I get a coupon for my favorite sandwich place. Score! I head to the place and make my order, and at the end, I present the coupon.

Employee: “Sorry, ma’am, that coupon only applies to online and phone orders.”

Me: “So, I can’t order over the counter?”

Employee: “Sorry, but no. Online and phone only.”

Without moving from my spot, I got my phone and called the number for the sandwich place. Without breaking eye contact with the employee, I saw him pick up the phone on the wall and speak his greeting.

He quickly realized he was talking to me standing a few feet away as I repeated my exact same order.

He sighed and just applied the coupon.

My insurance broker calls me one morning the month before my car insurance is set to renew. She tells me that my premium is supposed to go up significantly but suggests switching to the company that my home insurance is with for a discount.

I have been working from home these last few months and never got around to updating my car insurance, so I mention that. The agent tries to pull a quote from my current company but has to call me back. When she does…

Agent: “Is [Father] related to you?”

Me: “Yes, that’s my father.”

Agent: “You were signed up under a multi-vehicle discount with him. When I went to update your policy, it was coming up more expensive because you’re not at the same address.”

Me: “But I haven’t lived at that address the entire time I’ve owned this car!”

It wasn’t the agent’s fault, so I guess I got an extra discount for a decade?

This takes place at the beginning of spring before masks become mandatory in my province but are still recommended in public, confined places. I am running late for the bus and have my mask in my hand as I sprint to the bus stop. The driver sees me running, stops the bus, and waits for me.

I board the bus and dig in my pocket to get some change. I haven’t put my mask on yet, as I find it hard to breathe through it when running. The drivers have these huge plastic curtains for these situations. This driver has his curtain pulled to the side, put away.

Driver: “Hi, how’re you today?”

As I put change in the terminal:

Me: “Great. Running a little late, though. Thanks for waiting.”

Driver: “Yeah, you can show your gratitude by not killing my grandma.”

He makes a gesture to his own paper mask. I chuckle awkwardly, putting on my cloth mask.

Me: “Don’t worry, sir. I’m not planning on doing that.”

The driver mumbled an apology and didn’t say anything for the rest of the ride.

My friend and I are sitting in a coffee shop and have ordered our drinks. Despite not being busy, it seems to take a long time for anyone to get served. We grab a table in sight of the collection area and wait… and wait and wait.

Eventually, they call our names and I collect the drinks. We chat for a bit and then I take a sip.

It’s a matcha (tea) latte, and while normally bitter, this tastes just wrong. I grab some sweetener and it gets worse the more I drink. Even the colour is wrong; it’s normally light green but this looks brown. I go up to the counter to try to get it sorted.

After a long wait to get served, I explain.

Me: “I’m sorry, but this is disgusting. It is brown and so bitter I can’t drink it.”

Barista #1: *Dripping with sarcasm* “Yeah, that would be the coffee in it.”

Me: “What? It’s a tea; there is no coffee in there.”

Barista #1: *Sighs* “Look, if you don’t like the drink, you shouldn’t order it.”

Me: “I do like the drink, but it’s disgusting. Do you have a manager here?”

Barista #1: *Smirking* “I’m the manager on duty today.”

Me: “You know what? I’ll just talk to someone who knows what they are talking about.”

She waves me off sarcastically. I ring the corporate phone line and explain that the “manager” managed to put coffee in my tea and that they just didn’t seem to care. They give me a large gift card, and I return the next week to spend it.

Me: “Can I get a matcha latte, please?”

Barista #2: “Sure.”

Me: “Oh, and no coffee in that, please.”

Barista #2: “Sorry?”

Me: “Last time, someone put coffee in it.”

Barista #2:  “Don’t worry sir, there’s no one here that will make that mistake again.”

I’m not sure what happened to the sarcastic manager, but I never saw her there again.

I was on antidepressants five to eight years ago but have been off them for a few years. Recently, however, I haven’t been coping and my friends have encouraged me to make a doctor’s appointment. When I try to book online and select “mental health consultation,” the website tells me I can’t book this appointment type online and will have to call their office. After getting up the nerve to make the phone call…

Me: “Hi, I’d like to make an appointment for a mental health consultation.”

Receptionist: “Okay. What was your name?”

Me: “[My Name].”

Receptionist: “I notice that you used to see [Doctor #1]. He doesn’t consult here anymore. If you’d like to see him, you’ll have to call his current practice.”

I feel like she is about to hang up on me. I’m actually glad that [Doctor #1] doesn’t work there anymore as he refused to prescribe me medication for months the first time around, and I know medication is what I need once again.

Me: “No, that’s okay. I can see any doctor.”

Receptionist: “All right, I have nothing this week. How about next Wednesday at 3:00 pm?”

Me: “That’s perfect. Thank you.”

Receptionist: “Okay, you’re booked in with [Doctor #2] for next Wednesday, second December.”

Two hours later, I receive a missed call from the doctor’s office and have to get up the courage to call again. The same receptionist answers, though she obviously has no recollection of the previous call. After verifying who I am…

Receptionist: “Now, unfortunately, we will have to reschedule your appointment as [Doctor #2] is going away next week and will be away for quite some time, two to three months. What was the appointment for?”

Me: “It was a mental health consultation.”

Receptionist: “I see. Is it urgent? Do you want to wait until she gets back from overseas?”

I don’t even know [Doctor #2]!

Me: “No, that’s fine. I can see any doctor.”

Receptionist: “All right, I can get you in for the same day, a bit later. What was the reason we had you down to see both a doctor and a nurse?”

Me: “I don’t know. You booked it that way.”

Receptionist: “Let’s make it 3:45 on the same day so that you can see both [Doctor #3] and a nurse.”

Me: *Gives up* “Okay, thank you.”

Seriously? I’m sure you make dozens of appointments each day so you wouldn’t necessarily remember mine, but there is no way you didn’t know two hours ago that one of your practitioners was going to be away for months! And I understand that there may be some reasons why you can’t book a mental health consultation online, but then why isn’t it marked as one when the booking is made over the phone? And no, mental health appointments can NEVER be pushed back by months. And I still don’t know why I’m seeing a nurse.