $160. I brought this to their attention, and they pulled out the file that had me listed as a cosigner and tried to use that. 

I freaked out and channeled my inner Get-Your-Manager personality.

Me: “THAT IS NOT MY F****** SIGNATURE! THAT IS NOT MY SIGNATURE! YOU F****** LET HER FORGE IT?! REALLY?!”

I grabbed a sheet of paper and signed my name on it.

Me: “THAT IS MY SIGNATURE! THEY LOOK NOTHING ALIKE! F*** YOU AND EVERYONE YOU KNOW! I HOPE YOU FALL IN A DITCH!”

I shredded the paper I signed and took the pieces with me as I stormed out. (I wasn’t stupid.) 

Owner: *Yelling* “If you don’t man up and take responsibility for your actions, I will take you to court! Do you really want that?”

Me: “That is an awesome idea, pal! No, really!!” *Honestly giddy and genuine smile* “Because, see, I’m pretty f****** sure that forgery is a felony offense and that you would be an accessory to it. I’m really eager to see what a judge has to say about it! What should I name this place when I own it?”

I left after that, and to this day, I haven’t heard a word from them. This happened about fourteen years ago, and we did check my credit report repeatedly and file a report with the police. I’m in the clear, thankfully.

Related:
The Unbelievable Freaking Audacity Of Some People